UPDATED 4/14/05
To those following the saga to date, the latest adventures start on page 17.
Yes I know its been a long time in coming but I spend some time updating my story for those loyal followers.

Welcome to my restoration story to all newcomers....read on.

The Lotus Elite described in my adventures was sold to a very happy new owner in the New England area on July 5th 2004. He drove it home. I gues that is a testimony to how well she runs after all my work. I'll leave this up as long as CarDomain permits as a way for other Lotus nuts to use to help their own restorations.

So what am I up to? Well, I still have the fever. And its starting all over again. To see how check out My New Adventure

DomG

This Site is dedicated to the restoration of a 1974 Lotus Elite. The 74 Elite was the first production year of a new Lotus concept. The idea was to create a new 4 Seater Sports Car. The car would have all the legendary handling and performance of a Lotus while carrying 4 adults in high-speed comfort. While some if its specifications can be exceeded by a number of cars today, in its day it boasted a higher top speed than a Porsche 911.

College Dreams
While attending 4 years of engineering school in Riverdale, NY, I saw Lotus cars every day. The college campus was scattered throughout the neighborhood and each day as I moved between the engineering building and the liberal arts building, I passed a little shop that specialized in British sports cars in general and Lotus cars in particular. Every day I pass by Elans, Eurpoas, Elites and Esprits. I made a vow to myself that I�d own one someday.

Fast forward 27 years and I finally had the bug resurface. It started with Ebay and soon I had decided that with 2 kids in College, it was best I target the Elite and not the hugely expensive Esprit. After about a month, I had amassed tons of literature on the Elite and seriously began to look. Then reality reared its ugly head and I realized that picking up a car in immediately drivable condition was out of the question for at least another year.

The Find
In September of 2001, I stumbled across an ad on a Lotus club web site (GGLotus.org) from California. As I read the details I noted how attainable the car because of its condition (poor). But unfortunately its was in California while I was in New York. Then I reread the ad a day later and realized the car was really in New Jersey, not California, and only 80 miles from my home. A few dozen emails to the owner, a similar number of posts to the Yahoo Lotus4seater mailing lists and a trip to NJ later, I found myself the fourth owner of a 1974 Lotus Elite manufacturered in September 1974 and stamped # 123 from the US bound production run.

On September 15, the Lotus was transported to my home in Westchester, New York.

The Condition
The condition of my Lotus upon its pickup might lead some to question my sanity. It is important to note that a passion may not be very much different from insanity. The car is a 1974 Lotus Elite which makes it 27 years old and British. British cars are known for their quirks. Owner #2 had the misfortune to have a tree fall on the roof, shattering the windscreen.

Owner #3 repaired the roof but did no other work in the 7 months he owned it.

So, the Elite had no windscreen and after that long had a somewhat moist interior and rotting cloth and carpets, an unpainted repaired roof and an engine which had not been started since March 2000.

The engine runs but had one of its twin carburetors leaking fuel on the manifold and it is in need of a new water pump. An extra set of BBS Gold center wheels is a nice freebee but the tires mounted on them are cracked and I dare say not worth trying. The Rims on the car are Lotus originals with tires with about 30% of their rubber remaining. Then there is the color. Its called Viper Green and it was a VW color back in the early 70s. Apparently Owner #1 liked it better than the deep red original color. Fortunately I cannot get my hands around his�..well, I am not thrilled with the color. I have taken to calling it Yikes! Green. The front foam bumper was damaged and some of the lighting system was non functional (and lord knows what else). And so I have a lot of work ahead of me.

The Story continues on page 2