First Drive - Lakeland Jaunt :D
Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 1:43 pmWell, I fired up my newly built TC engine last Friday morning for the first time. This is the climax of a 6 year rebuild and the fulfilment of a teen-hood dream when I spotted a white Plus 2 in Buttermere when on my A level Geography trip! I thought 'what a cool car - I must have one someday'....only 35 years later I have 
Readers may recall the disappointment I experienced with my newly built engine last year which was fraught with problems and managed to cover only 80 miles in 'limp' mode before a complete strip down was required. I decided that the only way to be sure is to do it yourself. So I did just that; it must be said with some fantastic diagnostic and practical help from fellow poster Mike Duff and occasional poster, Chris Hunter, who very skilfully shimmed the valves for me and timed in the cams. I will always build my own engines now, as that way you can take the time and know its done right.
The engine has now received:
New cosilbro guides and 4 thou skim (Paul Exon - he knows what he's doing)
Re faced timing case to take out the indent causing water to leak around the pump
Timing case gasket ? thanks Mike D (and Brian Buckland)
New, good quality this time (and correctly fitted), water pump ? thanks again Mike
New main bearings (originals scored by corrosion blooms on the journals due to water in oil)
All new gaskets including Ajusa head gasket (previous gaskets failed twice)
Lots of Graphogen!
The engine started first time and now runs??just perfectly!
I was intending to take it out for a few short miles to shake it down but it ran so well that I?ve put 370 miles on it since Friday and it just gets better with each mile (it?s had a re-bore and new pistons as well). The weather was lovely in this neck of the woods so I took in a drive through the Lakes, which was nice!
This is the first time I have ever really driven a Lotus Elan +2 and I have to say they are absolutely brilliant. In truth the car exceeds all of my expectations. It?s just a lovely place to be, it rides beautifully and is completely confidence inspiring - such a revelation. The engine is full of character, desperate to rev, smooth (could be the full dynamic balance) and really punchy. I fact, it is surprisingly rather fast and would certainly knock spots off my old 1.8 Eunos in both handling and acceleration. This car must have been something of a step change back in the day and is most certainly very much more than the sum of its parts.
Things I have discovered:
- It handles simply brilliantly
- It encourages you to press on (must learn to resist that
)
- The TC engine is a period gem, bags of character and really ?punchy?. Suits the car brilliantly
- The +2 is a genuinely lovely place to be ? it feels like a modern car, but with character
- The ventilation system is excellent (I rebuilt everything)
- It does not like cross winds
- The front wing line makes and excellent road positioning aid ? line it up with the white lines and you are perfect
- You can?t see the rear bumper ? may fit some sort of park assist device?
- It causes lots of attention (a guy in a BMW nearly ran into the back of a car craning his neck to look when I pulled out of a filling station)
- Motorcycles hold you up on twisty stuff
- It attracts birds (feathered ) ? two have flown into me in the last 370 miles, and one had a lucky miss, why is that?
- When you let a friend drive it they want one
Even though the car exceeds my expectations as it is I need to set it up properly, to include:
- Front alignment
- Check rear alignment - may make adjustable bones if it's out
- Complete the running in cycle
- Map the ignition system
I think I am going to enjoy my relationship with this car. Here are some photos of my grand day out in the Lakes.
I will add to this as I shake the car down.
Jon
Readers may recall the disappointment I experienced with my newly built engine last year which was fraught with problems and managed to cover only 80 miles in 'limp' mode before a complete strip down was required. I decided that the only way to be sure is to do it yourself. So I did just that; it must be said with some fantastic diagnostic and practical help from fellow poster Mike Duff and occasional poster, Chris Hunter, who very skilfully shimmed the valves for me and timed in the cams. I will always build my own engines now, as that way you can take the time and know its done right.
The engine has now received:
New cosilbro guides and 4 thou skim (Paul Exon - he knows what he's doing)
Re faced timing case to take out the indent causing water to leak around the pump
Timing case gasket ? thanks Mike D (and Brian Buckland)
New, good quality this time (and correctly fitted), water pump ? thanks again Mike
New main bearings (originals scored by corrosion blooms on the journals due to water in oil)
All new gaskets including Ajusa head gasket (previous gaskets failed twice)
Lots of Graphogen!
The engine started first time and now runs??just perfectly!
I was intending to take it out for a few short miles to shake it down but it ran so well that I?ve put 370 miles on it since Friday and it just gets better with each mile (it?s had a re-bore and new pistons as well). The weather was lovely in this neck of the woods so I took in a drive through the Lakes, which was nice!
This is the first time I have ever really driven a Lotus Elan +2 and I have to say they are absolutely brilliant. In truth the car exceeds all of my expectations. It?s just a lovely place to be, it rides beautifully and is completely confidence inspiring - such a revelation. The engine is full of character, desperate to rev, smooth (could be the full dynamic balance) and really punchy. I fact, it is surprisingly rather fast and would certainly knock spots off my old 1.8 Eunos in both handling and acceleration. This car must have been something of a step change back in the day and is most certainly very much more than the sum of its parts.
Things I have discovered:
- It handles simply brilliantly
- It encourages you to press on (must learn to resist that
)- The TC engine is a period gem, bags of character and really ?punchy?. Suits the car brilliantly
- The +2 is a genuinely lovely place to be ? it feels like a modern car, but with character
- The ventilation system is excellent (I rebuilt everything)
- It does not like cross winds
- The front wing line makes and excellent road positioning aid ? line it up with the white lines and you are perfect
- You can?t see the rear bumper ? may fit some sort of park assist device?
- It causes lots of attention (a guy in a BMW nearly ran into the back of a car craning his neck to look when I pulled out of a filling station)
- Motorcycles hold you up on twisty stuff
- It attracts birds (feathered
) ? two have flown into me in the last 370 miles, and one had a lucky miss, why is that?- When you let a friend drive it they want one
Even though the car exceeds my expectations as it is I need to set it up properly, to include:
- Front alignment
- Check rear alignment - may make adjustable bones if it's out
- Complete the running in cycle
- Map the ignition system
I think I am going to enjoy my relationship with this car. Here are some photos of my grand day out in the Lakes.
I will add to this as I shake the car down.
Jon
