Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Off Topic Subjects => Topic started by: Chuck Nukem on Saturday,July 31, 2021, 08:50:35 AM
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I never thought this day would come.....I am officially the owner of a running Lotus!!
After 8 years of intermittent toil I finally learned my lesson and bought a car that worked!
I purchased the car on the Elan forum from Roger, who is also a forum member on here, who just sold his beautiful red TCS. After talking to him a bit about the car I felt the call of adventure and decided to drive down that day and, was feeling bold enough to drive it back from Houston to Dallas in 100 degree heat. My visiting aunt drove down with me in my truck to assist in the return. Had I been sensible I would have brought my trailer, but I took a page from Cortez who burned his ships after arriving at the new world to prevent mutiny... After a lovely dinner it was decided best to depart in the morning. Roger and Pat were wonderful hosts and it was great to visit with them. Roger told me many stories including some about his father Jack who used to compete with his Austin 7 in the 50's in England against a certain C. Chapman. Once we set off the cool morning air did not last long, and I began to feel like a frog boiling in a pot in the Houston stop and go. There were plenty of smiles and waves from passers by. The car offers up the odd little intermittent honk when asked to take a sharp corner quickly and it is an endearing quirk I don't plan on fixing. Once we hit the highway I was pleasantly surprised how well this little thing keeps up with traffic. I took my aunt to our legendary Texas gas station buccees and she was thoroughly amused. After completing 300 trouble free miles we pulled off the interstate to head home. At the first stoplight the car sputtered to a halt... :FUNNY: I attempted to start it with no success for a minute or so. This truly was the complete Lotus experience! The car managed to sputter to life after a little more coaxing and it proceeded to the next intersection where it died again. A few more iterations of this and we made it home. Call it a hunch but I believe it was heat related... The car has performed flawlessly since.
I have been enjoying the little thing around town and getting to know it a bit better. I have been trying my best to surprise all my friends and family with a visit and drive, but I have already been spotted on the road by several of them before being able to execute the surprise! The driving experience is just as good as described by all the texts I have read, all the videos I have seen, all the stories I have heard. I regret not taking the plunge on a running car sooner, even one that wasn't as nice as this Elan...I always felt there was some piece of equipment to purchase rather than a working car, some other house expense, etc...It also became somewhat of a stubborn point for me that I was determined to restore and drive mine first of all...but alas this was youthful folly. This year I had been challenged by my friend with a +2 to finish my car before October so that we could take a journey to the mountains for his 40th birthday in our cars. I must admit I agreed knowing full well that I was lying... He knew it too because he started sending me ads for running cars... So that is the story of how I came to possess this little car, the delight of my life at the moment!
It even has my grandmothers seal of approval! She has waited 96 years to experience a Lotus so I can hardly complain about my short time without one!
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Well done! Is that a Series 3?
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It is!
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Nice!!
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Congratulations Chuck.
Dave
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Very nice!
You should finish the Europa now before October and surprise you friend with a choice of which Lotus to take your mountain trip!
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Great story, great car, and you have a great grandmother!! I'm envious of all three!
When the Miata came out, it made me want to buy an Elan. And after joining the local MG club, I've really wanted a roadster - Elan, of course! - but it's not in the cards.
Enjoy your new baby but don't let it get in the way of your Europa babies. We want to see the end result of all that cool work with those monster machines!
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A gentleman should always have a
vehicle Lotus suitable for the weather conditions...... ;)
Excellent looking car. If you're not already signed up, I'd recommend Jeff Cocking's Elan forum;
https://lotuselan.net/forums/ (https://lotuselan.net/forums/)
another friendly forum with loads of knowledgeable posters who live & breath Elans. (some have Europas as well)
Brian
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Thanks guys! It has made my desire to complete a Europa greater than ever...
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Chuck, great story! It will be great to personally see the difference between the two lotus'. Very jealous.
Sandy
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Woohoo!! Congrats. What a lovely little Elan. And you broke it in with a proper road trip, too. Nice!
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Nice one Chuck. Maybe a good plan to paint a Europa yellow. Make a nice pair.
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It was a delight entertaining Chuck and his aunt the other day, and I must say "thanks" for the kind words!
I'm glad he got home o.k., I suspect the trouble at the end of the trip was heat-related. It was very hot, and there's not a lot of space under the Elan bonnet ( hood) . I have heard of holes being cut in the wheel arches, under the carbs, to improve ventilation, not a bad idea.
So now both my older toys have gone, and both have appeared on this forum. I consider that to be a good thing! They did all look good together in red, yellow and green - I still have my Elise.
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Chuck congrats on finding a great new addition to the garage. That is a wonderful looking car.
Roger that was a pretty fleet you had there, I am glad you still have one Lotus to venture out in.
Cheers,
Ross
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Well done Chuck! I saw your post on the Elan forum awhile ago. I’m glad it went to an enthusiast rather than a dealer. It looks fantastic and I wish you the best with it. I have a S4 DHC but I have a S3 DHC and a S4 FHC waiting in the wings! I second Brian’s view on the Elan forum. Another great bunch of people.
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Small update. I changed the front and rear shocks and springs with new TTR and Koni yellow units. I have a CV axle conversion on order because I noticed some damage to a donut while switching things over. 1500 miles down and it has been smiles the whole way! I had it on the dyno yesterday and it put down 109 to the wheels.
I have even taken to herding livestock with it in the fashion of Mr. Clark.
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:)
Good to see you're having fun. Did you go for the higher rated springs, I think TT calls them "fast road" ?
+1 on the CV conversion, I fitted one several years ago for exactly the same reasons, concerns over the donuts and modern replacements. I've done a lot of miles with donuts but you need constant checking and CV joints just work.
109bhp is good, it sounds a lot more than a standard S3 should do. I bet it flies.
Brian
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I'm envious, Chuck! That sounds like a lot of fun! Many years ago, a buddy let me drive his Elan. It was impossible for me to drive the first two gears smoothly. It felt like there was a lot of wind up and my buddy and I blamed the donuts. I don't know that he ever changed them so they must have lasted a good while. Anyway, I decided if I ever got one, I would make sure it had CV joints.
Enjoy your new toy ... or I should say, keep enjoying your new toy!
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That looks great! You won't regret the CV conversion. I did it in my Elan+2 and we have had absolutely no issues and it get driven spiritedly.
R.
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Thanks guys!
:)
Good to see you're having fun. Did you go for the higher rated springs, I think TT calls them "fast road" ?
+1 on the CV conversion, I fitted one several years ago for exactly the same reasons, concerns over the donuts and modern replacements. I've done a lot of miles with donuts but you need constant checking and CV joints just work.
109bhp is good, it sounds a lot more than a standard S3 should do. I bet it flies.
Brian
Yes I went with the fast road springs on the front. I have the rear shocks set to one turn, and the fronts at 3 clicks. Ride is supple, just slightly harsher in the front than before.
As for the motor - It does fly! I wish I'd snapped a pic of the power curve. We just put the car on for fun, not for a real tuning session. Upon seeing a saw toothed peak he suggested adding some timing to the engine. There may be more power lurking in there. The tach tends to pulse +/- 500 rpm and read above what the dyno was capturing. The car has pertronix ignition and I believe the current tach is from an MGB of some description. I need to do a little digging and see if I can get something together that reads more precisely.
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CV joints are in and they certainly make a difference. The car seems tighter and has less vibration. When it was sitting on the jack stands the wheels turn over more easily - though I wonder how much of that feeling is due to the extreme angle on the donuts. The peace of mind is worth the price...
Time to enjoy the car for a while!!! My goodness it's nice to have at least one running car that is not a forever project!
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The car has pertronix ignition and I believe the current tach is from an MGB of some description. I need to do a little digging and see if I can get something together that reads more precisely.
Lots of discussion on the Elan forum about the Pertronix range & tachs, apparently the first check is to make sure the tach isn't fed via the coil but from a separate 12v source. That seems to work for most folks, I just replaced the internals on mine because I didn't know about that at the time.
That donut is definitely FUBAR'd and sadly it's all too common. Mine would delaminate at the steel inserts for the bolts and after reading in Club Lotus mag about someone who had one shred while in motion I became paranoid about it. The CV conversion is expensive but definitely an improvement in reliability.
I can't recall what I've got the dampers set at but I'd say mine is a very firm ride in comparison with the original. Mine aren't from TTR but Path Thomas (Kelvedon) and he uses 175lb F, 140lb R springs (OEM 75F/67R). Definitely one of the best mods I've made on the car, I only wish I'd done it years ago.
Brian
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The tach on Chuck's Elan is a real Elan tach with a Spiyda conversion for the Pertronix. It has separate feed, and so does the Pertronix, so the coil doesn't interfere.
You can adjust the reading via a little screw hole in the side of the case. I did that some time ago but since then fitted a capacitor and diode to prevent another issue. Turning off some components, like the heater fan, causes a surge through the wiring which can make the tach peg over to max. I didn't readjust after making that mod.
Try www.spiyda.com or email spiyda@outlook.com .They are very helpful!
When I bought the car it had, and I still have, an MGB tach and speedometer (I think). I tracked down and bought the correct ones. Anyone got an MGB?
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The tach on Chuck's Elan is a real Elan tach with a Spiyda conversion for the Pertronix. It has separate feed, and so does the Pertronix, so the coil doesn't interfere.
You can adjust the reading via a little screw hole in the side of the case. I did that some time ago but since then fitted a capacitor and diode to prevent another issue. Turning off some components, like the heater fan, causes a surge through the wiring which can make the tach peg over to max. I didn't readjust after making that mod.
Try www.spiyda.com or email spiyda@outlook.com .They are very helpful!
When I bought the car it had, and I still have, an MGB tach and speedometer (I think). I tracked down and bought the correct ones. Anyone got an MGB?
Thanks Roger, I will reach out.
The car has pertronix ignition and I believe the current tach is from an MGB of some description. I need to do a little digging and see if I can get something together that reads more precisely.
Lots of discussion on the Elan forum about the Pertronix range & tachs, apparently the first check is to make sure the tach isn't fed via the coil but from a separate 12v source. That seems to work for most folks, I just replaced the internals on mine because I didn't know about that at the time.
That donut is definitely FUBAR'd and sadly it's all too common. Mine would delaminate at the steel inserts for the bolts and after reading in Club Lotus mag about someone who had one shred while in motion I became paranoid about it. The CV conversion is expensive but definitely an improvement in reliability.
I can't recall what I've got the dampers set at but I'd say mine is a very firm ride in comparison with the original. Mine aren't from TTR but Path Thomas (Kelvedon) and he uses 175lb F, 140lb R springs (OEM 75F/67R). Definitely one of the best mods I've made on the car, I only wish I'd done it years ago.
Brian
My friend bought a +2 that had a donut failure. He recently spent about a month cutting and welding new metal to replace the bent sections.
I will have to experiment with different spring set up in the future. I believe the TTR fast road are 140 F/ 80 R. I do have a bit of body roll if I really push it in the corner.
The CV axles did not weigh much more than the original axles w/ rubber and bolts. Eventually I will machine some rear hubs for the bolt on wheels (I have only seen aluminum rear hubs for the center lock). I will use the Elan to test my aluminum front hub/floating rotor once it's ready, though I will leave its original brake calipers alone for now. When I had this car on the dyno I noticed the steel wheels wobble. A future project may be to machine an aluminum look alike of the bolt on Lotus wheel....Image makes a nice billet for the center lock style only.
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A friend (+2 owner) and I am about to embark on a 2500 mile journey with the little Elan and his +2 next week.
This weekend I am headed to COTA for a vintage race. The Elan will be in the show, unfortunately not in the race :)
The week starts with a 3 day trip toward the tail of the dragon and deals gap.
The next stop is in Birmingham to visit Barber
Then the return trip will be down the Natchez trace, before returning home.
Any recommendations are appreciated be it routes or sites, any visitors welcome be they tall or slight.
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Sounds like a good time! Have fun!
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That’s going to be a great trip, Chuck! Please post your travelogue!
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A friend (+2 owner) and I am about to embark on a 2500 mile journey with the little Elan and his +2 next week.
This weekend I am headed to COTA for a vintage race. The Elan will be in the show, unfortunately not in the race :)
The week starts with a 3 day trip toward the tail of the dragon and deals gap.
The next stop is in Birmingham to visit Barber
Then the return trip will be down the Natchez trace, before returning home.
Any recommendations are appreciated be it routes or sites, any visitors welcome be they tall or slight.
When you come back through the Natchez Trace, please let me know. I live 15min from the bridge. I’d love to meet up with you or you are welcome to come to my house and see the Lotus Collection. PM me if you are interested in a meet.
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The trip unfolded a bit differently to our plans...
I drove in from Denton to Austin and we had a great weekend at COTA for the SVRA vintage race. Mark (+2) and I entered our cars in the show and got to do a lap of the track.
We drove to Fredericksburg on Sunday and spent the day preparing for the twisted sisters in the hill country. On the trip there something curious happened with my car. The overflow tank sprayed a little coolant out. We checked the cap, refilled and waited to see what symptoms came back. These roads were excellent and I can not recommend them highly enough. For a brief moment I felt I was on a rally stage in Corsica....not like anywhere I've driven in Texas!
To keep our schedule that day we pushed hard to get to Nacogdoches which was about a 600 mile day in total. When we woke that morning things had clearly taken a turn for the worse. His car had a slight gearbox leak initially. It appeared to have grown in to a noticeable output shaft leak. We decided to abandon the rest of the trip for fear of his box. Once we got back to Austin I noticed my bottle had sprayed again. We pressure tested the radiator and found no visible leaks. After performing a combustion gas test my fears were confirmed... There is a slight bypass from the headgasket of exhaust in to the coolant once the car is warm. The car does not show outward sign of it at all other than the overflow. It is very minimal...but it is there. After pulling the valve cover I noticed little cracks around the head studs. It seems that the head may have caused the studs to lose torque at some point. I need to begin researching possible remedies...
Kid,
I wish I could have made it to see you. We are still planning to do this trip at some point after a few engine outs :FUNNY:
All in all it was a great trip. We set out to stress test our cars, so in that measure it was a success
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Sorry your trip was short circuited! You did get a lap around COTA which must have been fun.
You have good eyes to see those cracks. I suppose they will have to be welded. I hope you post how you get it fixed.