Lotus Elan Central

by **LXADO63** » Tue 20.12.2005, 22:35

Hello everyone- I am posting some photos of some work that I have done to my elan recently. Thanks to LotusGirlMarie and Costas for the wiring pointers. The tail lamps are from a 2005 Esprit V8/Elise, and I fabricated the tail lamp housings myself in my 'free' time. The wheels are 17" MiM Palermos.

by **Doc Fizzix** » Tue 20.12.2005, 22:52

NICE!!

How about a nice pic of the side of your car so I can see those wheels better

I think I like those rims and I am trying to find something that will work, those rims look good from what I can see.

by **Sy V** » Wed 21.12.2005, 07:49

Here is a 5 stud Mim Palermo

by **Sy V** » Wed 21.12.2005, 07:57

Four stud version (on a german Escort)

by **Doug** » Wed 21.12.2005, 09:44

cool! looks nice, but maybe we should expect that from a relative of R2-D2, LXADO63

any more details of the hand-carved ivory lens housings, etc . . . . :wink:

by **LXADO63** » Tue 10.01.2006, 17:16

I'll post a side photo soon. As for the Mim Palermo's, please note that they will have to be custom milled to fit the elan. Prior to purchasing the rims I measured my hubs and the wheel vendor measured the wheel center bore- and it seemed to be a perfect fit- however, when I went to put them on the car they didn't fit- the center bore was too small by roughly 1mm. I had the wheels milled down and now they fit perfectly (hub centric). The tail light housings are hand laid fiberglass. I started by taking molds off of the factory (renault) lenses and went from there. The housings bolt into the same locations as the renault units, and none of the wiring on the elan was cut so the conversion is completely reversible (with the exception of having to repaint the license plate plinth). It was a time consuming project but was well worth the effort. On a side note, last month I was leaving a local restaurant here in Key West when I noticed a couple taking a photo of my car. After telling the friendly English couple all about the elan and its reliability (something Lotus is not known for at least here in the USA), the man told me that he was with 'the company' and that the elan was one of the first projects he worked on. I was a little embarrased that I had told the guy all about the car when he most likely knew much more about it than I did- and for the reliability comment (open mouth, insert foot). Anyhow, to wrap up this story- he gave me the thumbs up on the car and the tail light conversion- this made me feel much better about the modifications I had made to an already great car. If the couple happen to read this post- I hope you enjoyed your visit to the Florida Keys.

by **Houdini** » Tue 10.01.2006, 19:27

Do you know the weight and offset of those wheels?

by **LXADO63** » Wed 11.01.2006, 18:32

I am not sure of the weight- I'll have to do some research into that. Here are the specifications that I have: MiM Palermo, 17x7's with a 4x100 bolt pattern, offset is ET 45 mm, center bore is 56.1 mm. The tires I have on it are 205/40/17 as per the recommendations elsewhere in this forum under wheels/'so you want to fit bigger wheels'. I think you could go one size larger on the tires. I am still looking for my photos for the side view- if I do not find them I will take some new ones and post them.

by **Scott J** » Thu 12.01.2006, 10:45

Doug wrote:cool! looks nice, but maybe we should expect that from a relative of R2-D2, LXADO63

by **LXADO63** » Thu 12.01.2006, 16:02

...as promised:

by **Doc Fizzix** » Thu 12.01.2006, 17:46

Very nice! That is a great looker :wink:

by **Doug** » Thu 12.01.2006, 20:33

where is that orgasmic smilie when we need it :-D

by **Dave M** » Fri 13.01.2006, 17:48

Doug wrote:where is that orgasmic smilie when we need it

Those wheels may be a good option to the stock S2 wheel I like so much...

by **MacII** » Sun 15.01.2006, 23:45

Very nice LXADO63! Any chance of sharing the mold with another Florida boy? I'll make sure they're secured appropriately for you.

by **LXADO63** » Fri 20.01.2006, 20:11

MacII- Unfortunately they are one-offs. The molds were broken in the process of removing the part. Sorry.

by **Eddie_Z** » Fri 20.01.2006, 22:41

That car is CLLLEEEAAANNN!!!
:shock:

I love it!

BTW, what part of Florida are you from?

by **LXADO63** » Tue 24.01.2006, 21:19

Margaritaville (Key West)

by **Doug** » Tue 24.01.2006, 21:50

LXADO63 wrote:Margaritaville (Key West)

by **donsladek** » Tue 16.05.2006, 03:55

Folks, Got the following response from the North American representative for MIM on US retailers handling their line :

Right now unfortunately nobody. We last imported Mim about 3 years ago.
Our relationship with them remains good but they are aware that the USA
market has gone a different direction to their own styling ideas. In this
day and age of Asian imports (and inherent pricing advantages) it is
becoming increasingly difficult to justify the extra costs that European
made products demand. The marketing commitment and effort required to lift them above the regular wheel guys would be considerable. Not something I would normally shy away from but right now is not the time.

Thanks for your interest and regards,

Nigel D. Horbury

Too bad, the Palermos are good looking wheels!

Don

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