I dragged my family kicking and screaming to Devon yesterday (no mean feet from London as it was a 9 hour round trip) to see this example on Piston Heads:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1996443.htmJ950GMR
I was a little amazed before I travelled as it was advertised as only having 40,000 miles. The sceptic I've now become after viewing so many poor Elan examples, had me thinking it must be clocked but there was a strange good feeling I had about this one and the guy who was selling it, after my numerous conversations with him.
One we found the tiny North Devon village nestling in a valley, I finally got to see the Elan and what a fine example it was too. It has original unfaded Calypso Red paint work, a few tiny stone chips and the odd small scatch but what do you expect for a 19 year old car. The whole engine was immaculate and underneath was simply amazing. I wonder if this car has ever been driven in the winter or wet weather! The Prongeron was untouched and the "do not touch" sicker looked just like the day it left Hethel. Needless to say I had no worries with track rod arms or front/rear wishbones. The brake lines were also in very good condition. The owner admitted to recently wax oiling the underside which is why it felt a bit sticky. There were new pads and disks on the front and the rears were hardly worn, though later when I took the Elan out, I found the brales were terrible. It may require a bit of tweeking or it may just be that they haven't bedded in yet. Either way, I can handle fixing brake pads, disks or calipers. Inside the Elan was immaculate, I've never seen such good quality SE leather seats. There was a slight scuff on the drivers side upright but nothing a bit of boot polish won't sort out. The carpets and door trims were also unflawed. All the instrumentation works, the door mirrors and electric windows too. The electric windows even power up if they're left down when you lock the car with one of the two remote key fobs with the high grade alarm/imobiliser that's been fitted (I do worry about this if it goes wrong). The hood is in good condition, save for one small 20mm tear above the left side hinge mechanism. It's patched on the inside and I would give it some more attention to prevent it extending any further. The rear windown is clear so the roof will last a while but will need attention to get the car absolutely mint. The alignment of the roof to the rear top edge of the passenger door is also a little off as it randomly sometime leaves a gap when the roof is up. On other occasions it seals well. The drivers side roof seals are pefect, the passenger side has one or two very small chuncks out of the seal but nothing bad. The A post seals are in very good condition. The passenger B post cover is present but has become detached at some point in its history so will need replacing. I know these are like rocking horse sh*t so I may need LEC's help to get a replacement set. This Elan has 2 x Ignition/door keys, 2 x alarm/imobiliser fobs, 2 x remote entry key fob, 1 x boot key, 0 x glove box key.
After I spent about an hour inspecting the car, we took it out. The present owner Graham had no problem letting me drive it and apart from the brakes wich I mentioned earlier it was a beautiful drive. The gear mechanism felt a tad stiff but they may just be that I had spent 5 hours in my new Mondeo. The engine was the quietest I've heard, very responsive both off and on turbo. The boost seemed better than what I recall of my old Elan. There was no drive train rattles of squeeks, no wheel bearing or gearbox whines. In fact the only thing I could hear when moving was the wind in my hair and a slight sqeek from my seat belt.
On returning back to the village I was already excited but was fearful that the paperwork might reveal some hidden flaws. Graham invite us all into his house, (my boisterous 7 year old as well) and I spent 30 mins looking thought his well documented paperwork. The first thing that impressed me was he'd put everyting in order. V5 Logbook, service book, MOT certifcates, all present and all in order. (This makes a buyers task so much easier to authenticate the cars genuine history). He then has another file which holds all the service receipts including most of the service job cards! I cross checked all the service stamps with the job cards and cross checked the servies mileages with the MOT milegaes and was delighted to discover that the 40,000 miles is genuine. A this point, I think a rather large smile came across my face!
So, we had one last look at the Elan again. I asked Graham to show me how that alarm works and I showed my wife the issue with the hood and warned her she may get wet if it rains! I gave Graham a deposit and said I'll collect the car next week with the balance in cash. I left Devon a very excited Lotus Elan owner again!
I do have lots more pictures that the owner sent me other than the one on Piston Heads. I will also be using the Forum to sort out the few minor issues I'd like to fix. I also hope to take part in the next meet if my knee has recovered.
A few items that I'd appreciate feedback on:
1. How/where can I get duplicate boot key?
2. How/where can I get replacement glove box keys (none present with the car)
3. How/where can I get B post covers.
4. How/where can I get a replacement hood (I estimate £800 for this but will hold off for a while)
5. Does anyone know how to adjust the hood mechanism to mate with the door seals better (I mention the issue in the text above)
6. Does anyone have any stiff gear lever symptoms and know root cause?
7. Does anyone have any poor front brake performance, if so, what actions have you taken?
Thanks,
Neil.
At lower revs it is slightly less powerful than an NA.
