Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hi there restoring my 68 +2 and have found out seats are off an older car any seats for sale?

Jay

Older than a 68?

Is yours a 'S'? The '67 and '68 non 'S' plus 2's should have the same seats as far as I know.

Or do you have the high backed federal style seats?

the clue would be in the rear side panel or rear seat.......
if the side panel (the bit under where the front seat belt comes out) has an 'arm rest' then its +2s spec.....you need the thick recliners
if the rear seat back is basically flat with a 15"sq notch cut out in the middle at the bottom then its early +2.......you need the thin fixed seat

there are many other differences.......the centre console in the +2 is a flimsy single piece.....in the +2S is a 2 piece padded item.....etc etc etc

+2S wasn't introduced until early 1969, so his car is not an S

If a Federal car, the seats do not change IIRC[from the time the so called headrests were introduced]

For the UK market an early Elan +2 interior looks like this



The seats look similar to those that were supplied to Elans

Later +2 interiors look like this


Federal (export for US and Canada) can be quite a mixture

Here's a late +2 Federal interior


And here's an early one


It all depends on the USA or Canada legislation at the time of sale.... or perhaps it doesn't, these are Lotus after all

@Jay, may i suggest if you wanna put the car back to original you check what else has been swapped in from a later model before you launch in? i't might not just be the seats !! Dashboards , engines and even bodyshells have been replaced with later styles .
even in 1968 there were modifications to +2 spec so best to check your serial number first and maybe post some pictures ( if you haven't already ) the elan register is an excellent source of info for the main cosmetic differences .

@Jay, may i suggest if you wanna put the car back to original you check what else has been swapped in from a later model before you launch in? i't might not just be the seats !! Dashboards , engines and even bodyshells have been replaced with later styles .
even in 1968 there were modifications to +2 spec so best to check your serial number first and maybe post some pictures ( if you haven't already ) the elan register is an excellent source of info for the main cosmetic differences .

First and last pics are essentially the same seat unless I am mistaken. Most US cars got seats in the third pic, we never got the true S seats.