The Lotus Grand Tourers

Would the frame being advertised on ebay be a stop gap, have offered to collect, you could discuss with hawaiO as to who has most need so you don't bid against one another.
Regards Robert

I didn't want to bring this up due to the cost of the frames but a jig already exists and the resulting frames are VERY strong. The prototypes have been on 18 months with no issues - they just need adjustment for a better fit before they are deemed a fit and forget no problem part.

fueltheburn wrote:I didn't want to bring this up due to the cost of the frames but a jig already exists and the resulting frames are VERY strong. The prototypes have been on 18 months with no issues - they just need adjustment for a better fit before they are deemed a fit and forget no problem part.

Yup - well aware of that option. I'm trying to get something that matches the original construction a little better so we can offer either repair sections or complete frames at some point.

I dont disagree. If you sort it and can get the costs more managable than the "other" option, I have a certain commitment I can push forward with regards to frame numbers.
Not sure how a couple of them are until I strip them off but I am pretty sure I may need a couple of sets. 2 left, 2 right.

Interesting - it looks like the TVR wedge FHCs may use a very similar section - also no longer available.

amarshall wrote:Interesting - it looks like the TVR wedge FHCs may use a very similar section - also no longer available.

Confirmed. A TVR wedge owner is currently dismantling some NOS Esprit frames to rebuild his frames.

Hello Angus,
The TVR 280i and 350i Wedge Coupes have a very similar window frame profile. I once had a long chat with chap who had a 280i coupe and they were the one thing they really struggled with getting hold of.
Jim

Lotus Jim wrote:Hello Angus,
The TVR 280i and 350i Wedge Coupes have a very similar window frame profile. I once had a long chat with chap who had a 280i coupe and they were the one thing they really struggled with getting hold of.
Jim

Not similar. Identical. I've had that discussion too.

The quest continues : Can you help find a very rare part for some old Lotuses ? http://www.classicandsportscar.com/blog ... ports-cars

P.S. - it's NOT the same as a Capri frame. The very nice people at the Capri club sent me some samples and they don't quite match - unless we could squash the Capri channel somewhat to deform it into something closer.

if we have to pay £750 then we should consider it, a car (excel) that cost over £60k in todays money cannot be run on peanuts, i think that £1k or more would be worth it to keep my car on the road, so i would like to know who was prepared to make them please. even if the price was considered exorbitant.

alanbell wrote:if we have to pay £750 then we should consider it, a car (excel) that cost over £60k in todays money cannot be run on peanuts, i think that £1k or more would be worth it to keep my car on the road, so i would like to know who was prepared to make them please. even if the price was considered exorbitant.

That's a figure arrived at based on the costs of tooling + a minimum quantity of materials + the costs of making the frames. Those costs come to something well over £30k.

If another 15 people thought like you, we'd be in production today - but the acceptable price threshold seems to be somewhere in the region of £150 to £250 per frame and we just don't have enough people asking for them to make it viable - YET.

I think most people's concept of costs relating to this subject at sub 150 quid ( sorry my laptop is foreign and has no pound sign) are way off mark too. Likewise others are too high and mentally prohibitive - we all aint rockstars . Re-usable second hand items are hitting the ton mark nowadays which is an indication of the desperation of some owners. If I was in need and a new item was available at $300 to give me another 30 years car life, I would not hesitate, and to be truthful I dont think others would either. A radiator is $200 and not many bleat about that cost, they need one so they buy it. If frames were readily available they would sell. Let's be pragmatic. However, $8.50 for a pepsi and sandwich on the other hand, is ludicrous

The problem is, unfortunately, that the club doesn't have a spare £30k to spend on stock. If it did, we wouldn't be having this discussion and the frames would be available.

So - we either need to find an existing stock or producer of the right channel, and eliminate the tooling cost, or share the costs with another club - and the TVR and Reliant owners are fewer in number than we are...


(For info. our bank balance is typically around £700 and we spend about half of that on insurance and various other fees during the year. Luckily, the sale of calendars and shirts recovers that more or less exactly.)

We have had on the VX forum a similar situation. The headlights are all prone to crack or leak (did I mention that the VX was built in Hethel? ) there was a crowd founding and it worked.

I would have no problem to throw the money in advance in a board pot, if it is necessary for years.

don.hasi wrote:We have had on the VX forum a similar situation. The headlights are all prone to crack or leak (did I mention that the VX was built in Hethel? ) there was a crowd founding and it worked.

I would have no problem to throw the money in advance in a board pot, if it is necessary for years.

It might yet come to that, but let's see what happens now we have some global publicity. I've already had 3 or 4 emails with some interesting leads.