Quick thumbs up (S1 hood content)
Discussion
For anybody that was interested. I picked up my refurbished hood from my local Lotus dealership (F1 - Newcastle) yesterday so I thought I'd report back on the service.
Essentially, like many S1 hoods, mine had split on the leading edge in the centre, had some loose stiching, was a little scruffy looking and the plastic locating strip at the front had also broken in half. Apart from starting to look a little unsightly it was getting to a stage where it was starting to lift at motorway speeds etc.. and was beginning to let in water at the edges.
Anyway I dropped the hood off at F1 who sent it to Lotus trim shop. A week and half later, it was finished and ready to pick up for the very reasonable sum of £86.
Its no exageration to say that the hood now appears brand new. From what I can gather the've done the following,
New plastic strip
Repaired all frayed stitching
Replaced seals along sides
Replaced tensioning cable
Cleaned and re-proofed canvas
So, there you go, a massive thumbs up from me and highly recommended for anybody considerring doing the same.
Quick thank you to Geordiefella who was going to lend me a hood in the interim but as it turned out, Lotus's rather short lead time meant I didn't need it.
Pics to follow when I get out in daylight.
Essentially, like many S1 hoods, mine had split on the leading edge in the centre, had some loose stiching, was a little scruffy looking and the plastic locating strip at the front had also broken in half. Apart from starting to look a little unsightly it was getting to a stage where it was starting to lift at motorway speeds etc.. and was beginning to let in water at the edges.
Anyway I dropped the hood off at F1 who sent it to Lotus trim shop. A week and half later, it was finished and ready to pick up for the very reasonable sum of £86.
Its no exageration to say that the hood now appears brand new. From what I can gather the've done the following,
New plastic strip
Repaired all frayed stitching
Replaced seals along sides
Replaced tensioning cable
Cleaned and re-proofed canvas
So, there you go, a massive thumbs up from me and highly recommended for anybody considerring doing the same.
Quick thank you to Geordiefella who was going to lend me a hood in the interim but as it turned out, Lotus's rather short lead time meant I didn't need it.
Pics to follow when I get out in daylight.
Respec'
A quick tip for anyone who thinks their hood may be getting near the time for refurbishment - I knew mine was starting to look a little worn along the front edge but didn't think it was too bad. During a wet trackday however, at about 95mph on the main straight, there was an almighty bang and I lost the whole roof, ripping completely out of the windscreen header. Luckily there was no damage to the car, especially as the remnants of the hood remained attached via the rear securing lug on the drivers side! No chance of hood refurbishment - a new roof required.
Gassing Station | Elise/Exige/Europa/340R | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff