What about lotus elite's
Discussion
Read this, then if you've enough time and money, go and but one!www.pistonheads.com/members/showCar.asp?carId=891
The Elite is a FAB car, just remember that even the youngest ones are now 23 years old, and not many were loved. Parts are readily availible, and like you said they are cheap to buy. Don't expect to not have expensive problems.
S1 cars did not have galvanised chassis and therefore some have problems, the suspension at the back is very much like an old racing car, inboard drums connected to the wheel hubs by drive shafts. The main problem here is that the drive shaft is an integral part of the suspension set up, basically forming the top suspension arm, and because of this, the UJ's at either end take a lot of load, weraring out rapidly. The whole rear end is a bugger to work on, replacing a diff can take all day, even with a fully equipt garage 4 post ramp etc, and people who know what they are doing. That said, if you really want one, and get a good one, the 907 will push the car to 130- 135 and it will handle. Buy yourself a pair of thin shoes though, the pedal s are really close! Good luck, info can be found at www.lotusbits.com
>> Edited by Simonelite501 on Friday 2nd September 06:45
The Elite is a FAB car, just remember that even the youngest ones are now 23 years old, and not many were loved. Parts are readily availible, and like you said they are cheap to buy. Don't expect to not have expensive problems.
S1 cars did not have galvanised chassis and therefore some have problems, the suspension at the back is very much like an old racing car, inboard drums connected to the wheel hubs by drive shafts. The main problem here is that the drive shaft is an integral part of the suspension set up, basically forming the top suspension arm, and because of this, the UJ's at either end take a lot of load, weraring out rapidly. The whole rear end is a bugger to work on, replacing a diff can take all day, even with a fully equipt garage 4 post ramp etc, and people who know what they are doing. That said, if you really want one, and get a good one, the 907 will push the car to 130- 135 and it will handle. Buy yourself a pair of thin shoes though, the pedal s are really close! Good luck, info can be found at www.lotusbits.com
>> Edited by Simonelite501 on Friday 2nd September 06:45
the s1 elites eclat used a 2 litre engine the 907 there still quite quick at just under 8 secs to 60 and can do around 130 the s2 cars used the 912 engine which is 2.2 litres which has the same hp rating but more torque so a stronger midrange they do 60 in around 7.5 secs, the 2.2s are a better bet but are fewer in number you should still be able to pick one up though and it'l be a better bet especially for town driving if your set on a elite best to spend more and get a well sorted car form the outlet one for 500 may look tempting but unless your a mechanic will cost a fortune to bring back into reliable operation better to spend 3k and buy a top car that already had a good restoration or is in excellent running order, you could also consider a excel as they do not suffer from a lot of the niggly faults that you get on the elite,eclats
If the car is going to be a hobby or second car go for the Elite. You could possibly use a good one as a daily driver but, you'd be getting it serviced every couple of months and the minor faults would drive you mad. If you need a daily driver go for an Excel its based on Toyota running gear and by Lotus standards is very reliable.
As far as I remember, the Eclat is virtually identical to the Elite mechanically. The Toyota bits were introduced on the Excel (after '83 I think). The Eclat originally started as a cheaper alternative to the Elite with lower trim levels, but as it's popularity increased then so did it's options.
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