Hello I'm New

[vibrodolly]

Hello,
I've owned my Elan +2 for about 30 hours now. WOOOOOOOWWWWWWW. I like it.
50/0079 in a lovely white. Will post some pics here when I (A) have time and (B) work out how.

Few questions...
I live in Brentwood, Essex. Anyone else nearby?
What club should I join for good access to parts and knowledge.
I know I need a new servo or recon the one I have. How difficult is it? Can I just buy a new one? What's the part number.

So many Qs I know. It's a great car.

Thanks

Nick

[paddy]

Nick,

Welcome. I look forward to seeing the pics.

The best "club" for knowledge is this site. The expertise here really is unparalleled. You'll be advised to get one or more of the Elan bibles which will also hold the answers to many of your questions; these include the Workshop Manual and Parts List, the Brian Buckland book (more for Elan than Plus2) and the Miles Wilkins twincam book if your doing any engine work.

Other clubs are Club Lotus, of which I would guess a majority of owners are members, and for your membership you get a magazine, access to some track days and other events, and perhaps an insurance discount. There are local Lotus meetups in all sorts of places so there might be groups local to you.

For parts, there are quite a few well-respected and reliable suppliers for most service parts, and everyone has their favourites. You'll also get recommendations here for suppliers for the more specialist parts or services. There are a lot of substandard new parts being manufactured for classics so getting service parts on Ebay is generally a bad idea in my opinion. Ebay is the only place really to get the harder to find original parts (trim etc) - a few years ago there were quite a few Plus2s being broken for parts but that's not happening any more so certain parts will get harder and harder to find so you need to be patient. There's also a parts for sale section in the forums here.

Paddy

[TroonSprint]

Regarding clubs, I haven't joined one yet, but up here in Scotland there seems to be some antipathy towards the Club Lotus, and quite a few prefer the Lotus Drivers Club. Any thoughts from you lot out there?

Mike

[Jason1]

Hi and welcome

David Chapman is not far from you. He drives his yellow +2 a lot so you will see him around your way.

You can find other cars on http://www.elanregistry.org/stats.php

Most people (including me) are in Club Lotus but you will get more help and info on here.

Books worth buying:

Workshop Manual used about ?20

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ORIGINAL-1974 ... 2c6feec9ec

Lotus Parts Manual which looks much like the Workshop Manual but is much more difficult to find. So info on:

http://rdent.com/manuals/

The best parts suppliers are:

http://www.mickmillerlotus.com/intro.html
http://www.sjsportscars.co.uk/index.php?mod=10
http://www.paulmattysportscars.co.uk/Parts.aspx
http://www.spydercars.co.uk/category/sp ... -products/

Jason

[stugilmour]

Welcome Nick. Looking forward to pics as well. That is a very early car. Register the car on the registry site listed above.

I had the servo's done by a specialist that had the rebuild kits (mine is a Federal car, so it is blessed with two of them ), so can't really help with a degree of difficulty rating. I understand the rebuild kits for the original servo can be difficult to find. There are some posts here about using a more readliy available alternative Lockheed unit.

I understand there are different boost ratio's for the Elan and the Plus 2, so make sure you confirm what you have and what you require. Sorry, i don't have that info to hand, but a detailed question in the tech section will fix you up.

I have attached a couple of manuals that might help assess the job.

[billwill]

Funny how one's perception of distance gets screwed up; I was about to comment that Sue Miller in Suffolk can't be far away from you in Brentwood Essex, but a quick check http://www.mickmillerlotus.com/contact.html and google maps shows she is actually about 76 miles from you.


I am much closer myself, being in Muswell Hill/ Friern Barnet in north London, only 26 miles away from you.

[TroonSprint]

Gee, I wish I had a supplier as close as 76 miles....

Mike

[vibrodolly]

Thanks everyone.
I've registered the car. 5th oldest on the site. There must be many more older ones out there.
How do I attach a photo on this site?

ta
Nick

[Quart Meg Miles]

How do I attach a photo on this site?
ta
Nick

Hi Nick,

For each picture you follow this routine once you are in the text entry box for Reply, Quote or New Thread:

Click the button "Upload Attachment" and then "Browse" in the new box. Select your picture in the Explorer-like window this gives you and click "Open" at bottom right. Then click "Add the file" button and, once the Posted Attachments box comes up, click in your text where you want the picture to go and then click "Place inline" in the new box.

Lotus bonnet badge 2004.jpg (24.67 KiB) Viewed 1328 times

Check using Preview for its position and add spaces or CR to adjust it if necessary (in your original text area, not the preview area which is locked) and Preview again before submitting. Up to six pictures are allowed, I believe.

[tcsoar]

Hi Nick,

I am just down the road in Hornchurch with a +2 and having only just got it on the road this year after 22 years I am always looking for an excuse to go somewhere in it, maybe we could meet up one evening.

Chris.

[vibrodolly]

Yes Chris, be good to meet up over the summer.

Nick

[vernon.taylor]

Salut Nick

Bienvenue !

The +2 has a 3:1 boost servo. IMHO only the original Girling servo woumld be worth rebuilding if you want originality. I bought a ready rebuilt one from a bloke (in the UK) who also refurbs them - I could dig out his address if you need.

Otherwise I would suggest a Lockheed copy readily available from MG specialists (MGHive, I think) or a search on eBay will give you sellers names and you can then go direct.

Enjoy your car.

@+

Vernon