Bought a Plus 2!

[stugilmour]

You may recall my previous thread with questions on a 1970 +2 located in Toronto (red with black roof). Update is the car sold at auction in Hilton Head for $US 20,900. I did not bid on it.

Anyway, Darren Thom put me on to the car at the link below, and I bought it instead.

http://www.kmrestorations.com/Lotus/70_elan_+2.html

Car is presently located in Ontario, about 2,200 miles from me. Plan is to get a few things fixed by Ken Mason in Ontario (KM Restorations), and drive the car back to Alberta in the spring. Expect the big drive will provide a few stories...

My wife and I are very excited about our new baby. The car is in good shape, but requires attention on the rear brakes, hand brake, rear suspension bushings, general tune-up & fluids, vacuum system for headlights, electric window lifts. Idea is to get any items that would cause the car to fail a pre-registration inspection in Alberta fixed in Ontario.

Planning to do some of the longer term items like dashboard re-finish/replacement, carpets myself after I get the car home.

Here are a few pics...

Stu
Calgary Alberta
1970 Elan plus 2

[stugilmour]

Just took a closer look at the engine bay pic and it appears o show two brake boosters.

Stu

[john.p.clegg]

Stu
Welcome..........but don't think it stops there,the little list of things to do will get into your blood..............and before you know it it will take over your life..........

John

[peterako]

Hi Stu!

Well done!

I got my +2 kind of by accident. Was looking for a 3.0 CSi BMW as I wanted a classic with 4 (at least) seats and a bit of performance and style.

Saw an ad in an Irish site for a +2 which distracted me and a many months (and a LOT of research and brain picking) later I had a +2!

Have mine for just under 2 years now, as a daily driver, and am delighted.

Of course, there have been times when I've wondered if it was the right decision...but they are really few and far between!

Congrats on the purchase, and I wish you many hours of fun and enjoyment. Hopefully driving rather than fixing!

Oh...and congrats on the other arrival. It'll be much more trouble!!

But the baby'll love it! Can't keep my 3 kids out of mine!

Peter 1973 +2S 130/5

[stugilmour]

Thanks for the words Peter.

Funny you mention the 30.CSi, my other all time dream car (I think there is a thread on this topic elsewhere). About seven years ago I was dreaming of a 3.0CSi, but I got seduced by a '87 M6, which I still have and want to keep. Still need to negotiate storage space with my wife, so we will see how it all goes.

I have always wanted a vintage Lotus, and have considered them several times over the years. Always got side tracked because of their lack of ability to be used here in the winter, and difficulty with repair/service. After the M6 experience, I figure I am ready for Lotus! Anyway I figure I just lost about 1,300 lb. from the car!

Oh, I might not have been clear in my post. By our baby I meant the new car.

Cheers!

Stu
Calgary
1970 Plus 2

[Elanintheforest]

That?s a great looking car, and the front view really shows off the Plus 2. It looks to be very original, and I believe that the SU carbies were a standard mod to get over the icing up of the Strombergs in the winter. You could soon get another set of Strombergs and the original air box if you wanted to get back to original?if you?re not going to use it in the winter!

I had to look up Calgary on Google Earth when you mentioned that you were getting the car from 2200 miles away?you?re a long way from most places and you?re exactly the same latitude as I am in Gloucester, England. We had our first frost last night, and any month now we?ll get the winter norm of 1 cm of snow, which will last at least 10 hours. Bet you don?t get quite such harsh winters there, eh?

Good luck with the car?I really admire such enthusiasm for the Elan in an area where you must have the only one for miles?.are there any others in Calgary?
Mark

[stugilmour]

Mark I am aware of a couple of Plus 2's locally, although I have not made direct contact with the owners yet. One fellow (Geoff Minors, posts as gsminors) is about 30 miles south of the Calgary in Okotoks Alberta; he has posted several times regarding converting to Webers. Another chap emailed me, but I have misplaced the email address; he has a Plus 2 as well. A while back I saw a red Elan in the city. That's about it that I know of. I never recall their being a Lotus dealer in Calgary. We have a very casual European car show/meet here in the spring, and I am hoping I can get the car in time to enter it and see who is about.

Ken Mason, who is working on the car for me in Ontario, mentioned that he has had good luck with the SU conversion. He maintains they hold their tune better than the Strombergs. This opinion was seconded by the rep at Dave Bean when I phoned to get a parts catalog.

Biggest benefit Ken mentioned was that we are at 4,100 ft above sea level here, just east of the Rocky mountains. He figures the SU's are more tolerant of altitude changes than the Strombergs. Years ago I had an Alfa 2000 with twin Webers, and I felt they held their tune very well; drove the car numerous times to the coast with no issues.

Due to the altitude we get VERY severe winters here (-20 to -40 deg C is common), so a car of this sort is suitable only for summer use. Even in the summer we routinely drop to about 12 deg C over night. Great for the air conditioning budget. I have hit snow many times in the Rockies in August, which is a real pain on a bike! It is just over freezing here now!

Really looking forward to driving the car in the mountains. We have some fantastic drives to the west that are very popular with motorcyclists. Hoping my wife will enjoy the Lotus more than the bike for a driving holiday.

I am sure I will have a bunch of questions over the winter and when i get the car. I have researched the archives and ordered up several books that were recommended, and will be reading up over winter.

Cheers

Stu
'70 Plus 2

[alaric]

Hi. Looks like a great car. Love the sound of the mountain roads.

The air filters look unusual - there should be an air box with duct into the nose linking to the air filter box. Maybe that set up is normal for an su conversion, but I would check it out - may be costing you some power, and, more important, the filtering performance on may be questionable. Others on the forum should be able to advise re filtering.

Roll on spring!

Sean.

[PeeVee]

Hi Stu:
I also live in Calgary - home of the "greatest outdoor show on earth" - the Stampede. Not looking for a Plus 2 though, rather a DHC.
Anyway, I think readers need to know we have the most magnificant Rocky Mountains just an hour away (1/2 hr in a Lotus) - perfect for driving vintage sports cars.
My father-in-law, also from Calgary, bought a 3.0 CS new in '72. He chose it over a 911 and an E-Type. He hardly drove it and two years ago it still only had 25,000 miles on. It was mint, and loaded. But he passed it on to my wife's younger brother. I doubt he paid anything for it.
There are hardly any Loti in Calgary. And to get one invariably means trucking one in from over 2000 miles away - back east or California. Too bad. All adding to the cost.

Peter

[PeeVee]

Hi Stu:

Are you planning to drive the car back in the springtime or are you having it transported? if the latter, I'm curious to know what kind of cost it would be.

Thanks

Peter

[stugilmour]

Peter, I was planning to drive it back at this point. I have not checked out the cost of transport.

If unsure about the length of the drive and reliability issues, was thinking that one option might be to drive to Ontario with a friend in the mini-van and a rental flatbed trailer. Could either partially drive the car or tow it should mechanical difficulties be encountered.

I will probably check out the cost of vehicle transport over the next several months anyway, but I expect I will find the cost prohibitive. Am a member of a BMW list, and the topic of auto transport has been raised several times, so should have a starting point to at least check prices, etc.

I will send an email off list with my contact info. Were you the chap that sent me a message earlier? Apologize if so, as I lost the contact.

Sean, I also noticed the non-stock air filter set-up. They look like the identical screen covered foam pads I had installed on my '74 Alfa "back in the day" when it was converted to Weber DCOE 40's from Spica "Iniezione". I figured they were essentially useless for their intended purpose, and more air leaked around them than went through them. Recall had to fabricate a mounting plate for them. The one's i had were particularly ill-fitting as the foam pad was not even shaped to fit the egg-shaped mesh cover.

Not sure of the fitment on the Lotus, but will be checking carefully for air leaks and deciding what is required. Hoping I can get in touch with someone locally and see if the stock Stromberg air plenum will fit the throats of the SU's with a little fiddling. If this is the case, figuring this may be a good way to go. Any help on this one appreciated. Was going to check with Geoff Minors (posts as gsminors) on this one, as he is in process of converting his +2 to Weber's and just may have a Stromberg plenum to at least trial fit over the SU's. Looks like one can find the plenum on eBay or some such if it fits the SU's.


Stu
Calgary
'70 plus 2

[bengalcharlie]

Hi Stu,

Congrats on your car! still looks good in white.
My car runs on strombergs which I finally have been able to run properly after it has been converted from federal to euro specs.Although it still wanted to run on and therefore I installed a solenoid which opens up the trottle valves for idling and shuts the trotlle valves when you switch off the ignition to prevent run-on. It seems to work.
However to anwser your question you can use a stromberg box for your SU's but the holes do not match up completely so you either have to modify the SU's or modify the box with a little work.
I had to do quite a bit of glass work on mine to make it usable again
I would keep the SU's on the car if it runs well because I have always been told that it is a better carburator anyway.
I have a brand new pair that i might install one day myself.
I bought these in case I could not make the strombergs run properly.
Cheers
Robin

70 elan plus two
60 giulietta spider
57 appia saloon

[stugilmour]

The red car that was located in Toronto is back on eBay at this link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1970-LOT ... dZViewItem

The buy it now price is $26,500 US. I guess the value increased again by re-selling it!

[gsminors]

I was at the Stanly park show this year and last year with my +2 and was a little dissapointed at how many Lotus's turned up and surprised to how many people came over to me and said they had a Lotus. Their are more then you think their are they are just tucked away and only come out now and again. At the last show I mentioned about starting a Lotus only club and got some good feed back. If any of you Lotus owners are interested in this let me know. I have just moved to a small town called Magrath Alberta which is about 230KM South of Calgary but I am up in the Calgry area alot and will be at the 2008 Stanly park show. Lets get some more Lotus models on display.