Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

hello there
i am seeking a lotus elan type 1,2,3 or 4 for restoration in united kingdom.........what sort of price will i expect to pay for a lotus elan which needs a complete rebuild.....regards neil.

Hmmm - How long is a bit of string? Really down to how much needs doing and whether all the bits are there if it is a complete basket case. Keep an eye in the club lotus / lotus driver mags plus the other usual classic car mags. Also woth having a word with paul matty

expect to pay from ?2500-4000 for a S4, S3 - the DHC being more desirable than FHC. Hardest thing is actually finding and getting hold of one though. S1 and S2's will be a bit more though you might struggle to find one of these for restoration.

Wayne.

Neil,
A "65" S2 was just sold on Ebay for ?6100 it required extensive work though maybe not a total rebuild but that is debateable.
The auction has finished but you may still be able to see it ?? item 2446951674
I still have it on my computer so if you are interested in haveing a look mail me and I will try to send it on.
Brian.

do not do it

i bought one 20 years ago for ?800 and that cost me ?6K to restore

i bought another four or five years ago for ?4.5 k and spent a total of ?18K

all labour incuding painting by me

last one is up for sale

still have the first one

Neil

I think your plan is OK provided that the project car is as cheap as possible and you are able to do much of the work yourself.

If you have to pay to have it done then forget it as Kevin suggests unless you are very wealthy in which case just go and buy one

A decent series Elan is going to set you back 10-12K maybe more, so if you can find one under ?3000 it gives you a reasonable parts budget and you will at least know what you have at the end of the project.

Kevin, I'm not sure I could spend ?18K on mine even if I was trying really hard



John

Neil,

Purely personal experience, but I was looking for quite a while for an S4 or Sprint, I found one through Club Lotus mag with a host of new shiny bits (door handles etc) c/w new (undrilled chassis) new brakes and suspension, engine, g/box, diff rebuilt and loads of other new parts. At not a cheap price but a fair price (in my opinion). Had Richard Winter (Europa Engineering) paint it (again not cheap) but to me worth it.

I hope to have a really nice example when it is completed. So really it is all down to what you can afford to pay, the cars are still about if you look long and hard enough, but please have your eyes wide open when viewing, cos they can cost an awful lot of brass if not.

Doug