Plus 2 1968 for sale - NOW SOLD

Post by: **Matt Elan** » Sun Mar 10, 2024 5:18 pm

1968 Lotus Elan Plus 2 - NOW SOLD
I have owned this car since 28th September 2018 and it a presentable but not perfect example, which I have used as my classic while I've been restoring a 1969 Plus 2S. Its now time to sell as it is in good condition and I want to concentrate on finishing my other Plus 2S.

The car was originally restored in 1979. At that time the engine was rebuilt by Vegantune in June 1979 to big valve 136bhp specification when the milage was 31,000. Indicated milage now is 12851 but I have no way of knowing if this is correct. The car comes with a massive history file. The car has a Plus 2S beige interior trim and beige carpets along with a Plus 2 Dash with the four minor instruments (oil pressure, water temp, fuel and voltmeter) as well as the speedometer and tachometer and toggle switches. The car is painted in a dark blue which is very similar to Lagoon Blue, and has a white painted roof with a subtle metal flake finish. It has a Lotus chassis, Lotus Twincam engine and four speed gearbox, and it is fitted with Lotus knock on alloy wheels.

The car is fitted with various improvements or modifications. These include a late model headlight operation, where the lights are fail safe - i.e. they pop up if there is a vacuum failure and are held down by the engine vacuum. There is a Revotec inline electric cooling fan switch fitted in 2019. A hazard warning light system is fitted. I have documentation that shows the engine appears to have been rebuilt and tuned by Vegantune some years (1979) ago and certainly performs well. The car has a four speed gearbox. It is fitted with a pair of Twin Choke Dellorto DHLA 45 carburettors. The car has a Powerspark electronic ignition system fitted in the distributer. The car has a Lotus chassis and this appears to be in good condition, although I do not know if it is the original or a replacement. It is not a galvanised unit. The sill internal members are I believe Spyder items and appear to be sound. The headlights stay down for a while when the engine is turned off implying the front cross member is still airtight. It also has solid driveshafts with Universal joints on the outside and the inside - again I assume these are Spyder items.
The interior is from a later Plus 2S and is in beige vinyl with cloth inserts in the seats. Its in reasonable condition, tidy but showing some wear.
The body is pretty good with a few stress cracks but the paint while OK in general is showing extensive microblistering. The boot and bonnet both have some cracks in the paint - these tend to imply to me that the paint is too thick and has shrunk over the years. The car would benefit from a respray due to the micro blistering and the cracking, but its a good '10 foot' car - it looks good from a distance.

Recent work includes:
Completely rewired with three new looms (engine bay, cabin and rear). During the rewire I fitted a new walnut veneer dashboard, and fitted two usb ports for phone charging and sat nav power as well as a new coil. A new FM radio with aux socket is fitted, along with a pair of new speakers on the rear parcel shelf.
I've also fitted a new brake master cylinder, and new clutch master cylinder. The clutch slave cylinder has been fitted with an extended bleed nipple so you can bleed the clutch without a ramp. I've also fitted a reinforcing bracket to the base of the pedal box, and modified the top of the pedal box to incorporate a detachable plate to make it easier to get at the clutch and brake master cylinders. The rear brake calipers were stripped and rebuilt with new seals and stainless steel pistons back in 2020, and at the time I totally renovated the handbrake mechanisms with all new parts and pads. The engine has the usual twincam puff of oil smoke on starting if its been left for a time, but a compression test showed an average of 190 psi +/- 5 psi across all four cylinders.
I've given it an engine oil and filter change, new coolant and antifreeze along with a service with new spark plugs, air filter and timing chain tension check and adjusted the handbrake so it actually works during December/January 2023, along with a carburettor checkover and service. It had new gearbox oil and diff oil in 2020. It is currently running nicely on BP5ES plugs after I found it was fouling the BP6ES I had fitted.
Although it is registered as Historic, and so has £0 road tax and does not need a Mot, I have just had the car MoT'ed which it passed with flying colours, apart from a bit of an oil leak. This was as a result of the rocker cover gasket needing snugging down, now done (note it also helps to keep the chassis clear of rust). Even the handbrake worked.

The car features in my book, Lotus Elan and Plus 2 Source Book (pages 72-76 where I analyse the car, and has also featured on several threads in on the board which you can find by searching for my other threads.

So now its all up together it is time to sell so I can get on with my other Plus 2S restoration. I'm asking £17,500 for the car, as it does need paint. Please PM on the board, or email me at matthew dot vale at ntlworld dot com for further details, phone number etc. I'm located in Fleet (postcode GU51) in north Hampshire in the UK.