Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

I'm looking to buy my first Elan +2. I've seen one which doesn't have the original TwinCam engine, but instead a Kent block.

This does bother me too much as I was thinging I might go down the (u-Hm) Spyder route anyway. My question is roughly how much less should I expect to pay for an Elan without the TwinCam. I'm still getting to grips with of these cars values so any help in this area would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance to everyone...

Hi

I have seen a +2 with a Kent engine on Ebay before; I think it was red.

It looks like this one = http://www.carandclassic.com/car/C172641/


The question you need to ask is how much could you buy a running Twincam engine for? The reason your car has lost it's twincam is probably due to cost. The MK1 Escort boys love them and if you look on Ebay you will very rarely see a running Twincam go for less than ?2,500.

So I would budget ?3,000 for a good running engine, there is one on Ebay at the moment. I think it will go over ?2,500 but you never know Christmas is coming:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LOTUS-681-L-TWINC ... 176wt_1139

Have a look at the pricing guide in Practical Classics they are about right at the moment and then deduct the price on the Twincam.

Hope this helps

Jason

Iyarno wrote:I'm looking to buy my first Elan +2. I've seen one which doesn't have the original TwinCam engine, but instead a Kent block.

I'm not sure what you mean. All Twin Cam engines are based on the Kent block in various iterations.
The "Twin Cam" title is based on the cylinder head.
Not all Elans have the original engines as it is a wear and tear item and often replaced.

Perhaps you mean it is a Kent engine (push rod type) - if so, then the value of the car will be seriously affected.

Yep, sorry I realised all the engines were Kent blocks, it is the head of the engine which is different.

I'm a complete newbie to all this, so can anyone gleam any info from this pic? Would anything have been done to the car that is irreversible.

It was a pretty standard mod to put a 1600GT or similar in an Elan if the original engine went pop, and it's just a nut and bolt job to put a twincam back in there. If you do buy it, why not run it as-is for a while and have a bit of fun with it....I'm sure there will be plenty of other things to sort out!

In valuing an Elan the bodywork plays a more significant part than the engine. If the paint is bubbling, or there are a mass of cracks, you can be looking at ?7k plus to get that sorted. The chassis is also worth checking out, especially at the front around the uprights. A fairly big but straghtforward job to change.

It's very hard to value a car from photos, but as a ballpark, a really nice Plus 2 is about ?15k (perfect / mint can be double that), with a good presentable car with no major faults somewhere in the region of ?8k to ?12k.

Jason is spot on with the value of a twincam engine, so take that amount off what you see.

A 'project' Plus 2 that needs everything doing can be had for ?3k, which is not far off the value of the engine. If the car you're looking at has poor paint and a rusty chassis, I would suggest that you walk away, unless it's sub ?1k.

Mark

Thanks Mark. I was just looking for some reassurance that it's not been hacked around by cowboys. As you say, if it just a case of nuts and bolts I can live with the engine knowing I can do something about it later on if need be.

Ian

The one on Ebay just sold for ?1,672.02. Not great but Christmas is coming up so very few people will be bidding.

There is another complete engine on there at the moment starting at ?2,800:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Lotus-Elan-B-V-Tw ... 701wt_1139

Easy swap as it is all there. I would say this is how much you should budget for a good used engine; however it is very difficult to tell if this is a good used unit as it is on the ground?


Another thing to bear in mind and you may have already come across this as you have a replacement engine; is that the DVLA are asking a lot more questions when you try to put a new engine in. Have a look at:

http://stagownersclub.mywowbb.com/forum1/11204.html

Jason

Jason1 wrote:Another thing to bear in mind and you may have already come across this as you have a replacement engine; is that the DVLA are asking a lot more questions when you try to put a new engine in.

No problem - when I changed my engine a few months ago I simply took the V5 to the local DVLA office with the new engine number and received a new V5 back from Swansea within a week.

No problem - when I changed my engine a few months ago I simply took the V5 to the local DVLA office with the new engine number and received a new V5 back from Swansea within a week.

There is quite a lot of chatter on the forums at the moment about the DVLA and engine changes. I think it is a very recent thing (last month); Practical Classics Mag is lobbying DVLA to ask why the rules have recently changed. It is only a problem if you have an engine in the shed as a spare and no paperwork with it which is quite a few people who run classics.

I could mean that buying a replacement engine will be very difficult; I think people are worried that this is a backhanded way for the Gov to get classics off the road.

Jason

I'm not sure where that puts me!

My V5 and the previous paperwork back to the old style log book have all had the engine number the same as the unit/chassis number! i.e. 26/****

Roy
'65 S2

elj221c wrote:I'm not sure where that puts me!

My V5 and the previous paperwork back to the old style log book have all had the engine number the same as the unit/chassis number! i.e. 26/****

Roy
'65 S2

And does the number match that on the engine?

No way! It is the chassis number.

The engine which is waiting to go in is the third to my knowledge and I suspect it's at least the fourth.

The head of the 'new' engine is my original head with no LP number. The block was bought as an unused 701M on standard Ford bores and as far as I know has no number. I can't check at the moment because it is in the depths of one of my sheds but I'm pretty sure it is numberless.

Roy
'65 S2

elj221c wrote:No way! It is the chassis number.

The engine which is waiting to go in is the third to my knowledge and I suspect it's at least the fourth.

The head of the 'new' engine is my original head with no LP number. The block was bought as an unused 701M on standard Ford bores and as far as I know has no number. I can't check at the moment because it is in the depths of one of my sheds but I'm pretty sure it is numberless.

Roy
'65 S2

I guess an unused block would not have a number for obvious reasons.

Maybe the easy option is to stamp some letters and numbers on the block and submit that to the DVLA on the V5. These old engine numbers are not traceable, after all.

I am seriously considering getting a new block from Ford Racing and fully intend to do such a thing.

Comments welcome.

I've just looked out my letter from Maurice Storey at Lotus. I hadn't realised that it has the original engine number as part of the information provided by him.

Perhaps I can stamp the 'new' block with that!

Sorry, Iyarno. We seem to have hijacked your thread!

Roy
'65 S2

elj221c wrote:I've just looked out my letter from Maurice Storey at Lotus. I hadn't realised that it has the original engine number as part of the information provided by him.

Perhaps I can stamp the 'new' block with that!

Sorry, Iyarno. We seem to have hijacked your thread!

Roy
'65 S2

Not a problem, I'm reading and researching with interest. Although I'm not entirely sure what these DVLA changes are and what they would mean. Are we saying that if you drop a used engine into your Elan, the DVLA want to know where it's come from, otherwise they won't consider it a classic? And where does this leave all the Spyder Zetecs?

Ian
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Ex. Mk1 Golf Campaign owner now looking for a well sorted +2 running project