Mind you, I think that some of the Lotus buffs might miss that..." says Steve. "So I thought I'll have a go at that and contacted Andy and that was it. I must have made thousands of phone calls to Andy because I'd never done anything like this before. It was quite straightforward - a lot of it was basic common sense. "I suppose it took me around six or seven months, but that included waiting for trimmers and obsolete bits and pieces because I wanted to do it as best as I could. I tried to keep as many original pieces as possible, but like any project, it did go over budget," laughs Steve.
Poking and prodding finished, Steve offers me a ride. The Elan +2 may be low - and boy are the seats slammed - but there's plenty of room for your bonce and the Lotus buckets are nice and comfy. The first thing you'll notice about being in a Spyder is that there is something welcome missing - namely the stench of petrol vapour - because the standard car's messy breather hose and fuel line layout (including the infamous one in the headlining) has long gone.
The engine catches first time and I'll be dammed if I can tell it apart from a Lotus twink - Its got quite a loud exhaust which culminates in a n upswept DTM-style back-box. " I think of it as two-fingers up to the purists" says Steve. The noise suits the car and with roads being full of short-sighted half-wits these days, a low Lotus needs all the help it can get being noticed. Soon we're out and about in the countryside, picking off anything which dares to block our view through the windscreen. Out here in this green and pleasant land, the Elan really does sounds great on either full throttle or pop-pop over-run as corners sprint into view. Brakes on and and Steve's left hand shuffles the MT75 with the sort of brief abrupt movements which you can only manage with a cracking gearchange. Then, with just an itty-bitty slice of speed shaved off, he throws it into the corner - no hassle, no swearing or praying, just minimal steering lock and body-roll, and plenty of grip.
So is this the best thing about driving a Spyder? Nah, the best thing is that you wouldn't have to listen to anoraks cracking funnies about your motor anymore...
Elan +2 Tech Spec
Body
1972 Lotus Elan +2, GRP body with separate backbone chassis. Length: 168.75 inches; width: 66.25 inches; height: 47 inches. Ground clearance: 6.5 inches. Weight (unladen): 1898 lbs. Colour: Lotus Bermuda blue
Engine
Ford Zetec 2-litre with Emerald ECU and Jenver throttle bodies. Power: 160-220 bhp (depending on state of tune): torque: 130-170 lbf.ft (depending on state of tune); top speed: 130 mph+ (depending on state of tune); 0-60mph: 6 seconds or less (depending...you get the picture).
Transmission
Ford MT75 five-speed gearbox with remote removed. Ratios: 1st 3.89; 1; 2nd 2.08:1; 3rd 1.34:1; 4th 1.00:1; 5th 0.82:1 reverse 3.51:1. Final drive either 7.5 inch Ford Sierra XR4x4 or 7.5 inch Scorpio limited-slip diff. Solid hardened Spyder driveshafts with twin CV joints and custom Spyder propshaft.
Suspension
Spyder spaceframed backbone chassis. Front: fully-independent, unequal length upper and lower Spyder wishbones incorporating adjustable Spax coilovers and anti-roll bar. Rear: fully independent with unequal upper and lower Spyder wishbones incorporating Spax coilovers. Steering: rack and pinion; castor 3.5 degrees positive or 0.5 degrees negative. Front track: 54 inches; rear track: 55 inches.
Brakes
Front: 10.25 inch ventilated MKII RS Turbo discs with Sierra XR4x4 callipers. Rear: 10 inch XR4x4 solid discs and callipers. Hydraulically operated with mechanical handbrake operating on rear discs.
Wheels & Tyres
Minilite 6Jx14s with 185/60R14 Yokohama A539s.
