Lotus Elan 1967 DHC orig black plate California Car, well sorted 4 summer fun!!!

I am very excited to offer a very unique. very well sorted. Series 3 DHC Elan SE. This car is believed at one point to have been the personal car of the renowned Long Beach California Lotus dealer and local icon Lou Mirabelle. There are invoices and documentation dating back to the 1990's including a bill of sale from Kensington motors in 1997 along with the original handbook. This black plate car is registered in California until July 2015.

     The car is very complete. functional and road ready and could immediately be used on a daily basis if desired. Recently it has had the rear suspension overhauled using the adjustable springs. shocks and 26R style control arms. Solid driveshafts were added at this time. The car was then treated to a four wheel alignment and balanced by a local race shop.

     The engine sounds and runs very well. with very little exhaust smoke for one of these cars. The Webers are well tuned. starting well on the choke if very cold. idling smoothly and accelerating up through the rev range effortlessly. Oil pressure is very good and it does not overheat. The electric fans cycle on and off. keeping the temperature at 170F whilst idling and they are set up on an adjustable thermostatic switch. Compression is very even all at 180lbs/in. There has been some engine work done over the years as when we had the oil pan off some time back it was noticed that there is a very well made oil pick-up that moves from side to side with centrifugal force to eliminate starvation on hard cornering. There are the usual slight oil leaks but nothing significant.

      Looking around the car it is evident that it has some other very nice older modifications like the forward mounted radiator with twin fans mounted in a custom fiberglass shroud and the electrical panel holding extra fuses and electronic ignition modules etc.

Driving this car is just a real pleasure. all the controls are light and precise just as Mr. Chapman intended. The brakes pull up straight with no fuss or noise and the handbrake holds well. The handling as you would expect is phenomenal. although quiet and drama free. Acceleration is brisk and the 4 speed Ford gearbox just a joy to use. There is that sweet Weber growl to be heard on acceleration but overall it is not an overly loud car.  The diff is a little noisy. a whine is audible when on the gas. probably something that will not cause a significant problem anytime soon - just a slight annoyance.

The body is in good shape there is the usual cracking and crazing you would expect. some of which I have tried to show in the pictures. but overall it looks very presentable have a good shine to the finish. The doors close well and they even lock with the key as does the trunk. The hood has had two Dzus fasteners fitted to hold it down doing away with the sometimes troublesome release mechanism. Chrome is in very good condition with the window frames showing their age a little.  The glass all looks to be original Triplex and in good condition. The electric side windows work exceptionally well and go up and down quite quickly for one of these cars. The interior is extremely nice looking very original down to the grey carpet. Seats are perfect and the dash has a good finish with all the gauges and switches in fine condition and working well. All the lights. wipers etc work well the indicators even self cancel. The headlights pop up properly and stay down when the car is parked. even overnight. The handbrake warning light on the dash does not work. The air horn that is fitted works well. There has been a handy battery cut of switch fitted behind the driver's seat. There is a spare wheel  and almost new convertible top in the trunk and the frame is stowed beneath the cover. The car sits on a nice new set of Minilite rims wearing a new set of Vredestein Sprint tyres with around 500 miles on them.

     This is an excellent opportunity to own a very presentable. rapidly appreciating piece of sports car history.  These cars rarely seem to come up for sale and have a well deserved following amongst people who know and love 60's performance cars. This particular example is very original with a few period upgrades and a couple of modern touches.

     As always I would recommend viewing or driving this car if at all possible. please call 310 833 1525 for an appointment.

      Bid to buy with confidence. my descriptions tend to be detailed so that the car will not disappoint. We have sold many British Cars on e-bay. all buyers leaving excellent feedback.

Also published at eBay.com

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