Elise '97 Hardtop

[Truckasaurus]

Hi Just bought a '97 and now I need a hardtop, it sounds like the OEM top may or may not fit on such an early car but I wanted to see what you'll had in use and if you've got one you don't need anymore drop me a pm or something. The car is Azure blue at the moment but stands a good chance of transforming into a beuatiful titanium grey with red leather car over the coming months so colour isn't a big issue.

[scatty]

have you had a look on pistonheads classifieds????? or seloc ????

[dobbo]

I originally had a 97R and my (then) local dealer told me that a hardtop was a hardtop, same price for early and late S1s.

 

BUT...

 

they also said that it was a bargain on an early S1 because you also got the mods required for the hardtop to fit. That included new style striker plates (on the B-piller), new cant rails which had different clips for striker plates & different hood snap positions. That meant that you needed a new hood to fit the new snap positions on the cant rails !

 

I never had a hardtop but we did have two S1s for a bit. One was the 97R and the other is a 99, so newer style. We never actually got round to trying one hood on the other car to see if the hood snap positions were actually different. Many people say they're the same, so I'm just saying what the dealer told me.

 

So, a hardtop MIGHT not fit a 97 car. You're probably best talking to one of the remaining dealers, or Lotus themselves to get a 100% answer.

 

EDIT

 

Just checked my parts list. The hood, cant rails and fixings were changed at VIN 3332. Likewise, before 3332 the hardtop is a kit with "new cant rails, softtop and door seals". These are excluded from VIN 3332 onwards.

 

So, if you check your VIN (just the last 4 digits) you'll know either way.

 

 

 

EDIT #2

You can't trust 100% that cars came off the production line in VIN order. If your car is anything unusual, it may well have been completed out of sequence and therefore not comply with the guidance above. Obviously the further from VIN 3332 your car is, the less likely this is.

[scatty]

or just do like dobbo does, and drive with no roof on.....

[chrislane]

I took my hardtop off on the day that i bought it and it hasn't been back on since. S2 admittedly so doesn't leak (much) ;-)

[chrislane]

I took my hardtop off on the day that i bought it and it hasn't been back on since. S2 admittedly so doesn't leak (much) ;-)

 

Me and my big mouth!

 

Lets just say that today's incessant downpour has made me reconsider the above statement :-(

[Truckasaurus]

Hi, Thanks all. My Vin ends 1167 so I think I might not try the factory tops. (This is going to sound terrible but we might try making one in the composite shop at work), failing that I'll hold out until I can get a late 98 or 99 over here.