1967 Lotus Elan Convertible S3 Super Safety

I fell in love with a Lotus Élan while attending a race at Watkins Glen in 1969. I was 14 years old and as I watched the little Lotus sprint past the Corvettes in the turns. I was hooked. My mother would not consider me owning a Lotus in high school so it was not until 1996 that I was able consider a Lotus again. My mother had passed away that year and left me a very small life insurance policy that made the down payment on a “project”. It seemed only fitting that she pay for the Lotus of my youth. at least in part

Over the years since. I have spent many hours and lots of money restoring every nut and bolt to bring my Élan back to a pristine state.  Since I started this project. my Elan has never seen a rainy day and has been driven less than 1000 miles per year.  At age 58. my old bones are just too cranky now for a “low rider” and the woman of the house is never interested in an evening drive with the top down these days. I guess it is time to find my Lotus a new home where it will be appreciated more often

 Starting at the front bumper and working back. I will try to give some idea about the extent of my efforts over the years.

 The body work and paint were performed by an award winning shop in New Hampshire that specializes in fiberglass restoration. We took the glass down and reinforced areas of stress. primed everything. striped it with a Ford racing blue. and painted the rest white with a clear coat cover. Today. span > some 18 years later. there are some stress cracks here and there but. the finish is still pristine.

The entire front end and rear suspension was rebuilt with all new bushings and bearings. The steering box was also rebuilt along with new springs and replacement Bilstien shocks. The original frame is in excellent shape with no signs of any rust.

 The brakes were rebuilt and the caliper cylinders sleeved with stainless steel and new stainless pistons. Hydraulic lines were replaced where possible along with the brake master cylinder.  The radiator was  re-cored and all rubber parts related to fluids and vacuum have been replaced. I also added an electric fan to keep the temp down when stuck in traffic on a hot day. The engine itself has been rebuilt a couple of times. The crankshaft has been refaced and new thrust washers installed. The pistons. rings and rods are all upgraded to sprint specs as well as the camshaft. valves. and seats. With these changes. the output is estimated at about 140 HP. The fuel is delivered by the preferred dual Webber intake which has also been modified with new jets to handle the increase in output. The tuning of this engine makes driving a little hotter than your daily driver which requires the RPM to be a little higher. peaking in the 2500 – 4000 range. The electrical system is still stock however. I did replace the starter with a Nissan version which works far better than the original Lucas.   I considered replacing the ignition system but. I am kind of nostalgic and enjoy fiddling with the points. rotor. and cap.

I installed a heavy duty pressure plate. friction plate. and throw out bearing to accommodate increased horsepower. The gearbox is a 4 speed close ratio motocross version with higher than average first gear which allows synchronized downshifting at much higher speeds. I have replaced the hydraulic line for the slave cylinder and continue to replace the slave seals every year.   The U joints on the main drive shaft have been replaced and the rebuilt rear has solid drive shafts in lieu of the stock rubber doughnuts going out to the rear wheels. The rear suspension including. bushings. adjustable Koni shocks and springs have all been replaced.

The exhaust system is the stainless variety with the stock headers. I had tried a number of other options here before settling back to the original exhaust system. all of them way too loud for the neighbors. I also replaced the stock steel wheels with Panasport and they are sporting 165 65 R13 tires just slightly wider than stock so I did not have to modify the wheel wells.

The interior carpet and seating have all be recovered or replaced along with the console. I also had a leather shop re-create the steering wheel and glove box fob to match the original equipment. All the gauges and switches are operational and the dashboard is in excellent shape being tung oiled every year to keep it happy.

So. being a British car of a certain age and era. there is always something else to do and anyone who says otherwise would be lying. The only little deficiencies here are  a plastic air vent/pillar trim that is fractured. the under-dash decorative plastic trim ( both sides ) needs to be replaced. and the driver's side electric window switch went bad last fall. All parts are available from Dave Bean Engineering for under $500. 00

If you have any other specific questions about the car. please feel free to contact me via Email at adler@a3dm. com

 

Also published at eBay.com

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