[Aussie]

I thought some for you lotus enthusiasts would be interested in some pictures I just received of an elan that I am considering restoring. It belonged to my uncle who recently passed away and has been in place for 30years. Best I can tell is its a S3 FHC. Any other guesses are welcome. I have been able to locate a number of the parts in the pictures of the rubble but it is hard to tell.
Any comments on restoring these in the USA are also welcome.

 

[lotus90]

if you have all the parts and not to much rust it is straight forward job

 

[fitfan]

chassis rot is the main problem. you can either rebuild it if needed or buy a new better "spider" chassis

 

[DeanG]

With the right attitude it could be an enormously fun project. Assess what you have, have a realistic budget and determine what you want the car to become.

The people at Dave Bean Engineering, JAE, RD Enterprises & Sports Car World will become your friends and be on speed dial.

Become familiar with Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 at LotusElan.net

 

[ByronW]

I always hope to see something like that whenever I enter old buildings. Please restore it to its former glory.

 

[dwdaubin]

cool , I had a 67 FHC in college (73). white is rare..

 

[glb]

I restored a 1972 Sprint in '85, using Spyder chassis and suspension.

Drove it for >100k miles and made it reliable.


If I can be of any help, contact me. These are great cars. IMO, the best "
classic" British sports car ever.

 

[triloduc]

You should do it! Do it! Do it Now! Do it quickly before sanity sets in!
Seriously though, there is no more pure driving experience, except the 7, than and Elan. They as simple to restore, definitely have some idiosyncrasies, but that's all part of the fun! There is a huge amount of help available and parts are plentiful.
Where in the World are you/is it?
Ian

 

[lighterthanair]

I thought some for you lotus enthusiasts would be interested in some pictures I just received of an elan that I am considering restoring. It belonged to my uncle who recently passed away and has been in place for 30years. Best I can tell is its a S3 FHC. Any other guesses are welcome. I have been able to locate a number of the parts in the pictures of the rubble but it is hard to tell.
Any comments on restoring these in the USA are also welcome.

Have you ever restored a car before?

These Elans are not complex (if you were contemplating doing an E-Type I'd say you were crazy if this was your first resto), and they are wonderful cars on the road.

Let me know what you decide. I'm searching for a restoration project, and both an E and an Elan are on the list.

I don't know how much you know about these cars, but the restoration is straightforward if you know what you are doing. If you go ahead with it, contact Dave Bean for parts and advice, learn how to do fiberglass, and make sure your wife is comatose for 2 years.

Stephen.


Stephen

 

[glb]

"Comatose" made me laugh.


Dave Bean is good, but I prefer Ray at r.d. enterprises ltd. Home Page.

 

[tmr]

It looks like a Series 4, as it has the 'square' wheel arches.

 

[MTLDean]

Rat rod!!!!

 

[Elan Mike]

I've got a S4 that origoanlly had those square arches, but the coupe vents look like S3?

 

[philethier]

Seriously: Join your local Lotus club. Seek out Elan folks. Immerse yourself in the culture. Post up on this thread what city you are near. You will likely find someone on here who will be your new best friend. You will save a lot of time, save a lot of money and have a lot more fun if you don't go it alone. I rehabbed ("restored" would be inaccurate) a Europa and I am glad I had friends.