I had always liked the Lotus Elan Plus 2 ever since 1982 when I saw a 1974 JPS at a car dealer in Southend. It was up for £4250 if I remember correctly. I tried to buy that car, but the evening before the AA were going to do an inspection at the dealers premesis they (the dealer) phoned me and said that the chassis was bent! So that was that.

Then in 1995 I went with a friend to see a plus 2s that had been laid up in a garage for ages. He bought it, and I went out and bought the next one that I saw. It looked a bit tatty, but the owner drove so fast and aggressively that I remember thinking that there could be nothing wrong with the car if it went like that. So £4000 later I was the proud owner of a very yellow 1968 Plus 2 with a black webasto roof.

Since then I used it more or less every day until crashing it in North Wales in February 2003. The car was written off by the insurance company. They paid out £4100 less the cost of the wreck, which was bought back by me for £760. I did not have an agreed value on the car because I always considered the car to be in average condition (for an everyday car) so assumed that the insurance would pay out an average value. And so it went.

I live in Kent, but go driving with a load of car enthusiasts every year to North Wales. As it happens the year before on the Wales trip one of the guys had mentioned that he had a Plus 2 under a tarpaulin outside where he worked. I asked him if he wanted to sell it and he said yes. Just as well I bought that and had it in reserve, because that is the car that I will be rebuilding. The cost of the car was £900. We will find out later if it was worth it. In fact I am still owed an extra cylinder head and some other bits from the vendor. (Update Dec 2004 I'm not getting anything except a pair of rear lights).

Recently (May 2004) I have aquired another used chassis, and am seeing if I can get hold of another bodyshell. So maybe I will be restoring two cars? Well, since writing that last sentence I have got another bodyshell. So two cars it is. And since that sentence I have bought a rolling chassis with rebuilt big valve engine as well. My wife thinks that I am having a mid life crisis so she is cutting me some slack.

It goes without saying that my plans have changed a bit again. As it stands at the moment (Dec 2004) I have sold the engines out of the crashed car and also the sand coloured car. I have bought a JPS +2 though. So my thinking goes that I will drive the JPS (subject to a few provisos, see December) and work towards a Zetec conversion on the sand car. In fact so far so good on that plan.

Since writing the above I have stood next to a built up Zetec chassis and a nice galavanised lotus chassis with big valve engine. Both were pretty much next to each other, and I was drawn far more strongly towards the Lotus. So I am following my heart and taking that route. Sorry Spyder!

All change....(July 2005)..I now have a running (green) plus 2, and am selling the JPS. Some things are the same though as I will still be doing the Zetec on the sand car.............

Well, it has been a while since I have updated the site (It is now (January 2007). Work has been getting in the way (in a big way), plus I am supposed to be relocating abroad for a while. This has led to a flurry of activity and has meant that I have had to reign in my Lotus related plans. Concequently I have sold off the sand and JPS cars, loads of parts, and am left with the green car only, which as at April 2007 I am now driving.