Elite 4.9

Hi Simon, Because this cable has so much pressure on it requiring a heavy pedal is why it is a weak link with the Elite so I have decided to go the hydraulic method as well and I think this is the way to go even if I haven't had one of the original cables break yet. Even though I now have a modified Buick 215 V8 aluminum engine in place of the 907 in my '74 Elite with a stiffer clutch to accept the more powerful engine, there is simply way too much pressure required to depress the clutch and no one today uses anything but hydraulics, as far as I know, so they are very reliable and isn't that what we want in this very enjoyable car. Plus, the cable traveling through the engine bay is ugly and the location can't be modified even a little. I know some don't care about what it looks like in their engine bay but for me neatness counts in my car. This is a modification I have been thinking about for a long time in my 35 years of owning and modifying my Elite for a more enjoyable ride and improved reliability. atb, Richard

Hey Paul, I just did a quick google search on finding a 907 engine and there are, I would think many to pick from close at hand to you. I sold one to another BC guy a few years back for his Eclat. Here is a link to Jensen Healey sports cars and spairs. http://www.jensenhealey.com/market/marketplace.html These guys are state side and car parts all over here in the US. You could probably get a whole care for $1,500. One just sold in CA for $1,400 ! One of the best places, in the US for used cars and parts, is Hemming motor news. https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/jensen-healey This is like a Bible monthly publication for cars and parts and is like a good sized phone book in size. It is such a large nation wide publication for finding or helping one restore his auto that I use it as a guide for prices of all makes. I am sure you can save some cash here without going using our UK friends for help and paying extra for shipping. There are probably more engines like you want here in the states and close by you than any place else. atb, Richard

oh yeah..right. I work very late so was probably a little rummy ie, lack of sleep. sorry ..very sorry.

The tac may just need some cleaning. I took mine to an instrument shop for that and a slight modification done as it now says V8 in small white lettering at the bottom. It also was adapted to counting 8 cylinders instead of 4. Not sure who said this is an easy car to work on but from my experience, it is not that easy so one has to be a little more persistent like you just mentioned connecting the throttle cable. And to simply walk away from it from time to time and come back another day fresh helps me mentally keep going. funny you said this as that is my next car. lol You are doing exceptional work here and it is looking very titty indeed ! atb. Richard

I think it is very easy to see the body configuration similarities. Of course we are just talking about a BASIC exterior design here. Not that the cars are similar in any other way except for the exterior door handles that were also from the AMC Gremlin. Actually, NO other car (other than another Lotus) s similar to the Elite under the skin. I wasn't talking about anything except the outward design here. Smash the Gremlin down low, lengthen it and widen it and you have a very similar looking car. I would bet a large sum of money Oly took the Gremlin look into deep consideration but being British, he may not have known that all AMC cars were looked upon by Americans as a ho-hum design and they were always 10 years behind in design from the major three car makers here. Didn't have many engineers to design their own so they just copied the other big three making their cars 10 years behind. AMC were always priced lower and even then, people voted them out of business. IMHO, they built very dull cars and most of the public voted the same. People only bought them because of price. They even tried to survive by changing their name from Ramber but most here were not around in those days of old, back in the 60's.

To answer the original question, NO. It isn't weird but it is unusual. Most Lotus cars are. If you were around, when it came out, the "74 Elite made it on the cover of Road and Track magazine and usually only special cars make it to the front page. The body design is functional with one of the lowest drag coefficient, even today, at .03 . It's basic body design was copied from the American Motors Gremlin which came out a couple of years before the Elite. https://www.google.com/search?q=AC+gremlin&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjCu-j-_bHRAhUE6GMKHbRPCwMQ_AUICCgB&biw=1742&bih=915 Sad to say this as I hate these cars. BUT, what is underneath is what makes the Elite so special. The chassis design goes back, starting with the 60's Elan and every car Lotus built up to the Esprit. A very similar chassis to the racing, mid engine Lotus 30/40 race cars of the 60's. Jim clark broke the F1 track record, in one, at Silverstone. Same basic sheet metal back bone chassis with the body built in box sections making the Elite, a very stiff car to hang your drive train on. This car was built during the time when Lotus dominated formula 1 racing so it has suspension links, in design, that came directly from the track and is one reason why it was, arguably, the best handling Lotus of it's day and also why it has such great road manners. I have also owned mine since 1982 and have yet to capture it on film where it looks like it does in person. IMHO, it looks so much better in person. Most of the examples, I have seen, are in tattered condition and don't look all that well. just my two cents on the matter. atb, Richard

It is a pretty easy job of replacing the old but these cables are under a lot of stress when in use. Stiff and a little difficult to wind into place but not rocket science. I am thinking of a day when I change it out for a hydraulic system.

You are probably right Clive, Soda is no doubt finer and easier on the gel coat and with it doing damage is probably more easily prevented and it is up to the operator to not get too carried away. There are other media that also work like walnut shells which is used a lot on aluminum for the same reason. All I wanted was the old paint gone and a roughed up surface so the paint would stick. Only used it, very lightly and carefully, in areas I had a hard time getting a piece of sand paper into. Gel coats are thin and are only there to prevent telescoping of the fiberglass strands from coming through (visually ) after the paint dries. If you have to add fiberglass to the outside surface, you either have to coat it again with the gell coat, or use another product that does the same thing and if you don't get it absolutely flat, you will probably sand off the gel coat to some degree thus creating a problem for yourself. I used a product called duraglass which works just like bondo. But regular bondo doesn't work well here. http://uschem.com/index.cfm?page=productDetail&id=52 This stuff is great and is a form of ultra abondo with actual fiberglass strands in the mix. It hardens like cement so one has to be careful to form down quickly, the final shape, as it is very difficult to sand. I apply the duraglass and before it hardens completely, I use a cheese grader, for auto body work, to get it very close to the smooth surface desired. You have around 20 minutes to work the stuff or else. lol http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/321706401953?lpid=82&chn=ps&ul_noapp=true Then some regular bondo is applied on top of that for the final finish before primer is applied. Not sure if gel coat is water proof. Seems like it should be Charles. It is thin but my understanding is they use it mainly, as it makes for a hard, smooth surface which is excellent for final painted surface Fiberglass if, done right, should be water proof, if not too thin, as the reisin turns into a solid. But if not done correctly could give problems just like the early Elites where, in places there simply was very little on my car. One could easily push the body in with little effort and was anything but solid. Sounds to me like there wasn't much left of the throttle strap to begin with. I have used vinegar on many items and it is very good for cast iron engine blocks, especially the old Ford flatheads as the intake sections are internal and one simply can not get in there with other tools very well. Never seen it harm cast iron though even when left to soak for weeks at a time.

Looks good Roland ! I use a 50/50 mix of white vinegar/water to soak any rusted parts. Totally takes off the rust without any effort (Just time.) and doesn't hurt the metal. One thing I did, while prepping the body for paint, was to totally strip all the paint down to the gell coat. In places like the door jams ( around the door hinges) where it is more difficult to get at every inch of body paint but still will be exposed (to the eye), I sand blasted the paint off. This does two things. Removes the paint easily and puts a tooth on the body for a perfect surface for the paint to adhere to. This is also a great time to fix all of the stress cracks in the fiberglass where parts are under a lot of stress like around the door handles. Here. I sanded blasted the interior glass door skin and added more fiberglass in this area to try and prevent them from cracking again. It was interesting to find areas where the glass body simple was very thinly glassed. Lotus had developed new process in making the bodies and some of the first examples lacked proper thickness, at least that was the case for my early example. As well my body was anything but smooth, flat and straight simply because they hadn't got the molds finished very well just yet.

"Never seize" is product from shipyards, that I have been using for years, for keeping corrosion away from important parts that need this like exhaust manifold nuts where water damage could occur . This is a great product that prevents rust and keeps it corrosion free. I don't think you would have to apply this more than once to any bolt or fastener. Great stuff!!! https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=never seize

Not sure if this will help you but in searching for tires, I was forced to go to a larger 16 inch wheel as there weren't any Z rated tires made for the original 14 inch Lotus wheels. The new aluminum alloy's were simply redrilled to match my hub so I didn't need to change anything. Bolted right on.

One advantage you have is that the original engine, modified for the US market was detuned some to meet mog so I know the UK versions have more power than mine. I really haven't driven another sports car that can handle the way the Elite drives. Soft not harsh, yet progressive suspension so you can push it quite a lot before it starts to slide or drift. Really a tight setup. There is also no play or mushiness like a '80 TR8 I once had. I really like the way is drives. I like to find the on and off ramps for our freeways. These are very fun short sections of twisty curvy road. Lots of fun! Driving is the forte of the car for me but I also have enjoyed modifying and detailing mine. Almost no one over here knows what it is. I know of only one other Elite in the local Lotus club.

Thanks Charles. I do remember how cheap the E-type was and once I saw 3 different cars, one month, for under $2,000 US. Those were the days when most all British cars were a great deal. I restored a 1953 Jag 120 FHC. Had to sell it in the early 2000's but bought it for $900.00 back in 1974. Had 57,000 miles on it but needed a total restoration which I gave it. Difficult job. Couple thousand hours plus. Now these cars are well above $100k in restored condition. Yeah and the 4 seat Lotus Elite, although very low drag aerodynamically speaking, was just too awkward looking ( rear end ) and is much over looked by even Lotus aficionados. Too bad as I think they are the best handling street car Lotus ever made. Certainly had modern F1 suspension of the day. Can grip to the point of your passengers could actually wet themselves when in a high speed corner. These cars are close to many of the modern day exotics in terms of wheel base, track and weight ( like the F-40 Ferrari, the M-1 McLaren, the Corvette and even F-1 machinery in terms of stance ) which makes for some very fast road maneuvers possible without any stress and actually makes a person a better driver as they are so easy to drive fast. This car could have easily been a two seater but by cramming a rear seat made it more difficult to make a pretty rear end as easy. Oliver Winterbottom failed IMHO in this area which Lotus later made better by the design of the Eclat. These cars have the exact same wheel base as many Corvettes at 98 inches and close to Niki Lauda's title winning F -1 Ferrari at 99 inches! So being so cheap, makes it available to a wider population of people who maybe can't afford to get in a car like an Esprit but still want to experience some of the best handling cars ever made. I hot-rodded mine and made it not only way more reliable and improving the performance and fun factor, but I also detailed the finish that Lotus was seeking to do from the start. It was suppose to be the first up scale car for Lotus who had a reputation of a kit car manufacture. The first examples were a big disappoint to many as these cars cost Lotus too much to build so they cheapened the materials in final assemble and took the total drive train from smaller cars unsuited for the much larger Elite. Even the rear end, which is from a fork lift, is unsuited for reliable long term driving. with Inboard drum brakes which could stop the car very well had poor seals which didn't last for more than about 25 k miles before your brake shoes were coated in rear end fluid making them useless. Mine were in this condition at only 28 k on the od. atb, Richard

The original ac was a GM unit requiring 8 hp to operate (not too good) and is very heavy (135 lbs ) compared to more modern units. It was so heavy that different front springs were fitted when new. I have scrapped mine and plan on a lighter, newer, more modern unit some day. The original stereo was a Panasonic AM/FM cassette unit. I have the 110th unit built. I also had in mind an Esprit before I bought the Elite, like others here, but what you have is actually a better handling car and has a much better balance (50/50) than the mid engine Esprit. Some think this is a classic and will appreciate well so a totally stock and original car is a worthy goal to restore. I am not here to argue that point, but, I don't agree and that is why they are so cheap. Still, they are a Lotus and one of the last cars that Colin Chapman had his hand in and they were built when Lotus was at the top of F1 racing so the racing heritage is definitely in this chassis and has been finely tuned for a really great handling car with amazing road manners. They do have some faults but this is a great time to fix those on your way to owning a very fun car to drive. I have spend many hours working on my '74 Elite and here is my story if you care to read. http://www.britishv8.org/Other/RichardNorman.htm I also have a few photos on some of the modifications made on mine, while restoring my Elite . Check it out if you like and don't be shy to add a comment . https://www.thelotusforums.com/forums/profile/15875-elite-49/?tab=node_gallery_gal atb, Richard

hey Mark, I removed my original carpets ( really nothing special here from my view ) with some commercial, tightly woven, dense, gray carpet as it goes well with my red exterior. The best known high end carpet ( for cars ) is Wilton and is the one used on Rolls Royces and other exotics. Really looks similar to mine but is, as you would guess, way more expensive. Still you may want a kit ( if you could find one ) but most of the carpet in a type 75 Elite is easily tucked tightly in place without really being molded like so many cars require. These commercial building type carpets are very dense and take a lot of wear as you would imagine. And look really nice. My original 1974 carpet was not that nice and had enough wear with only 28,000 miles on the od to be replaced so that is what I did when restoring my Elite. I just went to a carpet store and bought a left over remnant for cheap. 3 or 4 yards did the trick and is enough for the boot as well. Just my experience on the matter. Hope this helps, Richard

This could be it. And it could be intermittent. Bad grounds don't fix themselves, they only get worse and this is also about 90% of electrical problems, ie bad grounds. Also, sounds like a bad starter. Check all your starter and battery connections for a positive clamp and no corrosion. The ignition switch is the likely culprit if I had to guess just one. Richard

From a diesel mechanic, who owned his shop said of injector cleaners, that to never use them as the orifice in the injector is the smallest hole in the fuel delivery system, and all the cleaners do is clog it up with deposits already in your system. He back flushed my injectors (out of my truck) on the bench so they became as good as new. Just one professional opinion here.