S2 What do you think about this specific car (pictures)

[testdriver]

Hi everyone

I've always wanted an Elan, but I am relatively new when it comes to specific details. What can you see from the pictures, what would you say regarding year (1965), model (S2) and painting? The ad says ''it has already the later twin cam engine'', does that mean the owner does not know what he is selling...?

Thanks for your opinion!

[Old English White]

Hi,
Thx for asking. The Elan in the pictures has been heavily modified... From front bumper to exhaust system.
The reasons may have been multiple, from accident to race, or both...
Many of us 'll say it is not original, don't have the good rear lights, etc,
The fact is, is that car looks like the one you really want, or, will the asking price allow you to correct all the details to reach your "dream car"...
The choice is yours, let the specialists tell you about the missing/modified bits.
Christian.

[billwill]

Be wary though, there have been many scam attepts at selling non-existent Elans by pinching photos and descriptions from real sales.

Read through some of these topics:

http://www.lotuselan.net/cgi-bin/search ... oom_sort=0

[661]

It looks like it's been finished to a high standard but, personally, I think the modifications enormously detract from it's appearance.

[Jentwistle3]

Pretty exciting rear flares! You could fit two or three 155s under there, just think a dualie!

[tvacc]

I am afraid I am in the minority here. I don't think it is that bad. What the determining factor here is the price of the car. Do you want to let us know what the person wants for it?

Not original, but I like the flares.

Rear tail lights are correct. They are the later ones. Not the bullets but I had the same lights on my S2.

No crazy about the non original seats but they are just seats. Extra gauge on the dash. Cant tell what it is for. Oil pressure/water temp gauge is different. Wheels are after market.

I would need to know more about the chassis, compression, how it runs.

Depending on the price, it might be a decent buy.

[gherlt]

If you like it as it is go ahead.
If the price is OK go ahead.
But ...
High prices for highly modified cars usually are only realistic if it is a race car (= 26r clones) or from a famous previous owner.
The car you picture could have been used as a hill climb car. Maybe there is a history behind the car. Maybe. Ask for proof.

Otherwise it is a modified car, wide flares, non original steering wheel, non original seats, non original air filters, and for sure other find more non original items. When you want to get back to original state, these items cost money. And that should rest value.
Many sellers tell you the Moto Lita is original, should add value and it is the other way round, etc etc.

All depends on price....

Otherwise just one more comment: wide wheels mostly do the car and its behaviour no favour.

[Fred Talmadge]

What is that heater valve?

[The Veg]

It looks like a lot of fun!

[Tahoe]

One more observation. The hardtop is not a factory hardtop. Looks to be Lenham if I'm not mistaken.

Compare to this one.

[collins_dan]

As a population, elans were made with slightly different iterations over a few years. As you probably also know , they are incredibly fun to drive, so unfortunately many have been damaged. People also liked to improve on the design or add their personal touch, so what you are seeing is a car that has different parts from different years as well as non-lotus parts (seats and wheels) that someone liked better. If you want an original car, this is probably not it. If you want a car that is fun to drive, then drive it and see how it performs. If its a joy, the price is right and the modifications don't bother you, then buy it. The only modification that would be really expensive to correct would be the flares. They are only fiberglass, but getting that done well and the repaint done well will be expensive. All the best, Dan

[stevebroad]

Hmmmmmmm

My own thoughts and opinions

Why fit wide arches then not fill them with rubber?
Rear arches look a tad low to me and don't compliment the front ones. Look like they came from two different designers.
Any suspension mods?
Price?

[testdriver]

thanks for your opinions, I appreciate that a lot!

To clarify, let me reply as following:

-The asking price is 45000 swiss francs CHF which is around 30000 ? which is far too expensive given the modifications

-It's not scam, but thanks for the link to that topic. It's a car about 120KM away from where I live and it's advertised from a garage

-yes, I have seen from the pictures that the car sits very low in the back and very high in the front, looks very strange

-The hardtop is a plus, but not necessary in my opinion (never had a hardtop on a roadster in my life...) even if it's not original according to Tahoe (nice place by the way, I once teached a barkeeper in Lake Tahoe how to make Caipirinha

-I don't like the advertised car as it is. I wanted it as original as possible.

-Our local Lotus dealer, who is also very much into historic racing since the 1970s, says getting that car back to original would cost at least 15000 CHF/10000 ? Correcting the flares would be the most expensive part

-I am not looking for a trailer queen or a councours car, I'd rather drive than pamper. Pampering is ok as long as you still get to drive it. In my opinion it's a shame for all those cars sitting in collections only. They have been built to bring pleasure to the driver (I'm doing 5000 KM a year with my Exige S1)


Thanks a lot for all your opinions again, seems as I've found the right place, now I have to wait for the right opportunity!

So, if anyone knows a good, original S1 or S2, let me know

[dgym]

is it also missing it's parking lights? or are the indicators at the front converted to parking lights?

I've spent a lot of money bringing my car back to original, you are wise to wait.

[denicholls2]

The back end of this car reminds me of the one I saw Gary Anderson sanding away on in his backyard the last time I visited (now a few years ago). That Elan was referred to as "Don Tingle's race car", so its hideous archwork had good provenance. As I recall, Gary's plan was to saw off the cancerous growths and graft in original arches. I think it then became the "Sow's Ear."

I defer preference to the owner, but the earlier Elans are the prettiest, so to me they should either be left alone or restored to "left alone" status unless they're genuine 26R's.

Beyond that, to my eye this car has too much paint or paint/surfacer on it, which with fiberglass is usually a bad thing. If you don't touch it, it looks pretty, but touch it too heavily and you're spending a few thousand to make it pretty again. Note the lack of detail in the detail lines, could be the pictures or my eye but I'd say there's about 1/32nd too much extra surface everywhere. Generally if what's underneath is pretty, the painter wants you to see that.