Hello from dynodave

[dynodave]

New Member? Joined: Sun Nov 02, 2014
Long time owner 50-1899 12-20-1982
Lotus Experience
My first direct Lotus experience was at an autocross in a Hamden Connecticut shopping center about 1966. An elan was very race prepped and ran the course like a screaming slot car stuck solid to the track's slot. IIRC is got FTD (fastest time of day). I WAS very impressed. I had to settle for a 948cc bugeye sprite.

Second experience was when my friend worked as a mechanic apprentice at a small shop fledging Subaru/Lotus dealer and shop. "Old guy"customer trades his Europa in for a new S4 elan maybe USA sprint? "Old guy" after only a short time crashes the front end of the now totaled Elan. Insurance totals it and his boss buys the salvage for my friend. Friend turns it over to a body shop. The unfortunate part is they are not really fiberglass competent. During this period I drive to Lotus Dealer Dutchess Auto in NY near LimeRock race track to pick up a short nose for the repair. Me off to a sunny vacation paid by the US government to Viet Nam conflict. While there, friend is overloaded by repair cost of the lotus and sells it without offering it to me...
Returning from second over seas USAF tour, friend has since gotten a Plus2 with a generator/regulator fire nose burn off. This time he again is overloaded but I am offered the +2 ($500) and I take it away to Richmond, Kentucky -Lexington Blue Grass Army depot (USAF) radar site.

While there 50-1899 is completely disassembled and I join Lotus Limited and meet a friend in Lexington that has a running +2. This car is a mess. Early rope seal weber twincam. Begin a long slow learning process of a mechanical and fiberglass rebuild.

1983 USAF moves me to Massachusetts USA. Car is now almost ready to run on the road. Trailer it to the Lotus Limited Chester Vermont Rally. Once on the road I run it for almost 80,000 miles. It gets parked in 1995. I still own it, though it now just sits.

To follow: 67 Elan S3 SE Coupe 36-7269

[Quart Meg Miles]

Interesting tale, Dave, and welcome to this forum.

PIty the +2 is laid up as it is an early one and they are more in demand now than they were and let's hope we can see some pictures of the S3 soon. You sound like a self maintainer so should add to our wisdom.

[Billmack]

Im from RI. Hope we meet sometime.

[dynodave]

50/1899 frame

As received in parts, ready for transport from Mississippi to new home in Kentucky

removed cross member due to rusty end plates

repair prep

drawings made and components fabricated

Assembly imminent

front assembly reattachment

chassis is whole, cleaned and painted. Wheels, suspension reconditioned and being mounted

[Elan45]

Welcome Dave,
I can remember autocrossing my bugeyed Sprite in the late 60's and wishing I could afford an Elan. I finally worked my way thru a BSME and found and bought my 67 Elan SS in 1974. I still have my bugeye, although it hasn't turned a wheel since 1975 and it shares my garage w/ Elans and Lotus race cars.

Welcome aboard. Looks like you know your way around a shop.

Roger

[dynodave]

50/1899
fiberglass
running gear
brakes
Nose from small maker in vashon island washington. Supposed to be "FULLNOSE with engine bay.
Horrible crooked nose mold made off a crashed car reassembled with plywood and sheet rock screws.

As delivered with little recourse across the country 3000 miles away. Looking at friends car in lexington Ky
i had to hand fabricate all missing acreage. I molded the friends S driving lite buckets to "upgrade" the driving lights on my car.

Lotus Clubs ?
Now moved from Kentucky to Massachusetts
New in New England lotus scene.
A new local acquaintance, Keith with a +2, we meet, he and I eventually strive to form a new local lotus club,
The first concept was Boston Area Lotus Lovers Society.
BALLS is amusing but the girls vote it down in favor of:
NELLI New England Lotus Lovers Inc. Is incorporated with 7 charter incorporator members. I am one of the original 7.with "life membership".
All running gear built and assembled including my own shortened VW CV joint rear shafts with adapter plates,
Girling MKii 3 to1 servos rebuilt. At the Pittsburg rally I give tech talk on servo rebuild and operation principles.
Car wired. Rockers sills were renewed.
Originally white but I sprayed it yellow. In retrospect this car was never going to be very good. It had fiberglass body damage on every corner and to fix it would be a monumental task. So I just drove it "as is" until 1995. I accumulated 80,000 almost trouble free miles. IIRC the defrost and heater was not great.

Put on the road and go to Lotus Limited rally in Pittsburg.
Autocross at rally

Rally car show, young me with green lotus hat. chatting with enthusiast.

[Mazzini]

Welcome to the forum. Great photos!

[The Veg]

Welcome Dave!

[dynodave]

50-1899 EPILOGUE
The +2 was parked in 1995.
However, there were additional projects for my +2. Starting in the mid 80's. in no particular time sequence
* "130 S" driving light pods

* Nose mold fabrication for repairs and "insurance"
I wanted to fabricate a nose mold for several uses. My friend Keith was going to repaint his +2 nose and was willing to strip the paint and let us take a moldoff the nose, but short of the complete engine bay, so this was the plan. It has never been crashed so it would make as good a copy as we could get..

After a complete strip, the protective wax and PVA was applied. finally the orange tooling gel coat applied and layers of glass mat.

Al Steingaser(RIP) was to be a recieptant of a copy of the nose for this broken body. He partially funded and helped to make this mold.

The rest of the nose and engine bay to be copied.

Mold from Keith's car placed over Al's body to obtain the rest of the nose and engine bay profile. Notice the flanges made to allow multi section sub components to be bolted to the main mold. Factory subcomponent parting lines were detected and retained.

The final top glassing was finished and only the chin, lower fenders and wheel arch openings added as bolt on sub components to allow release of the completed new nose from the captive mold.

Al could not wait so he bought a runner and I ended up with this body. It will be repaired with a new nose from our mold and will become the basis for my original yellow body, which is very poor condition.

* Refit stromberg head/carbs, intake manifold research, airboxes fabrication


* Raid on Goldies junkyard
* Starter upgrade developement.

[elansprint71]

Great story, welcome.