Non BMW Lotus
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Very cool--I hope to seeing this driving around Jackson!
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Well, the other day I broke the shifter off.....yes, that is actually a thing. As a dainty fellow, you can imagine this doesn't actually take much force. I was having difficulties getting it into reverse (there is a lock-out) and instead of investigating what was wrong I tried to force it. The rod is supposed to go into the blue thing.
So, I pushed the car to my shed, wife got to steer. And started the project. The plus side, is that the Lotus shifter assembly/cable/mechanism all suck, so I had purchased all new aftermarket stuff about a year ago. I figured it would be a winter project. Now it's a summer project. Sucks the shed is still a mess and I have 2 lifts, and 2 other cars are on them.....but in reality, there is a lot of up and down, in the car, under the car work, so it might actually be easier on the ground with the rear end up.
Whenever you do anything to this car, step 1 is to take the roof off. Then the seats. Then in this case the entire rear clam.
Found a previous owner must have had some mega sound system in the car, so I ripped all that out.
And the new stuff to go in. Â
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Made some more progress over the weekend. Got the new shifter installed and the new cables run to it.Â
The old cables are still ran to the trans which I am slowly disassembling. I didn't snap a pic but I'm installing a LETSLA kit which firms up the trans side of the mechanism. And that I'm modifying as well to make as firm as possible. Should be an awesome shift feel once done.
Also trying to figure out how to remove the EVAP/Charcoal stuff without throwing a code. The battery gets relocated from the trunk to this area. Re-routing the battery cables was fun.Â
Deciding what I want to do with this header. Good thing, is it's a legit longtube, so it won't hook up like the stock unit. The bad thing, is it's a legit long tube so it won't hook up like stock. You can also see the rear tow hook Installed and the clam hinges, which will allow the entire rear clam to tilt up. So cool.
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Like all my projects this is taking much longer than I wanted, but here is another small update.
I removed the stock mechanisims from the top of the trans. These will be replaced by a setup called LETSLA (Lotus Elige Transmission Shifter Linkage Assembly).....So OK, they are both LETSLA's but calling the new one LETSLA just sounds cooler.
The stuff on the left, gets replaced by the stuff on the right. The pieces above the stuff on the right are used to modify the stuff on the right because even the new stuff still has flaws.
A bit of a close up oriented the wrong way for good measure.
This is what part of the modification is, the upper bolt spacer thing still fits loose into a counterweight. The lower roller bearing fits much tighter (I actually have to machine it) and allows it to roll.
Inside the car I'm relocating all the buttons that were on the OEM Console. The Console will fit over the new shifter, but scroll up and look at it.....why would I cover that up? Here are the 3 buttons and new Console:
 Traction control button and door lock switch installed. Â
I'm actually going to cut out the sunken in part of the old console out where the hazard switch mounts and glue it behind the lower gauge hole. So I can still add one gauge of my choosing at some point.
Still trying to figure out the evap delete. What a pain.
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Cup holder install next?
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Was just watching old Top Gear and it reminded me of this thread.
Lotus, Lot's Of Trouble, Usually Serious.
Pretty much. But so much fun
Cup holder install next?Â
Actually.....yes, I have a trick little aluminum one with a leather strap that slides under the dash. I have to see if I can make it work with the new gauge/switch pod thing.
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