New(ish) car .. not really Lotus Content and a long wait..

Anything goes in here.....
User avatar
j2 lot
Posts: 7650
Joined: Tue Dec 19, 2006 8:47 pm
Location: Strathaven / Glasgow

Re: New(ish) car .. not really Lotus Content and a long wait..

Post by j2 lot » Sun Jan 07, 2018 10:24 pm

:thumbsup Takes a lot of balls to scrap a perfectly decent looking Alfa but it's beating heart is going to a good place.
2015 Lotus Evora
2020 Skoda Kodiaq Sportline

User avatar
renmure
Posts: 3559
Joined: Sun Mar 20, 2005 4:13 pm
Location: Arbroath(ish)

Re: New(ish) car .. not really Lotus Content and a long wait..

Post by renmure » Sun Jan 07, 2018 10:44 pm

j2 lot wrote:
Sun Jan 07, 2018 10:24 pm
:thumbsup Takes a lot of balls to scrap a perfectly decent looking Alfa but it's beating heart is going to a good place.
When I told Wendy what I had done it almost literally took a lot of balls. :oops: :oops: :blackeye
Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Wanted: Train.

User avatar
Mr Momo
Posts: 2780
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2005 12:39 am
Location: ABZ

Re: New(ish) car .. not really Lotus Content and a long wait..

Post by Mr Momo » Sun Jan 07, 2018 11:28 pm

If 2018 starts like this, the rest should be good !
Emira - Volvo spec
A1 S-Line - Dennis the Menace spec

User avatar
ed
Posts: 9643
Joined: Sun May 15, 2005 12:33 pm

Re: New(ish) car .. not really Lotus Content and a long wait..

Post by ed » Mon Jan 08, 2018 1:44 pm

Thanks for the update, cant wait to see when its finished. :thumbsup
Octopus Energy Referral Code (£50 each!) share.octopus.energy/light-lynx-588

User avatar
Clarkie
Posts: 1092
Joined: Fri Jun 16, 2006 10:28 pm
Location: Falkirk

Re: New(ish) car .. not really Lotus Content and a long wait..

Post by Clarkie » Tue Jan 09, 2018 9:58 pm

Stratos will be stunning, good work Jim :thumbsup :D
Hope you took out AA P&L for the Alfa GT :lol:

User avatar
hendeg
Posts: 1749
Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2006 1:18 pm
Location: Aberdeen

Re: New(ish) car .. not really Lotus Content and a long wait..

Post by hendeg » Tue Jan 09, 2018 11:24 pm

Did you sell the Alfa GT to Fred Flinstone?
Exige GT

User avatar
Corranga
Posts: 4377
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2007 5:43 pm
Location: Fundee, Sundee, SCUMDEE!

Re: New(ish) car .. not really Lotus Content and a long wait..

Post by Corranga » Wed Jan 10, 2018 1:59 pm

Good to hear of some progress. Bit of a shame on the GT front, but sacrifices have to be made, and the end result will be better than and last a lot longer the GT anyway :)
'16 MINI Cooper S - Family fun hatch
'98 Lotus Elise - Fun day car
'07 Fiat Panda 100HP - Daily puddle jumper
'04 Maserati Coupe GT - Manual, v8, Italian...

User avatar
renmure
Posts: 3559
Joined: Sun Mar 20, 2005 4:13 pm
Location: Arbroath(ish)

Re: New(ish) car .. not really Lotus Content and a long wait..

Post by renmure » Tue May 08, 2018 6:39 pm

Crikey, a whole 12 months later and things are only now moving forward..... slowly.

My Stratos chassis is about to be made so I was down at the car show this weekend finalising some of the spec for it and paying a chunk of money so there is no going back from here. Up till now, my deposit has always been refundable and I would always have got my money back (plus a bit) for the 3.2 Busso engine. I think the car will start getting nailed together in the 1st week of June.

Having ticked almost all of the big options there wasn't really much to spec. Chassis wise, I'm having it LHD with the slightly lowered floor-pan to give a marginal increase in headroom. Exhaust will be a decat system fitted once the car passes the IVA test on a standard system, I confirmed the full wide square-arch Alitalia rally-rep spec with quad headlights, twin lower driving lights, chin spoiler and roof scoop. Interior will be red carpets, black seats with red harnesses as per the originals. The gearbox and 3.2 engine from my now-defunct Alfa GT are next inline to be rebuilt by the engine guy in Cardiff and he has promised me lots of pics of whatever it is he does.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image
Last edited by renmure on Sun Sep 01, 2019 7:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Wanted: Train.

User avatar
Scottish Scrutineer
Posts: 360
Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2013 10:29 am
Location: Dunfermline, Fife

Re: New(ish) car .. not really Lotus Content and a long wait..

Post by Scottish Scrutineer » Tue May 08, 2018 7:31 pm

Looking forward to seeing the finished article


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Renny Thomson
MSA Scrutineer
Elise S2 (2002)

User avatar
j2 lot
Posts: 7650
Joined: Tue Dec 19, 2006 8:47 pm
Location: Strathaven / Glasgow

Re: New(ish) car .. not really Lotus Content and a long wait..

Post by j2 lot » Tue May 08, 2018 8:53 pm

Spec. sounds awesome. I would be beside myself with excitement.
2015 Lotus Evora
2020 Skoda Kodiaq Sportline

User avatar
douglasgdmw
Posts: 2754
Joined: Thu Apr 27, 2006 1:31 pm
Location: Pentlands

Re: New(ish) car .. not really Lotus Content and a long wait..

Post by douglasgdmw » Wed May 09, 2018 7:55 am

Great to hear there's some progress, albeit at a slower pace.

Looking forward to seeing the finished article.

George
Alpine A110S
Mini JCW
Land Rover Defender Puma 90
Land Rover Series 2a softop

User avatar
Andy G
Posts: 11374
Joined: Thu Mar 10, 2005 10:27 am
Location: Dirleton/Gullane
Contact:

Re: New(ish) car .. not really Lotus Content and a long wait..

Post by Andy G » Wed May 09, 2018 10:13 am

looking forward to seeing this - hope its as sideways as the original
AMG GT-R
Atom 4
Lotus Esprit S4S
G30 M5 Comp

User avatar
renmure
Posts: 3559
Joined: Sun Mar 20, 2005 4:13 pm
Location: Arbroath(ish)

Re: New(ish) car .. not really Lotus Content and a long wait..

Post by renmure » Sat Jun 02, 2018 11:42 am

As this moves forward and I get more info and photos of the build and the progress I'll probably do a build-blog somewhere and just link to it for anyone who is interested. But, I got the first pics of my chassis getting nailed together yesterday and of some of the other bits along with some info about the chassis so far.

Please see attached few pictures of your chassis being made.

Your chassis is still on the table, where it will be welded up next week or as much as we would do on the jig table and then it will go into a rotisserie to be finished.

The chassis takes approximately 2 weeks to fabricate and then another week to powdercoat. After that we would fit the floor pan, which takes approximately one day. Thereafter it is around 300 hours to build the car, but that is just an estimate and it all depends on the skill and experience of who is building it and the ultimate spec of the car.


I've met up with the guy who is building it for me a few times. He is about as experienced in this sort of thing as you can be and has undertaken bespoke builds of things that are multiples of the cost of this so I know I'm in good hands there. His expectation was that it would be a 12 week build but that's very much dependent on a lot of other things coming together in that timescale. eg I'm having the Alitalia stripes painted rather than just vinyl which adds a time factor and having the custom loom, variable engine mapping, custom ITB's and the like can string things out. He was also saying that when he is building a car he often finds different or better ways of doing things as the build progresses that end up needing custom bits fabricated and often it's things like that which can add to the time but have a huge positive impact on the quality of the final build.

At the moment, my 3.2 V6 GTA engine is still in Cardiff at the engine builder being taken to bits before being rebuilt.

Another time factor is that the car will be built to pass the IVA test, and so be fitted with things like a sensible exhaust, a compliant road dashboard and instrument set with lots of additional safety padding, standard lighting, no sharp edges and lots of additional work to get the IVA certificate... and will then be back in the workshop to undo a lot of that and create a full-on rally replica.

Anyhow..... it's almost exciting now

Image


Anyhow... it's a start.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Wanted: Train.

User avatar
douglasgdmw
Posts: 2754
Joined: Thu Apr 27, 2006 1:31 pm
Location: Pentlands

Re: New(ish) car .. not really Lotus Content and a long wait..

Post by douglasgdmw » Sat Jun 02, 2018 11:55 am

Looking good, pictures of the chassis on the jig gives an impression that it will be a lot bigger. However sure it will be a tight fit getting in.

Keep the updates coming, some engine pics are always welcome to get the saliva flowing :)

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

Alpine A110S
Mini JCW
Land Rover Defender Puma 90
Land Rover Series 2a softop

User avatar
renmure
Posts: 3559
Joined: Sun Mar 20, 2005 4:13 pm
Location: Arbroath(ish)

Re: New(ish) car .. not really Lotus Content and a long wait..

Post by renmure » Sat Jun 02, 2018 12:12 pm

douglasgdmw wrote:
Sat Jun 02, 2018 11:55 am
Looking good, pictures of the chassis on the jig gives an impression that it will be a lot bigger. However sure it will be a tight fit getting in.

Keep the updates coming, some engine pics are always welcome to get the saliva flowing
I was on my hands and knees getting in and out of the demo car at first :blackeye
Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Wanted: Train.

Post Reply