Reconditioning Lizzie Lotus

[plannerphil]

Thanks to some help from FunElan, today I purchased a Elan M100 in British Racing Green with around 53,000 miles. I paid $13,000. Here she is! I'm thinking her name will be Lizzie.







FunElan's post from a year ago described the car's various needs. In this thread I'm going to document my experience getting the car reconditioned and share the costs. I don't expect to do much of the work myself. Hopefully this thread will provide potential buyers with some helpful data and some entertainment for the rest of you.

Based on our inspections, here's my to-do list:

1. Replace at least one CV boot
2. Fix a leak around the cam sensor
3. Replace a leaky valve cover gasket
4. Repair one headlight mechanism
5. Replace the window seals (where they meet the tops of the doors)
6. Repair one top catch
7. Repair the split stop stowage cover
8. Replace the top elastic
9. Recondition both leather seats

In addition to those items, I want to improve the appearance of the paint, replace some other cosmetic bits, and upgrade the stereo.

[TorqueHorse]

Well done!

[FunElan]

Looking forward to seeing the progress, glad this car was saved

It's what inspired me to get one.

[esprit888]

I would also remove the two non factory driving lights, the one on the drivers side blocks the airflow to the intercooler, the one on the passenger side blocks the airflow through the oil cooler. Nice looking BRG, does it have the epoxy bleed through on the hood and doors? (mine sure did)

[Grosbard]

Congrats, Phil! Look forward to meeting sometime, since I'm also in SoCal!!

[plannerphil]

Harry at A1 Automotive Service, who seems to be the favorite SoCal Lotus mechanic, is going to do a thorough inspection of the car. However, he's not available until Tuesday. I just had to do something for Lizzie immediately so I took her to the detailer today. Below are a couple before and after collages. I'm especially impressed with how well the damaged clear coat on the top stowage lid and trunk lid buffed out. I paid $305 plus tip.




Here she is freshly waxed. Those OZ wheels look gorgeous when they're shiny clean.

[plannerphil]

Congrats, Phil! Look forward to meeting sometime, since I'm also in SoCal!!

Yes, totally! I met FunElan the other day. Where are you located?

[378S2]

Ah lovely and a manageable list of jobs there. Good luck with it!

[dapinky]

From the pictures, I'd say that was $300 well spent - it looks great.

Your initial list of jobs contains nothing that is either impossible or overly-costly to sort out - and all can be done whilst still enjoying the car. I don't know how 'handy' you are, but I would do all of them myself.... but I know that not everyone has the inclination to spend a whole day fixing something that a mechanic could do in less than an hour for £50..... certainly there are jobs on there which even the most basic of tool-owners can accomplish with little spending, and a shortish timeframe...... your car, your choice.

Whatever you do or don't do yourself, enjoy the time spent with the car

[Grosbard]

Sent you a PM. Your car looks beautiful! Which detailing place did you use? Useful info to file away in case I ever need it!

[plannerphil]

Lizzie is back from the mechanic! Harry at A1 Automotive Services in San Gabriel, California took good care of her.

Here's the list of what he did:

• Replaced the left side pop-up headlight motor
• Repaired the right side window regulator
• Rebuilt the left and right side front CV axles
• Repaired the left side seat belt stalk
• Replaced the window wipe glass seals and interior trim
• Replaced the valve/cam cover gasket
• Bypassed the windshield washer fluid warning light
• Removed the accessory lights on the front of the car
• Flushed the transmission fluid
• Aligned all four wheels

Harry charged $3,159 for all his work. Aside from the CV axles that were sent to a local shop for rebuild, everything was his labor.

I ordered all of the parts myself. The part numbers, sources, and costs were as follows:

• Pop-up headlight motor 16513889/49-114 for Pontiac Sunbird 1986-1991 (Amazon, $40)
• Window wipe glass seals PNMB0772K (PNM Parts, £77)
• Window wipe glass screw kit PNMW5203S (PNM Parts, £3)
• Interior door trim strip B100B0845F and B100B0846F (SJ Sportscars, $10 each)
• Valve/cam cover gasket A100E6284S (SJ Sportscars, $28)

In the time since I posted last, I also took care of some other small items:

• Replaced the door handle escutcheons B100V0005F and B100V0006F (SJ Sportscars, $21 each)
• Replaced the floor mats (SJ Sportscars, $62)
• Fixed the right side top/hood latch
• Replaced some missing screws
• Patched one of the door seals with Sugru (Amazon, $9) - see photo below

I also bought a right side view mirror body from SJ Sportscars because the plastic bracket the glass attaches to is broken on my car. I may decide that I can live with the mirror only being able to adjust left/right and not up/down and sell the mirror.

The total cost of parts mentioned in this post and shipping from the UK to the USA was $723. Together with the mechanic's bill, I spent $3,882.

Next steps for Lizzie will be:

1. Upgrading the audio system
2. Repairing or recovering the leather seats and replacing the top/hood elastic
3. Repairing the top stowage cover

[plannerphil]

Audio upgrade complete.

My top priority was to get a period-look stereo head unit with Bluetooth and other modern features. I chose the Blaupunkt Bremen SQR 46 DAB, which is an updated version of the 1986 original. With a great overall look and customizable backlighting, these are very popular with 80s/90s Porsche and BMW owners. The USB port and AUX connection hide under a cover that looks made for a cassette--pretty clever. The head unit cost $479 from Crutchfield.

For speakers I chose Infinity Reference 4032CFX 4" for the doors and 5032CFX 5-1/4" for the rear. I wanted an easy and clean fit, and I'd liked the last set of Reference speakers I owned. I purchased those new on eBay for $145.

I took everything to Magic Auto Sound & Security in Long Beach for install. They charged $300.

[plannerphil]

This past week Lizzie got a major interior makeover. Her leather seats were cracked, torn, and poorly supported. I took her to Chendo's Upholstery in Long Beach to repair and recover the seats, door covers and pockets, parking brake and shift boot. I wanted a lighter color to keep the leather from getting so hot in the Southern California sun, so I looked to the S2's magnolia leather for inspiration. The seats are all leather except for the backs. Everything else is in a high-quality vinyl. I'm pretty pleased with the result! The total cost was $1875.

[TorqueHorse]

Wow, that looks great! great color combo on the car.
(What did you do with the old leather? Is it for sale? I need some repair scraps )

[Grosbard]

Wow, that looks fantastic!! And you have great taste in seat color!!

[Grosbard]

Out of curiosity, did you get a sense of how reversible this is? i.e. If your old seat leather was in good condition, could they have removed it in such a way that it could have been put on again later without too much cost?

[plannerphil]

Thanks TorqueHorse and Grosbard!

I didn't ask for Chendo to save the scrap leather, I guess I should have! It was in poor condition though, so I don't know how useful it would have been. I do think you could get a close match fairly easily. I compared the shop's samples to the stock leather to match the color for the parking brake and shift boots. The "dark charcoal" color was very similar to stock.

The stock seat covers do have a zipper running down the back, which to me suggests they could be removed without ripping the seams. If that's the case then in theory you could have an upholsterer make a new set designed the same way and be able to swap them later. Maybe someone on the forum has posted about removing the seat covers in whole pieces.

[Saltire]

I had my seats apart a while ago to fit heating pads. It wasn’t too hard a job, and I broadly followed the instructions in the “Upgrades” section at the top of this page. I managed to get the pad for the backrest in without removing the seat cover, by unzipping and feeling up the front (although the foam is starting to flake so next time I’d probably remove it altogether). Taking the seat base cover off is straightforward, but fiddly, because you have to remove the wires which hold the cover to the foam. Take a look at the page I referenced, because that makes it all pretty clear.

When I reassembled, I replaced the wires with PTFE rods - much easier to work with.

Finally, if you want a piece of leather to match against, there are a couple of tabs of seat leather material tucked under the rear edge of the seat base cushion, which are easily accessible if you separate the backrest and base following the instructions.

Hope that helps

[Grosbard]

Thank you for the valuable info, Plannerphil and Saltire!

[plannerphil]

Does anyone else have a large of a gap between their side window and top/hood? I disassembled the seal and noticed the two screws are on an adjustable bracket. I messed with it to tighten the screws at the top (edit: I adjusted the seal/bracket as far down as it would screw together) but there's still this gap. I could easily put my key through it.