Plus 2 as an only car ??

[ahaserus]

I've wanted a Plus2 for over ten years. I'm thinking about buying one this year, but it would have to be an every day car for dropping off my kids at school and then driving into work. This leads to a number of questions

- how practical is a Plus 2 for everyday driving, all year round (I do less than 5000 miles per year) ?

- is it possible to fit child seats in the rear ?

- my local specialist is 'UK Sportscars' near Dover/Canterbury and they have a couple of Plus2's in stock - does anyone have any experience dealing with them ?

Thanks

[M100]

my local specialist is 'UK Sportscars' near Dover/Canterbury and they have a couple of Plus2's in stock - does anyone have any experience dealing with them ?

The consensus seems to be "avoid like the plague"

http://southrun.co.uk/dealerreviews.php ... Sportscars

[ahaserus]

M100 - many thanks for the link - I think I'll be looking elsewhere !!

A

[RobCapper]

Hi -
so far as using a plus 2 every day goes, I would say that it is absolutely worth doing. I'm 25, have had my +2 for 2 years and use it every day, doing around 12,000 miles per year. I have the mechanical skills of a piece of wood, and can just about check oil, fluids and water...

I've had a few interesting problems (gear stick ever come off in anyone else's hand before?!) but the car has only ever broken down on me once, and that was the infamous gear stick occasion. Water pump, radiator recore and fuel pump have been replaced, but I find that the more I drive it (and the harder!) the smoother and nicer it gets...

I look after it, of course, and if anything begins to rattle, I get it checked, but other than that, it has it's MOT in March and another service in the autumn before the winter... I just try to keep on top of it - but like I say, I'm no mechanic - I wouldn't even know where to jack it up! (I don't even have a jack come to think of it!)

I'm just a huge classic sports car fan (despite my tender age and lack of white beard) and having wanted a +2 for many years (one of the prettiest cars ever designed, surely), I figured I may as well spend my money on something I love rather than a modern thing I'd hate...

If you want me to list all the bits and bobs I've had done to the car with it taking this kind of wear, just drop me an email..

Good luck! And get a 130/5 like mine - far more civilised than those 4 speeds! (ooh that'll start a fight no doubt!)

Rob

[masermartin]

Great story, good inspiration too. I am 25 years old as well and hope to have a Plus 2 soon enough.

[rgh0]

Rob

I had the gear level come out of my 5 speed plus 2 also. Luckily only 200 metre from home so I could walk home get some tools and come back and fix it !

Rohan

[1964 S1]

Hi Rob, ...how civilised can a five speed be if the lever has a tendancy to fall out?

[thor]

And can someone remind me of the tried and tested way to give the 5speed gearshift a more solid feel than the rubbery feeling I now have.. I wouldn't want a 4speed, but the distinct lack of preciseness of the gear lever is VERY annoying.

[Hamish Coutts]

Rob

I had the gear level come out of my 5 speed plus 2 also. Luckily only 200 metre from home so I could walk home get some tools and come back and fix it !

Rohan

Rohan.

You mean that you left home in a + 2 without any tools!!!

Hamish.

[Hamish Coutts]

Thor,

I think you'll have to live with it ....... or if you really want a good gear shift, convert to a four speed.

Hamish.

[tdafforn]

I have begun to use my +2 as a daily drive and it is true the more you drive the better it gets..
Mine will need an engine rebuild at some point, but that is what you expect from an 78K mile, 30+yo car..
AS far as the kiddies my two boys love it (2yo & 4yo), lots of loud shrieks from the back !!
Its also got to be the coolest car to arrive at nursery!
Seat belts are easy, spider do a rear seat belt kit that is a great improvement on the original lap belts (its a four point harness).
It involves installing a what I can only discribe as a steel girder behind the rear seats over the top of the rears suspension towers (the job took a couple of hours).
the seats themselves are built for kids, there is even a handy play table on top of the transmission tunnel (Colin Chapman thought of every thing!)
Cheers
Tim

[twincamman]

welll in my opinion using a 30 year old lotus as an only car is like marrying the 1966 miss universe ----the potential was there but shes very high maintenance and well past her prime ed

[rgh0]

Hamish

You can make a 5 speed change almost as nicely as a 4 speed. Just needs some time playing with the centering spring and the rubber bellows that holds the gear lever in place. Get the tension right on these and the change is nice and slick.

As for leaving home without tools I do it all the time. May be a display of over confidence but the plus 2 has only let me down 1 other time in 25 years.

regards
Rohan

[thor]

The centering spring, can you elaborate on this, will my carpets have to come out?

[RobCapper]

I second the tools thing - I don't even own any tools (except a screwdriver) - let alone take any in the car! Like I say - I don't have a jack! (isn't that what mechanics are for?!) heh-heh!