Elan Plus 2 Buying Guidance

[G and the sauce]

Hello everyone- first post here. I currently own an Evora and have had two Elise's in the past. I have an opening in the garage and I've been doing research on the Elan. I've read buyers guides and the folks at LotusTalk suggested I came here for more specific Elan help. It's been a great resource so far!

I have a specific car I am looking at. Even though I've read about the Elan, reading about the chassis and applying that knowledge are two very different things. The car listing shows a fair amount of pictures of the undercarriage. Does anyone see anything concerning? For that matter, are there any specific things not pertaining to the chassis about this car in particular that I should notice from the pictures?

http://www.beverlyhillscarclub.com/1969 ... c-5657.htm

I would have the car professionally looked at but wanted to start here first in case there were obvious things I was missing. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[john.p.clegg]

Fit a battery and it might go
Fit some carbs and it would go better
Will sound great till you fit a silencer ( muffler ? )
Tyres look odd

Beverley Hills,the name rings a bell...hasn't this car been savaged before?

John

[G and the sauce]

Thanks John!

I did have a laugh about the missing battery. Other the other hand though, I admittedly didn't notice the carbs which scares me that I somehow overlooked that.

Good to know on the possible salvage. I'm waiting to hear back from the dealer on the history of the car so I'll be sure to dig into it deep.

Thanks again!

[KevJ+2]

Looks a nice car. Like mine, it seems like a crossover from +2 to +2S (early interior trim but with 'S' dashboard etc).
Shame for such a clean exterior not to fit new windscreen rubbers and inserts. The ones on there are shot.
Good luck.

[elanfan1]

The corrosion on the front crossmember looks to be a little more than surface rust and maybe is not long for this world. Considering that I'd wonder how bad the bits I can't see are.

[SimonH]

There is a company in the US, Vintage Performance Developments, that does a conversion to use Mikuni carbs to replace Strombergs and SUs on various cars.

They have made a set for the Lotus Twin Cam engine already, looks like a neat way to get rid of Strombergs if required, or if you don't have any!

[mbell]

Beverly Hill car club doesn't have a good reputation from what I've seen online but I've never had any dealings with them.

The car generally looks clean/tidy interior and body. But why was the battery, carbs, back box removed, is there something more serious. It's certainly going to need some work before it can be driven, fluids, hydraulic rebuilds, new doughnuts....

The chassis looks original with at least some surface rust. Hard to know for sure from the photo's if it's just surface rust or more of an issue. I would want to be looking at the bottom of the front towers very carefully.

[john.p.clegg]

Not salvaged but "savaged", "Beverly Hill car club doesn't have a good reputation from what I've seen online " ,and comments on this site....

John

[pharriso]

Beverly Hills Car Club always has a huge inventory of Barn finds & Abandoned restorations.

It's easy to see what you are buying, much better than cars that are slap dash resprayed, re-assembled & sold as restored. Just go in with your eyes open & ask around as you are doing here...

My favorite has to be this Porsche 912 - http://www.beverlyhillscarclub.com/1967-porsche-912-c-5027.htm

[G and the sauce]

Beverly Hills Car Club always has a huge inventory of Barn finds & Abandoned restorations.

It's easy to see what you are buying, much better than cars that are slap dash resprayed, re-assembled & sold as restored. Just go in with your eyes open & ask around as you are doing here...

My favorite has to be this Porsche 912 - http://www.beverlyhillscarclub.com/1967-porsche-912-c-5027.htm

Interestingly enough, that Porsche has carbs, unlike the Lotus

[G and the sauce]

Thanks to everyone for their takes on the car. I think it is clear this car needs work and based on your responses I can gather some price quotes on the most necessary repairs and make a decision on if it is worth it or not to pursue based on the price of the car. I also now have better questions I can ask of the dealer- though I wouldn't be surprised if they don't have answers.

I always read dealer reviews with a grain of salt. Some people buy cars sight unseen and don't ask questions then complain about the car when it arrives. I've read the negative reviews along with the positive ones and they wouldn't stop me from buying a car from this dealer. I would however not buy from them without a full inspection.

I do agree with Pharriso- There is benefit to seeing a car at its worse to fully understand what it needs as opposed to buying a half restored car that may or may not have been done right.

The car in the link below is also for sale in the US is an example of that. I love that there is a video of it and that they have many receipts for the work but based on the interior and the paint chipping around the doors, the work may not have been well done:

http://www.leftcoastclassics.com/1973-l ... an-plus-2/

http://youtu.be/j7eDEYSHUjg

[gus]

No exhaust, no battery, no carbs, bet the engine is toast

It is a regular non S Federal +2. Dash has been refinished as the lettering is not quite correct [arrows etc] but looks good. Not an S dash

Was much dirtier, look at the close up interior shots, what is on the drivers seat, steering wheel is grimy,

Assume: chassis is bad, engine is bad, paint is worse than the pictures[not that shiny for pro pics]

on the upside, for the right number, lots of details are there. and nothing big appears to be missing.

When you cannot drive a car you cannot tell if any of the expensive stuff works.

engine?
trans?
diff?
brakes?
chassis?
shocks?

Half that asking price would be a deal if the body work is presentable, assuming half the above are good

you do the math in the middle.

running Plus twos aren't 5 grand anymore, but I would think not running ones are not near 20

JMHO

[roblotus79]

Good luck with the search.

I came across this while wasting time on the internet. I have no affiliation. At current exchange rates, the asking is $19,500 USD almost the same as the car you are considering.

This one has been converted to Webers and seems to have all the trim pieces intact on it.

http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/car ... 75851.html

Cheers

Rob

[denicholls2]

I agree with a valuation around half the asking price. The yellow one appears well-worn, but worth a lot more. Pictures are often taken badly and hard to go by, but what I see is basically a project that sat in the backyard for a decade, got a mopping up and a cheap respray to look less shabby for sale and is now hoping for an unwary buyer.

To make it right you likely need to remove all of the paint, do the underlying bodywork right and start over. So the part that's attracting some is actually one of the worst features.

Starting with this car, add about the cost of the yellow one and you'd have a Stromberg head car that's about in the condition of the yellow one. You can do better. Or, if you're ambitious, you could offer 8k and see what happens...

[gus]

Nothing I see wrong with the yellow car, bit of patina[dash wrinkles, underhood etc] and of course if it is an original chassis it must be examined