Tom did a hell of a job on the car. I think the best ever. I dont know how he parted with it....except it is my experience when you do a car like that...sometimes the pendulem swings the other way and you just get tired.
Tony, thanks for the kind words, as the ten year restoration was truly a labor of love by an engineer with a bad case of obsessive-compulsive disorder. I drove it for six years, saw little flaws that would continue to degrade over time, and figured it would drive me crazy.
As you also know, I was concerned about the safety of the Elan. I think the turning point was when I was staring at the wheels on a soccer mom's Tahoe that was idling next to me at a stoplight. She was yapping on her cell phone while her three kids were bouncing around the inside of the car. I thought about the Elan's lack of side impact protection at that very moment. Although most here consider the Elise a bit lacking compared to much larger vehicles in that regard, it's light years ahead of the Elan.
In the end, the car did kind of wear me out. I really couldn't afford to keep it and buy an Elise, as I had the fever and wanted one very badly. I sold it four years ago for top dollar for Elans at the time , so it was what the market would bear.
Regrets? Not really. It's just a car, as is the Elise I have now. Some day I'll sell it with no regrets, either.
