S4 Coupe valuation

[adigra]

I seem to be a part of a conversation I am not having Unless Chancer's name is also Adi?

Anyhow, I had recently had the engine rebuilt and upgraded. It needed quite a few new parts as it was being tuned, so new cams, pistons, etc., and it cost me about ?4500. I had the gearbox rebuilt as well, and that was around ?150.

I did most of the other work on it myself, except for the respray, and while that is the largest cost involved with an Elan there is no way I could do it myself. Preparing the car yourself will go a long way to cutting down the costs though.

Anyhow, this whole "checkbook restorer" thing bothers me as if it's somehow a negative. For the resale of a car, quite understandably, having a log of invoices from a regarded pro is advantageous over an enthusiastic amateur restoration. Sure, a lot of things can be judged on condition, but drivetrain rebuilds can carry countless sins hidden from view and a record of a professional rebuild will carry a lot of weight as it implies that the pro is putting their reputation behind their work, not to mention the skill the reputation is based on. I did a lot of work on my car myself, but I also intend to keep it forever, so to me the fact that I know the car intimately is a huge advantage, but for a potential future owner it's probably a huge black spot.

Adi

[Chancer]

That was another part of the rationale of bringing it to France, decent cars of any type are so thin on the ground that even complete sheds are admired.

Keep the postings coming as I am definitely being swayed towards keeping hold of her.

Perhaps I will take a break in the UK to spiv up the bike engined Caterham and sell it to liberate the space and funds, definitely a lot less work and a far smaller amount of money between shed condition project and good condition running vehicle.

Could the ?35k that was mentioned really be achieved for an S4, a FHC and with Strombergs?

Maybe just once in my life my heart led me to make a good financial decision, i bet if I do sell her now I would kick myself in a few years.

[Chancer]

You make some good points Adi, sorry if I sounded negative, you cant easily erase the pride and also prejudice that comes from years of doing everything myself in order to be able to play with the better heeled kids!!

Info and opinions like yours are exactly what I need, I am far removed both mentally and geographically from the thought processes of a would be Elan purchaser.

Keep the opinions coming, each time I have something else to consider it just rekindles the embers of a long standing love affair

Just think how emotional i will be when i finally get my hands on her bits again

[Spyder fan]

I seem to be a part of a conversation I am not having Unless Chancer's name is also Adi?

Adi,
Sorry for the mixup, I scrolled up to what I thought was Chancers post when I was writing my reply to try and find his name, my excuse being I was using my smartphone so couldn't see the whole post without scrolling more

Alan

[Spyder fan]

Chancer,
Would you do us the honour of introducing yourself, we are a friendly bunch here as I'm sure you have noticed and personal names are often used instead of the screen names.

To answer your question about the drivetrain on my cars, they are both pretty similar in that they both have an MT75 5 speed gearbox borrowed from a Granada Scorpio and also use the limited slip diff from the same car, the propshafts are bespoke for the application. The S4 actually has a hybrid MT75 made by Mitchell Cotts and came minus the integral bellhousing so that a specific bellhousing to suit the Duratec could be fitted. The driveshafts are twin CV developed by Spyder and supposedly bombproof, the whole package inspires a lot of confidence.

Mark (Elan in the forest) has some very interesting cars and projects on the go, his BDA engined +2 is a period modification and you can't argue with him about the robustness of the drivetrain as it's stood the test of time, I'm sure he will PM or email some more info if you are interested. I'm curious to see whether the BDG will break a few output shafts or break the gearbox and melt the clutch, but knowing Mark he will get it sorted

I like to modify with new bits and go belt and braces, others prefer period modifications with perhaps some new stuff to help it along like throttle bodies, the point is that it's all interesting and inspiring stuff and apart from a few Luddites most gladly accept the modified cars as part of the family.

Regards

[Chancer]

My name is John.

[elansprint71]

My name is John, and I'm a Lotoholic.

Isn't it strange how we can amend "quotes" from other posts?