Leaderboard

Cheers all and thanks Simon. She's abit of a looker

Can we take a step back here and ask the fundamental question - how old are you Rich? If you are younger than me (60) I would say 'man up', get some warm up exercises done, and continue squeezing into your Exige as neither of your proposed replacements do anything for me at all. Hope this helps? Regards, Andrew

Picked up my first Lotus today, absolutely love it....

Evening all, Having sold the 190 earlier in the year with some possible changes at work I've had a few months off whilst everything got sorted. Today I'm pleased to say my user name is back to being applicable as I've just collected a 240pp exige and Im in love all over again. Of course an obligatory photo of it tucked up in its new home. P. S thanks to those who knew for keeping it hush hush 😁

Knob.

Welcome back mate. i look forward to seeing it in 2020... 😉

Small progress update ... The Interior has been out, harness bar and bulkhead panel. The side carpets were coming away in places so the old tape was removed , glue cleaned an replaced with new. I also replaced the speakers with new pioneer units whilst the harness bar was out. Of course they sit 8mm taller than the old units so are no pressed tightly against the harness's and the bar. My hand this morning looks like ive had a fight with a feral cat, Harnesses have been washed and boy were they grim.... It's now almost all back in, seats are ready to go in on freshly powder coated rails once lotus send me the right toyota spec bolts and spacers, they sent K ones first even though I asked for the toyota part numbers. Here's a quick test fit of the passenger seat running the msar harness bolt on the single shear side. For some reason the seats look grey in the photo. I've put the original 190 seats and runners in the loft in case I ever want to go back and sell the probax set. All in all happy so far , the painted centre works really well and looks oem which is what I was looking for , without buying a brand new unscratched unit from lotus. The fabric probax also feel allot comfier than my old leather set in the exige, might just be me though , although having an air pump in the drivers is a huge plus point on the comfort front.

Dean, put me down for Matlock briefing and organising. Event setting up, Meet n great/ marshalling. I don't do Facebook any more, so no use with that side of it.

Welcome Sorry if I'm teaching granny to suck eggs but remember this is rear wheel drive car with the engine over the rear axle. If you enter a corner too enthusiastically and then lift off the throttle mid corner it's akin to dabbing on the handbrake - possible to lose the back end and snap into a spin. These are fantastic handling cars but as Fish says, take it easy and learn the car

A little bit of a clean up, made a start on the first corner... Its not in bad shape at all I'm really happy, wishbones are all powder coated too. Had a quick go at the body it's far from brilliant but its a good start.

Welcome to both of you lucky new owners - two fantastic cars Do you fancy a run out?......... https://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/67636-peaks-run-sunday-15th-start-730-am/

Patent pending? It's so nice when a bit of creative DIY works as intended. We'll done Neil.

Cheers Simon . Yeah its been a while buddy.

I have the CTEK 3.8. I have the connectors permanently connected to the battery with a plug that is really easy to plug in/out. Can't remember if the plug connector was included or and extra. Have used for a number of years now - no probs.

Very nice 😎

Car looks great and Gaz is great if it’s not to far for you 👍

Ooooh that goes well! 👍🏻

Brillant 😂

All, It has been some time since I last updated the blog. All these years on, the little Lotus is still going strong. She is now 20 years old and looks and drives as good as ever. The love for this iconic car remains. My days of mods and getting under the car every weekend are over I think. I now simply enjoy the ownership experience and driving! Oh, I also do a little bit of polishing - just a little. This car is simply pure magic and medicine to all gloominess. 😁

Yeah cost a 5er to get in but it's not the end of the world. Tbf the £5 entry gets you a C&M keyring that you can either keep or exchange for a hot drink.

Ten years I’ve known Gav and never had a drink. He’s bought me an ice cream but that’s another story.. jeff rocks up and gavs only gone and bought 2 cups and some coffee etc... unbelievable!!!! Even Fish popped up. As if my day couldn’t get any better!!!! You struggle to find a better chap than our gav!!! Top bloke.

Hi Guys, Has anyone fitted a TRD Induction kit to a 2ZRFE engine? I heard there maybe check engine light issues? I'm chasing a better engine tone with a bit of SC Whine Having my 2ubular fitted tomorrow morning Daz

Off to paint! Arrived safely and ready for colour! Should be done in about 6-8 weeks

I measured my R-clip at 20mm total length. Without taking it out, the pin appears to be 5mm diameter, which would be about right for that length clip.

I've just bought my first Lotus, a 99 Lotus Elise S1 with just 20k miles on it. What do you wish someone had told you when you got your first Lotus? Hit me with your best advice, tips & tricks, and warnings!

Since selling my Elise and entrusting the servicing of my Evora to PJS Sportscars there hasn’t been much in the way of ‘winter work’ for me to do so for me it will be little more than a detailing session this time around. I have however been spending a good deal of time of late on a different project. When I first started work many years ago I spent all my spare time and money racing radio controlled 1/12 scale electric cars, with some success it must be said. Alongside that I also had a brief foray into radio controlled slope soaring, nothing fancy, just 2 channel rudder and elevator controls. Circumstances changed (married etc) and I moved onto other things, family, diy and real cars. Late last year one of my old friends from the car racing days who has flown model aircraft ever since got in contact to say they would be flying indoors at our local leisure centre and why don’t I pop along. So I did and was amazed at how the technology has moved on over the last 30+ years. What really got my interest though were pictures of a slope soarer that another of my old friends had built. An old Mig aircraft, built from scratch out of plywood, Correx and finished with self-adhesive vinyl in the style of the American Reno Racers. I had never heard of Correx, for anyone else who hasn’t either it is a twin-walled fluted material commonly used for housing ‘For Sale’ boards. The more I looked into it the more I knew I needed to build a Mig of my own. My friend had recently upgraded his radio control transmitter so I bought his old one off him and started gathering all the materials I needed for the build, a large part of which happened over the Christmas holiday. The plans for the Mig and many other aircraft are freely available for download off the internet. Once printed off at full size build could commence. The fuselage is made from plywood formers and sheets of 2mm and 3mm thick Correx which is ‘de-fluted’ (cut) on one side to allow it to be shaped around the formers, the two being stuck together with hot glue. The wings are folded from a single sheet of 2mm Correx using a plywood spar and 3mm Correx for the ailerons. These are partly bonded with impact adhesive and the rest with hot glue. Gradually it started to take shape Then, when it came to deciding on a colour scheme it just had to be a Lotus-inspired one and one immediately sprang to mind, not the Gold Leaf colours as you might have expected though. It had to be ‘Essex’ The canopy by the way is made from the bottle of a well know Cola brand. As you can see the Mig has ailerons as well as rudder and elevator so I now need to spend some time using a flight simulator on my PC linked up to the transmitter to practice all my crashing before taking to the air for real when the better weather arrives. When it does I’ll be heading off into the Peak District to find a good hill to fly from, fingers crossed I may even be able to fit it all in the Lotus to do so! Sorry for the slight thread hijack

Windy passes, steam trains, caves, cable cars, hills to climb, rivers to paddle in, chip shops everywhere.... brought my lad up north when he was 5 and he refuses to go back south, that was 12 years ago. My lad still enjoys the ltip even if he has to get up at an unreasonable hour. If he’s interested, it’s a great place for fossil hunting and you will find some.

Sorry but I've got no answer, no help, no photo I just wanted to say that's a great photo of a lovely looking S1 interior - makes me want to buy one!

I've used Dr. Bodyshop in Nottingham, they operate from the same building as Central Lotus and handle their bodywork needs, so is familiar with Lotus materials, paint codes etc.

Gav's man is very good. It might be worth Giving him a call at Unit 4 as I'm not sure what the guys name is now.

From where you are Gav at unit4 it's an easy drive and he is a great guy, he services mine every year I drive up from 10 miles south of Birmingham well worth it and he won't rip you off. As for the colour of your car great choice SNAP. (All you need now is all the optional white stone chips round the front.)

If a short tenure and then getting your money back are your first priorities then you can't beat a cheaper S2 . Something sub £30K from a private seller would be ideal and help you to sell privately when ready. A £40K S3 is tempting but if you buy from the trade you won't get all your money back, you will probably lose £3-to-4K if you sell back to the trade and private sales are not easy, unless you are quite a bit cheaper than the trade offerings - i.e. £3-to-4K cheaper! If you can find a decent S3 on sale privately and at a good price then that's a different story - that orange CR looks very nice I don't know if you've driven any of these cars but the S2 and S3 are VERY different - you might find that once you've driven them your mind is made up which one you would prefer

Wishing all MLOC members a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. From Paul, Louise, Rob, Owen and Nick at PJS Sports Cars.

Good stuff. Russ I literally have that pump sat around doing nothing as I never fitted it nor will I if you are interested for beer tokens mate. I'm going to pop out the lenses and have painted the black surrounds body colour. Repair the stone chips and Armourfend the front clam and sills. Have Gav repair the gearbox oil leak found on shakedown, it's very minor but I think that's it. Lol oh yea and sell it .... and drive it a little bit in the meantime

If you give Paul Shipley a call tomorrow morning before 10am tel 01283 500428 www.pjslotus.co.uk he will be able to advise you Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

I wasn't go to do to much.... Now I've read this I might whip the engine out

Ooooo a car... I see a car...

I’ve been to the classic motor show today and it’s the first time I’ve seen MK 2 in the flesh. The word that comes to mind is agricultural!! Everything has to start somewhere.

went from a s1 160 sport to an Evora S as getting older , never looked back , love the beast!!

About time. Hope it is as described, but you have probably spent the last few months researching the car in advance anyway. Lots of photo's please.

Always loved the Stratos, I might have one or two models in my collection

Like most folks who own these little cars, it sometimes ends up sitting in the garage for weeks on end, especially during the winter months. Traditionally, what I tended to do is lift up the front bonnet and connect a trickle charger every time I suspect that I am not going to be driving it for a while. This method works well, however it is a right pain in the back side as you would then have to pop the bonnet again, remove the terminal before driving the car out. Over the years I have toyed with various options, bought various connectors etc, considered an external port mounted on various places around the car, but none of them really worked - until I came across this. Before going any further, I must give credit to Matt C (here on MLOC and SELOC) for finding the right type of connector and how best to locate it. All credit goes to him for the idea. What you need:- 1. Trickle charger - there are so many out there, just make sure its one of the more intelligent ones that can switch between charging and conditioning. I previously had a very basic one and after a year or so, it killed my battery. Be warned - stay away from the cheap ones! 2. External port connector. Matt found this on the web and works well. Its waterproof and the fitting is very good. 12v 24v Male Female Din Accessory Power Plug Socket Connector 16A Hella http://r.ebay.com/8gk7Bi In case the link goes out of date, just search for the description, you should be able to find it. (If anyone finds a better connector, please share by commenting below) 3. Tin cutters or similar. You will need to cut a hole on you front grill 4. Glue gun - I will explain below 5. Waterproof connector. There are many options out there to be honest, but you will need a way of disconnecting the external port to allow you to remove/ mount the front grill. This will have to be a two wire connector. Well, that's it really. Preparation I first removed the grill from the car and decided on where I was going to place the connector. This will have to be your choice, but consider:- 1. Visibility from a person standing in front of the car. I really didn't want the port, although covered with a black cap, to be visible from the front. 2. Ensure that there is enough space around and behind the mounting point to receive the connector assembly. You will need some room behind for sure. 3. Protection from elements. So, as this is going to be at the front, it will get wet if its raining, however my logic is that you will give it some protection, say whilst stationary if you place the port higher up, ie towards the top part of the clam. Once happy, cut the hole at the chosen location. Note: Please, please, please note that you will need a hole much smaller than you think. Start small and work your way out. You need it to be pretty tight in fitting as although the connector has a binding nut that goes in from the back, you really don't want to just rely on that. Vibrations etc may work it loose at some point. Once cut, push the connector though the hole and place the nut from the rear. Wire up the back - this will be the run back to the battery. Note: Make sure that the centre of the connector is positive (+) and the the outer case is negative (-). This way you don't end up with grill being live! Make a note of which wire is which as you will need to know this once you complete the run from the battery to the connector. So, the glue. I providing the connectors at the back of the assembly with better protection from the elements and vibrations, I used hot glue gun to hold everything in place and ziptied a bicycle tube to cover the whole thing. Again, if you find a better way of achieving the same thing, please comment below for everyone's benefit. Then all that I did was run the positive and negative feeds from the battery, round the nearside wheel arch and fished it though the bottom of the clam to the vent hole at the front. You may find it easier to use a wire pushed down from the vent opening and then pulled towards the wheel (you can reach in through the liner - no need to remove the wheel) then tape the wires together and pull back through to the front. I hope I explained that well. I then terminated the wires into a waterproof connector and then connected it all together. Job done. I must say, it works really well and now, I just pull in, lift the cap up and connect - job done. Enjoy - again any comments, contributions etc, please comment and share.