Has anyone here owned/driven an original Elan?

[Racerbvd]

Buy and enjoy it..

[tevake]

Yep that rust need a close look.




Saw these parked side by side in Italy. Lots of similarity. But I think the lotus is much lighter.

Cheers Richard

[Jeff Jagusch]

I restored an Elan many years ago from the frame up. The pictures of the rusty front portion of the frame would be concerning
My frame looked very similar, and I ended up fabricating the front portion that goes upward for the upper control arms and shock mount.
The car sure was fun to drive but about as safe as a motorcycle. The bumpers are fiberglass with foam insulation
As others have said, there is really no comparison in build quality or reliability

Jeff

[MrBonus]

Originally Posted by Jeff Jagusch

I restored an Elan many years ago from the frame up. The pictures of the rusty front portion of the frame would be concerning
My frame looked very similar, and I ended up fabricating the front portion that goes upward for the upper control arms and shock mount.
The car sure was fun to drive but about as safe as a motorcycle. The bumpers are fiberglass with foam insulation
As others have said, there is really no comparison in build quality or reliability

Jeff

Thanks, Jeff. I think I'm going to try and go back and jack it up and wire brush some of the surface corrosion away and poke at it with something sharp.

I'm sort of feeling like this will be me biting off more than I can chew as I cannot weld and at best, I am a meager mechanic.

[petrolhead611]

You can buy a new galvanized Frame in the UK, but I would think shipping it to the USA presents a problem.
Getting the body off the old frame and fitting the new one should not be too hard.Many people in the UK bought the cars as kits ( body off frame) and built them up in a weekend with one friends help for the heavier bits.( It was illegal to engage professional mechanics to do the build as that would have been s tax fraud as the kit had no Purchase Tax imposed )

[matthewb0051]

The Elan has these weird rubber doughnut axles and no CV joints. There are CV conversion axles on the market. Great upgrade.

You can actually see them in one of the OPs photos on page 2

[matthewb0051]

[911 Rod]

Yes. Many times growing up.

[MrBonus]

So I finally was able to get together with the gentleman and get it jacked up. The rust was all superficial, no penetration whatsoever, the top of the shock mounts were in great shape as were the control arms. A little wire brushing and corrosion protection and it will look as good as new.

We agree on a price and I will be picking the car up in two weeks (he was on his way to the airport for a vacation).

It needs new tires, the gauges need to be redone (found a local-ish shop that specializes in Smith gauges, especially those that don't work from a positive to negative ground conversion), and the exhaust will likely be redone.

I enjoyed driving it so much that I think I'm going to get the 911 ready for sale.

[Tobra]

This is a nice little series of articles you may find interesting

[MrBonus]

Originally Posted by Tobra

This is a nice little series of articles you may find interesting

Thanks, I was reading that series. What has blown me away is how much information and parts are available for these cars. There are a ton of old suppliers in the states with websites straight out of the late '90s where you can basically get anything you need and nothing is particularly expensive.

[MrBonus]

Welp, she's all mine, and I now have to chase down some Lucas electrical gremlins!

[911 Rod]

That's a cool little car!

[Reiver]

Great Lotus...Colin truly added lightness and they handle wonderfully for the period.
I have a Lotus Elise that is fantastic...under 2k pounds..a Whippet. Great fun and has been very reliable.

[Racerbvd]

Looks like fun...

[manbridge 74]

Weigh it at some point....

Well done!

[MrBonus]

So the car came back to me last week after a lengthy refurbishment. We went ahead and did a CV joint conversion, rewired the entire car, replaced all brake lines with stainless units, electronic ignition upgrade, added a 10" fan in front of the radiator for additional cooling, new tires, a new alternator (Toyota unit), rebuilt the gauges, rebuild the wiper motor, new exhaust, and replaced a bunch of trim pieces.

WOW, this car is amazing.





My thoughts after putting about 40 miles on it:

The engine sings beautifully and has an impressive range of operation for a little 1.6 liter 4-banger. You rarely have to upshift as long as you're above 2000 RPMs. The steering is simply sublime. The car tracks perfectly straight, which is a huge relief, and the car has more grip than I'm willing to ever exploit. The manual brakes require some serious effort but stop well. The pedals are so close together that I can only drive it with some old, undersized Addidas sneakers.

You have to adjust to the rattles, which are borderline obnoxious at idle, but once underway you don't really notice them. The car idles pretty silently and is easy to start. When you drive it, it truly makes you wonder why other manufacturers like Ferrari and Porsche can't build a car that steers and handle as well as this does but simply doesn't rattle nearly as much, but I guess that comes down to the expectations of their buyers and the need for luxury. However, the car itself rides quite nicely, even comfortably, if you can excuse the fixed back seats and cabin noise.

[Sooner or later]

Nice!

[Scott Douglas]

What a beautiful example. I've riden in a friend's Europa and helped him rebuild the front suspension. This car looks like it will be a lot of fun to drive. Around here, traffic is a little too 'intense' to allow much relaxation while driving something this small. Thanks for the update, you've done a great job of keeping it going.

[MrBonus]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

What a beautiful example. I've riden in a friend's Europa and helped him rebuild the front suspension. This car looks like it will be a lot of fun to drive. Around here, traffic is a little too 'intense' to allow much relaxation while driving something this small. Thanks for the update, you've done a great job of keeping it going.

Yes, it's the first car that makes me actually scared on any multi-lane road at speed but get it on some back roads and it's an epiphany into what driving can be. My 911 is a fantastic car but it feels almost like a Lexus by comparison to the Elan.