simon_prickett

Hi there,

For those of you who remember me, I used to own a lightly modified read 98 turbo wagon... for various reasons I've taken a year off performance cars, then gone and bought this:






Hope everyone's well, what do you reckon?

Simon.

Scooby555 2

I suppose someone has got to say it ......



Can you fit me in for a short back and sides ???

AndiThompson

But lose the stripes mate..

sammyh

iTrader: (1)

Very nice, but was your car in the way when they put the double yellow lines down the street

wanted

Cracking motor..........but those stripes

simon_prickett

Yeah, I come and go with the stripes... they can come off as they've not been on long - previous owner put them on, but I'm not sure yet...

Certainly generates interest

Simon.

Jen

Excellent Simon

Gedi

can you drop us a paragraph or 2 on your thoughts of both the Elise and whats its like in comparision to the scoob?

I'd be quite interested in this.

Wannabe

I like the stipes, gives it that lotus racing effect, i think it would look a little boring without them


Sy

DJ Dunk

iTrader: (5)

Nice. Considering one of these at the moment too. Swaying more towards the S2000 though from a practicality point of view. Not sure the Elise is really a suitable day to day car for me.

How do you find the 'roof' I use the term loosely Not sure I can get on with it.

A few pointers on how you find the car would be good

Cheers.

Chris L

Still like the mk1 Elise - damn fine motor and certainly no hair dressers car - that is a serious sports car. What model is it Simon?

Chris

simon_prickett

Hi there,

Model wise, it's one of the first 1997 series 1 cars (it has a P plate). It was originally owned by Lotus Cars, and has had the following additions:

- Lotus Sports Suspension
- Sport 160 Victory Wheels (these are bigger and wider than standard ones)
- Yokohama Advan Neova tyres
- Stainless steel exhaust
- Willans 4 point harnesses
- A few other bits and pieces

It's done 29,700 miles since new and had had the expensive C cam belt service done when I got it. It's about due a cheap A service, and I'll be taking it on Bruntingthorpe in early October with Ian (igratton) also driving.

Here's a pic of the harnesses - note the roll bar cover and back window are removed - it was hot on Sunday:



Simon.

simon_prickett

Dunk - the roof can be 'fun' - I'm 6 foot 2 and a half inches tall, mostly legs... I have to almost double up completely to get in, and am considering a removable steering wheel boss to ease getting in and out when the roof's on.

Getting out is obviously difficult with the roof on - I've fallen out onto my **** on the driveway once already. On warm days with no roof, getting in and out's no problem - you just stand up in the car and step out.

I have a wider than average single garage, and it goes in there no problem - the passenger and driver can both get out in the garage.

I'm using the car for fun only, I run a Seat Leon TDI to do the 48,000 miles a year I do driving to work and back - this is a great car and just keeps on running even though it's never really cleaned and isn't garaged.

I was originally looking at a 340R, Elise S1, Integra Type R Racing or Smart Roadster for various reasons - you can read about my reasoning on the car page at www.crudworks.org - this page needs updating though.

I eventually ruled out the 340R as it just rained too much this year, and the service costs due to body removal can be really scary. I wasn't considering an Exige as they're still too expensive, and didn't want a S2 Elise as they're poor value for money compared with what's out there in the S1 market.

I went for a ride in the Blink Motorsport Elise (old S1 with Civic Type R iVTEC engine in it) and was seriously impressed, so set about finding a shed of a S1 with loads of miles on for conversion.

I eventually decided to spend a little more on the base car, and will reconsider Honda conversion later. When this one came up, it had all the extras I wanted and had been really well looked after. It cost me £12k, which I think is pretty reasonable - that was a semi-private sale, I bought it as a private sale from a dealer who had been using it as his own car.

It drives really well, you have to be firm with the pedals and gearshift, but can finger tip the steering, even with the bigger wheels and fatter tyres on. I was worried that modifying the S1 would upset the delicate balance that Lotus engineers worked hard on, but I think this car's got it right - it's VERY stiff and low, but damps out B roads nicely and still steers like a go kart.

With the car being so low and having harnesses, you really feel in the car rather than on it - makes the Leon seem like a bus when I get in that to go to work, and I feel really exposed only having standard seat belts in the Seat too now.

I'll put some more on www.crudworks.org when I get the time and have done Bruntingthorpe, but so far Elise ownership is pretty good.

I sold my Impreza (98 turbo UK wagon, OZ Super Leggera 17s, Scoobysport back box, decat centre, Scoobysport N+ brakes etc) after someone hit it with a VW Transporter van whilst I was stationary, and it was poorly repaired. I also started doing silly miles to go to work so having the Subaru (which was an only car) didn't make sense. Hence I went without for a year and saved up - also got made redundant which didn't help! At the end of the day the Elise is the old 80/20 rule, I'm getting most of the fun most of the time - I could have gone for something more 'serious' but that'd need lots of looking after, and I have a toddler to keep entertained as well, so I want a car to get in, drive, and enjoy.

Must admit the new Integra Type R ran it close, especially given all the rain we've had this year, but I've had a powerful FWD car before (I used to own Fiat's press fleet 20v turbo Coupe - it was in magazines and all sorts), so wanted RWD this time.

Maybe see you on a track day - I live 1.8 miles from the paddock entrance to Donington, so aim to be up there a lot - I'm often up there watching too.

Thanks for the comments,

Simon.

andrewdelvard

What a stonking motor. Really impressed. I suppose this is one car that if it generates any hairdresser remarks is another way for the perpetrator to say, "I know nothing about cars".
Great purchase mate. Congratulations.

simon_prickett

Only one problem, it trips Bookatrack's sound meter at 103dbA static!!!

Brun

[Asbestos suit on]I like the Stripes [/Asbestos suit off]

Marcusjames

Not overly keen on the green but love it with those stripes. That's how that colour is supposed to be. The wheels really top it off.

This is exactly the car and price I am looking for. Let me know when you sell it.

simon_prickett

Marcus, if you keep looking daily and are in a position to pounce with cash, there's a few really cracking series 1 cars that come up. I'd recommend going for one with at least Lotus Sports Suspension as it really transforms the car.

Here's the list of websites I was checking daily to find my car:

www.bookatrack.com
www.seloc.org
www.autotrader.co.uk
www.lotusribblevalley.com
www.adrianblyth.co.uk
www.nutleysports.co.uk
www.paulmattysportscars.co.uk
www.strattonmotorcompany.com
www.caterham.co.uk
www.thelotuscentre.com
www.exiges.com
www.pistonheads.com
www.findit.co.uk
www.ebay.co.uk
www.british-cars.co.uk
www.easytrack.co.uk
www.moto-build.com

Do check places like the Caterham site, as Caterham often take interesting Lotuses in p/x.

Best of luck,

Simon.

DJ Dunk

iTrader: (5)

Nice one Simon, thanks for the write-up interesting stuff. Got the Yaris for doing the shopping, but not sure I'm ready for the full-on stripped out bit just yet. Think I'll ease myself in gently, being a cautious kinda chap Still gonna give a couple a drive just to be sure though

Enjoy the car, will definately be at home on the track . . . and with a 2.0 iVTEC lump in it . . . Awesome

NeilCH

Simon

Seeing your car with the rear window reminded me, I was given advice to remove the rear window on track days, as they've seen a few break.

Rgds
Neil

igratton

Howdy Folks,

Simons Lotus is a great car - quite why people often refer to them as hairdresser cars ??? maybe they have never driven one.

I think the elise offers a good focused driving experience with very little to get in the way of what the car is telling you. Considering how low and hard the car is right now it tracks well down country lanes and b roads.

I'm looking forward to taking this car for a spin at brunters next month - I've not driven an elise/exige/vx220 car on track for well over a year now so it will be good fun. Such a shame the exhaust may have to come off as it sounds great.

The i-VTEC conversion will make it an even better car. Many people believe the extruded chassis on the S1 (and S2) deserves a power hike. I can just picture a JDM K20A (is that right ?) motor sat in the back of this car with a nice LSD - it will be lovely...and if thats not enough then a US sourced supercharger kit will help

I think if simon gets himself a good set of spanners (go on m8 - you know you want to) the conversion could be done via a 'less expensive' route (You know where my engine crane is )

[Edited by igratton - 9/18/2003 1:42:58 PM]