The Lotus Grand Tourers

I am interested (as you know)
But relatively clueless as to what they may cost.

Hello Angus. I wouldn't mind a pair, but to be pefectly honest I wouldn't want to go much more than £100 a side. I know that might be being a bit cheapskate.

I dont know what you really expect. Normally it is other way round... (material, work, market situation, demand, price for used items, price for stock items)

We all know that to maintain our cars could cost a little fortune... And Good quality=higher price. If it never will rott again, even higher price. Is all included (rubbers, bolts...) ?

I think 100/side is a good start. Maybe double this with the view of extraordinary quality?

don.hasi wrote: I think 100/side is a good start. Maybe double this with the view of extraordinary quality?

Yep, if pushed i was going to say £200.
The less, the better.

I think £100 - £120 per side is reasonable for the frame. Perhaps someone with the necessary experience (like Lotusbits) could offer an all-in door overhaul price for parts and labour, including the window frame, door beam, and hinge? It seems that if the frame is rusty, the door beam normally isn't far behind.

amarshall wrote:I really do need to know what sort of price you would be prepared to pay. We have a pretty good idea of production costs but there's no point in getting the section made and commissioning the manufacture if nobody is prepared to pay what it will actually cost.

Ideally I would like £110 a side but at a push would go to £150 a side.

Angus

Put me down for a pair. Price depends on quality but the last two winters have left me in need so i would pay anything (with reason) to avoid having to get another daily driver. I would hope to see sub £150 but would go more although it may mean timing the purchase and fitting to available cash.

Another Excel that would benefit from new frames.

I have none at all just now so a new pair would be great, very interested.

I am interrested in a pair.

Interested in a pair here.

Thanks

My frame condition is not so good inside the door so I would be interested in a pair too.
£100-£150-£200 range depending on quality is OK - prefer to pay more for a stronger/rust free frame.

No real news, except that I called in to a possible new supplier today. For change, he hasn't run away screaming once he's actually seen the frames - which is progress!

They will NOT be aluminium as advice received, from a man who knows, is that the ali frames they tried on the Esprit S3 were just too soft and pulled out even more at speed than the steel does. Other options are being explored so they may still be something rot-resistant.

The most depressing thing about this whole process is that it's been so difficult to find someone in the UK who has both the skills and the willingness to produce this. It's either too difficult, or not profitable enough for them.

Thanks for pushing this Angus, I'm sure we all appreciate it.

Bash

Right - some small progress, I now have one or two firms who are willing to discuss production of steel section, since Ollie W. says the aluminium version they used on the Esprit was found to flex far too much.

The problem is that current expectations of cost are way too low. If we're going to do this, we need to get a new tool made up and that's going to cost something in the region of £5k before we even look at putting metal through it, cutting the resulting section, bending it, welding it and powder-coating it. Conservatively, we'd be coming in at around £300 per frame, possibly more - assuming we can do a short production run. If we have to order a minimum quantity, it's going to push the price up in order to cover the initial costs.

I'm basing my opinion on there being demand for about 50 frames in total at the moment.

If we could hit demand for 100, the initial cost per frame will obviously drop - or if we had some way of pump-priming the project we could take a gamble.

I'm still exploring other options, mainly because I'm getting desperate. I reckon my driver's side has about another 18 months before it falls apart completely.