One of Colin Chapman’s most beautiful cars the Lotus Elan is one of the great British sports cars built with performance very much in mind.
A lightweight chassis and body with exemplary handling and a big valve spec engine fed by two large Weber carburettors ensured a very quick and agile 2+2 coupe, with looks to die for and super-cool pop-up headlights.
Nut and bolt rebuild over 2 years after 30 years in dry storage
Brand new galvanised chassis supplied by Lotus
15,000 miles since re-build in 2012
V5c present
Matching numbers car
Serviced by classic specialists throughout ownership
2 sets of keys
MOT exempt
Workshop manual
Comprehensive history file
Registration number included in sale
Taken apart and dry stored over 40 years ago by the previous owner, the car was subject to a complete ground up restoration in 2012, since which time it has covered only around 15,000 miles.Q6NuUXUG9x1R6IPRXYX3An1OkTe5cB4OcvXigCkc.jpeg265.13 KB
The Interior
Original interior
Good condition throughout
Rear seats fold down to a parcel shelf
The complete interior was carefully stored and packed away when the car was originally dismantled and carefully re-installed at the end of the restoration and it is all in very acceptable and presentable condition.
The wooden dashboard does have several small cracks in the varnish and all the instruments are clear and reported as all working correctly, and the period radio has been converted to accept and play mp3’s with an aux input wire.
The headlining and carpets are all pretty good and a set of newly fitted correct door cards finish the interior off very nicely, and for a fifty year old car there’s little to worry about except for some minor niggles of a non-working cigar lighter, map reading light and clock, all of which should be easy to put right.
The outside passenger door handle is also inoperable as it is believed to have come adrift from the internal lock mechanism, but again this should be an easy enough job to rectify.MrThRhr9BprogDZcUM95EuRqFVnInlk2JdqNhhYs.jpeg452.5 KB
The Exterior
Very nice overall condition
Good condition wheels with good tyres
Re-sprayed in classic Lotus colours
Completely re-sprayed during its restoration with a metal-flake silver roof and blue lagoon metallic paint the car looks fabulous and it’s only when you get up close that you’ll find some paint imperfections, the odd scratch here and there, and some crazing and the odd bubble in the paintwork.
There are a few stone chips at the front, inevitable on a car with such a low slanting nose, but it has to be said that overall the car presents itself very nicely and the pop-up headlights work correctly too.
Engine rebuilt by QED to big valve spec with QED high-lift cams in the mid 90's
New Stainless steel exhaust system
Brakes fully renovated and upgraded
CV drive-shafts conversion with metal splines
Electronic ignition fitted
Rebuilt carburettors
New galvanised chassis from Lotus
Re-built suspension all round with new bushes and shock absorbers
New aluminium fuel tank
New fuel and oil pumps
Extra isolator switch fitted in the boot
Re-built by Lotus enthusiasts and specialists after 30 years of dry storage this car has been subject to many upgrades and a complete renovation or replacement of all its moving parts.
Regularly serviced and maintained throughout its last 10 years since the renovation this lovely Lotus Elan drives like a dream and goes like the wind.
The heated rear window is the only thing reported to not be working and only recently it had the Weber carburettors refurbished and balanced with all new gaskets fitted.
Having been comprehensively restored using an original galvanised chassis supplied from Lotus, with some subtle and useful performance upgrades this car should certainly catch the eye of any Lotus or British sports car enthusiast looking for that very usable classic and iconic car, the +2 version even allowing for carrying two rear seat passengers.
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