1966 Lotus Elan SE

Only having had two previous owners, this Lotus Elan S3 SE has led an interesting life having spent time in both Cyprus and Greece early in its life. Only now being offered for sale due to a change in the owner’s personal circumstances, she has owned it for 15 years and has carried out proper, regular maintenance over the years, gaining as much pleasure from fettling it as she did from driving it regularly.

It’s now in a very good, very usable condition and would respond well to an owner who shares her passion for both using and improving it. It has been sitting unused for the past eighteen months and needed a full fuel drain and new plugs to start for us. We’ve now driven it up and down our lane and confirm it works well but would recommend the new owner spends a weekend recommissioning and servicing it before they embark on any longer journeys. As ever, we’d welcome potential bidders here at Patina HQ and would be delighted to talk them through the car in person.

The Lotus was restored in the 1980s according to some of the invoices. It was clearly done to a very good standard as the bodywork is holding up very well indeed.

It is not perfect, but then fiberglass cars of this era never were new. All the panels are straight and true, and the paint is even all over the car. As with any Elan that’s been used (not a show-queen) there are a few stonechips, toucj-ups, plus the odd scratch. There are a handful of ‘star’ cracks here and there in the paint/gel-coat as is normal, and a deeper crack in the front valance, but a recent professional valet means that it looks great at five yards and fabulous at 10!

If the new owner has their sights on showing the Elan then it would need a small amount of paintwork correction but we would imagine that everyone else would be very happy to be able to enjoy that sublime engine and chassis combination without having to worry unduly about gathering stonechips or car-park dings. 

The chromework has responded very well to being polished and the steel wheels are in good condition and are shod with recent Michelin tyres. (You could even fit a set of winter tyres and have the coolest winter hack in the country…)

The black folding vinyl hood has two small splits at the point where it meets the top of the windscreen but is otherwise good.

The interior is original and in great condition, wearing a light patina that we think enhances the car’s ambience. The centre console / gear surround is cracked, and there is another small crack on the upper surface of the dashboard, but the recent full valet has brought the rest of it up to a very good standard indeed.

The seats, often worn and cracked on other examples, are in very good order, as is the wooden veneer trim and interior chromework. 

The gauges appear to work on our bried test drive, and we haven’t yet found fault in switches etc. We haven’t tested the period radio, but the electric windows do not work (although the seller notifies that they did when she last used the car). We welcome potential bidders here in Abingdon should they want to do so for themselves.

From the invoices, it appears that the engine was rebuilt in 1992 and the twin Weber 40DCOE carburettors were rebuilt in August 2016. Now that the fuel has been drained and replaced, the car starts and runs well, and has been driven up and down our lane. This has confirmed that the clutch, brakes, gearbox, and pop-up headlights all operate as they should, although given this car’s 18 month hibernation, we recommend a minor recommissioning program before embarking on serious journeys. The current owner has used and enjoyed the car over the last decade and a half during which it saw gentle, but continuous use, always a good thing with a Lotus Elan, as with most cars, they‘re not so happy with inactivity. We haven’t identified any significant faults but potential bidders would, as always, be advised to come and take a look at the car for themselves in order to assess its condition and set their bids accordingly. 

The underbonnet area is clean and tidy and bears evidence of recent maintenance having dabs of grease in the sort of places where dabs of grease should be, as well as new clips and fastening here and there.

Very importantly, we were able to take a proper look at the chassis whilst the car was on the ramps having the fuel drained. We are happy to report that there appear to be no problems to report; the chassis is well protected, not corroded or bent. All other faculties appeared present and correct. The engine compression was also found to be even across all 4 cylinders at 150psi. The braking system was fully overhauled in August 2016 with four new calipers, front and rear pads, and handbrake pads. The master cylinder was also rebuilt in October of the same year.

The Elan comes with one of the most glorious histories we have seen. It starts with the original owner’s handbook, servicing book (delightfully stamped in the 60s), warranty and old-style logbook. There is then a significant sheaf of old invoices, bills and other bits and bobs, from the 1980s up to many recent ones from Paul Matty supplying parts that the current owners have fitted (the car also passed through Paul’s hands twice around the turn of the century).

The online MOT history shows nothing of concern whatsoever, and rather magnificently there is one of the most comprehensive collection of past MOTs that we have ever seen; there doesn’t appear to be any problem with this car’s provenance, care or mileage. 

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing to see these documents.

The Lotus Elan languished in the doldrums for years. Never the most robust of cars even when new, many were condemned to a life of shoestring maintenance by garages that didn’t understand their foibles and quirks. As a result, they perished by the hundred, often being pillaged for their engine before being dispatched to the great scrapyard in the sky.

This is not one of those cars. Its first two owners clearly cherished it and used it extensively, a regimen the seller has maintained, using, servicing, and refurbishing it on a regular basis until about eighteen months ago. As such, it’s clean and tidy but does probably need a small amount of recommissioning work, if only for the peace of mind that such a relatively small investment would bring.

So, it’s been set with an exceedingly reasonable reserve and we expect it to fetch between £18-25,000, at which price point it offers spectacular value and an opportunity to get behind the wheel of an automotive icon for not a lot of money. That there is plenty of value still to be added at little cost is the cherry on an already very attractive cake…

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car can be seen here at Patina HQ in Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.