White Elan in Cheltenham

[madbilly]

Hi there,
Firstly, this appears to be a great owner's forum and is defintiely full of useful info for someone like me who's keen to get an Elan.

I went to see a white SE in Cheltenham, first one I've ever been in so I've not got anything to compare it to though I'm hoping to see some more this weekend.
I forgot to take the buyer's guide from your wiki with me, but I think I checked most things. A few things made me wonder:
- It's had a new turbo because the previous one failed. Could this have affected anything else in the engine that I should check out?
- The rubber seals around the hood and windows are perishing and flaking, is this normal?

Cheers,
Will

[Dave Eds]

Lotus Show at Donington next Saturday and Sunday - get along Saturday if you can, you'll see at least 100 M100s

[dapinky]

Lotus Show at Donington next Saturday and Sunday - get along Saturday if you can, you'll see at least 100 M100s

........including a red one which is for sale

[madbilly]

Great idea! It's in the diary, hopefully see you there!

So having seen another in Marlow I think that the window seals and roof rubbers just generally deteriate, but I assume they're difficult to get hold of otherwise they'd be replaced.

Any thoughts on the turbo failure?

Also, the brakes feel wooden and under heavy braking the brake warning light came on, so I expect they'll need an overhaul.

[JonT]

Also, the brakes feel wooden and under heavy braking the brake warning light came on, so I expect they'll need an overhaul.

Brakes feeling wooden seems to be normal, particularly if you're used to modern, over-servoed cars. Although the caliper sliders can get sticky which will also contribute to poor braking.

The brake warning light coming on when braking heavily probably just means the brake fluid needs topping up - easy enough to have a look in the engine bay at where the level in the reservoir is.

[rip]

The brake fluid reservoir likes to be almost full or else the light comes on for a few seconds after you've applied the brakes.
There are plenty of brake upgrades available because many of us think the standard ones are poor.

Roof seals do seem to perish. I don't think they got as much attention in the design department as a soft-top for something like a BMW for instance. Possibly because an Elan is less likely to be a daily run-around?
There is somebody (not actively on here) selling complete new roofs for about £950 IIRC.

[chipp]

:agree:


There is somebody (not actively on here) selling complete new roofs for about £950 IIRC.

his name is Mark, he is based near Lowestoft in suffolk. he gave me some leaflets at the weekend to put on the LEC stand at donny. he should be there himself on the Saturday if he can make it.

chipp