Do you leave / use your Elan outside in winter

[Nick Brough]

Hi,

I have asked this question on the TVR forum but feel a Lotus Elan S2 maybe a better bet for a car that will be kept outside all year and used in winter when it is to wet for the bicycle.

Over to you.

Regards

Nick

[John_W]

"Do you leave / use your Elan outside in winter?"
No.

I have owned it for over a decade and intend to own it for a lot longer, so I keep it away from salt and potholes as much as possible. It has a fibreglass body and zinc-coated chassis, but that doesn't make it immune to road crap. It is quite capable of dealing with ice and snow, is warm and dry, and many people do use them year round, but I don't.

Depends how you want to use it and how long you intend to keep it. Get yourself over to LEC (http://forum.lotuselancentral.com/index.php).

John

Edited by John_W on Monday 8th August 21:16

[Phunk]

I use a shower cap, bar that it's fine.

[anonymous-user]

When I had my Elan Sprint DHC (1974) it was a daily driver used all the year, never had a problem, kept outside all year in sunny Shropshire.

[Kaiser_Wull]

John_W said:

"Do you leave / use your Elan outside in winter?"
No.

I have owned it for over a decade and intend to own it for a lot longer, so I keep it away from salt and potholes as much as possible. It has a fibreglass body and zinc-coated chassis, but that doesn't make it immune to road crap. It is quite capable of dealing with ice and snow, is warm and dry, and many people do use them year round, but I don't.

Depends how you want to use it and how long you intend to keep it. Get yourself over to LEC (http://forum.lotuselancentral.com/index.php).

John

Edited by John_W on Monday 8th August 21:16

I'm with John - I don't leave my Elan outside in winter and I avoid potholes and salt like the plague.

The Elan is not waterproof with the hood up: they all leak to some degree. Some parts of the Elan - the sills in particular - are vulnerable to rust. If rust takes hold there, count on it being a tricky and costly affair to put right. Prevention is much better than cure.

[Nick Brough]

Berw said:

When I had my Elan Sprint DHC (1974) it was a daily driver used all the year, never had a problem, kept outside all year in sunny Shropshire.

That's interesting I had ruled an early Elan out, I have a contact who may know of a very nice one possibly coming up for sale, although I did read tall people look silly in them.

In the early 80's I ran a 13 year old MGB GT all year round and like many others thought nothing of it, so why not today, although as it will only be used once or so a week that may cause issues.

Regards

Nick

Edited by Nick Brough on Tuesday 9th August 20:34

Edited by Nick Brough on Tuesday 9th August 20:37