New member, my car.

[Glides]

Hello,

 

New to the site and have a 78 Elite. The car is in in The States and has been “ Stateized”. It sports a small block Chevy, 4l60e OD transmission, full rewire, lights are on linear actuators now. Also had a tilt column in it that makes for easy in and out. It’s a pretty clean install and has been reinforced and runs proper. It’s pretty reliable and quick. I’ve always wanted an Elite so when this one popped up, I grabbed it up for under 6500 dollars. Picked it up in South Carolina and drove it back to Georgia. 
It cruised at 80mph down the freeway with no issues  I put some old Japanese wheels on the car that I thought fort the retro/futuristic feel of the car and have been quite happy  

 

The interior is a bit faded, being the black velour style  I’m planning to dye it and haven’t been successful in finding anyone who has done that so I figured I’d ask here .

 

Thanks for looking, it’s quite a fun car and I enjoy it. It grabs quite a lot of gawkers .

 

 

Edited October 26, 2021 by Glides
Atrocious autocorrect

[EXCEL V8]

Nice! 😎  Compact install - the engine looks remarkably low in the engine bay - how does the engine/transmission line up with the diff - all OK?  Is it running the original diff?  Has the aircon been retained - must be hot there in Georgia!

Welcome to the forum!

Pete

[Denis247]

Looks very nice, wheel on the 'proper' side too!.  Got quite a bargain there I'd say. Be interested in the diff details too, 15" wheels?

[Glides]

6 hours ago, EXCEL V8 said:

Nice! 😎  Compact install - the engine looks remarkably low in the engine bay - how does the engine/transmission line up with the diff - all OK?  Is it running the original diff?  Has the aircon been retained - must be hot there in Georgia!

Welcome to the forum!

Pete

Thanks Pete. 
 

I haven’t yet did the full crawl around under it. There are no odd sounds or vibrations to indicate they are aligned well. It’s a 501 so no air con, and it gets blistering here so some vintage air is on the list but finding a spot for it might be a challenge. It looks to be running the factory diff, still has the inboard drums. 
I haven’t been hard on it yet so time will tell if it holds. It’s a stock motor so no big hp gains and with the auto it’s a bit easier on it. 

1 hour ago, Denis247 said:

Looks very nice, wheel on the 'proper' side too!.  Got quite a bargain there I'd say. Be interested in the diff details too, 15" wheels?

Yes, 15 inch Hoshino Impuls. 15x6 and 15x6.5 with zero and -5 offset I believe, I’d have to get the exact numbers. 

[Elite 4.9]

Welcome Glides, to the Lotus forums. 

Nice to see such a sleek looking Elite, definitely a great looker in black !

These cars were designed from the start for a V8, and it is fairly common modification to install one, especially here in the US.   IMHO, it makes the Elite a much nicer car with the much needed increase in power, making it a great GT for road tripping.

cheers,

Richard

[Dion]

Good to see another black LHD Elite! 
Keep us informed about your experiences with it.