Lotus Elan: How Fast Really?

[greg.harvey]

VERY cool video! I love that stage. Makes me itch to drive my Elan! It's still at the mechanic's...

[LandQuail]

Greg, that was a great post. I wouldn't have though I'd be inviting so many Elan experts. This may be the best thread ever. My faith in humanity is totally affirmed, and I'm a little ashamed to say I feel like an Elan noob compared to some of you cats.

You guys rock.

[ecurie67]

Originally Posted by henk4

here is a pic I took at Zandvoort in 1987. It shows a GT race, with the two SWBs driven by Rinie van der Velden and Paul Schouwenburg. Any idea who drove the Elan, that pressed very hard, but always got just overtaken before Tarzan...

Henk,
The driver in the elan was Philibert van der Lof.
The car is now racing again at the Dutch Historic Touringcar and GT Championship.
For more pictures of the car this year check out racefotos.nl and the events are Delta Loyd Private Banking NKHTGT
Good luck
Ecurie67 (an elan 26r racer)

[henk4]

Originally Posted by ecurie67

Henk,
The driver in the elan was Philibert van der Lof.
The car is now racing again at the Dutch Historic Touringcar and GT Championship.
For more pictures of the car this year check out racefotos.nl and the events are Delta Loyd Private Banking NKHTGT
Good luck
Ecurie67 (an elan 26r racer)

Welcome to UCP, and many thanks for the info. Phil really took over his father's flag. I think I have some paddock pics of his 22 also, during the same event.

[Cyco]

A couple of Elans at the 'ring. Unfortunately modern GP circuit only.

[greg.harvey]

Originally Posted by ecurie67

Henk,
The driver in the elan was Philibert van der Lof.
The car is now racing again at the Dutch Historic Touringcar and GT Championship.
For more pictures of the car this year check out racefotos.nl and the events are Delta Loyd Private Banking NKHTGT
Good luck
Ecurie67 (an elan 26r racer)

Great website! Is it yours?

[Mo-Pho]

New here, thought I'd bump this thread with some pictures of my Elan

with some friends

They're older pics. Car has new six point harness now and is slightly lower.

With the engine mostly stock and the addition of slightly stiffer springs and adjustable dampers, I can keep up with the new Elise/Exiges no problem on the really tight and twisty canyon roads we have here. I saw off a new Aston Martin V8 Vantage on these roads too. I once had a guy in a new Nissan 350z try to catch me. When I finally had to stop for a light, he pulled up and asked "what the hell is that?!"
When the road opens up and power plays a role, the newer cars would lose me though. Currently the engine is out of it and is being rebuilt to about 160-165hp so that will change.

[clutch-monkey]

Originally Posted by Mo-Pho

New here, thought I'd bump this thread with some pictures of my Elan.

great pics of a great car
what do you have to do to get a little extra grunt out of the engine? (yes i realise that's not the whole point of this car before someone chimes in )

[Mo-Pho]

Originally Posted by clutch-monkey

great pics of a great car
what do you have to do to get a little extra grunt out of the engine? (yes i realise that's not the whole point of this car before someone chimes in )

Cams with the standard valve train are all you basically need for a mild bump in power (125-135hp).
But it gets expensive when you are going for any more than that as it requires a more aggressive high lift short/duration cam so the head needs to be machined to accommodate the bigger valves (both lift and diameter). Also port and polishing is done. On my car I have also had the crank, and rods balanced and it has .030 over pistons with more compression. I am also going to Weber 45 DCOE's instead of the standard 40's.
It is being tuned as street stormer, so it should provide useful power and torque from about 3k on, but it redlines at 7k (standard crank)

car is fun as it was, but I have been driving around with stock power for 5 years. Here in LA I drive on a lot of mountain passes and the gear ratios are not great for having to climb, so the extra power will be useful (not to mention it will be great to surprise modern sportscar owners)

[lotusdag]

Really nice car Morgan! Neat hand-break conversion ! (!) Your wheels, are they Panasports ?

Dag

[Mo-Pho]

Originally Posted by lotusdag

Really nice car Morgan! Neat hand-break conversion ! (!) Your wheels, are they Panasports ?

Dag

Yes, Panasports. Handbrake is out of an E-Type Jaguar

[henk4]

Just a little update, the grey 26 shown in this thread once more came out as the winning car during last month's edition of Tour Auto.
Congrats Hans.

[greg.harvey]

Just got my Elan back from a service. Turns out the accelerator jets were blocked in the carbs (all four of them!) and the timing was off. It's a different animal now. Much quicker off the mark!

Photos attached from the other weekend on a sunny day in Essex!

[Loose_Cannon]

Originally Posted by greg.harvey

Just got my Elan back from a service. Turns out the accelerator jets were blocked in the carbs (all four of them!) and the timing was off. It's a different animal now. Much quicker off the mark!

Photos attached from the other weekend on a sunny day in Essex!

Thats a nice Plus 2 you have there, not seen an emerald green one before. Must get one soon for the missus, its her favourite car, and well up in my top ten too. Was beaten to the punch on a Pistachio Green one last year

[greg.harvey]

Originally Posted by Loose_Cannon

Thats a nice Plus 2 you have there, not seen an emerald green one before. Must get one soon for the missus, its her favourite car, and well up in my top ten too. Was beaten to the punch on a Pistachio Green one last year

Thanks! Yes, they're great value. Mine's actually a Mercedes shade (Pine Green) - when the previous owner had it resprayed he let his wife choose the colour and she had a Merc in that colour which she loved, so she had the +2 the same. It's not a "classic" Lotus colour, but I like it!