SOLD: 1967 Lotus Elan Series 3 Fixed Head Coupe.
Body off restoration just completed. Everything on this car has been totally torn down, sandblasted, powder coated or painted and rebuilt or replaced with new parts. Beautiful, fresh Lotus Ardent Red paint job with silver bumpers and silver wheels with chromed 3 eared knock off spinners make it really pop. All new interior done up right in the original style including rebuilt seats, vinyl door panels, new headliner, re-veneered wood dash and the original Wood Steering Wheel refurbished like new! It is a real classic and a real head turner.
I bought this car as a basket case from a club friend. He had taken it apart in the early eighties and kept it in his heated garage since then. The body placed on a cart and chassis was hung from the ceiling with care. I bought it in 2011 and started the rebuild. I just finished it up and I am still putting on some break in miles. It has 41,000 miles on the Odometer.
Details: I do most of the work myself including the bodywork, but I farm out some of the specialty stuff (engine machine shop work, final paint & seat upholstery) to the pros.
The Lotus Twin Cam, dual Weber carb engine was rebuilt with new rings, seals, gaskets & bearings. Engine block & head hot tanked. Block was line bored. Crank polished. New valve job with all new guides, valve seats and cam followers. Head & block surface milled for straightness. Water pump rebuilt. New connecting rod pin bushings. Pistons bead blasted and skirts Teflon coated. Machine shop work done by Apex engineering in Bensenville. New engine mounts. The new exhaust pipe is mated to a brand new Stainless Steel, stock styled muffler. Looks beautiful and sounds great (Not loud and not cheap!) New gear reduction starter. Weber 40 DCOE carbs ultra sonic cleaned and rebuilt. New air box trunking hose hooked up to rebuilt original stock air filter set up.
Transmission was in good shape. I tore it down for a good cleaning and just replaced the seals, gaskets and front main bearing. Shift forks and syncros were good. Shifts great. Nothing shifts better than an early Elan!
Rear end disassembled, cleaned & checked. New seals and gasket installed.
Stainless braided brake hose lines. Stainless braided clutch line. Stainless braided oil pressure line. Rebuilt brake master cylinder & clutch cylinder. Rebuilt calipers with new Stainless Steel pistons. New front and rear brake rotors. Gas tank was rebuilt by Renu - guaranteed for life. Original steel knock off wheels sandblasted and painted silver. New tires. 3-eared knock off spinners were rebuilt and re-chromed. New battery. New 3 row radiator core. Heater core boiled out & tested. New fuel pump. Steering rack rebuilt. New CV rear axels No rubber donuts!
New wiring harness. New battery with an easy access, quick battery shut off switch. Gauges all cleaned up and function well. Generator and regulator professionally rebuilt.
Chassis. No rust to begin with so it was checked for straightness, sandblasted and powder coated black. I did install an extra steel plate across the bottom of the front cross member with a large u-bolt tow hook to make things easier when you want to jack it up or put it on a trailer. I sandblasted and powder coated all the suspension pieces and installed all new bushings and rubbers everywhere. New closed cell foam chassis pad between the chassis and the body. New tie rod ends. Trunions rebuilt. New AVO front & rear shocks with upgraded springs with adjustable ride height from Dave Bean. Rear springs and rear perches are slightly smaller overall diameter to allow for slightly wider tire clearance.
Body and Paint - I did all the body work. Body was sanded down to bare fiberglass. All stress cracks and previous repairs ground out and repaired with fiberglass. Body was flipped upside down and the undersides and wheel well areas were completely sanded down and redone. My buddy owns a fiberglass shop so he made sure all the glass work was done right. We retained the stock fender shape - No fender flares. Entire body shot with 2 part primer and block sanded multiple times. Final base coat/clear coat paint job was done by Rizza Autobody in Des Plaines. Color is a gorgeous Lotus Ardent red. It is not Pebble Beach concours perfect but it is very, very nice! Bumpers painted silver as were the steel wheels. All new chrome done by Star chrome in Chicago. Door handles, trunk hinges, driver?s window frame, etc. I even had the 3 ear?d knock off spinners for the wheels re-chromed. New chrome scripts all around. About $2000 in chrome! New windshield and rear window rubber and chrome strip insert.
Battery cut off switch located in trunk.
While we were doing the body work, we made a mold and made a reproduction of the very rare rear diff cooling vent. These fiberglass vents go underneath the driver?s side of the car and route fresh air up to the differential. Most of these have broken off the car over the years. See my restoration photos to see what this looks like.
Interior is gorgeous and looks as new. New veneered teak wood dash finished with 6 coats of hand sanded automotive clear coat ? looks great! Original crash pad in nice shape, repainted with vinyl paint. New stock style door panels and side panels with new vinyl covering. Seats rebuilt with all new foam padding with original style black vinyl but better quality than new. They look and feel great! New carpet over good insulation padding. New seat belts. New teardrop wood shift knob. New door glass channels and window brush strips.
I spent a lot of money on this car to make it very nice. Even the proper stainless steel windshield wiper blades cost $47 each!
New parts with prices on some of the pricy items:
Gear reduction starter ($175)
Stainless steel wiper blades ($47 each)
AVO front adjustable shocks ($478)
AVO rear adjustable shocks ($475)
Upgraded front & rear springs ($300)
Rear adjustable height perches ($216)
CV joint half shafts ($1550)
Brake pads & stainless steel pistons ($244)
Brake rotors Front & rear ($240)
Stainless steel flex brake hoses ($149)
Stainless steel clutch & oil pressure line ($200)
Handbrake cable ($112)
Stainless steel muffler ($359)
Loto-cones ($90)
Seats rebuilt with new headliner and sun visors ($2450)
Plastic heater valance ($180)
Front & rear window rubber gasket and plastic chrome filler strip ($350)
Door and Trunk rubber gaskets
Carpet set ($350)
Bonnet spring ($46)
Windshield washer bottle ($58)
Air trunking ($58)
Wiring harness ($750)
Weber carb rebuild ($375)
Re-Chrome knock offs ($375)
Knock off tool ($130)
Engine bearings & tappets & connecting rod bolts ($523)
Pertronix ignition ($99)
Nose badge ($70)
Chrome scripts ($250)
Synchro rings & other gear box parts ($600)
3 row radiator core ($240)
Gas tank rebuilt by renu ($240)
Front marker lamps ($100)
Chassis powder coating ($325)
Suspension powder coating ($275)
Battery, Tires, ring gear, suspension bushings, brake pads, tie rod ends, spedo cable, ignition coil, ignition wires, heater valve, walnut shift knob etc?..
The car looks great, sounds great and runs great. The steering is tight; engine power and brakes are very good. The car is zippy and handles great. It?s a real joy to drive. Just like a new 1967 Lotus Elan which is what this essentially is. It is not absolutely a pebble beach concours car but it is a great car to take out, DRIVE and ENJOY!
French provenance! Besides the original Lotus VIN tag, this car came with a stamped steel registration plate in the engine bay from France. I restored the plate and reinstalled it along with the original Lotus VIN tag. So, apparently this car has some French heritage. C?est Magnifique!
Although everything that could have been done, has been done to this car to make it like new and in some cases better than new, it is still is a 46 year old car with only the reliability you would have gotten 46 years ago. So it is being sold as-is with no expressed guarantee or warrantee except that I will provide full technical and moral support for however long as you own the car. This car, just like any new Lotus back in 1967 will require service, tinkering and attention. It is not a Miata!
I can provide references from owners of my previous restorations upon request. Some of them still talk to me! ? This is my sixth Lotus Elan full restoration, not including my own S1 Elan which I have restored more than once due to severe Autocross incidents. I have also done a Europa Twin Cam Special, a Seven America and a Lotus Cortina. The car is located in Des Plaines Illinois, right next to O?Hare airport. If you are interested I encourage you to come out and give her a good test drive. You will love it!
Full Restoration Photos at: lotuscorps.org/gallery2/v/ZogsCorner/Coupe/
Price? I?ve got a lot of money in parts alone in this restoration so I?m going to ask $36,000, but I?m open to serious offers from the right buyer.
Bob Herzog
email - [email protected]
for me.