1969 LOTUS ELAN SE S4 ROADSTER CONVERTIBLE DHC MUSTARD YELLOW EXCELLENT

1969 Lotus Elan SE S4 Roadster/Convertible/DHC

(Type 45)

Let me start by saying that I am not a dealer and I have personally owned -and enjoyed- this car for about 8-9years. I am a college professor and fan of European vintage sports cars of the 60s and early 70s. So I have had a few Porsches. Alfas. an NSU. a Lancia and couple of Lotuses (the Elan is one of them) that I have being enjoying in the past decade or so. Unfortunately changes in my life force me to sell some of my few remaining classic cars at this juncture.

I have been the only driver of this car while it has been under my care.

This mustard yellow 1969 Lotus Elan SE S4 roadster convertible (Type 45 in Lotus parlance) with VIN 8656 has now 66. 52 original miles.

I purchased this Elan about 8 years ago. I think I am formally the 4th owner. The 3rd owner I purchased it from. with about 65. 00 miles. was a PhD student who only owned it for a very short period of time -about 3 months- as he found a good opportunity to buy the car at a good price and had only the intention to flip it for a decent profit. The 3rd owner only did some 200 miles with the car I think.

The 2nd owner purchased the car from the original owner when the car had about 59. 00 miles on the odometer in 1987.

As you can verify from the photos posted the VIN of the car is  8656 (the typical Lotus aluminum plate riveted in the usual place in the chassis in the engine bay) and is consistent with the official historical NYS registration that lists the VIN as 8656 as well. The engine is original to the car which is totally unmodified in every respect (except for the upgrade regarding the donuts I was told -have not checked this myself- and the old donuts will go with the car). I trust that this is consistent with the above VIN plate and the car seems to be a matching numbers car. All the information I collected before purchasing it points out in this direction. The VIN and engine numbers are consistent with this being a numbers matching car. I recall this confirmed by my email/mail exchanges with the Lotus factory in England  sometime after I purchased it.

The car is very original and from the records I have it seems that it was very well taken care of by both its 1st and 2nd owners who owned it for significant periods of time each. Its 2nd owner used very reputable (in Lotus circles) business to do his maintenance. repairs and parts purchases like "Ragtops & Roadsters" in Perkasie. PA and "r. d. enterprises" in Quakertown. PA both renown vendors in Lotus circles.   I have the corresponding records of his repairs and insurance so the mileage can also be verified. Also from these documents it seems clear that the car had no accidents during his life as my mechanic at the time of purchase also said to me. From the lack of repairs at the beginning of the 2nd owners ownership I surmise that he must have purchased the car in very good shape from the first owner. I have no records from the 1st owner other than the sale agreement between him and the 2nd owner.

I had been looking for a Lotus Elan convertible for quite some time and had driven quite a few of them (some gorgeous garage queens) and I decided to go and check this car because a) it had what I consider the best color for this car (mustard yellow) and b) it was located very close to me in Norwood. NJ . But. I was in for a serious surprise when I took it out for a test drive. This Elan was indeed driving much much better than any of the others that I had recently driven.   Nibble. peppy. responsive and fun. The go-cart feeling that so many people have being raving about was finally instantly recognizable despite the fact that I was dealing with a 36 year old car!

So I decided to buy it and keep it as best as I could. I was driving it only in good weather and keeping it in dry garage and under its soft cotton interior cover while doing basically yearly oil changes and taking care of the battery. I was managing to drive it about 300 sometimes 400 miles/year as I was garaging it in NJ while I was living in NYC.   But that only lasted for a few years as then changes in my life (marriage. parenthood and work) forced me to to initially driving it less and then basically stop driving it for about 3 years now. I kept registering it until 2011 and of course insuring it fully and garaging it in safe and dry place continuously until today. I always registered the Elan in NY and it will be sold by transferring the last 2011 NY State Registration to the new owner as per regulations of the State of NY which does not issue titles for vehicles older than certain age (the Elan falls within that category).

This is a very fun driver which is excellent cosmetic condition both outside. inside and underside and as far as I know none of the previous owners ever raced the car. That is exactly how I used the car myself as well. The car did not have any accidents as far as I know and as mechanics who saw it assured me about. It is an unmodified car down to the interior including the radio and the antenna. The underside of the car is all perfectly fine. The engine has always worked perfectly under my watch. All the glass is good. There are good tires on the car albeit they have many years on them admittedly as I did not changed them when I purchased it. The spare is in the car as well - never used it- as the jack and the necessary special spanner for the wheels.  Regular oil changes were done up to 3 years ago when the long storage period started. All the electrics are in working order to my knowledge.

The Lotus does not (as amazing as this might sound for a Lotus and a 35+ year-old car) drop oil even as it has sat for 3 years. Its convertible top frame and the top itself are in excellent condition. fully functioning and quite easy to operate. The insignia & badges are all there and in excellent condition. Dashboard is perfect.   All gauges and knobs worked as far as I know. Bonnet and boot lid are functioning perfectly as well. No serious dings worth talking or cracking of fiberglass. which is so typical of these cars. Naturally it is a 34 year old car and it has some scratches and minor dings.  

This is a really pampered and very well taken care of Elan.

An excellent specimen for somebody who really enjoys driving his classics but wants them to be in excellent shape as well.

The Elan has been a great car to me. It is one of the last few classic cars that I was hoping to hold on to until the period that I will have a bit more free time to devote to it and enjoy it but more recent (and good) changes in my life force me to regretfully part with it.

I have tried to describe it the best way I can. Please view the many photos that I have posted.  Particularly notice how good the car looks despite its considerable years. the fact that has not been even washed recently and the fact that never underwent a full scale restoration as far as I know. Notice the gaps. the perfect original interior. the steering wheel with the Chapman signature on it etc

A perfect tonneau cover as well as the soft interior cover of the car will go with it along with the documentation that I have.

I do not see anything that needs attention except to really clean the fuel line and recommission the car back to active duty. I think the visor is not original to the car but an original manufacturers visor came with the car (and will accompany the car) and can be installed in the proper original rod which is in perfect order in the inside of the windshield as usual for these Elans.   I simply never considered it very important to do this as the visor currently on it is fully functional and looks fine with the car.

Why am I selling it? I became a father a few years ago and my life has changed in many ways. First of all I have no time available now (between spending time with my child and my additional work related time obligations) for drives with my classics and furthermore I have much less garage space following our move to a new house and the increased needs for family transportation. Now we are expecting one more child. As a result. while I have always kept the car garaged. I have not managed to drive it - not even once - during the last 2. 5-3 years. Off course I have not attempted to start it after such a long period of idleness as I think that the fuel line must be carefully cleaned first.

 I really hate to let this car go (and it is one of the last I have kept) but given my circumstances I cannot give any attention to this car as I used to and believe it should have. Furthermore I do not see a time in the next 5 years that I can hope to direct some of my attention to the car and enjoy it as I used to. So it is time for some new owner to enjoy it.

There is a very reasonable reserve for this car (given its condition and rarity) but please do not ask me to reveal it as I intend to let this auction run its full course.   There is also a $1000 deposit that is required at the end of auction.

I do have a clear transferrable NY registration to my name for the car which will be used for its sale (please note that NY does not issue Titles for cars of this vintage- I have sold another car with signing in the back the NY registration to the buyer and I know this works fine for the new owner to register the car to their names and issue new Title wherever they are).  

Overall this is an excelent car in a wonderful color combination (mustard yellow/black is an admittedly very pretty and probably the most desirable combination for this particular car as people say) that gets all the time compliments (even when I have simply transporting it by flat-bed from storage to storage recently and while it is quite dusty). It has also been a very fun car to drive around with its nimbleness and peppiness and all the attention it gets everywhere from almost everyone.

It is also one of the best years for the Elan to get as this series cars do not have a whole set of problems that are common to the earlier cars. And the SE S4 convertible is the most desirable of all of them.

Thank you for your interest in my car and feel free to contact me with any questions. I will try to answer them the best way I can as I believe in full disclosure.

Please only bid if you intend to buy the car and do not bid if you have questions before they are answered.

The usual disclaimer for the sale of a used car of this vintage applies here as well: This is naturally a used vintage classic car and there are no explicit or implicit warranties of any kind that accompany its sale. It is sold as is. where is. Buyer is responsible for all shipping and transportation charges.

Naturally I reserve the right to stop the auction at any time.

The above being said I think the next owner of this car will be a very happy person indeed.

Thank you for your interest in my Elan and Good luck with your bidding and shopping.

Also published at eBay.com

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