New member to site; Old member of the Lotus Family

[SeanOErvin]

66 Elan S2 frontright

Hello, my name is Sean. I live in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

I have had my 1966 Lotus Elan S2 Drophead since 1984. It is number 26-4890. I fell in love with this car as I watched reruns of the Avengers along with Emma Peel. I looked for one for about 2 years before finding my S2. I loved the clean lines of this car and the handling was enough to make me want to drive it constantly.

It is BRG with knock-on wheels. I bought it as a survivor, and it had many problems when I bought it, including a broken piston that wreaked havoc on my #1 cylinder head. I replaced the block the next year, since my original block had already been bored 60 over and needed sleeves. I kept the old matching numbers block, but sourced a used one that only needed a 20 over punch to clean up the bores.

Once reassembled, I drove the car everywhere for a number of years, always storing her inside. Once while parked at the office I worked at, a blind pick-up driver backed into it and pushed it 10 feet before he realized he hit something. That crushed the front end, and now she has been repainted.

Two years ago, I finally operated on the original head, replacing the always leaking valve guides. While at it, I upgraded the exhaust valves to the larger valve spec to give the DOHC more breathing room. I also replaced the front timing cover with a new design by Dave Bean using a cassette water pump, the single part I have replaced most often in my 31 years of ownership.

I still have what appears to be original wiring with a few repairs here and there. My car is still a positive ground system with a dynamo that still puts out good voltage. Now I am replacing interior elements to bring it back to a more original look, since I have some seat covers that are splitting, and my dash pad is really tired too.

My philosophy for this car has always been to keep it on the road, since this is truly a driver's car. I have a lot of friends with muscle cars, including a Shelby 500KR Convertible, a Shelby Cobra 427, a Cheetah, and more. None of them understand the essence of a sports car that is exactly what it needs to be without a single part in excess. I am glad to be a part of a group that can understand passion about the Elan.

I have been using this site for reference for years, but never got to joining all of you. Thanks for being part of my Lotus journey.