Elan Spyder Advice

[chrishewett]

I can't resist having my say on this one.
The spyder car is fine but not for me.
I have owned my +2 for eight years and have spent much money and time on it, a lot of it wasted. However, I think I have now got it right. The answer as I see it is to improve the bits that can be improved, to aid reliability and comfort and leave the rest alone.
Now I have a rebuilt engine, mick miller driveshafts, electronic ignition, new carbs, etc etc etc, the car is reliable and a pleasure to drive. This approach is, of course, not for the purist.
There is nothing wrong with the original lotus chassis, (and believe it or not, my original chassis is perfect) and the twincam is what it is all about.
Go for a spyder car if you want but I would consider it a waste of good money. Just get an original car sorted and enjoy it.
I am looking for an elise at the moment as a trackday/more modern car but the elan stays.
And finally, spyder people, get your own forum, the spyder is not a lotus.
Chris

duck below the parapet!

[worzel]

Some interesting comments on what constitutes a "proper" elan. Aren't these originally "bitsa" cars anyway?

I still stick by what I said earlier about purists views of non-std cars- in common (I suspect) with most car mfrs at that time Lotus used whatever was available (cheapest?)- is the original twin cam really a "Lotus" engine-I'd have thought that to qualify it would have had to have been designed from scratch by Lotus. Is the elise lotus powered or MGF powered?

Perhaps some owners don't like the idea that a different firm eg Spyder can come up with something better. Personally I think anybody who can up with some technically sound genuine improvements should be admired for their ingenuity. Get hold of the current issue of Classics mag and read the comments by a renowned Aston specialist on a guy who's made, from scratch, a grp replica of an Aston. I think his attitude is the right one, others may disagree.

Perhaps snobbery is intruding- the custom boys are often derided but many of them turn out cars of a std many so-called expert restorers couldn't get anywhere near!

John

[leedsj]

So, after much searching I couldn't find a Zetec on the market, but found a beautiful black 1974 +2/S JPS. NOW I understand what you all meant by the feel and sound of the original! It's amazing... of course I haven't driven the Zetec to compare it too, but mine is such fun (and in such good nick) that I'm wondering whether there is any point pursuing the Zetec option further...

thanks again for all your advice though - I'm sure I'll be back once things start breaking (which has so far been mercifully limited to the choke coming clean out of the dashboard...)

[handi_andi]

Ah.....thats just your lotus lulling you into a false sense of security!!!

The main thing is to have fun with it even when you have to repair it, as for me anyway, and I suspect alot of people on here, finding what has gone wrong and fixing it oneself is half the pleasure of owning an Elan.

And always remember, there is always a friendly answer or twenty available on here. Even if sometimes you will have to go for the majority veridict rather than a decisive one

Andy