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Yes, the Elan is a lovely car!
I can share with you my story with my version of this car, a Lotus Elan S2 from 1965.
When I first saw the car, in January 2012, it was owned by a french guy in Annecy, but the car was registered in Switzerland. I told him I would buy it if he transfers the plate to french ones (and pay the VAT consequential of this change...). The car was a bit special: the swiss guy who restored it had an Alfa Romeo 1600cc engine fitted in it. Rather unusual, he had to bend the chassis and modify the figerglass around the transmission tunnel to make the gearbox casing fit.
More than 6 months after, in October, after a few calls with the guy and a change of plates, I end up in Annecy to pay and pick it up. The plan was to drive it back to my parents in Touraine. I left the guy a bit late, around 6 and starts driving. The plan was to stop at my brother's place who lived in Clermont-Ferrand at the time.
Starting picking up some speed on the motorway, after 15min, I hear a big swooOOSSSHHH, it lasted only 2seconds. I stop by the side of the road and inspect the car: the bonnet flew away, the guy did not fit it properly and I forgot to check. The bonnet, which is in fiberglass, is spread in bits over the motorway. I pick up a few, more for souvenirs than for an actual repair....
I end up sleeping in a hotel paid by my insurance, and drive back as planned the next day: 620km accross sunny France at 110/130km/h without a bonnet, what a trip!
After that, I drove it to my faitful mechanic, got a new bonnet, got it repainted, and drove the car to the UK. I kept the car like that for a little while, but was never too sure to be fully insured because of the Alfa engine....
So I chose to put it back to original condition: new chassis found in England (haad to be changed because the original one was bend to fit the Alfa engine) (I went for galvanised and coated to avoid any rust), I had to find a buyer for the Alfa engine (in France), a seller for an old twincam engine (in France), and a guy to do all the job for me (in France too). Thanks to the Club Lotus France, and the LotusElan.net website, I ended up with plenty of contacts (even some guys in a Renault Espace on their way back from Goodwood FOS to transfer the chassis from Portsmouth to my guy in Normandie). I remember fitting the full chassis in a Citroën C5 estate (it fits!) to drive to Porstmouth.
The work took a while but I knew it would be done well. After that, I drove the car a while in the UK.
Drove it to Le Mans in June 2014 but for some reason (the Prince of Darkness was involved...), it stopped running on the way back on the motorway. The car ended up on a recovery truck to my guy in Normandie. He put it back right but for me it was took late. I had lost my flame for this car. I put it for sale in August 2014 and it left France to go to Spain. The French guy who bought it was a Renault Alpine rally driver and he lived in the south of Spain.
A great car to drive, very light, the engine noise is lovely and the interior very pleasant! The hard top looked great. The soft top is a bit flimsy (very similar to the one fitted on the Lotus Elise S1: two sides in fiberglass and 2 bars that run accross the cockpit, the cover goes on top).
No regrets at all: I met some great people, had a great adventure, owned a great car and sold it to a very enthusiatic buyer!
Best,
E.
More posts:
Lotus Elan S4.
Some pictures of a car which made me always dream, a Lotus, an Elan. Here it is a S4 from 1969, with its superb two-tone body. Credit: Classic Car. If only I had a big garage... And, it seems, a good mechanic. Best, Nicolas ...
Yes, the Elan is a lovely car!
I can share with you my story with my version of this car, a Lotus Elan S2 from 1965. When I first saw the car, in January 2012, it was owned by a french guy in Annecy, but the car was registered in Switzerland. I told him I would buy it if he transfers t...
I'm a cooler person having seen these photos :)
But that CD player is a real purple-eye-sore on the otherwise nice dash.
My Father almost bought one of these new in 1970...
He loved the car, but needed reliability to get him to the office each day. He ended up with a Porsche 914 instead. It turned out to be the better choice for him, but he still would swoon when an Elan, or any Lotus, went by. HEO
You want a drive, come on down [only if you agree the radio is superfluous]
The engine is all the entertainment (and information) that you need when driving an Elan. I'll even paint the sides white (with watercolors) if you like, to indulge your fantasy Can't help on the Europa, I sold this one a long time ago Same with the Cater...
