plus 2 at Castle Coombe

PostPost by: The Veg » Fri Jun 02, 2017 2:16 pm

mbell wrote:It seems that there always quite a few Elan's for sale across here but very limited (often none) +2's. At that quite of number over here I'd expect too see them offer a bit more often. There obvious quite a few reason why that might not be the case thou.


I haven't checked ads much but that sounds about right. My car came to me from a local friend and was never advertised and I wasn't in the market when I heard that selling was under consideration. In fact before I saw it in my friend's garage a few years earlier, I'd never even heard of Plus 2s. Best-kept secret in the Lotus world, I suppose. But I wonder how much time and trouble it would take for a Yank to get one if they set out to do so.
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PostPost by: mbell » Fri Jun 02, 2017 6:54 pm

trw99 wrote:Interesting little exercise but I must emphasise the finger in the wind nature of it!
Tim


Thanks Tim, appreciate your input and this level of analysis is more than enough for my interest! So that a 2:1 ratio for Elan to +2, which doesn't bare out in the cars that come to market. Which I find that interesting.

The Veg wrote:I haven't checked ads much but that sounds about right. My car came to me from a local friend and was never advertised and I wasn't in the market when I heard that selling was under consideration. In fact before I saw it in my friend's garage a few years earlier, I'd never even heard of Plus 2s. Best-kept secret in the Lotus world, I suppose. But I wonder how much time and trouble it would take for a Yank to get one if they set out to do so.


I know I spent quite a few months hammering Craiglist search engines, ebay and other places and only came across two possible cars in a few months of searching. I reckon at that point there was about 1 new car a month being offered and I don't think the rates changed much. So I think your point about a lot of them changing hand behind the scene is probably right.

I had to buy sight unseen across the country to get it which was quite a risk but the only way to get one. Condition was about what I expected based on PPI and photos but worse than I wanted to buy, but was a +2S130/5 which would have taken probably 10 years for me to find another unless I exported one from the UK.
'73 +2 130/5 RHD, now on the road and very slowly rolling though a "restoration"
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PostPost by: pauljones » Sun Jun 04, 2017 11:13 am

Ive been looking at the pics posted up, inparticulary at the wiper positions. I need to replace mine but note that some park to the left and only a few, like mine, park to the right (drivers side).
Ive looked at the archive posts and there doesnt seem to be a correct positioning but theres the sugestion that they should park on opposite side to driver.
Is there any definitive answer to the position of the park?
In honesty im just going to replace them as they are but was curious to the answer.

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PostPost by: john.p.clegg » Sun Jun 04, 2017 5:54 pm

I would park them on the drivers side,that way the first half of the sweep clears the drivers vision...

John :wink:

But I could be wrong...
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PostPost by: pauljones » Sun Jun 04, 2017 7:05 pm

Its a fair point John.

Just a case of finding some time now.

Paul
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PostPost by: trw99 » Mon Jun 05, 2017 10:51 am

Paul

I've looked through the contemporary road tests and the consensus is that the wipers park to the left, on the UK passenger side. Of the many +2 tests I found only two, one from 1970, one from 1971, where the test cars had the wipers parked to the right. These cars were all from the Lotus press fleet, so gives you a lead of sorts, I hope.

As with most things Lotus from the 60s and 70s, its almost always impossible to be definitive!

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PostPost by: pauljones » Mon Jun 05, 2017 6:41 pm

Tim.

Mines a 1970. Im not saying i have a press car from the time but wouldnt that be a nice to have.
Ill just get replacements and install as they are.
Thanks very much for looking.

Very much enjoying driving Sophie along the beach roads. First gear seems a bit short,even with a 3.54 diff, but that 2nd and 3rd are awesome. The roar from the Jenveys and exhaust note is VERY addictive. Who needs 4th??
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PostPost by: crisco » Mon Jun 05, 2017 11:18 pm

Looks like a great time. Would love to check out this many Plus 2s one day
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PostPost by: The Veg » Tue Jun 06, 2017 3:24 am

mbell wrote:I know I spent quite a few months hammering Craiglist search engines, ebay and other places and only came across two possible cars in a few months of searching. I reckon at that point there was about 1 new car a month being offered and I don't think the rates changed much. So I think your point about a lot of them changing hand behind the scene is probably right.

I had to buy sight unseen across the country to get it which was quite a risk but the only way to get one. Condition was about what I expected based on PPI and photos but worse than I wanted to buy, but was a +2S130/5 which would have taken probably 10 years for me to find another unless I exported one from the UK.


Reminds me of my experience back in 2010 when I was shopping for an Esprit. I wanted a Giugiaro-era Turbo, with 1986-7 cars at the top of my preference. I did NOT want a red one, and while I'd take just about any non-red colour, Essex blue was my favourite but I also knew it was the rarest. When I looked, it seemed that at any given moment there were anywhere from 2 to 4 G-Esprits available in USA, never near me, and all of my efforts to find local people to put an in-person eyeball on them or me were fruitless. Every now and then there'd be a period when none came to market. Months of searching. I tried to pounce on a nice black '87 in Texas at a Cadillac Dealer but it was gone by the time I called, having only been there one day! To cut to the chase, I wound up getting an Essex blue '86, which I later learned was the only one that colour that year in USA! But it meant going on nothing more than phone conversations with the seller. I was nervous as hell about that! It turned out to be a fairly decent car, not without things that needed attention, but certainly not the disaster that it could have been. All in all, G-Turbos are definitely easier to get than Plus 2s, but the process can still be challenging.
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PostPost by: The Veg » Tue Jun 06, 2017 3:27 am

Wipers: mine park to the left, LHD car if that makes any difference. And while I don't know if they were like that 47 years ago, the almost painfully-unmolested state of the car when I bought it makes my gut say that they probably were.
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PostPost by: Sea Ranch » Tue Jun 06, 2017 4:57 am

My Federal LHD 1970 car has the wipers park to the left. Similarly unmolested, very original car. FWIW. :mrgreen:

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PostPost by: trw99 » Tue Jun 06, 2017 7:50 am

Some more snaps from Combe

Tim
Attachments
img_5977.jpg and
Peco exhaust silencer, as fitted to the last Plus 2S 130s
img_5979.jpg and
An original 1963 Lotus winners screen sticker
img_5966.jpg and
Getting ready for the parade lap
img_5964.jpg and
A pristine looking original Lotus key fob
img_5971.jpg and
Burnt Sand. Much better 'in the flesh' than it looks in photos and now very rare. This is the original colour, never over painted
Last edited by trw99 on Wed Jun 07, 2017 8:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
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PostPost by: pauljones » Tue Jun 06, 2017 8:17 am

Tim,

Please stop posting pictures of fantastic looking cars that i missed.

I officially have lotus envey..!!
Better get working on mine soon.
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PostPost by: Eric the Viking » Tue Jun 06, 2017 11:39 am

Sadly we will not make the Silverstone Classic as we missed the deadline for the Club Lotus code. Would have really liked to have been in the +2 display lap but there we go.....
Tim you did a great job at Combe and we had a great day on and off the track.
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PostPost by: Eric the Viking » Tue Jun 06, 2017 11:42 am

Oh and by the way our +2S built in 1969 has always had wipers that park to the right........just to muddy the water!
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