Problems with fitting a hardtop to a 1997 S1 ?????

[theboycalleddan]

I have a Nautilus blue 1997 S1 and wanted to buy a hardtop for security reasons (and I like the way it transforms the car into a coupe style). According to www.elises.co.uk cars made prior to May 98 (prior to VIN 3332) require modification to the 'cant rails' in order to accept the S1 hard-top. I have a number of questions.

1. What exactly are the 'cant rails', and how easy is it to do this modification (something I could do myself)?

2. Is this modification for all hardtops or just the genuine lotus ones?

3. I'm told the copy hardtops (i.e. Middlemoore Mouldings type) look different to the genuine ones, can anyone explain the differences with respect to the look, pictures would be helpful, as I want the best looking type for my car. I'm not too bothered about watertighness as I believe its hit & miss whether your windows need adjusting. I'm more after the look it gives the car and security.

4. Does anyone have S1 hardtop in Nautilus blue for sale, if so what type is it?

Cheers

[ara2312]

Hi,

Not sure about the fitting questions as mine is a 98 car but I have just send you a mail as you may be interested in mine.

Cheers

Andy

[S Works]

AFAIK, the "cant rails" are the removeable side rails that you fit along the top of the door aperture (between windscreen 'A' piller and the 'B' pillar roll-over hoop) when the soft-top is on. Why you'd need to adjust them to fit the hardtop, I don't know.

The original equipment roof has 3 fixing points. At the front, a large 'clamp' fixed from the inside using 3 bolts and captive nuts, and at the rear 2x clamps - one either side of the roof which hook into fixing points on each side of the roll-over hoop.

[theboycalleddan]

Thanks for the info. Seems like www.elises.co.uk are not entirely correct with their information concerning modifications to the Cant Rails!

I’ll go on the hunt for a hardtop with confidence now.

Anyone have pics showing the difference in styling between the different manufacturers of hardtops…???

[AdrianR]

Elises.co.uk was almost certainly correct at the time it was written, but that's getting on for 10 years now so it's a bit hazy exactly what the problem was.

I *think* the hardtop mounting either used or fouled the clips used for the cant rails so something had to be changed slightly. Or maybe it was that the top position for the window had to be adjusted so you needed modified rails to avoid leaving a gap when the top went back on? Or something like that.

AdrianR

[Scarygore]

I've a '97 car and the Lotus hardtop. The only thing I had to adjust was the height of the windows.
I leave them set so the hard top is water tight.
It leaves the windows very slightly low, and I mean very slightly, for the soft top.