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Lotus in the Peak
28th - 30th June 2024
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Lotus Elise S1 Honda Conversion

Entries in this blog

Supercharger Installation - Car Preparation

Car Preparation I first reversed into the garage, positioning it so that I had clear space and easy access around the car.   Steps:- 1. I raised the car onto two axial stands at the rear. If you opt to do this, you will need to ensure that the car is not too high to allow you to lean over into the engine bay, whilst it needs to be high enough to allow you good access under the car.   2. I then removed both rear wheels and wheelarch liners.   3. I left the jacks ( I have two) in place to
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The Kit List

So, after some searching, I manage to locate a Jackson Racing Supercharger from a US based Motorsports supplier, whom after some negotiations, agreed a very good price.   The main kit list:   1. JRSC - DC5 2. 3.4 pulley 3. 630cc injectors 4. Uprated fuel pump (in-line in my case 5. Exhaust Manifold - to remain as is for now 4-2-1 (not ideal, I know) 6. Air filter - K&N Largest I could find 7. KPro ECU 8. New belt (gone for 7PK1200)   Budget target = Less than £3K      
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Supercharger Installation - Intro

Hi All.   So, having run my car with the Honda conversion for a couple of years now, it turns out that I needed a supercharger to be bolted on! Who knew?   Well, to be perfectly honest, I was quite happy with the car as it was and enjoyed every bit of it on the road and on track. I always knew that it will get to a time and I will seek more power, but what caught me by surprise is the fact that this time came so soon.   I think it was all triggered by Dan getting his car 'charged which
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Suspension Refresh

Hey again,   Like most Elise', mine clonks and bangs with the best of them. Due to years of abuse, the suspension is feeling a little worn at the moment. As we have been having some of the worst weather in history, it is the perfect opportunity to get the suspension stripped and rebuilt.   Now, there are couple of very good blogs/ threads that go into detail as to what you need to do, so I am not going to do that here. I am just going to show you a quick over-view of what I got up to.  
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Aluminium Indicator Stalks

Hey all.   What happens when I get bored? I buy something new for the car. Anyway, this time, after getting the inspiration from someone on SELOC, I decided to change my plastic indicator stalks.   Now, if I was to be honest, the original Vauxhall stalks are not too bad. They are functional and work pretty well. However, this is an Elise and if it could be changed, change it!!!   So, I rang up a few breakers yard for TVR Tuscan aluminium indicator stalks and after only a couple of call
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Window Weather Seals Replacement

Like all Elise S1, my window window seals are looking in pretty bad shape. They are pretty bubbly with internal rust and look well past their best.     So, what are the options available.   1. To replace with the original seals - like for like. This is a pretty good option, except from the fact that Lotus would charge you £75 or so for the the seals alone! (this may even be per side)   2. Replace them with aftermarket equivalent that has been used by others elsewhere - Woolies Trim v
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Cv Boot Replacement

Hi all.   Unfortunately, a couple of weeks ago, I notice that the nearside driveshaft CV joint boot had given up the ghost. The engine bay was covered by that horrible grease and I could actually see the opening on the boot.   I wanted to try something different from the original boot (that came with the kit), so I went for Hoffman's offering. It was quite expensive, however going by various testimonies, it was worth a try.   The work   I aimed to get the work done in about couple of h
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Rear Wind Screen Seal Replacement

On my receint motorway trip, I noticed that my rear windscreen rattled a little with the build up of speed. On closer inspection, it seems that the rubber seals have finally given up the ghost!   So, I purchased a replacement seal from EP (at the Malvern show) and set about swapping it over.   Out with the old   After removing the windscreen from the car ( just popped the roll-bar shroud off and slid the glass out), I simply peeled the rubber gasket off and used white spirit and a Brillo
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Electric Boot Release

I am back again.   It was this time last year when I kicked off the Project Elise Type R. A year on, I am still tinkering with it.   Next job, replacing my rusty boot release cable. Now, although you can buy the electric kits from various sources, due to the price, I opted to make my own.   Ingredients:   1. Christmas card ( for templating work) 2. Aluminium plate (for mounting) 3. Central locking actuator - 6Kg 4. Wiring 5. Relay   You should be able to get all the above for abo
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Ali Bells Discs Installation

So, following my on track activities at North Weald, although the track was pretty greasy, it was very apparent that I needed to do something about the front brakes. So, when the sales as Eliseparts came up, I duly reached for the wallet!   Swapping out the front discs is a one of the more straight forward jobs and took me about 25 minutes or so to complete. These are the steps I took. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS THE APPROACH I TOOK AND IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING, PLEASE, PLEASE SEE
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Activity Day

I booked myself onto an activity day organised by Car limits. This was my first activity day and I must say, it was excellent fun! The day was attended by all sorts of machinery just having good ol' fashion fun. Loved it!   At this point, I must thank Car Limits for allowing few other people to turn up to have drive my car for charity. We managed to raise quite a bit of money and it all went to a good course.   So, how did the car get on, well I must say it was faultless. It was a prett
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Uprated Toe Links

One of the things that I did not get round to was the replacement of the original toe links. After doing some research, there seem to be a general consensus that with the added power and on-track activities, it is advisable to upgrade the OEM toe links.   Having said that, perhaps if your car is only used for the road and they toe links are in good shape, I personally do not see why there would be a need to have them changed. As it happens, mine were completely shot to bits!   If you look
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Gearbox Oil Change

Since about 1000 miles, I have been hearing rather strange grinding noises from the gearbox, when I lift off. This seemed to get louder once the car really warms up. So, I decided to change the gearbox oil and go for something a little different.   Preparation   1. I removed the rear near-side wheel and left the car up on jacks.     2. I removed the diffuser and loosen up the centre undertray. This provided adequate access to the bolts required to drain the oil.     Draining  
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First Service

I can't believe that it's already time for a service. It really feels like only yesterday that the car was finished and back on the road.   Now, I always anticipated that my first service will take a bit longer than normal, mainly due to the fact that the location of the oil filter is not easily accessible and I would have to work out the best way of getting to it.   So, the ingredients.   Silkoline Pro S 5-40 Fram Oil Filter (PH4998) A couple of jacks Ramps A selection of tools for t
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Oil Catch Tank

Catch tank installation is one of those items that seem to attract a great deal of debate as of its benefits. If you search around on the internet, there is a great deal of information and opinions.   As for me, its quite simple. The crank case needs venting somehow and I can see three ways of achieving that.   1. Pipe the outlet to somewhere out of the clam. This option is cheap, effective and will keep any oil blowouts way from the engine compartment. 2. Install a crank case vent fil
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Dyno

The car has been running for a while using a very rough map given to me by Steve (Stormin Norman) on Seloc. Many thanks to him for all his help and advice - a very knowledgeable and helpful guy   Anyway, I decided to get the car booked in at WGT in Middlewitch for a dyno tune.     Pip, absolute top man, got working on the car. We had some initial connection issues, but that was resolved by updating the ECU management software and flashing the unit.   Pip worked his magic on the c
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Ecu Cover

When it comes to where to locate the ECU, for what I have seen it varies depending on who is doing the conversion. I have seen them in the cabin behind the seats, inside the wheel arch liner, in the boot and so on.   I decided to mount mine on exactly the same place as where the original one was. This was really driven by the fact that I wanted to ensure that all the original wiring could still reach and remove the any added complication with the loom make-up.   Another word - LAZY!   T
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Exhaust

As I mentioned before, I had an issue with the exhaust system not fitting correctly. This is still under investigation and I am sure that Stark will come up with a solution that is satifactory all round.   In the meantime, I had to get the car finished and back on the road and it was agreed that I would get the exhaust modified to suit, get it back on the road and then take it up to Stark to get it sorted out.   So, it was off to the local exhaust place for the work...     Tacking up f
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Undertray Installation

It has been a while since I last updated the blog due to holiday and work commitments, but I finally managed to get some time with the car on Saturday.   As you know, I still have a number of minor issues that I am working my way through. I will document these in later entries.   For now, I have been keen to get the car bolted together and go for a drive!   Undertray modification   The Stack kit mounts the engine pretty low and as far forward as possible and because of this, the undertr
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Clam Installation

I couldn't wait any longer. The clam had to go back on.   So, I enlisted the help of Carlton X (of the VX220 family) and Jordy (a former MLOCer who sold his S1 following a miss-hap with his cat )   Anyway, the moved the car out of the garage - for only the second time since the conversion...     Great opportunity for the kids to jump up and down all over it. Are you having fun kids?     I guess so then   We first tried fitting the clam back on without taking off the wheels an
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Engine Start

It has been a long journey to this point, but I am now ready to get the beast started!   I first checked over the wiring one more time, just to make sure that everything is where it should be.   TIP: Its advised that you should have a fire extinguisher at the ready just in case something goes wrong. I certainly had mine at the ready   I then connected up the battery and turned the ignition to the on position and run a visual and smell check to ensure that there is nothing unusual happeni
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Heat Shielding To Subframe

The kit comes with a sheet of Nimbus heat shielding, Stark also provide you with a template that can be used to cut the sheet out.   I personally used a combination of the template and measurements that I took myself, although I don't think this is absolutely necessary.   I used a marker pen to detail out the cutting lines and by using a tin cutter, traced out and removed the shape.     I also decided to create a cup to go over the toe link to give them a little bit more protection from
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Wiring Loom

One element of this build that I did not look forward to was the electrics. Unfortunately there is no way round it and the car harness has to be modified to receive the Honda engine's loom.   At this point, I would like to give thanks to Alan Gourlay, who is currently doing the same conversion (posts on Seloc) who help me immensely in guiding me through the wiring loom modifications. To be even more precise, he provided me with his schematic drawings that I then used to create the 'new' loom
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Suspension & Drivetrain Continued

Once the drive shafts were sent back to me, it was time to get on with the rebuilding of the rear suspension assembly.   I must say, the installation of the driveshafts took far longer and was far more difficult than I anticipated.   TIP: Please, oh please ensure that whatever you use to push the driveshafts in is blunt and stays blunt to avoid damaging the CV boots. I didn't and ended up damaging the inner boot.   First though - shocks!   I was in two minds whether or not I was goin
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Suspension & Drivetrain

The project has definitely taken a turn now. Things are actually going back on the car instead of being taken off.   Next job - the rebuilding of the suspension and installation of the drive shafts. Wishbones   The far side side wishbone had to be removed and sent back to Stark for modifications to enable it to fit and not clash with the new engine.     Once the wishbones where off the car, it was interesting to note that the ball joints were completely knackered. In fact, I couldn't
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