Lotus Elan

New member located in Melbourne, Australia

PostPost by: Racetek » Fri Apr 26, 2024 7:03 am

Hi everyone, I am a new Lotus Elan owner, my first Elan but not my first Lotus as I owned and raced a Lotus 7 many years ago and have owned many sports cars in my long life (I will be 80 next year.). I have just purchased an Elan +2 built in 1968 and sold new to its first owner in Sydney Australia in 1968. I am now its third owner and whilst it has not been abused by the previous owners it is now requiring a full restoration. It has sat neglected in a workshop for over 10 years and shows all the problems you would expect, like seized brakes, seized engine and cracked gelcoat. The good news is that the interior, which was restored in leather prior to being stored, is still in excellent condition.
My plan is to do a ground up rebuild, including a new chassis, with some subtle mods to improve where I think it would make it a better car. I am part way through building a Jaguar speedster but will start to accumulate parts and dismantle things on the Lotus when I have the time. Once my hoist is free and the Jaguar is at a rolling stage I will put the Lotus on a hoist and start getting serious.
I am sure I will be looking to other members for help, and in addition I will start a rebuild post to keep anyone interested informed. Thanks for having me on your forum.
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PostPost by: rgh0 » Fri Apr 26, 2024 2:23 pm

Welcome to the forum and loking forward to seeing some current photos.

cheers
Rohan
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PostPost by: Racetek » Fri Apr 26, 2024 11:33 pm

Thanks Rohan, I will post some pics later today.
Cheers, David
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PostPost by: vstibbard » Sat Apr 27, 2024 1:35 am

Welcome David, worth mentioning that Rohan’s the man to get to know in Victoria for all things Elan and +2.
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PostPost by: 2cams70 » Sat Apr 27, 2024 3:51 am

If you are in Melbourne I also recommend having a chat to Steve Taylor at Lotus Marques. Some people on here seem to have had issues with him but personally I've never had a problem and if you stay on the right side of him he'll share with you pearls of wisdom that you won't get elsewhere. His website also has a lot of useful information.
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PostPost by: normanjsmith » Sat Apr 27, 2024 11:25 am

I'm on the far north coast of NSW and also have a '68 +2 which came from Geoghegans in Sydney. My chassis number is 50/1072 - is your car close to this?
Have recently got mine together and running again after having the body off to freshen up the chassis and replace mounts and bushes etc.
Modifications made to make the car much better include CPL2 cams, 2.5 first gear, Konis, Minilites and CV's.
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PostPost by: normanjsmith » Sat Apr 27, 2024 11:27 am

P.S.
I can confirm that Steve Taylor at Lotus Marques is an excellent source of parts and advice.
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PostPost by: The Veg » Mon Apr 29, 2024 12:51 am

Welcome David! Eager to see your progress with it!
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PostPost by: stugilmour » Tue Apr 30, 2024 12:45 am

Welcome. So great to see another Plus 2 being revived.
Stu
1969 Plus 2 Federal LHD
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