Another Elan in our stable

[DeanG]

It is official, we have purchased another M100. This will be our second, same year - 1991 same color - red. Our other M100 is getting a bit long in tooth and has 107,000 miles. It has several issues that we have not been able to rectify. This second car has working heat and AC which will make it the vehicle of choice for our trip to LOG 35. We may even take it to the Indy 500 next year.

I will be picking it up this Saturday from Buffalo NY. The 550 mile trip home should be a good shakedown. After that it will get all fluids changed, fuses replaced, a new windshield, some interior freshening and anything else it needs. A good polish and detailing will get done if the weather holds up.

We will have to come up with names for both cars. Differentiating them by mileage doesn't have much appeal.

Thanks to Tony V for brokering the deal. We need to get him back in an M100.

[steve matthews]

Ok Dean
Pictures will be required.

Old Gal and New Gal

[LotusEnthusiast]

Great news Dean! I'm guessing since Tony V helped you out it was the red one on the LOONY site? That one did look nice. Congrats!!!

[DeanG]

Home. It needs fluids replaced and cables adjusted. Only one headlight rises to the occasion. It will be fully inspected soon. Steve drove it and recommended p lugs.

[DeanG]

The new, old and very old

The list of things to do keeps getting bigger. Not that I'm finding new things to fix its just that I am remembering to write things down

[tigerdog]

Looks like a happy family!

[DeanG]

Time to get some wheels refurbished. The trick will be picking wheels that are good but not too good

[DeanG]

I sorted wheels today and picked 6 to take to the refinisher. I also spent some time in the attic sorting through tubs of M100 parts. There were some goodies: door hand escutcheons, headlight lift motors, pre-cat, wheel centers, exterior mirror assembly (the wrong side but the internals should be OK)... I know that I have some beat up seat back protectors but I couldn't find them. Some serious searching will be needed for those. I will try to tumble my beat up wheel bolts. I don't want restored wheels with beat up bolt heads showing. Hopefully work will start in earnest tomorrow.

ps My wife & I recently attended a lecture by Ric Burns concerning his movie "The Pilgrims", due for release next year at this time. This reminds me to wish everyone a:

Happy Thanksgiving.

[DeanG]

I finished with the headlight lift motor work today. I found several loose fasteners under the wheel arch cover! Cleaning and priming some areas of rust and flaky paint. Cleaned up the trunk, put the tool kit items through a wire wheel, wiped down all the metal with an oily rag, pumped up the spare which was down to 21 psi, cleaned the carpet, vacuumed, cleaned out the nasty windshield washer reservoir (thanks to Steve for noticing that), applied plastic dressing.

Here is a question. I found green paint dabbed on some of the front suspension bolts, tie rod ends... Is this paint from the factory?

[Brit-Car-Nut]

The green marking indicates a heavily plated bolt or nut. A lot of the suspension hardware are double, triple and even quad plated to reduce the chance of rusting.

[DeanG]

The wheels are back from being repaired and powder coated. 2 of the 3 types of nyloc nuts needed to put the hub carrier back on came in just before Christmas. I had hoped to receive a care package of parts from DBE but we are still working out the details of the order. I hope to get some minor things done before I have to return to work. Maybe some interior work.

[DeanG]

A passel of parts are on the way from DBE.

[DeanG]

An update - The front has new wheel bearings and the RF has a new hub. I swapped one of the interior door pull surrounds from our other car. That is the first cannibalization of the car. I hope it doesn't turn into a hanger queen. Today I'm gravity flushing the brake fluid and cleaning up the rear wheel wells. The wheel bolts on the RR are very bad. Lots of corrosion, metal loss... fortunately I have cleaned up a set. The one rusty part I have found is the rear anti-sway bar. I'll clean that up next time I have the entire back up on jackstands.

[DeanG]

I moved the newer car for the first time in months. A back to back comparison shows them to be very different. Ignoring visual differences the seats, turn signal switch, clutch and shifter feel very different. The steering feels a bit different and the sound of the wheel turning is different.

[steve matthews]

A back to back comparison shows them to be very different. Ignoring visual differences the seats, turn signal switch, clutch and shifter feel very different. The steering feels a bit different and the sound of the wheel turning is different.

+1 I found this also when I had the two. Hand built sports cars

Steve

[DeanG]

The shop is lined up to replace the windshield. Now I just need to get DBE the address and a credit card! I started to clay the paint today.

Someone who spent time with the car was an animal. Lots of small dings from carelessness (e.g., around the fuel filler). The interior needs a good detailing but then so does the exterior, engine compartment and trunk. The difference between the turn signal switches in the two cars is down to the self canceling being broken in the more recent acquisition. We need a good set of names to differentiate the two cars. Shifting feel is bad. Rusty bolts hold the license plates on the car, why would someone let that go unfixed?

[DeanG]

The new windshield is in. This coming week I need to get some new tires, have them mounted, apply the decals and get them on the car. After that it goes in for a "C" service, belts, hoses...

[lotos]

Thanks for the update - be sure to post some pics along the way

[DeanG]

Back from the shop after getting:
State inspection
Headlight Alignment
Transmission oil MT-9-0
Power Steering fluid
Fuel filter
New shift cables and part of a short shift kit
Compression test 160/145/150/160

Once home I vacuumed the interior and replaced the headlight module. Now it is time to get the side mirrors working although my attempt at getting the power antenna to work have been unsuccessful. I also want to clean the engine compartment today.

[steve matthews]

Dean do we have a name
Or still the New no name Lotus.

Steve