Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hi,
My wife and I purchased our Bahama Yellow Elan +2 new, in 1971 in kit form.
It was resprayed by Miles Wilkins in 1991.
Colour believed to be Porsche Bahama Yellow.

Regards
organcd

Lotus Bahama Yellow was a completely different colour. Yours looks more like Lotus Burnt Sand. I'm surprised Miles didn't or wasn't able to get you to spray in an original colour. He is a Lotus purist. Jim

Welcome Organcd! Beautiful car regardless of what the colour is!

Nice. Has the dash and maybe the front end been replaced ?

I had a 1970 +2S and i thought the colour was "Porsche positano yellow or burnt sand"
Alan

I thought that only a very few early +2s were sold in kit form, Chapman wanting to move upmarket and away from the kit-car stigma. I`m amazed that one could be bought in `71.
Jim

Looks like that other yellowish Plus 2 colour, similar to the BMC colour Sandglow. I love it!

I see you also appear to have non standard seats. Do you know what car they come from?

Anyway, welcome to the forum!

organcd, welcome.

Below is a correct Bahama Yellow early Sprint, actually a S4/Sprint (the photo was taken yesterday on an iPhone; I wonder if your photo has merely failed to reproduce the colour). These were Series 4 Elans converted to Sprint spec by the factory then sold. There was a similar scheme for Plus 2 Elans. I'm wondering if your Elan has a VIN that starts 710000####L, as it's registration date would fall within the known dates for similar cars?

As has been said, component +2s were only produced in the first year of manufacture. However, if yours was sold to you in component form, it must have been hanging around in the dealership for at least a couple of years. I'd be most interested to know about how, when and from whom you bought the kit, as its these little bits of Lotus history that help us to gain a bigger and better picture of the cars we enthuse over.

Tim

The latest Club Lotus magazine has an article on a plus 2 in that colour, the owner called it burnt sand and has just had it sprayed red instead!

What a lovely looking car - good see another Plus 2 in the wild!

Couple of points - As we all know pictures can play tricks with colours For clarification attached is a 1969 Lotus Colour chart showing the Burnt Sand and Bahama yellow - both similar and both available on the +2S of that year. Pretty sure Mr Wilkins would be right in his choice of colour.....





Seond point - see attached 1969 price list - no Plus 2 on it, just the Plus2S - the original Plus 2 had been 'discontinued' by then, and Lotus were moving towards removing the 'kit' option as the Government moved from purchase tax to VAT - the changeover came in April 1973, and the Elan and Europa were still available 'Ex-Factory' i.e. as kits - the Plus 2S does not have an 'Ex-Factory' price.





So as TRW says the OP's car must have been sitting around for a while, however there was no definative cut-off date for when the S replaced the Plus 2. It would be interesting to see what the VIn number is - my second Plus 2 (RSX is 50/11xx) and was a kit. The body unit left the factory in November 1968, but (much to Andy Graham's surprise the engine followed it in Feb 1969.....

As usual with Lotus nothing is particularly clear!

As an additional data-point in the sea of confusion, my car is not an S and has a date of 10/69 on the plate in the doorjamb.

IIRC the last non S plus two was about unit 2400, end of 1969.
Mine is 12/69 Federal non S Plus Two

Unit 50/2407 was the last +2 made, all thereafter being +2S types. That was in early 1970, since the two were made side by side.

Tim

1. Before I respond to individual Elan member?s comments to my ?Bahama Yellow? post on the 15 August 2018 I would like members to know:
a. I am not an Elan purist. I am a practical Elan owner.
b. I have owned and maintained Elans for 51 years.
c. The only car I have ever wanted was a Lotus Elan. This desire started in 1964 when I visited Wild
Goose Garages Ltd, Kingshill Road, Dursley, Glos, and obtained a Lotus Elan brochure and price list.
d. To date, I have owned two Elans. The first one was KDF 312E, which was a Standard Lotus Elan S3
Drophead Coupe, in Carmen Red. This car was a second hand purchase and I owned it from 1967 to
1971, when I traded it in to buy the +2 kit. My second, and present one, is YAD 628J, a Lotus Elan +2
built from a kit, which my wife and I purchased in 1971.
e. The +2 is my everyday car, maintained by me, and has covered 247,543 miles to date. Most of these
miles were covered between 1971 and December 1999, before I retired. From December 1999 to the
present the car as covered approximately 24,000 miles.
f. Modifying the car and reducing its value does not bother me as I have no intention of ever selling it. The
only time I get involved with its value is when I contact Club Lotus for a valuation for Insurance
purposes.

2. To the best of my knowledge the history behind my Lotus Elan +2 Kit is as follows:
a. Lotus produced a batch of Federal Lotus +2 Elans for the US market. For one reason or another these
did not sell, so Lotus converted some to RH drive, and supplied them to their dealers in kit form. I
obtained mine from Plough Motors in Stonehouse, Glos, who had two kits, a Red one and a Bahama
Yellow one. My wife and I chose the Bahama Yellow one.
b. The chassis plate says the Unit Number is 50/2414. However, the Lotus Car (Sales) Ltd documentation
shows Unit Number 2414LL, and the Racing Engines Ltd documentation shows Unit Number 2414LL and
Engine Number I 21318.
c. The engine was originally fitted with an Exhaust Emission System and Stromberg carburettors.

3. Now to respond to members comments:
JimE
My wife?s response to seeing the +2, after Miles Wilkins had resprayed it was to say the colour looked
?milkier? than the original colour.

The Veg (Fourth Gear)
Thank you for your kind comment, much appreciated.

Wotsisname (Third Gear)
a. Thank you for your kind comment, much appreciated.
b. The front end was replaced by Fibreglass Services (Miles Wilkins) in 1989/91 after an accident. The
only difference between the new front and the old one is that Miles did not replace the chrome trims
around the air intake.
c. The dashboard has been re-veneered. The only possible difference between it and the original could be
the shade of the veneer, or size of the instrument legend. A blanking plate, with badges, has been fitted
in place of the original radio. A Sony Radio/Minidisc player has been fitted in the Glovebox, with its
remote controller attached to the Steering Column Binnacle.

alan.barker (Coveted Fifth Gear)
My wife?s response to seeing the +2, after Miles Wilkins had resprayed it was to say the colour looked
?milkier? than the original colour.

Jimj (Coveted Fifth Gear)
For my Lotus Elan +2 Kit history, please see paragraph 2 above.

JonB (Coveted Fifth Gear)
a. My wife?s response to seeing the +2, after Miles Wilkins had resprayed it was to say the colour looked
?milkier? than the original colour.
b. The seats are Corbeau Black GTB ones. Originally purchased in cloth, but subsequently re-upholstered
in leathercloth (a new set of runners and additional metal work was required to use original fixing
locations).

trw99 (Coveted Fifth Gear)
a. My wife?s response to seeing the +2, after Miles Wilkins had resprayed it was to say the colour looked
"milkier? than the original colour.
b. For my Lotus Elan +2 Kit history, please see paragraph 2 above.

Bigbaldybloke (Third Gear)
I did read the article.

Matt Elan (Third Gear)
a. My wife?s response to seeing the +2, after Miles Wilkins had resprayed it was to say the colour looked
?milkier? than the original colour.
b. I also have a 1969 price list, and many other documents dating back to the 1960's.
c. For my Lotus Elan +2 Kit history, please see paragraph 2 above.

5. Thanks to all of you for your interest in my Elan, I hope I have answered all your queries.
Colin

Colin, thank you very much for your comprehensive and interesting replies to our points.

I have records of a small number of 50/24## Unit numbered +2s that were the Federal converted cars. Most seem to have been registered from late 1970 to mid 1971

Tim