The Lotus Elite Special project
The Lotus Elite is a car I have always wanted to own for two reasons. Firstly because I love the shape and secondly because it is a Lotus. Although I have previously owned a Europa Special and a Plus 2S, the time had come for another Lotus.
Despite the fact that I admire Colin Chapman and Lotus, I am one of many people who think (usually wrongly!) that I know better and I can improve the car. The Elite does in fact have many design flaws so there is plenty of scope for improvement, but if you read about the various mods elsewhere on this site you will see that many of them have not always been as successful as would first appear!
I bought my car in 1989 at a cheap enough price to view it as rebuild project, and then all the rage was going V8. It made sense to get rid of all the notoriously unreliable bits, replace them with something solid and dependable etc., etc., So why did I not do this?
In the early 1990's Vic Moore was at Spyder at he was also interested in reviving the Elite/Eclat with the Rover V8 engine & gearbox. That bit is relatively easy, but you need to change the diff ratio for such a torquey engine and that was harder. The rear brakes needed upgrading as well and the whole rear suspension has some inherent weaknesses (although roadholding and handling were just fine) which contribute to the car's poor reputation for unreliability. Vic's answer at first appeared to be the perfect solution; a new chassis (known as the Donnington) which accepted the Rover V8 engine & gearbox, a Jag diff (right ratio, LSD if required and inboard discs) and modified front & rear suspension. The biggest problem for me at the time was the cost of the chassis, and all of the donor parts. I'm glad I didn't have the money because when I thought about it I realised that after all this work all I would have left was a Lotus bodyshell on strange mix of non-Lotus parts. No, this would not be a Lotus Elite any more!
In the mid 90's my Elite, which had languished for a few years due to lack of funds was finally put on the road, but not for long due to an engine bay fire. Rather than see another Elite be scrapped I kept the car and rebuilt it from the ground up. This was my opportunity to build an Elite with the components I wanted, for it still to be a true Lotus and to improve the reliability.
The chassis was taken to Spyder where it was shot blasted, new rear cross member welded on and repainted with an enamel finish. It was also fitted with the various brackets to attach Spyder front and rear suspension mods (completely optional). It was also modified to accept the S2 Getrag gearbox.
The rebuild was now based on a sound chassis, with a 2.2 litre engine (from a n/a S3 Esprit), Getrag box, Spyder rear suspension, powder coated springs, new Spax and many other new parts as well. The body was professionally repaired by Robin Alabaster and the engine bay brought back to pristine condition.
The verdict? Cosmetically there is more to do, but mechanically it is pretty good, especially the engine and gearbox mods. The front suspension has now been upgraded with the Spyder wide-based lower wishbones and that has provided a lot more stability on the road. But, there is a problem! The Spyder rear suspension has not worked well and I am still working on the resolution to that one - see the D - Rear Suspension, and Suspension Design issue page.
Despite all this the combination parts and mods is enough for me, at least, to call it a Lotus Elite Special.
You can read all about the details in the various section under Modification Details on the Home Page.