Replacement hood from Allon White

[dreamteam]

Hi Guys, has anyone out there had a replacement hood on their M100 from Allon White Sportscars, I have heard they have a good reputation, and the only other supplier I can find is M100 Hoods in Suffolk, and they seem very good too. Any feedback will appreciated.

[paulsmithmk]

Not had a hood from them but they are my local Lotus Service Station. They have serviced my car, fitted A Pillar seals and my piper downpipe & Exhaust all to a very high standard. I have visited their trim shop and at the end of the day it was only price that stopped me booking that with them.

Not sure if this helps but just thought my experience with them might help...

[rip]

M100 hoods agreed an exclusive deal with the original manufacturers to supply the remaining originals, including seals.
There is no reason why someone else cannot make copies to the same quality but at what cost???

[epipete]

M100 hoods agreed an exclusive deal with the original manufacturers to supply the remaining originals, including seals.
There is no reason why someone else cannot make copies to the same quality but at what cost???

Less the seals, which are probably the most critical componant!

[rip]

M100 hoods agreed an exclusive deal with the original manufacturers to supply the remaining originals, including seals.
There is no reason why someone else cannot make copies to the same quality but at what cost???

Less the seals, which are probably the most critical componant!

Agreed. I think that foam covered in a thin layer of rubber is a rather poor quality product.
Making better replacements at an affordable price is something nobody has been able to do for A post seals so what chance do we have for the roof seals???

[paulous]

They're also my local lotus service centre and I was thinking of using them for servicing, piper exhaust fitting and roof seal replacement. My hood was replaced by trimtech in 2006 but seals weren't for some reason and they're in quite bad condition now.Allon White had full seal replacement listed at £450 on their website until very recently but appears to have gone now so maybe no longer available. Seemed a reasonable price to me. So I'd also be interested in any feedback on them as I'm very likely to be using them soon.

Can anyone also clarify the m100 hood exclusive referred to here? Does it mean they are the only people who can sell and fit original lotus seals and hoods?

[rip]

Can anyone also clarify the m100 hood exclusive referred to here? Does it mean they are the only people who can sell and fit original lotus seals and hoods?

I got my replacement roof from M100 hoods (Mark) earlier this year. He told me he had secured exclusive rights to the remaining roofs & seals.

Drop him a line. He has an account on here so you can PM him. He is an Elan owner & used to work for Lotus.
He has 3 companies though so be patient & you will hear back from him.

[paulous]

Thanks rip, I've just emailed Mark.

Also checked out his website but he stipulates that hoods and seals will not be seperated.

My roof was replaced by Trim Technologies (Coventry) in 2006 at a cost of £800 and is still in pristine condition. I have no idea why the seals weren't replaced at that time as I've only just purchased the car so the hood replacement was done by a previous owner. Given that my hood is still absolutely perfect there's no way I want to be replacing it. The main seal I really need replacing is the passenger side seal that runs across the top of the window, it's 'inflated' and looks really bad and also has quite a large gap where the seal splits.

Can anyone confirm the correct part name and number for the seal I'm referring to? Is it the intermediate seal? And whats the part no ? And dare I ask what are my chances of finding a replacement? For just that part or a full set of seals (without replacing a perfectly good hood for no reason)

p.s. Allon White have confirmed they are no longer able to provide seal only replacement, they are are only able to acquire hoods and seals as a package.

[paulsmithmk]

They're also my local lotus service centre and I was thinking of using them for servicing, piper exhaust fitting and roof seal replacement. My hood was replaced by trimtech in 2006 but seals weren't for some reason and they're in quite bad condition now.Allon White had full seal replacement listed at £450 on their website until very recently but appears to have gone now so maybe no longer available. Seemed a reasonable price to me. So I'd also be interested in any feedback on them as I'm very likely to be using them soon.

Can anyone also clarify the m100 hood exclusive referred to here? Does it mean they are the only people who can sell and fit original lotus seals and hoods?

good to see another elan close by - if you want to see what the piper does for your your car I'm happy to show you - but you will go and order one right away so be warned - I did just on hearing RIP's car let alone driving it!

[M100_DMM]

According to various forums, this guy seems to be very highly good indeed:

Jack Smith Trimmers of Swansea
Rear of 158 St. Helens Avenue
Swansea
SA1 4NQ
01792 461 022

He's apparently pretty much a go-to guy for the MX5 brigade, but has done a couple of M100 hoods in the past.

He quoted me a very low price (less than many people's supply only prices) to supply and fit a new hood. I didn't proceed simply because back/neck problems meant I had to part with the Elan.

[madbilly]

IIRC the intermediate seals are listed at a fairly reasonable price, try asking Allon White or any other Lotus dealer/specialist if they can get them. I can't believe m100hoods managed to negotiate them being the only seller of the seals because I'm sure Lotus would still own the part IP and all parts with Lotus part nos need to be sourced through Lotus don't they? (that's why SJ list parts they source separately as SJxxxxx)

[epipete]

IIRC the intermediate seals are listed at a fairly reasonable price, try asking Allon White or any other Lotus dealer/specialist if they can get them. I can't believe m100hoods managed to negotiate them being the only seller of the seals because I'm sure Lotus would still own the part IP and all parts with Lotus part nos need to be sourced through Lotus don't they? (that's why SJ list parts they source separately as SJxxxxx)

I thought everything, including rights, were sold to Kia and that's why things like this are so hard to get!

[madbilly]

That's a fair point. But regardless I have seen the seals listed on various dealer and specialist websites/catalogues, I think the best thing to do it ask around.

[Brit-Car-Nut]

The body seals are still good numbers at Lotus. Any dealer can order them for their outrageous prices. Lotus bought back everything from Kia that Kia wanted to be rid of. That included the parts production rights. Fiberglass Specialties holds a lot of the parts manufacturing rights for the M100 these days. They are the source for all of the bushings and any fibreglass panels that need to be manufactured as they have all of the jigs and paterns. If you think Lotus has high prices, you need to shop there once or twice.

The header rail seal for the S2 shows a different part number and it is 100 pounds cheaper. Won't they interchange?

[PhilD]

Dreamteam

I've just had my hood replaced by Trimshop in Huddersfield. I got the reccomendation form Chris Foulds an independent Lotus specialist. Did a great job, good value. He fitted a Car Hood Warehouse hood, which again was good quality. Possible better than the original.

[PhilD]

Top tip - get a new windscreen finisher from Lotus for a fiver.

[daveiow]

Hello PhilD
Could you elaborate on the quality of the Car Hood Warehouse hood?
I am in the lucky position of having pretty good seals but the hood material has the usual small tears and is beginning to fray around the joins(21 years old)
Did they re-use your old seals?
I would use M100 Hoods but Car Hood Warehouse is closer and could do the job in one day

daveiow

[epipete]

Hello PhilD
Could you elaborate on the quality of the Car Hood Warehouse hood?
I am in the lucky position of having pretty good seals but the hood material has the usual small tears and is beginning to fray around the joins(21 years old)
Did they re-use your old seals?
I would use M100 Hoods but Car Hood Warehouse is closer and could do the job in one day

daveiow

And the other question is: 'is the new hood from the SE or the S2 drawings?'

Whilst both hoods will fit either model the S2 was modified, I believe, to mitigate the leaks, ie its slightly wider to better cover the seals! This being so it is te S2 hood that is preferred.

[PhilD]

My seals were also in good condition as well - so were able to be reused. I couldnt really justify new seals. The feedback from Chris Foulds is that new seals rapidly deteriorate to the same condition as my existing ones.

I have a 1990 NA and the hood is slightly different from the original, so I'm guessing it must be based on the S2. It does appear wider and covers the seals better.

I only purchased the hood from Car Hood Warehouse and it was fitted by a local fitter. He fits all sorts of car hoods, Astons, BMWs etc and spent some time checking the hood over. Conclusion was - it was a good hood. Car Hood Warehouse also threw in new elastics as part of price.

He had my car for 3 days. His logic was that it would take that long to carefully remove the seals before refitting them. He seemed pretty knowledgable and had done a number of Elans. So I would be careful if anyone claims to be able to fit one in a day.

[daveiow]

Thanks for the feed back.
A one day job did seem a bit optimistic to me so a little more investigation is needed
Cheers daveiow