cazalea
[Seiko Moderator]
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The Story of an Old Friend: Lotus Elan, Part 1
This is the story of my 1971 Lotus Elan #0149K. It is the second of the 5 Lotuses I have agreed to buy, garage, title, maintain and occasionally drive. It's the Lotus I have owned the longest - in fact I bought it 24 years and 3 days ago, for $8000 from a Mr. Worrell who asserted that he was the first and only owner, having put 32,543 miles on it in 23 years. That is a LOT of MILES on an early Lotus, especially in the spacious western states of the USA.
IN THE BEGINNING
Two happy owners. You will notice in the background I also have a Citroen Mehari, Peugeot 505 Estate, Olds 98 Touring Sedan, etc.
The car was running, it was pretty much complete, it had no history of accidents/crashes/destruction. But it was far from beautiful when you got up close to it.
THE RESTORATION
Any Colin Chapman-era Lotus needs restoration, on any given day half its systems don't work as expected (or intended). So I set about fixing it up a bit, but not too much as I wanted a driver's car. Obviously it needed some body and paint. I contacted a half-dozen body shops who all stared in horror at the tiny English fiberglass nightmare. They refused to give me a quote, so my pal Greg at work said "I can do it for you if you are not in a hurry."
I wasn't in a hurry, so I sent it over to his house.
And pretty soon it looked like this.
I'm sure you think I was crazy to trust a mate to paint my car in his garage, but Greg was also the head of the Mitchell Collision Editorial group - a cadre of ace body and paint men who set the standards and labor times for half of the US collision repair / insurance industry. Lowtus was in good hands - and when small hands were needed, he put his daughter to work with sandpaper (just kidding!).
This took 6 months and $3000. Just the materials were over $1000 (more than 20 years ago).
Then I had to start putting it all back together, starting with the windshield.
And all sorts of other things too. At this point I recall ordering a bunch of odd bits (door handles, trim parts, rubber); the order was almost $2000 and was smaller than a breadbox when it arrived! Yeow.
A small car but a lot to do!
IN THE MEANTIME, while the body was with Greg, I got the engine and transmission cleaned up and decided the Twin Cam's value and fragility meant it was worth professional care. So off it went to Bill S, who is a Socal vintage Lotus race car expert (yes, it is a niche market but he's still in business today).
I stuffed it into the back of my Citroen truck and hauled it over to his shop.
It returned 9 months later, looking a lot nicer and pumping out 120+ horses. (Boy, my garage was empty back then).
Since Greg had finished with the body I put the engine back in and fired it up.
Have I used the line "A small car but a lot to do" yet? The wiring on a fiberglass car is a nightmare, and Lotuses are extra aggravating. First because the lack of METAL in the body means the ground connections each require separate wires rather than being connected via the frame or body shell, and secondly because of Lucas (I'll say no more on that), and thirdly because of Lotus...
TEETHING PROBLEMS
I got it completed and took the car for a drive. This is the first shot, I think, of the dash and mileage is showing about 34,800.
The first time I took a long drive, the rear tail light connection was shorting to the fuel tank (over-aggressive sanding by Greg and me not noticing) when I connected things. That and a lack of fuse protection meant the rear wiring harness melted from the trunk up the the dashboard. So I had to repair all those wires.
Not so much fun this second time around. At least the back half of the car still works reliably, which can't be said for the headlights...
Then it was off to the muffler shop to get a new exhaust system.
I think it took 3 tries to get it to fit and to sound good. This is the final setup. The only flaw is the tailpipes are a bit too long and too sharp and I have sliced my shins on them several times, especially when slipping behind the car in the garage...
Cooling problems are stereotypical for British cars and deservedly so in the West. It's hot here and we also have long stoplights - the bane of a Lotus. You may have noticed earler that there was an old electric fan in front of the radiator. It was inadequate before the rebuild but worse later. So for a year I did only short runs and then crept home in a panic fearing for my new engine's health. Using all that the Lotus community could offer, I ended up with the following elements of a permanent solution:
Plus a magic chemical called Water Wetter which helps heat transfer to the coolant.
This week I got the car running again and the cooling fan wasn't working. So yesterday I had to diagnose, cut, splice, rewire and create a new wiring circuit. THEN I found this diagram this morning. Akk.
DRIVING THE LOTUS
I think the next few years need to be in another post. Come back soon, ok?
The Story of an Old Friend: Lotus Elan, Part 1
This is the story of my 1971 Lotus Elan #0149K. It is the second of the 5 Lotuses I have agreed to buy, garage, title, maintain and occasionally drive. It's the Lotus I have owned the longest - in fact I bought it 24 years and 3 days ago, for $8000 from a...
Story of an Old Friend: Lotus Elan, Part 2
This is the second installment in my 24-year ownership of Elan 0149K. The first article tells about its purchase and restoration. Before I get into my experiences driving my car, I have to say that I went to Scotland shortly after I finished its restorati...
I remember your last picture very well, and saved it in my hard disc many years ago... Fantastic to have the three of them.
I know what you mean when you write that you don't want to go too far from home with this Elan. Still, a bit of a pity, as driving it for a long trip would have been an even more superb experience. Can't wait for Part Three. Best, Nicolas
The charm of vintage cars. They all require attention and work, more or less...
But it is so rewarding! Thank you so much for tjis superb post, Mike. Best, Nicolas
Yes, but "more work" means my aching back and hands will suffer even more
I'm smarter about these things than I used to be, but not so flexible or able to get down into this engine compartment!
Story of an Old Friend: Lotus Elan, Part 3
LOWTUS had been languishing in the garage for 2 1/2 years, from what I can recall. No particular reason - just a host of small problems and multiplicity of other life events going on. But my wife was nagging (gently reminding) me to get it going again. Fr...
LUCAS - THE KING OF DARKNESS !
Beautifull story of a wonderfull car with and a great motor! Best Walter
Story of an Old Friend: Lotus Elan, Part 4
I think I should conclude with the results of today's test drive. LOWTUS started right up, with just a few seconds cranking and a bit of choke. I got out on the freeway for a 20-mile run before the sun and tourists came out to play on the freeways. I had ...
Great history & write up of your 'pocket rocket' LOTUS, Mike - thanks for sharing.
and good to see this particular Elan to have less ( L oads O f T rouble) U sually S erious problems too ;-) Cheers Giles
Alas it's got loads of trouble, not that serious
Current issue involves rebuilding the pedal box (shaft & pedals) as when you press the brake the clutch goes down, and partly vice versa. And the headlights don't work. And the doors must be realigned which is about as easy as exiting the EU. Otherwise, i...
All in a 50yo cars day ;-)
I look forward to having an analogue car again & when I have the time to commit to it - alas that’s still some yrs away. Cheers. Giles.
Giant killers
Always enjoyed watching Lotuses take on much bigger competition at vintage races. They punch above their weight class. What a wonderful long term relationship and a beautiful Elan. Thank you for sharing your story, Wojo