Elan Sprint, Right Hand Drive

[tvacc]

Hello all,
Most of you know me. I am a long time Elan owner, past President of Lotus Ltd and currently still on the board as an advisor.
We were contacted by the relative of a man who passed away. The person is selling a right hand drive Elan, which t my fairly knowledable eye appears to be an Elan Sprint. I figure it might be worth it to contact someone on the other side of the pond as well as in the USA to see if there is any interest. Nothing in this for me, I am doing it as a favor for the family. All I know about the car is what I am telling you here. Car has not been run in many years but appears to have been stored inside. If you are interested, please contact me and I will put you in touch with the owner. Car is located in sourthern USA. They are looking for $25000 for the car, but all negociations will be out of my hands.

[pharriso]

Tony, looks like a lovely car, the N stamping on the cylinder head identifies the engine as a UK spec Big Valve engine... The car needs to be refreshed & driven!

[trw99]

Hi Tony,

I am afraid that VIN plate is either spurious or off a Series 2 Lotus Europa. It is definitely not a Sprint VIN, let alone a Domestic (UK) one.

You need to ask for confirmation of the Engine number. N on the cylinder head boss signifies a Domestic Big Valve, so an engine number will be able to give me a better idea of which type of Sprint it was first fitted to.

As to it's true identity, then further investigation will be required of the body, to see if it reveals the Unit No. That may be difficult for you unless you or someone knowledgeable can visit the car.

Tim

[Andy8421]

Tim is correct.

I believe +54/1007+ most likely came off a federal spec pre-1970 S2 Europa.

[tvacc]

I agree all. I will try to investigate this further. Car is too far away for me to do anything about it personally. I will let you all know what transpires.

[alan.barker]

I suggest to get someone to remove door panel to see what's written in Crayon on the Grp.
Alan

[tvacc]

All.
Sitting here thinking about this, please keep in mind I am only responding to someone that contacted Lotus Ltd. I have absolutely no financial interest in the car nor can I go see the car. It is 25 hours drive away from me. I was only trying to help a relative of someone that died find a home for the car
Now saying all that I will call tht person, and tell them where to find the true VIN under the carbs on the chassis, perhaps etched into the fiberglass behind the carbs or one tjr inside of the door panels. I will also tell them that significant lengths have been taken to disguise or alter this car's identification. For what reason I do not know. What they do with that information is up to them. As for me, I will probably stop my involvement as I don't want to be caught up in something that I have no idea where it is going.