#140 checking in

General Owners Cars
1

Hey folks,

After almost 3 years with the series 2 Exige it was time to move on, and as if it was just meant to be, a car I’d seen for sale earlier in the year and missed out on (or so I thought) popped up the day after my S2 went off to its new owner!

It’s been a long day starting from the Isle of Wight at 7:30 am, delayed trains, football fans, more delayed trains but after 8 hours I was staring at a very honest and reasonably tidy Series 1 Exige!

It’s done very few miles in fact less than 1000 since 2007!

It’s been fully re commissioned by oakmere who have given it a full bill of health, confirmed by me having just driven 200 miles home in it!

This is a very special occasion for me, having listed after a s1 Exige for about 20 years, the drive home was just glorious.

Hoping to just make this car the best version of its self it can be, and therefore have the following questions!

I believe it’s VHPD and with the 190 upgrade - how have people found their cars respond to a Decat, as it’s fairly quiet for my liking unless gunning it.

Have most owners done the PRT mod, I assume that’s still a thing worth doing? (Sat at 86 on the way home but would rise to 90 in a heartbeat when stationary).

Anyone selling any motorsport seats?

Although this may go against the grain a little… The rear wheel offset does upset me a little, has anyone added spacers, if so what can you get away with on standard studs?

Finally a photo after the rain eased off!

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Very nice Toby! Hopefully get to see it when you come to the mainland next :sunglasses::+1:

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Id be curious to read about your comparisons between the S1 / S2 when you get a few more miles under your belt.

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That looks epic.

I had a PRT on my S1, mainly as a precaution and it worked faultlessly.

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Looks really nice Toby. Like yours, mine had not moved much for a number of years, so it’s reassuring that it’s had a good once over. I would definitely check the air filter has been changed rather than cleaned as the foam disintegrates with age, so give it a good check over. I’d also check the valve clearances for peace of mind. Looks a lovely example :+1:t2:

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There are some immediate observations for sure, the first thing that hits you is the road and engine noise, smell and heat. The S2 delivered a big step up in refinement for sure!

The standard suspension has very recently been removed cleaned and greased. It’s a great match for our B roads and I love the comedy squeaks heard on harsh bumps. Imagine they will be swapped out at some point.

The steering is very similar, if anything a little lighter than the s2 car.

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Thanks Keith I’ll have a look, valve clearances are a great shout too!

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Interesting in the big step up in refinement comment!

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Haha yes refinement isn’t exactly a word you place with these cars is it, but the extra insulation particularly from the engine bay is makes a significant improvement.

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Congrats on the purchase, very cool.

Re decat I think fitting a decat pipe is pretty common, but it will fail a mot once in place. A decent sports exhaust (Larini is nice option) will help sound.

My temp gauge reading jumps all over the place, I think just a bad earth, as I’ve changed the sensor etc and still equally unreliable. Have an improved alu radiator and fan. Not tried the PRT kit, but have had an improved head gasket and bolts fitted as a precaution.

I have spacers on the rears (running Speedline wheels) there is a tread here re fitting etc. with lots of input into options, was straightforward.

Re seats - best of luck! Some do pop up on odd occasion just have to keep eyes open :+1:

I hope you enjoy the S1. Smelly, noisy etc are all accurate descriptions !

Cheers

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You got it, well done. Prrt on mine, from
Eliseparts, no issues. Valves have solid followers so checking the shims is quite involved. I think it has only done 14k miles so really should be ok. If you can get the cam belt cover off (I assume it has a new belt, tensioner and water pump, if not, first job) and you can see an extra slot in the cam wheel, it’s a 190. It may have 190 written in felt pen on the ecu (behind the seats).

No chance of getting S1 sports seats, maybe s2,s3 though and they should fit but may need new runners.

Never felt the need to decat, stinky and noisy enough already. I think you should have a tiny Janspeed exhaust if it’s std, oval exit pipe. Mine rotted out so I have a Tullet exhaust but you can’t buy them any more, it’s quiet (not for you).

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Saw this at Oakmere 2 weeks ago. Looked great :grinning:

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These are 190 cam wheels, you may have to take the lock bolt off to see the extra slot.

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Thanks, Annoyingly I have a photo of the car from when the Cambelt was being done last month…but the bolts are on the pulleys!

Car went into Oakmere for a lot of work prior to my purchase so all the obvious items have already been addressed.

Yep just over 14.5k miles I’ll do some reading on valve clearances.

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Cams out to check/change clearances, you will see the pullies then.

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No need for cams out to check clearances, just cam cover off with feeler gauges. To adjust the clearance shims is indeed a cam out job, but hopefully they’re all good! The clearances tend to close up a bit as the valves bed in and recess into the head slightly with mileage.

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I’m removing the exhaust to make way for something with a bit more grunt.

Is this supposed to be separate to the manifold?

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It should have a small section of pipe permanently attached to the end of the flexi section. I guess it’s decided to stay on the manifold at the joint where it’s supposed to separate!

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Found a drawing for it in the end and your prognosis is correct… A340S6001F

Will see how it goes back together…

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Yeah there should be a flange attached to that section - mine started to fail in exactly the same place! I just got a direct replacement from elise-shop Manifold Flexi Link Pipe - Stainless Steel - Elise Shop

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