New LEC member New Elan owner

[GreasyJoe]

Hi all, thanks for accepting me into LEC. From the content so far this place is worth its weight in servers.

Just 3 days ago on the 3rd June I picked up my 1992 Elan SE Turbo. A car I've wanted for a long time, and now I can enjoy it for real. Who can't love the style of it? I feel if they come out with it in 2021 it would still look modern.

Far from pristine I have a lot of work to do on it. Previous owner having it for last 17 years, though originating from new at Portland Place London, (maybe owned by someone at the BBC, or an advertising exec? lol)
The list of jobs is growing already. The previous owners though loved it, were not in the way of looking after it so much but using it as a daily drive, so its picked up some wear and tear along the way.
Good news is the car came with a boot full of treasure. The chap just happened to purchase box loads of original Lotus OEM parts, mainly the rubbers, which is good news as the ones on the car are literally crumbling like wensleydale in front of my eyes!

The hood is on its last legs but will have to wait awhile to allow the bank balance to recover.

I guess I'll be seeking answers to start with but hope to contribute as I grow into it.

The Elan is in good company with my TVR Chimaera sitting next to it. Glutton for punishment?

Look forward to meeting you all in the coming times ahead.

[Saltire]

Welcome! I owned a Chimaera 4.5 before the Elan. Wonderful car, apart from a regrettable tendency to catch fire from time to time.

Enjoy the Lotus, and consider putting your location in your profile (top of the page: User Control Panel | Profile tab | Location. You never know, there may be another member nearby who will help out if you hit problems.

[MackieRM]

That sounds like a nice find! Share some photos when you can

[GreasyJoe]

Thanks all. Updates applied. First job, cleaning the earth wire on the boost gauge. Now I'm a qualified engineer lol. One down one million other items to fix lol.
Yeah the TVR's electrics have a mind of their own plus the heat the engines produce could keep a house warm for winter. Typical TVR salvage sites are, ones either rapped around a tree, or burnt in fire. Hopefully mine's ok as replaced the fuel hoses after one started leaking!

Here's the car...

[Neil.G]

Welcome,
You've come to the correct site for advice and tutorials, everything is covered if you search the forums hard enough or consult the wikiLEC. I'm no expert but I'm only down the road from you if you want a second set of eyes or moral support for any jobs you do. I've tackled a number of things on mine and use it as a daily driver so have a bit of experience. If you see a NMY K-plate heading through Banbury towards Gaydon......that'll be me
Cheers,
Neil.

[KenCarson]

Welcome and I'm just up the A423 from you near Southam. I am no expert but sometimes it's useful just to look at other cars and indeed share experiences. I am also very close to Lotusbits who although do not specialise in Elans, one of their chaps has one and they have done work for me including a new sump and cambelt. Enjoy.

[GreasyJoe]

Welcome,
You've come to the correct site for advice and tutorials, everything is covered if you search the forums hard enough or consult the wikiLEC. I'm no expert but I'm only down the road from you if you want a second set of eyes or moral support for any jobs you do. I've tackled a number of things on mine and use it as a daily driver so have a bit of experience. If you see a NMY K-plate heading through Banbury towards Gaydon......that'll be me
Cheers,
Neil.

Hi Neil, nice to make your acquaintance. Not too far away at all. Thanks for the advice and offer. I may be calling on you sometime. For some reason mine doesn't have any badges on the back. I'm not sure if it was re-sprayed. It doesn't look like it so maybe they just dropped off or was an option not to have any? Anyway after paying out £95.50 for 3 plastic badges, Lotus, Elan, and SE (you'd think they would be solid silver! Still crying over it), at some point I'll need to stick them on the car. Could do with taking some measurements to get the position right. I get a bit OCD when it comes to things like that! Hope to catch up soon. Cheers.

[GreasyJoe]

Welcome and I'm just up the A423 from you near Southam. I am no expert but sometimes it's useful just to look at other cars and indeed share experiences. I am also very close to Lotusbits who although do not specialise in Elans, one of their chaps has one and they have done work for me including a new sump and cambelt. Enjoy.

Hi Ken, nice too meet you too. Ah Southam. Reminds me I bought my TVR at Napton on the Hill. Tony Gilbert, he's trade and does mainly TVR's. Lives in the actual windmill! Anyway I best not keep mentioning the Trevor's. Might get barred lol. Definitely handy getting together and having a chat about the cars. Swapping experiences and knowledge picked up. I'm so new I've had to look up some of the specific parts people here been talking about, such as clam shell! Lots to learn but part of the fun. Hope to chat more on LEC and may meet up in the near future.

[Rambo]

Anyway after paying out £95.50 for 3 plastic badges, Lotus, Elan, and SE (you'd think they would be solid silver! Still crying over it)

Errrrr...... it's even worse. Over £120 you mean

BTW, those badges never drop off by accident. And they were on when they left Hethel. So, someone has deliberately removed them, typically for a proper respray or, as in Pinky's case, because they were gathering moss and grime (and he couldn't be arsed detailing them)

[Neil.G]

Welcome,
You've come to the correct site for advice and tutorials, everything is covered if you search the forums hard enough or consult the wikiLEC. I'm no expert but I'm only down the road from you if you want a second set of eyes or moral support for any jobs you do. I've tackled a number of things on mine and use it as a daily driver so have a bit of experience. If you see a NMY K-plate heading through Banbury towards Gaydon......that'll be me
Cheers,
Neil.

Hi Neil, nice to make your acquaintance. Not too far away at all. Thanks for the advice and offer. I may be calling on you sometime. For some reason mine doesn't have any badges on the back. I'm not sure if it was re-sprayed. It doesn't look like it so maybe they just dropped off or was an option not to have any? Anyway after paying out £95.50 for 3 plastic badges, Lotus, Elan, and SE (you'd think they would be solid silver! Still crying over it), at some point I'll need to stick them on the car. Could do with taking some measurements to get the position right. I get a bit OCD when it comes to things like that! Hope to catch up soon. Cheers.

Yep, no problem. My badges are original and from factory so a bit or measurement and you'll be well away. At that price I'd want Lotus out to fit them personally, £95.50......Jesus wept.

[GreasyJoe]

Welcome,
You've come to the correct site for advice and tutorials, everything is covered if you search the forums hard enough or consult the wikiLEC. I'm no expert but I'm only down the road from you if you want a second set of eyes or moral support for any jobs you do. I've tackled a number of things on mine and use it as a daily driver so have a bit of experience. If you see a NMY K-plate heading through Banbury towards Gaydon......that'll be me
Cheers,
Neil.

Hi Neil, nice to make your acquaintance. Not too far away at all. Thanks for the advice and offer. I may be calling on you sometime. For some reason mine doesn't have any badges on the back. I'm not sure if it was re-sprayed. It doesn't look like it so maybe they just dropped off or was an option not to have any? Anyway after paying out £95.50 for 3 plastic badges, Lotus, Elan, and SE (you'd think they would be solid silver! Still crying over it), at some point I'll need to stick them on the car. Could do with taking some measurements to get the position right. I get a bit OCD when it comes to things like that! Hope to catch up soon. Cheers.

Yep, no problem. My badges are original and from factory so a bit or measurement and you'll be well away. At that price I'd want Lotus out to fit them personally, £95.50......Jesus wept.

Yes that would be great thanks. I did look around but the few places selling them were around the same price or missing one. Was some cheap copies on eBay I think but wasn’t that good and definitely not like oem.

[GreasyJoe]

Anyway after paying out £95.50 for 3 plastic badges, Lotus, Elan, and SE (you'd think they would be solid silver! Still crying over it)

Errrrr...... it's even worse. Over £120 you mean

BTW, those badges never drop off by accident. And they were on when they left Hethel. So, someone has deliberately removed them, typically for a proper respray or, as in Pinky's case, because they were gathering moss and grime (and he couldn't be arsed detailing them)

Got them from sjssportscars.com. Was 95.50 plus vat did come out at 114.60! I bought some CABC wheel caps and plain metal dust caps plus p&p saw it topped off at £164.65.

Think you’re right about the respray or foliage taking over. Likely the former was the cause. Would have been a local respray if it was. I can’t see the difference though, so picked a decent sprayer. Have a few chips and scrapes around the car I’ll need tk dirt out eventually. I picked up from a conversation there’s a good one around Oxford who does Lotus, TVR and few others