Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hello all
New here
Based in Glasgow ,Scotland
Car has been in family for 20+ years and has never been used only ever moved from storage to storage. Now has come the time when I am going to get the car operational again after it alway being second option of car after I had my 2002tii. That's gon now so onto the lotus at last.i thought the archie's looked flared more than any others I have seen.

Definitely wider wheel arches to take the wider wheels which will have affected the handling and put a strain on the suspension unless modified.

just some more photosbit of a mess just now
the car was at one point mint before my brother purchased it with the nose damage. From what my brother tells me the cat was around 145bhp. It was owned by a gentleman from Kilmarnock area Scotland.

Would the flares of been a factory option ?

All modifications done by previous owners I think as not factory mods that I have ever seen . I would restore it mechanically and modify for more power and better handling and leave the body as is and not even bother to repaint it

Love a Plus 2 Rat Rod.

cheers
Rohan

The factory didn't fit as an option. The bodywork and suspension was designed to run on 165HR x 13 tyres. That's not to say your car hasn't been beefed up to run on the higher engine output and wider tyres.

Welcome Wade!

Good to see another Plus 2 coming back from neglect; looking forward to seeing your progress!

Number 2702 found this number on the engine bay. no reference on the log book about this number.
Vin number is 50/0090L any thing special about my car ?

If you have a 5 speed 130s then your vin should not be start with 50/*****.......should be 73*******
Your cam cover is early...you dash late.......
I'm not quite sure what you've got......
Black nose badge......
S style body.....with fog slots and separate lock and handles on the doors ........
Just a guess but I'd probably go that is actually 50/2702 that was made from a couple of cars......
According to DVLA the number stays with the body.......in the past there have been all sorts of mix ups.........thanks DVLA for changing your minds on a regular basis....

My understanding is that, whilst the Vin# stays with the Glass Fibre Body and not the metal thing we call the chassis, the Vin# is the number on the Vin plate which should be the same as on the DVLA V5 document.

The 2702# on the body shell itself, whilst a body build# is not usualy recorded by the DVLA. IIRC it is very unlikely that the body build# will tie up with the Vin #.

Peter

But the 50/0090 number is too early for the body..........

I completely agree, as we know it's so easy to swap parts it not unusual to combine the best parts of two cars to save one car.

Not so long ago a good body on a knackered chassis would have been worthless and if your car had had a lot of money spent on the chassis / engine but the body was knackerd it would have made huge financial sense to swap especially when you get all the model improvements as well.

Probably when it was done provenance was not such an issue but in hindsight it might of made more sense to use the later cars ID if it had been possible.

We probably will never know the historical reason for fitting a later body but whats done is done so time to enjoy the fun of getting back on the road.

Peter

What I see is a heavily modified late1968/69 Plus 2S - that is what the engine and body are from and that is consistent with the moulded in body number.

The chassis is a fairly aged Spyder replacement probably from the 80's when the original chassis would have been typically replaced and my guess is the wide wheels and body flares would have been done then. Whether it was due to corrosion or a big crash close examination of the body for repairs should tell

I see nothing that says its a late 130/5 and I also see nothing that relates to the early Unit (VIN ) number ? So not really sure where all that came from.

cheers
Rohan

Hi Johan

Re the VIN#, the owner(Wades) refers to it, either he has the body/chassis plate or the DVLA registration docs I assume.

Hopefully Wades will chip in.

Peter

Apologies Rohan

It was from the v5

It has the spyder under it now. When that was changed in the 80s would that of changed the vin number possible or would the spyder of been matched to the original vin number pre spyder ? There will be a number on the spyder some were I take it?

? When the spyder was put under the car would it of come with the A frames that are on the back and the front suspension parts I.E. the parts that have been powder coated yellow yuk. or are they standard lotus parts ? Going to recite black when replacing all bushes.