Purchasing a 71 Elan
Discussion
Hey, found a really nice Lotus Elan in town here. It's not all together but all the hard restoration work is done and the body is beautiful. All the parts are supposed to be there and it has 2 engines and trannies and one is supposed to be a big valve racing engine. What is a good price for that?
Veyr difficult to price, Hiens, without seeing it, but if all the pieces are genuinely there and in good condition, with excellent bodywork and only requiring re-assembly, I'd hazard a guess at around the £7.5K mark for a Series 4 drophead. Maybe £500-£1000 less if it's a fixed head.
That's taking into account the spare engine and transmission, of course... if there's genuinely a race spec. Big Valve in the deal, then the spare engine alone (if fully rebuilt and in ready to fit condition) could be worth £2.5K upwards (though you need to check what is meant by 'race spec.'; it could be anything from a big valve head with a decent set of cams giving 135-140bhp to something with an all steel 1800cc bottom end that will churn out over 180bhp and be worth upwards of £5K on its own).
That's taking into account the spare engine and transmission, of course... if there's genuinely a race spec. Big Valve in the deal, then the spare engine alone (if fully rebuilt and in ready to fit condition) could be worth £2.5K upwards (though you need to check what is meant by 'race spec.'; it could be anything from a big valve head with a decent set of cams giving 135-140bhp to something with an all steel 1800cc bottom end that will churn out over 180bhp and be worth upwards of £5K on its own).
Hiens, that's not an Elan, it's a Plus 2!
Values are very much lower than they are for the 2-seater Elan.
What sort or carburettors does it have fitted - I can't tell from the photo because someone has draped a cloth over them, but if it is Strombergs it will reduce the value still further.
Interior condition can be crucial on Plus 2's as well... many had oatmeal coloured vinyl upholtery that doesn't wear well and there are a lot of instruments and electrics to refurbish.
Is it a 4 speed or a 5 speed gearbox (it should be a 4 speed on that model, but they can have been swapped over the years)? 4 speeds are much nicer to use, but the 5 speeds are a bit more valuable because of their rarity.
Value will now be very dependent upon the condition and specification of the spare engine and gearbox.
Car itself (depending upon completeness, interior condition, typre of carburettors etc.) is probably going to be worth around £2500 - £3500 (you can find a nice, roadworthy Plus 2 for around £4500). Assuming the spare gearbox is reputed to be in good working order (diffcult to check, of course) it's worth maybe £350 for a 4-speed and £750 for a 5 speed. The Big Valve 'race' engine could be anything from £1500-£1750 for a 'standard' Big Valve in good order through to £7,500 - £8,000 for a proper race spec engine by a recognised Twin Cam specialist. Obviously, prices for the full 'package' would be down to negotiation, but should be less than the sum total of the figures given above.
edited to add... if you are mercenary, there may be profits to be had from breaking the car. You can easily sell the shell to someone wanting a Spyder Zetec conversion (contact Spyder Engineering and they'll give you a value and probably put you in touch with a prospective purchaser), then sell the engines, gearboxes and suspension components separately.
Values are very much lower than they are for the 2-seater Elan.
What sort or carburettors does it have fitted - I can't tell from the photo because someone has draped a cloth over them, but if it is Strombergs it will reduce the value still further.
Interior condition can be crucial on Plus 2's as well... many had oatmeal coloured vinyl upholtery that doesn't wear well and there are a lot of instruments and electrics to refurbish.
Is it a 4 speed or a 5 speed gearbox (it should be a 4 speed on that model, but they can have been swapped over the years)? 4 speeds are much nicer to use, but the 5 speeds are a bit more valuable because of their rarity.
Value will now be very dependent upon the condition and specification of the spare engine and gearbox.
Car itself (depending upon completeness, interior condition, typre of carburettors etc.) is probably going to be worth around £2500 - £3500 (you can find a nice, roadworthy Plus 2 for around £4500). Assuming the spare gearbox is reputed to be in good working order (diffcult to check, of course) it's worth maybe £350 for a 4-speed and £750 for a 5 speed. The Big Valve 'race' engine could be anything from £1500-£1750 for a 'standard' Big Valve in good order through to £7,500 - £8,000 for a proper race spec engine by a recognised Twin Cam specialist. Obviously, prices for the full 'package' would be down to negotiation, but should be less than the sum total of the figures given above.
edited to add... if you are mercenary, there may be profits to be had from breaking the car. You can easily sell the shell to someone wanting a Spyder Zetec conversion (contact Spyder Engineering and they'll give you a value and probably put you in touch with a prospective purchaser), then sell the engines, gearboxes and suspension components separately.
Edited by Sam_68 on Wednesday 14th February 12:56
£5k euros is about £3,350, so that's not unreasonable.
Make sure everything is there and usable, though... some stuff like electric window switches and chromed bumpers are not just about impossible to obtain, and lots of other things are quite expensive, even secondhand, so restoration/rebuild costs can escalate rapidly on a car that's not going to be worth much above &7,500 even in excellent all-round condition.
I'll be honest, though... if you aren't familiar with Elans, you might be better starting with a complete, working car rather than taking on a rebuild project with no real idea of what you're letting yourself in for.
Make sure everything is there and usable, though... some stuff like electric window switches and chromed bumpers are not just about impossible to obtain, and lots of other things are quite expensive, even secondhand, so restoration/rebuild costs can escalate rapidly on a car that's not going to be worth much above &7,500 even in excellent all-round condition.
I'll be honest, though... if you aren't familiar with Elans, you might be better starting with a complete, working car rather than taking on a rebuild project with no real idea of what you're letting yourself in for.
Gassing Station | General Lotus Stuff | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff