No matter what the car, it’s exciting to think about uncovering any vehicle that’s been hidden away in a garage for years. Based on the description, it sounds like the seller discovered not one, but two Lotus Elites in a town in West Virginia. Not much is said about their condition, and only a handful of photos are offered, but the red 1976 model is said to have just 9,800 miles, while the 1974 car has 36,000. No word on whether that’s a documented figure, but if the listed price of $4,000 is for both cars, the pair could be worth checking out. Find the Lotuses here on craigslist near Parkersburg, West Virginia.
Thanks to Barn Finds reader Darrun for the find. The seller makes a point of mentioning that the red car is “complete” and the blue car is missing its wheels. Other than sitting in a garage for ten years, no other details are offered. Now, I realize we’re looking at these things through a computer monitor, but they look way better than most of the barn find Elites we cover on these pages. Understanding the interiors alone can be nightmares to restore, I’m not calling these winners by any means – but if the $4K price buys you two restorable Elites, it definitely warrants asking the seller for more pictures (or visiting in person.)
This ad is certainly correct that spotting an Elite of any vintage takes some doing. I love these stories of unusual or exotic sports cars popping up in uncommon places. Now, I know little about Parkersburg, WV, but it’s not near the usual haunts where old sports cars go to die, like the D.C. suburbs or somewhere out in the Hollywood Hills. As far as finding two cars that don’t appear to be all that dusty despite a decade of garage storage – well, there has to be a good story here. No matter what, if the red one looks half as good as it does in the solitary picture above, driving your U-Haul trailer to WV is a good move.
It looks like a pinto and a gremlin had a baby. :)
Save yourself a load of grief & fit the shell on a wrecked/burnt corvette chassis or similar.
Jim I’m with ya! Sure has the AMC gremlin influence with the door handles and rump. What do you call to Lotus cars together? Loti?
Back when the Elan & Europa were current, Lotus issued a Press Release stating that the plural of Lotus is Lotus, and the possessive of Lotus is Lotus’. They closed by saying, “This we hope willl eliminate the use of the horrible words: Loti and Lotuses”.
Regards,
Tim Engel
I thought these were odd and ugly little cars when I first saw one in the flesh in the late 1980’s. Still feel the same way. Hopefully they will find a good home and very good mechanic.
When these run they are surprisingly good driving cars. Just takes so much effort to bring them up to a driver quality car.
There were only 483 ‘Federal’ spec Elites built. Since ‘Federal’ cars were sold in the USA, Canada, Japan and about six other smallish countries with strict emissions standards, only a little more than 300 came to the USA. As a result, 40+ years down the road, you won’t find a mechanic in every town who knows the car. If you’re mecanically adept, they’re not difficult cars to work on. The problem is that most owners did not make the effort to seek-out proper care for them, and many fell into a state of dis-repair. There’s nothing wrong with them that automatically leads to failure… anything will fail if ingored long enough. That’s the owner’s fault, not the car’s.
I have an Esprit S2 and two Éclats (ie, Éclat = fastback Elite). As you might expect, the Esprit is an amazing car on a twisty road. What you might not expect is that the Elite & Éclat handle better than the Esprit. Compared to the Esprit, the 4-seaters’ longer wheel base is a liability on a really tight autocross course, but the handling on a twisty open road is amazing. Chapman was experimenting with Ackermann steering, or more specifically, the lack of it, and the low-speed, parking lot handling is really funky. But get it out on the a road that keeps you busy with the steering wheel, and the handling is wonderful.
The wheels were Lotus-only, and unique to the Elite-Éclat, so the blue car’s missing rear wheels might be a problem. But check with Lotusbits in the UK, or Lotus owner Bauke Tocus in the Netherlands, and they might have a couple of good used rims. Otherwise, the wheels are 14 x 7, +0.711″ Offset, 4 x 4 ½” (4 -114.3mm) bolt circle.
Regards,
Tim Engel
Bang on Tim. If thimose two were on my side of the pond, they would be on their way home. As well as Lotusbits and Tauke who I know well have you ever looked at LotusRescue. Look them up on facebook or thelotusforums.com. I have a few in my collection of restoration projects. 8 in all and all Lotus.
John, no, I wasn’t aware of LotusRescue… I’ll check them out. Thanks for the referral.
Regards,
Tim Engel
In the wheel spec… I previously omitted the Center Bore diameter… it’s 2.756″ / 70 mm.
Regards,
Tim Engel
I had a 76 in the same red. It was in a barn for 8 years so we carefully took the time to replace the timing belt and started it properly. Then actually had it on the road and driving. Then it caught fire when a backfire flooded the fiberglass breather box and dropped on the starter below it. 4 feet of flame. 20 minutes to put out the fire. Total loss. Still sad for the car as it was pristine and looked good. These not so much. I would not want to have these for any money sorry. A nice one is not worth much.
‘Everyone’ thinks about replacing the timing belt (as they should on an interference engine), but the carburetors almost always get overlooked. Like most carbs, the Dellortos are ‘full’ of rubber O-rings, and the accelerator pump has a rubber diaphragm… and rubber does NOT age well. Any old/ original carb needs a rebuild prior to being put back into service, or fuel leaks are to be expected… almost guaranteed.
Too bad about your Elite burning down… I’m sorry to hear about that.
Regards,
Tim Engel
When this car’s engine was sold in the US in a Jensen-Healey, Stromberg carburetors were substituted for the Dellortos. I don’t know which carburetors the Elite used, but US emissions requirements weren’t getting easier to meet during the period.
For the time that the J-H and Lotus 907s were in production, there was little difference between the Federal Emissions versions. Changes were more evolutionary (emissions) than one model verses the other.
After Jensen closed, the Federal 907 in the Elite/ Éclat/ Esprit continued with Zenith-Stromberg carbs. But every time the Fed’s emissions regulations became more strict, the mixture became more lean, the cam timing became more lame, and the ignition’s static timing became more neutered. It was a downhill slide. By 1979, the engine was pretty much strangled. The only upside was that the intake ports got 1mm taller to help with breathing.
The unfortunate moniker, “The Torqueless Wonder” applied to that last iteration of the Fed 907, “NOT” to all 907s.
All of which was un-doable if you weren’t above tampering with what Uncle Sam had mandated. Take a few liberties by adjusting the carbs for “best running” instead of meeting a spec CO emission, re-time the cams by resetting the stock pulleys (just a little bit of your time, no parts req’d), and bump the static timing up to 12-14 BTDC, and the late Fed 907 could once again be quite sporty.
Regards,
Tim Engel
A nice one in the UK is about 7 thousand pounds, 7.5k USD roughly.
Except the frames did not fare well in the UK. Over here, these go for around $10k in good shape. A very nice mechanic-restored one was on Hemmings recently for $12k..could be a crack-pipe price, though. These 2 cars are in West Virginia, which is not known for good weather but does not have the worst winter weather either.
Skippy — Even parts aren’t a major problem. Lotus dipped into many other car manufacturer parts bins, so many of the parts are available if you know what you’re looking for. Get your hands on a good Cross-Reference sheet from one of the Lotus clubs. The 907 engine is unique to Lotus, but parts are no problem. When you get into Lotus-only parts, like if you bend a rear trailing arm, then Lotusbits specializes in ‘salvaging’ wrecked/ scrapped Lotus cars, and they can often help you out. I had a Subaru SVX until recently, and it was more difficult to get parts for it than for my Esprit S2 or Éclat.
Regards,
Tim Engel
These are SO close to me, but I already have 15 cars and absolutely no room or time for additional projects. They are not that hard to work on but getting parts can be a challenge. Somebody mentioned that these are ugly cars. I will say that they may not be photogenic but in-person they are long and low and in no-way resemble any American car, especially a 70’s subcompact. Tough to get into the back seat, though…. I truly hope somebody pickes these up soon and makes them roadworthy. They are certainly worthy of being restored.
I like these, they are sort of Gremlin goofy looking, but no more projects for me. I’ve had a series 1.5 French Europa, and a 1991 Elan M100 which I foolishly traded away, both were fun cars. I had a guy tell me he has a Europa that was left in a garage after Hurricane Ivan, I can imagine what it looks like, I keep forgetting to go check it out. I need to thin my herd.
Yeah, in real life they have a cool stance and presence. Not at all like a Pinto or Gremlin. More like a brutalist Volvo 1800ES. I for one have always liked the looks.