Lotus Elan Central

Thought I'd start a thread to document Rambo's progress now he has a new owner and custodian

So only a gentle start with the following small items done ...

Drivers sun visor replaced
Door handle escutcheons replaced
A Piller seal replaced
Intermediate hood seal replaced

New door top external rubbers purchased but not fitted

Am taking it to the painters tomorrow for a quote on getting a few bits tweaked where the stones have taken their toll

Then the seats need some love ... either recovering (been quoted a ridiculous amount ) or RX8 type ones

beautifull!

Looks good, enjoy

This is a nice photo ^^

Thanks Guys

Just had the quote for the paint ..... ouch ... but I've always used him for my Mercs and his work is excellent .. so booked in for June 20th

Hi Simon,

Are you having just a touch up or a full respray, my NMY is in need of some paint and I was wondering what the going rate is these days, as I don't know anyone locally it would help if you could share the prospective costs via Pm if that is OK

Rob P

Rob P wrote:Hi Simon,

Are you having just a touch up or a full respray, my NMY is in need of some paint and I was wondering what the going rate is these days, as I don't know anyone locally it would help if you could share the prospective costs via Pm if that is OK

Rob P

The guy doing it is Sean Rowe at Sutton in Ashfield .. I started using him as he was one of the recommended ones for Mercedes classic cars ... and I've had work done on 3/4 and it has always been superb

I'm having the front bumper / front clip inc wings / rear bumper / hood cover / bottom half inc outer sill (below panel line) near side / bottom half inc outer sill (below panel line) off side ..... there a re a couple of repairs to the bottom front bumper clip and a lot of sanding req for chips .. he is doing it all for £1300.00

Thanks Simon, that gives me a bench mark to work with, my car is a few different shades of yellow, except straight after a good polishing

Probably needs a full spray but the stripping down and rebuilding will eat the hours up.

Now just need to find a good friendly Sprayer in the Preston area

Thats a really bonny picture Simon.

Looking good Simon. Your photography skills do Rambo justice

What did you replace the sun visor with ? I just removed mine !

And what did you do with the door handle escutcheons ?!

simonbuk wrote:What did you replace the sun visor with ? I just removed mine !

And what did you do with the door handle escutcheons ?!

I hadn't got a visor ... so now I have ...

The door handle escutcheons were broken on the leading edge with age so got two replacements ... they really make a difference to the look

Simon - put them on EBay at exorbitant prices like some I know Or keep them and offer them to somebody on here in need of them in the generous spirit we have in LEC

How do you find it with the drivers side sun visor ? Does it restrict vision ? Rambo never came with one when I purchased it 12.5 years ago. I resorted to sunglasses on the odd day the sun came out in Scotland

And, are you going for the retrim or looking at some of Jamie's heated RX seats ??

Hope you are enjoying those twisty roads in the Peak District

Rambo wrote:Simon - put them on EBay at exorbitant prices like some I know Or keep them and offer them to somebody on here in need of them in the generous spirit we have in LEC

How do you find it with the drivers side sun visor ? Does it restrict vision ? Rambo never came with one when I purchased it 12.5 years ago. I resorted to sunglasses on the odd day the sun came out in Scotland

And, are you going for the retrim or looking at some of Jamie's heated RX seats ??

Hope you are enjoying those twisty roads in the Peak District

The visor I don't find restricts my vision ... odd times after a big bump it starts to lower itself a fraction but nothing to worry about and I like it so that the interior is balanced (not that I'm odd in any OCD way !!!)

I've found a little old lady who does re trims so watch this space and fingers crossed they will be done by next Friday

Excellent. Looking forward to seeing the retrim. Are you keeping the red and black theme ?

Rambo wrote:Excellent. Looking forward to seeing the retrim. Are you keeping the red and black theme ?

Yes ... But only one grey as one skin will do both seats so it would be a lot extra to have another colour used

Simon, if you are going for a retrim you might also want to think about the foam underneath.

For most of the last 12 years I swapped the passenger and drivers seat over. I was driving therefore on the passenger seat hence the extra holes on the back where the metal protective plate sits. When I swapped them back over the original drivers seat felt much less supportive and I noticed that the side bolster looked a bit thin. There were also a few bits of powdery foam lying underneath.

If you decide to replace foam, make sure you have enough clips for underneath the seats. Or make any you break from wire coat hangers

Rambo wrote:
And, are you going for the retrim or looking at some of Jamie's heated RX seats ??

Heater pads will fit in the originals when they are re-trimmed. I recommend having it done if it is not too late.

Forgot to ask you earlier Simon, but with all the 60+ cars you have owned, how high up the league table is Rambo and the M100 experience ?

Rambo wrote:Simon, if you are going for a retrim you might also want to think about the foam underneath.

For most of the last 12 years I swapped the passenger and drivers seat over. I was driving therefore on the passenger seat hence the extra holes on the back where the metal protective plate sits. When I swapped them back over the original drivers seat felt much less supportive and I noticed that the side bolster looked a bit thin. There were also a few bits of powdery foam lying underneath.

If you decide to replace foam, make sure you have enough clips for underneath the seats. Or make any you break from wire coat hangers

I'm presuming that the "little old lady" will sort the foam as I have asked her too and she commented that it was deteriorating as evidenced on the carpet ... I'll order some clips if I can find the part number