Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

I was pleased to hear an update of my first ever Elan but I was wondering if anyone knows where these are?

A S2 in yellow KAL 724D

A pistachio/white Sprint dhc KLG 929L

and finally an orange Sprint dhc TGK 44M

thanks,

Mark.

Mark

Sprint TGK 44M is a 72 car apparently, on site: http://anthony.mathersworld.com Was once owned by Steve Cropley, the car journalist. Car taken to Oz when current owner emigrated at turn of millennium

Sprint KLG 929L is shown by DVLA as un-taxed since 1986. It was first registered in Chester on 3 Aug 72.

KAL 724D is shown as being untaxed since 1995.

Tim

Tim,

many thanks for your update,

Mark.

Sometimes I search for old films on YouTube of random hill climbs, hoping to spot my car. I think there's something wrong with me.

I only wish I had kept them all as it's sad to think that two of them are not currently taxed and off the road.

Hopefully they will be rescued/returned to the road soon

Not taxed and off the road could mean that they've been exported. I think the regulations in those days were a lot more lax then they are today. I sold my S3 in 1990, the guy I sold it too moved overseas but didn't notify the DVLA, I get the same message from the DVLA website if I enter it's registration number.

thanks Mazzini,

so there's a fair chance that they've been exported.. maybe someone outside on the forum, outside of the UK, may know of these cars (if they knew the UK registrations?)

For so few cars produced ( Elans & +2's) there is a huge survival rate by percentage, certainly over 30% and most likely well over 50% of cars produced survive either on the road or as projects waiting their turn, or even exported on the road or again waiting their turn.

Elans were not cheap everyday cars that were bought on a whim, and you had to be well heeled and perhaps a bit eccentric to buy a new one back in the day even in component form ( which just proved your eccentricity).

Consequently there is a really good proportionate chance that any car owned back in the day still exists today. Compare this to an MGB and there's little chance what you bought in the 60s and 70s still exists. ( over 500,000 MGB & GTs built and according to How many left website there are less than 20,000 left on the road in the UK so that's 5%.......

People who walk past my very public garage go all gooey eyed and weak at the knees when they see my Elans, our cars are special and don't get scrapped for no good reason especially in the past 25 years or so.

Fingers crossed you will see or maybe even own them again.

If you have a record of the Chasis/VIn number for the car you might be able to see if its listed on the elan registry http://www.elanregistry.org. But if you only know the reg number your probably out of luck if it has been exported.

Saying that I have exported UK +2 which is still in the DVLA database even thou it's was exported going on 25 years ago. As there is a chance I'll return to the UK and bring the car with me I have no plans to tell the DVLA anything as it should be easier for me to get it registered that way.

I have recently managed to dig up the registration numbers of my previous Elans (old photos and people with better memories than me).

Does anybody know the whereabouts of:

OMU 182E - a 1967 red S3 DHC, RHD. Last known of in the 2000s (?) and sold to somebody in Wales (?).

WLH 261G - a 1969 blue S4 DHC, RHD. Last known of in the mists of time. I sold it in the 1970s.

They were both in the UK, of course.

Nick

OMU 182E is listed as taxed and MOT?d and so is WLH 261G both are now listed as Red in colour. So that?s a 100% survival rate for your cars, thats good news if you didn?t already know. So hopefully tracking them down will be possible if you ask around enough.

Wow - very cool. Thanks. I didn't realize that this stuff can be found on gov.uk. Kinda weird to think that they're both still out there somewhere putting a smile on somebody's face (hopefully). Or scraping skin off their knuckles.

Anybody here?

Thanks again,

Nick

elanner wrote:I have recently managed to dig up the registration numbers of my previous Elans (old photos and people with better memories than me).

Does anybody know the whereabouts of:

WLH 261G - a 1969 blue S4 DHC, RHD. Last known of in the mists of time. I sold it in the 1970s.

They were both in the UK, of course.

Nick

Nick,

WLH261G was for sale at Barry Ely Sports Cars in 2014. It was red with gold bumpers, roll bar and a tuned engine.

Ha - thanks! I wonder if the current owner will let us/me know how the old love-of-my-life is running. Hopefully a tuned engine means that it no longer pinks at low revs like it used to (Bell & Colville never managed to fix it ).

Barry Ely Sports Cars is a mere 60 or so miles from the place that I bought it 40 years earlier.

Nick

I wish I had the chassis / VIN numbers of the cars I once had.
Unfortunately I?ve no idea what they were and without them it?s impossible to see if they exist outside of the UK.
It would seem that the survival rate is very good which is encouraging.

Mark