The car: 1967 Lotus Elan Series 3
Price: $29,000
Location: British European Auto in San Pedro, California, USA
The car is very complete, functional, 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 easily on the choke if very cold, idling smoothly, and accelerating up through the rev range effortlessly. The oil pressure is strong and electric fans on an adjustable thermostatic switch cycle on and off, keeping the temperature at 170F whilst idling. Compression is very even, with all cylinders at 180lbs/in. Additionally, when we had the oil pan off 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.
It is evident that the Elan 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 Lotus is just a real pleasure, all the controls are light and precise just as Mr. Colin 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, quiet, and drama free. Acceleration is brisk and the four-speed Ford gearbox is just a joy to use.
The body is in good shape although there is some cracking and crazing in the paint, but overall it looks very presentable with a good shine to the finish. The hood has had two Dzus fasteners fitted to hold it down, doing away with the sometimes troublesome release mechanism. 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 an old Lotus. The interior is extremely nice looking and 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. The car sits on a nice new set of Minilite rims wearing a set of Vredestein sprint tyres with around 1000 miles on them.
This is an excellent opportunity to own a very presentable 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 ’60s performance cars. This particular example is very original with a few period upgrades and a couple of modern touches.
If you know of a great, stylish car for sale and would like us to feature it, please let us know!
Petrolicious makes no claim as to the accuracy of the information contained in the car’s original listing, nor will it be held responsible for any errors in said information. If you’re interested in this car, do your homework and research it extensively before you buy.
