Hello, Relationship, Addiction and Apology
Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2013 7:30 pm
Greetings,
I have recently entered into a new love, hate, love relationship known as a 1969 Lotus Elan DHC LHD. It was running and driving example...until I got ahold of it.
As this is an introduction section, alow me. I am a 51 year old semi-retired small business owner in a small rural town (Sequim) in Washington State, USA. I am married to my best friend and we have a delightful daughter who is starting her second year at Wake Forest University (Go Deacs!). Although Wake Forest is an exemplary institution of higher learning it is yet another reason this introduction is not being made on Ferrari Chat.
I have always been enamored with the industrial art known as the automobile, yet I have remained largely ignorant and somewhat intimidated by the mechanical workings of cars. Since I am ignorant and intimidated in a staggering variety of areas of in my life I decided to attempt to become less so in at least one, namely cars. I set out to educate myself a few years ago by purchasing an older car. I wanted to accomplish three things with my first acquisition.
1.) Cheap. I was certain to cause massive damage on my way to becoming a mechanical virtuoso. Also, friends say I am cheap, but they certainly are not a reliable source of information.
2.) Simple. To match my mental acumine.
3.) Transferable. A car that would seamlessly springboard my growing skillset on to other vehicles.
After careful consideration and to the surprise of no one that knows me, I choose a car designed backwards (some say wrong). It did meet two out of the three criteria and I have enjoyed our 63 VW Bug. It didn't occur to me a car that has an air cooled engine in the back and therefore a torsion bar suspension would not provide that linear learning I had hoped for.
Regardless and somewhat to the amazement to my wife, I have met with some success in caring for and keeping the Bug roadworthy. Well for the most part, at the last cars and coffee we did have to push start it. Anyway, armed with an ounce of new found knowledge which is magnified by a ton of enthusiasm and overconfidence, my ignorance has blossomed into a hobby/addiction/money pit.
As a car guy it seems inevitable to be at least interested with the Lotus Elan. If you enjoy the path less travelled you become enamored. If you also appreciate an over achieving underdog that is just plain fun, you graduate to an unabashed Elan nut like me.
All journeys leave a trail. Here is the trail I have left that has lead to the Elan, and oh what a long strange trip it has been.
63 VW Beetle Ragtop Sunroof (Confusing description, but correct in the odd world of automotive terms)
96 Dodge Viper GTS (Fun, a little scary and obnoxious, don't we all have a little Dennis the Menace in us?)
79 Mercedes 450 SL (No idea why, maybe I'm a closet JR Ewing)
64 Porsche 356 C Coupe (Again with the backwards and wrong design, yet on the path to 911 perfection)
65 Porsche 356 C Coupe (Wasn't looking but had a weak moment and love the 356)
69 Lotus Elan DHC (No explanation needed amongst the similarly afflicted)
I tell my wife they are investments. She says stocks don't require cavernous storage space, expensive bits to keep up, have insurance costs, smell bad, drip oil and cause me to use colorful language. I say they are gorgeous and exciting just like her. She just shakes her head and smiles her beautiful smile. I do need to stop looking for these "investments". There must be a twelve step program out there for me. But until I find it, if anyone knows of a nice Alpine- Renault A110 that is available let me know. Honey if you happen to read this, you're an angel.
My Elan looks somewhat like a lovely eighty year old lady in a bikini. You can tell she was very pretty in the past yet is somewhat difficult to look at in her current attire. The good: rust free frame, strong engine and all there. The less than good: everywhere you look she needs attention.
So why is my Elan not on the road? My short term strategy (a term I use loosely) is to make her safe (in 44 year old tiny fiberglass bodied car standards) by completely restoring the braking and suspension systems. She now resides in my wife's former parking space in the garage on jack stands (wife's an angel I tell ya). It looks a bit like the poor little car got sick and emptied all it's running gear all over the garage floor. I am busy appyling my limited yet improving mechanical "skills" as time and mood (see love, hate, love above) allow.
My long term plan is to enjoy the Elan on the road until my enthusiasm and ignorance of my mechanical skills completely suspend the last few bits of common sense. After which I will attempt a complete restoration. I figure I have only enough sense left to hold off for one to two years maximum.
This forum appears to have many kind, patient and knowledgeable folks for whom I will likely test the bounds of their patience and kindness. So to those I say hello, thank you and sorry in advanced.
I am not sure why I became so long winded, sorry for that too.
Kevin
I have recently entered into a new love, hate, love relationship known as a 1969 Lotus Elan DHC LHD. It was running and driving example...until I got ahold of it.
As this is an introduction section, alow me. I am a 51 year old semi-retired small business owner in a small rural town (Sequim) in Washington State, USA. I am married to my best friend and we have a delightful daughter who is starting her second year at Wake Forest University (Go Deacs!). Although Wake Forest is an exemplary institution of higher learning it is yet another reason this introduction is not being made on Ferrari Chat.
I have always been enamored with the industrial art known as the automobile, yet I have remained largely ignorant and somewhat intimidated by the mechanical workings of cars. Since I am ignorant and intimidated in a staggering variety of areas of in my life I decided to attempt to become less so in at least one, namely cars. I set out to educate myself a few years ago by purchasing an older car. I wanted to accomplish three things with my first acquisition.
1.) Cheap. I was certain to cause massive damage on my way to becoming a mechanical virtuoso. Also, friends say I am cheap, but they certainly are not a reliable source of information.
2.) Simple. To match my mental acumine.
3.) Transferable. A car that would seamlessly springboard my growing skillset on to other vehicles.
After careful consideration and to the surprise of no one that knows me, I choose a car designed backwards (some say wrong). It did meet two out of the three criteria and I have enjoyed our 63 VW Bug. It didn't occur to me a car that has an air cooled engine in the back and therefore a torsion bar suspension would not provide that linear learning I had hoped for.
Regardless and somewhat to the amazement to my wife, I have met with some success in caring for and keeping the Bug roadworthy. Well for the most part, at the last cars and coffee we did have to push start it. Anyway, armed with an ounce of new found knowledge which is magnified by a ton of enthusiasm and overconfidence, my ignorance has blossomed into a hobby/addiction/money pit.
As a car guy it seems inevitable to be at least interested with the Lotus Elan. If you enjoy the path less travelled you become enamored. If you also appreciate an over achieving underdog that is just plain fun, you graduate to an unabashed Elan nut like me.
All journeys leave a trail. Here is the trail I have left that has lead to the Elan, and oh what a long strange trip it has been.
63 VW Beetle Ragtop Sunroof (Confusing description, but correct in the odd world of automotive terms)
96 Dodge Viper GTS (Fun, a little scary and obnoxious, don't we all have a little Dennis the Menace in us?)
79 Mercedes 450 SL (No idea why, maybe I'm a closet JR Ewing)
64 Porsche 356 C Coupe (Again with the backwards and wrong design, yet on the path to 911 perfection)
65 Porsche 356 C Coupe (Wasn't looking but had a weak moment and love the 356)
69 Lotus Elan DHC (No explanation needed amongst the similarly afflicted)
I tell my wife they are investments. She says stocks don't require cavernous storage space, expensive bits to keep up, have insurance costs, smell bad, drip oil and cause me to use colorful language. I say they are gorgeous and exciting just like her. She just shakes her head and smiles her beautiful smile. I do need to stop looking for these "investments". There must be a twelve step program out there for me. But until I find it, if anyone knows of a nice Alpine- Renault A110 that is available let me know. Honey if you happen to read this, you're an angel.
My Elan looks somewhat like a lovely eighty year old lady in a bikini. You can tell she was very pretty in the past yet is somewhat difficult to look at in her current attire. The good: rust free frame, strong engine and all there. The less than good: everywhere you look she needs attention.
So why is my Elan not on the road? My short term strategy (a term I use loosely) is to make her safe (in 44 year old tiny fiberglass bodied car standards) by completely restoring the braking and suspension systems. She now resides in my wife's former parking space in the garage on jack stands (wife's an angel I tell ya). It looks a bit like the poor little car got sick and emptied all it's running gear all over the garage floor. I am busy appyling my limited yet improving mechanical "skills" as time and mood (see love, hate, love above) allow.
My long term plan is to enjoy the Elan on the road until my enthusiasm and ignorance of my mechanical skills completely suspend the last few bits of common sense. After which I will attempt a complete restoration. I figure I have only enough sense left to hold off for one to two years maximum.
This forum appears to have many kind, patient and knowledgeable folks for whom I will likely test the bounds of their patience and kindness. So to those I say hello, thank you and sorry in advanced.
I am not sure why I became so long winded, sorry for that too.
Kevin