Lotus S1 Elise, reimagined

[mohitos]

I thought I'd share some details of my Lotus Elise S1, bought last August. It's a 1998 car.
I purchased the car from a guy who had owned it for 15 years, 14 of which it had not turned a wheel and sat in his dry garage. It has 19k original miles.

I knew it would be a project and should have known better than to expect I wouldn't get a little carried away with myself.

My aim was to create something that 'looked' standard and original, but addressed any of the weak spots and short comings of the original car.

The work is finally complete, subject to an MOT and geo being done next week. It's been quite a journey, and kudos to Mike at Mustangshire who has carried out all of the work for me. I used Mike about 10 years ago to rebuild a TVR V8S, this has been his first Elise.

A few images and the list of work can be seen below.

Collection last August


A low point!


Old and shiny new


Awaiting MOT and geo:


Engine upgrades
- NOS Rover KR1 head
- ‘Kiwirog’ KR1 head work
- Newmans Phase 2 260 deg cams
- Omega forged pistons
- Elise Parts (EP) Forged 4340 Steel H Beam Con Rods
- Mahle con rod & crankshaft bearings
- Westwood cylinder Liners
- Upgraded oil rail
- Trophy 160 52mm alloy throttle body
- Magnecor ignition leads
- Emerald ECU
- Turbosport hard anodised verniers
- Elise Shop (ES) dampened crankshaft pulley
- Custom Emerald remap to follow, expecting somewhere between 160-180bhp, up from the original 118bhp

Drivetrain
- AP clutch and lightweight flywheel kit
- New EP wheel bearing & Hub Flange kit
- New engine mounts
- New gearbox mounts

Cooling
- Coolex upgraded aluminium radiator in satin black with twin fans
- Silicon hoses throughout
- Evans Power Cool 180 Waterless Coolant
- Davies Craig EWP80 electric water pump and digital controller
- EWP temperature sensor machined into the head by Kiwirog
- EP pressure release thermostat kit

Exhaust

- Piper 421 stainless steel manifold
- EP stainless steel sports cat
- EP stainless steel silencer

Suspension
- EP suspension refresh package
- EP Bilstein upgraded dampers
- ES drop links

Wheels & Tyres
- Yokohama AD08 tyres
- Refurbished MY98 original alloy wheels
- New genuine centre caps

Brakes
- Brake caliper refurb front & rear
- ES MMC pads
- Original MMC discs with 19k miles of wear
- Upgraded ES braided brake hoses
- New OEM brake master cylinder

Electrics
- NEW OEM concave headlights
- New OEM fog lights
- Stainless steel headlight and fog light mounting brackets
- Ring Xenon150 bulbs
- New OEM alternator
- New OEM starter motor
- Pioneer SPH-20DAB Bluetooth stereo
- Pioneer TS-WX130EA lightweight
- Focal 165AC speakers
- Original Cobra alarm recommissioned
- New Bosch S5 battery

Other
- Upgraded ES clutch slave cylinder support
- New OEM clutch master cylinder
- Upgraded ES clutch hose
- Upgraded ES stainless towing strut
- New engine cover release cable
- Upgraded ES quick shifter kit
- Upgraded ES gear linkage kit
- Uograded EP tuning gear cables
- Upgraded EP handbrake cable
- Upgraded ES throttle linkage
- Upgraded EP stainless front and rear grills in black
- New ES outer door seals
- Complete stainless steel overhaul bolt & screw kit
- Filler neck silicon hose kit
- Upgraded wiper arm

Edited by mohitos on Thursday 15th July 11:36

Edited by mohitos on Saturday 17th July 00:00

[Rawhide]

Wow - what a great find. Also a great base to rebuild after storage as there are so many updated parts and the chassis/body won't have rusted

[snotrag]

Lovely that, I've got basically the same suspension setup on my S2 and you'll find it lovely on the road.

[chrismc1977]

Be interested to see what power figures are achieved.

Newman cams never had much of a reputation back in my Golf GTi days

[mohitos]

I’ll report back when it’s done
Re the cam choice, I just took the advice of the engine builder, who has a great reputation in the Lotus community.

[Twin2]

looks fabulous!!!

Have PM'd you about the EWP fitment...

My Elise has just had KR1, newman cams etc from Rog a few weeks back and it's truly transformative for the S1!! In my head I'm comparing to an S3 220 I had a day driving at Hethel and it's leagues ahead in terms of fun and character.
Also sounds like a 160 at idle which is a massive bonus!!

[mohitos]

Twin2 said:

looks fabulous!!!

Have PM'd you about the EWP fitment...

My Elise has just had KR1, newman cams etc from Rog a few weeks back and it's truly transformative for the S1!! In my head I'm comparing to an S3 220 I had a day driving at Hethel and it's leagues ahead in terms of fun and character.
Also sounds like a 160 at idle which is a massive bonus!!

I'm looking fwd to trying it :-)
I've messaged you back...

[Tin Hat]

I’ve had my S1 for a whopping 21 years, I’m not sure where all that time has gone…..

It’s had the suspension refreshed every 8 years or so, it is alarming how many can owners overlook this vital element to keeping Elises feeling fresh and pointy.

Engine mods are a great benefit , mine sits at 161 bhp and that is almost perfect for the public road - you can use all of the power and not fear for your licence.

Hope you have fun in it, it’s a timely reminder to get mine out for a play!

[harrykul]

Great find, and work! Look forward to hearing more

[pthelazyjourno]

Lovely car. Looks similar to one of my old ones. I also carried out a very similar list of mods - the KR1 head from Rog made a huge difference, enjoyed the car a lot more with a slightly revvier nature.

Enjoy!

[turbotoaster]

chrismc1977 said:

Be interested to see what power figures are achieved.

Newman cams never had much of a reputation back in my Golf GTi days

They are used on the most powerful Rover K series in the world so they are pretty good