Help on chassis number

[atthelimit]

I am restoring chassis number 36/5096. It’s a pre airflow s3 coupe. I don’t have a log book for it, can anyone tell me what year it is. I got confused because according to something on this site the 36 did not start this early in the range and states they started at 5811.

Any ideas welcome!

Many thanks

[elanfan1]

I’m sure Tim will be along shortly and will confirm. If you’re lucky he might even have the VRM

[Pastapesto]

Hello Kim

My pre airflow Coupe which I believe is in the first handful off of the production line is chassis number 36/4970....I think it was built in Sept/Oct '65 & registered in November' 65....it was a demonstrator for the Chequered Flag garage apparently....

Tim will tell you exactly when they first appeared (the pre airflow Coupes)... The prototype was around the 4200-4300's but the production cars came out starting near the 4900's.....I'm not sure but as at that time the type 36 was not announced and the Coupes were called Elan Coupe.... So the prototype may or may not have a "36"prefix.....Tim will know all..... Good luck.... What colour is it by the way?

All the best

Adam

[atthelimit]

Hi Adam,

That a story, I have been taking off paint for weeks, the order is Royal Blue /. Black / Red / blue and then down to the original Medici Blue oh and someone painted a gold stipe and white below like a sprint. Each coat had a primer, it’s been a chore. Still, now I’m repairing some damaged areas i found under the paint so it feels like I’m moving forward albeit slowly

[Elanintheforest]

Identifying which car is a Coupe and which is an S3 is made quite complicated by a few factors.

The Coupe was introduced in September ’65 at unit number 36/4510. At the same time, the Elan S2 (type 26) was still being built alongside the Coupe, and they shared the unit number register. For example, 4510 was a Coupe, and 4511, 4512, 4513 could have been S2, with 4514 being another Coupe. In other words, there is no way of telling just from the unit number whether you have a Coupe or an S2, that is down to the prefix model type of 26 (S2) or 36 (Coupe).

Then another level of confusion is introduced when the S2 ceases production at unit 26/5798 (S2 S/E) and 25/5810 (S2 DHC) in June ’66. In the same month the S3 DHC SE (45/5701) and the S3 DHC (45/5702) were launched. Note that the new DHC was now called the S3.

In July ’66 the S3 FHC S/E (36/5977) was launched, but there is no mention that I can find of the launch of the S3 FHC ‘non-S/E’ being launched. Presumably the ‘Coupe’ just became the ‘S3 FHC’ around the same time simply by adding different badges to the old Coupe.

This transition stuff shouldn’t concern you as your car is a pretty early, pure ‘Coupe’ Type 36, having left the factory at the beginning of December 1965. But it may clear up a bit of confusion about what a ‘Coupe’ is vs what an S3 Coupe is!

Mark Kempson

[atthelimit]

Mark
Many thanks for that info, no wonder I was confused!

How do you know its Dec 65 though?

Kim

[Elanintheforest]

Kim, I have bits and pieces of old registers of the cars, in particular the Cheshunt Elans, and yours is in that information.

Tim Wilkes (referred to above) has the more definitive register of Elans produced which he has cross-reference with the records kept by Lotus, so I'm sure he will check out the following. From my records 36/5096 left Cheshunt on 1st December 1965 with engine number LP4805.That is usually the extent of the information held by the factory, with colour rarely recorded.

Mark

[trw99]

Hi Kim, from another Leicestershire native.

Sorry to be late to this party, but I've been busy driving my Elan!

Mark is spot on and that is all the data I have on your car in my records, so it is excellent to be able to add another 'live' Elan to the register.

Tim

[atthelimit]

Mark & Tim, thank you both so much for the information. I’m sure it will be very helpful when I come to register it.

Tim, said it’s great to add another live Elan to the list, I think that’s a bit premature but I’m working on it!

I would post a picture but I don’t have an “off shore photo account” so not able to do so. Anyway I’m sure you’ve all seen hundreds of photos of Elans by now.

Just one more thing I’m curious about, in the boot the area where the spare wheel sits it rises up into a shallow cut off cone, I’ve looked at other S3s and they do not have them and it’s not in my s4, is this a trait then if early S3s?

Kim

[Elanintheforest]

If I'm thinking what you're thinking then I'm pretty sure that it would be a feature of a '65 Coupe.!

Here's a photo of one of my old S2 Elans...does the cut-off cone look familiar? This car is one of the last S2 cars built in mid 1966, so I would imagine that the floor mould would be the same as a '65 Coupe.

Mark

[atthelimit]

Yes thats it, mystery solved, thanks again

[billwill]

I am restoring chassis number 36/5096. It’s a pre airflow s3 coupe. I don’t have a log book for it, can anyone tell me what year it is. I got confused because according to something on this site the 36 did not start this early in the range and states they started at 5811.

Any ideas welcome!

Many thanks

It's NOT a chassis number, it's a VIN (Vehicle identification number) and will be found stamped into a plate in the engine compartment. It should be entered as a VIN by the DVLA or you will get problems when you change the metal bit that holds the engine, transmission and suspension. That part often referred to as a chassis is officially a SUBFRAME, the same 'legally' as the subframe on a BMC Mini, it just so happens that the subframe on a Mini is in two (?) pieces, wheras in an Elan it is one piece.

When you change a subframe you don't have to inform the DVLA of the new "chassis number" ; else they will possibly misinterpret it and you may well get assigned A Q number plate instead of the historic number plate of your vehicle.

[lowflyer]

Hello from sunny Cambridgeshire,

I'm also restoring an early pre-airflow coupe 36/5245 which was factory built in December '65. Being factory built, the colour was recorded as Cirrus White. It is recorded as a Type 36, but I don't consider this as an S3 because of the date and its Cheshunt built. Its badged as an Elan Coupe.

The body is stripped right back for paint now and apart from some minor cracks and pinholes its accident free. This is body unit 1025, which should be the 25th body unit according to the archives. This car has a flat boot/trunk floor, without the conical turret from the S2.

As far as we can tell, this car is largely in as-built specification, so let me know if you have any questions about your car and we can compare - though being a Lotus of that era, it's not a precise science.

Andy

[atthelimit]

I am restoring chassis number 36/5096. It’s a pre airflow s3 coupe. I don’t have a log book for it, can anyone tell me what year it is. I got confused because according to something on this site the 36 did not start this early in the range and states they started at 5811.

Any ideas welcome!

Many thanks

It's NOT a chassis number, it's a VIN (Vehicle identification number) and will be found stamped into a plate in the engine compartment. It should be entered as a VIN by the DVLA or you will get problems when you change the metal bit that holds the engine, transmission and suspension. That part often referred to as a chassis is officially a SUBFRAME, the same 'legally' as the subframe on a BMC Mini, it just so happens that the subframe on a Mini is in two (?) pieces, wheras in an Elan it is one piece.

When you change a subframe you don't have to inform the DVLA of the new "chassis number" ; else they will possibly misinterpret it and you may well get assigned A Q number plate instead of the historic number plate of your vehicle.

Hi Bill, thanks for your input. I understand I need to “play the game” with DVLA but in my case I don’t have a vin plate or V5 so having the original chassis, body, suspension and a few other bits and bobs will benefit me wet an age related plate.

In truth I have never been convinced about the subframe argument but understand it is a description dreamt up by owners to combat the stupidity of DVLA system. You can’t build mini subframes into a rolling chassis, you order subframes not a chassis and in all the Lotus literature of the time I have never seen the unit described as anything other than a chassis. It’s a shame that DVLA system can’t recognise a well restored car for what it is, rather than accepting an original car with rusted out “subframe” to be very unsafe and potentially lethal. In a previous life I spoke to DVLA staff for various reasons and broached the Elan subject with them, most agree it’s stupid, but they have to follow their rules and guidelines given to them, so actually it’s not the fault of DVLA staff but the rule makers (DOT)

[vstibbard]

I may be late to this thread, from sales records I have suggest 5086 with engine number LP4805 was invoice 12 Jan 65
What is your engine number?