Elan +2 Fix on a budget?
Discussion
My uncle blew-up the water pump (he thinks - a long time ago) on his 1969 +2 (over-heating - again from a distant memory). Gave it to a mechanic friend to 'do up' this was in the 1970s. Friend is now an old man.
Black with gold trim JPS colours.
It's been in a barn pretty much since, although he thinks they 'got it going' some years ago. He says the body is crazed.
Just wondering if this would be something I could take on as a project and if spares for the +2 are readily available. My boss is a mechanic and would enjoy something like this - but I would have to pick up any costs for parts etc (and I would add pretty much nothing else to the equation).
Uncle would retain ownership - just be a case of getting it on the road and using/showing it for a while.
Sound like a doable project for 2013?
Black with gold trim JPS colours.
It's been in a barn pretty much since, although he thinks they 'got it going' some years ago. He says the body is crazed.
Just wondering if this would be something I could take on as a project and if spares for the +2 are readily available. My boss is a mechanic and would enjoy something like this - but I would have to pick up any costs for parts etc (and I would add pretty much nothing else to the equation).
Uncle would retain ownership - just be a case of getting it on the road and using/showing it for a while.
Sound like a doable project for 2013?
Definitely worth doing but whilst not wanting to take anything away from your boss's skills a Lotus mechanic is a definite skill set that is hard earnt, whilst they might appear a very simple design there are many pitfalls to catch out the unwary. Channel his enthusiasm carefully and make one of your priorities to become an information magnet on exactly the correct way to do something - there are a couple of +2 owners/rebuilders here so don't be afraid to ask.
It's well worth having a close look at to check what needs doing to the engine, chassis and body and pricing up parts/time etc. Nearly all of the parts are available from the UK specialists but the biggest cost is in the time you put into the work. For example the water pump itself is relatively cheap (£30-40 if I recall correctly) BUT the easiest way to replace it is to take the engine out (it can be done in situ but it's difficult). With the body work, the cost is in prepping and repairing the fibreglass - but that said you can live with gel cracks and paint blistering for a lot longer than you can live with structural rust if you're not too fussed about how the car looks. The chassis/sub-frame is about £2k to buy new I think but the expense then comes in the "while I'm at it..." jobs that add cost along the way. Lotuselan.net is the place to go for advice. Be warned, once you've got your teeth into an Elan of any type it's very difficult to let go and the +2 is a very under-rated driver's car.
Edited by Lotus 50 on Sunday 6th January 15:24
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