I have the opportunity to acquire, free of charge, a '74 J-H roadster with a 16 valve Lotus engine. It belongs to a relative and he doesn't have the ambition to restore it. According to him it has some rust and needs some suspension work.

The car is kept garaged in Rockford IL-- a long way from Reno, but I'll be going back there for a wedding over Thanksgiving and I'll look at it in person then.

Do any of the roadster nuts on this board have any experience with these bad boys?
I imagine that it would turn into a money pit (hard to find parts, '70s British electrical system...)

 

These are like a lot of other early roadsters. It will cost you more to restore it than you can buy one for already restored. Most restorations of these cars are done out of love for the car not with making money out of it when done. So unless you fall in love with it when you see it...leave it.
Here's an example. I have a few Porsche friends that love there 914's and have spent $8000+ to get them repainted to a concours level. The problem is the car, on a good day might be worth $5000. And that is just the cost of painting it. There is still all the mechanical,electrical, and various other parts and labor.
But I have restored cars with the idea to just drive it. This can be done for less money. A cheaper paint job and doing the work myself and using junk yard parts, I think I just broke even when I finally sold them.

 

I agree with funcar.

Restorations are expensive work especially if you dont do the work yourself. I can probably get you in touch with a current owner if you want. I also know a Healey restoration shop in WI if you want that info.

 

Where in Wis. is the restorer located?
Cheeseland being my homeland, I'm usually there a couple of times a year. Seeing a restored J-H and talking to someone who's done it would help.

Any details on the Lotus 4 cyl engine? Power? Reliability?

Much obliged

 

Search the web... I almost bought one of these a couple of years ago... found a ton of sites that gave all kinds of good stuff.

 

If the deal is you gotta restore it if you are going to take it, then taking the car and finding someone that wants to restore it could be a possibility. There is always someone out there that is looking for a car to work on or parts from this one that can be restored onto another AH.

 

cool engine...$hitty car....had one,dumped it for a ....914 i think...it's was a long time ago.

 

The name of the restoration shop in WI is Fourintune. The owner is Tom Kovacs. I know is brother and have met him a couple of times. He is one of the best at restoring Austin Healeys.

The car is not that great and you will spend alot of cash restoring it. Look Tom up and give him a call to get some ideas.

 

Thanks for all your input guys. You posts somewhat confirmed my suspicions that this car will be a lot like my ex-girlfriend-- work on 'er all week for a 10 minute ride on the weekend.

I will take a ganders at it over the holidays and then decide...

Hey Meat- what town is Fourintune in?

[This message has been edited by Guntersmurf (edited November 07, 2000).]

 

www.fourintune.com