What 2 look 4 in Elan +2S please
Discussion
Hi all, I'm new to this. These were made btween 1967 and 1974 approx. Not looking for concours car but want to avoid serious probs. What are the problem areas I need to look for and what should I check has been replaced on service history. Urgent replies this weekend. Thanks everyone. :)
Chassis should be replaced - either by Galvanised original or with spaceframe Spyder Chassis
Check for any chassis cracking near syspension upright mounting struts - unlikely on replaced chassis
The metal bars within the sills tend to rust away, but are not too easy to check - best to look for a receipt for replacement.
I'd be suspicious of "fresh" resprays, unless it has a receipt from a recognised expert for the work. Poor quality body repairs can look good, but only for a short time.
Many cars will have the rear halfshafts changed from the original "rubber donought" type to an ungraded type using normal universal joints and this is usually a desirable mod.
Engines generally leak a bit of oil and burn a little bit when cold, but this should clear when it's warmed up. Twin cams in good nick are also quite quiet mechanically for a sixtys engine, so listen for noisey cam chains and valves.
Handbrakes rarely work for more than a week after the last MOT.
Steering can feel heavy if the front uprights haven't been regularly lubricated or if the car hasn't been used for a while.
Gearboxes should be tight and short throw, but jumping out of gear on overrun is a good sign of the need for a rebuild.
The vacuum system that powers the pop up lights is generally crap and if not in perfect condition will cause the lights to raise themselves after the car has been parked for a few hours, or will not raise the lights properly, or will raise them under full acceleration. The system is better replaced with an electric system.
Other than that they are lovely cars and great fun.
Check for any chassis cracking near syspension upright mounting struts - unlikely on replaced chassis
The metal bars within the sills tend to rust away, but are not too easy to check - best to look for a receipt for replacement.
I'd be suspicious of "fresh" resprays, unless it has a receipt from a recognised expert for the work. Poor quality body repairs can look good, but only for a short time.
Many cars will have the rear halfshafts changed from the original "rubber donought" type to an ungraded type using normal universal joints and this is usually a desirable mod.
Engines generally leak a bit of oil and burn a little bit when cold, but this should clear when it's warmed up. Twin cams in good nick are also quite quiet mechanically for a sixtys engine, so listen for noisey cam chains and valves.
Handbrakes rarely work for more than a week after the last MOT.
Steering can feel heavy if the front uprights haven't been regularly lubricated or if the car hasn't been used for a while.
Gearboxes should be tight and short throw, but jumping out of gear on overrun is a good sign of the need for a rebuild.
The vacuum system that powers the pop up lights is generally crap and if not in perfect condition will cause the lights to raise themselves after the car has been parked for a few hours, or will not raise the lights properly, or will raise them under full acceleration. The system is better replaced with an electric system.
Other than that they are lovely cars and great fun.
Unfortunately, I'd say that they are one of the most specialized cars to buy, in terms of what to check. I've had a couple of Plus 2's and a couple of baby (2 seater) Elans in my time, in addition to working on other people's cars, and whilst they are fabulous when running right, there are a lot of areas to check when buying.
To point you in the right direction: LotusElan.net buyer's guides
Chassis: As Sparkey says. But also: check for distortion if it has been jacked incorrectly. If you jack them directly beneath the diff, the chassis can distort. If you jack under the rear wishbones, the wishbones distort. Check that the lights stay down when the engine is off. If they slowly rise, it indicates a vacuum leak, which can indicate a rusty chassis (they use the front crossmember as a vacuum tank). As Sparkey says, the headlamp vacuum system is generally crap, and can leak at a number of points, but I'd never the less be suspicious of faults or of cars which have had it replaced by an electrical system, unless you are confident of the condition of the chassis. On a standard (as opposed to Spyder spaceframe replacement) chassis, there ought to be little semi-circular drain holes at the bottom of each front suspension turret. Make sure that these are obvious and clear. If you can't see them, or if they look partially blocked, it is because the turrets (which are open at the top)are packed full of dirt and crap and will be happily rusting away from the inside out (even on a galvanised replacement Lotus chassis!). Have a good prod and poke with a screwdriver around these drain holes and walk away from any car where the metal is not absolutely sound.
Lotus backbone chassis cannot safely be welded or repaired - they are too flimsy - so any distortion or corrosiuon means a new chassis. I've done this; it's a big job and even if you do it yourself will cost in the region of £2K minimum by the time you've sorted all the little extras like bushes and stuff, so best avoided unless the car is very cheap.
Purists don't like the Spyder spaceframe (as opposed to Lotus folded steel) backbone chassis, but the Plus 2 isn't yet valuable enough for originality to be critical and it has several advantages. Most important, it it a lot stronger and stiffer and it gives much better access to the running gear (diff, exhaust manifold removal, that sort ot thing). Personally, I'd prefer a car with a Spyder chassis, and I fitted one myself when I re-chassied my Elan.
Check for play in the front trunnions - common, but cheap to fix (about £13 a side, if you do it yourself). Ask the owner how he lubricates the trunnions. 'Don't know' or 'grease' are the wrong answers and indicate an owner who doesn't know the car. Correct answer is EP90 gear oil, with a blanking plug fitted after lubrication.
The steering should be light and direct. Heavy steering indicates seized trunnions...as above; cheap to fix.
Suspension bushes don't have a long life (not least because the Twin Cam engine usually pi55es oil all over them, which degrades the rubber), but are relatively cheap. Still, there are a few of them and they need to be pressed in, so best to check their condition.
Bodywork: as Sparkey says, beware fresh resprays. They can cover a multitude of sins, which re-emerge over the next few months. On the other hand, beware poor paintwork too - repairs to star cracks and a full respray are expensive specialist jobs, so unless the price reflects this (unlikely, as it will almost take the car to negative value), walk away from any car needing major paintwork. If the car does have a recent respray, find out who. Names to look for are Mick Miller (will be a few years old, 'cos he died), Robin Alabaster, Miles Wilkins or SMS, amongst a few others. 'Some local spray chap I know' is definitely the wrong answer - don't walk away, run!
Interior:
Can be very expensive to put right if it is shabby. Personally, I'd avoid cars with an oatmeal interior, 'cos it's a bugger to keep clean and tidy. The other common alternative is black - much preferable IMHO. Dashboards often crack and delaminate - not a hugely expensive job to put right if you are not scared of wiring (couple of hundred quid), but quite expensive if you get a professional to do it.
Electrics:
I see by your profile you have TVR experience? The electrics on an old Lotus are much, much worse, and those on the Plus 2 are quite complex.
Make sure everything works and visually check the condition of the wiring loom. Any sign of spliced-in 'bodges', walk away unless you are confident enough to fit a new loom yourself. A new loom isn't that expensive (few hundred pounds), but having it professionally fitted is, and the electrics on a car with any faults or any sign of 'bodging' are likely to be unreliable without a full rewire.
Transmission:
I'd disagree with Sparkey about the number of cars that have had 'solid driveshaft conversions' (ie. no donuts or only 2 donuts in the rear driveshafts) - there are plenty of cars that haven't had it done, and it wouldn't put me off.
There is an argument that the donuts give a cushioning effect and that as a result fitting solid driveshaft conversions puts undue stress on the chassis. This wouldn't be a worry on a Spyder spaceframe, but if you look at the diff mountings on a standard pressed steel chassis, you will see the source of the concern...basically, the diff is suspended from a couple of mounts on captive nuts above the diff, and restrained by torque rods running forward to captive nuts on the tunnel part of the chassis. The whole chassis is fabricated from worryingly thin steel (you can 'pop' it in like the side of a metal oil can under thumb pressure!
), so fatigue at mounting points is probably a valid worry.
If the car does still have donuts, check them for any sign of cracking (ideally, get under the car supported on axle stands under the chassis, and rotate the wheels while the suspension is on full droop - any cracks will be very obvious as the donuts will be distorted). Couple of hundred quid to fix, again, but a Lotus man who doesn't look after his donuts is not to be trusted - walk away!
My personal advice would be to avoid cars with the 5 speed gearbox. It isn't particularly long-lived, parts are becoming scarce, and the gearchange is horrible. I think these factors more than outweight the better relaxed cruising it offers in comparison to the 4 speed (which is robust, reasonably cheap to recondition and has a lovely change).
Check for oil leaks on the diff, but otherwise they are robust and fairly cheap to recondition - Ford internals in a Lotus cast alloy case.
Check for play in the rear bearings. They wear quickly and can be a bit of a sod to change. A special rear hub puller is essential, but they only cost a few quid.
Engine:
As Sparkey says, they generally leak a bit of oil. They can be made oil-tight, but don't worry about the odd spot. Also as Sparky pointed out, you will get a puff of blue smoke at startup from cold, since they don't have valve stem oil seals, so a little oil will drain down into the cylinders when they are left standing. It should clear after a few seconds, though. The valve guides are a know weakness on the Lotus Twin Cam...they are fairly short, so wear quickly. A major smokescreen on start up, or any blue smoke while running is a worry. If you can, test the car by going down a longish hill on the over-run, then check the mirror as you come back onto the throttle at the bottom - oil will be drawn down worn valve guides on the overrun and will show as a blue haze while you are on the overrun and, on a car with badly worn valve guides, very obvious blue smoke when you accelerate again as the accumulated oil burns off. Budget £1500 for a decent cylinder head rebuild from someone like QED, if you remove and refit the head yourself - though that would be for a head with the valves fully shimmed and ready to drop back on, and including all gaskets, seals etc.
Blue haze on acceleration/under load indicates worn piston rings or worn bores. Many Twin Cams have now been rebored to their limits, so apart from the obvious (major!) cost of an engine rebuild, you would be looking at sleeving the block, which has been known to cause its own problems.
Check for play at the waterpump pulley (rock it with your hand - a tiny amount is acceptable) - another known weakness and an engine-out job to fix properly. The water pump is pressed into the front cover on the engine and to get this oil-tight you need to remove both head and sump!
As Sparkey suggests, listen for cam chain noise in particular - check also the cam chain adjuster. This is a threaded stud which protrudes from the side of the front cover in front of the carbs. There should be plenty of thread showing (1/2" plus). If it is screwed right in, the cam chain is at the end of its life.
General wisdom is to avoid the engines with Stromberg carbs (usually on cars around 1968-1969). I quite like Strombergs
, but I must admit that they are not as easy to tune or rebuild as the more common Webers or Dellortos. Big Valve engines (+2S130) are desirable, but many have the undesirable 5 speed box attached (ie. model +2S130/5). Also, don't assume that a big valve cam-cover means a big valve engine - the cam cover could have been added to an earlier engine for show or, conversely, many earlier engines with standard cam covers have now been upgraded to big valve spec. or above.
A good Twin Cam is smooth and very tractable, so any hesitation, flat spots or fluffing once it has warmed up are signs of poorly set-up carburation. They are prone to pinking on modern fuel, so check for this if you can.
The carbs should be flexibly mounted and should be capable of being visibly moved in relation to the engine under hand pressure. If they are bolted up tight, the vibration can cause frothing in the float chambers which upsets the running of the engine, and it would again be a sign of an inept owner if you come across this.
The distributor is very inaccessible (below the carbs), so electronic ignition is a common (and desirable) upgrade to avoid regular adjustment of the points. Extra brownie points ot any owner who reminds you that, despite electronic ignition, you need to regularly lubricate the bob-weights for the centrifugal advance in the dizzy - they are easy to forget, and will sieze if you don't.
Like paintwork, engine rebuilds on an old Lotus are a very specialist job (especially the cylinder head), so look for the right name on the receipt if the engine has had a recent rebuild. The biggest specialist is QED, but Nick Stagg is a very good name, too (especially down your end of the country). There are others, too, good and bad - contact me via my profile if you want to know whether a name is reputable.
Cooling system, like many old British sports cars, is marginal, so check the car doesn't overheat. Temperature should be around 88-90 degrees C and shouldn't rise much higher even on prolonged idling. An electric fan is desirable, both for better cooling and because it relieves some of the strain from the dodgy water pump mentioned above.
Oil pressure on the Twin Cam is quite low. 38-40 psi at speed is normal, when hot, and high pressure oil pump conversions are not necessarily a good thing - they just make the engine leak more oil!! Don't worry too much if the pressure drops as low as 12 psi or so at idle, though 20+ is healthier.
In terms of spare parts (which you will eventually need, if you buy one!), Paul Matty Sportscars are excellent for mail order service, closely followed by Christopher Neil. At risk of upsetting the mods by recommending someone, I'd try to go with Paul Matty, personally, 'cos he is a genuine enthusiast (and a lovely bloke, to boot) who supports the older cars. Chris Neil, good as they are, are a main Lotus/TVR/Noble dealer and so don't rely so much on 'classic' side of the business.
I wouldn't want to put you off - the Elan and Plus 2 are truly great cars, and well deserve their legendary status when it comes to handling, but the Lots Of Trouble, Usually Serious acronym is valid and you need to remember that any car you will be looking had a reputation for fragility when new and is now well over 30 years old...
Hope that lot is of help, and isn't too late if you are looking for a car this weekend.
If you have any specific questions, feel free to mail me through my profile. I'm a little bit rusty, 'cos I've been running modern Lotus' and TVR for the last couple of years, but I've had '60's Elans and Plus 2's down to nut-and-bolt level on more occasions than I care to remember, so I know them pretty intimately!
edited to add:
Hello Sparkey! I see from your profile that you have Triumph bikes, too? As a loyal employee of Mr Bloor, may I thank you for your patriotic support. A Lotus man as well...obviously impeccable taste! 
>> Edited by Mutant Rat on Sunday 11th September 00:07
To point you in the right direction: LotusElan.net buyer's guides
Chassis: As Sparkey says. But also: check for distortion if it has been jacked incorrectly. If you jack them directly beneath the diff, the chassis can distort. If you jack under the rear wishbones, the wishbones distort. Check that the lights stay down when the engine is off. If they slowly rise, it indicates a vacuum leak, which can indicate a rusty chassis (they use the front crossmember as a vacuum tank). As Sparkey says, the headlamp vacuum system is generally crap, and can leak at a number of points, but I'd never the less be suspicious of faults or of cars which have had it replaced by an electrical system, unless you are confident of the condition of the chassis. On a standard (as opposed to Spyder spaceframe replacement) chassis, there ought to be little semi-circular drain holes at the bottom of each front suspension turret. Make sure that these are obvious and clear. If you can't see them, or if they look partially blocked, it is because the turrets (which are open at the top)are packed full of dirt and crap and will be happily rusting away from the inside out (even on a galvanised replacement Lotus chassis!). Have a good prod and poke with a screwdriver around these drain holes and walk away from any car where the metal is not absolutely sound.
Lotus backbone chassis cannot safely be welded or repaired - they are too flimsy - so any distortion or corrosiuon means a new chassis. I've done this; it's a big job and even if you do it yourself will cost in the region of £2K minimum by the time you've sorted all the little extras like bushes and stuff, so best avoided unless the car is very cheap.
Purists don't like the Spyder spaceframe (as opposed to Lotus folded steel) backbone chassis, but the Plus 2 isn't yet valuable enough for originality to be critical and it has several advantages. Most important, it it a lot stronger and stiffer and it gives much better access to the running gear (diff, exhaust manifold removal, that sort ot thing). Personally, I'd prefer a car with a Spyder chassis, and I fitted one myself when I re-chassied my Elan.
Check for play in the front trunnions - common, but cheap to fix (about £13 a side, if you do it yourself). Ask the owner how he lubricates the trunnions. 'Don't know' or 'grease' are the wrong answers and indicate an owner who doesn't know the car. Correct answer is EP90 gear oil, with a blanking plug fitted after lubrication.
The steering should be light and direct. Heavy steering indicates seized trunnions...as above; cheap to fix.
Suspension bushes don't have a long life (not least because the Twin Cam engine usually pi55es oil all over them, which degrades the rubber), but are relatively cheap. Still, there are a few of them and they need to be pressed in, so best to check their condition.
Bodywork: as Sparkey says, beware fresh resprays. They can cover a multitude of sins, which re-emerge over the next few months. On the other hand, beware poor paintwork too - repairs to star cracks and a full respray are expensive specialist jobs, so unless the price reflects this (unlikely, as it will almost take the car to negative value), walk away from any car needing major paintwork. If the car does have a recent respray, find out who. Names to look for are Mick Miller (will be a few years old, 'cos he died), Robin Alabaster, Miles Wilkins or SMS, amongst a few others. 'Some local spray chap I know' is definitely the wrong answer - don't walk away, run!
Interior:
Can be very expensive to put right if it is shabby. Personally, I'd avoid cars with an oatmeal interior, 'cos it's a bugger to keep clean and tidy. The other common alternative is black - much preferable IMHO. Dashboards often crack and delaminate - not a hugely expensive job to put right if you are not scared of wiring (couple of hundred quid), but quite expensive if you get a professional to do it.
Electrics:
I see by your profile you have TVR experience? The electrics on an old Lotus are much, much worse, and those on the Plus 2 are quite complex.
Make sure everything works and visually check the condition of the wiring loom. Any sign of spliced-in 'bodges', walk away unless you are confident enough to fit a new loom yourself. A new loom isn't that expensive (few hundred pounds), but having it professionally fitted is, and the electrics on a car with any faults or any sign of 'bodging' are likely to be unreliable without a full rewire.
Transmission:
I'd disagree with Sparkey about the number of cars that have had 'solid driveshaft conversions' (ie. no donuts or only 2 donuts in the rear driveshafts) - there are plenty of cars that haven't had it done, and it wouldn't put me off.
There is an argument that the donuts give a cushioning effect and that as a result fitting solid driveshaft conversions puts undue stress on the chassis. This wouldn't be a worry on a Spyder spaceframe, but if you look at the diff mountings on a standard pressed steel chassis, you will see the source of the concern...basically, the diff is suspended from a couple of mounts on captive nuts above the diff, and restrained by torque rods running forward to captive nuts on the tunnel part of the chassis. The whole chassis is fabricated from worryingly thin steel (you can 'pop' it in like the side of a metal oil can under thumb pressure!
), so fatigue at mounting points is probably a valid worry. If the car does still have donuts, check them for any sign of cracking (ideally, get under the car supported on axle stands under the chassis, and rotate the wheels while the suspension is on full droop - any cracks will be very obvious as the donuts will be distorted). Couple of hundred quid to fix, again, but a Lotus man who doesn't look after his donuts is not to be trusted - walk away!
My personal advice would be to avoid cars with the 5 speed gearbox. It isn't particularly long-lived, parts are becoming scarce, and the gearchange is horrible. I think these factors more than outweight the better relaxed cruising it offers in comparison to the 4 speed (which is robust, reasonably cheap to recondition and has a lovely change).
Check for oil leaks on the diff, but otherwise they are robust and fairly cheap to recondition - Ford internals in a Lotus cast alloy case.
Check for play in the rear bearings. They wear quickly and can be a bit of a sod to change. A special rear hub puller is essential, but they only cost a few quid.
Engine:
As Sparkey says, they generally leak a bit of oil. They can be made oil-tight, but don't worry about the odd spot. Also as Sparky pointed out, you will get a puff of blue smoke at startup from cold, since they don't have valve stem oil seals, so a little oil will drain down into the cylinders when they are left standing. It should clear after a few seconds, though. The valve guides are a know weakness on the Lotus Twin Cam...they are fairly short, so wear quickly. A major smokescreen on start up, or any blue smoke while running is a worry. If you can, test the car by going down a longish hill on the over-run, then check the mirror as you come back onto the throttle at the bottom - oil will be drawn down worn valve guides on the overrun and will show as a blue haze while you are on the overrun and, on a car with badly worn valve guides, very obvious blue smoke when you accelerate again as the accumulated oil burns off. Budget £1500 for a decent cylinder head rebuild from someone like QED, if you remove and refit the head yourself - though that would be for a head with the valves fully shimmed and ready to drop back on, and including all gaskets, seals etc.
Blue haze on acceleration/under load indicates worn piston rings or worn bores. Many Twin Cams have now been rebored to their limits, so apart from the obvious (major!) cost of an engine rebuild, you would be looking at sleeving the block, which has been known to cause its own problems.
Check for play at the waterpump pulley (rock it with your hand - a tiny amount is acceptable) - another known weakness and an engine-out job to fix properly. The water pump is pressed into the front cover on the engine and to get this oil-tight you need to remove both head and sump!
As Sparkey suggests, listen for cam chain noise in particular - check also the cam chain adjuster. This is a threaded stud which protrudes from the side of the front cover in front of the carbs. There should be plenty of thread showing (1/2" plus). If it is screwed right in, the cam chain is at the end of its life.
General wisdom is to avoid the engines with Stromberg carbs (usually on cars around 1968-1969). I quite like Strombergs
, but I must admit that they are not as easy to tune or rebuild as the more common Webers or Dellortos. Big Valve engines (+2S130) are desirable, but many have the undesirable 5 speed box attached (ie. model +2S130/5). Also, don't assume that a big valve cam-cover means a big valve engine - the cam cover could have been added to an earlier engine for show or, conversely, many earlier engines with standard cam covers have now been upgraded to big valve spec. or above. A good Twin Cam is smooth and very tractable, so any hesitation, flat spots or fluffing once it has warmed up are signs of poorly set-up carburation. They are prone to pinking on modern fuel, so check for this if you can.
The carbs should be flexibly mounted and should be capable of being visibly moved in relation to the engine under hand pressure. If they are bolted up tight, the vibration can cause frothing in the float chambers which upsets the running of the engine, and it would again be a sign of an inept owner if you come across this.
The distributor is very inaccessible (below the carbs), so electronic ignition is a common (and desirable) upgrade to avoid regular adjustment of the points. Extra brownie points ot any owner who reminds you that, despite electronic ignition, you need to regularly lubricate the bob-weights for the centrifugal advance in the dizzy - they are easy to forget, and will sieze if you don't.
Like paintwork, engine rebuilds on an old Lotus are a very specialist job (especially the cylinder head), so look for the right name on the receipt if the engine has had a recent rebuild. The biggest specialist is QED, but Nick Stagg is a very good name, too (especially down your end of the country). There are others, too, good and bad - contact me via my profile if you want to know whether a name is reputable.
Cooling system, like many old British sports cars, is marginal, so check the car doesn't overheat. Temperature should be around 88-90 degrees C and shouldn't rise much higher even on prolonged idling. An electric fan is desirable, both for better cooling and because it relieves some of the strain from the dodgy water pump mentioned above.
Oil pressure on the Twin Cam is quite low. 38-40 psi at speed is normal, when hot, and high pressure oil pump conversions are not necessarily a good thing - they just make the engine leak more oil!! Don't worry too much if the pressure drops as low as 12 psi or so at idle, though 20+ is healthier.
In terms of spare parts (which you will eventually need, if you buy one!), Paul Matty Sportscars are excellent for mail order service, closely followed by Christopher Neil. At risk of upsetting the mods by recommending someone, I'd try to go with Paul Matty, personally, 'cos he is a genuine enthusiast (and a lovely bloke, to boot) who supports the older cars. Chris Neil, good as they are, are a main Lotus/TVR/Noble dealer and so don't rely so much on 'classic' side of the business.
I wouldn't want to put you off - the Elan and Plus 2 are truly great cars, and well deserve their legendary status when it comes to handling, but the Lots Of Trouble, Usually Serious acronym is valid and you need to remember that any car you will be looking had a reputation for fragility when new and is now well over 30 years old...
Hope that lot is of help, and isn't too late if you are looking for a car this weekend.
If you have any specific questions, feel free to mail me through my profile. I'm a little bit rusty, 'cos I've been running modern Lotus' and TVR for the last couple of years, but I've had '60's Elans and Plus 2's down to nut-and-bolt level on more occasions than I care to remember, so I know them pretty intimately!
edited to add:
Hello Sparkey! I see from your profile that you have Triumph bikes, too? As a loyal employee of Mr Bloor, may I thank you for your patriotic support. A Lotus man as well...obviously impeccable taste! >> Edited by Mutant Rat on Sunday 11th September 00:07
Sparkey and Mutant,
Apologies for the late reply but a whopping big thank you to both of you. I must have struck extremely lucky for the pair of you to take so much time to write such lengthy and concise replies to my post. It was exactly what I needed before I went looking - not after I went looking. I could'nt have got this essential information from anywhere else other than from experienced and practical owners like yourselves. I did carefully study your comments before inspecting and asking questions and in neither instance was it worth it starting the car and going on the road. In both cases the car had only been owned for a short time and I suspect purchased without knowing the real problems until discovered too late... quickly followed by the 'sell it' quick response. Potentially you have saved me a lot of grief and expense besides which the whole point of owning such a car is for it to be an enjoyable experience. Unfortunately it's not like going to a major dealership one weekend and coming away with one's choice - I think I could be looking for some considerable time if I'm to find a suitable example. Enough for now and if I need to check anything else with you I'll take you up on your offer to get back to you through your profile. Once again a big thank you.
Apologies for the late reply but a whopping big thank you to both of you. I must have struck extremely lucky for the pair of you to take so much time to write such lengthy and concise replies to my post. It was exactly what I needed before I went looking - not after I went looking. I could'nt have got this essential information from anywhere else other than from experienced and practical owners like yourselves. I did carefully study your comments before inspecting and asking questions and in neither instance was it worth it starting the car and going on the road. In both cases the car had only been owned for a short time and I suspect purchased without knowing the real problems until discovered too late... quickly followed by the 'sell it' quick response. Potentially you have saved me a lot of grief and expense besides which the whole point of owning such a car is for it to be an enjoyable experience. Unfortunately it's not like going to a major dealership one weekend and coming away with one's choice - I think I could be looking for some considerable time if I'm to find a suitable example. Enough for now and if I need to check anything else with you I'll take you up on your offer to get back to you through your profile. Once again a big thank you.
Couple for sale here, usually disclaimers no interest etc.
www.lotuselan.net/forums/viewforum.php?f=2&sid+f7d6add7f6b042234d5598a0e0104dc4
and I agree with prevous posters check lists.
www.lotuselan.net/forums/viewforum.php?f=2&sid+f7d6add7f6b042234d5598a0e0104dc4
and I agree with prevous posters check lists.
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