Nice S1 on eBay

[Tony K]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1977-Lotus-...1QQcmdZViewItem

The owner of my former S1 keeps going back and forth about selling or keeping it. He has put it on eBay and pulled the auction three times now. This listing is, I think, the fourth. Something tells me that he won't be keeping it for too long. I have kept in touch with him, and as of this past Sunday it has been treating him well; I don't know why he is listing it now. I'd love to see this car end up in the hands of a LEF member or future LEF member!

[Kjakk]

I would love to have this car.

[Tony K]

I would love to help you obtain it!

[Kjakk]

When and where was the engine work done?

[Jeanvm]

I'd love to see this car end up in the hands of a LEF member or future LEF member!

I would love to see the car end up in Belgium and with a new LEF member (so I can see the red S1 in the flesh)

Jean

[Tony K]

When and where was the engine work done?

The work was done at MB Classic Sportscars in Cincinnati, Ohio, by me. Late 2005, with around 31k miles.

"Rebuild" is a bit of a stretch; The car had a 907 with a 11/74 casting date when I bought it in 1999. I took a good 26k mile 907 with a 10/79 casting date that had never been apart, opened it up, checked all of the clearances and tolerances, replaced a few parts, and put it back together with new seals. I used the head that had already been on the car, because it didn't have the emissions ports and was redone by Sportiva Motorcars in Detroit in 1998 when the car had 22k miles. I only did a valve adjustment to it.

The engine runs perfect and smooth, makes perfect oil pressure, the car has never overheated, the transaxle has no issues, and the car is very nice and clean overall. The car has been maintained regularly over the years; things like hoses, belts, radiator, bearings, water pump, clutch, etc., have all been replaced in recent years/miles. The car as a whole has never been disassembled and restored; it has been kept up over the years. The car is far from perfect, has a few small annoyances and maintenance issues, but it is one of the better S1s out there, and the only one with the G-man's signature.

My last pictures of it, taken February of this year, just before loading it onto the truck that took it to its current owner:

You can see sitting behind the engine is a seal for the door opening; I took this off of my white S1 and put it in the car at the last second because I had forgotten the seal on the door was torn (see below), and had not told the buyer.

NOTE: The interior is not leather, as the seller states. It is vinyl.

It's not perfect, but it has had a loving home for a very long time, including the known owners before me. It would be a shame to see this car neglected.

- Tony

Inside front compartment:

This picture is from June of 2006, about 6000 miles ago. The undercarriage has not been cleaned since then, so it has more dirt/dust now, but still looks the same otherwise. Note the larger oil cooler:

Edited April 22, 2008 by Tony K

[Kjakk]

Thanks for the info. I assume there is a pretty detailed history / service record on the car, is that correct?

[Tony K]

Records date back to 1994; I have a small amount of information about the car prior to that, but nothing on paper. The majority of the records are receipts.

Owner history off the top of my head (years are approximate):

1993 - 1997 -- Terry Bayma, Lotus club member & Elan M100 owner, 18,000 - 20,000 miles

1997 - 1998 -- Dave Allevato, 20,000 miles, added less than 1000 miles

1998 - 1999 -- Louis Carl Herber III, did a lot of work to the car but barely drove it, only a few hundred miles.

1999 - 2008 -- Me, Tony Krncevic, bought it with 21,100 miles, sold it with 36,900 miles.

2008 - Present -- Daniel Clowes

Although I had bought the car from Louis, I met Terry at a Lotus club event not long after I bought the car. Terry said it had been a full service history car when he owned it and sold it, and that he had bought it from a guy in central Ohio who owned a bowling alley or some other similar business.

Louis told me that Dave had lost the service history when his basement flooded. I never was able to get in touch with Dave, but oh well. I managed to get one record from Terry's ownership from a well-known Lotus shop that serviced it, and received all of Dave's and Louis' records. But of its present history file, the majority of records are from my ownership, which should be expected given the miles I drove it and years I owned it vs. the others. Almost half of this car's entire miles were driven by me. I did not really keep a journal of everything, but I kept every receipt for anything other than fuel and oil, and could write notes/commentary for everything that happened and has been done.

- Tony

[USAndretti42]

From what I've seen on here, that car must be about the best S1 currently for sale. Tony has always been meticulous about maintaining his cars and believes in using them. The fact that he regularly takes long road trips in them shows how well he looks afer them.

Whoever wins the auction will get a great car.

[Kjakk]

Do you think it would be advisable to buy this car without a personal inspection? Since the history is pretty well documented, you could feel a lot better about it than with some cars, but I don't know. Seems like all the typical S1 stuff has been sorted out already though. Not sure if there are any recent pictures anywhere, that might help.

[Tony K]

Chuck,

I have been in touch with the owner (Dan C.) regularly since he bought it from me. I don't believe he has driven it more than a few hundred miles. I talked to him the other day, and he said the car is fine and his reason for selling it is that he plans to move. The photos in the snow I posted above are only 2 months old, and I don't think anything has changed on the car since then.

If you are serious about this car, email me at [email protected], and I will take the time later this evening or tomorrow to tell you in detail about the car, what to expect, what it needs, etc. If you give me a list of your concerns, big and small, I will answer all of them completely. With one early exception, I serviced this car exclusively throughout my nine years of ownership, and it became more reliable through the years. If you trust my assessment, then you can feel comfortable in evaluating the car with my knowledge of it counting as an inspection. I don't have anything to gain or lose financially through this; my interest here is to see that the car receives a good home, and the one thing I do have at stake is the respect of my peers within this community.

Here is some video my wife shot on that very cold day in February that the truck came to pick it up:

(the white and blue S1s make cameo appearances, too!)

Cheers,

Tony

[plumdeplakmuis]

Jeanvm

"I would love to see the car end up in Belgium and with a new LEF member (so I can see the red S1 in the flesh)"

I'm doing my very best to let it end up in Amsterdam,

That's not to far from Belgium.

As for the pickup, is there anyone who knows if there

is still a ocean liner / Ferry from the US to Europe.

To drive it to the Netherlands myselve would be absolutly fabulous.