Repairing a crash damaged Elise

[darren5591]

Good evening guys and girls,

After 10 years of want (some of your may remember me from many many moons ago!) I have finally decided get serious in my search for an Elise. 

With a MK1 Golf GTi project on my hands, money isn’t exactly flowing from the golden chalice but i’m considering a crash damaged Elise to repair and fix up in my free time. Personally for me, a category marked car that I have build myself knowing that it’s not been insurance bodged seems like quite an appealing way to step into Lotus ownership quite cheaply (or far cheaper than buying a perfect example!) plus I won’t feel quite so guilty about bolting on some performance and styling bits to an original car.

Has anyone got any advice on top of the usual bits to check and maybe someone has done the same?

Cheers! 

[timbo]

I guess the only real concern would be chassis damage, due to the way it's made, especially around suspension mounting points, etc.

There are some parts that are harder to locate, but if you're not looking to keep it original spec then that could be a great opportunity to do your own thing!

[Jonathan E]

Time and money, even cheap ones need lots spending on them, some years ago I bought a S1 very cheaply, not insurance write off but very shabby and by the time I’d sold it I think it was as good as it could be, the monetary cost worked out about the same as if I’d bought a good one and that’s not including the hours I spent getting it right. It was a cheap way to have an Elise back in my life but I’m not sure I’d do it again. An insurance cat car is never going to be worth as much as a non cat car so over time I think it would end up costing you a fair bit......took me nearly three years of “spare time” to get the end result....

just my 2p worth good luck if you go for it.