..a very early Elan with the same tail lights as a Lotus Elite, a beautiful car (combination of 'original' and 'restored') for show, daily use, or just enjoying driving the absolute best small sports car EVER built.
Excellent chassis (no signs of rust, repair, or damage), excellent drive train (no smoke, perfect compression and oil pressure), solid (CV joint) halfshafts, excellent interior, new convertible top, excellent wood dashboard, rebuilt front end, rebuilt brakes, new radials.
Body is crack free and has new show quality Ferrari red base coat/clear coat paint, hand wet sanded and buffed. Absolutely beautiful. Even the bottoms of the doors, usually warped, fit perfectly.
Basic specifications: factory rated 105hp (this car feels 'well tuned' and 115hp is probably a closer estimate of its power output, possibly due to higher lift camshafts) 1558cc twin cam with twin 40 DCOE Weber carbs, tubular headers, 4 speed close ratio transmission (my personal favorite of ANY other trans on the planet...very close ratios, short throw shifter, smooth, excellent synchromesh), four wheel disc brakes, four wheel independent suspension (upper and lower A arms in the front, Chapman strut rear), fiberglass body over a lightweight steel backbone chassis.
With four Elans in my own collection (and 30 plus years of Elan ownership), I know an excellent driving Elan when I drive one. This car is 'tight' and very quick. Such a delight to stir through the very close ratio gears and (best of all)............it is fun at legal (or very close to legal) speeds. Something I simply don't find in modern sports and GT cars.
For all cars, traditionally, there are 'benchmarks.' Rolls Royce for high quality luxury, Ferrari or Aston Martin for ultra high performance, VW for utter simplicity, and Porsche or Mercedes for Teutonic efficiency. But if one wants a light, nimble, quick true sports car, the absolute benchmark is...the Lotus Elan. Or as one English author once wrote, 'the ultimate in squirtability...the ability to squirt through traffic.'
Well said.
Check out more cars like this at www.newenglandclassics.com !SOLD
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