ELAN S3 Restoration, Before and After- the story continues

Elan Discussions
1

Hello Lotus friends,

Well, I had so much fun working on my Plus 2 and posting progress updates, I wanted to continue the effort. I received a lot of great feedback on that restoration effort, and the thread has been viewed 20,000 times. viewtopic.php?f=51&t=53498

But the “Plus 2” is done, and I’ll be taking it to a car show next weekend. After it was completed I was left trying to figure out next steps. I needed an objective/ goal. It is important to note, when you get this feeling, you should never go onto Bring a Trailer.

Over Memorial day, I bid on a 67 Elan S3 DHC. It was previously owned 51 years until the owners’ passing at age 91. It was the previous owners’ pride and joy. As a matter of fact the owner maintained handwritten logs of all maintenance and troubleshooting performed from 1982-2016. Amazing. I thought this was a great S3 example, when I saw it on BaT, and for some reason my bid held up as the auction drew to a close. So, next I drove up June 24 from NC to Cape Cod to retrieve it. I squeezed my other cars together in the garage, to make room for the new , albeit small, addition to the family.

There was a lot of built in goodness to this car. The owner put in a replacement Spyder chassis, hi torque starter, CV joint upgrade kit, electronic ignition, fresh brakes, cartridge-type water pump, alternator upgrade, neg ground conversion kit, etc etc. However, contrary to the auction description, the car did not run. As a matter of fact, I had a small, sustained fuel fire at the first start attempt, at the carb inlet. Scary.

My friends called it an “external combustion engine…”
-Which is very clever, if its not your car that’s about to burn up…

So now, the Weber carbs are out for cleaning, repair, refurbishment.
Working on setting the valve clearances. Added a fresh fuel tank, gathering parts,
and dismantling the whole thing for painting. I will keep you posted on progress. Comments and suggestions are welcome.
Cheers, Mike

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Thats a great start off write up to the begining of the adventure Mike. I love it when there is a complete resto underway on LE.Net and the owner bothers to put pen to paper. Doesn’t happen often and takes a lot of effort, so thank you.

Re the fire, was the carb airbox fitted complete, or how / why did it start? I met an Elan owner recently who was running their car without an airbox. When I pointed out that that was quite dangerous, they looked as me as if I did not know what I was talking about. After hearing their explanation, I just walked away.

Please dont re paint it that colour scheme. The green is okay, but the stripe, nah. What was the original colour?

Good luck with it.

Leslie

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I saw the car in person a few weeks ago and it looks like a great project. Can’t wait to see the progress!

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Yikes on the fire! Glad it didn’t become serious. I am the new owner of an old Elan as well and will be watching your thread with interest!

5

Hi Mike,
Further to Mikes comments above, Weber carburettors frequently spit fuel out of the air intake if not quite tuned properly. Also when running they can have a fuel mist cloud just outside the air intake trumpet.
If you fit pancake type filters I have heard that these can become saturated with fuel and can be a serious fire risk.
The standard airbox with remote filter and air intake contains both these occurrences and is safer to use.
looks like a good project and it is wonderful to have all that history,
Eric in Burnley
1967 S3SE DHC

6

Thanks for the comments! Yes I did have the airbox off at the time. This car may have sat in the garage for years. I am not sure how much it was driven by the previous owner, as time went on. The condition of the fuel system was unknown. Of course, I had to give it a try, once I was back home.
I guess my plan backfired… literally.

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Hi Mike,

Looks like a great project. I hope you find time to update here on your efforts and progress - who doesn’t love a build thread?

Cheers,

Will

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The second photo shows the same problem that my S4 on a Spyder chassis had; the propshaft access hole is now in the wrong place. I fibreglassed mine up and then cut a new hole a few inches forward.
Godd luck with your new project.

Mike

9

Thank you, I will move the access port as noted. Here are some disassembly photos, that may be of interest. Still deciding on the planned colour. Very fond of the 1960’s Avengers, and Mrs Peel of course, so I was considering the Jaguar Opalescent Silver blue, for your consideration. (pictured below)

Progress has been limited to parts cleaning, parts buying. The carbs should be completed soon, so I can get back to engine work. I plan to clean up the floor next, and apply sound proofing material. An very nice dashboard, and Pirelli tires have been received, along with many of the interior bits. Most of the electrics appear in general working order. An window motor upgrade is planned to replace the 50+ year old motors. A set of original seats to be delivered in October. I am just very glad the wiring seems to be serviceable. (Installing a full wiring suite on the Plus 2, was more complicated than planned.) Cheers, more to follow.

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Well my apologies for the posting inactivity. I am still in pursuit of a suitable paint shop. It has proved to be a daunting task. The shop needs to have the skills, and expertise, yet the job will need to cost less than the cost of the car. lol

In addition, it appears shops are in high demand, and slots are not readily available. That said, I think I have one sorted. I will report back when the car is inducted for its “makeover.”

In other activities, I have the new wool carpet set from Coverdale, UK on hand. All the interior bits have been received. (Burled walnut Dash, some gauges, switches, and refreshed exterior lighting. All the chrome bits have been cleaned and polished and ready to reinstall. Just need the darn paint completed. I still need to source some new bumpers in the Silver finish, and I plan to refurbish the “100+” brand wheel rims. The new Pirellis are also here and ready to go on.

The Weber carb refurbishment is just about finished. The valve shims are installed, but a final check needs to be completed. Hope to have another start attempt in October-November timeframe, after the paintwork is finished.

From there it should start to “piece together,” reasonably well, I hope…more to come.

As an aside, the Elan Plus 2 made a good showing at the Hagerty Cars and Caffeine Car Show, at Virginia International Raceway this weekend. The Plus 2 was awarded “Best In Class, Foreign Car, Any year.”
I was very surprised, as there were Mercedes, Lola, Morgan, Ferrari, Porsche, BMW, present.
It was a great day for the Lotus. It also performed well on the track laps, but only after the engine cooled down a bit…lol

As an aside to the aside, I hate to admit I don’t know this, but can anyone tell me the type of Lotus below. Some great classics were racing in this SVRA event. Thank you.
Cheers
Mike

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Hi Mike

Potentially a 23?

Cheers,

Will

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Correct! A very nice one indeed.

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Thank you both for that insight.
(Being a bit clueless on this classic Lotus was really bothering me.)
Cheers!

14

Some videos of Lotus 23s in action. The 23 was a “giant killer” back in the day.

Monterey Reunion - note how the white 23 is hanging with the CanAm McLaren
youtube.com/watch?v=HrpQ4M8SX-U&t=8666s

Velocity Invitational
Gheir Ramleth can pedal a car really well. Race starts with the pace lap at 1:49. That particular car was owned by both Alain de Cadenet and Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits)
youtube.com/live/tWunExV6mG … yhTrBUNhDm

I’m in #57 red.

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Thanks for sharing, awesome videos, Great stuff! Must have been an amazing time…Love the vintage races.

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Other than going wheel to wheel with a big block Corvette and GT350 Mustang it was great. Otherwise, one feels very vulnerable going into T1 in a 950lb car against a 3500lb car with the handling of a Conestoga wagon…

17

Hello all,

Ok, the car painter is all set to receive the car. One last look at the " green-mobile" (and my finger in the first photo.)
My wife and I spent some quality time today, pushing it onto the transport trailer.

I was able to load the rest of the car on the front seat of my Tacoma truck. lol
(Two doors, hood, boot lid, headlight buckets, and front/rear bumpers.).
The paint guy was quite surprised with all the tiny, light, body parts…

Will post some additional photos during the makeover.
Fingers crossed, cosmetic surgery is always risky…

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Finally some tangible progress to report! The car is in the preparation stage as it moves forward to primer and paint. The shop I selected is doing a good job, and I am optimistic on the outcome.

Finding the paint code/formula for Jaguar Opalescent Silver Blue has been challenging and we have yet to source this paint colour. A work in progress I guess…

Here are some pix of the preparation stage being completed at the body shop. More to follow. Cheers
Mike

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Does your paint shop have experience in GRP bodies?
If they go through the gel coat then you can get problems with the glass fibres “shining through “ the top coat in later years as the paint cures and settles.
It’s a problem that I have with my restoration which I have yet to address.