Jem and I wanted to go for a long weekend away now the weather was nice and the Elise really deserved a road trip as the suspension refresh was all finished. We weren’t quite sure where to go, the Scottish Highlands are usually top of the list as it’s so quiet there and the roads […]
We planned a little road trip for the Elise but first it would need a little cosmetic preparation. Some no nonsense Autoglym Super Resin to give the paint a light freshen up and a little protection. Clearly removing a little bit of grime built up on the paint. Super Resin applied. Buffed off to a […]
While I had both front and rear undertrays and the diffuser off I thought I’d give them a quick clean. The rear undertray was pretty filthy! The Union Flag decals, fitted by a previous owner, were looking pretty untidy now too so I got rid. I have something different to go in their place. Mid […]
As part of the dismantling for the Elise’s suspension refresh I removed the wheel arch liners. Removing the fuse box from the liner was, predictably, a bit of a fight as the fixings were rusted stuck, see here for some about that. But it was worth the effort as it meant I discovered some wiring […]
With the front finished it’s time to start assembling rear suspension components back onto the Elise. Pretty much the same as the front with a few small differences. Starting with these chassis brackets for the lower wishbones. A bit of corrosion block grease applied too. Right hand lower wishbone on. Upper one on. Damper mount. […]
Having read a little about Elise wheel alignment it sounds like the best thing to do is to get as much caster angle into the front hubs as possible. More caster angle means increased weight and ‘feel’ in the steering and should increase grip at the front when cornering. The available caster adjustment on an […]
Just a couple of bits to assemble before parts go back on the car. The rear caliper brackets need to be fitted to the hub carriers before the drive flanges can be pressed into the bearings. This is because access to the allen head bolts is restricted when the drive flange is in place. With […]
After a lot of dismantling, cleaning, painting and a bit of assembly of parts it’s finally time to start fitting parts back onto the Elise. There’s quite a few parts though which includes a fair number of nuts, bolts and washers. So first I took the time, with the help of my glamorous assistant, to […]
The headlamp covers had been fitted with the usual sticky black butyl type adhesive so removing them wasn’t a big problem fortunately. It just requires a little bit of heat to soften it then once I had an edge lifted with my fingers the covers peeled off quite easily. Most of the adhesive was left […]
While I had the Elise apart for the suspension refresh I was on the lookout for anything else that might need some attention. I had already noticed the dirt that had got behind the headlamp covers and that one side was letting water in so I was going to have to deal with that. What […]