Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

I cannot divulge too much information as I don't possess it and it's somebody else's car at a private address.

Out for a lunchtime walk today I took a different route and made a short cut through a back street to reach the park. Nearly tripped over as I passed this.

It's tightly wrapped in tarpualins, sacks and rope, but looks to have been there a decade. Through the rips in the covers I guess it's a late model Sprint drophead, and requires a nut and bolt rebuild. Don't know how complete it is, but the drivers window is slightly open and the elements have gotten to the interior as well.

Before I knock on the front door and make an ass of myself, and presuming it is a late Sprint DHC, how much is it worth as a major resto case? I genuinely have no idea, and know it's 'how long is a piece of string' but some of you guys will have more of a clue than me.

Thanks,

Mark.

I'm assuming it's a Sprint (I'm not 100% au fait with 2 seater Elans) because it's clearly a late model and has a smooth bonnet. The colour looks to have once been Lagoon Blue. I can't see enough to be certain.

How on earth can you guys see enough to determine (1) it's a Sprint & (2) lagoon Blue?

The only paint work I can see is at the top of the LHS A pillar & that appears to be yellow...

a year or so ago I went to see an Elan S2 which was laid up in storage for 30 years, was too much work for me but I believe was picked up for ?6k by a mechanic who has since restored said car if that helps at all.

A barn find Sprint (converted to drop head) sold a couple of weeks ago in an auction for just under ?25k!!

Heck, you can hardly tell that it's an Elan. The rope around the front seems have dug its way into the wings. Really?

Whatever's at the top of the windscreen doesn't look much like a DHC hood or a FHC roof to me. Could it be a S1/S2 hard top?

Of course, I know, it's a 26R.

Nick

It's very hard to say what it is worth. The body is likely to be in poor shape if it has had damp plastic over it. What is the chassis like? Is the engine salvagable? The interior trim is probably rubbish. A rebuild could cost many, many thousands of pounds, probably into five figures. As with all things, it's worth what someone is willing to pay.

I bought a dismantled Sprint coupe in 2011 which had bodywork issues due to a plastic cover, but most other parts were in good condition, and many were new as the PO was intending to rebuild it. I paid ?10,000 for it and it was certainly worth that to me. It took two years to rebuild but turned out well.

Mike

I bought a complete S4 in similar condition to Mike's Sprint detailed above for ?6500 in 2010, it was partially dismantled for a stalled rebuild but everything was there and in reasonable condition, the same car today would be in the region of ?12,000 to ?15,000 depending on model and FHC or DHC.

Your surprise find is extremely difficult to put a figure on without an awful lot more information, but from the photo I would guess it's in poor condition and needs a lot more work than my S4 or Mike's Sprint needed. My guess is that if complete but needing everything done it's real value is below ?10,000 but not less than ?7000 because the engine, gearbox, window frames, seats would be worth ?5000, not that I would approve of anyone dismantling it for parts

Clearly, it will need a full restoration and, even if you were given the car for nothing, it would hardly be viable from a purely financial viewpoint. However, people buy projects for the pleasure and satisfaction of completing a restoration and many do.
A DHC Sprint, no matter how bad a condition, if it`s complete, has got to be worth ?10k plus these days.
If I were you and wanted to turn a profit I wouldn`t be greedy, a low bid might get get a poke in the eye, I`d offer ?8K, be prepared to pay ?10k, then put it in a serious auction. Silverstone Auctions tend to get good prices for this sort of thing. If you want to restore it yourself the price should reflect how much you want it and how bad it is.
Jim

I am a little bit uncomfortable with this whole discussion and the photos being viewed worldwide, the owner may well be completely fed up with people knocking on his door about the car and if it were me I would not be at all happy with a photograph showing my front door in the background and the comments that it was a tatty little house in a dodgy area.

30 years ago there was an Elan parked in a driveway in my village and there was a sign on the door of the house saying that the car was not for sale, in a neighbouring village there was another but a large housse with a long drive, the owners had put a very stern sign on the gate saying again it wasn't for sale, not to enter the property or they would be treated as trespassers.

If you are intending to Knock on the guys door my advice is to either delete the negative comments or preferably the whole thread as you might get a very hostile reception if Crusher Smith has been informed of it.

What always makes me wonder is why people have cars of this nature just sitting out in the rain under a tarpaulin or some other cover and not wanting to do anything with them
You would think they might want to just have a bit of extra money and allow someone to bring the car back to life, that to me would be the sensible option, maybe I'm wrong, maybe not

Rob P wrote:What always makes me wonder is why people have cars of this nature just sitting out in the rain under a tarpaulin or some other cover and not wanting to do anything with them
You would think they might want to just have a bit of extra money and allow someone to bring the car back to life, that to me would be the sensible option, maybe I'm wrong, maybe not

Circumstances, my friend, circumstances!

Life in general.

Waiting for funds or retirement for the time.

The list goes on!

Yours not to question!

Too attached to let go, good intentions but lacking time and money, and clearly in these cases garage/workshop space to do the restoration if the time and money is there.

I have held onto mine since IIRC 1997 with the intention of restoring her one day, have the facilities and the money but not the time, she has followed me to France and I have had to find new storage facilities twice on the hurry up, the last place I would ever want to store her would be on my car park in public view and I would be respectfull of anybody who found themselves in that position.

There is a Ginetta G15 rotting away on a driveway not far from my home, it always intrigues me when I see it. It's just human nature to be curious, and I think auction houses amongst others play on the romantic notion of a "Barn Find" to boost interest in a particular car.

I don't think it's wrong to respectfully enquire as to whether the car is for sale, If I personally wanted to do this I think I would consider a nicely worded letter explaining I'm an enthusiast and that I'm looking for a car to restore and cherish rather than make a quick profit. If a contact is made, then that's a result, if not, then you have your answer either way.

A wanted advert in Club Lotus, or on all the forums you can think of might be a better bet if you are looking for a project, there are no cheap cars left, not that they were ever really cheap