Clemo's Jim Clark edition (1 of 6)

[John_W]

…next year will be the 50th anniversary of his untimely death at Hockenheim … You're welcome to stay at my gaff 30 miles away.

Put me down for the spare bed.

Hope they will have the museum finished by then, that would be a nice trip to make, last time they celebrated an anniversary of a Jim Clark happening I believe they ran some of his classic F1 cars in the street, amazing

Just received the Lotus Forums Newsletter which mentioned that the Jim Clark Museum in Duns is looking for donations to enable the refurbishment and extension plans. I hadn't heard that they were needing money to complete it and there are only two weeks left before the deadline.

Details are here http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/jim-clark-museum .

John

[clemo]

Hi Clemo- is she behaving herself. First thing I did in 2000 was change the wheels to silver from yellow for an every day car they just did not work for me, second was a kenwood cassette player but that's a different story. Please keep me posted on photos of her.
From that reasonable man in Lincolnshire

Hi Darren ,
All is quite at the mo .. I only got back from Cambodia yesterday . Will do some chasing up on the progression tomorrow .
Glad to see you on here . Will keep in touch for sure .

[clemo]

Not much to report . The car is in pieces so getting closer to the spray day .

I have had a bit of a spend up at rock autos . New clutch and bits
Contemplating what to do with all the rusty bits . Full overhaul while ( most) parts are still available. That will see out the life of the car , and powder coat.
Or winter wire brush and paint .

Waiting for garage to get back to me with a price for powder coating the front and rear roll bars , wishbone bits ( that aren't galvanised ) lower yokes as they are pretty cruddy .

[Rambo]

Bet you are itching to drive it again Clemo ?

And I bet you wish you'd listened to Rambo, the old sage, who said drive it all summer and enjoy those twisty Devon lanes, then lay her up and do all the work over the long autumn/winter months

Still, you might get a shot of driving a Pink Empire Green (ICI colour code PEG561) next w/e

[muley]

Not much to report . The car is in pieces so getting closer to the spray day .

I have had a bit of a spend up at rock autos . New clutch and bits
Contemplating what to do with all the rusty bits . Full overhaul while ( most) parts are still available. That will see out the life of the car , and powder coat.
Or winter wire brush and paint .

Waiting for garage to get back to me with a price for powder coating the front and rear roll bars , wishbone bits ( that aren't galvanised ) lower yokes as they are pretty cruddy .

You sound busy. Should have bought a runaround for the season? . I did have some suspension parts powder coated once ~ they didn't last. Make sure they use a baking process like BJV Engineering.

Jim

[Rambo]

You sound busy. Should have bought a runaround for the season?

Yeah, with your original yellow wheels

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lotus-Elan-1- ... 2521825301

[clemo]

You sound busy. Should have bought a runaround for the season?

Yeah, with your original yellow wheels

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lotus-Elan-1- ... 2521825301

This is quite bonkers ...
i was thinking about this this morning .
If this was not Sy's car then i would probably rip it to pieces for the parts i want and then punt it on as a fairly standard se . Respray the bonnet and boot and shebang put the full grey carpet set i have in the garage into it ... Ta Dar ... I would have a well sorted se with s2 parts on if to punt on for £3800 . . Or bung some SE wheels back on it and I'm up by £800 - £1000 minus the respray , still in profit .. Every way i look at this i cannot believe that it is only sitting at £3800 .


In the mean time i nick the roof and rubbers , quaife LSD , hi specs , my old s2 wheels , kia rears and probably some suspension parts that Dan has not mentioned for free .


The most sensible option (should i have not bought an S2 ) is to buy the car and respray it LRG ... instead i have a LRG that needs tuning into the underpriced Stripy

Kapish ?

[Rambo]

You, Dapinky and Geoff should buy Sy's old car

[clemo]

You, Dapinky and Geoff should buy Sy's old car

Well its just run up to £5200 reserve not met .
Reserve is £5500 .
Still a good buy at that

[Steve A]

You, Dapinky and Geoff should buy Sy's old car

Well its just run up to £5200 reserve not met .
Reserve is £5500 .
Still a good buy at that

I'm amazed it hasn't been snapped up

[clemo]

Project update .
Thought the car drove into the garage Mot'd and drivable things are not all as well as they seem . 21 year old car problems start to show .
Apart form the obvious surface rust of everything which is now being removed ,treated , re painted in grey and then wax oiled , every rusty part is being shot blasted and powder coated , majority of bushes and rubbers being replaced , most still available at SJ's or aftersale ,

Reconditioning front and rear suspension (24,000 miler) new springs .
The engine is out on the bench having water pump , pully , cam belt and bits done . ( service kit form rock autos)
Logical to put new clutch in , ( rock autos)
The power steering rack leaks from the ram and ends , in need of refurbishment
The radiator has been weeping down onto the housing bracket , which has rusted through . ( have a spare )
1 fan is seized . ( have 2 spare)
front brakes need overhaul as only 1 is working , ( overhaul kit & piston i picked up at castle combe) New lines and flexi's.
rears poor ( overhaul kit) New lines and flexi's.
nut and bolt underside rebuild.
Full respray.


At this point i have exceeded to price of the actual car . I am at over 10k , .£6250 for the car , £3800 for the restoration work , £800 in new spare part , £700 in used parts . That is before i have done the seats , roof , steering wheel re-trim , wheels spoked in yellow .

The only up side i can take from this is that having looked under 29 cars this weekend at Castle combe is that they all have varying degrees of rust . Why wouldn't they . The are 21 to 26 years old . Just because they are plastic doesn't mean they don't rust .

The garage that it is in specialises in full car restorations . The workshop has TVR's , Astons , Ferrari's , MK1 Mexico's and other specialist cars .
With a price tag of £3800 for all the work i could have bought myself another elan for that . But i am assured that it will come out looking like a brand new car underneath .

I realise that this is not a great investment at the moment . yes i could do most of it myself with a wire brush and a pot of hammerite , But enthusiasm and stupidity often drives a restoration project . At the moment our cars are worth top 10k's . but when they start sliding upwards of 15k much like the Esprits then this will be the new baseline of what we do . So again justifying it to myself , i am future proofing my car a bit earlier than most . When this becomes the norm and our cars cost us all a fortune then we wont sell them for any less than 10k and i wont feel as bad . The one thing that helps drive me is the 1 of 6 jim clark edition . mine is being restored , another 1 is in storage in Exeter and another is being used up in Scotland somewhere . its a rare thing alright .

[Steve A]

When do you expect it to be finished

[muley]

Project update .
Thought the car drove into the garage Mot'd and drivable things are not all as well as they seem . 21 year old car problems start to show .
Apart form the obvious surface rust of everything which is now being removed ,treated , re painted in grey and then wax oiled , every rusty part is being shot blasted and powder coated , majority of bushes and rubbers being replaced , most still available at SJ's or aftersale ,

Reconditioning front and rear suspension (24,000 miler) new springs .
The engine is out on the bench having water pump , pully , cam belt and bits done . ( service kit form rock autos)
Logical to put new clutch in , ( rock autos)
The power steering rack leaks from the ram and ends , in need of refurbishment
The radiator has been weeping down onto the housing bracket , which has rusted through . ( have a spare )
1 fan is seized . ( have 2 spare)
front brakes need overhaul as only 1 is working , ( overhaul kit & piston i picked up at castle combe) New lines and flexi's.
rears poor ( overhaul kit) New lines and flexi's.
nut and bolt underside rebuild.
Full respray.


At this point i have exceeded to price of the actual car . I am at over 10k , .£6250 for the car , £3800 for the restoration work , £800 in new spare part , £700 in used parts . That is before i have done the seats , roof , steering wheel re-trim , wheels spoked in yellow .

The only up side i can take from this is that having looked under 29 cars this weekend at Castle combe is that they all have varying degrees of rust . Why wouldn't they . The are 21 to 26 years old . Just because they are plastic doesn't mean they don't rust .

The garage that it is in specialises in full car restorations . The workshop has TVR's , Astons , Ferrari's , MK1 Mexico's and other specialist cars .
With a price tag of £3800 for all the work i could have bought myself another elan for that . But i am assured that it will come out looking like a brand new car underneath .

I realise that this is not a great investment at the moment . yes i could do most of it myself with a wire brush and a pot of hammerite , But enthusiasm and stupidity often drives a restoration project . At the moment our cars are worth top 10k's . but when they start sliding upwards of 15k much like the Esprits then this will be the new baseline of what we do . So again justifying it to myself , i am future proofing my car a bit earlier than most . When this becomes the norm and our cars cost us all a fortune then we wont sell them for any less than 10k and i wont feel as bad . The one thing that helps drive me is the 1 of 6 jim clark edition . mine is being restored , another 1 is in storage in Exeter and another is being used up in Scotland somewhere . its a rare thing alright .

Hmmm. Maybe - but it will be a while before this doozy

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/lotus-elan-s2 ... SwH09ZMH6V

doubles in price .

[Fredjohn]

Hmmm. Maybe - but it will be a while before this doozy

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/lotus-elan-s2 ... SwH09ZMH6V

doubles in price .

Interesting reading especially re the revised tail: "The rear lights, lighting panel and number plate pannel are all bespoke, a complete one off that you will never see again, but don't worry, included in the sale is the engineers moulds to reproduce all you would need in case of an incident or if you choose to make and sell these gorgeous and unique panels"

Er I have seen them again, several times in fact as we all have. But interesting that the seller has the moulds. Are they the "LEC" ones??

Bit sorry Clemo: good work project though. I'd stick with it if I were you in the knowledge your car will be a good one with no potential issues when done.

[Rambo]

Project update .
Thought the car drove into the garage Mot'd and drivable things are not all as well as they seem . 21 year old car problems start to show .
Apart form the obvious surface rust of everything which is now being removed ,treated , re painted in grey and then wax oiled , every rusty part is being shot blasted and powder coated , majority of bushes and rubbers being replaced , most still available at SJ's or aftersale ,

Reconditioning front and rear suspension (24,000 miler) new springs .
The engine is out on the bench having water pump , pully , cam belt and bits done . ( service kit form rock autos)
Logical to put new clutch in , ( rock autos)
The power steering rack leaks from the ram and ends , in need of refurbishment
The radiator has been weeping down onto the housing bracket , which has rusted through . ( have a spare )
1 fan is seized . ( have 2 spare)
front brakes need overhaul as only 1 is working , ( overhaul kit & piston i picked up at castle combe) New lines and flexi's.
rears poor ( overhaul kit) New lines and flexi's.
nut and bolt underside rebuild.
Full respray.


At this point i have exceeded to price of the actual car . I am at over 10k , .£6250 for the car , £3800 for the restoration work , £800 in new spare part , £700 in used parts . That is before i have done the seats , roof , steering wheel re-trim , wheels spoked in yellow .

The only up side i can take from this is that having looked under 29 cars this weekend at Castle combe is that they all have varying degrees of rust . Why wouldn't they . The are 21 to 26 years old . Just because they are plastic doesn't mean they don't rust .

The garage that it is in specialises in full car restorations . The workshop has TVR's , Astons , Ferrari's , MK1 Mexico's and other specialist cars .
With a price tag of £3800 for all the work i could have bought myself another elan for that . But i am assured that it will come out looking like a brand new car underneath .

I realise that this is not a great investment at the moment . yes i could do most of it myself with a wire brush and a pot of hammerite , But enthusiasm and stupidity often drives a restoration project . At the moment our cars are worth top 10k's . but when they start sliding upwards of 15k much like the Esprits then this will be the new baseline of what we do . So again justifying it to myself , i am future proofing my car a bit earlier than most . When this becomes the norm and our cars cost us all a fortune then we wont sell them for any less than 10k and i wont feel as bad . The one thing that helps drive me is the 1 of 6 jim clark edition . mine is being restored , another 1 is in storage in Exeter and another is being used up in Scotland somewhere . its a rare thing alright .

Did you look under the Black Beastie Clemo ? An MOT tester said it was the best he'd ever seen. All credit to RayD under his stewardship And a bit of my anal "detailing" for the past few years

Watch this space for the new baby

[dapinky]

Mark,

I assume he means the other 27 elans - mine was all stripped, cleaned and painted a couple of years ago - and even did the fibreglass in tetrashultz to tidy it up

[simonbuk]

Sounds like you are going to end up with a well sorted preserved Elan for years to come. If we all spend a few hundred quid a year on bits and pieces and then the occasional bigger bill its not much difference in the end ? You've just done it all in one hit.

Will be good to see once its done

[clemo]

i should have clarified i looked under the s2's . ( which then doesn't read true with the years i quoted)
To see if this myth of them all being left out in the garden had any truth .
Most of them looked just like my one ... rusty . varying degrees of . The lesser the mileage the lesser the rust . had s look under a few SE's but not all . Again most where what we would expect for an older car . Though with that said there are not many 21-26 year old cars in as good condition as ours . So there is an up side to our plastic bits .

[clemo]

Sounds like you are going to end up with a well sorted preserved Elan for years to come. If we all spend a few hundred quid a year on bits and pieces and then the occasional bigger bill its not much difference in the end ? You've just done it all in one hit.

Will be good to see once its done

Yes this is true .
And it tends to be , (some of )Those that are selling their cars have had them for a long while and they become 'the car n the garage that hardly gets used". And with that things seize up , or don't get attended to . Along comes a new owner , full of enthusiasm and attempts to bring the car back round again .

Again not all . as there are some fantastic cars for sale , but the rightfully fetch better prices .

[Rambo]

Clemo - not sure if you ever saw this topic 9 or 10 years ago but it might have some useful info for you ?

https://forum.lotuselancentral.com/view ... =1&t=10436