1990 1968 Lotus Elan Plus 2 with Cosworth BDA SOLD

Introduction

This is a 1-previous-owner 1968 Plus 2, upgraded in 1971 / 72 to have a Cosworth BDA engine.

This was one of the first, if not the first, Elan to be fitted with the Cosworth BDA in the day, and was written up in Motoring news in June 1973 where it was received with great enthusiasm.

The engine rebuilt in 1984, refreshed in 1997 and dyno'd, with less that 1000 miles covered since then. The car was extensively restored in 2000, with a bare-shell re-paint (which still looks stunning), the chrome work and interior refurbished and all mechanical components overhauled.

The car now needs to be re-commissioned after being laid up ( in a dry garage) since 2006, and comes with an optional large spares package, including a chassis. It does run and drive, so you can see and hear the engine running.

There is also a considerable amount of documentation with the car, including the original order, Lotus sales invoice, kit delivery instructions, test certificate from Cheshunt Lotus Centre, many letters between Lotus and the owner, invoices for work completed and old MOTs. The original handbook and service record book are also present.

The Story

The car was bought new as a kit by Eric Lyons, ordered on 5th December '67, invoiced on 18th July '68, delivered 20th July 1968, and tested on 1st August '68 at Cheshunt Lotus Centre.

Eric was the manager of Dave Smith Engineering in Ilford, Essex, who specialised in Ford and Lotus Twincam race engine preparation, and the car was fitted with a BDA in 1971 / 1972 to showcase what Dave Smith Engineering could do. Many months of trying different cams and carbs resulted in a fairly mild state of tune (about 165bhp) to allow the car to be easily driven around North London, and it had to cope with hot weather as it was often taken down to Spain in the summer.

The car was featured in Motoring News on June 14th '73, and I have a copy of the article.

In 1984 the BDA was re-built to the following specification:

1700cc BDA in an AX Block (original block still with car)
Accralite 83. 5mm forged pistons
BD3 camshafts
1. 070” Exhaust Valves
1. 220” Inlet Valves
Tuftrided crankshaft and conrods
Custom Built 'Mike The Pipe' exhaust manifold.
Opus Ignition (also from the 70s, as used on the works Escort BDAs)
8000 rpm redline

The car was only used very sparingly in the next 10 years, when the engine was refreshed (head off, valves checked, new clutch) and set up on a dyno at the Lotus Service Centre at the end of 1993. This shows 166. 25 bhp @ 7000 rpm, with 139. 1 lb/. ft torque @ 5000 rpm.

Again, the car was little used, and in 2000 the car was restored, consisting of:

Body stripped and repainted to original colour (Carnival Red)
All brightwork re-chromed
New sill strengthening bars
New dashboard and switchgear
New Headlining
New windscreen
New Rev Counter
Stainless steel headlamp vacuum tanks
Tyres
Chassis repaired at front tower
Callipers overhauled
New pads, including handbrake pads
New discs
Overhauled Servo, Brake and Clutch Master cylinders
Clutch slave cylinder replaced
Differential rebuilt
Rear wishbones replaced
Rear wheel bearings replaced
Trunions replaced

The car was put back on the road and used sparingly until 2006, when Eric decided that after 38 years he'd had his money's worth from the car. I bought the car in 2006, through a mutual friend, Eamonn Swords of Rapier Services, who also used to build race Twincam and BDA engines.

As you can see the bonnet has a bump let in to clear the cam wheels of the BD engine. It was decided that this mod was a lot easier than lowering the engine or modifying the chassis! Consequently, engine mounts are standard, and the gearbox / propshaft are in their original position.

The exhaust manifold is a custom made item from 'Mike The Pipe', a well known character from the 1970s!

Eric did carry out a couple of additional modifications, the most obvious one being the installation of the spot lights. Additionally, the boot floor was modified to take a straight exhaust system (the early cars had a transverse silencer which the tuning boys didn't like). The driveshafts are solid / jointed, modified from a Ford Granada, and the differential output shafts are upgraded.

Current Condition

I bought the car in 2006 and used it on the road for a couple of months until I became very busy at work and tucked it away. It drove really very well, and the BDA started very easily, ticked over smoothly and didn't overheat in traffic. It revved through the range very cleanly. The engine had completed less than 1000 miles since it was rebuilt, and had a clean bill of health from Eamonn, so I wasn't expecting any issues.

The car now needs re-commissioning to put back onto the road. It will certainly need the brake and clutch hydraulics doing, and it would be prudent to examine / rebuild the suspension with new bushes and shocks. I have put new callipers on the front as the old ones were dragging.

The paintwork is still very good, with no gel coat cracks or micro-blisters, There are a couple of very small stone-chip size marks but that’s about all.. Having been re-panted nearly 20 years ago, it’s very obvious that this was a very good quality, bare gel-coat, repaint.

The chrome-work is very good, although the wheel trims and spinners need re-doing. The interior is largely original, with some small marks on the seats, and a small split at the rear of the driver's seat base. A new dash fitted in the restoration, and the car still has it's original Colin Chapman signed steering wheel. The carpets are not very good quality, but a new set of Sue Millar carpets come with the car.

I put a new cam belt on the car in 2016, and the car runs and ticks over well. It takes a while to warm up, and can pop and spit back a little. The carbs really need to be cleaned properly to get it to run smoothly again after having so little use over the past 20 years, and the original Opus ignition system is probably past its best now, producing quite a weak spark.

It would also be a good opportunity to upgrade some of the bits in the engine bay, such as the Thermostat filler and radiator overflow bottle, with something a little more in keeping. It has a single radiator fan which could be upgraded to a more modern, and effective, twin fan system.

There is some fascinating documentation with the car, including the original order sheets from Lotus Cars and Lotus Racing Engines. There is also the original invoice from Lotus, the Test Certificate issued by Cheshunt Lotus Centre (Eric built the car as a 'kit', requiring Lotus to inspect it) and the original handbook and stamped up service book. There are many old invoices, some going back to the 1970s, and some old MOTs, dyno sheets.... etc., etc. Of course, there is also a copy of the Motoring News article.

I have also been collecting parts as spares, none of which are needed for the re-commissioning, but as the car is an early one, I thought it a good idea to collect this stuff whilst I could. These spares include

Chassis (Lotus, galvanised, fitted to a car but not used)
Full set of front suspension with uprights, backplates, hubs, wishbones, anti-roll bar.
Steering rack
Propshaft
Rear wishbones, new springs and new koni shocks
Re-furbished catches, latches and prop for the bonnet and boot
Pedal box and wiper mounting plate (rare early ones for this car)
Air Trunking (new) for carb cover to airbox.
Wiper Motor, drive cable and wheel boxes
Air intake grilles
Petrol Tank
Heater
Door interior and exterior handles with control mechanisms, catches and latches
Complete dash with all instrumentation, switches, crash pad and wiring loom
Dash top
Interior lights
Coat hooks
New early dash loom
New carpet set
Spare doors with frames, glass, hinges and furniture.

And to cap it all off, a very rare set of Revolution Knock-on wheels complete with adaptors, which fit under the standard arches. I spent a long time hunting these down!

It's a really difficult car to value. The engine alone would be around £12k - £15k in this condition and state of tune. It’s very rare to find a BDA that has been in a road car all it’s life, and not been used in competition. The body, paint and chrome need no work, and the dashboard, instruments, seats and side panels are in very good original condition. As you probably know, a quality re-paint for an Elan is now running at £10k, and of course, the car doesn’t need any paint work at all!

So I'm looking at offers around £18k for the car, and the option of buying some or all of the spare parts with the car. The total package of part would be something around £4000 to buy normally, but they will be offered with the car for half that price.

I'm not going to negotiate on the phone before you see the car, but I will happily negotiate with someone who appreciates what this car is and will put it back on the road.

I believe that this is a very significant Lotus with the ultimate period modification, amongst the first to be so modified, completed in period and written up in the press in period. It is a fantastic opportunity to buy this car at ‘ordinary’ Plus 2 money, with the potential to improve the car with a bit of know-how and very little extra cost. There is also the potential to take the car to the next level with a 5 or 6 speed box, modern ancilliaries under the bonnet, aluminium radiator / petrol tank, etc.

Please not that none of the parts are available separately, but will be offered with the car only. If the buyer doesn't want some or any of the parts (unlikely), then I will offer them separately.

This advert has now been removed through sale or otherwise.
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