Type 26 registry pdf - what a quandry

[garyeanderson]

http://www.type26register.com/Articles/ ... date_7.pdf

This is an interesting talk about the direction of the early Elan Roadsters. If I am reading this correctly, the stock S1 or S2 Elan is an endangered species. Current high quality original or restored cars may remain amongst us but it seems the derelict roadsters produced before 1 January 1966 are destined for competition. The numbers I have suggest a pool of available Elans of 2240 including the 900 S1's the S1 and S2 26r's and whatever early coupes that were built. The cars that fall through the cracks here are the S2 SE's, Most built after the 31 December 1965 cut off date for the FIA race re-creation. The other late S2 models that don't meet the FIA date, whats to become of them, to expensive to restore and "not raceble" are they just parts cars for the others to feed on?

Gary

[Elanintheforest]

The endangered tag is certainly a UK and European perspective, Gary.

I don?t think that it?s just about the racing rules, although that has certainly killed a lot of barn-find and even good original cars over the past 15 years or so. Even the chassis plate with a logbook can change hands for upwards of ?3k to ?legitimise? a 26r replica.

But there is certainly another factor that make the S2 quite rare over here, and the S1 a very rare sight, and that is the lack of interest from enthusiasts, including Elan folks, in the 70s and 80s in the UK. When I started to look at Elans with a view to buy one in the mid 70s, I was only interested in a S3, S4 or Sprint. I wanted electric windows, and a hood that I didn?t have to construct, and carpets, and by then, the only S1 / S2 cars I saw were in an appalling state, being 10 ? 13 years old. I remember seeing quite a few in scrapyards or abandoned in farms, having been in a minor collision or the chassis having rotted through.

Elans weren?t classic cars then, they were just sports cars, and I, like most young lads, wanted the latest and sharpest one my ?400 would buy. The less old-fashioned it seemed, the more I wanted it. There were many Elan owners in Club Lotus then, but I don?t remember seeing a single Type 26 coming along to the meetings. They just didn?t figure in the running.

Then in the 1980s, ?1 = $1, and a lot of Elans got shipped out to the USA, Japan and Australia, and it seems, a lot of those were S1 and S2 cars in need of a more appreciative market.

So in the UK at least, the rarity of the Type 26 is a situation we?ve brought upon ourselves. As the article points out, it?s now mainly the conversion of the road cars to racers that continues to deplete the meagre stock. That activity will undoubtedly push the prices of correctly restored road cars up, which may be a mixed blessing. On one hand, the value of the end result will probably justify the restoration costs?with a couple of hundred hours of graft put in un-costed by the owner. But then it places the car in a price range that many enthusiasts can?t justify, so could just become another an old boy?s toy / museum piece.

I think that the market for the Type 26 is much healthier in the US. Maybe we need to ship some of your unloved late S2 right hookers back over here!

Mark

[Ross Robbins]

Hi Gary,
I for one, appreciate the simplicity of line and clean window down look of the S1/S2 cars, and specifically looked for one when I wanted to add an Elan to my cars. And then I like the simpler one piece taillight assembly of the S2 and the arches over the rear wheels not being squared. Also the absence of the Stromberg bulge on the bonnet. I don't regret choosing an S2 for one moment unless we get a quick Colorado thunderstorm and I get soaked. I have driven the S2 through some pretty heavy rain though once set up and have only minor knee wetness. Then the good news is I have no carpeting to ruin by getting wet...the rubber floor mats just wipe dry. But 95% of the time, the top is stowed and the car is much nicer without the window frames in my humble opinion. I know you Never put on a top but I am a wimp. I love the S2.

But then I love the look of the Sprints as well. Here's to the preservation of all the series! Let's not turn them into clones of something they are not. What's the old line: "There are only 350 of the original 100 26R's left"?

[cabc26b]

Mark,

They are being shipped over, the only problem is the end state is a 26 GTS -

[mrob]

Why are only the S1 and S2 approved by the FIA?

[garyeanderson]

FIA Eligibility Date: on or before 31-December-1965

I believe

Gary

[richard sprint]

Ross Robbins

I'm a bit of a newbie to my interest in Elans having bought a restoration DHC sprint - inevitably ones awareness starts to encompass all the models and I totally agree with all the comments you have made concerning the earlier cars.

There is a design purity to them very much like the difference between the series one and bloated though more user friendly series 11/2 and 2 etype jags.

The early Elans with hub caps, round tail lights, frameless windows, inset boot cover and round wheel arches just look so right!

Would love to find one as a resto project - there is one for sale in Belgium at around 20k Euros pretty standard but fitted with alloy cosmos wheels. Too expensive as a start project as although it looks pretty fair - would wish to carry out a complete resto so one could be sure all is ok...

Richard

[CBUEB1771]

Elans weren?t classic cars then, they were just sports cars, and I, like most young lads, wanted the latest and sharpest one my ?400 would buy. The less old-fashioned it seemed, the more I wanted it.

A tad off-topic, but I shudder to think of what I could have paid for a Type 14 Elite when I was looking for a +2 and bought 050 0170N in 1977.

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

Elans weren?t classic cars then, they were just sports cars, and I, like most young lads, wanted the latest and sharpest one my ?400 would buy. The less old-fashioned it seemed, the more I wanted it.

A tad off-topic, but I shudder to think of what I could have paid for a Type 14 Elite when I was looking for a +2 and bought 050 0170N in 1977.

Less than 1000 GBP Russ, incredible when you think about it
John

[Elanintheforest]

I don?t think it?s far off topic, Russ. There are a lot of parallels between the Elite and the 26, especially the S1. They both plunged in popularity and value, and for quite a while. Whilst the Elite value is now pretty well defined and it?s now hailed as one of the all time classic sports cars, the Type 26 is still getting there. However, in the past 3 years I?ve seen a couple of stunning restorations on S1 cars, reputed to have cost the thick end of ?50k to complete. They are starting to be taken seriously. The register is gathering momentum, and the parts situation is probably better than it?s been since the late 60s, thanks to enthusiasts around the world.

A book on the Type 26 is long overdue and would surely raise the profile of the car, as Ortenburger?s book on the Elite did. There would be a lot to write about with the roadcars, the racers and the?..Shapecraft and other specials. If Lotus and others could be persuaded to open up their photo libraries?.what a book!

To address your query Russ, when I was hunting for my first Elan (1975), I was taken out for a test drive in an Elite. It didn?t go well. The asking price was ?350, but the sales guy (the car was in a showroom) said he was open to offers. He reluctantly took me out for a test, which lasted about 500 feet, as the rear wishbone parted company with the shell and the rear suspension collapsed. The salesman was annoyed, so I offered him ?100 for the car as it stood, but that seemed to make him more angry so I beat a hasty retreat. It was definitely in the banger class, as was my 1965 S2 in 1977, when the previous owner bought the car. I have the receipt for that purchase??50!!

Mark

[batfish]

I am rebuilding the ex Team Minilite Elan mentioned in Norman Luptons article and after a quick check around the car have realised that the window scissor lifts are also original.

regards

Andy

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

Within that sort of time frame I sold my S1 Seven for 250GBP, bought a '64 Lotus Cortina for 400GBP, sold it for 440GBP, bought a heavily bastardised but very fast S1 Elite for 495GBP & later swapped it for a 1300cc Twin-cam 23B in bits.
Sounds cheap today but I remember struggling very hard to find the money back then.

I know a guy that did similar things with many, many more Lotus.
He luckily had sufficient funds to be able to keep the Lotus' he bought without having to use them to finance his next purchase.
My estimate is that he now has at least one of practically everything for what today would be described as "peanuts".
Place a "green with envy" smiley here
Cheers
John

[elj221c]

S1 Elite for 495GBP & later swapped it for a 1300cc Twin-cam 23B in bits.

John, I like the sound of that swap! Fiddled with a one litre BRM, then TC powered 23 in the '70s. Alas, it was not mine.

'So, if you?re
tempted to fit fuel injection or some
other mod, think carefully; it is likely
that you will be damaging the
value of your car.'

Oh dear! Mind you, my car (?350 in '75) to me IS original, despite it's modifications. The plan is for it to be a family heirloom anyway so final value is not really the issue, is it?

A book on the Type 26 is long overdue and would surely raise the profile of the car, as Ortenburger?s book on the Elite did. There would be a lot to write about with the roadcars, the racers and the?..Shapecraft and other specials. If Lotus and others could be persuaded to open up their photo libraries?.what a book!

Mark, you mentioned the 'S' word again! That would be the problem with such a book. How could it be definitive?

Roy
'65 S2

[elansprint71]

...........But there is certainly another factor that make the S2 quite rare over here, and the S1 a very rare sight, and that is the lack of interest from enthusiasts, including Elan folks, in the 70s and 80s in the UK.............

Mark

When I had an S4SE in the mid 70's there was a guy from Bledlow Ridge advertising in Motoring News every week selling off parts from early Elans that he was breaking. I chatted to him once and he was breaking one every two to three weeks at that time. I guess he was not the only one doing it. Some parts went in the skip because there was just no market for them.

[toomspj]

I started with a '72 Sprint then wanted to race so I got an S4 already prepped. Now though I've got myself an S1 and an S2 and they are both destined for the track - the S1 as a narrow bodied car, close to original spec (it will be possible to reconvert it) while the S2 will be a GTS car (or 26R clone if you like). This is a direct result of FIA pre '66 being the cutoff for many series, and for other series the lighter production weight of the S1 is a huge advantage.

Sorry, if that's heresy, but my race cars will be kept more lovingly than some of the shoddy road examples I've seen. And they'll all be used as a Lotus was intended to be, rather than entering concours competitions or being driven along motorways at 50 mph.