Restoration project S2

[chip2257]

Me and my father have just purchased a 2001 S2!

Only done 45k miles but has been sat for 10 years so it'll need a pretty comprehensive restoration I'd imagine (car should be with us next weekend to have a good look). Aim is to have it running nicely and take it on a few track days each summer.

It starts and engine turns over

This is the first project car we've done too

Can anyone help me sort a "to-do" list in a sensible order and let me know what I've missed?

• Full service inc cambelt 
• Fuel line clean/replace?
• Brake service/change inc fluids 
• Tyres
• Suspension refresh 
• New battery + alternator

This isn't done to make money, it's to spend time together and learn.

Both avid Lotus fans, I've had 3 and my father still has his old elan

[Lithopsian]

Might need more than just the fuel lines.  The tank could be really sludged up after 10 years, and the pump will give up quickly if it hasn't already.  Pain to drop it unless you have a lift, but not really any other way to get inside the tank.  Check the steel hard brake lines while the tank is out, so you don't have to drop it again when the rusty bits give way.  Water pump along with the cambelt would be a good idea.  Alternator won't necessarily be shot; see if it is behaving well when you run it.  The belt for it probably won't be good!

Lots of minor things might not need doing immediately:

- radiator, might be OK, but can crack at the ends;

- the radiator fan tends to seize up even on cars that are used;

- heater matrix and fan, the matrix itself can rot through, and the housing is very flimsy;

- windows are prone to dropping off or getting out of alignment, but probably not something that needs to be done immediately;

- brake and gear cables could be seized, and the gear linkage itself is likely to need cleaning and greasing at the least, with the rubber bits probably needing to be replaced;

- front tow post will rust to dust, and you don't want to find out when you're dragging the car with it.

I'm sure you'll find loads of other things as soon as you take the clams off and start poking into corners.  Could be all sorts of corrosion in the electrical connectors, and there's a surprising number of things that can go rusty even on an aluminium and plastic car.

[DeanB]

You might find the cable that operates the heater is seized, and the heater flap itself. Try the knob in the cabin to see if it moves freely.

Have a good look at the engine mounts and exhaust flexi section too.

You absolutely must get the gear linkage bush kit the Billy sells (he's a member here and on seloc). It's only about £17 and transforms the gearchange. 

Get the floor mats up and remove the thin rubber coverings on the floor underneath if it still has them. And then hope the floors haven't corroded through because moisture had got trapped in there.  Mine were corroded but I caught it in time, no holes and now they are clean and dry they have got no worse.

Check the hoses to the rad are good when you have the clam off.

If you take the rear clam off I would think about doing a precautionary head gasket swap unless you can see it has already been done from the history. If it still has the original gasket with the plastic dowels it will fail (trust me). The newer design gaskets (mine has a multi-layer steel fitted) will last properly if fitted properly. Get the metal dowels too, and use new stretch bolts.

If it were my car and the fuel tank waa knackered I would look wistfully and covetously at an ali replacement because they save a lot of weight and from the back of the car too. And then realise I couldn't afford one.

Definitely get a lightweight battery as will save a lot of kilos from high up right at the back - I have an Odyssey, they are about £120 now from Demon Tweeks. Also some exhausts can save mucho kilos, again from the back of the car which you will notice on track - it makes them handle better and resist the lift-off oversteer a bit more. 

A stiffer lower engine mount stops the engine moving around as much and makes for better handling albeit with a bit more NVH.

Good luck!

Shout up if you need more advice. Lithospian knows what he's talking about as do MartinR and DaveB. 

And keep the photos and updates coming!

Dean

[DeanB]

Oh, and I have just bumped a similar thread called 'Project Leelo' for you to look at. 

Dean

[richbk]

Hi . Welcome to MLOC and good luck with the resto . Is this the car Jon Seal was advertising? I bought my exige from him 12 years ago , lots of great info on here and so many helpful  people .  I restored an S1 with my son last year , a great experience , fun , frustrating, interesting , challenging , expensive and knuckle skimming , but very rewarding and the joy of both attending LITP last summer was the highlight of the year . 
where are you based ? 
take as many photos as you can , super helpful when your putting it back together and a great reminder of who much and how far you have come with the project 

richbk

 

[chip2257]

Thank you! I've been on MLOC since my first elise about 10 year ago and I've had an Exige and Evora since.. then kids came along! 

Yeah the one from Jon, he dropped it off on Sat am, drives and stops so we're off to a good start. We'll go through it in a couple of weekends and see what needs doing and get a plan of attack

Job 1 - Find where leak is coming from that's dripping near the right rear wheel 

Job 2 - Full service inc cambelts 

Then we need to decide what the aim is, if we go lightweight for track or back to OEM for more road use 

Good idea on the pics, be nice to document the restoration too!

That's our goal, LITP 23! See how we get on..

He's Derby, I'm Nottingham

 

 

[DeanB]

Chip when you are looking for the leak check the inlet manifold - the O ring gaskets can fail.  This happened on mine way back when.

I also found mine leaking from a failed water pump once but I think you are planning on doing that anyway when you do the cam belt.

Has anyone mentioned a PRRT thermostat kit? I think they make sense. Have a look at Eliseparts website.

[chip2257]

Marked down on my (growing) list! Thank you. 

Not heard of the PRRT thermostat kit but had a look, you're right, sensible to do.

Those are the bits of advice I need, we can go round swapping like for like easy enough but it's the things we "should" do whilst it's in this state that we might miss just from lack of exp/knowledge 

[DeanB]

I have the PRRT kit on mine. It didn't stop the original head gasket failing but I have not had a head gasket failure since fitting the MLS gasket with metal dowels.

I am Notts based (not far from Southwell) if you ever need a look at the plumbing etc. Just send me a pm on here. Happy to help.

[chip2257]

Read on MLOC you have the eliseparts OEM spec wishbone bushes @DeanB, how do you rate them?

Had a quick look at the car over the weekend, new dampers and bushes all round. Suspension refresh is never a bad thing though! Would like it as close to OEM as possible 

[DeanB]

I can't fault them. Not too harsh. Not too soft either. No extra NVH. They don't make any noise. They are lasting well.

I would definitely buy them again.

[chip2257]

Lovely stuff, thank you! I'll add them to the basket then