G480 KVG (SOLD)

[ElanX4]

Hi

I’m going to look at this car:

Pistonheads advert

Is this car (G480 KVG) known to LEC ?

The MOT history has two advisories ‘small marks in front screen’ and ‘Steering system has slight free play detected at steering wheel (2.2.A.1b)’. Should these be cause for concern ? When the time comes are replacement windscreens still available ?

I’ve read the buying guide so hopefully I’m slightly prepared for what to look for, but due to it being a very early car (G reg) with the opera headlights, is there anything in particular I should be looking out for ? I know some Elans have panel gaps but the advert shows a picture of the front bumper having quite a large gap to the wheel arch. Could this suggest it’s had front damage repair ?

I’ve seen advice on the site that one should be prepared to spend the same amount of money again but I’m hoping at this sort of money the car should’ve had all the usual issues sorted and is in a condition to drive away and have some fun. Would you agree ?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Giniw]

Hello

I know some Elans have panel gaps but the advert shows a picture of the front bumper having quite a large gap to the wheel arch. Could this suggest it’s had front damage repair ?

Maybe the front bumper was just removed for a respray?
It's easy to adjust anyway — you just need to remove the wheel and the arch liner.
Of course when in front of the car you should have a look at any sign of damages!
If the car was badly damaged the little thing circled in green #1 would be broken

lotus-classics-S2627597-7.jpg

#2 needs to be changed but it's fairly normal, and there are cheap replacements available.
#3 I don't have that precious little black plastic cap, and I am very jealous!!
#4 all bare metal bits seem a bit rusty but I don't think it's that unusual in an old car. You should inspect the underneath before buying in my opinion (especially the lower wishbones and springs)

I’ve seen advice on the site that one should be prepared to spend the same amount of money again but I’m hoping at this sort of money the car should’ve had all the usual issues sorted and is in a condition to drive away and have some fun. Would you agree ?

I don't agree that you need to be prepared to spend £7500 again, I would say a few hundreds in parts from time to time but nothing huge if the car is running fine when you buy it.
Of course it depends if you plan to do the mechanics' job by yourself or not.

[epipete]

I recall reading that post, that suggested as a rule of thumb be prepared to spend as much on returning a used car as the cost of purchase, but if you apply logic this is patently rubbish. That said an Elan is a dripping tap but has no significant (if any) depreciation, so what you gain at one end you lose at the other.

Finally, if its running then keeping it so is not more expensive than any other car, but if you catch the bug its easy to get carried away on projects.

[ElanX4]

Thanks for the replies.

Yes you're right giniw, I hadn't noticed how rusty some of the engine bay looks. As you say will have to try and inspect the underneath.

[Artaban]

Looking at the service booklet in the pic its done less than 3,000 miles in 9 years so expect some issue to arise as you begin to use it. Age is going to be a greater issue than mileage so expect to replace all 4 tyres; they'll probably look OK but be past their best in terms of age. As for how much you spend on it that depends totally on you as an individual and what you are prepared to put up with. You may be able to live with the brakes or the stock exhaust, with the state of the seals, the speed of the window motors....the list is potentially endless. However if you are a perfectionist then it will cost you money and spending another £7,500 on the car would be very easy especially if the rear wishbones have not been replaced and are starting to go.

Despite the mileage and the full history I'd be starting negotiations around the £5,500 mark if not lower since I can't see much expenditure (other than cambelt and service) in the past decade. All Lotuses like to be used and don't like sitting around. I generally bank of having to put new tyres and new exhaust on a car and I'd be concerned about the rear wishbones on this one as they can rust from the inside out and some people paint them up before selling the car to make them look better than they are.

Its good experience to go and see it but based on the description I think you could do a lot better for the money from a forum member who has used it regularly and will have ironed out the little niggles as they've gone along.

Like all 25+ year old cars they can be expensive to run and the lack of use would put me off a bit. My opinion for what its worth.
Good hunting.
Andy

[ElanX4]

Many thanks for your detailed reply Andy.

I agree, the potential problems that may arise due to lack of use is a bit of a concern. With that sort of asking price I don’t want any additional expenditure. I’ll see what sort of maintenance has been done over the years.

Your opinion on tyres and price is very helpful.

Cheers

[lotusflasherman]

[quote="Giniw"
#3 I don't have that precious little black plastic cap, and I am very jealous!!
[/quote]

Just use a blind grommet. If necessary trim off some of the bit that gets pushed down the tube. Dave Pink pointed out to me if you put your thumb over it there's a suck from the plenum so it needs to be capped...

[Giniw]

Wow, I must admit I didn't realize that it may leak through it but indeed that makes sense.
Thank you very much!

Isn't the original one supposed to prevent the screw from turning, too?

[Brit-Car-Nut]

#3 If there is a vacuum bleed at the adjuster, I believe there is an o-ring on the idle set screw that has probably gone "hard" due to heat and age. New screws are still available but the caps just went obsolete in December of 2015. I have a few of each and when I get home, I will pull one of each off the shelf and verify there is an o-ring and see if the cap resembles anything else I have seen (maybe GM used the cap on different cars).

Other (US cars) throttle housings I have seen all have o-rings and few have a cap to prevent vacuum leaks.

I believe I read a long time ago the cap was to prevent the adjustment from changing, but seems to be an odd way to do it.

[lotusflasherman]

Wow, I must admit I didn't realize that it may leak through it but indeed that makes sense.
Thank you very much!

Isn't the original one supposed to prevent the screw from turning, too?

Don't know but I'm happy to rely on Newton's First Law of Motion, seems to have worked for 330 years ...

[Giniw]

No but seriously, it vibrates a bit and I imagine that it may change the adjustment, like Brit-Car-Nut I have read that somewhere ^^

[lotusflasherman]

:-D
No but seriously, it vibrates a bit and I imagine that it may change the adjustment, like Brit-Car-Nut I have read that somewhere ^^

Yes it may... but will it unscrew against gravity or screw in more? Also, has it changed without the cap being there? If not, why should it start changing just because the top is now plugged with a grommet. Just asking...

Parts Manual calls it "Anti-tamper Plug, throttle by-pass screw" which sort of suggests it's to hide the screw slot from people who might have a screwdriver but not know what they are doing... otherwise I reckon it would be called a Locking Cap if it secured the screw position..

[Giniw]

If not, why should it start changing just because the top is now plugged with a grommet. Just asking...

I have always assumed that it was a long cap that went into the hole and that it pushed on the screw to lock it into position.
But of course if it's just a normal cap, it doesn't makes sense at all

[dapinky]

The cap is only shallow and doesn't go deep enough to touch the screw. I always assumed that it was an 'anti-tamper' feature to prevent people fiddling with the idle screw....

.... any adjustment of the screw won't do much at all to the running of the engine in 'normal' mode, as other sensors will pull the idle speed back to where the ECU wants it to be - but in 'service mode' the other sensors are disconnected, and the screw has to be in the right place to set it up correctly at 925rpm.

So, once set, Lotus dont want anyone fiddling with it unless they know what they are doing.

As for the vacuum leak, I never really considered that there may or may not be a rubber 'O' ring on the screw needle, but it makes sense that there could/should be one - if I remember, I'll whip the one out of my spare throttle body and have a look.

Most Elans I have seen have been 'without plug', so I also assume that they have been fiddled with at some point (maybe correctly, maybe not!) but all have had a slight vacuum 'pull' which can be easily detected by putting a wet finger over the hole. I have done 'temporary' fixes with gaffer tape, rubber grommets etc - and Ray Dodd came up with an engineered solution using a tap washer with a setscrew through the hole to allow adjustment of the screw (and monitoring to make sure it hadn't vibrated loose).

Whether this vacuum is enough to affect the engine running I doubt, as the other sensors will reset it - but it will not be 'correct'.

Also, it is a possible way for dust, grit, liquids etc to get into the air system downstream of the air filter - again, probably very minimal and of little consequence.

It obviously was considered to be necessary by Lotus - but if you can live without it, fair enough.

[Giniw]

Thank you!
I will check if there is any measurable leak, it will be interesting (my idle manifold pressure is around 0.31 bar, I believe it is OK)
PS: I think the idle target is 950 RPM, not 925.

[dapinky]

PS: I think the idle target is 950 RPM, not 925.

You're right - the Turbo is 950, but the NA is 900 - so I was just quoting the middle figure

Elanscan only shows rpm in 25 increments when setting it, so i usually have it so that it is slightly above the position where the 925 changes to 950 (as only very small movements of the screw can make a big difference).

[Rambo]

.....and Ray Dodd came up with an engineered solution using a tap washer with a setscrew through the hole to allow adjustment of the screw (and monitoring to make sure it hadn't vibrated loose)

And I have the original in my garage

[RonR]

I saw this one a few weeks ago, and although the car seemed straight enough:

There was a discrepancy between the VIN on the plastic laminated sticker and the V5.
This appears to have been a mistake made by Lotus registering 2 cars on the same day with each other's VIN numbers.
The history file contains letters from Lotus and DVLA/VOSA trying to sort it out, but the discrepancy is still there.

When I looked at the chassis rear turret to confirm the VIN it was blank!
So did the very early cars have the VIN stamped on the chassis turret, or has the Chassis been replaced at some time?

[chipp]

That reg is shown on the list as PB15 and there were more than one registered on the same day.

chipp