Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

I agree with the comments here. If it was closer to Buffalo I might be very tempted...

elanner wrote:The lack of a Twin Cam is interesting. When I first arrived in the US, back in the 80s, I went to a British car show in Vermont at which there were two Elans, the first I'd ever seen over here. Both of them were fitted with crossflow engines. I was amazed and assumed that it was common/standard practice over here to dump the Twin Cam if it became necessary. Clearly that was not case because I've never seen it since.

Nick

The cross flow swap was an inexpensive solution when an Elan was only worth about $3000 in the early 80's and the economy was in the toilet. You could pick up a Fiesta engine from a wreck for $100 and swap the sumps. Even then, rebuilding a worn Twink was close to $2000 installed in the car. If there was head damage, repairs were expensive and many parts were unobtanium at the time.

On a baby Elan it's not difficult or expensive to change it to lhd.
It costs a lot more to change chassis and do the paintwork.
Alan

alan.barker wrote:On a baby Elan it's not difficult or expensive to change it to lhd.
It costs a lot more to change chassis and do the paintwork.
Alan

Hi Alan,

I'm considering this for my current project (already have a LHD pedal set and new steering rack purchased a long time ago) : have you done it before, and would you stress the points that require more attention? are harnesses sided ? any comment welcome...

_______

thank you

I don't think prices paid on Bring a Trailer accurately reflect the current market value of Elans. BAT seems a great place to sell a Porsche but a poor place to sell a Lotus. The reason, I think, is that the Lotus market is much smaller. There is less of a sense of urgency among buyers, which allows for caution. I spent some time looking for an Elan last year. It seems to me that sellers who were patient ended up getting good prices for their cars. The Elan market reminds me of when I was in the market for a Porsche 15 years ago in that regard.

I'm shocked that this car sits if it can be had for $8,000. There's very little a person can buy in the vintage car world for $8,000.

Unless the classic car market absolutely implodes, I believe this will be seen as a great deal in a few years. But I've been wrong before.

elaninfuture wrote:I'm shocked that this car sits if it can be had for $8,000. There's very little a person can buy in the vintage car world for $8,000.

Unless I'm mistaken, it is not presently offered for sale, let alone for $8k, so it's hard to conclude much on Elans market value from that car...

nmauduit wrote:

elaninfuture wrote:I'm shocked that this car sits if it can be had for $8,000. There's very little a person can buy in the vintage car world for $8,000.

Unless I'm mistaken, it is not presently offered for sale, let alone for $8k, so it's hard to conclude much on Elans market value from that car...

No, you're not mistaken. The car is not presently for sale, and I don't think the owner would sell it at 8,000usd. He knows it needs to be at least partially restored, to return it to running condition, but can't do it himself.

RogerFrench wrote:

nmauduit wrote:

elaninfuture wrote:I'm shocked that this car sits if it can be had for $8,000. There's very little a person can buy in the vintage car world for $8,000.

Unless I'm mistaken, it is not presently offered for sale, let alone for $8k, so it's hard to conclude much on Elans market value from that car...

No, you're not mistaken. The car is not presently for sale, and I don't think the owner would sell it at 8,000usd. He knows it needs to be at least partially restored, to return it to running condition, but can't do it himself.

Sorry to hear the owner is in such a difficult situation. Hopefully he finds someone nearby to lend him a hand and get it running again.

This may help with valuation:
https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/ca ... 66706.html

I need a larger garage.

Apparently the Hemmings listing may be a scam!
for-sale-f34/hemmings-for-500-t41243.html

A Ford BDA engine in it would be nice?
Carl

Thanks to all who replied with useful suggestions. We may have found someone who would like it. I hope so!