Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hello.. not sure how detailed I should get here, but I just received delivery of my first Lotus Elan Plus 2 last night. I've owned Triumphs going back to 1980, but this is my first step out of that world and into this area of classic Brit cars.

My car is not registered on the Lotus list, but as I've been reading these forums for the past week or so, I bumped into a thread that was discussing my car.. which is 50/1974. I tried to find that thread again and link to it here, but I can't master the search using the numbers above.

My car says it was made 10/69 and is 50/1974. It's been fun reading all about the last few months of production prior to the changeover in 1970 to the new numbering system and all the variants produced at that time.

As far as I can tell, I have a Federal Plus 2. I don't think it is an 'S'

Zenith CD175's
Cross over tubes intake to exhaust
no fog lights
two big, four small gauges
a red side marker on each rear wing at the leading edge of the bumper
high back seats
padded arm center

I can't think of some of the other distinguishing factors at this time.

The one comment I'll make about being a Lotus owner vs. a Triumph owner, is sourcing of parts. I am two years into a 65 TR4a IRS frame off restoration that I hope to conclude by this Fall.... providing the Lotus doesn't jump up in front of me. Parts for the TR4 are very easy to find/source, and actually do a price compare. Unless there is some magical place I'm not aware of, this may be somewhat discouraging for me. I have placed two orders already with R.D Enterprises, and am happy working with Ray. Nice guy.

I won't run on. There is so much more I could discuss and/or ask in this introduction, but let's just leave it here.

OH.. in the boot I was happy to find three binders.. the repair manual, the parts manual, and a Dave Bean binder. Probably the best thing about this car so far.. I have much work to do.

I'm Mike.. from Omaha.. and looking forward to getting to know you all.

Thanks.

Welcome Mike from Omaha! They can't be too many Lotus in Nebraska!

Glad you found Ray at RDEnt & Dave Bean in CA.

Welcome Mike - from a plus 2 owner in the KC area. Glad to hear of another plus 2 in the Midwest. Don't be afraid of looking to Victoria British for parts, you've no doubt already found that a number of parts were sourced from other British mfg's.

Glad to have you on board Mike.

Ray is good at RD Ent. Ken Gray at Dave Bean is also very knowledgeable and helpful.

And if you need carbs rebuilt, consider Joe Curto.

Good luck. They are great fun cars.

Sheldo wrote:Welcome Mike - from a plus 2 owner in the KC area. Glad to hear of another plus 2 in the Midwest. Don't be afraid of looking to Victoria British for parts, you've no doubt already found that a number of parts were sourced from other British mfg's.

Hello Sheldo,

Regarding Victoria British, they recently sold the British side, (not the LMC side) to Moss. Vicky B is no longer a option.

For my Triumph, Moss, Roadster Factory and British Parts Northwest are my suppliers.

For the Lotus, I haven't a clue.

m750rider wrote:Glad to have you on board Mike.

Ray is good at RD Ent. Ken Gray at Dave Bean is also very knowledgeable and helpful.

And if you need carbs rebuilt, consider Joe Curto.

Good luck. They are great fun cars.

I totally agree with Joe Curto.. I had him rebush my SU's on two different cars. He did a great job.

I had a Zenith Stromberg CD 150 on a Spitfire maybe 20 years ago? I know they are similar to the SU's that I feel very comfortable with but I've been guilty of just jumping in without doing any research and causing myself grief.

I ordered two rebuild kits just today from Ray at RD and my tracking app just popped up a moment ago and said they would be delivered on Friday.. that's TWO days.. That will be my weekend project.

Now, back to reading about jacking points and tips so I can actually see underneath this car for the first time.

Thanks all for the nice welcome notes.

J.A.E. has some goodies too

Bet your shipping some bits from the Uk

Rdent prices are as good as anything on Moss or BPNW etc.

DB is great too.

Don’t forget to post things your searching for in Wanted, on here.

Welcome!
Quick thought before you jack up your +2. Have a look at the sill members before doing so. It is possible they have rotted away to dust (mine had) and need replacing first of all. There are loads of posts on here about the sills and what to do - it's a very easy job. Without them, you could be trying to support the car on just GRP.
All the best
Ned

Greetings.

Welcome to the board! Ray has been hugely helpful in getting my car back on the road.

Welcome, Mike. I'm just down the road from you near Glenwood, IA.

If you are not yet a member, I would suggest joining the Flatwater British Car Club (flatwater.org) for the various events (driving tours, autocross, shows) they hold in the Omaha-Lincoln area each year.

Welcome!

Welcome Mike- you have come to the right place for information and advice in getting/keeping your Plus 2 going. This site is a treasure trove of info delivered with a bit of humor and kindness. I doubt there is an issue with your car that someone else hasn't already encountered. Ray at RD is a prince of a fellow getting you what you need and quickly. Congrats on your acquisition and we look forward to hearing more about your car.

Cheers-Mark Whitaker
69 Elan S4 SE DHC
45/8396

bitsobrits wrote:Welcome, Mike. I'm just down the road from you near Glenwood, IA.

If you are not yet a member, I would suggest joining the Flatwater British Car Club (flatwater.org) for the various events (driving tours, autocross, shows) they hold in the Omaha-Lincoln area each year.

Hi Steve.. I've been a member for nearly 20 years. I am a regular at the Autocross with my yellow Spitfire if that helps. I don't do the Fall drive or car show because.. well.. my only driving car is a Spitfire.. and frankly, it's a Spitfire. No big deal. As common as a mullet in the 80's.

We are so fortunate here in this area to have so many British car lovers. I eat breakfast with seven others practically every Saturday during driving season, one being Jay F with the BRG Elan S3. I'm sure you know him.

If I can get this Lotus running, it will be my autocross car as I intend to sell my Spitfire. More on the Lotus in just a few. but first....

I have two grown sons and I want to leave a British car with each of them as part of my 'legacy' and I"m two years into a frame off 65 TR4A. That car, compared to the Spitfire is NOT an even match value wise, so when my older son visited from Wisconsin early January and was checking my progress on the TR4, he mentioned he hopes to own a Lotus some day. SO... he didn't know I secretly have the same desire and have always watched the usual internet sites for cars. As it happened, I was watching one that was on Hemmings, Ebay, and the like.. but it didn't seem to hit the minimum and sell. I DIDN'T do my due diligence because I as so excited to get a Lotus for my older son, I put in a 'make an offer' and, for good or bad, it was accepted.

NOW, the real story behind this car.. the car was NOT represented accurately by the seller. The pictures and the video were by my estimation, at least two years or more old, done right after a respray, and the car looked good.. what I received was FAR FROM THAT. Again, that's on me.

He described himself as a 'car collector' but as near as I can tell, he's just a flipper. I asked a few questions, obviously not the right questions, but I was told, "It's a runner, starts, runs, stops." I paid my money.. and fulfilled P.T Barnum's quote, "There a sucker born every minute." I may need to change my user name on this forum to 'sucker.'

After purchase, I was told to have my transportation company pick up the car at a Copart auction house.

The transportation company sent me a picture of the car, while they were loading it on his truck WITH A FORK LIFT!

I'm usually in pretty good control of my temper, but I can tell you the words, "Oh Jeez" were not muttered, far from those words left my mouth in rapid succession.

I have the car in my garage now, pushed in by hand because it was NOT a runner. I have parts ordered from R.D. Enterprises to hopefully help me get the car running, carb kits, the basics. However, apart from trying to get it running, I have yet to get underneath to see what I'm sure is catastrophic damage to the underside. I'm trying to figure out the jack points, methods of lifting these cars as I'm reading it's not just a trolly jack and go situation.

I could go on and on.. as is my usual style, but I'll stop with just one more observation.. the RF wheel on this car is not correct. It LOOKS like the other three, but the offset is wrong as it sticks out further than the others. As soon as I get the car up where I can remove the wheel, I'll see what it's stamped with. I will hope to have someone interested it trading my incorrect wheel for another that 'should' be on my car.

Sorry, I meant to just say, Yes, I'm in Flatwater club and enjoy the membership, but it turned into a personal venting session.. I feel better now.

Mike

Welcome Mike!

My federal Plus 2 also has a 10/69 date so they were built close together. Mine is equipped like yours and our cars are kind of 'transitional' ones right on the cusp of the S.

Sorry to hear of your troubles but with any luck it won't take too much to get it sorted. This forum is the most valuable source of information around so don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions.

In addition to RD and Bean I've also had good deali g with Kelvedon in the UK. Surprisingly they get stuff to me faster than Bean does.

Anyway, good to hear of another Plus 2 in the USA- they are truly quite rare in this country!

Post some pics of tlyour car and if you're ever in Atlanta give me a shout and we'll tell some lies over a pint or three.