Front towing post replacement, Elise S1

[ruadh08]

Does anyone know if the front towing post on an S1 Elise can be replaced without removing the whole front clam? Mine is completely rotten, and I have ordered a stainless steel one from Elise Parts.

Also does the post have any other use, ie is it a structural part of the front of the car?

If the clam has to be removed, how big a job is it?

Thanks in advance for any advice!!

[les]

I did it a few months ago as part of what became a front end refurb. Front clam has to come off as the top bolt is into the crash structure which is hidden in front of the radiator (possibly inline with the nose badge??) As for how big a job it is, kind of depends if the clam has been off before. In my case, it hadn't and I was a bit reluctant to go for it with the grinder. In the end that's what I did and it was off in a couple of hours. Tools used, socket set, a grinder with a couple of cutting disks and a new dremmel with the thicker disks (2 or 3mm think). I ordered a set of clam bolts from speedy fasteners http://speedyfasteners.com/ and given some captive rawl nuts to fix into the sills and allow the front clam to fit back on. Corranga thread has some great pics here http://www.scottishelises.com/phpbb/vie ... =5&t=39916

[pete]

I did it a few years ago, and if I can do it so can you.

OK Nizzy helped a bit putting it back on, but honestly that was mainly an extra pair of hands.

[Dominic]

In my case, it turned out to be a job well worth doing....



Taking the front clam off my car was fairly easy, but it had been off at Murrays about 6 months previously. If you have some spare bolts and fixings, and are handy with the good old angle grinder it should not be too hard to do.

It would be worth getting on ebay / amazon and getting some of the plastic fixings for the wheel arch liners as you will no doubt destroy a few in the removal - or if my car was anything to go by, discover quite a few were missing!

[Sanjøy]

Get Woody to make you one in Ti.

[Corranga]

As above really. Mine was a pita, and took around 4 hours to come off with almost every arch liner bolt needing the dremel and the in front of the door clam ones too.

The post doesn't do anything structural, it just sits between the upper and lower portions on the fiberglass crash structure. 1 bolt from the top, 2 below.

[ruadh08]

Quick update, Ross, one of the mechanics at Revolutions in Perth, managed to fit the new Elise Parts stainless Steel post, in a mere half an hour, without having to remove the clam!!
He simply removed the drivers side inner wheel arch, got someone with a very thin arm, and long spanner, and with a bit of fiddling, the job was done!

[vet111s]

For future reference and on the back of the announcement of Craig's departure from MMC-Craig did the tow post on my s1 by drilling a hole under the lotus badge. Saved removing the clam and the expense involved and once the badge was back on one was none the wiser.

[ruadh08]

For future reference and on the back of the announcement of Craig's departure from MMC-Craig did the tow post on my s1 by drilling a hole under the lotus badge. Saved removing the clam and the expense involved and once the badge was back on one was none the wiser.

Craig told me that was only an option if the badge was the stick on type, but with the earlier bolt on one like my early car had it wasnt possible!

[woody]

For future reference and on the back of the announcement of Craig's departure from MMC-Craig did the tow post on my s1 by drilling a hole under the lotus badge. Saved removing the clam and the expense involved and once the badge was back on one was none the wiser.

Craig told me that was only an option if the badge was the stick on type, but with the earlier bolt on one like my early car had it wasnt possible!

My bolt on badge is stuck on (no hole for post replacement) so anything's possible.