Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hi, Im new to the board and writing on behalf of my father,

My father sold his Elan S4 in late 2012 after having it since the late 70s and sold it with a webber engine in, but he still has the original Stromberg engine with carbs that the car was supplied with in August 1971,

Hes curious to know what value this engine might have? and wanted to post on here before potentially putting it on Ebay.

Some details on the engine,

Engine Number K18181B
57k milage
6 Bolt Flywheel
With Orginal Stromberg Carbs and air box
Distributor with the engine.

On the engine block it has a letter 'L' if that might mean anything, Im personally not sure but reading through various posts it sometimes helps with dates!?!

Thanks in advance for any help!!

Regards Andrew.

Andrew,

There are so many factors in valuing the engine. The mileage when removed, current bore, which block (theoretically, it should be the 701M - number located on the lower left side of the block), the condition when removed (smoking, recent work, etc.). Of course, all of that is hard to verify now that it is out of the car and not running. The 701M short blocks can sell for $700-$900, Stromberg heads anywhere from $250-$500 depending on condition. Given the unknowns, I would say that the engine might be worth somewhere between $1100-$1500.

danielmo wrote:Andrew,

There are so many factors in valuing the engine. The mileage when removed, current bore, which block (theoretically, it should be the 701M - number located on the lower left side of the block), the condition when removed (smoking, recent work, etc.). Of course, all of that is hard to verify now that it is out of the car and not running. The 701M short blocks can sell for $700-$900, Stromberg heads anywhere from $250-$500 depending on condition. Given the unknowns, I would say that the engine might be worth somewhere between $1100-$1500.

mileage was indicated : 57k -

then of course there are more parts than just a bare head and a block, since it appears to be a complete engine. Whoever has looked into building or buying one knows that there is a hefty price jump between bare block and complete short engine (pistons, rods, crank, sump, water pump, etc.), same with the head, then don't forget to check on ancillaries if to assess from the sum of parts... A quick look at market prices (starting with ebay for convenience) will show what a complete engine is rather unlikely to go for as low as $1500 in my opinion - rather at least twice that I would guess. Then knowing more about condition (measuring compressions, inspection, possibly starting or even running it on a stand) would help refining the estimate, further upward if in good condition. A good used complete Stromberg engine ready to drop in is worth $4-5k in my opinion.

in any case, if I had to sell such a part with no clear idea of its value, I would start with taking a few pictures and advertise it for offers or put it on the market fo with a starting price sufficiently high.

Engine No K18181 was a Standard (that is, not a SE spec) Domestic UK Stromberg type.

It was fitted to Elan Unit No 8751 which was invoiced by the factory as late as 17 Mar 71, just as the Sprint was starting production. However, the cars around this unit no were all invoiced in Q1 1969. The car must have sat around for a long time at Hethel.

Andrew, do you have the registration number? We can look up with the DVLA when it was first registered. You indicate August 1971 in your post, in which case it was probably 2 1/2 years old when sold 'new'!

Tim

I would try and contact the guy who bought the car....the engine would surely be worth more to him than anybody else.
Mark

If you do put it on eBay could you please let the forum know. I have a car and spare full engine, either the weber or stromberg one will ultimately be for sale.

seeing what something gose for on E-bay is the ultimate open market valuation.

As individual components the engine should be worth around the following in UK pounds in the UK. this is based on what i have bought or seen sold recently from the UK or the costs in Australia translated into UK pounds so i could be a bit out in some areas om the UK prices

Stromberg Head 500 ( assuming all studs and cam caps present and no significant corrosion or soft)
Cams 100 ( assuming not sprint cams? if sprint may be 200)
Block 700+ (assuming not heavily bored oversize already more if square main cap version i.e. normally the 701M block)
crank 200 ( assuming not heavily reground)
rods 100
pistons 40
sump 500 (yes! the 6 bolt sump is valuable)
cam cover 100
front timing chest and back plate 100 (assuming not significantly corroded around water pump)
flywheel 50

other things that may not be present
oil pump 20
distributor 40 ( if still fitted)
fuel pump 20
front pulley 20


So pulling it apart and selling individual components you may get 2500+
Selling as a complete unit where condition of individual components you would be harder to assess you would maybe get 1500 to 2000 if I was bidding on it.
Selling to the current car owner as original engine should get you closer to 2500 again assuming the current owner is prepared to invest in the future value of the original engine.

cheers
Rohan

Here in the US that engine (complete) would sell for more than $3500. If it was a weber head with webers significantly more.

Hi, thanks for all your replys and information much appreciated!

Having closer look at the engine and blowing off the dust, the engines complete with everything including oil pump, water pump and front pulley it's been sat in a dry store since the early 80s but turns over freely and even the water pump is free.

The number on the block is 681F which would tie in with Tims reply of it being invoiced from the factory in Q1 1969 and I'm assuming the 681 referring to a 1968 block. The car was registered on 1st August 1971 so looks like it has sat around for a while.

The registration number of the car when my father had it was CVD25K before he put his private plate on. The car currently has the CVD25K on it.

When the car was sold the guy wanted the Webber engine which was in the car at the time, hence us still having the stormberg engine. I can understand what your saying with originality factor.

When I decide what I'm going to do with the engine and the big valve Webber head I've got, I'll be sure to advertise on here first before going down the eBay route.

Regards,

Andrew.