Elan M100 - does the rust bug get them?
Discussion
Since you refer to the wiki, I presume you've already discovered lotuselancentral.com.
Have a look at recent posts by Bob Brown ref outrigger rust, which is a topic just being discovered in the Elan community (not bad for a 20-year old car - my old MGB discovered it after 3 years).
There are not many Elans which have serious rust problems, but it happens (especially if the owner hasn't fixed hood-leaking problems). The chassis is not galvanised, but just zinc coated, which is nothing like as good. The front and rear wishbones can corrode, but it depends if it's been used all year round or (as mine) cosseted away from winter salt in a garage. If the brakes are still standard, they seize up regularly with rust, but the cure is fairly easy.
In general I would rate the Elan as a good non-rusty proposition. If you're in the market for one, just make sure you digest the knowledge on LEC and ask some questions. They're a friendly bunch.
John
Have a look at recent posts by Bob Brown ref outrigger rust, which is a topic just being discovered in the Elan community (not bad for a 20-year old car - my old MGB discovered it after 3 years).
There are not many Elans which have serious rust problems, but it happens (especially if the owner hasn't fixed hood-leaking problems). The chassis is not galvanised, but just zinc coated, which is nothing like as good. The front and rear wishbones can corrode, but it depends if it's been used all year round or (as mine) cosseted away from winter salt in a garage. If the brakes are still standard, they seize up regularly with rust, but the cure is fairly easy.
In general I would rate the Elan as a good non-rusty proposition. If you're in the market for one, just make sure you digest the knowledge on LEC and ask some questions. They're a friendly bunch.
John
As has already been said, Lotuselancentral is the best place on the Internet to learn about the M100. For a car that's over 20 years old in design they've aged extremely well & still look great.
They are at that age now where the ones that haven't been looked after are starting to cause some problems, but thankfully the majority out there have been cared for
They are at that age now where the ones that haven't been looked after are starting to cause some problems, but thankfully the majority out there have been cared for
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