Shorter than it should be :(

[dapinky]

Got woken up by the dogs barking at 0530 to find Old Bill on the doorstep asking if Angie 'used' to own a red elan....

At the bottom of our hill was a shorter car than when i last saw it, luckily (?) it had rolled into a parked car further down before it could have gone out into the main road.

Well, lucky in so much as both cars were unoccupied, and no-one was injured....

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....and before the vultures start to circle - IF i get a chance to get back the salvage (the realist in me says that with both lights broken, rear clam damage, bootlid and bumper all need replacing they'll write it off), only then will I decide IF I want it, or what parts MAY become availlable - after all, I have a bootlid, rear light panel (for and with elise lights), so would only need to sort a bumper and tub repair - IF i consider it worth it..... so don't ask for anything yet ......

......besides which, I already know some people on here who will probably snatch my arm off for the offer of the stainless rear wishbones, roll hoops and a few other bits (IB & NW in that order )

[trig]

Very sad to see a good example of an Elan possibly being broken but nobody was hurt and hopefully you will be well compensated for your loss
Now about those rear wishbones

[Rice crispy]

Sad sight, hope its an easy to fix for you Dave

[Enright]

Oh no. It's not often they commit suicide!
You do realise this is going to affect all of our insurance premiums don't you? And with so few of us, the effect will be quite significant. Having said that, I won't notice, because I've not had insurance on mine for about 3 years now...
Seriously though, hope you can salvage it and glad nobody was hurt.

[dapinky]

Steve, it's far too early to say yet, but i suspect that the wishbones will end up about 2 miles north of my house, if they go anywhere

[dapinky]

Neil, looking on the bright side, the residual value of remaining elans will increase (hopefully mainly the Pac blue ones).

[rip]

The insurance may well write it off but..

The tub should be repairable & may well have taken all the impact leaving the chassis straight.
As already mentioned: Glad nobody was injured.

[inkitin]

Never nice to see an Elan like that. Nobody hurt though, that's good.

Good luck with the insurers Dave.

[Rob P]

Very Sad to see this Dave, as others have said at least no one was injured in the incident, bet it was a bit of a shock though

[theelanman]

not good.......


surely having had older cars than the elan you should have always left it in gear......doh!!!

[epipete]

We all know, though its easy to forget, that the hand brakes are crap, last week I was reminded when I changed the wheels only to find the Rear NS still turned freely despite the brake being on!

As with all damage, and though this looks serious, until you strip it down its hard to assess the task or cost

Good luck on this Dave

[Jeemy]

Oof I feel for you mate. I've had the same knock on the door on a Sunday morning, blearily answer the door to plod who asks 'do you own a…..' - sinking feeling ensures. My Audi had all 4 tyres slashed and two windows broken. And at least those things are easy enough to repair. Good luck with it.

[trig]

Steve, it's far too early to say yet, but i suspect that the wishbones will end up about 2 miles north of my house, if they go anywhere

Dave only kidding about the wishbones , mine are ok,, touches wood.
Hope you can buy it back and save it, would make a nice track car as it has rool hoops already ....... there should be enough bits floating around this forum to build a complete car

[Brit-Car-Nut]

Dave: you have a PM.

[dapinky]

Steve,

as you say, there should be enough bits on the forum

So far, I've had the offer of a red tub/rear clam.....
a rear bumper (well, 2 actually!)
1 rear lamp unit (but i already have an Elise lamp unit panel sitting in the conservatory - waiting to be fitted )
I also have a good bootlid (although it's BRG)

I don't wish to embarrass anyone by naming the offerers of the parts (especially as some of the more sought-after ones are possibly part of a 'private stash') which have been offered to me, but i give many thanks for each of you - I may well be in touch!

At the moment, the vehicle is being collected tomorrow morning to go off to http://www.graydonmotors.co.uk in Bristol for a full assessment (They are a Lotus approved shop), and having spoken to the main man there, he seems fairly accomodating - well, he accepts that new parts aint gonna happen, and was happy for me to 'help' him find some so we can get a fair estimate to submit to the insurance company.....

...It is obviously going to be their final decision, and it then comes down to whether it is worth the work - whilst i don't like to see any viable car broken up for the sake of it, I have to take a realistic view of time/cost/return. I then will have to make a decision on whether I try to retain the salvage (or if they'll even let me) and break it myself, or if it will end up with DVB who'll be rubbing their hands with glee at all the goodies on it!!!!!!

[epipete]

Well that is some better news then, can they also fix your hand brake?

[Steve A]

That was very unlucky Dave
If anyone can fix it you can

[dapinky]

.... can they also fix your hand brake?

I suppose they could solder the nipple back onto the O/S cable - but i don't know how strong it would be....

...i sometimes wish we had a totally independant system whereby if one cable fails, the other caliper still holds

[epipete]

Twas a poor attempt at humour in the face of adversity (isn't that the English way?).

Good luck with this, I expect to see it returned to its former glory soonest.

[GeoffSmith]

Twas a poor attempt at humour in the face of adversity (isn't that the English way?).

You should be ashamed! Sick jokes at the expense of a fellow BOLLECK is a step too far. I'll have you know that I'll be sending you the bill for a new keyboard as mine appears to be full of coffee now.