Breaking a M100

[Grampy]

Was offered a M100 the other day at a reasonable price as the chassis sounds rotten. Is there enough demand for parts to warrant stripping I understand the it's in good condition other than that and it could help to keep cars on the road.

Plan B I bought my Élan as a hill climb sprint car but I have fallen in love with it and it's too nice to risk smashing it up. I saw a chassis on eBay so I could make a race car out of it.

What do you guys think ?

[HJ2]

The latter

[Ian T]

Depends whether you have lots of room and time on your hands. I would have thought that replacing (or repairing) the chassis would be less pain than stripping the car and then waiting for people to buy odd bits over the next 5 years.

Plus it would be another one saved...

Ian.

[Rusty Wishbone]

I would say the first plan. In my view, there is no shortage of Elans in decent condition. I can't see any reason not to start with a decent car for your sprint car project other than wasteful sentimentality.

Cue the opprobrium.

[Ian T]

Cue the opprobrium.

Hardly.

Every car that gets broken for parts (provided they don't get scrapped) improves availability of bits for mine and ultimately increases the value of mine a little.

Ian.

[rip]

I would have thought that replacing (or repairing) the chassis would be less pain than stripping the car and then waiting for people to buy odd bits over the next 5 years.

I believe the car is built around the chassis so replacing it is a complete strip down & re-build?

[epipete]

I would say the first plan. In my view, there is no shortage of Elans in decent condition. I can't see any reason not to start with a decent car for your sprint car project other than wasteful sentimentality.

Cue the opprobrium.

Well let me start with the opprobrium!

...... what's wrong with wasteful sentimentality? Those of us who now are in our middle age have bought our Elans on the grounds that we loved them when they were released but couldn't afford them then, is this not utterly sentimental; and as they are now often w/e run arounds then isn't that the epitomy of wasteful?

Personally, I'd want to save it were it mine, but if that was beyond the depth of my skills or pocket then I'd do some maths and try to sell it to someone who would!

[Ian T]

I would have thought that replacing (or repairing) the chassis would be less pain than stripping the car and then waiting for people to buy odd bits over the next 5 years.

I believe the car is built around the chassis so replacing it is a complete strip down & re-build?

Sorry, my post was a bit ambguous now I read it again. The pain I was referring to was having the corpse of a pretty sports car gathering dust waiting for months or years for people to ask for bits off it, or the pain of saving the bits asked for in a reasonable time period and then getting a delayed demand for lots of bits that eventually got scrapped because no one seemed to want them.

I'm of the (slightly) mindless sentimental persuasion and have in my not too dim and distant past saved a rather too rusty Mk2 Astra from a field, re-panelled and painted it and put it back on the road as a going concern again. Heart said 'do it', head (had I have listened) would have said 'buy a working one'. Glad I went with my heart on that one.

So I see both sides and have time for both arguments, I would far rather have a project car than a collection of bits for sale though.

Ian.

[Tuga2112]

this is just an opinion of a new owner,

i got mine in a condition that most people would take apart and make a profit with the parts, but personally i always wanted a project car (namely building a stratos) and even tho so far its been a financial black hole i have never been so proud of something i worked on like this project.

not trying to sway your decision

if your the kind of person who enjoys the feeling of achivement of DIY then definatly restore it.
if your not into DIY and got plenty of room to stock parts then keep them, im sure there's plenty of people in this forum that would like to know there's a spare set of (insert dificult part to get here ex rear lights) in your garage in case they need one.
if your not the DIY person and dont have space then dont buy it.
alternatively if your not the DIY person but have plenty of money to pay someone else to repair it. you are likely to end up with a show grade vehicle...

trying to sway you decision
restore it!! , its a classic, its a beautiful car and possibly a good long term investment (at least i am hopping mine is).

just my 2 cents.

[surfboardfiller]

Buy a crashed one that is mechanically sound with a good chassis and leave the other one to whoever buys it: its not what you are looking for, move along.

[norman lovie]

As i'm presently doing option B ref: restoration due to chassis - - restoration = forget your timeline forget your original plan and budget
and almost forget about picking up a plug n play replacement chassis, crashed ones might be bent, and any that have come from otherwise scrappers are probably also in need of rust prevention - maybe not as bad as yours but as far as work is concerned, you'll spend as much time on it

By the time you remove the tub off the chassis ( not such a big job in reality), you would be daft to "just" do the chassis - i'll not detail everything - but it is just about everything else you'll end up doing
brakes
bushings
ball joints
secondary chassis part restoration and suspension part restoration
engine - auxiliary part's replace or repair, main service items
wiring loom inspection and repair
oil pipes, water pipes, power steering pipes
and any otherwise hidden repairs needed
and the removal / replacement of stubborn nuts bolts self tapers etc..

Then! you can have fun with tuning, cosmetics, interior, tub outrigger restoration etc...

The answer is in the book "Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance" - is it the use of the end product your after, or is it the journey to getting there ? - if its the later - enjoy the journey the value to you will be priceless
if its the former, get the cheque book out and buy a decent one - enjoy the drive