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Lotus in the Peak
28th - 30th June 2024

Repair, Replace, Or...?


dobbo

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So, following on from this...

 

http://www.midlandsl...the-bottom-end/

 

... what say you all ?

 

Can't afford Honda / Audi / Duratec / other commercial transplant, much as I'd like to :(

 

 

Car would make a good base for someone ready to afford a transplant or who can DIY a repair. I can't afford the time / money for either with two young kids and SWMBO on maternity leave.

 

Whole list of mods including

All the bits that still work from a DVA 200bhp engine (airbox, Jenvey TBs, Emerald ECU, flowed head, forged pistons, upgraded conrods, new-ish rings and liners)

Upgraded head gasket

Lightened flywheel & AP Recing clutch

EP oil pump

EP water pump

DVA baffled sump

EP big-bore exhaust, 4:2:1 manifold and EP silencer

EP drilled / grooved ally belled disks

RS42 pads, also 2 sets other decent pads (can't remember what)

Remote 82deg stat

Oil cooler

Oil temp & pressure guages

Gaz Gold Pro suspension

3x stiffer ARB

Momo removeable steering wheel

Exige seats

Harness bar with Scroth 4pt ASR harnesses (seat belts fitted as well)

MoT till Jan 2012

Victory wheels or AWI wheels

A038 tyres or R888 tyres (plus spares of each)

2x EP flexi cat (various mileages)

Original ECU and clutch available

etc

etc

 

Well, I don't know where the poll questions have gone, so I'll put them here :

 

1 - repair and keep

2 - repair, sell and buy A N Other (non-K-series)

3 - sell as-in as a project car and buy A N Other

4 -chuck a standard K-series in, sell and buy A N Other

5 - other (what ?)

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Chris, it really depends how pissed off you are and time constraints ? If you are really racked off and it has to go ( understandable given the history ).

 

The best thing would be to drop the old lump out and install a standard engine and let it go.

1) it will fetch a far better price as a running standard car,

2) All the removed bits could be sold in bits to soften the pain. There is a few quids worth if you tot it all up.

 

The other option is to leave as is for now and decide later. It would make a good project if you had the time but i doubt you will have this anytime soon. Good luck BTW and the offer stands re the help if you need it.

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I would vote for sticking a completely standard engine in and getting it up and running ASAP, and then decide later. You'll recoup any money spent and have a very pleasant standard-ish car to run in the interim.

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Hi Chris

Not a nice problem to have, what with everything else on your plate.

Selling on a project car would be disastrous, valuewise. A buyer assumes what could be damaged, IS damaged. Only you know the real condition of each part without testing/ running. You absolutely have to get it back to a driveable state.

I agree with the other two - strip it back to standard, do it quickly so it's useable this summer and sell on all the parts you've recovered. Decide to keep it or sell it in your own time then.

Go & buy someone else's converted car that works! (Maybe hold back some of your performance parts to go onto the new toy when it arrives).

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Have you got an idea of how much it will cost to get it rebuilt ? I can't imagine you'd be happy with out a high power elise (even if you don't use it that much)

 

Sounds like quite a few of the expenive bits for the engine are ok.

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I know that when I was having engine troubles, after they were all fixed I never really drove the car as I had done originally for fear of it going pop again and the expense that would incur. That was a shame, but I bet if you got this current engine fixed you might feel the same (if you don't already!). My vote would be to put in a standard k-series and run it for the first part of the summer. Then decide either to start adding some of your performance bits onto that engine or sell the car whilst there's still some sun around and move onto another toy.

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I can't imagine you'd be happy with out a high power elise (even if you don't use it that much)

 

It's interesting, as I would have thought that too. However, my sister has a completely standard S1 and when I've driven hers I've been pleasantly surprised at how spritely it is at legal speeds. There are also a number of threads I've read on SELOC of people who've 'downgraded' and seem very happy. It's almost a 'been there, seen that, had the issues' cycle that makes people happy with a more standard car.

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I'd also go with the option of fitting a standard (ish) engine back in and selling some of the bits off. I'd also go back to more standard tyres so that you can still drift the car with the reduced power.

I've thought about upgrading the power of mine over the years and indeed, I still fancy having more like 160BHP to play with some time, but to me the fun is all in the corners and not how fast you can go down a straight.

Money no object though, I think they'd be a Duratec in there ;)

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Oh mate, where do i start? Other than i feel for you, i really do. Gutted! :angry:

 

Try not to do anything hasty. If you can wait, see how you feel in a week or two (then i'll have had chance to talk you out of any hasty option!!! :P )

 

Selling it as it is would not be a good idea imho, as already posted people will fear the worst and pay (...or not) accordingly.

 

I know how much you love that car so i hope you can get it back as it was at sensible money and go that way with it.....if not, popping a standard k in has to be the best option money-wise. Then at least you have something sellable for decent money if you do decide to move on and a lot of bits off the old one will at least fetch you some more back when sold to buy another!

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By stripping back to standard, I only mean the engine, and that would be a quick "drop a cheap K in". Unfortunately, that might not be just that easy as there are wiring mods and other changes to reverse, so it might end up almost as expensive as a repair or the hit on a sale as-is.

 

If I sold it, it would be exactly as per that spec above - I simply don't have the time to start stripping stuff off, source original parts and fitting them, just to sell the upgraded parts individually (or keep them for a replacment). That's why I think it would make a good base for a project - it's already got a lot of mods that would cost £1000s to fit (I know I'll not see a fraction of that back). In effect, it's ready to go with whatever engine someone wants to put in it, so I'd be assuming zero value for the engine and if someone could DIY a repair or a transplant, they'll get a good base to start from.

 

I'm assuming at this point that much of the engine is toast. On the other hand, I was planning on a rebuild to try and cure the oil burning issue so, labour wise not much has changed. I'll need some new parts but then, hey - a new (ish) 200bhp engine again :clap:

 

340R - yes it was on my list of itches to scratch, but I think it just went to the back-burner :(

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Sorry to hear of your woes Chris :(

 

I think that given your previous bad experience with tuned k series engines, i would feel uncomfortable going down that route again.

How much work would be involved in trying to fit a 111s / mgf engine and box. Probably more work / cost than a standard k, but a slightly more drivable car to use for a year or two.

 

Good luck anyway mate.

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By stripping back to standard, I only mean the engine, and that would be a quick "drop a cheap K in". Unfortunately, that might not be just that easy as there are wiring mods and other changes to reverse, so it might end up almost as expensive as a repair or the hit on a sale as-is.

 

If I sold it, it would be exactly as per that spec above - I simply don't have the time to start stripping stuff off, source original parts and fitting them, just to sell the upgraded parts individually (or keep them for a replacment). That's why I think it would make a good base for a project - it's already got a lot of mods that would cost £1000s to fit (I know I'll not see a fraction of that back). In effect, it's ready to go with whatever engine someone wants to put in it, so I'd be assuming zero value for the engine and if someone could DIY a repair or a transplant, they'll get a good base to start from.

 

I'm assuming at this point that much of the engine is toast. On the other hand, I was planning on a rebuild to try and cure the oil burning issue so, labour wise not much has changed. I'll need some new parts but then, hey - a new (ish) 200bhp engine again :clap:

 

340R - yes it was on my list of itches to scratch, but I think it just went to the back-burner :(

 

Can't really add much to the advice given above. In the end, your personal circumstances will have to be taken into account.

 

If you do decide to sell it 'as-is' as a project, drop me a PM. I might know someone who could be interested.

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If you do decide to sell it 'as-is' as a project, drop me a PM. I <i>might</i> know someone who could be interested.

 

By all means, please pass the info on. If (s)he wants my email address, I can PM it to you.

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