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Yes you're right, k series rover engine. Not sure about mobile mechanics as the head would need to be pressure-tested?

Hello, After a beautiful day in the peaks yesterday, unfortunately my head gasket has gone and needs to be repaired. The car is near Sheffield at the moment, so if anyone can recommend some garages there please let me know. I contacted John Ashley in Rotherham and a number of garages in Dore & Totley already but no luck so far, everyone seems to be booked until August / don't want to take on head gasket jobs. Thank you,

Not from the sounds of it, and it might be too risky as if drilling it an an angle could damage the engine block Unfortunately it snapped inside, so nothing protruding to weld to

My mechanic has informed me that unfortunately the bolt connecting the alternator bracket to the engine block has snapped and part of the bolt is now stuck within the engine block (bolt number 11 on the image). He has proposed instructing a specialist company to drill out the bolt which is inside the engine block, but in order to provide access so they can drill it out they need to have the proper clearance meaning that the engine would have to come out. And I understand that for the engine to come out the rear clamshell needs to be taken off. This is of course quite a big job for a snapped bolt. If anyone has any suggestions or recommendations to help speed up this work would be appreciated! I'll also follow up with some photos that my mechanic has taken of the issue.

Thank you both! I assume it's the same number of washers for top & bottom screws?

Does anyone have any information (maybe a photo of theirs) on how the engine lid should be attached, I'm seeing 2 washes on one side, 3 washers on another side which seems odd so keen to get it back to the way it should have been in the first place.

That's interesting, thanks all! My longtail roof hasnt fallen into the cabin yet but at least I know what the purpose is now.

As an example, this is on a 2003 Elise 135R model, I also found this in the boot of my 2001 Elise (although it's not fitted to the bars at the moment). Seems like a weird, half roof that would only protect either you or the passenger from the sun?

@exeterjeep I saw them on eBay, not sure about the quality though?

Where is everyone getting their new alternators nowadays? I was looking to Euro Car Parts but they don't seem to have any for the K Series. Mechanic is quoting me 220 GBP for either Delco Remy or Lucas alternator. I'm seeing the OEM alternator online for the same price at Elise parts. Not sure which one to go for now, any advise? A different mechanic is suggesting I buy this one from ebay? Assume this will be a lower quality part / subject to an early failure? Is the heat shield a well-worth upgrade? Is the heat that extreme near the alternator that the base heat shield can't protect it?

@GJ77 @Bibs what do these charities do, can't seem to find any information on them.

Very much would like to join the next one! I assume it would be the 19th of September? 3rd Sunday of the month?

Amazing thank you @Greg | ValetPro

That's interesting not really something I considered before. Would you also do this with other cars, haven't heard of this before but I guess it makes sense if you want to keep the seats in the best possible condition. Thanks! Do you know every single lotus specialist 🤣

Thanks! I was thinking about giving Lakeside Engineering a call as they're my local I believe. Does anyone have any experience with them?

Drove this one down from the scottish highlands to Surrey yesterday. She's been a blast so far! As far as I can tell there's been no upgrades / pretty original. 2001 K series. Doesn't sound as loud as a few others that I've testdriven but still a nice purrrr. The brake pipes have some corrosion and that has been flagged on the MOT. On the of tie rods looks very new. The other one (as well as the wishbones) appear to have some corrosion but nothing about that on the MOT, is this something that the MOT would generally not look at? Will post some separate pictures about these later on.

Thank you!!! Upon seeing the car in person it turned out that there was a bit of glare in the steering wheel logo so that's looking very good. There's a bit of grease on the gearstick, hoping that will come off with a bit of scrubbing!

Nobody any ideas?

Does anyone have any suggestions for how to spruce up a faded gearstick and steering wheel logos? Can the logo badges simply be swapped out or does this require a full change of the steering wheel & gear stick?

Had a look already, nothing in budget at the moment very special cars listed though! Was also advised to post here so doing that 🙂

Thank you everyone, appreciate the warm welcome and suggestions! Have now also posted in the wanted section. Currently really conflicted about getting a cheaper 2001 (S2 K series) or more expensive 2011 (S3 1.6 Toyota). It seems I won't be able to test drive the S3 I was looking at until October so will keep my eyes open for others.

Looking for a Lotus Elise, 51 plate and up (I would like to use a Y plate on the car) Ideally looking for colours that make the car stand out as opposed to the grey, black & dark blues. Budget up to 20.000 GBP, although that would be max and assuming no work needs to be done. Would prefer a Toyota engine, but flexible.

@TomE I haven't really considered reaching out to Bell & Colvill as they don't seem to have any used cars in stock, maybe they're getting sold too quickly for me to even see them! I assume they'd also be listed on Autotrader/Pistonheads if they get any in stock? I'm keeping an eye out on autotrader and pistonheads mainly, have come across a few cars from Will Blackman but wasn't ready to purchase at the time and his stock is very limited at the moment. Wonder why! I'd expect that everyone buys these cars in the summer and sells them at the end of the summer? Seems like it's the other way around at the moment. Will definitely check out the Newlands corner events, I assume I can tag along before I have a Lotus? 😁 @jep @Dobbin145 @TomE Will have a look at getting a course to learn&understand these little cars, hadn't considered that yet!

Thanks! As a spinning example: https://www.lotustalk.com/threads/is-the-elise-spin-prone.164569/

Always been interested in Lotus Elise, now actively looking to buy before prices get crazy! (Assume prices will now go up?) Have test-driven a 2001 Elise so far (although from a local dealer so a tad more expensive than other prices online) Currently looking at 2 models: S2 2001 and an S3 from 2011, but seem to be fairly priced (15K vs 21K), looking to test drive both next weekend. Anything I should keep in mind? Something I haven't quite figured out yet, everyone says a lotus drives like it's on rails, while at the same time they also say that lotus is well known for spinning on the track. What's up with that? Should I be worried about spinning it on the public roads?