Lotus Elan

Have You a Photo of Your Elan in the 60s/70s?

PostPost by: elj221c » Tue Sep 07, 2010 3:14 pm

Only a couple from the '70s.

Roy
'65S2
Attachments
Elan76.jpg.jpg and
Polished up in the hot summer of '76
Elan78.jpg and
At Brands Hatch on South Bank. '78
Roy
'65 S2
User avatar
elj221c
Fourth Gear
Fourth Gear
 
Posts: 722
Joined: 12 Sep 2003
Location: Surrey Hills, England

PostPost by: breezer » Wed Jun 29, 2011 9:07 pm

batfish wrote:Hi Tim

This was my Elan at Silverstone for the Birkett 6 hour race in 1966 however I did not own it at the time of the photograph having only bought it 7 years ago. The fastback body unfortunately has disappeared.

Andy


I currently have a Z3M Coupe, so it won't be a surprise that I'm a big fan of the fastback look...I've never seen an Elan breadvan - where the hell can I get a bodyshell like that?! Was it a one off? It's gorgeous! :mrgreen:
breezer
New-tral
 
Posts: 13
Joined: 29 Jun 2011

PostPost by: batfish » Thu Jun 30, 2011 8:25 am

Hi

The fastback was a one off, I have met the person who built it using fibreglass over a chicken wire former. When I bought the car it did not have the fastback and I do not know if that body still exists More info on page 4 of the racing thread.

regards

Andy
batfish
Third Gear
Third Gear
 
Posts: 323
Joined: 09 Oct 2003
Location: Staffordshire

PostPost by: elanfan1 » Thu Jun 30, 2011 11:20 am

trw99 wrote:Here's an idea. If you had an Elan in the 1960s or 1970s, post a photo or two on here. Thus we can see what they looked like 'in their day', what ideas folk had about colours, added extras etc. Just a bit of fun but also we can build an archive of contemporary photos to help future Elan nuts.

I'll start off with my first Sprint, a July 1971 DHC bought in that very hot summer of 1976. The snap of me looking very serious was taken by my girlfriend at the time, just as a 3 litre Bentley was passing by. The colour scheme was inherited from the PO, who took a perfectly good Colorado Orange over White Sprint and turned it into a bee!

Tim



Was your Sprint one of the converted ones - having Silver wheels and bumpers? Also was the single sun visor standard from the factory?

Cheers
Steve

Silence is Golden; Duct Tape is Silver
User avatar
elanfan1
Coveted Fifth Gear
Coveted Fifth Gear
 
Posts: 2247
Joined: 13 Jan 2004
Location: Cardiff in Welsh Wales

PostPost by: elansprint71 » Thu Jun 30, 2011 1:14 pm

K registration ran from August 71 to July 72. :)
User avatar
elansprint71
Coveted Fifth Gear
Coveted Fifth Gear
 
Posts: 4440
Joined: 16 Sep 2003
Location: Cheshire, UK.

PostPost by: breezer » Thu Jun 30, 2011 7:54 pm

batfish wrote:Hi

The fastback was a one off, I have met the person who built it using fibreglass over a chicken wire former. When I bought the car it did not have the fastback and I do not know if that body still exists More info on page 4 of the racing thread.

regards

Andy


Hi Andy, thanks for the response - it's an impressive design; shame it's a one off.

Ollie
breezer
New-tral
 
Posts: 13
Joined: 29 Jun 2011

PostPost by: petersracing » Fri Jul 01, 2011 2:04 am

Hope this is open to plus2 as well.

Here is a young man and his dads newly acquired plus 2 in 1977. The plus 2 is still recognisable but the young, slim, hairy, fashionable boy is not :(
Attachments
ian elan 77.jpg and
long long ago
+2 #2086, JPS Esprit #25, 84 Turbo Esprit, 08 Exige S
User avatar
petersracing
First Gear
First Gear
 
Posts: 25
Joined: 09 Jun 2011
Location: Adelaide Australia

PostPost by: UAB807F » Fri Jul 01, 2011 5:13 am

This is one from either 1977 or 1978, I wasn't so picky about labeling or explaining the photo albums back then. It will be some time after I'd bought it as it originally had a score down the driver's door & rear wing which I sprayed in the first few weeks of ownership.

Image

I think the bonnet with Stromberg bulge is original to the car as it's one of the last S3's and registered after the Stromberg S4 had been shown. It also originally had a silver stick-on band underneath the stainless steel sill trim which I removed at the same time because it was stone-chipped away at either end and of course I hadn't any spare cash to buy another one from Lotus :(
User avatar
UAB807F
Fourth Gear
Fourth Gear
 
Posts: 736
Joined: 20 Dec 2010
Location: Lincolnshire

PostPost by: trw99 » Tue Jul 05, 2011 7:34 am

elanfan1 wrote:

Was your Sprint one of the converted ones - having Silver wheels and bumpers? Also was the single sun visor standard from the factory?

Cheers


Nope, it was in July 1971 that it left the factory. It had had, if I recall, something like five owners in five years and it was one of them that painted in the black and silver details, including the wheels. Twin sun visors were standardised as a fitment from mid 1971 onwards.

Tim
Last edited by trw99 on Tue Jul 05, 2011 8:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
trw99
Coveted Fifth Gear
Coveted Fifth Gear
 
Posts: 3326
Joined: 31 Dec 2003
Location: Essex/Herts border, UK

PostPost by: gordont » Tue Jul 05, 2011 7:54 am

Roy - does yours still look like the pics from the 70's or is it more like the avatar picture now?
Gordon
26/5416
gordont
Fourth Gear
Fourth Gear
 
Posts: 590
Joined: 11 Jun 2007
Location: Sydney, Australia

PostPost by: elj221c » Tue Jul 05, 2011 9:18 am

gordont wrote:Roy - does yours still look like the pics from the 70's or is it more like the avatar picture now?


Sadly, it's as in the avatar! :oops:

However, I can see light at the end of the tunnel with the work on the house so I am aiming at 2012 to restart on the Elan.

Whoops, sorry! Off topic.

Roy
'65 S2
Attachments
P1010062.1.jpg and
Roy
'65 S2
User avatar
elj221c
Fourth Gear
Fourth Gear
 
Posts: 722
Joined: 12 Sep 2003
Location: Surrey Hills, England

PostPost by: garyeanderson » Tue Jul 05, 2011 10:29 am

Roy

I think the S2 is great. A coat of paint and toss the engine back in and Go!

Please don't remove the flairs and loose the past history. It would make look just like all of the other sweet Elan's. Yours has great character and and a clearly defined past that says this is "MY" Elan.

p-a

as far as photos go, I think there may be some from the 76 to 78 period at my parents house but they won't be found until some time in the future
User avatar
garyeanderson
Coveted Fifth Gear
Coveted Fifth Gear
 
Posts: 3391
Joined: 12 Sep 2003
Location: Massachusetts, U.S.A.

PostPost by: gordont » Tue Jul 05, 2011 10:52 am

Roy

Definitely keep the history - quick polish, put the engine in (maybe engine in first then polish) and drive it!

Come on time is ticking and I reckon there are less than a few of us driving our elans as it is.
Gordon
26/5416
gordont
Fourth Gear
Fourth Gear
 
Posts: 590
Joined: 11 Jun 2007
Location: Sydney, Australia

PostPost by: elj221c » Wed Jul 06, 2011 8:34 am

A quick polish? Ah, if only........!

What MUST be done is rebuilding the sill latices and sills. Not a job I am looking forward to as I am a 'nuts and bolts' man, not a 'fibre fill and paint' man.

The engine is ready and waiting.......

Roy
'65 S2
Roy
'65 S2
User avatar
elj221c
Fourth Gear
Fourth Gear
 
Posts: 722
Joined: 12 Sep 2003
Location: Surrey Hills, England

PostPost by: AlfaLofa » Thu Jul 07, 2011 7:26 am

Here are some older snaps of my Elan.

The first is from a camping trip to Torquay in 1972 when the Elan belonged to a friend. My car was the cracking little modified Mini (I wish I still had it). The 'L' plate was because I was teaching my Mum to drive (In fact the car was hers - but I took it over, modified it and made it just about impossible for her to drive!!).

Down the lanes the Mini and the Elan were very well matched. The Corsair GT didn't stand a chance.

The second photo is from '73 after I had bought the Elan and painted it in JPS colours. I had also taken a trip through a fence! Mini is in the foreground.

I wonder if I've still got the tanktop?

The third photo shows the Elan rotting in a garage sometime in the early '90s prior to its restorarion
Attachments
Nequay1972.jpg and
1973.jpg and
RottingAway.jpg and
Last edited by AlfaLofa on Sat Jul 09, 2011 6:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
Steve
'64 S1 Elan (Owned since '73)
'69 Alfa Romeo 1750 Spider Veloce (Owned since '77)
'70 Morris Minor 1000 (Owned since '85)
User avatar
AlfaLofa
Fourth Gear
Fourth Gear
 
Posts: 513
Joined: 19 Aug 2006
Location: Scotland, UK.
PreviousNext

Total Online:

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 10 guests