I have posted many technical inquiries lately. For this post, I just thought it might be fun to put up the before and after of my 71 Plus 2S130 project, otherwise known as the Lotus Elan “Ebay Potluck Special”, that I’ve been sorting for over a year…
The backstory: This was a disassembled, abandoned, restoration project, AS-IS, posted as a “Buy it Now” auction on Ebay back in February 2019. I didn’t know if it would ever run, what condition the mechanicals were in, if the engine would even rotate, what was beyond repair, or what bits were present- in the parts boxes that came with the car. I had no idea as to the chassis condition either. There was no time to ask questions. I had just 6 photos to draw from and make my decision. I am an engineer, and the only “data” I had was “it looked pretty”. Seemed reasonable to me. The body looked nice, the red paint looked good, and I loved the design. (the car was originally white.) I had not seen this model ever before. The body shape got to me but the rest was a complete mess. The interior was a miserable empty shell. The wiring was just hanging disconnected, and fragmented, like spaghetti. The engine bay had been riffled thru, with lots of bits missing in the auction photos. But an engine was generally present, along with a transmission that may/may not work properly. The only feature that worked on the car was inertia. (It would roll if you pushed it.) I kept wondering if buying a inoperative project car, sight unseen, was a cleverly conceived decision.
Given all that, and my impulsive nature toward life sometimes… I hit the “Buy it Now” button and it was suddenly mine. I was the proud owner of a crap-storm of unknowns. As well the proud owner of an Ebay invoice to pay, for $10k. I was in it- for better or worse. Made my way to Pensacola, to push it up on a U-haul, (photo above) and get it home. (My daughter traveled with me which made it a very memorable trip:) Once on the trailer I loaded 6 big tubs of unknown bits that were said to go somewhere on the car, along with two big boxes with the uninstalled forward and aft windscreens. I spotted all sorts of booklets and old paperwork, seats, headliner, carpet kit, and a lot of uninstalled hardware. I didn’t go thru the tubs, just needed to get on the road, and head south to Broward county.
Its been quite an adventure, as everything needed to be sorted, reviewed, fixed, repaired or replaced. It was one big puzzle. Went out and got the tech manuals, parts book, and got started. Been going thru it system by system. Started with the electrical and fuel system. Then came hydraulics, cooling system, Ignition, exhaust, steering, suspension, and then I started some of the interior work in parallel. The worst “assigned task” was the wiring the car from front to back with 3 new harnesses. The dash was a miserable time, but now I can almost joke about it -almost. I’ve posted 2 or 3 threads bitching about it. (I mean asking for technical advice while enjoying putting the pieces together.) (The water pump replacement was not exactly fun either, but we went in from the oil sump rather than pull the head.)
Still have the CV joint upgrade to begin next, and will need an electrical headlamp lift conversion kit.
Hope to have the car ready for a test drive, just up and down the street by Christmas. If folks find these pictures interesting, I’ll post some others before/afters. The photos are just siting in my phone. -And I love seeing other members projects and results. I thought I would just share these and see what happens…
Cheers guys,
MIke
The plan is to have the car back on the road next year with a trip to Scotland planned. There I have said it in public so watch this space. I see you have the original steering wheel I have losses the plastic boss rare as hens teeth apparently so possibly a new replacement for Christmas. Hope to see your on the road soon and hopefully I will post pictures of my progress.
