Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Nothing 'negative' about realism.

You're not really saving a car - just refitting a fibreglass shell to a collection of new and used parts.

Either way, I expect it will be loads of fun.

Money no object - just ring Paul Matty or SJ Sportscars or Sue and start ordering parts.You can probably have 90% of the stuff ordered and delivered within a week. You'll have it back on the road in time for spring.

Probably cost you less than ?25k.

Maddy,

I understand your approach! If you bide your time the bits will come up.

There are all sorts of people on here from cheque book restorers to hoarders. The parts you need will be there somewhere.

First-off make sure you have a copy of the workshop manual so that you know what you are looking for.

Next it would probably help to be specific and put a request in the wanted section. You will be surprised at the kind and generous responses.

Hi and welcome

Here is a chassis to get you started: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lotus-Elan-2- ... 2c756cc9ef

Most items are available if you know where to look.

Good luck with the project; I also like a project or two.

Getting a V5 is not that hard if you can find a VIN. Be warned though that the body number is not the same as the VIN. If you have an engine number we can find a VIN that the engine was matched with.

Jason

Chassis options http://www.spydercars.co.uk/lotus-elan- ... over-bars/

Rear suspension http://www.spydercars.co.uk/lotus-elan- ... rsion-kit/

Cylinder Head http://www.burtonpower.com/parts-by-fit ... fl830.html

Engine block http://www.burtonpower.com/parts-by-fit ... fl105.html

Burton Power will supply you with all the engine components and a gearbox.

Anything you cannot get from these guys you can get from http://www.sjsportscars.co.uk/index.php?mod=10 or http://www.paulmattysportscars.co.uk/Parts.aspx

Hi Maddy,

Just a thought. You might want to remove your email address and just use the pm function. Unfortunately, Scammers are regularly on this forum and you will soon be receiving offers of non-existent parts. It has been highlighted before.

Regards,

Pete

Hi Maddy,
Welcome to the mad family. If you are patient, sometimes Spyder put a rolling chassis on ebay. they put two on during the past year, I bid on both but missed them. The chassis were original, but refurbished by Spyder, but the running gear may have been a bit suspect, but a good starting point none the less. Sometimes an independant person puts a rolling chassis on ebay, but you have to be careful that these are over ambitious prices that may end up being for a shot Chassis.
Apart from all that, have trawl though the archives here, generally the answers you want are there!
Any spare parts, you will not find better than Sue Miller, Paul Matty and SJ sportscars. They generally have new parts cheaper than some have second hand on ebay.
Good luck with the project, keep us updated!
Kind regards
Jeff 72+2
PS whereabouts roughly in the country are you?

jeff jackson wrote:PS whereabouts roughly in the country are you?

East Sussex.....

Hi Maddy

I salute you, you are a little bonkers but no more than most of the folk on here (including me) and you are doing a wothwhile thing (IMHO). As some of the others have said, you will have a massive task to put this car back on the road but one thing in your favour is that it is a +2 & not an Elan which means that parts are easier to find and on the whole, cheaper (than the Elan). You are going about it the hard way but so what, it's your time & money and it will be sweet to prove everyone wrong. One thing you may try is to contact Spyder as they may have some parts for sale from some of their Zetec conversions that you may be able to buy. Many +2s have been broken for spares in the past (mainly for their engines), so you may be lucky & find someone with most of the leftover bits who has not quite got round to selling them. Be patient & don't rush, it will be hard but if you have it in you then you can do it!

Good luck & keep us informed of the progress.

Adam

p.s. Where in East Sussex are you?

Thank you for the helpful replies, I'll keep you all updated with how it's getting on as I'm finding it quite fun finding the bits I need to get for this one, so that when our baby elan is all finished I can get straight on with this one.
Maddy x

Hi Maddy, and welcome

The +2 looks like a fun project!

It sounds as if you also have a fabulous collection of cars - post up some pics for the forum to drool over . Would love to see progress pics of the 'baby' Elan in particular?

By the way careful with calling it a 'baby' Elan some folks get a bit touchy about that term on here

Jon

Hi Maddy and good luck.
I'm rebuilding a basket case plus 2, and have been sourcing various parts from contacts and Ebay, and have recently written 'Lotus Elan - the Complete Story'. Luckily my Plus 2 came with a V5 so I have an identity. I picked up a s/h Spider chassis from a mate for ?500, and have built up a twin cam engine starting with only a block using eBay and new parts as found - Stromberg heads are a lot cheaper than Webber heads incidentally as the racers don't like them.
I'll probably be looking at 'easy' upgrades for mine, such as Jag XJS seats, me and some mates are making up some UJ/sliding drive shafts and various aftermarket dampers etc. The front suspension is, as you probably know based on Triumph Herald/Spitfire/GT6 parts (uprights, axle, top and bottom swivels and callipers) so are quite common, the rear end is a bit more problematical as its all Lotus. I've found Burton to be good for engine bits, Miles Wilkins (who is down near Arundel so close to East Sussex) is excellent, as is Sue at Mick Miller Classic Lotus, Christopher Neil, Spydercars, SJ Sportscars and QED Motorsport.
I tend to buy new anything which is safety critical (Brakes!!!!) or mechanically vital - e.g. big end and main bearing bolts, shells, bearings etc; and secondhand for other stuff, but bearing in mind I'll probably need to refurbish it so adjust the price accordingly!
Hope this helps
Matt

Wow! This project will soon settle down to a parts chase and parting with a shed load of cash, but that is part of the fun.. I strongly advise you to sit back and look at as many cars as you can - Paul Matty, Spyder etc and decide what you want out of the process. Everybody takes their own path, but before you set off, decide where you want to go.

Full original resto will take the most time and cash and will be a trailer queen. Resto to the spirit of the original (twincam, original G/Box, and running gear, but appropriately updated) will be less time consuming and in my opinion, more fun. All out update, with Zetec and 5 or 6 speed g/box, sticky tyres could vie with the original option for cost/time - Bonkers - may even upset a few people, which is a bonus!

Some realities - body shell will be the single most expensive item to do properly, start investigating now. If your team has never done a fibreglass bodyshell, consider outsourcing the whole deal - about 7-8grand these days. Some superb bodyshell artists out there, but not cheap, and pick one who is used to the marque and model. Engine - easy to come by, less cost=more work. Chassis & suspension again easy to come by - straightforward assembly. Most difficult for a +2 seems to be trim (all the irritating bits that get lost/fall apart/rot etc). So all in all straightforward with cost not an issue, but you will need to consider the first question - where are you going with this?

Whichever way you take, there will be plenty of people people willing to help in both spirit and tech advice.

Me? I took the middle of the road!

Jeremy
PS ?25k seems a little light for this project these days

Maddy, as you've probably already seen, there's a good (well when I say good ) donor chassis for exchange that we discussed. It's in Liphook, Hampshire. Regards, Kevin.

Hi Maddy,

Pm sent.

Regards,

Pete

It looks like an interesting project, if you want build it to completely original spec it will be both costly and time consuming, if you are not so concerned about originality and use more widely avalaible components such as switches, gauges, seats, engine, gearbox etc it will be a lot easier. The key thing you need to sort out first is how you can register it if it has to go for IVA this will massively influence how you build the vehicle.