Bought Elan M100 today!

[xxplod]

Well, after a 4 year gap, I am now a Lotus owner again! I've had 3 Elises, a S1, S2 Racetech and S2 111S and always liked the look of the Elan.

I wanted an inexpensive, depreciation proof, convertible car to supplement the classic Mini and the Elan seemed to fit the bill.

Bought from Sportomotive for £5.5K. 1991, silver, 4 owners, excellent history with recent gearbox overhall, brakes done and a service, new MOT and their 3 month warranty. It drove well and seemed an honest car.

I've read about leaky roofs, but as a hardened Elise owner not too bothered. Any tips on things to look out for?

ETA: Just insured it through Adrian Flux, FC £100 XS for the princely sum of £153! Blimey, I must be getting old.

Edited by xxplod on Saturday 28th February 17:05

[C43]

Nice one. I test drove one when they were new and thought it was great. One of the guys at work has one and it has been very reliable.

Happy motoring

C43

[Monty_M100]

Welcome to the Elan Clan

Get your self on LEC, Best website in the world for the M100 http://forum.lotuselancentral.com/index.php

Plenty of upgrades.

The 1st thing i would do:-
Front brake upgrade, i`m on wilwoods approx £500
Everest Chip approx £100
Piper 2 1/4 exhaust approx £300

That`l give you just over 200bhp

Find out when the cambelt was last done, should be every 60k or 6/7 years.

If you can get to the lotus show at Donny in April there`ll be plenty off M100 owners

[xxplod]

Hi

Thanks for the tips. Cambelt was done a couple of years back. Car has had gearbox reconditioned, new brakes all round and a full service. I've looked on the LEC site briefly. Not interested in upgrades at the moment, happy to have some open top fun this summer for now.

Cheers!

[Rob-C]

xxplod said:

Any tips on things to look out for?

Have a good look at the condition of the rear wishbones. They have a tendency to dissolve.

The other thing I can think of to scare you with is - check for signs of a blown headgasket.

I never had any great problem with roof leaks - the water came in a tiny bit if you were out in the rain all day, but how often does that happen?

[xxplod]

Thanks Rob C. It will have a new MOT next week and in all probability I'll go back to them for its next MOT. If it fails on that, I will be disappointed!

Not too worried about the roof. I've had a S1 Elise - how bad can it be? !!

[andrew.]

we've had the elan nearly 19 years now and it's been absolutely reliable

having said that :
. as already mentioned the rear wishbones routinely rust away
. and most hoods leak
. gear linkages fail but it's a cheap fix
. check the coolant pipe 2" in front of the turbo hasn't been heated to splitting point
. the brakes are vauxhall's finest from twenty years ago, the calipers can stick

i've only ever seen one engine opened for surgery and i've not heard of any gearbox issues either

talk to max and tim at http://www.lakesideengineering.com/

enjoy !

[xxplod]

Thanks Andrew. Lakeside aren't too far from me. I'm not decided whether to go back to Sportomotive for servicing, try Miles at Fibreglass Services or even my local garage who are a decent outfit.

For a £5K car, I think as long as it has been looked after by someone competent it's not as if residuals are an issue.

[GT03ROB]

Great buy, they really are great little cars, had mine 17yrs now & it just doesn't get used enough, but still makes me smile when it does come out to play. Ignore reliability concerns, in 17yrs only problem has been a fuel switch failure.

[xxplod]

Well I picked it up today! So far so good. Although I've only done 40 miles in it! Mrs XXPLOD approves too!

What can I expect to get MPG wise? 30?

Cambelt was done c 10 years ago but only about 10K miles ago. Views? I'll get it changed within the next 12 months anyway. Car seems to drive very well, plenty of urge as it comes on boost.

[John_W]

xxplod said:

What can I expect to get MPG wise? 30?
Cambelt was done c 10 years ago but only about 10K miles ago. Views? I'll get it changed within the next 12 months anyway. Car seems to drive very well, plenty of urge as it comes on boost.

30 mpg is about right.

The cam belt should be done now. In fact, if you bought it from a dealer, it should have been done before you bought the car. The recommended mileage for a cam belt change is 60,000 miles, however there's also a time period of 60 months specified, and ten years is way over time for a change.

For peace of mind, get the belt changed now.

John

Edited by John_W on Saturday 7th March 21:35

[xxplod]

I will get the belt done in the next 3 months (the car has 3 months warranty!)

Any tips for tyres? I'll need a couple on the front in a while. Currently got Dunlops whicj seem grippy enough.

200 miles done now. I was zipping along some local lanes this afternoon, and realised I was grinning like a Cheshire Cat. Last car that had that affect was my last Elise!

[John_W]

Glad you like the Elan. Driving a soft top always puts a smile on my face. I've never driven an Elise: I could believe it's even more fun than the Elan, but the Elan's a whole lot easier to get in and out of.

The tyres I use are Michelin Pilot Exaltos (PE2). Like Monty says, get over to LEC. Here's one thread , but you'll find lots more.

John

[tnjjeffrey]

the turbo's are amazing, which i had one on my elise!

[Andrew.]

xxplod said:

Any tips for tyres?

michelin mxx2/pilot/whateverthey'recalledthisyear
best for grip but the fronts will only last 6k