bobfogle

All the best wishes for a speedy recovery. He has had enough down time. The Lotus group here in the eastern US is thinking of you. Cheers, Bob

Really sorry to hear of your Dad's distress. The above is a great idea. Kimbers, I have a spare iPad I can send him. Please let me know where to send it. Here's hoping for a speedy recovery. Cheers, Bob

Bob #11 and Patty #10 will be there. Bob

Hi Al - Welcome to S1 ownership. This is the place to get the information you need on the S1. You are right - there are too many numbers in the Vin he sent you and they don't start with AC for S1 cars, but the picture of the plate shows the car was built in Nov, 1977 and the etched numbers below it refers to the order of the car build - #516, H = a federal (US) car. For comparison purposes, my Vin No. is 77010116H. Date of manufacture is '77, January 01, car no 116 in the production line, all those numbers started with 100, so mine is the 17th made, H is for Federal (US) version. The Vin No should be on a plate in the bottom of the windshield on the drivers side. Ask for a picture of that. Once you have the correct Vin No., send it in an email to Andy Graham at Lotus (agraham@lotuscars.com) and he'll send you a letter and a Certificate of Provenance which includes the engine No and transmission No plus the color for that car as built. Worth doing before you buy. If we can help further, just ask. I'm in Connecticut, where are you? Cheers, Bob

Patty: Smoked Duck, Sea Bass, Plum Crumble Bob: Smoked Duck, Steak, Xmas Pudding Sounds good and looking forward to it and seeing you all. Booked a room at the Nevill Bull, waiting for confirmation.

Thanks Bibs: Count us in. Looks good, as you suggested -but we will go with the flow as we'll be in London around the 14th.

Oranges1 and Tony K: My S1 (116H) had AC (Dealer installed) when I bought it. To install it, they cut away the air intake filter box. During restoration, I removed all AC stuff. And re-installed the air filter box. But I will be "re-installing" AC at some point. So - I'd appreciate any pictures, videos and description of your AC installations as they would be particularly helpful. Tony - this is a particularly nice find and couldn't be in better hands. Let the journey roll - Cheers, Bob

Tony K wrote: " I hope to use this car and this thread as a series of examples of how not to do and how to do some things on an S1 in order to have a good, reliable car. " Great idea Tony. I would guess that most (Federal) S1 owners out there have faced one or all of these challenges at some point. Your report on how to find and fix them would be very helpful. Congratulations on the finding and purchase of a beautiful, unique S1. Another one is saved. Long live the S1. Bob

About your ignition switch (and keys). For my S1 restoration I needed to have duplicate keys made. From my experience finding the right blank, I guess the ignition switch unit is from a Rover about 1976-78. Blank worked perfectly. As for the electronic ignition up-grade, I used a Pertronix Electronic ignition Model No LU-142A, ignitor for a Lucas 4 cyl. It just drops in to replace the points. I also installed their Pertronix "Hot Coil." Hope this is helpful.

I agree with Tony K - where do I sign. Lotus's DNA is so unique, strong and valuable, that every effort to maintain and strengthen it should be made. And MJK is one whose input would be invaluable. He should no longer be frozen out. Bring back MJK.

I just replaced the front sprints on my early Federal S1. The original springs had sagged producing a ground clearance of 4.5 inches. Manual says 6 inches is correct. On bumps, the front end was "banging". I have Protech shocks and adjusting them didn't help. (Duh). I bought springs from SJS. The springs had the yellow painted strip and SJS said they came from Lotus. The no. of free coils and height were correct by the manual but the spring (wire) diameter was smaller than those on the car. I installed them and the ride height is now just under 7 inches (no passengers). I suspect they will "settle in." The car rides and handles beautifully. No more "banging" on bumps. They were not particularly expense (around $50 each). I'd recommend you talk to SJS about the springs you need for your S2.2. They helped me. Bob

Good plan!

On that Saturday, we have a Lotus Corral, 9 am, at Lime Rock Park. Trans-Am Races in the afternoon and BBQ at Fogle's after the races. Be there. Bob

Hi Eric: Glad you guys joined TLF - grand place to be and visit. It's all here. Bob

Not any more -