ELAN PLUS 2S130 Restoration, Before and After

[mjbeanie]

looks good. I hope we can meet and park together in Austin. Gary

Thanks Gary, that would be great. Keep in touch and let me know how your efforts are going!

[alleggerita]

I have been looking at your windscreen and I must say that I prefer it over the later wide chrome trim. Did you use the later S/ S130 windscreen or something from another car?

[mjbeanie]

The windscreen is a Plus 2S windscreen I believe. However the trim used was a creation that my windshield installers came up with. The found the broad chrome plastic trim too difficult to work with, and sourced another material. Only 17mm in width vs 24mm in the original material. Very happy with the lean look.
Keeps your attention on the car. Cheers!

[mjbeanie]

Thanks all for reading this thread. I am excited that it received valuable feedback, and positive comments during the restoration effort.

Your suggestions really helped me get past many struggles. I am very happy I could get this car put back together "from scratch" given it was a completely disassembled, abandoned project. Hard to believe except for some fresh dampers/shocks, and a small rear oil seal leak, the car is essentially complete. So this will be my last update, as its time to go driving... I hope this post may have helped you with your Elan restoration efforts as well. A couple of final photos of the "finished product" are below.

The support this forum and its members have provided has been amazing. Again my sincere thanks for the guidance, insight, and friendship.

Cheers and be well,
Mike

[Mhlaitner]

Mike,

Well done! Looks fantastic. I recently inherited my late father's 71 Plus 2S. It sat in a garage for 27 years as it needed a new water pump and brake servo and unfortunately never came out. I don't have an engineering or wrenching background so had a reputable mechanic in my area who has worked on these for years help to get mine resurrected over the last 8 months. They've done a ton of work rebuilding most every part. Unfortunately, we didn't replace the rotoflex couplings and after having it back on the road for about 2 weeks they kicked the can so back in for work it goes. That was to be expected though so I'm looking to get a CV conversion kit. Apologize if you mentioned in this thread already, but where did you get your CV's from? I am looking at the kit on RD and know of a couple other outfits that provide them but was curious on where you got yours. Also considering replacing the vacuum system on the headlights but for now they work. There is a leak but they stay down for a few hours before popping up, least of my worries to be honest. Thanks for sharing your project and cheers to many enjoyable miles behind the wheel!

Max

[mjbeanie]

Hello Max,

Happy to help another Plus 2 restoration effort! Curious what is your serial number. Mine is an August 71 build, production number 0179. Feel free to PM any questions. As far as the selection to replace the Rotoflex-
I went with Elantrikbits. (RD's kit is good but I wasn't crazy about the cost.) I did complete thread on the kit installation effort. This can be viewed in a separate Forum thread discussion here:

viewtopic.php?f=51&t=54003&p=393978&hilit=cv+joint#p393978

Good luck with your efforts! PM me some photos if you can. I enjoy seeing other folks projects.
I love the car, its history and how it came together.

While getting immersed in restoration, became a bit addicted to the Lotus Elan.

FYI..As it turns out, I bid and won an Elan S3 DHC yesterday, on Bring a Trailer, to bring back up.
Please stay tuned for more project updates!

[DutchTony]

Nice work Mike,
I have acquired a similar project some 2 years ago, a 1974 ELAN +2 in JPS colour setting, it is apparently numer 30 of the 120 pcs they build. I went for a mechanical restoration first, brakes, suspension, driveline etc. but had to find a new gearbox which was not part of the bits and pieces that came with the car. Found an overhauled and adapted Ford T9 gearbox with Alan Voigt in GB.

First testrun of the engine gave a loud knocking sound and it came apparent after disassembly that the crankshaft play at the front bearing is about 4 times as big then the maximum specified value of 0.003”.
Found a specialist in the Netherlands that will have a look at probably next week to see if the engine can be saved.

The dashboard was dismantled similar to yours, fortunately the wiring was all there and in a very good state also, was some puzzling to get everything working, but everything does work again.

Wish you lots a fun with the +2 in the future.

[mjbeanie]

Thanks for your comments Dutch Tony. That must look spectacular in JPS colours. I'm glad you got the dash sorted. Wiring the car was very challenging. I hope you can crankshaft play issue resolved. Never give up! You got this! Feel free to PM how its all going. (I enjoy seeing other folks "Plus 2 efforts".)
Cheers,
MIke