Hello from Boston

[pte123]

Hi All, just wondering whether there is a community in the North East (of USA!) of Lotus Elan owners.

I'm a brit and owned a Elan SE in Norfolk Yellow when I lived back in Blighty (the UK) and have very fond memories of ownership.

I'm looking around for another model and see prices vary wildly.

Wondering whether anyone has a good one for sale, or knows of anyone willing to part with one?

I'm also concerned about the lack of available parts, particularly the rubber areas around the A pillar/windshield. This seems to have perished quite badly on a few I have seen, and really gives the car a 'tired' look.

Advice appreciated. Thanks Phil.

[marvic]

Hi Phil and welcome.

There are a few of us in the North East. I am in NJ close to Princeton, also a Brit. We have a couple others in the NJ and PA area. I am not aware of any for sale just now other a few that look too expensive and been for sale for months. You probably found those. Cars here are in generally good condition as not driven much in poor weather. Mine is a very clean Florida car so don’t suffer the same weather issues as the UK.

Bringatrailor occasionally has cars and the sale prices recently have been realistic.

Rubbers aside, most other parts are reasonably easy to source so easy enough to maintain.

[GaryVM100]

Phil,
Welcome to LEC. I am in Connecticut and have only seen two other M100s. I think he was from RI. I am hoping to find a mechanic who knows or wants to work on our cars.
You may be interested in NELLI (New England Lotus Lovers). It is a group that meets up your way. There is also the LOG 39 (Lotus Owners Group) meeting in Sturbridge Mass. on Aug 23-26. It should be close enough to just stop in if your interested.
In addition i might be interested in selling my car. White with 32k miles. I've had it since about 1998. I only drive it in the Summer and have a number of cars. I'll decide in July.
Gary

[tigerdog]

Welcome, from San Diego! I don't worry much about parts, as long as this group is around. LEC is one of the main reasons I selected the Elan as my "toy car". I've yet to run into something that hasn't been cross-referenced, remanufactured, improved-upon or otherwise made available by the clever folks here. If the A-pillar and header seals give you pause, look into the one-piece replacement that's been put together by Jamie N (look here.) I haven't installed one myself, even though mine are tired, because it never really rains here.

I hope you find your dream Elan soon!

Doug

[NewLogik]

Welcome from "upper" north east in Quebec, Canada. As others already said, LEC is a great source for all your questions and the community is really helpful. As for the car itself, as any "older" car which are not as comon as other make/models, you might find that some parts might take more time to get or to find a solution, however, I think the overall ownership of a Lotus Elan is great !

[pte123]

Hi again,

I finally got around to acquiring my first Elan in the US. I just had to scratch the nostalgia itch from 25 years ago when I had a yellow one.

This one is red with 56,000 miles. I just got it from a guy in CT. In looking at the (many) receipts that came with it, the new Elan was owned 20 years ago by a guy just a few streets over from where I currently live. Strange how things go.

The red car needs a little bit of work and a general clean up (I managed to repair the headlights as soon as I got home).

Things I've seen so far:

-Right side outer ball joint boot is leaking (grease all in the wheel well) - not sure where to source one of those.
-Rear brake lights not working.
-AC not working (I think it's r134a)
-Soft top hood is torn up - this is a fair weather car so not too concerning.
-Rear spoiler is slighly a different shade of red

Other than that, I'm just going to drive it.

Thanks!
Phil

[TorqueHorse]

Glad to hear you finally found one again!
For the ball joint, do you mean CV axle boot? Regardless, for a US based supplier, Dave Bean is the last one I know of that is selling M100 parts, but you can also check some of the other suppliers listed here https://www.lotusltd.org/sponsors
The most consistent suppliers that I've used though are actually in the UK: SJ, PNM, and SWLC

For the brake lights, I know you aren't alone in having that problem. Usually, it is a ground wire. Hope you are able to sort it soon, so that you can enjoy the car!

[Tuga2112]

-Right side outer ball joint boot is leaking (grease all in the wheel well) - not sure where to source one of those.

any universal stretch type will do the job. i have been using those in my cars.

-Rear brake lights not working.

start by checking the fuse, then follow up to tracing the wires, as Matt says, grounds are a comom issue with fibreglass cars. but i wouldnt rule out rust in the connectors, (because i have jsut fixed that in my mr2 sidelights last month)

seems like a car without much to worry about. hope you enjoy it