Things I Remember About Elan Ownership/Working On Them ...

[simonbuk]

Things I now remember about Elan ownership after tinkering for a couple of days on Elan#2.

My head hurts. I've bashed my temples repeatedly on those god damn corners of the bonnet numerous times

Back of my neck hurts. That damn bloody boot lid never stays up so if you're scrambling about it the boot the lid keeps coming down on your head and the boot catch hits you in the neck

My back hurts. Leaning down into the engine bay for any length of time kills my back. Are full time mechanics basically as flexible as gymnasts ?

When you drop a nut/washer/bolt. You really do lose it don't you ?! - no space anywhere

All pales into insignificance I guess when you get out for a blast - but I have been aching these last few days

[chrism]

Yep I now clip a short length of foam pipe insulator over the edge of the bonnet. Agree with all the others .

[RonR]

Being "folically challenged", the worst one for me is that damn pointy Bonnet catch - I've taken to wearing a beanie even at the height of Summer to work under the bonnet.

[Fredjohn]

Too true!
But I've fitted additional gas struts to both boot and bonnet. Bonnet opens a lot wider now than with the strut.

I put the car on my 3 ton lift and raise it to a workable height. Guess a garage would do the same.

Buy a telescopic magnet nut retriever!

Keep going

[simonbuk]

Too true!
But I've fitted additional gas struts to both boot and bonnet. Bonnet opens a lot wider now than with the strut.

Just sent an email off to see if they still sell them !! One of the best things I fitted !

[FunElan]

Magnet on a stick and ratchet wrenches are mandatory tools for M100 ownership!!

Too true!
But I've fitted additional gas struts to both boot and bonnet. Bonnet opens a lot wider now than with the strut.

I put the car on my 3 ton lift and raise it to a workable height. Guess a garage would do the same.

Buy a telescopic magnet nut retriever!

Keep going

Would love to see a write up of how you did this. The bonnet prop rod is not befitting of this car!

[Steve A]

My arm feels like it's been slammed in a door changed the oil filter

[Fredjohn]

Would love to see a write up of how you did this. The bonnet prop rod is not befitting of this car!

See this thread. I bought some struts off ebay and made up the brackets.

viewtopic.php?f=85&t=18896&hilit=Bonnet

[Tuga2112]

after many years, i have not only suffered from the same issues as well as resolved them all.

My head hurts. I've bashed my temples repeatedly on those god damn corners of the bonnet numerous times

cant really relate.. i always lift the bonnet as high as possible so its out of the way. the trick is to prop the rod on top of the spark plug cover instead of its "proper" place

Back of my neck hurts. That damn bloody boot lid never stays up so if you're scrambling about it the boot the lid keeps coming down on your head and the boot catch hits you in the neck

a couple of kitchen door pneumatic springs like these can add that extra resistance you need to hold the boot lid up.

My back hurts. Leaning down into the engine bay for any length of time kills my back. Are full time mechanics basically as flexible as gymnasts ?

your not jacking the car high enough.... when you fully commit to DIY you will find the £2k spent on a mid rise hidraulic scisor lift worth every penny... i sure regret not buying it as soon as i built the garage.

When you drop a nut/washer/bolt. You really do lose it don't you ?! - no space anywhere

theres the magnetic pickup toolsfor the majority of fasteners... however if you go on a rampage and start replacing with stainless you may find one of these also required.

as im giving you the solutions to all these troubles i am starting to think maybe theres some content there for another video