Answer: Yes, but you probably won’t notice. The Elans body panels are manufactured from fibreglass so will not rust. The chassis, brakes and suspension components will suffer from corrosion as the car ages. Of course the speed at which corrosion occurs will depend on your climate. California and Dubai is probably ideal, Wales is probably not. The steel chassis is galvanised and is likely to last for many years unless it is damaged.

Answer: Yes and No. The Kia Elan body is made using the original Elan tooling. The major mechanical components however are different. The engine and transmission are not from Isuzu, and no longer turbo charged. The car does look very similar, particularly to the US Elan that has the longer nose. The rear light cluster is also new; maybe Alpine-Renault had run out of the GTA? The ride height is considerably higher and the wheels different.

Answer: The original list price of the Elan in 1989 was £17,850 for the non-turbo and £19,850 for the SE turbo. Leather seat facings and door trims added £780 and metallic paint £620. Air-conditioning was standard on US spec. cars, but an optional extra at £980 on the European spec SE. Road & Track listed the US Elan at $39,040 when it was road tested in April 1991. The S2 went on sale in the UK in 1994 with a price tag of £24,500.

Answer: If a car could ever be considered a good investment then a resounding Yes – for the present time. It’s quite amusing reading through old articles about the Elan and seeing the diversity of views about future residuals.

Answer: As with the previous answer it’s under the storage compartment floor behind a removable panel to the right of the fuel tank. Note this WARNING: Remember the fuel system is pressurised!! You must relieve the fuel pressure before removal. Always consult the Lotus Service Notes and follow the fuel pressure relief procedure. Question: Where is the ALDL connector and ECU? (see also How to Diagnose "Check Engine" Light Problems) RHD – ECU behind the glovebox.

Answer: The body was designed by the now well known Peter Stevens who went on to design the World’s fastest road car the MacLaren F1. As a little topical aside his services were also called upon to help Subaru improve the appearance of its Impreza! Simon Cox a graduate of the Royal College of Art styled the interior and Tickford did the development work on the hood.

Answer: Not a fair question. It depends entirely on what sort of sports car you want. Lotus over-engineered the Elan, which is great for those who bought one, but not for a small car company trying to run a profitable business! The Elise was designed to be a much cheaper and simpler car to manufacture. It is of course a great car to drive in good conditions. Where the Elan scores is in the depth of its ability and safety.

Answer: Probably, but why? The Elan is only 5.1” off the ground and making it any lower will almost definitely result in damage to expensive items such as the oil, air inter-cooler and chassis. The Elan is already a low sports car that occasionally bottoms out. The progressive handling characteristics are also helped by virtually constant roll centre heights irrespective of the car’s roll angle. So again, another area best left alone.

Answer: A long time if you look after it. Fortunately many owners don’t use their cars as everyday drivers. That’s not to say you shouldn’t, but it does mean that many cars have below average mileage’s and are somewhat mollycoddled through the winter months. Therefore many Elans are still in great condition despite their age. Equally many cars have done very high mileages without engine rebuilds.

Answer: All Lotus car projects have a development number attached to them. In the case of the Elan it was M100. Some other well-known and not so well known projects are: ‘26’ Original Elan 1962-1966, ‘79’ Esprit 1975-1980, ‘99T’ Honda V6 powered racer 1987, ‘102’ F1 car with Lamborghini V12 1990 and ‘111’ Elise 1995.

Answer: The US version of the M100 has a driver-side airbag. The UK and European M100s do not have an airbag. Don't be fooled, the dash does look as though it has a passenger-side airbag, but I assure you no M100 was ever made with one of these!

ANSWER: The main objective is to remove all of the rust and paint and stabilize the metal to prevent further deterioration. You should have some basic knowledge of working with chemicals before attempting the following procedures. These are only basic guidelines, but they will give you a starting point to develop your own system.

There may have been a change in pressure in the line due to hydrant flushing, a fire, turning on a valve, etc... The Water Quality Assurance Lab may have additional information about the rusty water. The number is 645-7691.

Before doing anything else please clean the hinges thoroughly with a soft cloth and hot soapy water. It is possible that the brown appearance has been caused by dirt and cleaning will solve the problem. However, the hinges may be rusty as a result of the use of abrasive or corrosive cleaning materials, especially bleach products. These will attack the hinges and cause permanent damage which it is impossible to repair.

The Fire Department may be doing hydrant flushing. Run the water for approximately ten minutes and it should clear up. Also, run water in the washing machine to prevent rust stains on clothes.

No, I am not Rusty Wallace. I am simply a fan, my name is Darlene, and I run this website as a resource to Rusty fans because I enjoy it and I enjoy showing my dedication to Rusty.

No, sorry. I do not have that ability. To send an item for Rusty to autograph, please refer to the next question.

Rusty makes appearances at select tracks, right after happy out at his driver trailer. The schedule for those events and special fan club evens can be found here. Other than that, Rusty does not publicly announce his schedule since its very tentative a lot of times. He does make appearances at random times thru the year at his dealerships in TN and he often makes appearances in the area of the weekend race.

If you already know some Yiddish and you are not currently using it, plan on studying on your own to prepare yourself for the zumer-program. We also strongly recommend the 2-week Refresher Course for Intermediate and Advanced students. For more information, see Refresher Course.