New Project Elan S4 DHC

[uglyduck]

I have been a forum member for a couple years now and don't tend to contribute much, just watch and read. I have been keeping my eye out for an Elan for quite some time and have numerous slip through my fingers. I haven't been actively searching for an Elan lately as I have enough projects on my plate but I stumbled on an ad for one last week so I gave the guy a call. The fellow selling the car know little about it. He and another fellow purchased it 3 years ago as a project and unfortunately the other fellow died prior to the project even being started. The seller does not have the resources to complete the project so he put it up for sale. The description was of a car that has sat in a garage since 1985, sound chassis, cosmetic repair of body and complete interior in need of restoration. When I arrived to have a look at it was in a hoist in the back corner of a shop. It was rougher than I expected, minor body damage, broken left side engine mount, soft front cross member and a gutted interior and missing carbs. Closer inspection revealed that the chassis wasn't that bad, better than I had seen in other cars I had looked at. The oil leak rust proofing had done its job... amazingly brakes and suspension were free with a light coating of corrosion, but not beyond restoration. The window glass and frames were in good condition as well was most of the chrome work.
I made the fellow and offer I was comfortable with and he wasn't to eager to budge on the price. A couple days later he called me back and made an acceptable counter offer. Now the trick is to get it home......with all of the snow and ice we have had my trailers are buried until spring... ....lost the open trailer in the snow bank and the enclosed trailer is up to its waist in snow...got to rent a trailer for a day.
The car will be stored until spring...then the real decisions begin. Should I restore it as a nice daily driver or keep it stripped down and convert it to a vintage race car.

[pharriso]

Welcome! Looks like a great find.

There's a wealth of info on the board already & we will be eager to help with your restoration questions...

[richardcox_lotus]

Looks good but before you consider turning it into a race car, check what it's eligible for. Looks to be an S4 to me - Rohan may be able to pitch in here ...

[uglyduck]

As a race car it can be built to North American Vintage Historic specifications since the cut off is 1972. This car is likely a late 1969 or 1970. I currently run a 1970 Lotus 7s4 so do I need another race car in the same class?