MrP_

Now ex Atom owner with long lotus history including V6's, and semi regularly am out in various Exiges and their derivatives. I'd say you can't really compare them. Your 410 is in a real sweet spot of raw vs practical, you can happily track it, then go away for a weekend with the wife in it, you can get caught in the rain etc - so if you don't want to do all of that stuff and its just for track, then you are maybe answering the comment that the Atom isn't really a car, its a toy on wheels - and thats not meant negatively. An Atom is fairly unique in just how exposed you are to the world, and nothing like an Exige in that sense - outside of the biblical performance its (and I struggle to give it a better term), mindful driving - everything is on another level, and you are linked to all of that - you smell things you have never noticed, you're assaulted by everything flies to the face, stones flying up you, you can tell how rich the car in front it running. No other car can you see all 4 wheels whilst driving, the performance is on another level, the build quality outstanding, factory support wonderful. The 4 is a wonderful machine, wonderful handling as well as speed. There is little out there it can't beat on the road and most track days, Mono is about all that springs to mind. The engineering on it is just brilliant, you can pick out details for hours. The K20C is lovely, but a big turbo experience, it chuffs away with a ton of torque - very different from a 'yota lump with a supercharger. I found it just a joy to drive, but I got sick of the attention from it. Its one of the most pure driving experiences you can imagine, and not much else can hold a candle to it - I've sort of been switched off sports cars as they are just all a bit muted compared to a AA4 at full pelt (or any speed). Best thing is if you do have a build slot, you can spec what you want, buy it, run for a summer and sell having it cost you pretty much nothing. Shout if you want to know more, its a bonkers brilliant thing - but if I was to go again I'd go Nomad, and if you like to not be noticed its not for you (buying petrol became a nightmare, and I switched to jerry cans at home) Pic for attention

Great stuff @GoldenGun glad you enjoyed her and great to see her with another happy owner!

Great work, nice to see her evolving. Really like it without the matte paint 👌

Glad she's still putting smiles out there! Shame about the V5 but hopefully sorted soon, but like you say not great weather anyway. Enjoy!

Cheers @Bibs. It was great to see it all sorted and knowing I'd help prolong its life! As for whats next, I genuinely have no idea! I'm sure I'll be inspired by something soon enough, but I know it has to either be either bonkers raw so it is a complete contrast to the M5 or supercar territory so it feels like a big achievement. But no rush, I'll see what is out there. Not in the right frame of mind for driving at the moment, so will see what is out there when the passion is back 👍

Never been a fan of there body coloured aero - its big and brash, make a statement with it, trying to hide it just doesn't work to my eyes @CocoPops car looks great, looking forward to seeing it with the lighter wheels

Right, final update I think…. The final change I made was to replace the silver badging to black for the LOTUS and Exige sticker, badging was done myself but Devine Handcraft did the black Exige Decal Looks pretty good with the general black and red theme: I don't think I showed an interior shot before, as it was always in the middle of the night I worked on the car: Then she was off to her new owner - I didn’t advertise her and all enquiries came I think from this build thread, and to lots of helpful Lotus owners who got the word out for me. There was lots of interest, some faded away several were very interested but needed to sell first and it went quite for a bit, until a fellow Exige owner highlighted to someone who was considering a Elise 250Cup vs an 09 Cup260, that mine was around and should be considered - a deal was done and taking a huge leap of faith in doing a deal at distance, the car was sold - and soon heading up North to its new home Unfortunately it was a wet day, which was a shame as you never like a new car day to be rainy one But off she went to a very happy owner, hopefully he'll be on hear soon to update the thread as I think he has a few more things planned - and will actually drive it unlike me So that’s the Cup260 restoration done, I scaled back plans at the end - but in the end I took what people said was an excellent condition car, into a properly excellent condition and in the end it was pretty good. Pictures never did it justice, so you'll have to take my word for it, but she was a cracking looking car by the time I said goodbye! Great to end on the best Exige I ever owned! After 6 Exiges, I guess my time with them is done - each one I drove less as life got in the way, strangely as kids got older they took up more and more time and effort and I could never make time for a drive, so time for a change Ito reignite the spark

Door card off or loosened, magnet on a stick like this 26 Inches Telescopic Magnetic Pick Up Tool Rod Stick Extending Magnet Handheld Tool(Black) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07BJWJS1V/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_G7T3E5D6ZAK88EGPGY4F Poke it around a bit, job jobbed

Some finished off Cup260 pics, restoration now considered (almost) complete:

So I wheeled the car out to take some photos and to have a wash - and I've got to say I am pretty pleased with where its ended up.. A few small adjustments made, but nothing major - all seems good. Far to say its still pretty raw as expected, but when you get about 30/40 MPH it just sort of comes together, hunkers down and comes alive - it’s a really very special car, very pleased. A red car really needs to be outside to come to life:

So no detailed steps just various bits and bobs of reattaching bits, cable tying, roof on etc Just to get to the point that it is a finished car, apart from needing two stickers on the rear clam, maybe a polish on the rear clam to make it flawless, but otherwise shes done Might even go out in her, but we'll see don't want to be too rash

Front half of the cabin now… Shelf was trimmed with alcantara, easily removed as its tacked in with tape rather than glued but prefer the darker look, and stops stuff sliding about: Trimmed the shelf ends as well (obviously kept untouched originals) Spacer removed from steering wheel to get it all back to OEM, trimmed shroud and stereo control removed: Will leave the alcantara wheel in as I much prefer the look over the original rubbish leather wheel, but I'll keep both in case Foot cam removed, wiring and USB power has been left there but tucked out the way as it’s a useful feature to have. Door cars removed, scrubbed then stain shielded - they has a bit of that sweet smell that was in the car and I wanted rid Seats back in etc Now everything back in and all good to go, quite a pointless exercise to install so many bits then remove, but that where we are And I suppose some regret that all the hard work on trimming wont be seen in all its glory. Excuse the less than great pics, it was very late: What do we think rip the top half of the carpets back out and go with the half carpet half ali look of the S2? Personally I much prefer the look of all carpet, but don't know if that’s just cos I'm a weirdo

Operation tidy up firmly underway… No real mods to the engine bay since I decided to not fit the ProAlloy intercooler and cold air kit, keeping it OEM etc So really it was a tart up as we'd already changed all the belts etc as part of the big service Intercooler out to clean it and all that it blocks Lots of scrubbing, dressing etc and it came up OK: Then on to the removal of bits that I fitted and will never use in this car Camera out first, before: After Seats back out again, so I can remove what was meant to be the extra sensor wiring: SmartyCam recorder removed, it was down by drivers hip which seemed about the best place for anyone doing it. I also found that you can order just about any length of bullet cam cable, just order up a 50ohm cable with SMA connectors each end and it works great. You can make your owns for a few quid vs £80 from AiM and then you make them any length Bulkhead and harness bar out to strip out the following (mainly as it can’t be used without the AiM dash and that never got fired up outside the garage): Data Hub, SmartyCAM, CAN Channel extender, plus all relevant extensions for sensors into engine bay Aux power feed, rear camera feeds remain as the next owner might want and I spent ages getting them all in and hidden away Amazing how many nights were spent staring at the wiring trying to get it just right, all taken out in a few yours. Next is to revert steering cowling and put back the OEM trim, as well as footcam (which works amazingly BTW, if a little dark due having less light with the rear window removed)

Dealers have next to no stock coming through for the rest of the year is a factor. Eventually they will sell and with a finite level of stock they are probably more likely to try and make the most from it they can. If you know Lotus will ship you another you can take a hit on margin, same with used if the stock is not coming through they try to maximise prices Personally I don't know why they don't start shifting stock and buying up used so their forecourts don't look like they are closing down, but thats for them to worry about

Needed to adjust the diffuser as the original owner didn't get it fitted quite right, so it was pulling the rear panel out of place, I just had to adjust the side panels back and forward a few MM, not sure why Reverie didn't get these right as they aren't exactly variable but there you go: It took quite a few goes and lots of adjusting, but it now fits properly. Not sure why it wasn't done on original fit, but easier to bodge than do properly. Usual polishing and stuff to make it look nice