Early S1 - advice sought please

[dunclentdr]

May I ask for thoughts and advice on a early S1 DHC that is for sale.

Having had contact with the owner it seems to have been sold by Bonhams some years ago and is a Bourne bodied original DHC. It has had a change of engine at some point and also a replacement chassis.

I have attached photos of the interior and engine bay, some of my thoughts are:-

Interior - this doesn't look very good to me, as if it has been re-done poorly. the dash appears wrong and I thought dials were originally black-rimmed rather than chrome.

Engine bay - I know the cam cover is wrong! I am more interested in how to tell whether it is the original Bourne body - the small plate is in view but how do I know this hasn't just been stuck on!!?

Thanks, all thoughts welcomed.

David

[mazlot]

My car is in the early 200's, things that are incorrect for this car are

Bourne tag is not in the correct spot
Lotus chassis plate is a later version
Throttle cable is incorrect
Starter solenoid incorrect
Wrong dash, should have a separate glove box
Instruments should be black surround
Windscreen frame is a later version

[bitsobrits]

I agree with Davids comments.

My car is body #170, unit #150.

With all the changes made to the car, it's hard to tell if it's really an early S1 with lots of mods or a "retitled" later car. Can you provide a picture of the interior door handles? Early S1's had a different design from later S1/S2s.

On the handful of Bourne cars I have seen the fiberglass joints visible in the upper wheel arches and bottom trunk area are generally pretty poor, but that is much less definitive.

[john.p.clegg]

,,,and I don't like the fuel pipes ,throttle cables and vacuum pipe routing...

spaghetti

John

[Elanintheforest]

There is enough wrong with the car to ring some alarm bells and really, as presented, it's guilty until proven innocent!

I don't know of any obvious differences between the Bourne body and the Lotus body, other than there were quality issues with the Bourne one, They used the same moulds initially, and it was just the quality of the workmanship at Bourne that was the difference.

Check out the interior door handles, window lift handle and clutch / brake peddles to make sure they are S1 and not S2. Also check out the rear panel to see if the later lights were once fitted, but separate lights subsequently retro-fitted.

Does it have S1 or S2 lamp protectors in the boot, and a screw-on filler cap or a flip up cap?

None of that proves it was a Bourne body of course, and it could even have been re-bodied in period. Or it could be an S2 with an S1 identity.

The engine looks like it has the later head, and I'll bet those are not the early type webers fitted. Does it have the original close ratio box fitted? I doubt that as well!

If the answer to that lot is that it's all S2 then give the car a wide berth, unless it is very cheap. With no provenance and so much wrong with the car, it doesn't have a lot going for it, from a 'collector' point of view. But if the price is right it could well be a fun car, or another 26R replica.

Mark

[dunclentdr]

Thanks for all the advice - I'll pass - it has been on sale for a while now...

http://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/det ... lan/116020

David

[pharriso]

I don't know of any obvious differences between the Bourne body and the Lotus body, other than there were quality issues with the Bourne one, They used the same moulds initially, and it was just the quality of the workmanship at Bourne that was the difference.

Mark

Bourne bodies also had a grey gel coat.

Agreed on general comments on this car, pass...

[rodlittle]

From what I can see in the pictures compared to mine , unit 67, the Bourne plate is in the correct position.
Bourne bodies were made from slate filled fibreglass so the body will be grey under the paint.
The engine is obviously wrong as is the steering wheel, the windscreen surround, the fuel piping, the throttle mechanism, the dashboard the instrument rims and the starter relay. Its more likely an S2, but underneath it all and stripping off all the improvements made over the years it may have been an S1 once but I wouldnt think its worth much
cheers
rod