Wishbone and suspension overhaul on S1

[S1ben]

Hi Fellas,

I removed the front of the car to replace the radiator and the suspension is completely shot!

I know that 'Google is my friend'; but i just wanted to ask you guys if you could recommended somewhere other than Elise Parts to source a full set of wishbones for an S1 Elise,

http://www.elise-shop.com doesn't seem to have them
http://elise-spares.com don't seem to do s1 wishbones

Do you know anywhere else i could try?

Cheers,

Ben

[MartL]

How do Ben...

That's a fairly typical view of a UK, 15 year old Elise I'm afraid! The salt and winter weather tend to make the components look like they went down with the Titanic!

Have you considered a refresh, as opposed to replacement? I did that with my S2 (..which led to a K20a swap too! )

Lots of info out there - basically, you're looking at stripping them down, having them blasted/cleaned (you'd be surprised how well they look after the surface rust is removed) an them zinc passivated(?) and/or powder coated / POR15'd.

You can see how mine turned out in the lower part of this pic from my Honda build thread: They looked very similar to yours pre-strip down - I had them blasted and powder coated, followed by a coat of clear POR15, with replacement of all bushes and bearings too



Edit: Just recalled that I started a thread abuot mine Ben - some pics of the 'befores' there... Never did get round to finishing it! I was rudely interrupted by a catastrophic engine failure, and subsequent Honda install! Being honest.. I've still not done the front wishbones!!

viewtopic.php?f=25&t=18596

[softlips]

As Martyn says they should be OK if blasted and recoated.

While you have them off change those Koni's too.

[Byron]

Either from jct 600 parts.

Or dave at
http://www.seriouslylotus.com/..

DISCLAMER: LOOKING AT HIS SITE WILL CAUSE YOUR SPENDING TO INCREASE..

[wabbitkilla]

As others have said, have you considered getting them blasted, coated, and new bushes and balljoints fitted?
I know i replaced all of mine and it was an expensive experience ... mine were in the same state and the rears a little out of shape.
I intend to pop them into a friendly specialist and ask their opinion of whether they can be salvaged?

[Dennis]

There was a thread on seloc the other week of a place local to us (n yorks) that did the blasting and re coating and the price seemed very reasonable, I will see if I can find the thread

[Dennis]

This is the company

http://www.allenchrome.co.uk

And this is the thread with done details of costings


http://forums.seloc.org/viewthread.php? ... pid6921500

[softlips]

This is the company

http://www.allenchrome.co.uk

And this is the thread with done details of costings


http://forums.seloc.org/viewthread.php? ... pid6921500

I must have missed that thread, not worth doing them yourself for that cost.

[Dennis]

That was my thought (as posted) pity about the timing....just after I had done mine by hand, I must have spent £100+ on por15, wire wheels! paint brushes, materials to hang the wishbones whilst painting/drying, never mind my time





When you do your refresh, seriously lotus are great for bits, I did all ball joints, bushes (I went for overkill rose joints) along with dampers etc (they are NTR 40's but nss2's are quite a bit cheaper, almost as good, ideal for street use and trackday and also rebuild able.

I also did the wheel bearings (when you have everything off it seems stupid not to do these)

I think Dave has a kit including nitron NSS2, bushes and bolts for a very good price and his service is great

If you are going to bin you koni's I will have them (don't know hy I just want a set to keep in the garage (I collect bits of cars, have a few racing tyres and a bump as a 'feature' in the back garden

[softlips]

What is this bump you've made a feature of Dennis?

[Dennis]

Sorry bumper (including defuser) when I say feature the tires are lined up (NASCAR, STM & btcc including a care damaged rim) and the bumper (from a 360 GT car, damaged during a race at donington), was hung above them (before the conifers were cut down

[chiark]

I had my rear wishbones and uprights blasted, passivated and lacquered at Allenchrome last month. Was warned it might take 2 weeks, but they were turned around in a few days.

Results are superb. really happy with them. Mine is a year 2000 S1, and they weren't as badly corroded as yours, but they came up brilliantly.

I also replaced bushes and ball joints (SeriouslyLotus), toe links (Spitfire), wheel bearings (Timken), and brake discs&pads. I can probably put some pics up if people are interested . There's a thread of lessons learned in my garage post on seloc.

Unfortunately I was in Munich on Tuesday otherwise I'd have come along to Buckles. Hopefully might make it in July!
Cheers, Nick.

[Nyloc 1]

Great to see Allenchrome doing well, we were one of their first customers when I worked for a Scarborough switchgear company.

[Dennis]

I had my rear wishbones and uprights blasted, passivated and lacquered at Allenchrome last month. Was warned it might take 2 weeks, but they were turned around in a few days.

Results are superb. really happy with them. Mine is a year 2000 S1, and they weren't as badly corroded as yours, but they came up brilliantly.

I also replaced bushes and ball joints (SeriouslyLotus), toe links (Spitfire), wheel bearings (Timken), and brake discs&pads. I can probably put some pics up if people are interested . There's a thread of lessons learned in my garage post on seloc.

Unfortunately I was in Munich on Tuesday otherwise I'd have come along to Buckles. Hopefully might make it in July!
Cheers, Nick.

Please DO NOT post any picture as it will really annoy me how much better your will look compared to mine