eBay: 1973 Black TC Special with a fuel injected Zetec

[BDA]

I'm not disputing you, but I might think that in San Diego, California, January is pretty much like most other times of the year.

[4129R]

Limiting the market to the warmer States, limits the price.

It seems a lot of Europas come from around the Chicago area.

I wonder how many of the 50 States had a temperature of above 60'F today.

[BDA]

Good points.

[surfguitar58]

That's a pretty disappointing price in my view. While every aspect of the car is not beyond criticism, if it runs as well as it looks, I would have thought it it would fetch much more.

I'll bet the 90,000 miles scared some people away. They have no idea a 10,000 mile car can be a rust stain on the barn floor and 200,000 miles can be good as new (because it was rebuild 3 or 4 times).

[EuropaTC]

That's a pretty disappointing price in my view. While every aspect of the car is not beyond criticism, if it runs as well as it looks, I would have thought it it would fetch much more.
It maybe that the market values originality much more than I do and part of that maybe concerns about the build quality of the modifications needed to convert to the Zetec but (again, I am making assumptions about that and the drivability), this car should be as much fun to drive and easier to maintain.

I'd agree it's on the low side and going on things like paintwork and how clean the car is, it should have probably fetched more. 

But.....    the forum members we have here aren't typical of your average British Lotus owner and I suspect it's the same over there. In the UK originality is everything, you want to see what some people pay for complete wrecks just because they are covered with an inch barn dust but are all original.

IMO the problem for that car is the mods;  the most stand out for me is the front spoiler/air dam that looks wrong and the bent lower rear links, no doubt fabricated like that but I can't see why or what benefit they bring.   That's two observations that would make me question just how well engineered the rest of the obvious mods are - the engine transplant,  the suspension looks to be lowered and there's what looks like overspray on the steering bellows, damage to the lower wishbone & front closing plate from the roll bar -  simple repairs that haven't been addressed.

Add in it's a probably a genuine JPS car but doesn't come with the TC engine (even if it was in bits) and it's enough to put off a lot of UK enthusiasts which might be the same over your side of the pond.  It's a shame because the body looks well cared for and I've always liked the black JPS cars.

Brian

[4129R]

IMHO, if it had a good original 1558 engine in it, and no snow plough on the front, it should have fetched around $30,000.

But he wanted to sell the car in a hurry.

To find an engine and get it fitted properly would have cost around $7,000.

The snow plough change to original is only around $200, so it should still be worth north of $20,000.