1 Year and 5000 miles later. retrospective of a new owner

[Tuga2112]

Hello everybody.

My car ticked on the 110k this past week,
as part of seeing the rather uncommon event of 4 zeroes in a row. i though "I had this toy for over a year now, maybe a review of the lotus ownership "journey" may be entertaining reading for the guys at LEC and helpful insight for any potential new members"

For those who know me (either from the meetings or by keeping an eye on my project thread. you will probably find a fair amount of duplicated information.

now, for the sake of attempting to make this shorter, I will not mention the countless times this forum and its members have helped me though the hudles of Lotus ownership. for any new member, or person looking into this thinking about buying an elan, just assume that every single issue I had was reported somewhere, and someone in the forum has helped me get it done.

so.. Im going to start fro the beginning... this rolls back to the day i started toying with the idea of "maybe/maybe not" buying the car.

this is the shortened version of the story before buying my elan


PART 1 (love affair, search, and before starting to drive it)
about 6-7 years ago, I was driving a 1l yaris, very reliable car with cheap insurance, cant fault it at all. but always wanted something a bit sportier.
with limited knowledge of "how insurance companies think" I decided to look for a sports, roadster maybe kei car with the smallest possible engine and a decent power output. within an affordable price.
so running through MR2's s2000's MGF's, Celica, MX5s, all these cars seem to get just close enough. but not quite.
By pure chanse i came across an elan in autotrader.
started investigating the case. because the car was under the 5k mark, a lotus... now that was a the biggest reason to NOT buy it. as My mum had an MGF and i was already familiar with the highest standards of british engineering.
found it had a 1.6l engine, which was made by izuzu... now, izuzu where i come from is renown as the most reliable japanese cars. which counterweighted the British brand badge. then I learned it had a turbo, bumping up the power nicely, and.. well its a lotus. and... i was quite keen on the early mid 90's esprits. so was also rather keen on owning a lotus (even if not an esprit)
now this was in the back of my head as the goal to achieve before 30 as my dream car (Lancia Stratos) is out of my pay cheque boundaries even in my wildest dreams.
this idea was cemented the day my Ex's father sayd i could never have one....
it's funny how I actually liked him. but telling me that my reasonable goal for the short term is impossible, makes me a lot more determined.
years went by, during this period I learnt that there is a company in the UK that produces stratos kit car replicas. as i investigated the topic i found out the costs of such project are reasonable, although still very far from my expectations of the "5 year plan" however this particular knowledge made me more interested in tackling the jobs around the cars miself.
I had some hickups in uni and finally finished my degree, Moved to Leicester and started looking into Elans again. this was about 3 years ago.
As i didnt have a garage, and already knew elans leaked i never had the courage to buy one.
The oportunity to buy an elan returned when i moved to Stafford for a new job and i managed to rent a flat with a garage. 6 months later I had the funds, the garage and the determination.
took me 2 months to win a bid on the car. I was determined to save miself as much money as possible and willing to bite the bullet with a project car if need be.
As i was 100% sure for a fact that the initial cost of ownership would be mostly in repairs, regardless of condition.
I bought a car in very poor external condition that the seller stated was "sound mechanically".
I fell in love with it in the trip from colchester to stafford.

So. then i arrived at stafford with an elan half white, half blue. this was the moment to man up, and start practicing for the day i decide to buy a stratos kit
This was the process of painting the car and making it road worthy. took about a month and half to sand down all the car, buy a air compressor, chose the new color, learn how to paint from multiple youtube sources. and the result was a rather nice job for a first try of someone who has no clue.

anyway, this is the moment my post starts with relevant information for anyone that is thinking of buying an Elan.


PART 2(initial hurdles)
as a spoiler, I can say that i was twice in a position where i would have needed to call RAC. i only needed it once, but under normal circumstances it would happened twice to me, and only once to someone sensible.

so, during these last 5000 miles and year of motoring, this is the list of issues i can remember.

first issue was that i noticed the car was too loud, after a small inspection underneath i concluded the exhaust had a hole.
in the process of fixing this with gum gum, I left the car running for amount 30 minutes to allow the exhaust to heat up in order to dry the gum gum.

this was the moment the first real problem with the car happened to me.
out of nowhere there was a small explosion, and a lot of steam coming from the car.
this was a particular tube that could no longer hold pressure from the engine coolant temperature.
to shorten the story, i refilled with water, replaced the rubber joint.
when replacing this rubber joint i came across one of the common issues with elans.
this is the infamous rusty heater valve problem.
after getting one of these, and placed it, drained the radiator and refilled with proper engine coolant.

this was the moment i was then ready to start looking for the real issue that caused the problem.
this was an interesting effort to diagnose the root cause of the overheaving problem. after 2 weeks of looking around the engine and probing here and there with a multimeter, as well as some tricks related to shorting the coolant temperature sensor i found the radiator fans ground wire was not connected.
this was fixed using normal wire running throuhg the apropriate places.

as for lotus ownership experience. this was just about a month after started driving the car. the total cost of repairs just in parts was still only 2 figures. if measured in pounds. but rather close to 3 figures measured in hours.

Its now getting late, so im stopping here. will continue tomorow.

[Tuga2112]

Back on the long story,

So the next relevant event to note is when I travelled to Newcastle for the weekend, and ended up stuck in one of the bridges... yes, straight in the middle.
what happened.

well, after topping up the radiator fluid, I forgot to put the lid.
when the car finally got to the queues to get into town (this was a match day) the water started heating up, and well i saw steam coming out of the bonnet.
stopped worried. and the car didnt want to start again.

I found 2 interesting bits to this journey.
the first is that if you keep the car at a constant speed of 60 to 70 on the motorway it will not heat up the water enough to boil. this proves how well the cooling system works. (when i first heard these were tested in some American desert, i though it was just marketing talk, after this event i think there is probably some truth to the story)
the second thing is that... well... after all that care and issues around heating. one can be stranded for the most silly mistake... and i cant blame the car.

ultimately, the car wouldn't start... this seemed to be an electrical issue as no lights were coming on.
it turned out an additional alarm was fitted in the car that was "disabled". but it was "enabled" enough to stop me in the stop because water gone in and caused a short circuit.... 3 hours later, after the RAC technician came to the rescue I was back on the road. with a small trick in order to disable the alarm after starting the car.
Removing this extra alarm is another issue that is pending in my list, although i have used a DIP switch to effectively disable it making it not much of a problem.

Past this there was a period of around 3-4 months of no issues with the elan... until i took it for an MOT.
My local garage is a specialist in restoring 60s-70s MG's the mechanics are very competent and also rather sharp eyed when it comes to do an MOT.
so the car failed the MOT with multiple things. part of these was the exhaust, apparently my gum gum fix was not good enough. and it failed emissions. it also failed for ball joint rubber boots being damaged, headlight being too rusted on the inside causing the light pattern to fail the MOT, also i had all the headlights aimed too low, being this a result of reassembly of the painted car, the power steering failed the MOT as well, althouhg i argued all Elans PS are heavy, regardless of that i purchased a pump. I also had an issue with a wheel that was not spinning very straight. this one, I am not sure how to confirm it, but i took he's word for it.
now. this is the moment I understood why Lotus are infamous for being extremely expensive to maintain. So. i took the car home. and started repairs.
the total cost of all the parts was around 300 quid, this included a SE wheel, power steering pump, a pair of headlapms, a refill of PAS fluid, and the cost of the MOT itself. If i paid the garage to do the job. i know for the amount of hours work required to get the job done, would have easily bumped the bill in any garage over the 1k line. probably on the upper half of it.

After passing the MOT.
I had a small issue with one of the front brake pistons being sticky, this i believe it was related to the work on the ball joint ?
this was another few hours work, although no monetary costs were involved. (for any potential owner this means, if you took it to a garage you would have paid at least 2 hours work for the job...)

I had planned to get the car repainted after the MOT when the weather was getting better. this was not really needed, but i was not happy with the results of the first attempt when i had a close inspection. not to mentioned i had learned a lot on how to improve.
this took me another 3 weeks work (compared to the first attempt of nearly 2 months) to get it done. and the job is still not perfect. as part of this job. while the clam shell was out. the PAS pump was also replaced.

following this work, I had another 2 or 3 months of trouble free Elan ownership. until I decided to repaint the alloys, because the replacement alloy I got was silver, and the ones that came in the car were painted in a dark grey/brown tone.
as part of the painting work. i came across a crack in the front passenger side CV joint rubber boot.

this was the latest job done in the car. one of those that the parts are very affordable, but.. well took a good 4 hours to do the job. this was after buying tools, and a lot of research.

And Finally. the last part of this review.

its the past 2 weeks.
As my Celica insurance is now also classic, and limited to a specific mileage a year. I found myself driving the Elan on a daily basis. during December with rain.
I'm not sure how to review an Elan as a daily driver.
for the past 2 weeks, i had no issues mechanically. HOWEVER. my header seals are in very poor condition. which has some interesting effects.
My experience, is the opposite to what Top gear would make you think. The car has no leak at all at speed. but when you park and its raining. i can see water dripping near the foot-well. and im also slightly worried about rust building up.
the fuel consumption, is from this 5000 miles. if you drive sensibly, an average of 36 miles to the gallon. a surprising number for the car it is.
However, when having fun on it, consumption will go up/down to 25. maybe even 20.

In short. my opinions
"Is it expensive to own an Elan?"
if you pick a car that has not been well looked after in the past. and you will be paying someone to work for you. yes.
if your doing it yourself. its surprisingly less costly than I expected.

"Is it fun?"
Definately

"do you feel comfortable with the reliability of the car?"
in short. I am 90% comfortable.
the missing 10% are related to the fact that i am not completely happy with the way i have fixed the heater fans ground wire. if that was done correctly (and still intend to get it right when i have the patience to go back there) I would be 100% comfortable with the elan's reliability.

How does it fare compared to today's modern cars
its 25 years old technology, there is faster, cheaper and potentially more fun cars out there, im sure. so... no, but if you are looking into an elan for these reasons.. your definitely barking at the wrong tree.

What does it miss ?
Seals that work. (there's a member in Here frequently working on this, I have a set from him to do my replacements, still haven't got round to doing the job.)
remote central locking... definitely. although its an easy and cheap mod..
a clock that actually works
better brakes. these exist, but just a bit of a stretch for my typical budget.
power.. the standard 160bhp are no longer impressive in today's traffic. although this can be boosted to around 200 with some rather common mods, (everest chip, wastegate port and 2.5'' exhaust.)
easy access to the oil filter.

[Sport Paolo]

Hi Tuga2112,
Interesting read, Your user name intrigues me as I am a massive Rush fan and 2112 forms part of my email address.
Also, We're not very far apart. I'm near Chasewater between Cannock and Lichfield. My Elan is sorned for winter at the moment, but maybe we can have a meet one day. Paul.

[Artaban]

I can't play Red Barchetta on the stereo without seriously breaking the speed limit

Tuga, thanks for the summary of your experience of ownership. Its nice to see you have the "have a go" attitude to service/restoration because without it more of these cars would be consigned to being parts donors. My first car was a MG Midget which was basically held together by the carpets. I learnt so much about cars that I'll have a go at anything now. Keep going with the improvements, you will find the car gets better and better as you restore it and after a while you will see just how good the car must have been when it was new.
Andy

[GeoffSmith]

Hi Tuga2112,
Interesting read, Your user name intrigues me as I am a massive Rush fan and 2112 forms part of my email address.

2112 refers to his birthday.... Happy 4th birthday for yesterday João.

[Sport Paolo]

Clearly too young to be a Rush fan. We're all ancient.

[Artaban]

2112 refers to his birthday.... Happy 4th birthday for yesterday João.

He's old enough to know whats right but young enough not to choose it. He's noble enough to win the world but weak enough to lose it. He's a new world man.
I'm a very sad man being able to quote Rush lyrics for a song I've not listened to for decades.
Anyway I'm off topic so I'd better Ramble On somewhere else.
Andy

[Sport Paolo]

Nowt sad about that.
I'm into country these days...........

[Jamie N]

I can't play Red Barchetta on the stereo without seriously breaking the speed limit
Andy

Link to the above mentioned track, arguably the greatest "car" inspired track ever written, but then Scotlands biggest Rush fan is gonna say that eh . if you haven't heard it before give it a listen it really is a cracking song.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p ... ukZgfHZIoc, hope this link doesn't infringe any copyright .

[Sport Paolo]

Totally off topic but eh ..
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HXKoZxi1cUU
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UGSMrFJuF6k
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QRdRpn0Gkz4
A few of my faves.

[Rambo]

I can't play Red Barchetta on the stereo without seriously breaking the speed limit
Andy

Link to the above mentioned track, arguably the greatest "car" inspired track ever written, but then Scotlands biggest Rush fan is gonna say that eh . if you haven't heard it before give it a listen it really is a cracking song.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p ... ukZgfHZIoc, hope this link doesn't infringe any copyright .

It's bound to Jamie

[epipete]

Continuing with the theme of totally trashing Joao's thread, I haven't heard any Rush since I flogged all my albums 30 odd years ago so Im looking forward to listening to these tomorrow!

On a related theme, I was a little nonplussed by the furore over the sad passing of Lemmy, he also went out of my orbit after Hawkwind/Silver Machine (along with Judas Priest, Uriah Heep, et al) yet everyone seems to be lamenting him as if he was Elvis or Michael (neither of whom, incidentally, I felt much for).

Furthermore, there are always request for folks to add their location to their profile, but I feel it would be as equally useful if they added their Age, thus assisting in creating a more comprehensive profile of our ownership!

[Brit-Car-Nut]

Furthermore, there are always request for folks to add their location to their profile, but I feel it would be as equally useful if they added their Age, thus assisting in creating a more comprehensive profile of our ownership!

The pot calls the kettle black! Your profile does not show your age...

No trouble intended.

Cheers!

[epipete]

Furthermore, there are always request for folks to add their location to their profile, but I feel it would be as equally useful if they added their Age, thus assisting in creating a more comprehensive profile of our ownership!

The pot calls the kettle black! Your profile does not show your age...

No trouble intended.

Cheers!

Tut tut!!! Now corrected

[Rambo]

Even if you do disclose your age in your profile, there's only on f in Geof Smith can bugger about with it I am currently 81 !!

[Fredjohn]

Even if you do disclose your age in your profile, there's only on f in Geof Smith can bugger about with it I am currently 81 !!

Very considerate of Geoff to lower it.

[epipete]

Even if you do disclose your age in your profile, there's only on f in Geof Smith can bugger about with it I am currently 81 !!

Oh, you mean you're not! It has always astonished me.

I love Fredjohns comment though - so sharp he'll cut himself!

[GeoffSmith]

Even if you do disclose your age in your profile, there's only on f in Geof Smith can bugger about with it I am currently 81 !!

Very considerate of Geoff to lower it.