New member

[Maxwell]

Hello everyone. My name is Max and I am new to the forum. I am 30 years old and originally from Pennsylvania USA. In trying to find "the best" driver's car from an engineering standpoint, I found my way to the Elan and subsequently this forum. I do not own one as I am currently traveling indefinitely, but would like to learn about them and eventually own one. Cars can be very encyclopedic in terms of getting to know and understand them, so it's probably better to start learning now rather than later. Nice to meet you all!

[Elanconvert]

hello maxwell and welcome to the forum...
I belong to several clubs/forums and can honestly say this is the best run, with most helpful members and friendliest....
if you want to find out about the elan, you have come to the right place!

fred

[trw99]

Welcome Max and how pleasant that someone as young as you is attracted to the Elan.

I have noticed that many Elan enthusiasts have an engineering background and thus find Chapman's mind as intriguing as you appear to.

There are many good books on Chapman, Lotus and the Elan. You will find the following of interest, but totally impractical for travelling:

The Lotus Elan Workshop Manual
The Lotus Elan Parts Manual
Brian Buckland's Addendum to the Workshop Manual

Let us know when you arrive in the UK!

Tim

[Certified Lotus]

Greetings Max! Great group on this forum, I couldn't have completed my rebuild with everyone's involvement. Lotus' are great cars, Elan's are sublime.

Where is PA are you from? I used to live in Center Valley PA when I went to high school (many years ago).

[Europatc]

Welcome Max, it makes sence to take time now learning about the car so when you come to buy one you know what to look for

[rgh0]

Your certainly in the right place as the Elan is truly the best "drivers" classic car and its engineering is both incredibly elegant and at times frustrating.

The information here is truly comprehensive and the true expert help on any topic relating to Elans overwhelming

cheers and welcome
Rohan

[Maxwell]

Frustrating? Which part of it is frustrating?

I am from a small town called Erie, currently visiting home for the first time in a while but will be leaving this week for New York and then all over Spain. I was hoping to actually see/experience an Elan on my travels since they are very rare here at least.

It's actually sort of a story how I got to looking. During grad school I was looking for a car that was "good at everything"- fun to drive, fast, comfortable, safe in foul weather, decent mileage, etc. I arrived at an Audi B5 S4 and spent 4 years rebuilding one. When rebuilding something, you really get to see the fine nuance of the engineering. I love the car (and still have it, in storage) but came to dislike the excess complexity of it, heating issues, and front end weight disparity. And then I sort of realized that a car doesn't really need to be everything, so to speak. So cheers to lightweight and balanced natural aspiration.

Edit: Thank you all for the cordial welcome. So far I really like the S1 and S2 the best, but am also open to learning about all of them.

[mbell]

Welcome, there plenty of good stuff on here to read while you travel!

I completely biased but if you want a car that almost does it all the Elan +2 is strong contender. It's fun to drive, fast, comfortable, decent mileage however it's not safe in any weather condition from crash protection view. The extra seats are of limited use as seats too...

[elancoupe]

I am just 90 minutes south of Erie, in New Castle. If you have time before you leave, you would be welcome to stop by for a spin, and a chat about things to consider.

[Certified Lotus]

I'm biased towards S1 and S2 cars myself. Hard to find and good ones are getting expensive.

[Maxwell]

I am just 90 minutes south of Erie, in New Castle. If you have time before you leave, you would be welcome to stop by for a spin, and a chat about things to consider.

I will absolutely take you up on that. I can do exactly Thursday. Please let me know if that works out all right for you?

571-344-5243 is my number in case it becomes relevant.

[trw99]

I'm biased towards Sprints myself!

Max, each to their own and you decide what you like as we have all decided ourselves. Any Elan is a great car once its on the open road.

Tim