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Dealer registered 1973 Sprint For Sale Never been titled!

PostPosted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 2:11 am
by memini55
This is a really nice Sprint which the old midwest dealer has never titled with 5800 miles for sale on Ebay.
I have seen this car both as new in the old dealership and recently at the Nissian dealership.

I wonder what it will bring as a time capsule????

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... K:MEWAX:IT

The brothers of the old dealership are great guys and I hope someone makes it a nice home.
It is 22 miles from my home.

Mark

Re: Dealer registered 1973 Sprint For Sale Never been titled

PostPosted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 4:54 pm
by types26/36
That is a nice looking car, I see the wheels are silver but the spare wheel is black. (at the back anyway)....did the US Sprints have silver wheels? if not I wonder why he painted them while keeping the rest of the car very original

Re: Dealer registered 1973 Sprint For Sale Never been titled

PostPosted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 5:31 pm
by ardee_selby
types26/36 wrote:snip ....did the US Sprints have silver wheels?


...and cast iron exhaust manifolds (headers)?

Amazing that such cars are still being uncovered.

Cheers - Richard

Re: Dealer registered 1973 Sprint For Sale Never been titled

PostPosted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 5:51 pm
by memini55
He took the car to Chicago and had the motor freshened with header and exhaust. All stock parts are there with car, so it has had some refinements. Wheels I think were silver and black on the back side. Could be wrong.

Re: Dealer registered 1973 Sprint For Sale Never been titled

PostPosted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 5:48 pm
by memini55
Since the listing ran out I thought I would toss out an update. Owner has three people working to make a sale.
I am sure everyone wants to know a price, he wants $50K US.

Now that would take some serious thought?? Anyone care to comment on that price.

Mark

Re: Dealer registered 1973 Sprint For Sale Never been titled

PostPosted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 7:38 pm
by garyeanderson
If you took a rat Sprint (my friend has one that he pulled out of the woods for nothing) and dumped $25k into he'd have a real nice restored Sprint. Whats the rat worth? $10k? whats a nice running un-restored Sprint worth here in the U.S.? I don't know and this is where it gets fuzzy in the brain. I think the mileage on the $50k was 5000 miles, if say over the next 10 or 12 years you put 400 a year going to local events and showing it at some other events with an enclosed trailer then you may end up with a 49 to 50 year old Sprint with 12k miles or maybe a bit under. Would you double your money? Who knows? but you would have a nice little weekend hobby and a lot of fun for $5k plus a bit each year. What's 12 years of golf cost you and what do you have when your done?

Re: Dealer registered 1973 Sprint For Sale Never been titled

PostPosted: Tue Aug 09, 2011 1:05 am
by cabc26b
Anyone care to comment on that price


Memini55 - Yes I would . I like that price . there are many contemporaries of the elan that routinely bring this kind of money ( these peers IMO are neither as rare nor as good a sports car)

its about time ....

George

Re: Dealer registered 1973 Sprint For Sale Never been titled

PostPosted: Tue Aug 09, 2011 6:15 am
by trw99
types26/36 wrote:That is a nice looking car, I see the wheels are silver but the spare wheel is black. (at the back anyway)....did the US Sprints have silver wheels? if not I wonder why he painted them while keeping the rest of the car very original


This Sprint was a S4 and made in late 1970. It then sat around at Hethel before being converted to Sprint spec in December 1971, as did a number of other Federal Sprints. Similar to the 79 domestic S4/Sprints Lotus produced. Most, if not all, of those cars had the S4 silver wheels. The engine has clearly been 'refreshed' in a number of areas.

$50,000 roughly equates to ?30,000, probably the area that a dealer would advertise this at in the UK, though lately dealers seem to think the market in Sprints is worth up to another ?10,000 on top of that for some insane reason!

Tim

Re: Dealer registered 1973 Sprint For Sale Never been titled

PostPosted: Sat Oct 22, 2011 7:12 pm
by cchs79
Anybody know if this car was sold?

Re: Dealer registered 1973 Sprint For Sale Never been titled

PostPosted: Sat Oct 22, 2011 10:01 pm
by memini55
If you want to know call the source and ask for Pat Lind General Manager. It was his car that was for sale.
Carousel Motors
809 Highway 1 West
Iowa City, IA 52244
(319) 354-2550

I'm sure he would be happy to talk with you about the car.

Mark

Re: Dealer registered 1973 Sprint For Sale Never been titled

PostPosted: Tue Nov 26, 2013 6:20 pm
by trw99
I have today been contacted by Pat Lind via my web site. He still has the S4/Sprint and is selling it, this time at the Gooding & Co Scotsdale auction in January 2014 (See http://www.goodingco.com/vehicle/1973-l ... oupe/#tab2). He would really like the car to go to an Elan enthusiast.

From when it was listed back in 2011, I have the following information:

This was the last Lotus Elan Sprint Coupe delivered to our Lotus dealership in Waterloo, Iowa on November 21 1972. VIN 36/0028J, engine # T/23827. List price: $6,247 Added to the car upon arrival: 4 Dunlop Formula 70 SP Sport radial tires 175-70-HR 13; One pair Coco floor mats; One set Maserati air horns; One Audiovox AM/FM radio; One pair Lucas headlamp conversions; 4 factory Lotus 3-eared knock-offs; One MG Mitten car cover. Over the next 18 months and 5753 miles, the car was used as a ?demo? by one of the owners of the dealership. The car now has 5867 miles (now standing at just over 6000). It has never been sold at retail and is still on the original MSO. Carefully stored away until 2007, this car was refreshed by a factory-trained Lotus mechanic. The seats, floor mats and tires are all originals fitted to the car 40 years ago. The mileage is 100% correct and original. All documents, original parts, extra keys, owner?s manual etc. are with the car. The original window sticker and the manufacturer?s statement of origin to a motor vehicle are complete and are included.

This car is like a member of the family and like any old car there are some ?character? issues. 1 - The dash is original and has some cracks; some of the switches are faded. Everything works, but they have lost their original color. 2 - The paint is original and excellent (for a Lotus). 3 - In 2007 the Lotus mechanic upgraded the car in a few areas, the rubber brake lines were replaced with steel-braided lines for safety and the original cast-iron manifold and the complete exhaust system were replaced with a special header and a coated exhaust system (the originals are available).

Pat can be contacted via the dealership web site http://www.carouselmotors.com

This Sprint is one of a batch of seven Federal S4/Sprints that I know of, which appear to have been converted from S4 to Sprint spec at the factory at the end of 1971. As such, they would have been fitted with the silver wheels. There may have been as many as a dozen FHCs so converted, though we have no way of knowing for sure.
Tim

Re: Dealer registered 1973 Sprint For Sale Never been titled

PostPosted: Wed Nov 27, 2013 2:19 am
by pharriso
"Estimate: $50,000 - $70,000"

Good luck with that.