my favourite pics.....

[Gazzerb]

Steve
You mention the use of high 'temperature contact adhesive' being essential for the headlining fixing. As I am due to install my new lining shortly, can you suggest a make & supplier for a suitable adhesive please.
Gary

[Plus 2]

I think we're in danger of a bit of thread creep here, but as there's a photo involved........

The interior bits are just placed in the car to keep them out of harm's way, they will need fitting when the re-wiring's completed. As you can see it's a Plus2S interior, which is in keeping with the new shell #it was cheaper than repairing the old accident damaged shell at the time#.
The colour of the leather isn't the usual Oatmeal, but Cashmere which I think is a Jaguar colour. Interesting to know that oatmeal interiors had black pillars, but too late for me now.



Thanks for the headlining tips, I'll make a note of them. The headlining is in my study waiting to be fitted, most probably next year.

Ron your pictures are well worth a bit of thread creep and the white rears look fine.

The trim looks professionally done and stunning. Yes cashmere is a Jaguar colour and the leather even looks top hide autolux leather the finest quality used by Jaguar, Rolls Royce Aston Martin etc. Obtained from countries that don't use barb wire so the leather skin does not need embossing as the animals don't get abrasions which is usually why leathers get embossed to disguise imperfections. The only thing we had to look out for was if the animals had had cesarian operations and then there could be operation scars that had to be worked around.

I may be mistaken but in the picture it looks like your parcel shelf is fitted and you have also had that done in cashmere. In all honesty if you have then I strongly recommend you change it to Black. Front crash top rolls and rear parcel shelves do not work in light colours especially on heavily raked screens.

When we produced styling concepts for our designers we had to test in dark rooms and with UV lighting specifically for colour reflections and really the charcoal, black or coffee were the only ones that saw minimum reflection.

I have just renewed my parcel shelf as the larger speakers that were fitted distorted and the mesh grill kept coming out. I actually fitted some Jaguar door speakers with chrome surround as I have added lots of chrome bits to the interior.

I noticed that it perhaps was not a good move albeit the reflections are not within my rear view vision it gives you an example of what a light parcel shelf colour will cause. One day I will get them satin blacked........

Gary, The high temperature contact adhesive is what was used on headlinings and vinyl roofs when they were fitted years ago and was coded Dunlop 1358........I have not seen this on the market for years but the high temperature adhesive is still available from 'wayside adhesives'. I have just fitted a Rolls Royce vinyl roof and got the adhesive from them off eBay.........I will sort out a search and upload or PM. You should not need more than 1 litre unless doing sound deadening fit and other trim which it is still best to use the HT glue. (edit....found it) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HEAVY-DUTY-HI ... 33549fbff1

All the best

Steve

[dougal9887]

I got HT contact adhesive for retrimming and carpets from www.bondrite.co.uk.

[RonR]

The parcel shelf is actually black, I think there was a reflection from the white house wall giving the impression of something lighter.

Steve I like your high level brake lights, having been hit hard from behind (Oo-er) it was one of my must-haves for the rebuild. Is it from a particular car or after-market?
No Ashtray - why didn't I think of that! Saves the trouble of finding ashtrays in good nick. No-one smokes in cars nowadays do they?
I have some new speakers to fit which also have silver surrounds, your picture has convinced me to paint them satin black before installing.

Cheers,
Ron

[theelanman]

My interior has also had the ashtrays removed.....but I haven't added any chrome detailing strips......

[Plus 2]

The parcel shelf is actually black, I think there was a reflection from the white house wall giving the impression of something lighter.

Steve I like your high level brake lights, having been hit hard from behind (Oo-er) it was one of my must-haves for the rebuild. Is it from a particular car or after-market?
No Ashtray - why didn't I think of that! Saves the trouble of finding ashtrays in good nick. No-one smokes in cars nowadays do they?
I have some new speakers to fit which also have silver surrounds, your picture has convinced me to paint them satin black before installing.

Cheers,
Ron

That's good news the parcel shelf is black as a lot of work to find out afterwards it reflects and has to be changed.

The high level brake light was off a late Lotus Esprit Turbo and sat under the rear glass panel on the exterior engine bay lid. I believe it was original equipment Lotus fit. It does work really well and sits nice and flush and is just the right height.

Not sure why so many ash trays in a 70's Elan as there is still one in the centre dash panel albeit this became the fusebox on later cars. The door one's obviously did not work too well as the PO had burnt the trim all round the door area, arm rest and seats. I was fortunate one of our prototype trimmers did weekend work retrimming MGB interiors and had some of the original black vinyl that he had removed from MGB's as this was the same grain as Lotus. I also took the rear panels off the seats and fitted a near match as that is not reall seen and used this original matching vinyl to make all the new pieces I needed to sew in where there were burns.

I sold the ashtrays years ago but still have the original speaker surrounds and grills. Again if you have not yet fitted your speakers and intend aftermarket ones in the shelf be very careful in positioning them as there is not a lot of movement in order to avoid the fuel tank and they need to be quite flush on the exterior of the shelf to avoid contact with the rear screen.

Theelanman your interior too is superb. I can see you have what looks like a bonded rear view mirror on the screen and the headlining looks tidy. The reason I fitted the chrome strips was I split the door cards into 3 pieces as it saves taking the whole door card off everytime access required usually to the door locks or to replace the flock sprayed window channel. The chrome strips were from an XJS door and fitted unmodified and stiffens up the lower edge of what is now a separate top roll for the door still using the metal original part. I also fitted the XJS door pocket on the passenger side as in France we have to carry hi-vis jackets and access them without getting out of the car.

Regards

Steve

[niallf]

Steve,

Your Plus 2 was the reason I have mine!
Probably about 10-12 years ago I went to look at some s/h cars in a garage (which I'm sure was near Kenilworth), your car was in the car park and my better half looked at it and said how pretty it was. I told her I had really wanted one when I was an over ambitious 19 year old. She said I should buy one someday, that planted a seed and a couple of years later I had bought this...


I few days ago I was thinking about your car, wondering if I had imagined a white Plus 2 with a purple roof, now I know I wasn't dreaming!

Niall

[Plus 2]

Steve,

Your Plus 2 was the reason I have mine!
Probably about 10-12 years ago I went to look at some s/h cars in a garage (which I'm sure was near Kenilworth), your car was in the car park and my better half looked at it and said how pretty it was. I told her I had really wanted one when I was an over ambitious 19 year old. She said I should buy one someday, that planted a seed and a couple of years later I had bought this...


I few days ago I was thinking about your car, wondering if I had imagined a white Plus 2 with a purple roof, now I know I wasn't dreaming!

Niall

Niall,

That is quite amazing, yes I still own properties in Kenilworth and return to Gaydon near Banbury every 6 months to change my company car. Don't say you work at JLR that would be too much of a coincidence.

Your car looks stunning and you should put up more pictures. I like the door mirrors especially as I did a similar style on my 308. How have yours been attached as they look on the window frame rather than the door.

A 71/72 car I assume a 130/S but not the 5 speed gearbox and on Webers or Dellortos despite the Stromberg power bulge bonnet.

Regards

Steve

[niallf]

Hi Steve,

My car was built as a Plus 2S, then rebuilt by a previous owner as a S130. I then bought it from a scrap dealer and rebuilt it again as a full Spyder Zetec conversion. It's now sat in the garage, waiting for a winter refresh, ready for another year.

Zetec Plus 2

The Mirrors are attached to the very top of the door, it's a little clearer in the above picture.
I'm not a JLR employee, though living close to Gaydon, I have several neighbours who are.
Niall

[Sea Ranch]

Ghill, I'm very happy for you, and welcome to Lotus and the forum! Many happy years indeed!

Ron, I agree the leather interior looks gorgeous.

Niall, finally I see a Pistaschio Plus 2. It looks awesome. One of my favourite colours, as it's so "swinging '60s - mod" looking!

Below is my current favourite colour (looks like Lotus Glacier Blue, or perhaps more like Jag opalescent light silver blue). Don't know if the owner is on elan.net, but the car is local to me in the Metro Vancouver area of BC, Canada, and was built to a very high standard from a basket case.

[niallf]

Niall, finally I see a Pistaschio Plus 2. I looks awesome. One of my favourite colours, as it's so "swinging '60s" "mod" looking!

I describe it as 'of its time' when people reach for the sunglasses. More impressive is the metalflake roof which is a work of art done by a previous restorer. Big flakes and lord knows how many layers of laquer.

Niall

[Sea Ranch]

Awesome! Let's see some pics of the roof sometime

Randy

[elansprint71]

I think the +2 looks great in Pistachio but I don't recall ever seeing one back in the day (Manchester UK area); there were a couple of Pist/White Sprints a mono Pist Sprint and a Europa (which may not have been original) but no Pist +2s.
Was this perhaps because the +2 was aimed at an "older young Gentleman" than the two seater, who might have had a wife who wanted something less "obvious"?

Do we have any idea how many cars were painted in which colours originally? I don't remember seeing any "official" numbers (I'd be surprised if Lotus knew themselves!). The Unibrain register and Tim's Sprint list give us a feel but these are both incomplete lists and therefore statistically unreliable.

[trw99]

Pete, I've just done a quick count of +2 records that I have; they are not complete.

Between March 1971 and January 1973 there were - apparently - no Pistachio Green (LO13) L Domestic Plus 2s; 8 were produced for M Export and 20 for N Federal Plus 2s. Pistachio was available from October 1970 through to July 1973.

Seems the North Americans went for the hip colours!

Tim

[roblotus79]

Randy,

That picture looks to be from the ABFM. I don't recall having ever seen that beautiful Plus 2 before. Do you know whose it is or where it lives?

Cheers

Rob