Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hi

My name is John, I have owned the same Lotus Elan S4 since 19th July 1978.

I started my career in mechanical engineering working for companies who were sub-contracted by motor manufacturers, their suppliers and motor sports car manufacturers and tuners, including Ford , Metalastic, Coopers Payen and TIGA. I have been retired for the last 3 years.

In 1982 I discovered a hole in the nearside front suspension tower so that was the end of that chassis! Over the past 39 years, allowing for family and work commitments, I have reached the stage where I am in the final process of a total rebuild.

The car:

Lotus Elan S4 FHC, Harvest Gold
Originally a Stromberg engine but now with a big valve gas flowed head and Dellorto carbs
Balanced and strengthened bottom end, very carefully assembled including deck heighted pistons and balanced combustion chambers.
Standard front and rear suspension apart from Koni dampers.
Spyder stressed skin chassis.
Electronic distributor.
ITG air filter.
Huco fuel pump.
Fuel tank from Axminster Specialist Panels.
Breather system using catch tank with an extra vent in the cam cover.
Numerous small mods to improve accessibility and reliability.

Hi John,

Welcome to the group, I hope you find us hospitable and helpful. What part of the country are you in?

Richard Hawkins

Lincolnshire just south of Grimsby

Welcome John. Great ownership story.

Welcome John!

Welcome John.

Would love to see photos of your car. Harvest Gold is not a colour I’m familiar with.

Regards,
Richard

Welcome!

Hi,

Thanks for the welcome. I'm in Slough in Berkshire.

My car is in very poor condition bodily at the moment so no pics yet, but here is a link to an identical car if you want to know what the colour is.

https://car-from-uk.com/sale.php?id=54496&country=uk

I don't know what Lotus called this colour but when you buy paint it is British Leyland Harvest Gold, it was used on a lot of their models.

I bought a new dashboard from Classical Dash recently, very good quality and not that expensive.

I have just replaced all the seals and bezels on the instruments to complement the new dash.

Suspension and brakes next.

Hi John and welcome,

There is a big difference in BL Harvest Gold and Lotus Bahama Yellow, which was also a Porsche colour. Lotus used a number of paints from the Porsche pallet back then.

Tim

That's a nice colour, a bit like Renault Liquid Gold

Hi Tim

Then it's not Bahama Yellow. Harvest Gold matches perfectly.

May not keep that colour anyway. Personally I like blue.

John

There is a possibility that it had been resprayed before I acquired I know some bodywork repairs have been carried out to both the front and rear.

OK, looked at the Porsche colours for the 911, Bahama Yellow is more of a sandy colour, mine is more like Tangerine.

So I see that the car in the link I posted is listed as Bahama Yellow, either they have it wrong or the lighting in the picture is playing tricks, probably the latter.

John, here are some comparisons for you, as well as the 1970 Lotus colour pallet. Hover your mouse over the image to see the colour.

Tim

Hmmm...

None of the above, must have been resprayed. Odd.

Anyway doesn't matter as I will probably change the colour.