Hello I am new here but my lotus isn't.

[Jimboy2016]

The rear end in my too small garage

Hello there,

My lotus +2S130 is now in thousands of bits and I am thinking of having the paintwork and as much of the rest that I cannot do done by Spyder. Any advice as to how to go about this would be appreciated now I've got it off its chassis, taken the paint, the screens the chrome work, the wiring, the dash, the heater, the interior , the tank all off and out. The sight of all of it and the experience of in some places 16 layers of paint, all the previous work good and bad exposed has increased my confusion about what next.

I have had the chrome done and now could attempt the doors reassembly if I can remember how and get over nearly severing my fingers on that Spring lever contraption. Also I need to clean the years of crap off the chassis. It's a replacement I had done in the late 80s (!) I hope it's not time for another.

I've emailed Sean at Spyder about it all as it was time to face reality - at my level of expertise and rate of work It would never be done I clearly need help. How I wish my coffers were bottomless. They aren't , but I'm hoping to come to some arrangement .

Any advice or encouragement on fund raising or jobs to do to lower the price of commercial help would be greatly
appreciated

Regards Jim.

[rgh0]

Hi Jim

Even in a small garage you can do most things needed to rebuild a Lotus given a modicum of skill and asking lots of question on this site. The cost of paying others to do the work can get surprisingly big, surprisingly quickly, given the time consuming nature of working on an Elan or Plus 2

cheers
Rohan

[Spyder fan]

Patience is cheap but normally in short supply, I suggest you stock up on it whenever it's available.

In the past I didn't bother to stock up on patience and paid the price in the number of ?notes needed to fill the gap.

Spyder are as good as any of the restorers out there and have the benefit of an in house paint shop, you won't get better in quality. I spent over ?20,000 for my +2 at Spyder and that didn't include a respray, my S4 was over ?30,000 including a respray. Both those figures make most people wince.

I could have reduced the +2 by ?10k and the S4 by ?15k if I had been able to devote more personal time to doing a lot of the jobs needed that didn't require a huge amount of specialist input and the cost of parts reduces if you are prepared to shop around and do some deals here and there rather than let the restorer source them for you.

If you do go down the road of paying somebody to do a lot of work I would suggest you do the following:- Provide a large plastic storage box and insist that any parts removed for replacement are placed in the storage box for you to decide if they are "thrown away" or kept. My cars must have had at least ?1000 of stuff thrown away in the skip... Allegedly

[Jimboy2016]

Thanks Alan
Your reply rang a lot of familiar bells from my dealings with lotus specialists over the years when having smaller jobs done. The replacement of old parts is a particularly good point my lotus seat belts and girling servo both went that way with the glass domed fuel pump which I rather liked.

I am at a crossroads (pun not intended) with the car and to sort it have listed it for sale in club lotus news July edition to help me decide its fate and mine. I am bracing myself for ether a rush of derisory offers or a resounding silence. I am going to tell anyone interested that I will accept the highest offer if it reaches its reserve like an auction house.

I've also got Paul from SWS coming to see it to look at the state of the body re painting and some "what to do next " advice - This is all because now I've got it so far there seems to be too many things that need doing to be able to make a decision without knowing if (A)the body is too knackered to carry on with or (B) the chassis is similar after 25 years rest.

Your advice over how much you can do yourself is welcome and I'm hoping it will go that way.
Regards Jim.

[Jimboy2016]

Hi Rohan
Thanks for post
After a bit of tidying and thought I am getting more positive about it all! When I have got a few offers to take it off my hands and a few estimates of how much it all is to have it done I've got a feeling I will end up happily carrying on with most of it myself. We are in Yorkshire after all. The home of short arms and long pockets.
Regards Jim.