Browno's Mustard Elise S1
Discussion
Hello all,
The first couple of posts here will be an update to get PH up to date on my story with the car so far, since I bought it in August, and are brought across from another forum - then I will start to catalogue the ongoing story!)
Having sold the Exocet kit that I build and then made stupidly quick with a turbo thread here, I decided I needed to find the next toy. Having looked at (and bid on) some MG RV8’s, I realised that I am not yet old enough for one, and so needed something a bit more exciting!
An interest in influential or interestingly engineered cars also led me down a wormhole into the Elise - and the realisation that there seems to be quite an interest blossoming (such as analogue automotive and others) settled me on an S1.
After some browsing, I kept coming back to one particular ad - for a yellow car (I had decided I could not have a dull colour), which seemed to have good history (initially a lotus car, then a factory engineer and then the last owner for 19 years) and just 37k miles, and a hardtop.
It was in Norfolk (just 8 miles from Hethel!) and so I conveniently arranged to look while we were on holiday nearby! The seller was a brilliant guy that has been involved with Lotus for decades and is an expert in them (he also runs factory tours too), which helped with confidence that it would be a good one (he even has a Lotus ”Chris Boardman” bike!).
Having had a look at it, then it was a pretty quick decision that this was the one - so it was quickly agreed that I would have it, and so I got a very early train down on Saturday morning to collect.
On setting off, it took the usual first few miles to get comfortable and accustomed to it all, but it felt right from the off - super sharp and responsive! The drive back (with the hardtop fitted as I had nowhere else to stash it!) was warm - with the windows providing some ventilation, but the engine meaning the lower half of the cabin was pretty toasty!
Since I’ve got home, I’ve discovered a couple of things to improve and one issue - the speedo seems to have an intermittent fault where after about 20mins driving it will flicker, and operate when it feels like it - which seems to be a common case of replacing the sender, which the seller has been brilliant and is getting sorted out for me, so no complaints there (the car has only done a couple of hundred miles in the last 2 years, so this may have gone un-noticed!). Otherwise, it is a case of really giving it a damn good clean and fettle, replacing the PPF by the rear vents and enjoy it!
The plate came on the car, and I am undecided whether to keep it or take it off - it’s a stretch from the intended, but I’ve stuck some new, less cluttered, plates on for now (yes, I’ve dropped the space) to see if I like it - but opinions welcome from the love, hate and even ambivalent camps!
Here are some pics from the ad, and a couple since collection:
Inevitably it was time to do a few little jobs - first off being the wheels, as I couldn't (and still can't!) decide if the grey is a little flat and they need a refurb into either metallic silver or anthracite, but in the meantime, I added Lotus graphics as per the Sport 160 just to break them up a bit:
Next was time for the first bit of maintenance and a look underneath to prepare to replace the speedo sensor (the seller had offered to get it replaced at a garage of my choice, but I said that I would be happy to replace it, if he can supply the part, in the spirit of everyone being reasonable). First up was getting to grips with lifting the Elise (I have a mid-rise lift in the garage, which is really useful!) - but from a read online seems to need to be done exactly right, or there is risk of damage of falling off the lift, so I wanted to take it carefully the first time!
Job one was to remove the undertray to get to the rear lifting points (a series of 8mm bolts and 4 larger allen heads) - which was pretty grimy on both sides, so in the spirit of doing things right, got a good wash off with some degreaser to provide a good improvement, which should make it nicer to handle next time it comes off. Overall, this added to my initial impression that this is a car that has been well looked after and maintained, but not overly fiddled with.
After some double checking, I got the pads positioned and up she went. I then had a bit of fight with getting off the wheel - the locking nuts have chrome caps on, which use a tubular plastic tool to extract them before then inserting the key. It should all be quite simple, however 26 year old plastic had become quite brittle and fragile - so the tube disintegrated as I was removing the cap, which took some delicate needle-nose plier work to extract. Thankfully the tool is readily available - and even better, appears to be the same as used on a Freelander - so I have a replacement coming for £4!
I had planned to lift it to do some prep to remove the speedo sensor - essentially soaking it with penetrating oil, as I had expected it to not want to move! The good news was that I tried an exploratory turn on the bolt and it came straight out - and the sensor was easily popped out! I also checked the sensor wiring in the ducting, and that was all in good condition with no sign of damage (another potential failure point). This is really good news, as I was expecting a fight - so I could simply drop the replacement in, and all was good with the speedo then working perfectly.
Again, you can see that things are grubby under the arches - but it has been upgraded to S2 bilstein suspension, which is a great bonus! I haven't seen anything that needs immediate attention yet - but am already planning a good cleaning/fettling underneath over winter to keep me occupied and get it looking its best!
Another little job then appeared - I was out for a drive with my son and the interior mirror dropped into his lap! It had snapped on the stem, and had clearly previously been glued back together, so a replacement was needed... A little googling later, and I could source a new Lotus part for £180 + delivery... but it was also clear that (as with many other parts in the car!), it was a parts-bin component - and had GM stamping on the rear. The mirror itself slots onto a plinth stuck to the screen, so I wanted to replace like-for like so off to consult the hive mind of the internet! A little sleuthing later and it seemed like a Corsa B was the most likely candidate - and luckily there was one on ebay for just over a tenner delivered. It arrived promptly, and thankfully fits perfectly, so another little fix completed!
The next job was to sort out the old stereo in the dash, which was an original '99 Alpine, but wasn't working well - poor sound, wouldn't tune into the radio etc - so I had seen on one of the Lotus forums that there was a cheap carplay capable unit that fits quite well into the Elise. I figured it was worth a go, so £38 later on Aliexpress (with a harness adaptor and right-angle aerial adaptor), I had a new unit fitted, which seems pretty good so far - carplay works well (mostly wireless, but occasionally wants to be wired!), and it sounds ok.
For now I have retained the pioneer bass tube that a previous owner has put into the shelf space behind the seats, but I may remove that in the future, as that looks like useful stowage space (and of course, it's all about light weight!).
Mostly, I have since been just driving it - I did have one moment when out for a drive the other day, where there was an audible creak from the front suspension - which looked like it could have been either the front ARB bushes, or the grommet where the steering rack goes into the cabin getting a bit dry and creaking. A quick look underneath and a little dab of silicone grease seems to have resolved this for now, but I'll be keeping an eye on that (potentially refresh the bushes at some point in the future - but they look ok for now, so not an imminent need!).
I have been continuing to get it out as the weather is ok - and enjoying it all so far! Next task on the list is to look at the fobs for the Cobra alarm - I have 2 fobs to arm the system, which are both dead (even with new batteries), but have the touch keys to disarm the immobiliser (and program new fobs) - hopefully I can either get mine repaired, or get replacements and get it back into action...
In the meantime, I stopped to pick up a takeaway the other day, and thought it stood out nicely in a sea of monochrome!
Another small improvement made… I’ve managed to get out and about a bit, and gone to a few local events to get out and about, and have ticked over 38000 miles (meaning I’ve now done more miles since buying it than it had done in the previous 2 years!).
One thing that had been annoying me on purchase was the “clear” stick-on PPF-like chip protection panels by the rear arches, which were darkened and discoloured, and obviously hadn’t been replaced (possibly ever!) - as seen with the lower piece in the picture below. As is par for the course, there are a good few stonechips along the nose and sills - I am still undecided whether I will get the paint in those areas re-done at some point, or to leave it, as of course, it’s only original once…
So, it was out with the hot air gun and patience to remove them - which was certainly a challenge, as they were very brittle, so even when warmed, they were coming off in tiny fragments (like 5mm at a time!), and leaving a thick layer of glue residue, which then needed a lot of work with white spirit and swearing to remove!.
After getting rid of the glue, then it was relatively simple to clean up the area with a clay bar, and a good polish before (carefully!) applying the new film. I am sure that I could have spent more time (or money on a pro) to get it more perfect - but this is certainly much better than it was, and means that these areas now blend in, rather than sticking out like a sore thumb, and I think that I will plan to replace these regularly, given the low cost and the hope that doing so will make it easier to do!
Back on the ramp again, as I had noticed that the flexi-joint in the exhaust front pipe (manifold to cat) was looking a bit ropey - it didn't seem to be leaking, but the braiding was peeling back and had a big jubilee clip around it! A quick look around, and I managed to pick a replacement up on a deal for just £58, so thought it would be rude not to replace it, so usual process of undertrays off and up on the ramp...
Old pipe removed, which is clearly past it's best, but not entirely knackered...
and replaced by the new one (definitely not welded by an artisan, but functional!) - but another job sorted to get everything as good and fresh as possible.
Next, I had my wife busy with a project to help free up a bit of space in the garage, and enable us to use the treadmill - as the Lotus hardtop has been carefully balanced on it, and needed a better storage and protection solution!
I didn’t quite fancy paying £350+ for a genuine hardtop bag, but instead got online and ordered some waxed cotton material, some wadding and soft fleece material along with some 2” webbing and d-rings. After some measuring and paper engineering, my wife has done a great job of making a giant padded envelope to put the roof into which as straps to allow it to hang safely from the garage wall.
Laying it out and firmly attaching the d-rings to the straps (eventually with 3 rows of double-stitching to be certain!)
Ending up with one huge, padded bag - It almost looks big enough to sleep in, and would certainly be warm with the fleece lining and padding! With the hardtop in place, it then hangs up nicely on the wall alongside the mini where it won‘t be caught by passing bodies or stray tools! Overall she has done an amazing job - with the overall size of the thing, it has meant wrestling with 3m x 1.5m lengths of fabric, and making sure that it all lined up, with beautifully finished seams - and plenty of padding to keep it well protected! Unfortunately, she has made me promised that I never ask her to make such a thing again, as it was such an unwieldy thing to put together with the multiple big layers of thick fabric!
Next up was an hour to give it a quick oil change (even treating it to a genuine Lotus filter), and fitted the Hurricane induction kit that I had picked up a little while ago. I also picked up a shower cap when I was ordering from Elise Parts, as an option to allow me to cover up the interior a bit more quickly than assembling the roof if it's wet!
I had seen the Beckwith Engineering rear diffusers and liked the idea of a black powder-coated finish against the yellow. They do two versions of the splitter - flush fit or 50mm extended, which sticks out beyond the bumper line. I thought that the extended version looked a little too much for my general OEM+ preferences, so opted for the flush-fit option, which I thought was reasonable value at £100 delivered.
The OEM panel is a simple flat anodised alloy piece which finishes below the bumper line, while the new one finishes flush with the bumper, and adds a couple of extra fins (obviously adding all of the downforce!) but I thought it might just finish things off a little more cleanly!
With the weather being rough around here in early January, I was bracing to have to take something more sensible, but put on my big boy pants and hopped in for an early start on Sunday morning for my first Bicester scramble, where I parked up in the pre-2001 area among an interesting mixture of cars. My son was most impressed as upon leaving, we ended up in a group on the A34 with a Ferrari 12 Cylindri, DB12 volante, Emira a lovely 993 911 and an M4!
The first couple of posts here will be an update to get PH up to date on my story with the car so far, since I bought it in August, and are brought across from another forum - then I will start to catalogue the ongoing story!)
Having sold the Exocet kit that I build and then made stupidly quick with a turbo thread here, I decided I needed to find the next toy. Having looked at (and bid on) some MG RV8’s, I realised that I am not yet old enough for one, and so needed something a bit more exciting!
An interest in influential or interestingly engineered cars also led me down a wormhole into the Elise - and the realisation that there seems to be quite an interest blossoming (such as analogue automotive and others) settled me on an S1.
After some browsing, I kept coming back to one particular ad - for a yellow car (I had decided I could not have a dull colour), which seemed to have good history (initially a lotus car, then a factory engineer and then the last owner for 19 years) and just 37k miles, and a hardtop.
It was in Norfolk (just 8 miles from Hethel!) and so I conveniently arranged to look while we were on holiday nearby! The seller was a brilliant guy that has been involved with Lotus for decades and is an expert in them (he also runs factory tours too), which helped with confidence that it would be a good one (he even has a Lotus ”Chris Boardman” bike!).
Having had a look at it, then it was a pretty quick decision that this was the one - so it was quickly agreed that I would have it, and so I got a very early train down on Saturday morning to collect.
On setting off, it took the usual first few miles to get comfortable and accustomed to it all, but it felt right from the off - super sharp and responsive! The drive back (with the hardtop fitted as I had nowhere else to stash it!) was warm - with the windows providing some ventilation, but the engine meaning the lower half of the cabin was pretty toasty!
Since I’ve got home, I’ve discovered a couple of things to improve and one issue - the speedo seems to have an intermittent fault where after about 20mins driving it will flicker, and operate when it feels like it - which seems to be a common case of replacing the sender, which the seller has been brilliant and is getting sorted out for me, so no complaints there (the car has only done a couple of hundred miles in the last 2 years, so this may have gone un-noticed!). Otherwise, it is a case of really giving it a damn good clean and fettle, replacing the PPF by the rear vents and enjoy it!
The plate came on the car, and I am undecided whether to keep it or take it off - it’s a stretch from the intended, but I’ve stuck some new, less cluttered, plates on for now (yes, I’ve dropped the space) to see if I like it - but opinions welcome from the love, hate and even ambivalent camps!
Here are some pics from the ad, and a couple since collection:
Inevitably it was time to do a few little jobs - first off being the wheels, as I couldn't (and still can't!) decide if the grey is a little flat and they need a refurb into either metallic silver or anthracite, but in the meantime, I added Lotus graphics as per the Sport 160 just to break them up a bit:
Next was time for the first bit of maintenance and a look underneath to prepare to replace the speedo sensor (the seller had offered to get it replaced at a garage of my choice, but I said that I would be happy to replace it, if he can supply the part, in the spirit of everyone being reasonable). First up was getting to grips with lifting the Elise (I have a mid-rise lift in the garage, which is really useful!) - but from a read online seems to need to be done exactly right, or there is risk of damage of falling off the lift, so I wanted to take it carefully the first time!
Job one was to remove the undertray to get to the rear lifting points (a series of 8mm bolts and 4 larger allen heads) - which was pretty grimy on both sides, so in the spirit of doing things right, got a good wash off with some degreaser to provide a good improvement, which should make it nicer to handle next time it comes off. Overall, this added to my initial impression that this is a car that has been well looked after and maintained, but not overly fiddled with.
After some double checking, I got the pads positioned and up she went. I then had a bit of fight with getting off the wheel - the locking nuts have chrome caps on, which use a tubular plastic tool to extract them before then inserting the key. It should all be quite simple, however 26 year old plastic had become quite brittle and fragile - so the tube disintegrated as I was removing the cap, which took some delicate needle-nose plier work to extract. Thankfully the tool is readily available - and even better, appears to be the same as used on a Freelander - so I have a replacement coming for £4!
I had planned to lift it to do some prep to remove the speedo sensor - essentially soaking it with penetrating oil, as I had expected it to not want to move! The good news was that I tried an exploratory turn on the bolt and it came straight out - and the sensor was easily popped out! I also checked the sensor wiring in the ducting, and that was all in good condition with no sign of damage (another potential failure point). This is really good news, as I was expecting a fight - so I could simply drop the replacement in, and all was good with the speedo then working perfectly.
Again, you can see that things are grubby under the arches - but it has been upgraded to S2 bilstein suspension, which is a great bonus! I haven't seen anything that needs immediate attention yet - but am already planning a good cleaning/fettling underneath over winter to keep me occupied and get it looking its best!
Another little job then appeared - I was out for a drive with my son and the interior mirror dropped into his lap! It had snapped on the stem, and had clearly previously been glued back together, so a replacement was needed... A little googling later, and I could source a new Lotus part for £180 + delivery... but it was also clear that (as with many other parts in the car!), it was a parts-bin component - and had GM stamping on the rear. The mirror itself slots onto a plinth stuck to the screen, so I wanted to replace like-for like so off to consult the hive mind of the internet! A little sleuthing later and it seemed like a Corsa B was the most likely candidate - and luckily there was one on ebay for just over a tenner delivered. It arrived promptly, and thankfully fits perfectly, so another little fix completed!
The next job was to sort out the old stereo in the dash, which was an original '99 Alpine, but wasn't working well - poor sound, wouldn't tune into the radio etc - so I had seen on one of the Lotus forums that there was a cheap carplay capable unit that fits quite well into the Elise. I figured it was worth a go, so £38 later on Aliexpress (with a harness adaptor and right-angle aerial adaptor), I had a new unit fitted, which seems pretty good so far - carplay works well (mostly wireless, but occasionally wants to be wired!), and it sounds ok.
For now I have retained the pioneer bass tube that a previous owner has put into the shelf space behind the seats, but I may remove that in the future, as that looks like useful stowage space (and of course, it's all about light weight!).
Mostly, I have since been just driving it - I did have one moment when out for a drive the other day, where there was an audible creak from the front suspension - which looked like it could have been either the front ARB bushes, or the grommet where the steering rack goes into the cabin getting a bit dry and creaking. A quick look underneath and a little dab of silicone grease seems to have resolved this for now, but I'll be keeping an eye on that (potentially refresh the bushes at some point in the future - but they look ok for now, so not an imminent need!).
I have been continuing to get it out as the weather is ok - and enjoying it all so far! Next task on the list is to look at the fobs for the Cobra alarm - I have 2 fobs to arm the system, which are both dead (even with new batteries), but have the touch keys to disarm the immobiliser (and program new fobs) - hopefully I can either get mine repaired, or get replacements and get it back into action...
In the meantime, I stopped to pick up a takeaway the other day, and thought it stood out nicely in a sea of monochrome!
Another small improvement made… I’ve managed to get out and about a bit, and gone to a few local events to get out and about, and have ticked over 38000 miles (meaning I’ve now done more miles since buying it than it had done in the previous 2 years!).
One thing that had been annoying me on purchase was the “clear” stick-on PPF-like chip protection panels by the rear arches, which were darkened and discoloured, and obviously hadn’t been replaced (possibly ever!) - as seen with the lower piece in the picture below. As is par for the course, there are a good few stonechips along the nose and sills - I am still undecided whether I will get the paint in those areas re-done at some point, or to leave it, as of course, it’s only original once…
So, it was out with the hot air gun and patience to remove them - which was certainly a challenge, as they were very brittle, so even when warmed, they were coming off in tiny fragments (like 5mm at a time!), and leaving a thick layer of glue residue, which then needed a lot of work with white spirit and swearing to remove!.
After getting rid of the glue, then it was relatively simple to clean up the area with a clay bar, and a good polish before (carefully!) applying the new film. I am sure that I could have spent more time (or money on a pro) to get it more perfect - but this is certainly much better than it was, and means that these areas now blend in, rather than sticking out like a sore thumb, and I think that I will plan to replace these regularly, given the low cost and the hope that doing so will make it easier to do!
Back on the ramp again, as I had noticed that the flexi-joint in the exhaust front pipe (manifold to cat) was looking a bit ropey - it didn't seem to be leaking, but the braiding was peeling back and had a big jubilee clip around it! A quick look around, and I managed to pick a replacement up on a deal for just £58, so thought it would be rude not to replace it, so usual process of undertrays off and up on the ramp...
Old pipe removed, which is clearly past it's best, but not entirely knackered...
and replaced by the new one (definitely not welded by an artisan, but functional!) - but another job sorted to get everything as good and fresh as possible.
Next, I had my wife busy with a project to help free up a bit of space in the garage, and enable us to use the treadmill - as the Lotus hardtop has been carefully balanced on it, and needed a better storage and protection solution!
I didn’t quite fancy paying £350+ for a genuine hardtop bag, but instead got online and ordered some waxed cotton material, some wadding and soft fleece material along with some 2” webbing and d-rings. After some measuring and paper engineering, my wife has done a great job of making a giant padded envelope to put the roof into which as straps to allow it to hang safely from the garage wall.
Laying it out and firmly attaching the d-rings to the straps (eventually with 3 rows of double-stitching to be certain!)
Ending up with one huge, padded bag - It almost looks big enough to sleep in, and would certainly be warm with the fleece lining and padding! With the hardtop in place, it then hangs up nicely on the wall alongside the mini where it won‘t be caught by passing bodies or stray tools! Overall she has done an amazing job - with the overall size of the thing, it has meant wrestling with 3m x 1.5m lengths of fabric, and making sure that it all lined up, with beautifully finished seams - and plenty of padding to keep it well protected! Unfortunately, she has made me promised that I never ask her to make such a thing again, as it was such an unwieldy thing to put together with the multiple big layers of thick fabric!
Next up was an hour to give it a quick oil change (even treating it to a genuine Lotus filter), and fitted the Hurricane induction kit that I had picked up a little while ago. I also picked up a shower cap when I was ordering from Elise Parts, as an option to allow me to cover up the interior a bit more quickly than assembling the roof if it's wet!
I had seen the Beckwith Engineering rear diffusers and liked the idea of a black powder-coated finish against the yellow. They do two versions of the splitter - flush fit or 50mm extended, which sticks out beyond the bumper line. I thought that the extended version looked a little too much for my general OEM+ preferences, so opted for the flush-fit option, which I thought was reasonable value at £100 delivered.
The OEM panel is a simple flat anodised alloy piece which finishes below the bumper line, while the new one finishes flush with the bumper, and adds a couple of extra fins (obviously adding all of the downforce!) but I thought it might just finish things off a little more cleanly!
With the weather being rough around here in early January, I was bracing to have to take something more sensible, but put on my big boy pants and hopped in for an early start on Sunday morning for my first Bicester scramble, where I parked up in the pre-2001 area among an interesting mixture of cars. My son was most impressed as upon leaving, we ended up in a group on the A34 with a Ferrari 12 Cylindri, DB12 volante, Emira a lovely 993 911 and an M4!
So, mid-Feb, I managed to get out and having been out the previous day in the peaks with the roof off, had to go back to the hard-top for the local gathering of the Lotus Drivers Club, where a few others had braved the rain (and more had brought their dailies!)
Then, I have been getting some more parts organised, so had put in another Elise Parts order, to get a bit more fettling done - so I bought plugs, distributor cap and rotor arm, gear linkage kit, gearbox oil and a kit of parts to rebuild the steering rack, as the slight movement doesn’t seem to be in the column joints (so I’ve got phosphor bronze inner tie-rod cups, gaiters and a pair of track rod ends), along with a full new set of wheel nuts, as the originals have a chrome outer sheath, that has expanded, meaning that they’re a pain to remove.
Ignition bits all sorted and fitted:
Then, was the second birthday of Great Northern Classics, so I thought I’d head along (in fact, I went twice in quick succession, so that each of my boys got a ride out!) - there was the usual great selection of cars there (A few more Lotus folk too, including a pair of Emiras and an Esprit) - and I managed to grab a nice picture outside:
Then we come up to date with a gearbox oil change and replacement of the gear linkage bushes with an Elise Parts linkage kit - which has certainly removed a lot of slop from the change - although it still needs a very minor adjustment just to get the cross-gate movement just right!
Next up is planning an opportunity to really get some miles on it - my oldest has his GCSEs in the summer, and as a carrot to get him working (and hopefully a reward for doing as well as possible!), we are planning a road-trip down to Monaco once he’s finished his exams. The plan is to get a ferry over and bash down to somewhere around Grenoble (with an overnight in Troyes en-route) using mostly auto-routes, but then from there to take the Route Napoleon to Nice. We’ll then have a couple of nights around Nice/Monaco before heading over into Italy, and around Turin to a lovely place I‘ve visited previously near Aosta in the Alps before heading back up via the Mont Blanc Tunnel and another overnight stop near Reims. It works out at around 2200ish miles over 7 days, with the longest being just under 500 miles - so should allow a reasonable balance of covering distance and also being able to see things along the way. Hopefully it should work out to be a memorable lad and dad trip!
Then, I have been getting some more parts organised, so had put in another Elise Parts order, to get a bit more fettling done - so I bought plugs, distributor cap and rotor arm, gear linkage kit, gearbox oil and a kit of parts to rebuild the steering rack, as the slight movement doesn’t seem to be in the column joints (so I’ve got phosphor bronze inner tie-rod cups, gaiters and a pair of track rod ends), along with a full new set of wheel nuts, as the originals have a chrome outer sheath, that has expanded, meaning that they’re a pain to remove.
Ignition bits all sorted and fitted:
Then, was the second birthday of Great Northern Classics, so I thought I’d head along (in fact, I went twice in quick succession, so that each of my boys got a ride out!) - there was the usual great selection of cars there (A few more Lotus folk too, including a pair of Emiras and an Esprit) - and I managed to grab a nice picture outside:
Then we come up to date with a gearbox oil change and replacement of the gear linkage bushes with an Elise Parts linkage kit - which has certainly removed a lot of slop from the change - although it still needs a very minor adjustment just to get the cross-gate movement just right!
Next up is planning an opportunity to really get some miles on it - my oldest has his GCSEs in the summer, and as a carrot to get him working (and hopefully a reward for doing as well as possible!), we are planning a road-trip down to Monaco once he’s finished his exams. The plan is to get a ferry over and bash down to somewhere around Grenoble (with an overnight in Troyes en-route) using mostly auto-routes, but then from there to take the Route Napoleon to Nice. We’ll then have a couple of nights around Nice/Monaco before heading over into Italy, and around Turin to a lovely place I‘ve visited previously near Aosta in the Alps before heading back up via the Mont Blanc Tunnel and another overnight stop near Reims. It works out at around 2200ish miles over 7 days, with the longest being just under 500 miles - so should allow a reasonable balance of covering distance and also being able to see things along the way. Hopefully it should work out to be a memorable lad and dad trip!
browno said:
Next up is planning an opportunity to really get some miles on it - my oldest has his GCSEs in the summer, and as a carrot to get him working (and hopefully a reward for doing as well as possible!), we are planning a road-trip down to Monaco once he s finished his exams. The plan is to get a ferry over and bash down to somewhere around Grenoble (with an overnight in Troyes en-route) using mostly auto-routes, but then from there to take the Route Napoleon to Nice. We ll then have a couple of nights around Nice/Monaco before heading over into Italy, and around Turin to a lovely place I ve visited previously near Aosta in the Alps before heading back up via the Mont Blanc Tunnel and another overnight stop near Reims. It works out at around 2200ish miles over 7 days, with the longest being just under 500 miles - so should allow a reasonable balance of covering distance and also being able to see things along the way. Hopefully it should work out to be a memorable lad and dad trip!
My son is doing his A-Levels this year, and like you, I want to do a road trip to celebrate. My plan is the Spa 24hrs in June. Sadly, as we'll be camping, my Fulvia Coupé will be too small so we'll do it in an E Class estate.Enjoy your trip - the car looks great!
I love the colour. 
It's a bit of a stretch to see any significance in the registration, but at least it is dateless. Not a fan of the grey wheels but if they are in good condition why rush to get them done while you are still doing maintenance and fettling? When they need doing I reckon silver or maybe Shadow Chrome would give a real visual lift.
Your trip to Monaco looks fantastic and as you say should be a great lad and dad experience!
It's a bit of a stretch to see any significance in the registration, but at least it is dateless. Not a fan of the grey wheels but if they are in good condition why rush to get them done while you are still doing maintenance and fettling? When they need doing I reckon silver or maybe Shadow Chrome would give a real visual lift.
Your trip to Monaco looks fantastic and as you say should be a great lad and dad experience!
Lovely project and a nice looking car.
Wondered which head unit you purchased as im looking for one for my S1, and also, where did you get the exhaust flexi from, as mine is also leaking and its really struggling to pass emissions tests at MOT time as a results.
cheers, and hope you enjoy the road trip!
Wondered which head unit you purchased as im looking for one for my S1, and also, where did you get the exhaust flexi from, as mine is also leaking and its really struggling to pass emissions tests at MOT time as a results.
cheers, and hope you enjoy the road trip!
Time for a quick update as many things have been happening since the last post!
Since the last update all has been well - have been along to a few more local events and done a few bits and pieces (e.g. removed the bass tube that someone had put behind the seats and gave the brakes a bleed with some fresh fluid).
It has been a busy time with my eldest lad doing his GCSEs, so I did have to make sure that it was cleaned up so that i could take him to his prom:
I also got my long-awaited continuous car drawing of it from Ian Cook (aka Pop Bang Colour, as seen at events in his Chevy spark studio), which will go nicely on the wall alongside my other cars - always a nice thing to do with the cars:
With exams complete and the car throughly fettled, the Monaco trip was almost upon us. The first mission was to get packed - and we quickly realised that we needed to go light! I grabbed a couple of bags to test the space, and had to drop to smaller options to fit them into the boot (leaving the space behind the seats for extra bits and camera bag!).
We then wake early on a Friday morning to squeeze our minimally packed bags into the car for a 4am departure from home in Derbyshire, heading for Dover. As we are a good drive from Dover, and I would be doing all of the driving, I favour the ferry over the tunnel for this kind of trip, as there is a good opportunity to take a walk around, get some food or a nap in between driving stints. The roof is down and the initial chill starts to be relieved as the sun rises for what was to prove to be a very hot week!
A good run down the motorway means that we managed to beat the worst of the commuter traffic on the M25, and so can relax on an earlier morning ferry across a millpond-calm channel.
As we arrive in France, the day is really warming up, but we have our first destination within sight. The plan is that we will spend the first part of the trip mostly on the autoroute before hitting the more interesting roads as we get further south, but trying to ensure that the days are mixed up by having things to do or see along the way. The first of these stops was to break the journey for the required photo-stop at the old pit buildings at Reims, which was followed by a visit to the Reims Automobile Museum, which was slightly rustic, but filled with an eclectic selection of very unusual (mostly French) vehicles.
We then continued along the road further South to our first overnight stop in Troyes with 520 miles covered, where we made the most of the hotel s air-conditioning after a very hot day exposed to the sun.
Overnight I had shared some pictures of our first day of travel, which prompted a chance message exchange with an old friend, who we could conveniently meet on our second day of travel, which was the only day that we hadn t made plans for a stop-off. Our initial destination for the day was therefore Bourge-en-Bresse, which we made good progress towards along the autoroute. One investment that proved extremely worthwhile during the trip was the Bip and Go tag for the toll-roads (although a total of EUR248 in tolls was more than I had anticipated!). When we arrived in Bourg-en-Bresse, we had a lovely, long French lunch with great conversation. As the time came to leave, we were complimented by a number of people on the car, but also suffered our only mechanical failure of the trip as it had been sat in the heat, the interior mirror had fallen off, meaning that it lived the rest of the trip in the boot!
With a slightly challenging cross-country route from our lunch stop to the autoroute, we then continued towards our second stop just south of Grenoble. As we had been planning the day s trip, I realised that we had been lucky in our timing as the whole of Grenoble sits within an emissions control zone, meaning that cars like mine with a Euro 2 (Crit Air 3) classification are not allowed during the week - but fortunately, we were travelling in and out over the weekend. Our overnight stop was certainly not luxurious, but functional - meaning that we were up early on Sunday morning and ready to hit the road once more.
This was to be the highlight of the driving during this trip as I had spent many hours researching route options, especially the road-trip tips from Harry s Garage. From the hotel, we were virtually at the start of the Route Napoleon, or N85, which starts off as a regular road, but then becomes more and more interesting as it approaches the town of Gap, and especially in the section between Gap and Castellane - where there are combinations of open sweeping sections mixed with snaking hairpins through the hillsides, this was certainly a great beginning to a memorable day of driving.
As we approached Castellane, we then made a stop at another of my planned spots. On the edge of town, lies Citromuseum, which is an amazing collection of approx. 125 (post-war) Citroen cars that have been collected and curated by the hugely enthusiastic owner. As we arrived, we had a discussion about the collection, where we learned that all of the cars in the museum have fewer than 40,000 kilometres, and all have been mechanically restored, but the bodywork of all of them is original (as a result, there are cars with minor blemishes, but these are all part of the story of each car). For each car, there is information, which outlines the history of that particular car, and how it came to be in the collection. Highlights for me were a pair of SM s, three DS Decapotable (convertibles) and wankel-powered Birotor GS. However, the jewel in the collection, of which the owner was duly proud is the oldest production DS in existence - apparently demand was such that in the first day, 12000 cars were sold (743 in the first 15 minutes!), and this car is chassis number 32 - meaning that it was sold within the first minutes of sales opening, and is in incredible condition.
After this interesting trip (which was a little less appealing to supercar-mad Tom!), we resumed the drive southwards. As we were leaving Castellane, rather than continue to follow the N85, we diverted onto the D2, which is a truly spectacular piece of road which is cut into the hillside, with views across an incredible valley and which then transforms into another series of tight and twisty hairpins. We then found our most unusual fuel stop along the way, with one of the small villages having a stand-alone self-service petrol pump at the side of the road (which even had 98RON E5 fuel).
Suitably refilled, we then continued along onto the Col de Vence, made famous as a stage in the Monte Carlo rally, and being the owner of a classic mini, something that I was keen to experience. So, channelling my best Paddy Hopkirk spirit, we continued along another wonderful section of road that brought us down from the hills with views out to sea and into Nice. To finish our day of driving, we then decided to take in Monte Carlo, where we make our initial exploration of the principality, including a couple of laps through the famous Casino Square and through the Hairpin and tunnel of the circuit. I am pleased to report that despite the incredible variety of exotic machinery on the roads, that the Lotus held it s own and seemed to be snapped by many of the car-spotters around town! After this, we retired to our hotel in Nice, and allowed the car some rest for 36 hours or so!
Monday was the day that Tom had been most looking forward to, a chance to explore Monte Carlo and to find as many exotic and valuable cars as we could find. He had been researching all of the spots to find the best cars, and so as soon as we were off the train, the mission began! Like travellers on a big-game safari, we were hunting the big-guns, and soon it was clear that cars that might be unicorn-like in status at home, were just regular transport here! A focal point for discovering the most special cars was said to be the car parks, and most especially the private parking area in the Casino car park. Tom ensured that we made a bee-line here and it certainly delivered! Within minutes, we had seen a row of Bugattis, a Pagani Huayra, McLaren Mercedes SLR 722 and a whole range of special Ferraris, Lamborghinis and even a YangWang! What followed was a day of exploration, including the Crown Prince’s vehicle collection and an exhibition in the Grimaldi forum about Monaco and the car - both of which featured an amazing range of road, rally and circuit race cars. Eventually, after walking 22km and snapping many photos, we made it back to Nice, tired, but satisfied that we had made the most of our day.
The plan for Tuesday had initially been to drive though Monte Carlo before heading over the border into Turin where we could visit the National Automobile Museum, and the Lingotto complex (as featured in The Italian Job), but we decided that we would instead spend a little more time in Monte Carlo - so we parked up in the Casino car park with the exotica and spent the morning exploring more. Shortly after Noon, we then left town and joined the A8 motorway that snakes along the coast through a combination of bridges and tunnels with views out across the coast. After crossing the Italian border, we diverted off the motorway for a while, expecting that we would find a suitable spot for a break and some relief from the sun - this was not, however to be, and eventually we found respite in a motorway service area, where Tom wisely decided that we would put the roof on to provide a little relief from the relentless sun!
Having circumnavigated Turin, we then drove up into the hills to our overnight halt, the lovely little hotel D’Artemesia in Pont St Martin - which was fully renovated by Silvia, the amazing owner (and architect) - who also does fantastic home-made cakes and a wonderful breakfast. We finished our day, by walking up through the village to the local Pizza restaurant, for some properly good pizza!
Wednesday was a longer driving day, with the objective to head from Pont St Martin to our final overnight halt in Chalons en Champagne. The initial plan had been that we would head up into the hills and over the Grand St Bernard Pass to cut through Switzerland and into France - however, we were starting to feel the effect of the heat, and therefore decided that we would instead head for the Mont Blanc Tunnel into France. The roads up to the tunnel proved once again very scenic, taking the local roads through to Aosta, before joining the motorway, which took us through an amazing series of tunnels and bridges through the mountains before the 11km Mont Blanc tunnel. The scenery continued to impress, including the spectacle of areas where wildfires were visible across the valleys due to the tinder dry weather conditions. Eventually we made it to Chalons en Champagne after a solid day of driving with almost 450 miles covered.
Thursday would be the final leg of our trip, with the first stop being a ferry - which I had thankfully realised had been booked from Dunkirk rather than Calais before we set off! Another early start had us focused on making the earlier ferry than we had planned, which we made in perfect time after a rapidly executed splash and dash fuel stop! We soon had the inevitable wishing for the open and well surfaced French autoroutes as we hit the M25 and Dartford Crossing, in its normal stationary state! We eventually wound our way Northwards, reaching Derbyshire somewhat tired, and certainly ready for a stretch of the legs!
After all of our travels, we ended up having covered a total of 2136 miles over 7 days with no mechanical issues (interior mirror excepted!), and at an impressive average of 46.2 mpg. It certainly was a great experience for us both - which has created memories that I hope will last a lifetime for both of us!
After a good clean, I have given the car a post-trip check, and all is still looking good, apart from a slightly noisy front wheel bearing. I am so happy that this has worked out so well, since the car had been used very little in the 3 years before I bought it, it had almost convinced myself that it would have some kind of an issue on such a big trip, with high temperatures and alpine passes thrown in, but it really has behaved beautifully.
Since getting back, I had seen a message through the Lotus Driver s Club, with a guy locally offering up a complete (but well used!) rear clamshell and bootlid for free - and at that price, it seemed like it shouldn t go to waste (even if, as my boys want, it gets turned into a piece of wall-art!). So we grabbed my wife s evoque and my mate s little trailer to see how we could get it safely home! A bit of balancing and a twang of the straps, and it was going nowhere !
My wife was somewhat bemused with this additional half a car that is going to take up space, but in my world it makes sense!
Finally, it's almost coming up to the end of my first year with the Elise, so that meant that it was MOT time. Bearing in mind that it had done less than 1000 miles between 2018 and it's MOT last year, I think I've done ok to manage to get 3700 miles onto it without any major issues (and after all, we have these things to drive them!).
It passed eventually (it took some effort to get through the emissions, but got there in the end - despite the Cat being less than 8000 miles old, and having been replaced at a Lotus dealer, it needed some serious warming up!),
It wasn't without issue, so I have work to do, although not too horrendous:
The brake pad is very odd - 3 of 4 pads are fine, but one inner pad is thin, so I suspect that I may have a sticky piston. A full set of discs and pads are en-route (as the fronts are ok, but the discs have a bit of a lip, so might as well do the lot), and will see how the caliper looks.
Rear shock is definitely leaking, so need to investigate - it has the S2 Bilsteins all-round, so will try to get them seen to through the Bilstein rebuild service, based down in Leicester, as that will be less expensive than a new pair (which also seem to be out of stock everywhere).
Front wheel bearing, I knew about and hadn't had time to swap, but thankfully was only an advisory, so will get the pair that I bought fitted, as the other side surely won't be far behind.
Steering has been advised in the past - and appears to be the plastic cups in the rack - I have the parts to sort it, but need to rearrange my garage a bit first! I have a single-width, tandem garage, and so don't have the width to get the rack out normally - so need to move my mini out of the back of the garage for a bit and move my lift to align it so that I can get the rack out through the side door of the garage!
No complaints really - all simple jobs that are wear and tear, and will give me an excuse to check over the running gear thoroughly as I'm fixing them (and undoubtedly add some more bits along the way)...
Since the last update all has been well - have been along to a few more local events and done a few bits and pieces (e.g. removed the bass tube that someone had put behind the seats and gave the brakes a bleed with some fresh fluid).
It has been a busy time with my eldest lad doing his GCSEs, so I did have to make sure that it was cleaned up so that i could take him to his prom:
I also got my long-awaited continuous car drawing of it from Ian Cook (aka Pop Bang Colour, as seen at events in his Chevy spark studio), which will go nicely on the wall alongside my other cars - always a nice thing to do with the cars:
With exams complete and the car throughly fettled, the Monaco trip was almost upon us. The first mission was to get packed - and we quickly realised that we needed to go light! I grabbed a couple of bags to test the space, and had to drop to smaller options to fit them into the boot (leaving the space behind the seats for extra bits and camera bag!).
We then wake early on a Friday morning to squeeze our minimally packed bags into the car for a 4am departure from home in Derbyshire, heading for Dover. As we are a good drive from Dover, and I would be doing all of the driving, I favour the ferry over the tunnel for this kind of trip, as there is a good opportunity to take a walk around, get some food or a nap in between driving stints. The roof is down and the initial chill starts to be relieved as the sun rises for what was to prove to be a very hot week!
A good run down the motorway means that we managed to beat the worst of the commuter traffic on the M25, and so can relax on an earlier morning ferry across a millpond-calm channel.
As we arrive in France, the day is really warming up, but we have our first destination within sight. The plan is that we will spend the first part of the trip mostly on the autoroute before hitting the more interesting roads as we get further south, but trying to ensure that the days are mixed up by having things to do or see along the way. The first of these stops was to break the journey for the required photo-stop at the old pit buildings at Reims, which was followed by a visit to the Reims Automobile Museum, which was slightly rustic, but filled with an eclectic selection of very unusual (mostly French) vehicles.
We then continued along the road further South to our first overnight stop in Troyes with 520 miles covered, where we made the most of the hotel s air-conditioning after a very hot day exposed to the sun.
Overnight I had shared some pictures of our first day of travel, which prompted a chance message exchange with an old friend, who we could conveniently meet on our second day of travel, which was the only day that we hadn t made plans for a stop-off. Our initial destination for the day was therefore Bourge-en-Bresse, which we made good progress towards along the autoroute. One investment that proved extremely worthwhile during the trip was the Bip and Go tag for the toll-roads (although a total of EUR248 in tolls was more than I had anticipated!). When we arrived in Bourg-en-Bresse, we had a lovely, long French lunch with great conversation. As the time came to leave, we were complimented by a number of people on the car, but also suffered our only mechanical failure of the trip as it had been sat in the heat, the interior mirror had fallen off, meaning that it lived the rest of the trip in the boot!
With a slightly challenging cross-country route from our lunch stop to the autoroute, we then continued towards our second stop just south of Grenoble. As we had been planning the day s trip, I realised that we had been lucky in our timing as the whole of Grenoble sits within an emissions control zone, meaning that cars like mine with a Euro 2 (Crit Air 3) classification are not allowed during the week - but fortunately, we were travelling in and out over the weekend. Our overnight stop was certainly not luxurious, but functional - meaning that we were up early on Sunday morning and ready to hit the road once more.
This was to be the highlight of the driving during this trip as I had spent many hours researching route options, especially the road-trip tips from Harry s Garage. From the hotel, we were virtually at the start of the Route Napoleon, or N85, which starts off as a regular road, but then becomes more and more interesting as it approaches the town of Gap, and especially in the section between Gap and Castellane - where there are combinations of open sweeping sections mixed with snaking hairpins through the hillsides, this was certainly a great beginning to a memorable day of driving.
As we approached Castellane, we then made a stop at another of my planned spots. On the edge of town, lies Citromuseum, which is an amazing collection of approx. 125 (post-war) Citroen cars that have been collected and curated by the hugely enthusiastic owner. As we arrived, we had a discussion about the collection, where we learned that all of the cars in the museum have fewer than 40,000 kilometres, and all have been mechanically restored, but the bodywork of all of them is original (as a result, there are cars with minor blemishes, but these are all part of the story of each car). For each car, there is information, which outlines the history of that particular car, and how it came to be in the collection. Highlights for me were a pair of SM s, three DS Decapotable (convertibles) and wankel-powered Birotor GS. However, the jewel in the collection, of which the owner was duly proud is the oldest production DS in existence - apparently demand was such that in the first day, 12000 cars were sold (743 in the first 15 minutes!), and this car is chassis number 32 - meaning that it was sold within the first minutes of sales opening, and is in incredible condition.
After this interesting trip (which was a little less appealing to supercar-mad Tom!), we resumed the drive southwards. As we were leaving Castellane, rather than continue to follow the N85, we diverted onto the D2, which is a truly spectacular piece of road which is cut into the hillside, with views across an incredible valley and which then transforms into another series of tight and twisty hairpins. We then found our most unusual fuel stop along the way, with one of the small villages having a stand-alone self-service petrol pump at the side of the road (which even had 98RON E5 fuel).
Suitably refilled, we then continued along onto the Col de Vence, made famous as a stage in the Monte Carlo rally, and being the owner of a classic mini, something that I was keen to experience. So, channelling my best Paddy Hopkirk spirit, we continued along another wonderful section of road that brought us down from the hills with views out to sea and into Nice. To finish our day of driving, we then decided to take in Monte Carlo, where we make our initial exploration of the principality, including a couple of laps through the famous Casino Square and through the Hairpin and tunnel of the circuit. I am pleased to report that despite the incredible variety of exotic machinery on the roads, that the Lotus held it s own and seemed to be snapped by many of the car-spotters around town! After this, we retired to our hotel in Nice, and allowed the car some rest for 36 hours or so!
Monday was the day that Tom had been most looking forward to, a chance to explore Monte Carlo and to find as many exotic and valuable cars as we could find. He had been researching all of the spots to find the best cars, and so as soon as we were off the train, the mission began! Like travellers on a big-game safari, we were hunting the big-guns, and soon it was clear that cars that might be unicorn-like in status at home, were just regular transport here! A focal point for discovering the most special cars was said to be the car parks, and most especially the private parking area in the Casino car park. Tom ensured that we made a bee-line here and it certainly delivered! Within minutes, we had seen a row of Bugattis, a Pagani Huayra, McLaren Mercedes SLR 722 and a whole range of special Ferraris, Lamborghinis and even a YangWang! What followed was a day of exploration, including the Crown Prince’s vehicle collection and an exhibition in the Grimaldi forum about Monaco and the car - both of which featured an amazing range of road, rally and circuit race cars. Eventually, after walking 22km and snapping many photos, we made it back to Nice, tired, but satisfied that we had made the most of our day.
The plan for Tuesday had initially been to drive though Monte Carlo before heading over the border into Turin where we could visit the National Automobile Museum, and the Lingotto complex (as featured in The Italian Job), but we decided that we would instead spend a little more time in Monte Carlo - so we parked up in the Casino car park with the exotica and spent the morning exploring more. Shortly after Noon, we then left town and joined the A8 motorway that snakes along the coast through a combination of bridges and tunnels with views out across the coast. After crossing the Italian border, we diverted off the motorway for a while, expecting that we would find a suitable spot for a break and some relief from the sun - this was not, however to be, and eventually we found respite in a motorway service area, where Tom wisely decided that we would put the roof on to provide a little relief from the relentless sun!
Having circumnavigated Turin, we then drove up into the hills to our overnight halt, the lovely little hotel D’Artemesia in Pont St Martin - which was fully renovated by Silvia, the amazing owner (and architect) - who also does fantastic home-made cakes and a wonderful breakfast. We finished our day, by walking up through the village to the local Pizza restaurant, for some properly good pizza!
Wednesday was a longer driving day, with the objective to head from Pont St Martin to our final overnight halt in Chalons en Champagne. The initial plan had been that we would head up into the hills and over the Grand St Bernard Pass to cut through Switzerland and into France - however, we were starting to feel the effect of the heat, and therefore decided that we would instead head for the Mont Blanc Tunnel into France. The roads up to the tunnel proved once again very scenic, taking the local roads through to Aosta, before joining the motorway, which took us through an amazing series of tunnels and bridges through the mountains before the 11km Mont Blanc tunnel. The scenery continued to impress, including the spectacle of areas where wildfires were visible across the valleys due to the tinder dry weather conditions. Eventually we made it to Chalons en Champagne after a solid day of driving with almost 450 miles covered.
Thursday would be the final leg of our trip, with the first stop being a ferry - which I had thankfully realised had been booked from Dunkirk rather than Calais before we set off! Another early start had us focused on making the earlier ferry than we had planned, which we made in perfect time after a rapidly executed splash and dash fuel stop! We soon had the inevitable wishing for the open and well surfaced French autoroutes as we hit the M25 and Dartford Crossing, in its normal stationary state! We eventually wound our way Northwards, reaching Derbyshire somewhat tired, and certainly ready for a stretch of the legs!
After all of our travels, we ended up having covered a total of 2136 miles over 7 days with no mechanical issues (interior mirror excepted!), and at an impressive average of 46.2 mpg. It certainly was a great experience for us both - which has created memories that I hope will last a lifetime for both of us!
After a good clean, I have given the car a post-trip check, and all is still looking good, apart from a slightly noisy front wheel bearing. I am so happy that this has worked out so well, since the car had been used very little in the 3 years before I bought it, it had almost convinced myself that it would have some kind of an issue on such a big trip, with high temperatures and alpine passes thrown in, but it really has behaved beautifully.
Since getting back, I had seen a message through the Lotus Driver s Club, with a guy locally offering up a complete (but well used!) rear clamshell and bootlid for free - and at that price, it seemed like it shouldn t go to waste (even if, as my boys want, it gets turned into a piece of wall-art!). So we grabbed my wife s evoque and my mate s little trailer to see how we could get it safely home! A bit of balancing and a twang of the straps, and it was going nowhere !
My wife was somewhat bemused with this additional half a car that is going to take up space, but in my world it makes sense!
Finally, it's almost coming up to the end of my first year with the Elise, so that meant that it was MOT time. Bearing in mind that it had done less than 1000 miles between 2018 and it's MOT last year, I think I've done ok to manage to get 3700 miles onto it without any major issues (and after all, we have these things to drive them!).
It passed eventually (it took some effort to get through the emissions, but got there in the end - despite the Cat being less than 8000 miles old, and having been replaced at a Lotus dealer, it needed some serious warming up!),
It wasn't without issue, so I have work to do, although not too horrendous:
The brake pad is very odd - 3 of 4 pads are fine, but one inner pad is thin, so I suspect that I may have a sticky piston. A full set of discs and pads are en-route (as the fronts are ok, but the discs have a bit of a lip, so might as well do the lot), and will see how the caliper looks.
Rear shock is definitely leaking, so need to investigate - it has the S2 Bilsteins all-round, so will try to get them seen to through the Bilstein rebuild service, based down in Leicester, as that will be less expensive than a new pair (which also seem to be out of stock everywhere).
Front wheel bearing, I knew about and hadn't had time to swap, but thankfully was only an advisory, so will get the pair that I bought fitted, as the other side surely won't be far behind.
Steering has been advised in the past - and appears to be the plastic cups in the rack - I have the parts to sort it, but need to rearrange my garage a bit first! I have a single-width, tandem garage, and so don't have the width to get the rack out normally - so need to move my mini out of the back of the garage for a bit and move my lift to align it so that I can get the rack out through the side door of the garage!
No complaints really - all simple jobs that are wear and tear, and will give me an excuse to check over the running gear thoroughly as I'm fixing them (and undoubtedly add some more bits along the way)...
Edited by browno on Tuesday 28th July 22:55
Cheers for the replies, the trip was definitely a great experience and will leave some good memories!
I can see how the plate might be marmite - I wasn't sure first of all, but it's growing on me. Always a balance with these things and the strong opinions they can bring- yes, it isn't exactly what it is clearly trying to say, and yes, I've removed a space but it's a part of the car's story and that's fine by me.
I did indeed buy it from Guy Munday - who has been involved in Lotus for many years, and also supports the factory tours, he was absolutely great to deal with, and clearly knows these cars well.
I can see how the plate might be marmite - I wasn't sure first of all, but it's growing on me. Always a balance with these things and the strong opinions they can bring- yes, it isn't exactly what it is clearly trying to say, and yes, I've removed a space but it's a part of the car's story and that's fine by me.
I did indeed buy it from Guy Munday - who has been involved in Lotus for many years, and also supports the factory tours, he was absolutely great to deal with, and clearly knows these cars well.
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