111RS #3 Build: Rad/AC/HVAC Reinstall

End caps are grey!

 This 111RS is getting ProAlloy's proRAD Triple Pass as the stock radiator was looking old and grey.  The plastic end caps had changed from black to grey in color.  These end caps are known to crack and then leak.  We change the radiator out on all the 111RS builds as a preventative measure.  This color change is easy to see from the outside of the car so something we suggest should be inspected.

We also installed ProAlloy's AC Condenser.  The AC hard lines to the stock condensers often rip the threads off the fitting upon removal.  It happened to this car so we had the lines repaired and replaced the condenser with a new rad.  Carlos cleaned up the stock fans and remounted each of these parts into their stack.  

The HVAC unit was cleaned up.  We took the opportunity to add some insulation to the inside of the unit to see if we can improve the AC performance.  We've not tried this before so it will be interesting to see the affect.

Lee cleaned up the radiator shroud and crash structure as everything was apart.  It all looks great now and reinstalled.

111RS #3 Build: Rodents, Wiring & More Clean Up!

fresh nest

 Rodents like cars that sit.  Sportscars, in general, don't get driven as much as our daily drivers.  This allows critters to infiltrate and set up camp.  Our latest 111RS build seems to have fallen prey to some nest building.  Interestingly enough, no real rodent droppings were found.  In fact the nests were fairly fresh so it seems we got the car in time before the babies were born....

The HVAC unit also fell victim to our furry friends and we had to replace a couple of panels that they had chewed up.  Luckily our BoneYard is a great source for some parts.  

The front cavity that holds the HVAC unit did not recieve the factory tech update that involves drilling four drain holes into the chassis.  So water was able to collect here and start to look nasty.  This is also the reason for the blower motor that stop working due to the electronics getting corroded from the standing water.

The rear subframe got painted black to help it dissappear.  Additional engine bay clean-up made the rear of the car look great again.

time to clean up the hoses as well.  plus the oil lines were not updated...ULTRAliteLINES will get installed

subframe painted and reinstalled

This car had a instrument cluster from a company that is hard to reach for support.  We decided to remove it and install one of our AiM MX2E instead.  The cluster that was on the car was not a plug and play solution so we will reverse the wiring changes first.

111RS #3 Build: Powertrain Out

 We pulled the rear clam off the car and yanked the powertrain.  It can be telling what a car has experienced when it comes apart.  There will be tell tale signs of various 'experiences'.  This car shows no hidden crash damage or repairs but it has seen some dirt.  There is dust build up that suggest silt from driving through a deep puddle.  The car came to us running fine and we will completely clean and replace any thing that may have been submerged.  

The above image shows some dirt build up that seems water related.  

The engine/trans will be full rebuilt along with new suspension, brakes, etc.  The engine has leaks from a couple of locations but will get rebuilt anyhow.  It will be given a new lease on life once the boys at Mountune are finished.  The clutch was in great shape with plenty of life.  Regardless, we will replace it with new and keep this as a spare.  The gearbox is getting rebuilt and will received the OS Giken LSD.  

We plan to paint the subframe black so Lee cleaned it up before we hit it with high temp paint.  It was is much better shape than many we have seen before it.  No signs of crash damage.  The bottom of the chassis is in good shape with minimal signs of damage.  The bottoms are very vulnerable on these cars and usually scars from road debris or off-road excursions are easy to spot.

Introducing 111RS #3

 We have begun working on our third 111RS - technically it is our 4th if we include the 111RS Spyder.  The Spyder was our first and halo vehicle for this line of uprated 111s.  Our latest 111RS project came to us as a tired, higher mileage Elise with over 65k miles.  The car has no truly bad issues, just few cosmetic blemishes and worn out bits.

We've begun blowing her apart.  All the mechanical bits will be replaced or renewed.  The Mountune engine should be with us soon.  The gearbox is getting all of our improvements including an OS Giken LSD - a favorite of mine.  Our new shiftR111 2.0 prototype will likely find its way into this car once the initial testing is complete.  I have a few cosmetic tricks up my sleeve as well to enhance the styling a bit...

Broken OEM Shifter

 The factory shifters on 2008 and later Elise/Exige/Evoras all feature a blue plastic pivot ball.  These are failing on cars.  We have a '09 Exige with only 7k street miles that is beginning to crack.  See the pictures below:

Though the shifter continues to work, it will eventually fail.  The shift cables on this car have also begun to fail and the client complained that the car was hard to shift on ocassion.  We've documented this even on the Evora: HERE.

So it is important to inspect not only the cables, but also your shifter on a occasion.

Fitting the shiftR111 2.0 Proto

 Carlos fit the 3D printed prototype into our Elise Outlaw.  The kit fits properly so we are now in a position to move forward.  We've kicked off the machined prototype with a few minor tweaks.  This will be tested on the road and track!

The added clearance with the center console will be nice for those of you with leather wrapped consoles.

Hidden Crash Damage: Front Swaybar Mounts

 Many of you know that if the Aluminum chassis on the Lotus is damaged where the dampers are mounted, it can be fatal for the car.  But there is another area that is also vulnerable that can be overlooked.  Recently, we received a car from a client who bought this car rebuilt with a salvage title.  

This 2006 Elise had both swaybar mount areas bent and damaged.  If you look closely, you can see that the metal has begun to tear - on both sides.  The shop that built it simply bent the metal back and bolted the swaybars on.  We think this leaves the metal fatigued and not nearly strong enough.  This area is most likely deflecting when driven hard.

Our plan is to bolt on some steel plate to reinforce this area so that the swaybar can be securely fixed and not deflect.  It won't be as pretty or as light but it will be effective.  Our fix will be overkill but we would rather be over built than under.

The take away is to make sure that you inspect the chassis thoroughly.  The swaybar mounts are a vulnerable area as well.  But luckily it is an area that can be 'rebuilt' or reinforced in a manner that allows the car to handle properly.

shiftR111 2.0 Developments

We started working on a new version of the shiftR111 last year to help address a few market demands. The biggest being the cost increases that we have been facing these last couple of years. We first introduced the shiftR111 in 2016.  Itt has been a success making the shifting a true joy on the Elise, Exige and Evoras.   Of course for some owners of these cars, it was a great alternative to the broken blue pivot ball in their stock cars.

 We had made small iterative improvements to the original design over the years but this is a much larger change. We believe this solution should perform as well as the original but fit better into the stock center console.   Overall we attempted to employ the KISS principle with this design!

 We have a partially 3D printed prototype that we will test fit this week. If this goes well, we will produce a working proto that we can actually take on the road & track to test. 

Several design changes have already been made to the kit to reach this stage. Reduced parts will help get our costs down and will shorten assembly time for us as well.  An obvious change that you can see from these pictures is the deletion of the reverse lock-out cable.  This design should also aid in better clearance with those leather wrapped center consoles.

Producing a RHD version is high on our list of priorities.  We intend to make that happen soon after releasing the LHD this Spring.

Stay posted for updates.

2022 Year-End Summary & 2023 Projections

2022 has been an exciting year with two steps forward and then one step backwards thanks to the recession!  My 2022 projections, written one year ago, have been partially realized.  I think this is how life works – you achieve some goals while others can be elusive.  In the end, the dogged pursuit keeps us all hungry and active.

My proudest moment in 2022 is the completion of two 111RS cars.  We have not taken our eyes off the lightweight sportscar ball.  These two cars featured the best that we had to offer and transformed tired old cars into stellar performers.  Giving these cars a new lease on life is our goal so that we continue to see them being enjoyed on the road and track.

Parts

KATANA3 testing at the HillClimb

Our parts development included progress on the KATANA3.  Our tuning partner, Brent, has made strides into these ECUs that are now market-leading.  Our control over them has given us the fine-tuning ability to chase CARB approval.  We have started the paperwork process to get this underway.  Brent’s efforts into tuning Evora GTs have also been enjoyed by clients all around North America.  

Hot testing 2ZZGEs

Another major advancement this year was the implementation of Hot Engine testing at Mountune.  We took some lumps without this capability, and I am glad that it is now in place.  All engines we build will be run on this rig to ensure they ship without issue.  I’m not aware of anyone else in the world that can offer this quality check on a built 2ZZGE engine.

We spent a fair amount of time working on new products including LED headlights, upright development, wheel improvements, Emira merch and more.  Funny thing; we probably spent as much time on our Lotus Boneyard which helped save more than one crashed Lotus.  Since certain parts are no longer available, we are glad to have a small stash of used parts.  

Service + Collision

We repaired and revitalized dozens of cars this year.  Many of them local but a few from out of state.  Some of these cars needed basic maintenance while others required a complete overhaul.  Carlos Lewis rejoined our team in 2022 after a two-year sojourn working on exotics.  We’re glad to have him back working on our niche vehicles.  Carlos had a hand in building one of the race Lotus we completed this year (pictured below).

Niche Cars

This market is a turbulent one with spotty timing on car deliveries.  Supply chain challenges have vexed nearly all the brands we work with including Lotus, Ariel and more.  I am hoping to see an Atom4 in the next couple of months that we had ordered for a good client two years ago.  This car is expected to be a major step forward from the previous generation.  Lotus Emiras are delayed, but I think they should be coming to North America by mid-2023.  I think they will provide a much-needed boost in interest in the brand until their EVs become available.

We’ve finally begun building a new Drakan.  We helped sell a couple of used Drakans this year.  We continue to field interest from potential buyers keen for a V8-powered, pure and simple sportscar.    Heck, even Matt Farah was inquiring when I would have the next one ready!  

Events & More

WCLM with Robin Shute

We hosted several fun events in 2022 including a Wine Run, Engine Build Tech Seminar, a couple of Track Events, and the pinnacle – WCLM Palomar Mountain Hillclimb!  We were the title sponsor of this epic race that proved to be one of the best Lotus events of the year. 

We lost a very cool guy, Robert Konick, in late 2022.  Robert was especially active during the early Elise community and helped champion getting Laser Blue as a color option.   He was a truly nice man and Lotus enthusiast.  I will miss his enthusiasm, friendship, and the conversations we shared about this market.

2023 Projections

Inflation and recessionary fears have negatively impacted us all so we will enter 2023 in a cautious manner.  We are working on some new ideas to reduce costs on some of our beloved parts.  ETHOS wheels are expected any day.  These wheels are an excellent value and welcome in today’s financially-strained market.  We introduced these wheels during the last recession so the timing on this batch is fitting.

tech notes from '03

I first started investigating parts for my pending Elise in 2003.  It has been 20 years since I officially began this odyssey chasing improvements for Lotus and other light cars.  We plan to celebrate this milestone with some special products including the ultraMONOlite wheels.  We know many of you love the Sector111 brand, so we will relaunch it as a Lotus-specific parts brand to celebrate the class-leading products that we have introduced over the course of these many years.   

I believe that niche sportscars will benefit from the ICE ban that is expected in 2035.  Those of us who love driving will still be interested in cars that are powered conventionally.  We plan to build another couple of 111RS - in 2023.  Drakan supply chain will get jump started to see if building these loved cars is also viable.    

Race Exige Build

We plan to host more events, including some near to you.  I plan to jump on a plane and fly out to various dealers and co-host some Meet & Greets.  I’ve always loved hanging out with our community, and I think that 2023 is the year for me to fly out and see you.

Have a great New Years, and I hope to see you in 2023!

Cheers,

Shinoo

ETHOS back on for some canyon carving...