Finally can stop looking for an S1! Result!!!! :o)

[BiggestNizzy]

my roof is in worse nick than that, whats the deal with the big refurb and the wee refurb ? as I was planning on having it done in the winter now the hardtop is on.

[Corranga]

So the roof doesn't go in the boot without folding that plastic bar then. I now understand why they get broken!

The roof most definitely does fit in the boot without folding the bar as my bar is now in 1 piece, and I put my roof in the boot.
It is easier (lazier!) to put it in the boot with the rod broken though.
If you fold it in half (ie broken rod) it wouldn't fit in the soft top bag.

The plan seems to be:
Remove roof
Tuck tension brackets into elastic (I do this during removal)
Fold the outer sections of the roof inward (the bit with the poppers)
Roll the roof from the plastic rod end.

It then slots into the back, and into the boot.

Other than that - ealry s1 = boot bag. Carbon soft top rods slot in behind seats.
Later s1 = boot box. Rods fit in the boot.

How much is a replacement roof?

When I was looking, I found that replacements roofs are expensive and hard to find. Check Elise parts, they do a non-original one, other than that you'd be looking at breakers yards I reckon, but the refurb should sort you out either way.

Chris

[s29ttc]

That roof looks fine, mines in worse nick and seems to keep the water out. The only problem you may have is where the windows are sometimes can get water in but there is a way to adjusting the windows to combat this. I wouldnt rule that car out if it is a good honest car for the sake of a little break in the plastic. All in my opinion ofcourse.

Good luck with your search.

BTW the dampners for my car should hopefully be ready next week so may be about Edinburgh at some point. Also got a geo setup to organise at Murrays so should be able to show you round mine if you still wish

[Ferg]

I'm still up for that if it's convenient for you.

At this pace though, it may be a case of comparing, not showing round.

[Ferg]

OK.. having dilema about hardtops. Remember I'm planning to run this all year round. While the "lets just take the roof off" option is always available with the softtop on, I'm thinking the hardtop is probably a bit more snug when it starts getting really cold.

I'm looking at that really clean grey one and it's absolutely minted. Tiny 'pheasant' mark under the left front bulge but thats it. It's absolutely top money but doesn't have the hard top so I would be left with no budget for one.

thoughts?

[s29ttc]

Most people say that a hardtop is not needed and usually see it as getting £500-600 cashback from buying one with. I got a hardtop with mine and kept it, it changes the look of the car and I put it on for popping it in the garage as I would think it would be better at keeping out humidity, well in my head I think that way. I am not really sure its of much benefit to be honest. The elise heats up really well, the engines right behind you and the heaters are great so with roof on you have no issues with keeping warm. In the case of sitting parked up in cold weather for some time I couldnt be sure mines is snug in its garage now, but it didnt give me any problems last year with the soft top and using it daily. The hardtop sat at bottom of my bed all the time.

[campbell]

Chris is spot on with the roof stowage procedure. There is no reason the front bar should be snapped other than by user error

Also never put the roof away wet. If you want to drive the car roof-off after it has had a soaking (overnight for example) then by all means roll it up, but loosely and don't put into its stowage bag. Then refit it or hang it up somewhere to dry fully as soon as you can.

Actually the best way to dry an Elise roof is to drive a bit with it on, then stow it.

I found out the hard way after stowing mine wet, and smelling it a few days later when I next pulled it out Took me a few passes of Dettol Antibac spray to sort all that out!!

As for hardtop. Always a split opinion, but I ordered one with my car and have absolutely no regrets. The reason for the hung jury on it is that you don't need one, but in the right circumstances it can be really useful.

Eg...

If you can't garage your car, then hardtop on over winter helps preserve the soft top

If you have a long m-way run to do, it definitely "feels" more cosy and safe under it (it has a good headlining, or at least the pukka Lotus one does...beware of imitations)

If you like to change the look of your car, the hardtop gives it slight "coupe" overtones which I personally think is nice for a change.


I do actually garage my car but I use it periodically for work / commuting, so I usually install the hardtop around end October (or whenever the Sweeping Up the Leaves Run is finished ) and leave it on until about March (or whenever we go to Donington for the Club Lotus festival ). If a particularly nice winter's day emerges in between, I do sometimes pop it off again for a wee run - it doesn't take long.

I also have a hardtop storage bag to prevent damage while hung in the garage through summer, although I managed OK without this in the early days by draping a big rug and then polythene sheet over it.

Campbell
(snug faction)

[Ferg]

Thanks for the tips.

I'm planning on garaging when the weather gets bad. I'll need to put up some shelves for some of the junk first as the spare space round the bike kind of filled up. I'd still like to be able to leave it in the driveway during the colder months without worrying about it too, but only now and then.

I suppose I can always acquire a hardtop later. I do love the way the hard top looks on the car. MacKenzies avitar pic says it all for me....

I have arranged to see the car tomorrow morning ( this one ). Leaving early doors.
It's in very good condition and speaking with the owner it's had everything needed, all the recalls, all the problem bits done. I'm kind of erring on the 'clean standard example' cars at the moment as I can always mod them to my own tastes later(much later at that price mind).

Could this be the one??.....scary.

[GregR]

I think Campbell's one of the few hardtop advocates on the site. Others see it, as Scott says, as £5-600 that's tied up (and perhaps annoying your significant other by taking up space in the spare bedroom) and not a bad amount of coin to free up should your new steed need, say, new suspension or a wee HGF repair.

I had a 'pukka Lotus' hardtop and I thought it was badly designed in that it had no gutters. After a night's rain you'd start the car up, get the blowers on and roll down the window to try to clear the condensation. Move off, turn a corner, then the rain water on the roof is tipped completely in to the car through the open window. Fitting the hard top correctly is a must too, or you'll end up with a few mm gap on one side and not the other. There's also the problem that the window will not shut 'in' to the roof and the rubber edge can be a funny shape. the result of that is that you roll up your window and the middle of the window hits the rubber before the front does, resulting again in a gap at the front where water from the wipers gets directed. Easiest way to solve that problem is to open the door, roll up the window, then shut and you should get a seal. The soft top is designed to have a little lip so the rainwater is kept away better.

[tut]

Doubt if you could go far wrong with that car, I would go for it.

Don't get sidetracked by looking for a car just because it has a hardtop, it is the car itself that should sell it to you.

tut

[Mike Scib]

My hard top will be going on soon, then off again when it snows

[Ferg]

Is that cause it makes it easier to look out the side window in the direction your travelling?


Thanks for the opinions on the roof and car....

[campbell]

Greg. Fair points all. Who ever said everything Lotus was well designed of course Although gutters on an Elise hardtop, hm, think I have to draw the line at that!

Ferg - the car in question looks clean, and as a 99 model, will have most of the important tweaks already in place when it left the factory.

However check what suspension it's on...if Konis, they are going to need binned. The titanium and green combo is quite fetching actually, and indeed it is rare..I think. That doesn't deserve a premium though. The Janspeed exhaust gives a nice rasp however will be prone to boominess at m-way speeds so it's not something to offer a premium for either. Yet more quality Lotus design

I can't honestly say what the car ought to be worth, or even what its general vintage ought to be worth ignoring condition. Just sub £10k feels a bit high to me but it may well be that prices are on the climb, I'm happy if so because that puts my own 99 S1 in "a good place"

If it was me? I'd certainly be having a close look with £8k-£9k in my pocket, and given that Classic Car magazine had originally expected S1 Elise prices to bottom out around £10k, I doubt you are going to lose out in any major way at that level.

Crucially - you do need to hold a maintenance budget, if you want to keep the car on the road throughout the year. I used to keep a "float" of around £1k in the bank (which also allowed some trackday costs to be covered too) but I can no longer afford to do that and I miss it. So when making your final choice...consider whether maxing out is the answer, or getting something very slightly cheaper which leaves you a contingency fund for at least the first year to fix anything that rears its head.

Campbell
(hardtop herald)

[GregR]

I think Campbell's spot on with his assessment of that car - very nice.

Upgrades it'll have had are the braided clutch hose and the upgraded throttle body. Check out the brake discs to see if there's a lip (the bigger the lip, the more likely you are to have to replace them).

I had the factory fit Janspeed on my car and in all honesty, I never found it boomy at all. In fact, I thought it was too quiet so eventually replaced it for an exige exhaust. It lasted 40k miles on my car, then ended up on Andy G's race car for at least half a season - pretty good longevity! is much lighter than the 'standard' back box too which is a bonus.

[campbell]

LOL Greg, I could be wrong but I have a hunch I had a loan of your ex-Janspeed last year when Robin was helping swap over to S2 manifold + downpipe combi, and my own Blueflame SS exhaust tailbox was away for welding If so, it must be my ears...where's that thread on Shure headphones and earplugs gone?!

OTOH...I could be wrong. It has been known...

Good point re: the throttle body. I changed mine way back when Iain Thomas was still running LotusEcosse and although the performance aspects are minimal (other than slightly sharper throttle response) it has certainly never stuck open ever ever ever unlike the cheap placcy original.