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Post by rcollum on Nov 8, 2020 16:07:34 GMT -5
It was a pretty routine weekend in the Covid doldrums. Late Sunday morning, I noticed a post in the Facebook group, Lotus Owners & Enthusiasts - a local guy who owns an Elise S1 (!) is arranging a quick meet-up. Debbie & I had already planned a drive in the Seven, to a picnic lunch, so we stopped by the meet-up after our meal. The Elise S1 was joined by several beautiful old Minis, and an Aston Martin convertible. A nice bunch of people - and we have a new NoVA Lotus member! (And now, with Rich P's S1, we have TWO Elise S1's with the Sun International Honda VTEC conversion in NoVA Lotus!)
--Bob Collum
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Post by ksm on Nov 17, 2020 18:07:44 GMT -5
Some fall leaves fun:
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Post by rcollum on Dec 15, 2020 11:01:43 GMT -5
Here is a picture of an Elise Christmas ornament. Years ago (probably 2008), a local Lotus enthusiast friend, Tim Mullen, let me know he found one at Walmart near me. I ran out and got it. It used to play a silly song when you pressed a button on it, but that is (thankfully) no longer functional. A great find. Tim passed a few years ago, but is remembered by many in the Lotus community. That's Tim, in his CO t-shirt in the second picture - doing what he loved most: introducing kids to the fun of Lotus cars. At NoVA Lotus, one of the things we continue to do is share our love of the marque... At a recent local birthday drive-by, this young lady is learning the art of the handbrake turn in a Seven! --Bob Collum
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Post by ksm on Dec 15, 2020 14:23:12 GMT -5
I've still got my Elise ornament. Bought it from Home Depot in 2011, as far as I remember.
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Post by ksm on Jan 11, 2021 17:49:44 GMT -5
Searched for new bookends and found these. I had no idea the color would match so perfectly.
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Post by rcollum on Jan 16, 2021 17:49:51 GMT -5
'One that got away'. When I bought my first Lotus (a 1972 Europa Twincam, in 1980), it needed quite a lot of work. As part of the price I paid, the dealer: 1.) Changed out all 4 steel wheels with hubcaps, for 4 x Brand Lotus alloy wheels. 2.) Removed the #%&@$ add-on 'air conditioner' and the remote mechanical oil level indicator. The AC compressor and blower took up 100% of the front trunk, and the remaining AC components covered the engine in back, making the dipstick unreachable. The oil level indicator was installed right next to the ignition switch. You were supposed to push the 2" cylinder in, and it was supposed to push back out, showing via a green-and-red graphic, if you were short on oil. This Rube Goldberg device was jammed into a very tight space, against the ignition, and was wildly unreliable. Oh -- and the AC was worthless as anything other than a ventilation fan. 3.) Put new rings in the Twincam engine. The Lotus mechanic said it was common back then, even though my car had only 20,000 miles. All told, I got a lot of work done for what I paid. The cherry on top was, they needed about 30 days to do the work on the Europa, so they gave me a 1976 Jensen Healey GT shooting brake. I'm not a fan of the Jensen Healey roadster's looks, but I LOVED the GT. It was BRG, with a black leather interior. By girlfriend at the time fell in love with it. She asked the dealer what they wanted for it. The answer was $10,000. GULP! I remember talking to her, and neither of us, in 1980, could conceive of EVER being able to afford a $10,000 car! Less than a year later, that car was totaled. The only things salvageable were the two black leather seats! --Bob Collum
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Post by rcollum on Jan 21, 2021 8:35:56 GMT -5
Friend of the Club, Richard Parramint, used to work at the Lotus factory in Hethel. He found the first picture below, of the factory's initial cut at making an Elise S2 in Gold Leaf F1 team colors. A hit and a miss! It worked very well on a variety of Lotus cars, from F1 to sports cars, to Elans. However, as they discovered on the Elise, the ratio of white-to-red is critical. As another former Lotus employee involved in the project told me, if you go too high up with the white, 'it looks like an ice cream sundae'. With that advice in mind, when I commissioned Darryl (Odds & Ends Detailing) to do the Type 49 livery, and provided a 1:18 scale model of the Elise Type 49 that I had bought for reference. He had the vinyl guy stay true to the model, and it worked out great! --Bob Collum
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Post by ksm on Jan 21, 2021 19:24:01 GMT -5
^I think I like your ratio better.
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Post by rcollum on Feb 17, 2021 15:18:44 GMT -5
I just saw this picture on Facebook. This is the parking lot of Lotus Engineering, the consulting arm of Lotus. In the parking lot - an Evija. That's $2 million, right there. Next to the Evija is.... --?? It's under a cover. Is it a prototype for the rumored collaboration with Alpine? Is it a first cut at one of the new Lotus models? I can't wait to find out! --Bob Collum
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Post by ksm on Mar 21, 2021 14:51:45 GMT -5
Doppelganger:
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Post by rcollum on Mar 27, 2021 6:53:25 GMT -5
A blast from the past - 2007.
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Post by ksm on May 11, 2021 22:35:00 GMT -5
I sometimes shoot with a 1976 Vivitar 70-210, usually still or somewhat still subjects. Great lens in its day, but I was curious as to how people found using it for action shots, such as cars on track. Lo and behold, THESE just happened to be the first photos I found! Image Source: www.flickr.com/groups/365610@N21/discuss/72157603994426883/ I think they were taken at Silverstone.
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Post by ksm on Jun 19, 2021 20:40:56 GMT -5
What was once too often has become rare: two chrome orange Eliges next to each other at an event! This was from the Original British Car Day - June 6, 2021:
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Post by rustynweathered on Aug 17, 2021 15:27:05 GMT -5
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Post by rcollum on Aug 29, 2021 10:07:37 GMT -5
A quick snap of our Elise, ready to leave for Katie's cars & coffee, early on a Saturday morning... --Bob Collum
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