RESTORATION LOTUS PLUS 2 ZETEC CONVERSION
New Project!
Initial Stripdown
Our new project car's this Elan Plus 2, which Spyder Engineering is going to convert to modern Ford Zetec Power. David Lillywhite explains how to do it.
PART ONE
HERE'S THE PLAN: Take one knackered Elan Plus 2, neglected and unwanted, strip it down, throw away the rotten chassis, repaint the glassfibre body, sell the original engine and running gear, and replace it all with a new chassis and modern running gear.
Why would you want to do that? Because the Plus 2 has long been the poor relation of the Elan family, overlooked in favor of the smaller, neater two-seater version. That's kept values down, which would be fine if it wasn't for the horrific cost of overhauling its original mechanicals. Scores of Plus 2's have been laid up, beyond economic repair.
But for the last few months, Lotus chassis specialist Spyder Engineering has been offering a conversion to replace the Plus 2's engine with a Ford Zetec unit. That's the unburstable, powerful twin-cam, 16 valve engine that's used in the Focus, Mondeo and plenty of other modern Fords.
We drove Spyder's prototype Zetec Elan in August 2001 issue, and have also spent a happy week with the company's demonstrator. With around 170bhp (50bhp more than a typical original), these converted Plus 2's are seriously fast. They handle superbly, thanks to the improvements that have been built into the Spyder replacement chassis, and they stop perfectly on their front and rear Sierra discs. Not everyone will appreciate the non-originality aspect, but the Zetec Plus 2s sound right and drive better than the originals.
And now we're following the built of one of these amazing machines. Spyder paid £1600 for the donor car, which might seem a lot until you realise that under the atrocious paint there's actually a very sound body. Andy Widnall from Spyder says he always checks the state of the wheel arches first, feeling for joints that might indicate accident damage (complete body sections are usually bonded in for crash repairs). Look out for damage around hinges and panel edges too. You need to make sure all the bits are there, although virtually everything is available new or secondhand. Only the quarter light window frames are tricky at the moment.
Spyder already has a buyer for the old mechanical parts, with £600 promised just for the worn-out engine and gearbox. The differential, suspension struts and uprights, brakes and driveshafts could also be sold on. Stripping the car down ready to separate the body from the chassis took Andy less than a day. In this issue we show how to get to that stage: It's not particularly difficult, although there are plenty of tricks to note from old-hand Andy.
You might be wondering how much all of this is going to cost. Well Andy reckons that with shrewd parts sourcing and your own labour, you could build your own Zetec Elan Plus 2 for less than £10000 - a lot of money, but not bad for a virtually new sports car. The costs are broken down on page 4. Incidentally, Spyder can usually help source a donor car. Oh, and in case you're interested, the Spyder Zetec chassis will take the original engine and gearbox (four - or five-speed) should you ever wish to go back to standard spec. It's also just become available for the two-seater Elan.
PRACTICAL CLASSICS FEBRUARY 2003