Lotus Elise 111R

[svensktoppen]

Just make sure you get your commission @Boydie

 

[Burt2000]

Dont be jumping the gun now fellas

 

[Burt2000]

So as the car is off the road for winter I started into a job I’ve been avoiding for a while as I hate dealing with rust. Luckily this is only cosmetic as all the parts are functioning perfectly and the bushes etc are all in good shape. The rest of the car chassis is aluminium and I’ve had a good look and there’s no nasty surprises, it’s quite clean for being nearly 20 years old.

The intention was to replace everything on the suspension over time but having priced it all up I was looking at around £1k per corner to do a full nut and bolt restoration so that went out the window, the shocks have already been swapped for Nitrons at some stage in its life. Next was to go for removal and get it all powdercoated but that would be a job for a mechanic and it would have to be blocking a lift for a while so that wasn’t happening either.

I got stuck into it with the tools I have, the drill with the wire wheel and sanding discs was a godsend and after a lot of hours and lying on my back cursing it was all prepped and ready for some POR15. It’s not perfect but I’m happy with it and I’ve new drop links and some M10 bolts coming to replace while I’m in there.

A few before and after as always.

Fronts done so to do the back next

 

[Coog]

Holy frig that looks bad before! Great transformation!!

 

[Burt2000]

Again over winter I’ve picked up some very hard to find original 111R spider rims and plan to get them refurbished in original silver then fit the new oem Yokohama V105 tyres that I bought before Christmas. Always good to have the oem set up on something as rare as this.

Yeah it was horrible before and the pic with flash shows it up even more but I was able to get all the crusty bits off and back to solid metal after spending the time on it. Amazing what a bit of 0000 wire wool and tar remover can do cleaning wise. I’ll give it all a coat of clear wax too when finished.

 

[svensktoppen]

That's pretty normal on an Elise that's not been treated to be honest. Just wait until you get to the toe links at the back.

It all bolts right off like a meccano set, it's really easy to pull it all off and apart. Even I can do it and I'm an eejit Then a citric acid dip to get the rust off, those wish bones are thin and not the best for blasting.

The POR15 is good and will hold up for a while, but it can flake off from the edges of the areas you didn't get to. Just keep an eye on it.

If you were to go for replacing wishbones then I got some Xylan coated ones from Elise Parts the last time I did it all up. I've never had any more rust issues after that. They can be had with much better Ertacetal bushes too.

But like you said, that quickly adds up. With low miles the Por 15 should last a while.

 

[Burt2000]

Would there be any setting up needed after if i removed it all, geometry, camber etc? I’d be a cert to get a snapped bolt or something and be stranded on the driveway. Maybe get Rick to remove the bits in spring if he has the room. Wishbones alone are £500 a corner for them, then you have new hubs, carriers, toe links etc. It would be very expensive to replace all the bits with new.

 

[svensktoppen]

As long as you track all camber and castor shims, and any bump steer shims, and don't get the dampers mixed up, then it should all just bolt back together again.

You will need to get the alignment redone but that should be it. That needs done regularly anyway.

If you were really fussy you might want to check the corner weights, but as long as you bolt everyone back the way it was you should be ok.

Brake calipers can be moved to the side without disconnecting brake lines too. I usually just hang them with cable ties. So they should just bolt back on as well.

Obviously you need a good selection of basic tools, and work out how to support the car. The latter can be a bit of a faff as they are so low, but it's ok.

 

[Coog]

Take it all apart over winter. Clean, grease, paint, etc, etc to your hearts content then go get it all set-up again. That's what I do.

Nothing there suggests to me that anything would be anywhere near snapping but if you're not sure soak it down with release juice a day or 3 beforehand and tap it with a hammer before removing. Absolute worst case it can be stuck onto a flatbed. Get stuck in

 

[svensktoppen]

Wishbones alone are £500 a corner for them, then you have new hubs, carriers, toe links etc. It would be very expensive to replace all the bits with new.

You would only really need the wish bones. Hubs are aluminium, only reason to replace them would be to get fancy GT hubs or something. But you won't need that with your use. You might want to swap steering arms while in there, but the OEM ones of those aren't too bad either.

Bushes and ball joints are relatively cheap and worth doing with it all apart. Just standard OEM ball joints, and those ertacetal bushes. I get the local garage to do that, just bring a bag of wish bones and parts.

Chances are you won't actually need new wishbones either. Get them cleaned up, and then bring them over to Powdertech or some place like that for a good strong coat that will last. It's usually the fronts that get the worst for whatever reason, and the rear toe link.

Those wishbones are very thin though, so just see what they are like after a good clean.

Edit: upgrading the rear toelink is worth doing if that hasn't been done. It only replaces the bracket at the bottom of the rear hub, the actual hub isn't touched. The toelink itself is a solid rod, so if it's just rusty then all it needs is a clean. No need to replace it if you already have the upgrade. Just check the wee balljoints for them but I've never had any wear on the upgraded ones (rose joints).

 

[mike150]

That first picture is horrendous!!!

I looked at a few Elise's and they where all like that to a lesser degree..........

I enquired about a 2 year old one at the last and just in passing I asked for pictures of the suspension, how bad could it be, it's 2 year old............it was shocking. The dealer said a quick clean up and it'd be like new

Winter roads kill badly protected steel parts and Lotus's are full of them.

I ended up buying a band new Elise and I covered all the steel parts in Bilt Hammer UC on day 2 of ownership plus it doesn't go out on winter roads and rarely in the wet.

I hate rust too @Burt2000 more than you I guess!!!!!

 

[Burt2000]

Yeah the rear wishbones don’t look as bad! I’ll have a look at the toe links, maybe not a bad idea to change them.

Yes @mike150 I’ve heard even relatively young Elise’ have badly corroded suspension parts! MOT man never mentioned it though.

To remove the rough stuff I got heavy handed with the chisel and then the wire wheel on the drill did a good job, I was surprised they were still solid tbh, the inside parts closer to the boat were a lot less corroded than the outer parts.

 

[EF Ian]

Only pleasant thing about a job like that is when its done. Well worth doing though, good job.

 

[big_pete]

You always make a cracking job underneath your cars, that looks so fresh now!

 

[Boydie]

Great before and afters!

 

[Burt2000]

Thanks fellas,

 

[gav525]

Great job you've done of that @Burt2000

 

[Burt2000]

I took the car out of hibernation today and went for a spin to test out the new R888R’s. The grip and turn in is something else and it’s not even warm enough to get a lot of heat in them so they can only get better.

It snowed today in our driveway briefly

 

[chrisdromore]

flip thats nice

 

[svensktoppen]

The 888 will need it to be a lot warmer and drier than it is right now. Just wait for a nice dry summer day

 

[Boydie]

That’s a keeper!

 

[Burt2000]

I was just thinking that today @Boydie, I need to drive it more, but spring isn’t far away.

 

[svensktoppen]

Just get a hat on and get her out Nothing like a cool breeze and a nice bit of road

 

[EF Ian]

For sale? Got something planned?


I don't think I could own this without modifying it by sticking a supercharged K2O in it. So I'll avoid it, because there is probably no reason to do so.

 

[Burt2000]

The plan was something cheap to track but will see what happens, it’s a class car to have tbh. Honestly it doesn’t need a k20, just supercharge the yota lump that’s in it knocking on the door of 300 bhp which is plenty, place in England does it, drive in, drive out for £6k.