Lotus Elan Central

by **Costas** » Tue 08.11.2005, 12:42

Soooooooo more Black ELans at Donny this year

GREAT JOB Paul!

Costas

by **Nige** » Wed 09.11.2005, 11:21

Good one Paul, look forward to seeing the finished article.

by **Paul.P** » Wed 09.11.2005, 13:58

So am i Nige, so am i !!!

by **Paul.P** » Fri 18.11.2005, 08:24

Amazingly the logbook arrived yesterday, took the DVLA 7 days, which ain't bad as it say's 4-6 wks on the form. So got the tax, so she's fully legal again :banana:

. Booked for spray work next wednesday, Dony's beggining to look good, oh, & ive had her a year now :smt113

by **Monty** » Fri 18.11.2005, 13:36

Well done Paul, it`s about time it`s back on the road. Can`t wait to see the paint job

by **Dico** » Fri 18.11.2005, 21:33

Happy birthday

see you at the next Kettering meet, infact i'll ave a lift :wink:

by **Paul.P** » Fri 18.11.2005, 21:45

No probs mate, but Blacky will be in Newcastle !

by **Don.Hasi** » Sun 20.11.2005, 16:01

sorry haven´t read the whole 10 :shock:

Pages of this fantastic project...

But have you already seen this?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TEAM-LOTUS-JOHN-P ... 91483091QQ

If so, sorry

Regards

by **Paul.P** » Sun 20.11.2005, 20:05

Don.Hasi wrote:sorry haven´t read the whole 10 Pages of this fantastic project...

But have you already seen this?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TEAM-LOTUS-JOHN-P ... 91483091QQ

Thanks Don Hasi, project should soon be finished........i hope ?

by **Paul.P** » Tue 06.12.2005, 16:52

Well, cars in Newcastle having few bits & bobs sorted on the paint side of things, & i'm off to Hethel tomorow with the seats & doorcard bits. Still havn't completely made my mind up as to how to have the seats done. Did speak to Mel Broome at lotus & he said they don't do gold leather, so if i did go for a gold panel in the seats it would have to be alacantra. I have no experience of alacantra, can anyone advise ?. Even if i have the seats black i was going to have part of the door card gold & possibly the gaiters, so any views on this alacantra will be most welcome ?

by **Costas** » Tue 06.12.2005, 21:24

I suppose you mean Alcantara?

Had Alcantara in my previous cars, Maserati and Lancia, and was simply beutiful! Keep in mind that all modern 100k Maseratis have as major leather component Alcantara, so no worries there. It does get worn out faster than connely leather...

Costas

by **Paul.P** » Tue 06.12.2005, 21:36

Costa's, so when you say it wears out quicker than leather, what time span are you looking at roughly, i mean most leather seats are looking tired after 15 yrs, so are we looking at say 10 yrs ?

by **Costas** » Wed 07.12.2005, 02:29

Paul.P wrote:Costa's, so when you say it wears out quicker than leather, what time span are you looking at roughly, i mean most leather seats are looking tired after 15 yrs, so are we looking at say 10 yrs ?

Obviously it doesnt matter how long you have it, but how much you use it.

Sheats: If you use it on daily basis it will loose clear colour after 2-3 years and will have cracks after 5 years the most. Else, if you rarely use it, you can easily have it in perfect condition for over 10 or even 20 years. Its kinda like swed (sp?) leather.

Dashboard-doors : if you use it on dashboard etc. it can last with ease for over 15 years without any damage.

Costas

by **nitroman** » Wed 07.12.2005, 06:16

I too had many, many square feet of alcantara in my Maserati. It is basically just brushed leather. You clean it with a damp washcloth. It was amazing how dirty it was when I bought the car including a soda-glass "ring" on the dash-top alcantara (it is said 2 cows had to die for each Maser made, and I believe it! Also the Italians use barbed-wire but without the barbs as the cows scratch themselves against it to the detriment of the leather's consistency). Anyway, although you can find alcantara spray cleaner I was told by an upholsterer with 40-years experience just to use a warm damp washcloth; which always seemed to do the trick. You will have to clean it more often than finished leather as being a rough surface it naturally traps more dirt & dust.

by **Paul.P** » Wed 07.12.2005, 06:55

Thanks guy's, will let you know what i decided when i get back from lotus.

by **Scott J** » Wed 07.12.2005, 14:59

Paul,

Alcantara is "suede", however I thought it was synthetic suede and not the real thing. Seems from maserati postings above that it is real.
New Elises have Alcantara interiors.

Maybe the artificial alcantara is fitted to fords etc.

by **Paul.P** » Wed 07.12.2005, 16:32

Scott J wrote:Paul,

Alcantara is "suede", however I thought it was synthetic suede and not the real thing. Seems from maserati postings above that it is real.
New Elises have Alcantara interiors.

Scott, apparantly your right, alcantara is synthetic suede, it also marks quite easily, so i was told today by Gwen at the lotus trim shop.
Well 1st of all, what a helpful bunch of ladies in the lotus trim shop, bent over backwards to help & advise on materials & colours. Thay managed to find just enough old gold coloured leather to do the insert panel on the seats & bits of the doorcard. Also going to use thick silk gold thread for the stitching & install the JPS logo where i asked them. Really do think this will look classy ( like myself

), as its not a bright gold, & the girls were impressed with the whole concept of the car. Unfortunatly, this work won't be done until end of Jan, but i will wait for perfection, ( thats what my missus said :lol: