Re: Help 1967 Lotus Elan SE
Posted: Tue Oct 12, 2021 11:47 pm
I actually own a 1967 S3SE that was coincedentally "stored" for 40 years. Now mine was a different situation, in that I had started a full restoration (don't ask me why!) back in the day, so it was actually stored in pieces, in several different locations, for 40 years. For some reason, the engine block wound up in a chicken coop -- I kid you not! -- in Manchester, NJ. Other subsections were stored at varying levels of exposure. It was not pretty.
I started, or RE-started my restoration about a year ago. A pretty fair amount of the car was still salvageable. The engine block, crank, and flywheel were all still good. The chassis was sound. I had all the suspension parts. The transmission was still in excellent shape. The body is pretty rough, and outside of cleaning that up I haven't done too much on that area. I had to replace the head, cams, valves, etc. I'm currently up to about $7,000 in parts and expenses. So far, other than sandblasting and machine shop work, I've been able to do everything myself. I was surprised that most parts are readily available. Some are still being manufactured. I was able to purchase a new cylinder head from Dave Bean Engineering here in the US, and there are at least two sources for them in the UK.
It's a lot of work, but it's worth it. The S3 SE is a beautiful car to look at, and a quite fun to drive. A lot of other people have given you figures for restoration, but I'm not sure anyone has given you a figure to support an an offer that you would make. If the head is intact, that part alone is worth $1800, without cams, valves, etc. Probably at least $2500 with. If the body is intact, that's worth quite a bit also. A block is probably worth $400. The crank is probably worth $600 (perhaps more, if it's a 6 bolt crank), and connecting rods are probably worth $125 each. I had a spare transmission that I sold for $350 to another member of this board. It's hard to imagine that those things are not salvageable, given the conditions from which mine was resurrected.
I believe that you would be safe offering somewhere in the $3500-5000 range on salvage value alone. If you have any questions or would just like to talk to someone about your project, PM me and I'll send you my contact info.
Best,
Tony
I started, or RE-started my restoration about a year ago. A pretty fair amount of the car was still salvageable. The engine block, crank, and flywheel were all still good. The chassis was sound. I had all the suspension parts. The transmission was still in excellent shape. The body is pretty rough, and outside of cleaning that up I haven't done too much on that area. I had to replace the head, cams, valves, etc. I'm currently up to about $7,000 in parts and expenses. So far, other than sandblasting and machine shop work, I've been able to do everything myself. I was surprised that most parts are readily available. Some are still being manufactured. I was able to purchase a new cylinder head from Dave Bean Engineering here in the US, and there are at least two sources for them in the UK.
It's a lot of work, but it's worth it. The S3 SE is a beautiful car to look at, and a quite fun to drive. A lot of other people have given you figures for restoration, but I'm not sure anyone has given you a figure to support an an offer that you would make. If the head is intact, that part alone is worth $1800, without cams, valves, etc. Probably at least $2500 with. If the body is intact, that's worth quite a bit also. A block is probably worth $400. The crank is probably worth $600 (perhaps more, if it's a 6 bolt crank), and connecting rods are probably worth $125 each. I had a spare transmission that I sold for $350 to another member of this board. It's hard to imagine that those things are not salvageable, given the conditions from which mine was resurrected.
I believe that you would be safe offering somewhere in the $3500-5000 range on salvage value alone. If you have any questions or would just like to talk to someone about your project, PM me and I'll send you my contact info.
Best,
Tony