Good price for a 69 +2?

[Arthur Dent]

Hello,

I'm going to looking at a '69 +2 on Sunday.

The description is as follows:
Car has been well maintained and continuously improved,
Runs well and is a reliable driver,
Fresh rebuilt engine, and complete cv joint rear end,
Body and interior in good condition,
Needs paint

and a pic.



price is roughly equivalent to $7.5K US.

I realize a repaint is going be a bit pricey being a fiberglass car and all but does anyone have a ball park figure for a nice "driver" respray? Any other thoughts? Thanks

oh I also have a nice set of alloy wheels from a TR7/Spitfire - I understand the bolt pattern is the same but what is the offset needed for a +2?

[1964 S1]

Hello Arthur, +2's seem to be on the upswing right now, value wise. One just sold yesterday on eBay for $7150. Several have sold in the past couple of months in the mid teens. You can go into eBay's completed listings and see what they've been selling for recently, in many different countries. That price sounds fair if it's solid and drivable. As far as wheels are concerned, I don't think your wheels will fit. Lotus uses centering pins instead of splines on their knock offs. They are great cars. Good luck, Eric

[1964 S1]

whoops, double clicked.

[berni29]

Hi

From what you have said I think about ?4,000 max. Just my opinion. How bad is the paint? If there is lots of crazing with blisters and it is falling off then it will be a lot more expensive to fix than thin and faded. Be sure to find out if the car has its original chassis or not. If yes it will need changing. If no, but the replacement is not galvanised or a spyder one then it will probably need changing. Have the body sills been done? If not then they will need doing. Not the end of the world on either count but time consuming. I know.

I know people who have bought nice cars for 5K or less. Not perfect by any means, but not in need of major work. An alternativeis to buy one for restoration. The bonus is that you end up knowing every nut and bolt on the car (pretty much). It can end up costing more than buying one where someone had done the work (properly) already.

Best of luck and welcome on board.

Berni

[1964 S1]

I'm not sure if I agree with any of the.... ".... if the car has its original chassis or not. If yes it will need changing. If no, but the replacement is not galvanised or a spyder one then it will probably need changing. Have the body sills been done? If not then they will need doing." Where in the world is this car you're looking at? Some of these old Lotuses in totally original condition are still in excellent condition. I promise! Climate has a great deal to do with preservation.

[berni29]

Hi

You are of course correct. I am thinking of a UK car which I am pretty sure this one is. I should remember that these things live abroad as well, and in a warm clime with no salt on the road etc could well still be on original chassis and in fine condition.

Berni

[Robbie693]

However, it's not just rust you should consider with these chassis: stress cracks can also be a concern with an original one, or an older Galv. one for that matter...

I too think prices are on the up a little; I was looking through some old Lotus News mags from 2003 recently and there were a lot of cars for sale with engine rebuilds, chassis changes, paint work done etc for around the ?5 - 6,000 mark.

I have seen three cars recently up for ?8,000 and needed paintwork or had original chassis or engine, bits missing or tatty trim etc.

Cars with original chassis or unrebuilt engines may be fine at the time of sale but I can't help but worry about how soon they will be needing to be fixed and this is not usually reflected in the price.

[Arthur Dent]

Thanks all for the responses!

Its out in western Canada - so rust isn't a big deal if not extensively winter driven (summer is borderline desert here) and assuming it didn't live out east at some point in its life.

guy emailed me some more pics:

http://photobucket.com/albums/v197/arthurdent/Elan/

Paint looks ok from the pics. Do all the steering wheel horn buttons stick out like that? Seems a little ugly to me. Supposed to snow on Sunday so I may go tommorow.

he also mentioned:

The carbs currently on the car were an experiment and do not work as well as the original strombergs. The originals, and all of the hardware will be returned to the car unless you wanted it this way.

The paint was poor when done and has not changed much since then. It is perfectly acceptable to drive as is.

the carbs comment is slightly worrying so I'll insist he puts it back to stock before I buy (if I do) - last thing I want is to be missing bits.

[john.p.clegg]

Yes you're correct there, the steering wheel boss sure is UGLY,and as for the stromberg head with dellorto's fitted????
John

[1964 S1]

The steering wheel is all wrong, keep the horn button, ditch the rest. Here a Spitfire wheel fits, looks great, can be had for about fifteen bucks, Lotus horn button fits it fine. Then, when one of those flimiscal whimsical original +2 wheels comes on ebay, try and buy it for about $300.
My Strombergs have never given me problems.
The dash looks beautiful, just don't peek behind it.... It'd be a bit tricky buying this car, I'd either try and talk him way down and take it as is, as long as you get the Strombergs too, then do the carb switch. Or, I wouldn't "buy it" ie; pay for it, without hearing it run on the Strombergs if I was paying anywhere near his asking price.

[Arthur Dent]

Ok I called the guy and here's the skinny

the paint job is a low quality 10 footer.
the engine has been rebuilt with upgraded crank and pistions. 10.25:1 compression. balanced as well.
tranny and diff rebuilt
Its got Dellortos and a custom manifold on it now with a Stromberg head - he'll put the Strombergs back on first though.
new header
rad recored
new brakes and suspension bushings.
new tires
at the rear CV joint conversion using VW bits.
The dash was replaced, wiring apparently not mucked with
generator converted over to a lucas alternator
the interior has a few seams coming apart and centre console has a crack. carpet worn.
needs a voltage stabilizer.

origional chassis so this will need very close inspection

guy talked my ear off for twenty minutes but sounds promising so far! I'm seeing it tues or wed.

[1964 S1]

TO DO:

1.Check chassis thoroughly, have you read up on where to look?
2.VW parts????????very interesting, but heavy and ?? VW parts???
3.Voltage stabilizer faulty? How does he know? How does it affect performance?
4.Make sure it gets good and warm during the test drive, was the engine warm when you arrived? Don't be afraid to wind it out a bit in first and check the synchros going into second. Listen for any drive bearing noises at speed, rock the steering wheel (soon to be replaced if you fall in love with the car) back and forth slightly at speed, note, how's the car's feel? (this is when the love thing can happen) It sounds like it's got a lot going for it but you don't wanna buy a money pit... the chassis is the main thing, also, find out how the dash was changed without the electricals being messed with.

[john.p.clegg]

3:- the voltage stabilizer-if its shot the three guages will read wrong(oil pressure,eng.temp.fuel)no big deal,you can have an upgraded solid state one from me for a small fee.....fit and forget in ten minutes
John