Elite 4.9

Hey Duncan, I believe I am already on this list but just wanted to check with you to see for sure. Bought mine in 1982 and has to be one of the lowest miles with only 28,800 on the od. It is a '74 and a 503, I believe, with a/c but no power steering. Being on the NW coast of the US, no doubt wins the farthest west car lol..........or at least one of them. Thanks, Richard would be nice to see the complete list of cars world wide that still survive till now.

Your paint sounds like it is quite old if it is cracking or pealing or..?? The problem with lacquer is that it gets harder and harder until it cracks and peals off. One good reason why almost no one uses it any more even though it is much cheaper than urethane. Urethane paints stay softer, are easier to work with and are more shinny and durable but cost more for all those reasons. They don't end of cracking but you can rub off all the paint on your car if you spend too much time rubbing. I wouldn't worry trying to fix it with sanding it down. 2,000 grit is only used for the final step in flattening of new paint which, if you had planned to color sand and rub out for a premium job, one needs to put more paint on so you have room to sand and polish some of it off which you obliviously do in this process. Your paint is probably too thin to sand and rub out and .........once you go through, you're done as the next color underneath is no doubt a different color and primer. Been there done that ugggg. Paint is very expensive so a new paint job will be in the thousands if you want a good job, that is unless you do it yourself. I spent over $1,000 US, in materials painting my Elite years ago with the best PPG urethane and primers. Still looks great and not one crack 25 years later! I hate working with lacquer as you simply can not get the same quality as with a urethane. JMHO Richard

My V8 redlines at 6,500 which is when the valves start to float so I hold it to just under that but there really isn't any need to rev high with this engine as it produces 360 ft/lbs of torque and 310 hp. That is a ton of power for this light weight Lotus. I had the engine custom built, especially for the street, striving every step of the way to get max torque. Not too much of the time is spent at top rpm limit so I moved the power band as low as I could. It is very addictive pressing down on the throttle !!! Maximum torque comes in at around 4,350 rpm so you can spin the tires almost all of the time at low speeds if you desire so one has to be careful. Engines last longer at lower rpm limits as well. once heard....rpm.. ruins peoples motors I do love to put my foot in it. But that isn't really the forte of the Elite in my opinion and you don't need to go that fast either. I simply love the way it hugs corners and where I live, there are many mountains and foot hills with a plethora of corners. Many miles of open divided highways stretching for miles. Some of the best are the many on-ramps to the freeways. On average there is an on-ramp every mile of road. I look at these as place to stretch my Elites legs as IMHO, this is the only place where there aren't any posted speed limits. Perfect fun for this owner for sure and the reason why most buy these kind of cars. And some of these are tight slower speeds corners. I remember before my restoration and conversion to a V8. I took, the Elite into a corner (with a warning sign, rated @ 25 mph ) at 55 with a friend and his son. I could feel the tension in them going into the corner but when we just hooked around without sliding or ever squealing the tires, they became quit relaxed in amazement of just how fast this car goes around a bend. That, my friends, is why I love these cars and makes them so much fun to drive. Richard

I bought my Elite with only 28,000 miles on the od. The rear brakes shoes were fully greased with oil from the rear end as the seals fail after about 25k miles and leak fluid all over the shoes. You have to split the steel ring (done with a cold chisel and hammer) that holds the seal in place. To replace the seal, it is best done with the rear end dropped out completely. Of course, you need to totally dissemble the brakes to get to the seals. The first time you drop the rear end is kind of a pain but I could do it quite fast after that. Not sure you could even do it without dropping it down. Not real easy for sure and time consuming but unless you don't need rear brakes this quirk comes with this car. I used an air powered hammer ( rivet gun ) and punch to drive out the long suspension bolts on each side which is very easy to do with this tool. Not sure how to get them out without damaging them another way. The other pain, that comes with this job, is disconnecting the emergency brake cable and it would help if you were Houdini. Not fun ! Richard

The 5 speed transmission is built by Tremec (Borg Warner), and is now a major player here for both Ford and GM cars as well as many other exotics like Aston Martin, Dodge Viper and the Mustang Cobra. It was an after market design, on the outset, for drag racing in 600 hp Mustangs who would drop the clutch at 8,000 and could do a 10 second quarter mile. The original 5 sp in the Mustang simply wouldn't last but a few passes before second gear was toast. They made 170 passes without breaking down so this is one tough transmission I won't even stress with my power and weight. Tremec TKO is what I put in and they make both a five speed and six speeds that I know of. Mine is the http://www.tremec.com/menu.php?m=103

Thanks Dave. I spent around $20,000 including $5,000 for the car. And that is for parts only as I did all the work myself with the exception of stitching the leather interior together which I took to a professional and only cost me around $5,500 and I had my engine built by a pro as well for about the same. It took a good number of years of work so it wasn't like that much out of my pocket at once of course. After a while, these kind of projects, one doesn't want to keep track. And I made this for myself to drive, not to sell and make a profit. And for me and probably most who indulge in restorations like this, it was and still is a passion, not only of excellence but pleasure and a way to escape reality for a brief time each session I spent on the car. Helps me to keep some kind of sanity. lol But of course, the end result it gives far out weighs the trouble as these cars are so fun to drive. My car can out perform most so called high performance cars especially in the handling department which is the best part about it. Now my car has the quickness that compliments the handling. What kind of car can perform like the Elite for $20k? You would have to spend a lot more to equal this kind of performance. I think that Lotus cars are some of the most difficult to work on but they also give more smiles per mile. I would have posted a picture of my engine but I can't seem to find how to do that just yet.

Well I, for one, like very much my Elites conversion to a V8. IMHO, the car is massively under powered and not very reliable. Big improvement for sure. I used the grandpa of the Rover V8, the much loved and used for all kinds of cars, including many racing cars, the Buick 215. 215 for cubic inch displacement of course but before I could get one, I found an expert on the engine who had modified and built up more than 100 of these very light ( mine is just under 300 lbs ) and cool motors. I had mine punched out to 298 cid or 4.9 L with around 310 hp and approximately 360 ft lbs of torque. I built it for the street with every opportunity to get max torque. There is lot of power low down in the rev range. You can even easily start out in 4th so there isn't a need to do much shifting ever, unless you are in a big hurry. lol Buick only built this engine for 3 years (1961-63 ) before selling the rights to Rover and of course the rest is history as most gear heads know. In 1964, Buick enlarged the engine to 300 cid but made it an iron block because of all the trouble they had with the manufacturing of the 215 aluminum block . I took the crank and the aluminum heads of the 300 ( they flow much better than the smaller 215 heads ) and mated them to the 215 block. Stroke increased from 2.8 to 3.4 inches ( easily felt with a good push on the throttle and changed the geometry to a near perfect stroke to rod ratio ( according to at least one engine expert and world record holder builder here in the USA ) to 1.67 not far from 1.75 being their perfect number. This enables the engine to develop max torque which is the characteristic of all killer engines. I picked this engine because it easily fit, was already converted by someone else before me and was also available a good price. I found an expert engine builder who specialized with the engine and most of all, it didn't change the near perfect weight distribution, the Elite has. And it fit with more access than the original 4 banger. 0-60 is estimated to be under 4 seconds with 100 mph coming under 10 seconds but the real advantage of the combination is the ability to pass another car very quickly and safely. A great road trip car ! I figure top speed to be some where on the positive side of 190 mph although I will probably never push it that hard to find out. Just my take on why this car should have always had a more powerful engine. My 1600 cc Ford Fiesta was quicker to 60 than the original Type 75 Elite. Kind of embarrassing to be frank. Richard

yea, unfortunately, many items on the Elite are quite flimsy and need some attention as they won't stay in place long. Long time Lotus problem on all their models. The drip trough around the rear glass is drained through the tubes that run from the bottom of the window trough to the lowest point on each side of the trunk ( boot as you call it ). Mine were clogged and most of Elites no doubt are too. There is a hole the same size for the tube to fit although it is so small it is difficult to keep open. You may want to enlarge the tube and hole to make it less susceptible to dirt debris etc. Not sure there is a better way to drain the water coming off the rear glass but a shorter tube would be better if only slightly. Best solution is to keep your car dry but that is nearly impossible if you drive it much. If you glue them back in place, some compressed air blasted through the top entry hole occasionally will keep them clear.

glued in....silicone or the like. Richard

What you need to do is grind away all of the damaged and burned fiberglass as well as any other damaged areas and all cracks need to ground down to eliminate them. Then find some resin and fiberglass matting or cloth and repair the damaged area till they are at least the same thickness as the original was. Gel coat is the top coat like a hard top shell coating to make for a smooth finish one can paint. Gel-coat also eliminate the glass fiber telescoping through the matt fibers when you paint it. I use a product call duraglass which hardens like concrete so no need to apply gel coat. Does the same thing. It is made for fiberglass repair and works very nicely. It can be difficult to work IF you let it fully cure before filing off just like you would do with bondo. You will need to shape it before it completely cures out which is easy to do with a coarse flat file or 36 grit sand paper. Once you have the glass fiber built up to desired level, then ruff up surface with sand paper for a tooth that the duraglas can adhere to and skin coat the entire area with duraglas and shape smooth with a file and sand paper. Fiber glass matt is stronger but won't give you as smooth of surface as easy as cloth will so that is why I use fiber glass matt with a duraglas skim coat before primer and paint. duraglas https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&rlz=1C1ASUM_enUS513US513&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=duraglas%20body%20filler fiber glass matt http://www.fibreglast.com/category/Fiberglass_Mat Then get an aluminum skinned heat shield to protect the part from heat so this won't happen again. There are a lot of products out there that you can use to keep everything cooler. Aluminum dissipates heat the fastest of any metals so this is usually found on one side of heat shields that faces the heat if you use a blanket type shield. I skin coated my entire Elites body after repairing all the damaged stress cracks and other body damage to produce a very smooth and straight body unlike the factory put out back in 1974. I have over 500 hours in my paint. hard to afford if you don't do it yourself. lol ATB Richard

very cool Roger!

Have been a Lotus fan since the 60's when Jimmy Clark (boyhood hero ) was winning everything in a Lotus ( favorite cars ). Followed Chapman and his F1 racing closely. Over the years some Lotus cars came my way. I tried to buy an Eleven and a 40. Even wired the guy some $$$ on the 40 but both fell through. Bought an early 74 Elite broken down. Fell in love with how it handles so I restored it to a good reliable road car with a drive train that is super tough and with a power to weight ratio better than the new Exige S Club Racer with the supercharged V6. So, I joined because I love fast cars, especially Lotus ones and enjoy hanging around like minded people who think like me and have a passion for Lotus cars. atb, Richard

good useful information. Thanks for the post. Richard

really great car ! love those V8's

Nice looking machine there Dave! Looks great in yellow.. and I must say, by reading all the way through your project on these posts, that you seem to be the perfect man for owning one of these classic GT cars and keeping it running.. I think Lotus is right up there near the top of the most difficult cars to work on. At times I found that to be true. But they are also near the top in road manners so I hope you get some good road trips out of your beauty. Mine has put smiles on my face that reappear when I think of driving experiences I have had with my Elite. Not sure if you ever sorted out your head light pods leaking ( they all do a little, but some vaseline on each connection will help slow down any leaks ) but I replaced mine with Electric units from a TR8 years ago, but if I had to do it again, I would use a set of pulleys with cables to pull the pods down with a handle much like an emergency brake, where the pods would be sprung in the up position and pulled shut by a lever under the dash so they would stay down as long as you want. No doubt lighter too which Chapman would have approved. lol Thanks for posting your project ! very enjoyable read Richard

A real beauty for sure. atb Richard

Because there are no high rated 60 series tires, I bought some larger wheels ( 16 inch ) and found plenty of z rated tires of which I bought Dunlap SP 8000. Not sure if they are still available but that is the only option that I could figure out was doable as I drive hard in the corners. Here is what I got and how they look. .http://www.britishv8.org/Other/RichardNorman.htm I had to go with 45 series and upped the width on the back to 225 but the fronts stay the same 205 as there isn't any more room for any larger tires. One wouldn't need larger in the back but I have a lot more power so I thought it was a good idea Richard love these tires as they are very good not only in the wet but also the dry

Thanks guys. I know that to drive the car as it is intended, one must go to a larger wheel if you want a high rated tires. You just can't go back to the 70's low profile tires of the day ( 60 series ) as they aren't available. Most anyone knows that the reason for the up rated tires ( mine is z rated ) is for integrity and the capability to handle the heat generated under high cornering so a lesser tire would not be advised if one is going to take advantage of the extreme cornering capability of these amazing cars. Why else do you buy one ? Really over looked, even by Lotus enthusiastic, the Lotus factory claimed the Elite would out corner an Europe by 10%! And it so well balance it makes you a better and safer driver. I have had mine close to the limit a few times but it is kind of difficult to find as it is so much faster than most cars are capable of and most people are afraid to push it that hard. This make the car very comfortable to drive fast without coming close to the limit and very enjoyable. With the right tires one can push with confidence and put a smile on your face and others that is hard to wipe off. lol I found that the front tires can NOT be increased without a larger offset ( and this would probably mess up the geometry ) as the inner finder is fixed so my 45 series 16 wheels enable one to use the original max width of 205 mm. There just isn't room of any larger. I also think the larger wheels fit the car better but that is just my opinion. The real fun comes on the road with the Elite. Great road manners !! Richard

A long time ago when I was looking for tires, I came to the same conclusion that there weren't any tires that met my needs and my Elite. So, I updated my wheels to 16 s and got some z rated Dunlop sp 8000 which had just won a tire war of 10 or so high performance tires. The Dunlops either were first or second in every category with the exception for the ride. Really good especially in the wet. I put 205 45 16 on the front and 225 45 16 on the back which also aid in with my new increased power from the aluminum Buick 215 aluminum engine (father of the rover V8 ) now punched out to 298 cid or 4.9 L. I really like the wheels from American mag and they were reasonable and look better IMHO on my Elite. Plus the performance is really no comparison to the old Dunlops and the original 14 inch Lotus wheels. Check them out if you like. http://www.britishv8.org/Other/RichardNorman.htm I really don't know any other way to get some tires that can take the punishment and heat generated from the superb handling of the Elite. Richard

Thanks Gavin for those kind comments. I have spend a good number of hours restoring and modifying my Elite. By the way, my mother was from Mitchell. SD and my favorite Esprit model is the S1. lovely lines! Thanks to all. nice to be here, Richard

Way cool. I have many books with mention of your father. The best part of the Elite is the way the suspension was so brilliantly designed and executed in combination with the tight chassis and body working together. It is one of the smoothest cars over bumps but when pushed really hard it just goes around the corner baffling passengers and the driver. You would be certain you are going into the corner too fast but find out half way through, you could have actually taken it a little faster without any problem. lol My car was the 110 built in "74. Most people love the lines of the Esprit but Chapman was rumored to prefer the Elite for fast driving pleasure. Richard

Thanks all for the warm welcome and kind comments. Too funny there Kimbers to your dads reaction. I know most purists don't like modifying but the funny thing is that I modified 5 things that the Lotus factory then made the same exact changes so they must have approved. lol And this car really handles, I can assure you. Lotus claimed it would out corner a Europa by 15%! These Dunlaps I have on there make it stick like glue. My car does have a mellow small block V8 rumble and with a 11 lb flywheel, it revs quickly, It is very healthy with around 300 hp/360 ft/pds. Same power to weight as a Viper but much lighter. Now it goes as well as it corners. Really fun car to drive. Sorry Vulcan Grey for all the excessive rain you guys got. Richard