Getting a 71 S4 Sprint back on the road
Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2018 4:01 pm
As promised in my Intro thread, I'll start this thread on the re-commissioning of an Elan I've just bought.
This is my first Lotus and though I've had one on my radar for quite a while, the purchase of this car came in a bit of a rush. The car appeared on a Classic 911 site that I frequent, firstly it was a Sprint, so it was the spec I wanted and secondly it was only 15 miles from home, and being as that I live in Northern Ireland, where these are exceedingly rare, this made it a must to view.
The seller is actually someone I know quite well, but I'd forgotten that he had an Elan, as the car has been off the road for 20 years. The ad was very comprehensive, listing what had been done to the car and what was known of its history, but it was accompanied by a set of pics that showed it covered in a thick layer of "barn find" dust and the engine was removed from the car, so to most it probably looked a basket case. However, I knew that the owner is a pretty good car engineer and also a straight talker, so having his phone nr to hand I had an advantage over other interested (GB sited) parties viewing his internet only ad. So I booked a viewing for the next day and needless to say the purchase was made.
So what have I got? Fortunately, contact had previously been made with Tim Wilkes, so I had in my hand an email to the owner confirming that the car was a S4 Sprint, it also mentioned that the car had been supplied to Bell & Colvill, being one of 3 delivered in February 1971, this provided the confidence in what the advert had claimed. I have since been in contact with Tim and provided more details of the car, all of which verify the above. Tim suggested I email Bell & Colvill to see if they had any further details, and to my surprise yesterday I received a phone call from Martin Colvill himself ! He confirmed that the car had been delivered in Component form, registered in Guilford on Reg Nr EPH 567J and had formed part of their Demonstrator fleet. All fantastic news.
Here's the blurb from the advert, which I'm sure you'll find to be of interest.......
"What have I got ?? (should know as I've owned it for 28 years !!)
Not sure where to start with this one ! It was owned by a friend of ours from somewhere around 1980 / maybe late 70?s . He got married , went off in his honeymoon in it , came home .... and guess what ? .... it just sat there for many years.
I stumbled across it in conversation with him in the mid 1980?s trying to buy it for many years ? getting interrupted by me buying my first 911 in 1985 (the 2.4 E that I sold here just over a year ago).
Anyway ... I eventually got it in June / July 1990 , and within a few weeks had it back on the road ! (after clearing out ... among other things ... confetti !)
I see my first MOT here with 87,107 miles on it in August 1990 (previous owners last MOT was in Oct 1983 with 86818 miles ... hmm , 289 miles in 7 years) I used it a lot at first. Started doing sprints in it / Circuit of Ireland retrospective rallies ... and lots of road use.
Over the next few years , it got a full mechanical overhaul which among other things included the following :
Full engine rebuild ... the works , to standard spec
Full Gearbox rebuild ? bearings / syncros as necessary
Rear diff rebuild - including fitting a new LSD
New suspension all round ? dampers and springs . Koni dampers from memory , and modified springs (rears made for me ? fronts from Tony Thompson) to lower car a bit , and make it slightly stiffer
Brakes all overhauled ? hydraulic hand brake fitted (my design) - original mechanical handbrake kept as well ... MOT !!
Spyder driveshaft conversion fitted (one CV joint , one rubber per side job)
New brake servo fitted
New uprated radiator fitted
And lots of other things ... have lots of receipts.
Essentially NO bodywork done ? a replacement chassis had been fitted by previous owner and all looked / looks grand still. Little or no work done to joints / bushes / wheel bearings / discs. It got a new front bumper after a tyre wall whoopsie at Nutts Corner , and that was about it ... new fuel pump springs to mind along with some new joints in propshaft.
I put it back on the road briefly in 1997 , when it had covered 93948 miles at MOT in June 1997 , and it?s now showing 94402 , so 454 miles in the last 21 years !!
The engine however has done a few hundred more ... and here is the story why ... and why it?s not in the car !!
Circuit of Ireland historic rally ... about two years back (or was it 3 ?? ... no idea). I had borrowed a Mk1 Cortina, to use in the event (Lotus engine)... and having passed scrutiny for the event , was 13 hrs from the rally starting, when we discovered blown head gasket. No replacement , and even if I could have got one ... no point, as this was 2nd failure in 3 weeks ... clearly something amiss !!
What to do ?? Answer was obvious ... take the engine (which had not run for approx 20 years) out of my Elan. 4 of us started at about 9pm , and by 5am , having worked all night it was up and running, and ready to rally. We completed the 2 day event without a hitch , after 2 hours sleep ... mad , but very satisfying. Engine was taken back out a few days later , but has not got reunited with Elan ................ yet !!"
So mechanically the car is in good shape, the BV engine having the script that is read from the front, so it ties in with an early build/upgrade. It has a hump bonnet, the ignition switch on the dash and the correct side badges. The chassis was changed to an early Spyder version in 1980. The paintwork needs attention, it's currently solid red without any side stripes, so will see if I can find what the delivered paint schemes was when I do some sanding.
Here's a pic from the ad in it's "as is state" plus what it looked like when the hose was turned on it. Sorry no other pics at present, but will keep the thread updated as the rebuild develops
This is my first Lotus and though I've had one on my radar for quite a while, the purchase of this car came in a bit of a rush. The car appeared on a Classic 911 site that I frequent, firstly it was a Sprint, so it was the spec I wanted and secondly it was only 15 miles from home, and being as that I live in Northern Ireland, where these are exceedingly rare, this made it a must to view.
The seller is actually someone I know quite well, but I'd forgotten that he had an Elan, as the car has been off the road for 20 years. The ad was very comprehensive, listing what had been done to the car and what was known of its history, but it was accompanied by a set of pics that showed it covered in a thick layer of "barn find" dust and the engine was removed from the car, so to most it probably looked a basket case. However, I knew that the owner is a pretty good car engineer and also a straight talker, so having his phone nr to hand I had an advantage over other interested (GB sited) parties viewing his internet only ad. So I booked a viewing for the next day and needless to say the purchase was made.
So what have I got? Fortunately, contact had previously been made with Tim Wilkes, so I had in my hand an email to the owner confirming that the car was a S4 Sprint, it also mentioned that the car had been supplied to Bell & Colvill, being one of 3 delivered in February 1971, this provided the confidence in what the advert had claimed. I have since been in contact with Tim and provided more details of the car, all of which verify the above. Tim suggested I email Bell & Colvill to see if they had any further details, and to my surprise yesterday I received a phone call from Martin Colvill himself ! He confirmed that the car had been delivered in Component form, registered in Guilford on Reg Nr EPH 567J and had formed part of their Demonstrator fleet. All fantastic news.
Here's the blurb from the advert, which I'm sure you'll find to be of interest.......
"What have I got ?? (should know as I've owned it for 28 years !!)
Not sure where to start with this one ! It was owned by a friend of ours from somewhere around 1980 / maybe late 70?s . He got married , went off in his honeymoon in it , came home .... and guess what ? .... it just sat there for many years.
I stumbled across it in conversation with him in the mid 1980?s trying to buy it for many years ? getting interrupted by me buying my first 911 in 1985 (the 2.4 E that I sold here just over a year ago).
Anyway ... I eventually got it in June / July 1990 , and within a few weeks had it back on the road ! (after clearing out ... among other things ... confetti !)
I see my first MOT here with 87,107 miles on it in August 1990 (previous owners last MOT was in Oct 1983 with 86818 miles ... hmm , 289 miles in 7 years) I used it a lot at first. Started doing sprints in it / Circuit of Ireland retrospective rallies ... and lots of road use.
Over the next few years , it got a full mechanical overhaul which among other things included the following :
Full engine rebuild ... the works , to standard spec
Full Gearbox rebuild ? bearings / syncros as necessary
Rear diff rebuild - including fitting a new LSD
New suspension all round ? dampers and springs . Koni dampers from memory , and modified springs (rears made for me ? fronts from Tony Thompson) to lower car a bit , and make it slightly stiffer
Brakes all overhauled ? hydraulic hand brake fitted (my design) - original mechanical handbrake kept as well ... MOT !!
Spyder driveshaft conversion fitted (one CV joint , one rubber per side job)
New brake servo fitted
New uprated radiator fitted
And lots of other things ... have lots of receipts.
Essentially NO bodywork done ? a replacement chassis had been fitted by previous owner and all looked / looks grand still. Little or no work done to joints / bushes / wheel bearings / discs. It got a new front bumper after a tyre wall whoopsie at Nutts Corner , and that was about it ... new fuel pump springs to mind along with some new joints in propshaft.
I put it back on the road briefly in 1997 , when it had covered 93948 miles at MOT in June 1997 , and it?s now showing 94402 , so 454 miles in the last 21 years !!
The engine however has done a few hundred more ... and here is the story why ... and why it?s not in the car !!
Circuit of Ireland historic rally ... about two years back (or was it 3 ?? ... no idea). I had borrowed a Mk1 Cortina, to use in the event (Lotus engine)... and having passed scrutiny for the event , was 13 hrs from the rally starting, when we discovered blown head gasket. No replacement , and even if I could have got one ... no point, as this was 2nd failure in 3 weeks ... clearly something amiss !!
What to do ?? Answer was obvious ... take the engine (which had not run for approx 20 years) out of my Elan. 4 of us started at about 9pm , and by 5am , having worked all night it was up and running, and ready to rally. We completed the 2 day event without a hitch , after 2 hours sleep ... mad , but very satisfying. Engine was taken back out a few days later , but has not got reunited with Elan ................ yet !!"
So mechanically the car is in good shape, the BV engine having the script that is read from the front, so it ties in with an early build/upgrade. It has a hump bonnet, the ignition switch on the dash and the correct side badges. The chassis was changed to an early Spyder version in 1980. The paintwork needs attention, it's currently solid red without any side stripes, so will see if I can find what the delivered paint schemes was when I do some sanding.
Here's a pic from the ad in it's "as is state" plus what it looked like when the hose was turned on it. Sorry no other pics at present, but will keep the thread updated as the rebuild develops