Dad's 1965 Lotus Elan S2

[Hunter]

Greetings Elan enthusiasts!

I’m working with my dad’s 1965 Elan S2, which we have garaged in Northern Nevada. According to the registration, the VIN is 263720. We’re beginning to need the garage space, and we’re working on a plan for what to do with the car. It’s a neat car with an interesting history, including involvement with Hunter S. Thompson, and being referenced in some of his work. My dad owned since his senior year of college, in 1969. The car runs, albeit a little rough. Our long time mechanic unfortunately passed away a couple of years ago, and my family and I have been keeping it going as best we can since then. My dad raced the car, and he made some modifications, as you can probably see in the pictures. The car is located on a property that is accessed by a 55 MPH highway, and we don’t consider it road worthy for that highway. So at the moment, it’s confined to our property, or we’ll have to haul it somewhere.

I had a friend come look at it, and he identified a few issues that I’d appreciate more information on. The body is in overall decent shape, but it’s got these cracks in the engine compartment that we don’t know much about. We haven’t gotten a good look at the frame due to inability to jack up the car at its current location. When our mechanic was still alive (circa 2022), he had a pit that we used to change oil and do general maintenance. The mechanic never shared any concerns about the body or the frame.

Sorry I couldn’t include more pictures. The system only allowed me to upload one picture, and it wouldn’t let me include a dropbox link that has more pictures. If you DM me, I can provide many pictures.

Any information and suggestions are appreciated! Thanks!

Hunter

Hunter

[pharriso]

Here are more of Hunter’s photos:

[stugilmour]

Welcome to the forum Hunter. Hang in and make a few more posts to this thread and I assume the forum software will allow pictures, links, private messaging, etc. Big thanks to @pharriso for putting the additional pictures up for you.

You will find the forum very helpful, even if you decide to prepare for sale as a project. It sounds like you are considering restoration, which would be a great project.

That does look like an impressive body crack. It is proximal to one of the main tower body fasteners. I have a Plus 2, so take my assessment with a grain of salt, but I suspect the body may need to be separated from the chassis to repair it properly.

Note separating the frame is possible by a home mechanic. I did a frame replacement on my car. If you search the forum you will see lots of threads with excellent pictures to show the scope of this project.

I opted for a new replacement frame. Upon removing the body it turned out to be an excellent choice because one of the rear towers was severely bent out of place.

I do recall Hunter Thompson comparing the handling of his Attorney’s Cadillac, The Red Shark, to a Lotus Elan. He said they had to boost tire pressures to 75 to 100 psi to make them “Hard as teakwood”.

The reference I remember was in Fear & Loathing, the plot line being about Hunter covering the Mint 500 Off-road Race from a fully equipped hotel suite in Las Vegas. My favourite quote: “No point mentioning those bats, I thought. The poor bastard will see them soon enough.”.

Very cool that your car inspired this flight of fantasy road trip….

“We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold. I remember saying something like “I feel a bit lightheaded; maybe you should drive. . . .” And suddenly there was a terrible roar all around us and the sky was full of what looked like huge bats, all swooping and screeching and diving around the car, which was going about a hundred miles an hour with the top down to Las Vegas. And a voice was screaming: “Holy Jesus! What are these goddamn animals?”
Then it was quiet again. My attorney had taken his shirt off and was pouring beer on his chest, to facilitate the tanning process. “What the hell are you yelling about?” he muttered, staring up at the sun with his eyes closed and covered with wraparound Spanish sunglasses. I hit the brakes and aimed the Great Red Shark toward the shoulder of the highway. No point mentioning those bats, I thought. The poor bastard will see them soon enough.”

―Hunter S. Thompson

[Andy8421]

Hunter,

In period, Lotus sold new part sections of the body to facilitate accident damage repair. These replacement sections would be grafted into place after the damaged portion was cut away from the car. One of the available sections was the front of the car from about the point of the two cracks you have found. My Sprint had a new front grafted on back in the 80s, and while it doesn’t have cracks, it does have witness marks in a very similar area as yours.

My guess is that your car has suffered front end damage and has had the old front removed and a replacement put in place. To be honest, looking at your pictures it looks as if a poor job has been done, and the replacement has cracked at the point it was attached. A decent job should be nearly undetectable from the original, and should be as strong.

The join should continue over the top of the wing. You may be able to see it by shining a bright light up under the wheel arch and seeing a line of light through the wing where the join is - although the paint may be too thick to let the light through.

[The_Veg]

Welcome Hunter!

I thought the Red Shark was a rented Chevy Caprice?

[stugilmour]

Cadillac convertible from my recollection, but I was definitely mistaken. Here is what AI says:

In Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo famously drive a massive 1973 Chevrolet Caprice Classic Convertible affectionately nicknamed “The Great Red Shark”. Later in the story, they abandon the Shark and switch to a rented luxury car they call the “Great White Whale,” which is a white Cadillac.

The “Great Red Shark” is the iconic red 1970s convertible driven by Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo in Hunter S. Thompson’s novel.

In reality, Thompson was later gifted a matching 1973 Chevrolet Caprice Classic Convertible which he also named the “Red Shark,” and it was used for interior shots in the 1998 film.

Here is a link to the Caprice Great Red Shark.

https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6573423