Nose badges and handbook

I have acquired a brand new nose badge. Here is the old one with big chips and gouges in it:

And here is the brand, spanking new one:

Nice, eh? Another really great thing that came with this car is the ORIGINAL glovebox owner's handbook:

With vinyl pouch even. These are really rare especially in a "barn find" car as the one I bought. It has lot's of valuable information which will help me to restore the car.
Soon I will be getting the first shipment of parts from the Elite I "bought" in Albuquerque,NM. The seller is removing parts from it and shipping them to me. His car does not have an engine or trans but does have lots of important parts I need. I'll show pictures of the loot when it gets here.

Taking it apart...

On Saturday 5/21, I officially began to take apart parts of the engine so I can replace the timing belt. I was able to get various covers off and I think I am pleased to find out that the valves may not be bent after all. The camshaft turns easily and all of the spring caps are returning to the completely closed position, or so I hope.
The crankshaft turns well also...a good sign for sure. The water pump does not turn which is not good to the tune of about $200. The alternator is also seized but that is just a Chrysler part and can be gotten cheap. The a/c compressor is also stuck but that is no surprise. Next I have to get the crank pulley off so I can get the new belt on the lower gear and then the rest of the gears. If that all goes well, I can proceed with the compression test and leak down test to see if the piston rings are okee dokee.
Front of the engine:

 The camshaft in the head:

What an adventure, perhaps.

The Clock

Here is the cool speedometer clock with LOTUS emblem that I received as a birthday gift from my daughter Amy and her husband Mark:

Thank you very much Amy and Mark!!

Some disassembly

It's Saturday May 14th. I have begun some initial disassembly. But first...
For those who do not know the whole story. Last summer I decided to try and build a Lotus 7 replica. To build a car from scratch has been a life long dream. So I sold a couple of hobbies and bought a frame:

And then collected various parts as I prepared the build. But then one day while surfing eBay lotus parts, I discovered a 1974 Elite for only around $1000!

As creepy as it looked, my desire to own a REAL Lotus overwhelmed my desire to build one. And so, after a serious bidding war between my bid and one other one, I was able to get it for only $1102. I was then able to sell my 7 project for $1100. Not too bad eh?, as long as you don't add in the costs to go and get this Elite.

You already saw the photos of it on the trailer. Here are some as it sits in my garage:

Up on jack stands, with bonnet removed and off to the side. Note that the nose now reads ELITE. The previous photo shows the E and the T missing. I was able to find those letters on eBay.

The right side of the engine showing the dual Stromburg carburators.

The left side of the dual overhead cam engine, 1973 cc. Note the cool LOTUS on the valve covers.

The rusty independent front suspension is going to take some work.

I finally got the driver's door to open and here is the squirrel eaten eaten interior. It's very complete, generally.

Soon Mr. Rust is going to meet Mr. Sandblaster. This was a birthday gift from my wonderful, supportive wife and two sons. My daughter Amy and husband Mark, is getting a cool Lotus wall clock. A picture of which will be here soon. I will build a cabinet in which I will be able to remove rust and corrosion from parts, etc.

At times I look at the car and wonder: "what have I gotten myself into?" But then again, others have done more with much less so I'll persevere on and do what I can.

The tow

Chris and I drove the truck to Attica, Michigan on the weekend of April 30th. Here we are at a Hampton Inn in Somerset,PA.

It was a nice trip with a lot of driving, challenging turnpikes, an almost trip to Canada, an alternator replacement in Drainesville, VA for the truck and about $60 in tolls for the turnpikes. Thanks to Mike for help loading it. Thanks again Chris, for your help. Thanks Rob for your help also.

The beginnings

Hello and welcome to my Lotus Elite blog. This first post is just for me to learn how to use this. Here I'll try a photo:

This is the 1974 Lotus Elite that I purchased of of eBay a couple of months ago. I'll give more details and try to figure out how to get bigger photos.
I'll also tell the story about how I found it and why I decided to buy it and what I plan to do with it.