Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

I bought my +2S130/5 in 1984 from a friend who'd had it sitting in his garden for some time. It served as my daily driver for quite a few years, and then work, children, starter motor and clutch gremlins meant that it got relegated to the back of the restoration queue...
4 years ago I got really quilty about it mouldering on the driveway, so I rented a workshop from a friend, started building a Spyder chassis next to it ready to swap over and then I woke up at 2:30 am with no feeling below my waist or in one arm.
Then the friend moved, so the car came back to my driveway and the chassis went into next door's garage (mine are full of motorcycle projects) ready to fit new bushes, gaiters etc. as my spine healed.
Then the neighbour had several falls and has had to sell up....
This, time, however, the rolling chassis has gone off to have all the bits fitted by someone who can work faster than me!! The car is still in the driveway, but I plan to start on door and window seals, etc as the weather gets better.

You must be really underwelmed by the welcome from the group! Possibly because they do not know who they are addressing...........

It certainly sounds as if you have had your fair share of bad luck in nearly 40 years of ownership, but then again, I guess we all have. 40 years is a long time.

If you alter your monica to show where you are in the UK, maybe someone would come forward with a spare garage or space for you to keep your car. I certainly have plenty of storage spare but do not know your location.

All the best with getting the car back on the road and I hope your health continues to improve.

Oh, and welcome to the board.

Leslie

Hello, and welcome aboard !

you sure seem to have the determination and stamina to handle your project, this forum will probably help you to sort out issues you may encounter along the remaining of the journey : do not hesitate to sollicit the vast collective wisdom and assitance source that can be reached here, most are quite convinced by the Lotus way of life, swift and straight to the point.

then keep it on the road...

Welcome to the forum.
All the best with your restoration project.

Welcome to the group,

Wish you the best with your restoration.

@Leslie Doh! sorry, My name is Tony and I live in Cambridge UK. I consider myself in a fairly well managed state of Lotus addiction as my brother has a couple of +2s and an S2 Esprit....
Used to use Peter Day for bits, but they're long gone, and the Lotus dealer in Foxton seems now defunct as well.
Sorry, some questions...

Could anyone recommend a classic Lotus garage near Cambridge?
Has anyone any comments on Spyder's paint shop? Decades ago my Dad had some work done by Robin Alabaster, who did great work, but took a long time, and is now, I believe also no longer operating.

Thanks for the support!

Tony

Tony, firstly welcome!
I collect and deliver classic cars around the country and whilst I haven't commissioned work myself, I see a lot of work done on Lotus and other classics.
Relatively close for bodywork I would mention SMS Autospray near Spalding, PE12 6LD
and for other work on historic Lotus, there is PJS Sports Cars near Burton upon Trent DE13 9PD

No affiliation with either company, except that I have collected cars from them both and appear to do a good job. I have no idea of their availability/workload or customer service.

Cheers
Steve

Spurred on by Leslie, welcome.

A very sound knowledge base here, occasionally a bit spicy but all in good fun.

Good luck with the car, can’t help much re Cambridge area.

Cheers
Mark

Hello and welcome.

Thats a bit of a journey!

What sort of Spyder chassis is it and are you keeping things as standard? Do you have a picture of the car as it is now to give a feel of how much work you will need to be doing?

Best of luck with the restoration. I am in the middle of a couple myself at the moment.

All the best

Berni

This is how it was when we were both a lot younger....

Tony

Here it is in the workshop next to the Spyder chassis before I had to move it out:


Tony

...and here it is on one of it's sojourns on my driveway, next to another RWD money pit....



Tony

Welcome Tony!

Welcome to the group Tony. I sold my first +2 in 2017 due to ill health. Thankfully the UK NHS sorted me out, and I have another now. Well done for holding on to yours and good luck with it.

Sean.

Hi

I like the look of the car. You are undertaking a full refresh from the looks of it. I can see that the chassis is one of the later ones with the RSC rear suspension. You don't know what the spring specifications are do you? Its often on the label on the spring.

Keep us in touch with your progress and decision making process. There are a few different ways you can go with the various tasks you will be undertaking.....

All the best

Berni