1963 LOTUS ELAN SERIES 1

Make: LOTUS
Model: ELAN SERIES 1
Registration: WTN 874A
Engine Size (cc): 1558
Year of Manufacture: 1963
Date First Registered: 01/11/1963
Current V5: YES
Location: PICKERING
You can view from: Wednesday 5 November 2025 - Tuesday 11 November 2025.

Current V5 present. Paperwork includes a buff log book, two MOT certificates, some printed information, and invoices.

The vendor has provided the following:

• This is one of the early S1 Elans with a body manufactured by S.Bourne & Co of Nottingham (Bourne body plate in place)
• The car was purchased in 1975 by my father and used on an infrequent basis until 1984, when corrosion of the original chassis (a common problem with early Elans) meant that a replacement was required
• It was stripped and rebuilt on a new Lotus galvanised chassis
• The engine was rebuilt (the Elan has its original engine), the clutch replaced, and the suspension rebuilt
• We have the invoices from Paul Matty Sports Cars and Christopher Neil Sports Cars for the parts used, and from Gordon Smith Engineering for crankshaft balancing
• The car is fitted with S2 rear lights and what appears to be an S2 dashboard, which may have been an attempt at modernisation by a previous owner
• The hood is missing, but there are hood rails and side mountings present, which are in the boot with 4 Lotus hub caps
• There is a hard top which was fitted to the car when purchased in 1975 (but removed then by my father and not used since)
• The rear screen is cracked, but a replacement 26R screen from Tony Thompson Racing (which will hopefully fit) will be supplied with the car
• The rear hard top fittings have been lost along with one of the three front clips – the hard top was just resting on the car for the photographs, which show it in place
• My Father only drove this Elan open with no roof or hood and used a tonneau cover (present but tatty)
• The car is registered in the name of our family firm because it was insured under a motor trade policy, which required cars in long-term use to be registered in the name of the policy holder. We’ve kept it that way because there can’t be many Elans with one registered owner for over 50 years
• The Elan has hardly been used – MOT cert dated 15/10/84 shows mileage of 11084 and current mileage is 11798, so 714 miles in over 40 years, most of that mileage many years ago
• The car has been stored in a dry garage but has had long periods of inactivity lasting many years, has not run for a long time, and has no battery (but the battery box is present)
• The work done was over 40 years ago, and the car will now need restoration