Newbie Elite owner

[ebikediver]

Hi everyone, just to introduce myself as the new owner of the white MK1 Elite 75 that was on eBay last week. I have been a life long admirer of the Elite which along with the Jensen Interceptor have been my dream cars since I was a young lad. I was lucky enough to be the custodian of a very nice Interceptor J Series for 5 years also in white (with tan vinyl roof). I have previously 20+ years ago scratched the itch of being an Elite owner when I very stupidly bought unseen a supposed 1 owner red one. On delivery it was very clear all the photos and description of it had been very much embellished with the one owner being actually 10 previous owners and the condition of the car was very poor. I tried to return it but the seller simply refused any further contact and eBay rules didn't have any real protection for car sales at that time. Without fighting a costly legal battle I was stuck with it but it proved too much for me to keep up with so I ended up giving it away to an acquaintance of mine who did have the time and skill to restore it. Not sure where that one is now. I have previously owned a Europa MK2 which was without doubt the most enjoyable car I have owned and I still have dreams of owning a Europa Special (preferably in white) but unfortunately they remain out of my price range.
I don't know if anything is known about my new purchase in the club good or bad but I am very much looking forward to a long ownership where I can enjoy improving the car whilst maintaining as much of the originality and patina as possible.
Thanks for reading.

[DavidOliver]

Your second piece of luck this week is finding this Forum.
Although most posts are on Excel models there are some members who can be called maximum knowledge and appreciation for the Elite (Series 1972 onwards)
I owned a blue 1974 Elite from about 1980 for three years until it caught fire in Calais, driving back to Spain from UK. Do not fill the petrol tank to the brim as with the car standing still the petrol will permeate the carbs and can set fire when you start up and things get hot. The Excel solved this with a valve in the supply pipe. Also I recommend replacing the UJ´s in the drive shafts as they take axial loads as well as drive train loads.
Forum members get very good attention (In my opinion) from SJSportscars and Lotusbits, both spares supplies and advice.
I am now the owner of a 1985 Excel, (since 2011), there is not much mechanically I have not meddled with.
Welcome to Lotus Grand Tourers.

Dave the cog.

[Gray14]

Welcome back to Wedgie World

G

[MetBlue]

Welcome aboard.

Is your car ...387R ? Saw that on eBay last month and looked a solid starting point for a very good car.
I track the register on the forum but didn't know this car until last month via eBay.
Tony

[ebikediver]

Welcome aboard.

Is your car ...387R ? Saw that on eBay last month and looked a solid starting point for a very good car.
I track the register on the forum but didn't know this car until last month via eBay.
Tony

Yes that's the one, thanks Tony.

[MetBlue]

We need to know more.
What's the plan. There was inference in the advert that it had been on the road at sometime in the last 12 months although wasn't running currently?
Mileage was nice and low if I recall and I assume you got a lot of paper history?
Tony

[supraholic]

Welcome aboard. Brave to bid on cars online sight-unseen, but I've talked to a lot of people who've done it and seems to me about 50/50 whether they feel they got scammed or got a decent deal. Myself, I've worked awfully hard for my money and I don't think I could bid on anything but the cheapest of cars without a thorough inspection. These online classic car auctions tho now seem to be the preferred venue for most sellers. The short, 7-day auctions, ensure that almost nobody can cancel two days worth of appointments or meetings, beg off deadlines at work and arrange to travel long distance to inspect a car on such short notice. And few are willing to spend money to pay a local mechanic for a pre-purchase inspection considering that the other bidders who DON'T KNOW what all is wrong with it are then going to outbid them anyway. I can understand the sellers point of view tho in that they probably don't have to actually show the car. They don't have to deal with joy-riders, tire-kickers or no-shows. All they have to do is post a bunch of photos and videos and seven days later, they very likely get top dollar for their car no matter what is wrong with it.

I've tried to bid on several classic cars that were local or not too far away but I've always found thousands of dollars worth of needed repairs that were not obvious in the photos and videos and not disclosed in the description. I once traveled a whole day to inspect a car that was supposed to have been freshly repainted in the original color. The photos online looked great, but in person, I realized something did not look quite right. I inquired of the seller and he admitted that he'd told his painter to use a larger metal flake in the paint to "Make it POP!" he said. Sure burst my bubble. Another car on Bring a Trailer offered by a prominent automotive youtuber had serious problems. He'd posted a video driving the car and narrating how great everything worked, but you can't sense hesitation, smell a burnt clutch or feel a mushy brake pedal in a video. Plus the driver side electric window would rise up completely out of the door (it was a convertible) if you didn't release the switch in time. I got to inspect it just a couple hours before the auction end and they told me I was the only one to have come to see it. I held back my bid to reflect at least $5,000 US worth of needed repairs and lost out to some poor soul who I'm sure was destined to be disappointed upon the car's arrival.

I've only won one online auction for a 1968 Mustang, but it was local and I felt like I stole it. I happened to know the mechanic who did all of the mechanical restoration on it and so I was aware that the seller was a multi-millionaire who'd married into a wealthy car dealership family and that it had been a no-expense-spared professional job done by the dealership's own staff. Mustangs, particularly ordinary coupes like that one, have a reputation for very often being poorly done amateur restorations and hiding a lot of shortcuts so I think in that case, the other long-distance bidders were holding back as the seller had failed to mention any of the dealership family connection in the short description, only a couple of brief statements alluding to a complete restoration, the kind of statements anyone might claim.

I bought my Excel the old-fashioned way through a consignment dealer and it was about a month between when I saw the ad and finally arranged to travel to see it. I figured it would still be there because they were asking WAAAAY too much for it. Then when I got there, it was pouring rain, practically flooding conditions, for the entire time and I only got to test drive it a few feet at 10mph inside the warehouse but at least I got a pretty good idea of what all it needed (and in some cases still does as I don't seem to have the energy to work late into the night like I had when these cars were new).

I hope you're at least as happy with your latest Elite as I am with my Excel. It's been a lot of fun, especially over here on this side of the Atlantic where nobody knows what it is. Everyone just walked right past the Mustang going "Seen it!" but nobody can get past the Excel without stopping to take a closer look or ask questions.

[AndrewWebber]

Welcome. I particularly like and concur with this bit ...

I am very much looking forward to a long ownership where I can enjoy improving the car whilst maintaining as much of the originality and patina as possible

Hope to see you out and about with it is sometime,

Andy

[Pete Boole]

Welcome to the forum! I'm also in the (glacial) process of restoring an Elite - more of a "restomod" . Hope to see you and your Elite some time.

Pete

[Alan_M]

[ quote="Pete Boole" post_id=108353 time=1740393709 user_id=155]
Welcome to the forum! I'm also in the (glacial) process of restoring an Elite - more of a "restomod" . Hope to see you and your Elite some time.

Pete
[/quote]

I think the glaciers have melted

[Pete Boole]

I think the glaciers have melted

They will have by the time I've got the car on the road!

Pete