Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

661 wrote:

hysteric wrote:3. is that faint petrol smell normal?

Probably, but please check fuel lines.
from pump ( assumed mechanical on the drivers side of the engine) to carbs. This should really be modern hose and junctions. In my view Goodridge/Earls type stuff.
Check under the carbs for drips.
Check the pipe from the tank to the pump where you can. If it's plastic then it may be OK as they last a good while.
Check fuel filler cap for a rubber seal.
Use an airbox.

As for fuel additive, I use Millers CVL in the race engine, and although I continue to use Millers VSP in the road car, frankly I don't think it's worth it if you use fresh high grade , high quality fuel.

All brilliant advice thank you … the smell is noticeable when I enter the garage and in the boot area … will check all of the points you've mentioned.

Agree on the repeated use of additives but would like to run through one bottle just as a comfort blanket/placebo!

hysteric wrote:All look almost brand new.

A lot of +2 won't get enough use to actually show much wear, so tyres can look good but compound has aged/dried and have reduced grip, especially in the wet. If brakes appear to function correctly and tire pressure are about right (20-25psi range) I'd swap the tyres out at that age. Good tyres are as important as good brakes, its never a waste to have have good ones fitted.

The tyre selection here is much different (and worse) that UK so can't offer any useful suggestions. If money is no problem Michelin XAS are the best option but they are not cheap, so only make sense in certain cases.

Welcome to +2 ownership. I had the petrol smell in boot issue and ended up replacing rubber pipe from the fuel tank to filler, what I also do if I'm leaving the car in the garage for a bit of time is put corks in the breather pipes.

I also had perfect looking old tyres which were OK until the first time I drove in the rain, which then led to an interesting drive home from work. I replaced the tyres with Kumho Solus KH17 which come in165/80 R13, they've been great, have good grip and we're about £30 a tyre.

Yup on closer inspection of the tires they do look like they could be replaced. Pity to bin such good looking tires but no point in skimping on the only things touching the road!

I had not had my car long and the tyres looked OK.
Exiting a roundabout on a wet road and giving it a bit of power before being straight (as I sometimes do), it spun completely round and did not hit anything.!!
I am not a beginner and have skidded cars plenty of times in the past both deliberately and accidentally. This time I could not catch it at all and had absolutely no chance of controlling it. I might as well have been on ice.
I then found out that my good looking tyres were too old.
Change them soon, you may not be as lucky as I was.
Eric in Burnley
1967 S3SE DHC

Agreed about old rubber! I had some scares with loss of grip in a Turbo Esprit I'd just bought back in 2010, and the one that resulted in a 900-degree spin across three traffic lanes, somehow miraculously not hitting anything including the kerbed median that I just happened to come to rest in a break thereof, was what finally scared me enough to have the tyres done ASAP. Turns out they were 16 years old!

I don't know if an Esprit is scarier than a Plus 2 in a spin, but old-school mid-engined cars can be QUITE exciting when traction is lost!

Thanks all… yup booked the car in for a set of uniroyal rainexpert which are coming in at about £65 fitted per corner.

Can I check the correct tyre is 165/80/r13 ?

Cheers

Enjoy the car, use it regularly, keep on top of the basics and it should reward you with fun driving for many years. When I bought mine back in the seventies it was my only car and it did 15-20,000 miles a year with minimal problems. Its nearly back on the road after a new chassis and bare fibreglass respray!
Lots of threads on here about fuel smells, mainly around the filler neck and cap, but as already mentioned by others, give the pipes from pump to carbs a good looking at.
Once you have the new tyres, hopefully the brake problems have gone, but if not, you have to remember that previous owners may well have tinkered with it and changed brake pads for different material or it’s quite common for the pistons in the brake calipers to corrode and/or stick with age and lack of use.
If you don’t have one look out for a workshop manual, even if you don’t plan doing much yourself they are a good buy, they sometimes come up on this site or eBay.

Thanks @bigbaldybloke

I love hearing stories of people using their classics for daily drivers. My biggest issue is getting the time to take for a spin….although I am a little wary of it until I get the tyres changed on Friday. Wholeheartedly agree most classics are there to be driven as intended and are the better for it!

I’ve got the workshop manual and first on the list is to fix the driver seat which is not sliding on its rails.

Probably no surprise to anyone on this forum but damn this is a great car!

Seems to get better the harder you push it and it just works with you… had a great blast today.

Next on the list…. Check the damper / suspension setup …. Go for another blast.

Hi,

Why not add your name to your signature so we can address you by your name?

I’m going to guess at Al.

Hysteric-Al