Is it easy to do and what are the advantages / disadvantages of this set-up (for a race car) ??
A lot of the originals seem to have been converted at some time to either r/h/d or l/h/d
I’ve heard you can’t reach the doors to shut them!
I thought the central position cars are all factory buildt? has anybody converted their own cars to it?
These guys have done one from l/h/d clicky
(click on lotus elise performance on their webpage)
Chris,
Not all the original Sport Elises were centre seat, there were a few built for GT racing that were either LHD or RHD. The main changes are most of the dash extrusions and then the pedal box and steering column mountings and also things like the throttle and gear change cables and mounts will be different.
It’s worth noting that you’d need a full cage to race with a central seat as the diagonal bar obviously won’t work anymore!
I’d think that Russ Gibbons at Lotus Sport would be the best to ask what bits are still available.
HTH
I have done it to my M/S Elise. Generally speaking, it is not very difficult. You have to modify/replace/fabricate the following:
Intermediate steering column,
Few new holes on the chassis for the new position of the steering column,
Cuts underneath on the floor and insertion of new nuts for the seat mounts,
Move to the centre the pedal box,
New brake hard lines,
Wiper motor,
Move to the centre the dash,
New mounts for the gear level (and hand brake if you use one),
Gearbox cables.
Last, but probably the most difficult job was to install a fan blower for the windscreen. I removed the original one (too big and heavy) and replaced it with two smaller and extremely light ones. The original hole in the dash where the original aluminium hose is connected has to be blanked off as there is no space anymore for the hose (due to the pedal box). I did cut big holes on the dash (had to remove the windscreen) and then opened one 3� dia hole on each side where I connected the hoses coming from each fan. Then of course I rejoined the pieces of the dash and pained the whole thing. Now the air supply is rather more than it was originally and the windscreen clean immediately. [of course I don�t have a heater]
A few disadvantages that I can think are:
You can not reach the doors when the are wide open and you are sitting with the harnesses on (as Fluffy said).
Entering and exiting the car is not the easiest thing (especially if you are a big guy like me).
Now regarding the advantages� My car is absolutely symmetrical (in respect of weight) left and right, without corner weight adjusting (however I use a dry sump, which adds some weight to the left hand side). But, I my opinion, the best thing about the whole conversion is the fact that driving such car feels really amassing! I believe that there is no way to get such a feeling by any LHD or RHD car on the track.
Thanks for that info George very interesting, i might have a go at doing this over the winter.
By the way George are you selling your m/s elise or are you taking it with you.
NO NO NO ! I love this car so much that I will take it with me anywhere I go till I die. I have put so much effort, time and money on this car that it doesn�t worth selling it. In the end of the day, it is my little shed!
These guys have done one from l/h/d > clicky
(click on lotus elise performance on their webpage)
More things on that website than times allows for at work!
Chris
Has “he” chartered a private jet to bring it back, yet, or is he still looking for Elvis?
There’s a scenario !!! after checking the with the big cheeses at lotrdc we have found out central steering is not allowed
I was on for a free holiday in Las Vegas out of it as well
Its a bargain if anyone fancies it the guy is willing to let it go for $50,000 (roughly �25,000) motorsport elise
Oil Cooler: Setrab
Oil Cooler Location: Sweden
that’s a long piping run
Looks
shhh it was Joe McCarthy’s…it was a rebuild…
Spill the beans
The car is ex Joe McCarthy…was told that the engine needed a total rebuild due to it having improper parts installed and an assortment of other crap…redesign of the engine mounts and so on you guys know his work…The center steering was done over here and the car has been done right now Im told, not by McCarthy…Oh and you will get a proper dyno sheet with their engine…I’m toying with the central steering idea…It is a small world, hard to find a rock big enough when you screw over others…
Is that the car that he fitted his Honda conversion in?
Rumour had it a few years ago that he had to get rid of it out the US otherwise it would get crushed due to it being a non-compliant vehicle for use on the roads in the US.
It’s strickly track use only and it does have a “new” Honda engine in it…It was Joe’s…I would have picked it up if it were road legal…