Seeking Info For Listed Elan

[Gorpon73]

Hi,

Wondering if anyone possibly has any info/comments on this car listed in San Fran:

http://www.leftcoastclassics.com/1966-lotus-elan-coupe/

Its a bit of a Frankenstein, but has some documented history. Interested in a good driver, may be a good candidate.

Cheers, DJS

[CBUEB1771]

I'd be interested to know what they think is a reasonable offer. It is surprising that the wiring is such a mess after so much restoration and fettling. The chassis has a decent prang under the steering rack that may, or may not, have affected the steering geometry. This one requires a very careful, in-person inspection to determine a reasonable offer.

[512BB]

One of the most badly painted Elans I have seen in a long time, which can only get worse as time passes.

Make a low offer if you are going to, or walk away imo.

Leslie

[Gray]

Chassis is Spyder so more robust than standard, but it looks as if it has been jacked, or dropped, on the steering rack mount, which will have affected rack height. Chassis could probably be repaired, if that is the only damage, but body off and careful attention to dimensions for rack height required - it will not handle right unless the rack is at the right height. Body is dire, needs complete paint strip and start again. Front end is from an S4, so needs S3 arches. Dash is not original, etc, etc. Avoid unless very cheap as it needs most things doing again properly.

[gjz30075]

Recently ended at $20,000 on ebay
http://www.ebay.com/itm/131679128498?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

A repaint is certainly in order here, as well as fixing the door fit.

[rgh0]

Not so sure about engine rebuild quality either - lots of what looks like silicone coming out the front cover joins - makes you wonder how much is coming out on the inside.

cheers
Rohan

[Chancer]

I could not see many of the things that people have pointed out from the photos, I didnt see any of the chassis damage or bad wiring, hard to see with my eyes but it looked shiny and they said it was resprayed, heeding your comments I looked more carefully and could see orange peel in one, flat door shuts in another and what may have been flat paint on one of the rear shots of the roof and boot IIRC, if all the respray was like the shuts before compounding and polishing then indeed you are right but did you tell all this just from the photos on the advert?

What rang alarm bells for me was the Dashboard, looks like hand painted varnish and dymo labels for the switches, not what I would expect from all the alleged Lotus specialist owners.

Seductive prose reminiscent of an auction house.

[elanfan1]

No one else seems to have mentioned the seats, so I will. Are they perhaps Europa seats as they appea to slant backwards which would leave lying back in the seat most odd IMHO.

[elj221c]

?13500 doesn't seem too bad to me and it does say mechanical restoration. Unfortunately there are no photos of the suspension or the inside of the engine to assess that assertation.

As for the paint, I wish my S2 looked as nice!

[Fred Talmadge]

That California assigned title tag, does that mean the original number is lost? Or that the car was reconstructed from various others. Also the ad goes on to describe the history of Lotus and various folks who have touched the car. Words that would be better spent describing the actual car. They want $26,500 for it. ps they have a bottle of Moxxor on one of the pages, which is some kind of antioxident deal. Lots to be leary of here.

[Elanintheforest]

Recently ended at $20,000 on ebay
http://www.ebay.com/itm/131679128498?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

A repaint is certainly in order here, as well as fixing the door fit.

I think that the door fit looks just right for an S3....kicks out just the right amount at the bottom rear!
Mark

[512BB]

Chancer wrote:
it looked shiny and they said it was resprayed....... BADLY. heeding your comments I looked more carefully and could see orange peel in one, flat door shuts in another and what may have been flat paint on one of the rear shots of the roof and boot IIRC, if all the respray was like the shuts before compounding and polishing then indeed you are right but did you tell all this just from the photos on the advert?

Eer, yes. The paint looks awful in most of the pictures, and in the one showing the bonnet badge, you could have a shave ! I am guessing, but would think that the car has been [painted] fairly recently, so allow a year or so and you could fall into the sink holes, judging by the quality.

Chancer also wrote:
Seductive prose reminiscent of an auction house.

For that, read bullshit. Who ever reads all that crap about the history of Lotus or how the Elan evolved? I never do. Does the dealer think that someone will happen apon his ad who has never heard of a Lotus Elan? Its just crap to flower the ad, and always makes me think that the seller is full of it!

Leslie

[Gorpon73]

Thanks for the comments and keen insight. In general, all your comments are dead on. The car has been pieced together, crashed, then pieced together again. As I mentioned, its a bit of a Frankenstein. I didn't spot the steering rack ding, but the did disclose it had a front end crash and complete rebuild, but I was under the impression that was prior to the install of the Spyder chassis. Proceeding with caution.....

[CBUEB1771]

We have about beaten this one to death but I do wonder about the fettling done by Brian MacEachern. Brian is the real thing, I have seen his Eleven run at the sharp edge of vintage races at Lime Rock on many occasions. My question goes to the location of this Elan. The last known location of MacEachern Motorsports is in North Carolina, perhaps not far from the Elan's original location in Virginia, hardly down the road from San Francisco as implied in the advertisement. I might be wrong on this, I can't find references to MacEachern Motorsports via Google later than 2011 so it is possible that Brian has relocated to the West Coast.

[prezoom]

Hate to make disparaging remarks about a car that I can only see in pictures. However, the car looks suspiciously like one that was brought over to my house for evaluation, well over a year ago. The Virginia DMV tag and the heater water valve ring a bell.

That car was purchased by two locals, and shipped from the east coast. The paint was junk along with the body fit. Their main complaint about the car was the engine smoked excessively, which it did. I had the feeling they payed too much for the car and were debating as to try to return the car to the seller. The seller was reportedly involved with a publication that deals with sports cars, but no proof was given.

My suggestion was, the car seemed to be basically sound, but required a great deal of attention to detail, which can be a great deal of fun, or a complete PITA, depending on ones abilities or attitude. That, along with what would be a very intensive/expensive re-paint, along with a possible engine rebuild. I also provided the name of a local individual/shop, that has rebuilt a number to TC engines. But, for a driver, it would provide a whole lot of fun. Their decision to attempt to obtain a refund, was certainly another option. I never heard from them again, and I do not believe they ever joined this list, which I suggested they do.