Conversion Car

[JontyR]

Hi,

I'm looking to venture back into the world of Lotus (I owned an Esprit turbo back in 1997, so it has been a while!)

The initial plan was to purchase an Elise and enjoy it for what it is over the summer months so my daughter and I can go on some road trips. This has been slightly curtailed due to this bloody virus but hopefully we can at least enjoy the tail of the summer months.

Once the winter months start pulling in I was then planning to strip the car down and do a full rebuild replacing all of the suspension, brakes, engine etc and aiming it towards a more track focused vehicle.

So with this in mind which model does the collective recommend? I would ideally like something from 2000 onwards, mileage isnt a factor, but I have to think of which chassis is the best one for adaption as well as what items will sell to recoup some of the initial outlay as well as not having to store them for too long.

Do I go with an S2 or an S3? If S2, do I go with the K-Series or the Toyota engine? I will be selling both engine and box so which would be the quickest to part with? Interior are there models that will attract more attention?

Thanks in advance

[moles]

Cheap s1 if you replacing it all anyway. Just get one with a straight chassis.

[kambites]

If you're planning on a rebuild of that severity anyway, start off with a K-series car. S1 vs S2 comes down to preference over the styling and whether you value the easier entry/exit of the S2 tub really. Earlier cars tend to be lighter, although although I dare say you could strip quite a lot of weight out of a later one if you really wanted to.

[CousinDupree]

It depends on what engine you are trying to transplant in there.

There is more room in the 'yota S2 chassis for activities, but more proven conversions available for certain engines and the Rover engined cars.

[Turn7]

Buy a Honda'd car and save the aggro....

[JontyR]

Thank you for the replies. Certainly good information so far.

CousinDupree said:

It depends on what engine you are trying to transplant in there.

There is more room in the 'yota S2 chassis for activities, but more proven conversions available for certain engines and the Rover engined cars.

I think I prefer the styling of the S2 more than the S1 too. However the plan is to find a wide body Exige kit

Turn7 said:

Buy a Honda'd car and save the aggro....

It is tempting, however I wasnt planning on following the conventional k20/k24 route, plus Im a bit of a control freak and would only want to redo the majority of it.