My Father has recently given in again to his odd fetish for plastic cars (he has form for this - Scimitars, TVRs etc) - an Elan M100 in a rather fetching (and rare I gather?) 'silk' red. Here it is freshly washed after being picked up from Leicestershire:
From what we can ascertain, it's had a lot of work done in the not-too-distant past - full respray (and a fine job they seem to have done too), replacement chassis and wishbones, engine rebuild etc. etc.
If anyone has any knowledge of this car we'd be most grateful for details of the work carried out. The seller stated that it had been part of a small collection, which was split up and sold when the owner moved to Dubai some years ago.
I performed the test drive as my dad hadn't arranged insurance. I've never driven anything like it- I was expecting a typical stiff roadster ride, but it was very supple on the road. It also felt faster than I was expecting for 160bhp, so I wonder if the engine has been chipped at some stage.
It does however need a cambelt, which I understand is a 'fun' job on these little critters? So at some point soon we will be underneath it, sweating and swearing profusely.
The only other issue is that the hood seals are definitely looking past their best. I understand replacement seals are both rare and eye-wateringly pricey. Luckily however, my Dad is a very keen tinkerer, so we'll be looking at making and fitting some of our own for it (yes, I can already hear your laughter at our innocent enthusiasm for this bit!).
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