Figuring Out What We Really Have

Update by Tim Suddard to the Lotus Elan project car
Dec 22, 2015

With the outside cleaned up a bit, the parts neatly laid out, and the interior cleaned up, what we have is still a mess.

On the outside, the car was originally bright red with silver bumpers. Someone repainted it black with gold bumpers—presumably in the mid ‘70s.

It has been left outside—again presumably from the late ‘70s—as there is a registration and insurance card in the glove box from 1978. The Michigan license plates on the car are from 1976. The fact the car has a glove box door is odd, as Series 1 cars typically did not. Since this is a late Series 1 car, we assume Lotus was beginning to add some Series 2 features when our car was produced.

The paint is so bad on the top surfaces that it is mostly gone, taking the gelcoat with it. There is mostly raw fiberglass showing on the hood and all over the top of the body.

The side surfaces are less damaged. The windshield is broken, as is the passenger side glass.

The top frame and window surrounds are present but damaged and rusty. The gauges are present, and not in bad shape. The wood in the steering wheel is absolutely toast.

The seats were bad. At some point snow had crushed the top after the frame rusted. They had to be taken out with a scoop. Even the frames are not salvageable.

The wire mesh that is bonded in and supports the body also has some areas that have rusted through. The interior door panels are also rubbish and were recovered in hideous green/gold velour sometime in the ‘70s. Awful shag carpeting was installed over the original vinyl flooring at the same time

As for body damage, it is extensive. The hit to the left rear was bad enough to bend the frame, crack the left rear upright, bend the shock housing, rear A-frame and left rear axle.

The entire trunk area and rear deck lid are missing. Oddly, the tail panel and lights are intact and in relatively good shape. The left rear wheel is bent beyond any practical repair.

Up front, the engine compartment is in relatively unscathed and unmolested condition with everything—save the addition of a tacky air horn. The radiator and air cleaner are missing. The grille and hood are present and the other three original wheels are present and seemingly unscathed. One of the original hubcaps is okay. One was so badly rusted that the chrome was intact, while the steel it was attached to, is totally gone.

The engine, transmission and original Weber carburetors were stored inside and seem complete right down to the generator and starter. We were told they were rebuilt, but the overall grease and grime on the engine do not help validate that claim.

Underneath, the floorpans are quite intact and the frame surprisingly does not appear to be rusty.

All in all, the situation is quite desperate. The smart move would be to quickly part the few remaining good parts and the drivetrain, make a tidy profit for our troubles and use that money to purchase a restorable Elan.

But that doesn’t make near as fun a story series, so we are going to move forward and begin to find the parts and expertise we need to restore this seemingly unrestorable late Series 1 Elan to concours condition.

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