I’m sort of (and very nervously) looking for a Plus 2. I’ve copied a reply from “mbell” in Austin TX that was in a question I posted about Plus 2 width that slowly moved off topic and wish to follow up here.
My “skill set” is that I did much of the work on my departed 308GT4, including rebuilding the carbs, distributors, various electrical bits like cooling fans, fusebox, oil sender, etc. My garage is very small and I would have no way of attempting to separate body and frame, nor pull the engine. No fiberglass experience. Even working on brakes could be a challenge, as the width of the garage is very narrow - just enough for me to crack the door open and squeeze in. So any car I’d buy would have to be a solid driver.
There are a several Plus 2 's (how do you do plural? Plus 2s could be a bit ambiguous…) that are duplicated across several websites, like Hemming’s etc. A maroon one, one in red, and yellow. Any comments about these cars would be appreciated, in particular someone here may be familiar with one or more of them.
What scares me away from all of them is the style/wording of the ads from these dealers. They seem sort of hard sell, and oriented perhaps more to someone who has no idea what an Elan is. A little too “slick”, if you know what I mean. Long on magazine article quotes, short on actual details - especially service and repair history. Basically the exact opposite of how someone on this forum would likely present their car.
The yellow one is a bit rough, but I’d still might consider it if it was mechanically fit. I suspect if I were to try to correct the body I might be falling into an expensive rabbit hole. But the dealer representing this one seems to be attempting to describe it well, warts and all:
hemmings.com/classifieds/de … 93556.html
The red one seems priced too good to be true. There is a scary bit in the ad: “Some of our vehicles located in California have been rented out to movies, commercials, photoshoots and parties.” Yikes! Certain aspects of the car are suspicious - looks like a headlight and trunk (err… boot) lid don’t fit well. And some of the underhood wiring looks a bit messy.
hemmings.com/classifieds/de … 31584.html
But I have to admit, the dark red/maroon one is kind of calling me. Again, I’m more than a little suspicious, for example: “Badging and emblems have been removed enhancing appreciation of the car’s styling.” Is that code for “we painted it and can’t find the various bits…”? It looks like there are U-jts in the rear axles (i.e. not rotoflex nor CV). Aluminum (sorry… “aluminium”) radiator with expansion tank. Underneath photos look decent, frame as near as I can tell looks good. No photos of the sill area.
hemmings.com/classifieds/de … 37355.html
Sorry for being so long winded. I’m new to British cars, but am on my 3rd Italian car. So I’m used to a bit “quirky”. I would deeply appreciate any comments.
Another issue is location. I’m on the west coast (US), these cars are located in Ohio and 2 in Michigan. (the actual location of the “California” car is Michigan). All are a bit far just for a casual “look-see”.
Hans. (aka “Nervous Newbie”)