New project: 1969 Lotus Elan +2

[DeathBy240]

My new project car arrived last Friday from Didsbury. It's a '69 Lotus Elan +2 that was originally a US car and was brought to Canada and stripped to turn into a vintage racer. The project was never completed and changed hands a few times before I picked it up.

For the full story, please read my blog post here:
http://www.myautoproject.com/1969-lotus-elan-2-a-basket-case-project/

Here are a few photos, to see the rest, click the link above, as there are more on the blog.

http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/403/lotuselanproject03a.jpg
http://img853.imageshack.us/img853/7283/lotuselanproject05b.jpg
http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/6347/lotuselanproject08a.jpg

[btimbit]

I love it, will be following for sure

[corsvette]

Very neat project, looks like a fair bit of work ahead of you. Should be well worth it in the end having such a unique car.

[Cody D]

Looks really good, it's nice to see such a unique build.

[DeathBy240]

http://www.myautoproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/lotus-elan-body-removal-13a.jpg

The body is off! With the help of a few friends, I took the body off my Elan +2 project a few days ago. I did a full write up on how it came of on MyAutoProject. View it here: http://www.myautoproject.com/2013/08/removing-the-lotus-elan-2-body/

As you can see, I wanted to be able to store the body on top of the chassis, so that I wasn't using up my entire garage for the project. The next step is to take the engine off the chassis and get it rebuilt and start stripping the chassis down then get it dipped and coated. With my setup, I can roll the chassis in and out easily so that I can work on it.

Here's the chassis all tucked away in its new home:
http://www.myautoproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/lotus-elan-body-removal-15.jpg

And here's the actual lift!
zaeBrm_2Zhg

You can check out all the pics on the MyAutoProject (http://www.myautoproject.com/2013/08/removing-the-lotus-elan-2-body/) post I made.

[mrsingh]

I love these cars although I have never have seen one in person. I had an old Lotus book when I was a kid, I remember always loving the lines of the Elan. :clap:

[DeathBy240]

I've been busy since my last update!

Pulled the engine. Easiest engine removal ever. Literally took 10 minutes.

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/7724/to0d.jpg

Stripped the chassis. This is how it started.

http://imageshack.us/a/img59/9935/iq79.jpg

And done!

http://imageshack.us/a/img713/6184/jjfq.jpg

Then took it to the sandblaster.

http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/4104/m68a.jpg

Picked it up today! Can't wait to get some paint on it! This is it the sandblasters. A bit sandy and snowy.
http://imageshack.us/a/img534/2861/eq3g.jpg

All cleaned up and ready for paint!
http://imageshack.us/a/img209/9792/gfu7.jpg

[KRyn]

:clap:
Awesome project and great blog. Please continue to keep us updated on your progress!

[klumsy_tumbler]

Originally posted by KRyn
:clap:
Awesome project and great blog. Please continue to keep us updated on your progress!

I second this!

[Sentry]

How much does the bare chassis weigh? Can two guys lift it?

[DeleriousZ]

Originally posted by DeathBy240
I've been busy since my last update!

Then took it to the sandblaster.

http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/4104/m68a.jpg

http://www.meh.ro/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/meh.ro4997.jpg

This project is awesome man

[ExtremeSi]

Wow, no wonder Lotuses are so light. Everything's so tiny on that chassis! Cool build. Very unique.

[DeathBy240]

Originally posted by Sentry
How much does the bare chassis weigh? Can two guys lift it?

Hahaha very light. I lifted it into the truck myself. The car stock I think weighed about 1700 pounds. The two seater Elans are down around 1500!

The restoration has been so easy so far because everything is just so damn simple. There's not really anything unnecessary on the car at all.

[n1zm0]

Originally posted by DeathBy240
The restoration has been so easy so far because everything is just so damn simple. There's not really anything unnecessary on the car at all.

In terms of parts, do you have to source them across the pond or are there lots within North America?

I had a friend in HS whose father hoarded old british sports cars, amongst them was a Lotus Eclat, I remember he had to custom make things like the radiator and lots of trips to NAPA and Autovalue to find as-close-as-possible sized front rotors.

[sputnik]

Originally posted by ExtremeSi
Wow, no wonder Lotuses are so light. Everything's so tiny on that chassis! Cool build. Very unique.

X-frame chassis were really common in the 60s. Even Impalas had them.

However the weight is quickly made up on the body and the structural reinforcing needed to keep it straight.

[DeathBy240]

Originally posted by n1zm0

In terms of parts, do you have to source them across the pond or are there lots within North America?

I had a friend in HS whose father hoarded old british sports cars, amongst them was a Lotus Eclat, I remember he had to custom make things like the radiator and lots of trips to NAPA and Autovalue to find as-close-as-possible sized front rotors.

I can get parts from California but they are incredibly expensive compared to the ones in the UK. I priced out a number of bushings, brackets, hardware and suspension components in the UK and it was about £500 compared to $1900 in the US. So even with shipping it's still cheaper to get from the UK.

About the only thing I can get locally are spark plugs. :(


Originally posted by sputnik
X-frame chassis were really common in the 60s. Even Impalas had them.

However the weight is quickly made up on the body and the structural reinforcing needed to keep it straight.

Technically this is a backbone chassis, not an X-frame. Lotus used them in the Esprit and some other cars. A few other British sports cars of that era also had backbones.

It's very thin steel and prone to rusting. I'm actually surprised how good mine is. But it lived in California most its life and has driven all of one block in Canada since it has been here!

[khanan]

AWWWW YIIIISSSSS, keep us updated op really looking forward to how this turns out. :D

[IggyB]

Have you seen this?

Overhauling Lotus Europa (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NvRn1h3ITU)

There are similarities

[DeathBy240]

Originally posted by IggyB
Have you seen this?

Overhauling Lotus Europa (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NvRn1h3ITU)

There are similarities

Yeah I did see that. Actually the owner posts on one of the Lotus forums I'm on. He still hasn't driven the car because it isn't finished. As of earlier this month, it still wasn't drivable.

I'm not a purist by any means, but some of the things on that build just didn't make sense. They still haven't got the Elise engine running. People run the same kind of horsepower with Zetec engines that are incredibly easy to swap in. I guess that wouldn't make for good TV though.