Back in a Lotus - 2006 Exige S
Discussion
Great thread Kyle,
I’ve finally news that I am buying an S2 Elise SC with sport pack, having a look tomorrow as it’s not my first choice colour (not loud enough)
If I do buy or when I buy one be good to meet up.. I’ve sent you a U2U with my phone number on to have a catch up over the exige!
I’ve finally news that I am buying an S2 Elise SC with sport pack, having a look tomorrow as it’s not my first choice colour (not loud enough)
If I do buy or when I buy one be good to meet up.. I’ve sent you a U2U with my phone number on to have a catch up over the exige!
Y11 LTS said:
Great thread Kyle,
I’ve finally news that I am buying an S2 Elise SC with sport pack, having a look tomorrow as it’s not my first choice colour (not loud enough)
If I do buy or when I buy one be good to meet up.. I’ve sent you a U2U with my phone number on to have a catch up over the exige!
Great news man, I look forward to seeing it - you know what's expected of a readers' cars thread so get cracking I’ve finally news that I am buying an S2 Elise SC with sport pack, having a look tomorrow as it’s not my first choice colour (not loud enough)
If I do buy or when I buy one be good to meet up.. I’ve sent you a U2U with my phone number on to have a catch up over the exige!
Rick101 said:
That red car looks out of place with the glorious blue ones. Takes forever to wash three. You should really get rid of it.
Our old colour scheme was a bit better:
Though the Honda is only doing about 6 miles per week at the moment, it's our only shot at travelling in remote comfort so it'll be staying for a while yet - plus it doesn't owe us anything, and it's a fair bit of fun when it wants to be!
Fonzey said:
Though the Honda is only doing about 6 miles per week at the moment, it's our only shot at travelling in remote comfort so it'll be staying for a while yet - plus it doesn't owe us anything, and it's a fair bit of fun when it wants to be!
Hardly worth keeping doing those miles!Just think of the track days a few grand could buy you
You know where I am if you change your mind
Darryl H said:
Great work Kyle 
the car is looking lovely.
Cheers man! the car is looking lovely. Some updates from the last few nights:
I got the car rinsed down after the 500miles of crud and got it jacked up into position ready for work. I started off by removing the cat converter and backbox, although not mandatory for a toe-link change it does give better access and it would give me an opportunity to see about replacing the heatshields on the manifold.
20mins of productivity saw the exhaust off, another 10mins had the toe-links removed and I was left with this little pile of stuff.
That photo was actually taken after I'd wrapped the u-bend on the cat, this is to replace a heatshield that rots off of these cars pretty quickly. I did the same on my 111R and it just isn't worth replacing with standard heatshields because they don't last. I only wrap the u-bend because that sticks out from underneath the larger heatshield that lines the boot floor. The bend itself is pretty close to the nearside rear tyre and you can feel the rear clam get pretty warm after a run when it's missing.
I had a trial fit of the manifold heatshields, I could get them into position once the cat was removed but I was having trouble inserting bolts at the fixings closest to the engine, it seems like they'd just rusted over. There's no way I could get access with a tap, but I did note that the manifold bolts were in pretty accessible positions... so 10 minutes later:
The holes tapped out nicely, the manifold it seems had been fitted with the OEM gasket in addition to some gasket sealant. Not sure if this is standard Lotus procedure but I couldn't find any reference to it in the workshop manual - so figured it had been removed/reseated previously. I cleaned it all off and got hold of a new gasket for re-installation. I'll try without sealant and make sure it doesn't blow.
The replacement manifold shields were like new, really chuffed to get hold of them. I got the manifold re-installed and did the "cat-end" bolts up loosely before venturing up top to finish off.
To access the top bolts I needed to remove the boot catch mechanism with its own heatshield, this will be staying off the car - more on this later.
That gave just about access for my girly hands to get down and fit the final bolts.
That was rather satisfying and relieving. The heatshields are potentially a total non-issue, the car has been running without them after all for god knows how long but I'd concerned myself that it would be clam off to resolve. To get it done, and back to standard feels great.
Between all of this work, I've made a start on the toe-links too.
First off an inspection of the old ones, both in-board sides looked like this. Total separation of the boot and dry as a bone inside. It probably didn't help being so close to an unshielded exhaust manifold - but for 16k miles these look pretty rough tbh. Movement feels a little slack in the off-side one too.
Fitting process is basically offering up the new brackets that come with the Spitfire kit and marking out 4 holes on each side that need to be drilled into the subframe ready for rivnuts. This took a while, I tried with 3mm pilot holes first which went in fine but my next step up (5mm) HSS bits were a bit tired and just weren't making progress into the subframe. I ordered some cobalt bits in 6mm and 9mm to finish off and upon arrival they tore through. Nice and slow with plenty of lube, as I learned from my Elise.
Unfortunately I only got 4 rivnuts in before my Chinese eBay rivnut tool decided it had enough - stripped its thread and made a good mess of one of my rivnuts too... so job is on hold until reinforcements arrive. Doh!
Whilst waiting around for drill bits, rivnuts, gaskets, etc I addressed something else. My aftermarket hardtop didn't come with any edging trim fitted which I think looks pretty cool, however I've caught my belt/jeans on it a few times whilst getting in/out of the car and I'm a little nervous about chipping the paint or worse, the fibreglass.
I got supplied with some self-adhesive edging trim which I've now fitted but apparently forgot to photograph, and I can't be bothered going back into the garage tonight so more to follow on that! It looks very OEM and was cheap enough to re-do in the future if it doesn't survive too many pressure washer blasts or 100+ mph on track!
Hopefully by the weekend I'll be back on all four wheels. I've got some more bits arriving this week before I can complete. The toe-links btw seem to be preconfigured to factory toe settings so the car may be approximately driveable without a geo, but I will of course get that done before any significant mileage or track time.
Great update Kyle,
Will contact you about the exhaust soon!
Just picked mine up today but currently in a some dodgy pub/hotel b&B to drive back tomororw lol
Will contact you about the exhaust soon!
Just picked mine up today but currently in a some dodgy pub/hotel b&B to drive back tomororw lol
Fonzey said:
Cheers man!
Some updates from the last few nights:
I got the car rinsed down after the 500miles of crud and got it jacked up into position ready for work. I started off by removing the cat converter and backbox, although not mandatory for a toe-link change it does give better access and it would give me an opportunity to see about replacing the heatshields on the manifold.
20mins of productivity saw the exhaust off, another 10mins had the toe-links removed and I was left with this little pile of stuff.
That photo was actually taken after I'd wrapped the u-bend on the cat, this is to replace a heatshield that rots off of these cars pretty quickly. I did the same on my 111R and it just isn't worth replacing with standard heatshields because they don't last. I only wrap the u-bend because that sticks out from underneath the larger heatshield that lines the boot floor. The bend itself is pretty close to the nearside rear tyre and you can feel the rear clam get pretty warm after a run when it's missing.
I had a trial fit of the manifold heatshields, I could get them into position once the cat was removed but I was having trouble inserting bolts at the fixings closest to the engine, it seems like they'd just rusted over. There's no way I could get access with a tap, but I did note that the manifold bolts were in pretty accessible positions... so 10 minutes later:
The holes tapped out nicely, the manifold it seems had been fitted with the OEM gasket in addition to some gasket sealant. Not sure if this is standard Lotus procedure but I couldn't find any reference to it in the workshop manual - so figured it had been removed/reseated previously. I cleaned it all off and got hold of a new gasket for re-installation. I'll try without sealant and make sure it doesn't blow.
The replacement manifold shields were like new, really chuffed to get hold of them. I got the manifold re-installed and did the "cat-end" bolts up loosely before venturing up top to finish off.
To access the top bolts I needed to remove the boot catch mechanism with its own heatshield, this will be staying off the car - more on this later.
That gave just about access for my girly hands to get down and fit the final bolts.
That was rather satisfying and relieving. The heatshields are potentially a total non-issue, the car has been running without them after all for god knows how long but I'd concerned myself that it would be clam off to resolve. To get it done, and back to standard feels great.
Between all of this work, I've made a start on the toe-links too.
First off an inspection of the old ones, both in-board sides looked like this. Total separation of the boot and dry as a bone inside. It probably didn't help being so close to an unshielded exhaust manifold - but for 16k miles these look pretty rough tbh. Movement feels a little slack in the off-side one too.
Fitting process is basically offering up the new brackets that come with the Spitfire kit and marking out 4 holes on each side that need to be drilled into the subframe ready for rivnuts. This took a while, I tried with 3mm pilot holes first which went in fine but my next step up (5mm) HSS bits were a bit tired and just weren't making progress into the subframe. I ordered some cobalt bits in 6mm and 9mm to finish off and upon arrival they tore through. Nice and slow with plenty of lube, as I learned from my Elise.
Unfortunately I only got 4 rivnuts in before my Chinese eBay rivnut tool decided it had enough - stripped its thread and made a good mess of one of my rivnuts too... so job is on hold until reinforcements arrive. Doh!
Whilst waiting around for drill bits, rivnuts, gaskets, etc I addressed something else. My aftermarket hardtop didn't come with any edging trim fitted which I think looks pretty cool, however I've caught my belt/jeans on it a few times whilst getting in/out of the car and I'm a little nervous about chipping the paint or worse, the fibreglass.
I got supplied with some self-adhesive edging trim which I've now fitted but apparently forgot to photograph, and I can't be bothered going back into the garage tonight so more to follow on that! It looks very OEM and was cheap enough to re-do in the future if it doesn't survive too many pressure washer blasts or 100+ mph on track!
Hopefully by the weekend I'll be back on all four wheels. I've got some more bits arriving this week before I can complete. The toe-links btw seem to be preconfigured to factory toe settings so the car may be approximately driveable without a geo, but I will of course get that done before any significant mileage or track time.
Some updates from the last few nights:
I got the car rinsed down after the 500miles of crud and got it jacked up into position ready for work. I started off by removing the cat converter and backbox, although not mandatory for a toe-link change it does give better access and it would give me an opportunity to see about replacing the heatshields on the manifold.
20mins of productivity saw the exhaust off, another 10mins had the toe-links removed and I was left with this little pile of stuff.
That photo was actually taken after I'd wrapped the u-bend on the cat, this is to replace a heatshield that rots off of these cars pretty quickly. I did the same on my 111R and it just isn't worth replacing with standard heatshields because they don't last. I only wrap the u-bend because that sticks out from underneath the larger heatshield that lines the boot floor. The bend itself is pretty close to the nearside rear tyre and you can feel the rear clam get pretty warm after a run when it's missing.
I had a trial fit of the manifold heatshields, I could get them into position once the cat was removed but I was having trouble inserting bolts at the fixings closest to the engine, it seems like they'd just rusted over. There's no way I could get access with a tap, but I did note that the manifold bolts were in pretty accessible positions... so 10 minutes later:
The holes tapped out nicely, the manifold it seems had been fitted with the OEM gasket in addition to some gasket sealant. Not sure if this is standard Lotus procedure but I couldn't find any reference to it in the workshop manual - so figured it had been removed/reseated previously. I cleaned it all off and got hold of a new gasket for re-installation. I'll try without sealant and make sure it doesn't blow.
The replacement manifold shields were like new, really chuffed to get hold of them. I got the manifold re-installed and did the "cat-end" bolts up loosely before venturing up top to finish off.
To access the top bolts I needed to remove the boot catch mechanism with its own heatshield, this will be staying off the car - more on this later.
That gave just about access for my girly hands to get down and fit the final bolts.
That was rather satisfying and relieving. The heatshields are potentially a total non-issue, the car has been running without them after all for god knows how long but I'd concerned myself that it would be clam off to resolve. To get it done, and back to standard feels great.
Between all of this work, I've made a start on the toe-links too.
First off an inspection of the old ones, both in-board sides looked like this. Total separation of the boot and dry as a bone inside. It probably didn't help being so close to an unshielded exhaust manifold - but for 16k miles these look pretty rough tbh. Movement feels a little slack in the off-side one too.
Fitting process is basically offering up the new brackets that come with the Spitfire kit and marking out 4 holes on each side that need to be drilled into the subframe ready for rivnuts. This took a while, I tried with 3mm pilot holes first which went in fine but my next step up (5mm) HSS bits were a bit tired and just weren't making progress into the subframe. I ordered some cobalt bits in 6mm and 9mm to finish off and upon arrival they tore through. Nice and slow with plenty of lube, as I learned from my Elise.
Unfortunately I only got 4 rivnuts in before my Chinese eBay rivnut tool decided it had enough - stripped its thread and made a good mess of one of my rivnuts too... so job is on hold until reinforcements arrive. Doh!
Whilst waiting around for drill bits, rivnuts, gaskets, etc I addressed something else. My aftermarket hardtop didn't come with any edging trim fitted which I think looks pretty cool, however I've caught my belt/jeans on it a few times whilst getting in/out of the car and I'm a little nervous about chipping the paint or worse, the fibreglass.
I got supplied with some self-adhesive edging trim which I've now fitted but apparently forgot to photograph, and I can't be bothered going back into the garage tonight so more to follow on that! It looks very OEM and was cheap enough to re-do in the future if it doesn't survive too many pressure washer blasts or 100+ mph on track!
Hopefully by the weekend I'll be back on all four wheels. I've got some more bits arriving this week before I can complete. The toe-links btw seem to be preconfigured to factory toe settings so the car may be approximately driveable without a geo, but I will of course get that done before any significant mileage or track time.
Official collection today but I went down yesterday to check the car out and stay in a hotel so I could then have a full day travelling back calling in a caffiene and machine.
Ended up collecting yesterday to test drive and all had been completed.
Need to go back today as there’s something flapping and hitting something over bumps... something to do with the heat shield as that was vibrating lots before.. that’s gone now but now there’s this sound over any bumps! Sure it’s easy to sort then will be on my way
Ended up collecting yesterday to test drive and all had been completed.
Need to go back today as there’s something flapping and hitting something over bumps... something to do with the heat shield as that was vibrating lots before.. that’s gone now but now there’s this sound over any bumps! Sure it’s easy to sort then will be on my way
Alright time for an update, been tinkering away an hour or so each night for the past few nights and finally dropped the car back on its wheels today.
I mentioned before that I'd fitted some edge trim on the roof, but had forgot to post a photo - so here we go:
I believe I left it where I'd stripped my rivnut tool and was waiting for a replacement, well that came - it wasn't much more expensive than the last one but it said "pro" on it so I was in safe hands. I got the remaining rivnuts in without drama, so was then just a case of bolting everything up.
I torqued them all up, with loctite on the inboards and nyloc nuts on the outboard.
It was then a case of bolting stuff back on the car, the catalytic converter and big bootfloor heatshield first:
The heatshield on my Elise was a little ropey around the toelinks and had rotted through so I couldn't fasten it down. This was still really strong, and a quick brush down and dusting of VHT paint had it looking bang on. The factory shaping of it fits around the spitfire brackets beautifully - so that's them tucked up nicely away from the exhaust.
Then it was backbox time, except mine would not be going back on the car - through some elaborate backbox-triangle of contacts I managed to get hold of a second hand one made (we think?!) by the popular 2bular which is listed as being a track safe/road option. I know it's boring, but I needed to quieten the car down a bit for my tastes - but I've found a new home for my old backbox, well when I say new home it's actually kind of it's old home as it's going back to Duncan who has been following this thread - the son of the previous owner of my Exige
Putting them side by side show identical dimensions, and raises suspicion that my old exhaust may be another offering from 2bular - or at least something close.
I had 10mins with the autosol and brought it up a treat, I would have done more (plus the old one) but I knelt on the tube and got autosol all over the place...
It bolted up a treat, and after a few adjustments to get it somewhere near central I got it nipped up properly. It's fairly common for this size backbox to catch on both the rear boot heatshield and the rear diffuser (both my removed exhaust and the new exhaust in its previous car did exactly this) but by rocking it back on its hangers before tightening up you can get just about enough clearance.
My final task over the last few days was related to the boot strut - I mentioned that the boot latch mechanism wouldn't be going back on the car and that's because I've bought a new one:
The 2006 Exiges came with a twin gas strut design to keep the boot lid up. Unfortunately the struts were slightly too long and/or strong which pushed up the corners of the boot lid giving a panel gap like this (yes, they came out the factory like this...)
From what I can gather back in 2006, some people rejected their cars so Lotus swapped them to the new design as a warranty change. The new design came in with the 2007 car and had just a single strut mounted to the boot latch mechanism. Luckily it's an easy retrofit if you can get hold of the parts - which thanks to community favourite Junks.. I did
Before:
After:
And the boot now looks like it's not half open...
... and that's about it for now. The car is currently sat in the garage with no floor or diffuser - just want to check for knocks/rattles or exhaust blows over a few miles when it dries up then I'll have one last torque check before screwing it all back on. That's a big chunk of my track-readiness dealt with now leaving just a baffled sump to come in a few months, as I'd like to get some mileage from my engine oil before dropping it all...!
I mentioned before that I'd fitted some edge trim on the roof, but had forgot to post a photo - so here we go:
I believe I left it where I'd stripped my rivnut tool and was waiting for a replacement, well that came - it wasn't much more expensive than the last one but it said "pro" on it so I was in safe hands. I got the remaining rivnuts in without drama, so was then just a case of bolting everything up.
I torqued them all up, with loctite on the inboards and nyloc nuts on the outboard.
It was then a case of bolting stuff back on the car, the catalytic converter and big bootfloor heatshield first:
The heatshield on my Elise was a little ropey around the toelinks and had rotted through so I couldn't fasten it down. This was still really strong, and a quick brush down and dusting of VHT paint had it looking bang on. The factory shaping of it fits around the spitfire brackets beautifully - so that's them tucked up nicely away from the exhaust.
Then it was backbox time, except mine would not be going back on the car - through some elaborate backbox-triangle of contacts I managed to get hold of a second hand one made (we think?!) by the popular 2bular which is listed as being a track safe/road option. I know it's boring, but I needed to quieten the car down a bit for my tastes - but I've found a new home for my old backbox, well when I say new home it's actually kind of it's old home as it's going back to Duncan who has been following this thread - the son of the previous owner of my Exige
Putting them side by side show identical dimensions, and raises suspicion that my old exhaust may be another offering from 2bular - or at least something close.
I had 10mins with the autosol and brought it up a treat, I would have done more (plus the old one) but I knelt on the tube and got autosol all over the place...
It bolted up a treat, and after a few adjustments to get it somewhere near central I got it nipped up properly. It's fairly common for this size backbox to catch on both the rear boot heatshield and the rear diffuser (both my removed exhaust and the new exhaust in its previous car did exactly this) but by rocking it back on its hangers before tightening up you can get just about enough clearance.
My final task over the last few days was related to the boot strut - I mentioned that the boot latch mechanism wouldn't be going back on the car and that's because I've bought a new one:
The 2006 Exiges came with a twin gas strut design to keep the boot lid up. Unfortunately the struts were slightly too long and/or strong which pushed up the corners of the boot lid giving a panel gap like this (yes, they came out the factory like this...)
From what I can gather back in 2006, some people rejected their cars so Lotus swapped them to the new design as a warranty change. The new design came in with the 2007 car and had just a single strut mounted to the boot latch mechanism. Luckily it's an easy retrofit if you can get hold of the parts - which thanks to community favourite Junks.. I did
Before:
After:
And the boot now looks like it's not half open...
... and that's about it for now. The car is currently sat in the garage with no floor or diffuser - just want to check for knocks/rattles or exhaust blows over a few miles when it dries up then I'll have one last torque check before screwing it all back on. That's a big chunk of my track-readiness dealt with now leaving just a baffled sump to come in a few months, as I'd like to get some mileage from my engine oil before dropping it all...!
Haha I know Kyle, well I started one the other week when I paid my deposit but I need to update later tonight on picking it up, cars and coffee, what I have planned and then the first big thing I’ve done which is takenout the interior to clean it 😳😲... weather I can put it back together is another issue hahaha
Though the Honda is only doing about 6 miles per week at the moment, it's our only shot at travelling in remote comfort so it'll be staying for a while yet - plus it doesn't owe us anything, and it's a fair bit of fun when it wants to be!
Fonzey said:
Y11 LTS said:
Great thread Kyle,
I’ve finally news that I am buying an S2 Elise SC with sport pack, having a look tomorrow as it’s not my first choice colour (not loud enough)
If I do buy or when I buy one be good to meet up.. I’ve sent you a U2U with my phone number on to have a catch up over the exige!
Great news man, I look forward to seeing it - you know what's expected of a readers' cars thread so get cracking I’ve finally news that I am buying an S2 Elise SC with sport pack, having a look tomorrow as it’s not my first choice colour (not loud enough)
If I do buy or when I buy one be good to meet up.. I’ve sent you a U2U with my phone number on to have a catch up over the exige!
Rick101 said:
That red car looks out of place with the glorious blue ones. Takes forever to wash three. You should really get rid of it.
Our old colour scheme was a bit better:Though the Honda is only doing about 6 miles per week at the moment, it's our only shot at travelling in remote comfort so it'll be staying for a while yet - plus it doesn't owe us anything, and it's a fair bit of fun when it wants to be!
Fonzey said:
Alright time for an update, been tinkering away an hour or so each night for the past few nights and finally dropped the car back on its wheels today.
I mentioned before that I'd fitted some edge trim on the roof, but had forgot to post a photo - so here we go:
I believe I left it where I'd stripped my rivnut tool and was waiting for a replacement, well that came - it wasn't much more expensive than the last one but it said "pro" on it so I was in safe hands. I got the remaining rivnuts in without drama, so was then just a case of bolting everything up.
I torqued them all up, with loctite on the inboards and nyloc nuts on the outboard.
It was then a case of bolting stuff back on the car, the catalytic converter and big bootfloor heatshield first:
The heatshield on my Elise was a little ropey around the toelinks and had rotted through so I couldn't fasten it down. This was still really strong, and a quick brush down and dusting of VHT paint had it looking bang on. The factory shaping of it fits around the spitfire brackets beautifully - so that's them tucked up nicely away from the exhaust.
Then it was backbox time, except mine would not be going back on the car - through some elaborate backbox-triangle of contacts I managed to get hold of a second hand one made (we think?!) by the popular 2bular which is listed as being a track safe/road option. I know it's boring, but I needed to quieten the car down a bit for my tastes - but I've found a new home for my old backbox, well when I say new home it's actually kind of it's old home as it's going back to Duncan who has been following this thread - the son of the previous owner of my Exige
Putting them side by side show identical dimensions, and raises suspicion that my old exhaust may be another offering from 2bular - or at least something close.
I had 10mins with the autosol and brought it up a treat, I would have done more (plus the old one) but I knelt on the tube and got autosol all over the place...
It bolted up a treat, and after a few adjustments to get it somewhere near central I got it nipped up properly. It's fairly common for this size backbox to catch on both the rear boot heatshield and the rear diffuser (both my removed exhaust and the new exhaust in its previous car did exactly this) but by rocking it back on its hangers before tightening up you can get just about enough clearance.
My final task over the last few days was related to the boot strut - I mentioned that the boot latch mechanism wouldn't be going back on the car and that's because I've bought a new one:
The 2006 Exiges came with a twin gas strut design to keep the boot lid up. Unfortunately the struts were slightly too long and/or strong which pushed up the corners of the boot lid giving a panel gap like this (yes, they came out the factory like this...)
From what I can gather back in 2006, some people rejected their cars so Lotus swapped them to the new design as a warranty change. The new design came in with the 2007 car and had just a single strut mounted to the boot latch mechanism. Luckily it's an easy retrofit if you can get hold of the parts - which thanks to community favourite Junks.. I did
Before:
After:
And the boot now looks like it's not half open...
... and that's about it for now. The car is currently sat in the garage with no floor or diffuser - just want to check for knocks/rattles or exhaust blows over a few miles when it dries up then I'll have one last torque check before screwing it all back on. That's a big chunk of my track-readiness dealt with now leaving just a baffled sump to come in a few months, as I'd like to get some mileage from my engine oil before dropping it all...!
Dude I’m loving this car thread!I mentioned before that I'd fitted some edge trim on the roof, but had forgot to post a photo - so here we go:
I believe I left it where I'd stripped my rivnut tool and was waiting for a replacement, well that came - it wasn't much more expensive than the last one but it said "pro" on it so I was in safe hands. I got the remaining rivnuts in without drama, so was then just a case of bolting everything up.
I torqued them all up, with loctite on the inboards and nyloc nuts on the outboard.
It was then a case of bolting stuff back on the car, the catalytic converter and big bootfloor heatshield first:
The heatshield on my Elise was a little ropey around the toelinks and had rotted through so I couldn't fasten it down. This was still really strong, and a quick brush down and dusting of VHT paint had it looking bang on. The factory shaping of it fits around the spitfire brackets beautifully - so that's them tucked up nicely away from the exhaust.
Then it was backbox time, except mine would not be going back on the car - through some elaborate backbox-triangle of contacts I managed to get hold of a second hand one made (we think?!) by the popular 2bular which is listed as being a track safe/road option. I know it's boring, but I needed to quieten the car down a bit for my tastes - but I've found a new home for my old backbox, well when I say new home it's actually kind of it's old home as it's going back to Duncan who has been following this thread - the son of the previous owner of my Exige
Putting them side by side show identical dimensions, and raises suspicion that my old exhaust may be another offering from 2bular - or at least something close.
I had 10mins with the autosol and brought it up a treat, I would have done more (plus the old one) but I knelt on the tube and got autosol all over the place...
It bolted up a treat, and after a few adjustments to get it somewhere near central I got it nipped up properly. It's fairly common for this size backbox to catch on both the rear boot heatshield and the rear diffuser (both my removed exhaust and the new exhaust in its previous car did exactly this) but by rocking it back on its hangers before tightening up you can get just about enough clearance.
My final task over the last few days was related to the boot strut - I mentioned that the boot latch mechanism wouldn't be going back on the car and that's because I've bought a new one:
The 2006 Exiges came with a twin gas strut design to keep the boot lid up. Unfortunately the struts were slightly too long and/or strong which pushed up the corners of the boot lid giving a panel gap like this (yes, they came out the factory like this...)
From what I can gather back in 2006, some people rejected their cars so Lotus swapped them to the new design as a warranty change. The new design came in with the 2007 car and had just a single strut mounted to the boot latch mechanism. Luckily it's an easy retrofit if you can get hold of the parts - which thanks to community favourite Junks.. I did
Before:
After:
And the boot now looks like it's not half open...
... and that's about it for now. The car is currently sat in the garage with no floor or diffuser - just want to check for knocks/rattles or exhaust blows over a few miles when it dries up then I'll have one last torque check before screwing it all back on. That's a big chunk of my track-readiness dealt with now leaving just a baffled sump to come in a few months, as I'd like to get some mileage from my engine oil before dropping it all...!
As the exhausts look the same have you noticed any difference in noise (as you wanted something quieter)
The boot always had me and my dad perplexed and you have now answered it!.. haha I shall now let him know!
justa1972 said:
Brilliant work on a stunning car - I've always wanted to own a Lotus.
I'm 46 and still haven't so really need to get a move on - unfortunately I'm not a DIYer so think this has always put me off slightly...
I’m 44 and finally have one. I agree with you that you need to be a DIYer with these cars. Either that or have deep pockets for simple stuff being fixed. I'm 46 and still haven't so really need to get a move on - unfortunately I'm not a DIYer so think this has always put me off slightly...
They really are pretty simple cars though. I love getting under mine and tinkering.
justa1972 said:
Brilliant work on a stunning car - I've always wanted to own a Lotus.
I'm 46 and still haven't so really need to get a move on - unfortunately I'm not a DIYer so think this has always put me off slightly...
Thanks for the comments, but really I would disagree that these cars need to have the space/skills/tools for DIY. Please consider that I fiddle with these cars BECAUSE I want to tinker with them, and if you stick with this thread (or read my 111R thread) you'll realise that I spend a lot of time (and money!) remedying things that *might* one day break if the car was smashed around as a proper race car all day every day but is highly unlikely to cause me problems in reality.I'm 46 and still haven't so really need to get a move on - unfortunately I'm not a DIYer so think this has always put me off slightly...
Toe links I did over a week or so, but with a gun against my head with all the tools in front of me it's a 2 hour job which I'm pretty sure a specialist would knockout including alignment within an afternoon. With the amount I've spent on tools and materials over the last 5 years, I'm pretty sure I would have SAVED money by taking my cars to a workshop each time for the pros to do the work... but I want to learn and figure this stuff out, it's part of my hobby that I appreciate isn't for everyone.
Consumable parts are cheap, hardly exotic and are fairly easy to come by. I'd recommend finding and aligning yourself with a local specialist who at least knows the basics like how to lift the cars up properly and what to look for if the car is tracked fairly regularly but other than that I'd be much more afraid of something modern, or something with large capacity engines and/or fancy gearboxes because their bork factor is significant.
If you want one, get one - don't let anybody tell you they're some kind of super niche specialist vehicle that requires constant care.
This was a nice surprise on Saturday!
Unfortunately now that I've peaked as a published writer, the quality of this thread may take a fall.
Car is booked in for alignment at my local favourites Track Torque in Tockwith near York for next week. I took the car out for a shakedown and realised it was desperately needed, with just a bit of gas the rear of the car squirms all over the place!
Unfortunately now that I've peaked as a published writer, the quality of this thread may take a fall.
Car is booked in for alignment at my local favourites Track Torque in Tockwith near York for next week. I took the car out for a shakedown and realised it was desperately needed, with just a bit of gas the rear of the car squirms all over the place!
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