Plus2 steering wheel colour

[TonyA]

Hi, the steering wheel spokes on my 1971 S130 are black satin..is this correct or should they be bare metal..? Cheers Tony

[trw99]

That is correct, black spokes on Plus 2S 130 Elans.

Tim

[mjbeanie]

Yes, Plus 2S 130 Elans 71 or later.

It seems to be most commonly found in the final/ last iteration of the Plus 2S,
the "5 speed /revised electrics" version of the Plus 2S130/5 but I could be mistaken.

I have an August 70 Plus 2S 130, Big valve, 4 speed build, with a signed Chapman silver wheel. Which seemed to be superseded by the black finish wheel during the later production years.

[GLB]

I have a Dec 70 build +2S, black wheel, no signature. Gary

[TonyA]

My March 1971 +2 is the 'transitional' S130 Big Valve with Webers, still having the 3 fuseboxes in the engine bay ..and black steering wheel..
Tony

[draenog]

My January 1970 +2S has a steering wheel with black spokes. I believe this to be correct, as the +2S brochure shows a black-spoked wheel (page 5):

https://lotuselan.net/wiki/Lotus_%2B2S_Brochure

This picture is a higher resolution closeup from my own copy of the brochure.

[mjbeanie]

It’s interesting. I’m not sure if the chronology.

FYI I just bought a 67 Elan S3 DHC. Oddly, it came with a black-spoked signed Chapman wheel. I did some research as I had never seen one of those. While it looked nicely done I decided to remove the black finish as it obscured Chapman's signature. The black appearance didn’t make sense to me, but I wondered if it could have been original issue somehow. Since I couldn't sort these configuration variations, I decided to file under yet another Lotus mystery-

[Gordon Sauer]

On my +2S130, which is the 10th one from the end of the imports to the United States, it’s a black one without a signature, black on spokes. And as an aside, I also have a 67 build Elan 0376 I think, and it has the wood steering wheel with the brush aluminum center spokes, had it since 72 Gordon.

[trw99]

I did write an article on Elan steering wheels a few years back, for the Club Lotus News magazine. I have attached it below.

Tim

[Richardsona39]

That's interesting. I have a 71 Federal +2 S130, and it has a signed silver spoked wheel. I'd assumed it was original, but perhaps not. I put a leather cover on it as it is PVC rimmed, and not particularly nice to hold. But it is 15" dia.

[Harvey]

I own an April 1971 Plus 2S, probably at the end of the line for S's and built after the S 130 builds began. It has a black spoked wheel with no signature.

Lee