Lotis 11 body
cb500t - 30/8/14 at 05:12 PM
Anyone know of a manufacturer of copies ,affordable copies that is ? 
cb500t - 30/8/14 at 05:13 PM
Or happen to have one just hanging around !
Sam_68 - 30/8/14 at 08:18 PM
Depends on what you call affordable.
Westfield do the only 'affordable' kit currently available. They certainly could supply you with just the bodyshell, but whether they
would is another matter.
Mike Brotherwood or Axminster Specialist
Panels can supply them, too, but neither will be cheap (I don't know whether the ad is current, but Mike Brotherwood is listing a set of S2
bodywork in alloy in his 'for sale' section at £3,900).
Failing that, try asking on the Westfield Eleven Register or the
Yahoo Mailing List. You never know your luck...
Bear in mind that if you're in the UK, making an Eleven replica road legal under IVA regulations is far from straightforward.
rdodger - 30/8/14 at 08:20 PM
http://stuart-taylor.co.uk/
Not exactly cheap....
Sam_68 - 30/8/14 at 08:29 PM
quote:
Originally posted by rdodger
Not exactly cheap....
I didn't know STM were making an Eleven Replica these days - when did they launch that?
Looks quite nice, and they've done well to get the Mazda engine under the bonnet line without a big bulge!
£10K for the rolling chassis package is competitive with Westfield's price, too..
Slimy38 - 30/8/14 at 08:35 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Sam_68
quote:
Originally posted by rdodger
Not exactly cheap....
I didn't know STM were making an Eleven Replica these days - when did they launch that?
Looks quite nice, and they've done well to get the Mazda engine under the bonnet line without a big bulge!
£10K for the rolling chassis package is competitive with Westfield's price, too..
It was in a recent kit car mag, but I thought it was a turnkey car, I didn't realise they'd made it a kit already. It is a really nice car.
stevebubs - 30/8/14 at 08:36 PM
STM website doesn't look like it's been updated for a couple of years...
Sam_68 - 30/8/14 at 08:49 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Slimy38
It is a really nice car.
Yes, it looks it - the body doesn't look quite as authentic as the Westfield; they've obviously made the cills deeper, to make the
whole thing almost tall enough to clear the Mazda engine (though the photos are carefully contrived to downplay the fact that there is still a
small bonnet budge as well), but arguably sensible compromises to accommodate the more modern and powerful running gear.
Is it being promoted as being road legal, do you know?
I could be tempted...
blakep82 - 30/8/14 at 08:56 PM
Westfield?
http://parts-shop.westfield-sportscars.co.uk/body-interior-electrical/bodywork?product_id=560&limit=100
Rear section is the same price, not sure about the middle bits
Ugg10 - 30/8/14 at 09:05 PM
Similar but not an 11 is the tiger ERA 30. There also the mamba and xanthos 23s in a similar vein. Gts cars used to do the challenger but they no
longer trade.o
Slimy38 - 30/8/14 at 09:39 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Sam_68
Is it being promoted as being road legal, do you know?
I don't think they'd got it through IVA yet... I'll try and dig out the article.
big_wasa - 31/8/14 at 08:08 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Ugg10
Similar but not an 11 is the tiger ERA 30. There also the mamba and xanthos 23s in a similar vein. Gts cars used to do the challenger but they no
longer trade.o
The locost side of Gts is available from the firm that has taken it over but no mention of the challenger. May be worth a call ?
cb500t - 31/8/14 at 08:51 AM
Noticed a set of moulds for sale on Ebay for the front and rear 'clamshells' ..asking price 4.5k,if they sell I thought about trying buyer
into producing a set!
Sam_68 - 31/8/14 at 09:32 AM
quote:
Originally posted by cb500t
Noticed a set of moulds for sale on Ebay for the front and rear 'clamshells' ..asking price 4.5k,if they sell I thought about trying buyer
into producing a set!
They are definitely Lotus 15, rather than Lotus Eleven, FWIIW.
Be aware that the 15 was even lower profile than the Eleven, so you will have even greater difficulty getting it through IVA (headlamp positions) and,
more significantly, fitting it over any sort of modern OHC/DOHC engine. In the original, the Climax engine was canted right over to get a very low
scuttle height. Even the Eleven bonnet is low enough to cause a problem with most modern engines, hence Westfield sticking with the A-series (not very
tall, thanks to its pushrod valvegear) and the STM linked by rdodger 'cheating' by sitting the whole bodyshell higher than it should be
and incorporating a bonnet bulge.
You would also have more difficulty creating mouldings for the windscreen/sidescreens, as on the 15 these were much more complex in shape than the
simple, 2-dimensional curvature used on the Eleven.
This is a 15:
...compared to this, an Eleven from roughly the same angle:
You can hopefully get some impression of how much taller the Eleven was at the scuttle.
cb500t - 31/8/14 at 09:46 AM
Sadly seems my dream is a non starter : ( ....BUT what about a Microplas Mistral body ?
TheGiantTribble - 31/8/14 at 09:50 AM
Great pictures there, really show the difference, especially noticeable around the drivers shoulders. In fact when sitting in my 11 it feels like the
15 looks.
Also (may not make any difference in your case) the route for the exhaust, on the Westfield 11 it is down on the left hand side in a cut out of the
pontoon, just like the picture of the 15 only opposite side. The right hand pontoon (just above/alongside the drivers love spuds) has the fuel tank!
This fills the available space, trust me a really tight fit (or pain in the arse more like).
Obviously this could also effect your engine choice. There is no room under that bonnet for spaghetti exhaust tubes.
[Edited on 31/8/14 by TheGiantTribble]
scootz - 31/8/14 at 09:59 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Sam_68Axminster Specialist Panels can supply
them, too, but neither will be cheap...
Andy has done a couple of jobs for me... first class craftsman! As you said, not cheap, but not prohibitive either, and definitely value for money!
Sam_68 - 31/8/14 at 10:14 AM
quote:
Originally posted by cb500t
..what about a Microplas Mistral body ?
What are you actually trying to achieve?
The Mistral is certainly a lot taller, but it's not a Lotus Eleven replica?
If you're not after nerdish levels of replica accuracy, you can make the Eleven bodyshell work by doing what STM has done and simply increase the
depth of the sills (and maybe add a bit of a bonnet bulge). The Kokopelli Eleven
'replica' uses the same approach, rather more clumsily, and there was a Lola Mk1 'replica' (a car that is almost as low as the 15)
called the Summerfield Solar, back in the early 90's, that used the same technique of over-sized sills to sit the Lola bodyshell over a tall Alfa
Romeo Twin Cam engine (albeit with the engine set raight back against the scuttle bulkhead, with a rear mounted transaxle instead of a conventional
in-line gearbox):
Both look a bit gormless to me, but then I'm very familiar with the originals... they might satisfy someone less purist perfectly well.
I've also seen (Westfield) Eleven replicas with Lotus Twin Cam engines and no bonnet bulge, by means of dry sumping the engine to lower it, but
not a cheap solution, of course.
cb500t - 31/8/14 at 10:25 AM
Its not a faithful replica I am trying to achieve,but I like the look of the late 50's early 60's racers,I want something 'retro'
looking but not necessarily pigeonholed as a Lotus/Westfield etc
Sam_68 - 31/8/14 at 10:37 AM
quote:
Originally posted by cb500t
Its not a faithful replica I am trying to achieve,but I like the look of the late 50's early 60's racers,I want something 'retro'
looking but not necessarily pigeonholed as a Lotus/Westfield etc
Then the Kokopelli/Summerfield Solar approach may work perfectly well for you.
Easiest route would be to order front and rear clams from Westfield (and I don't think you'll get decent quality mouldings that much
cheaper anywhere else, unless you're lucky enough to pick up a bargain on e-bay).
Cheapest solution, if you're on a real budget, would be to make your own moulds: drawings of the Eleven's lines are freely available,
and it would not be too difficult to turn them into a set of loft lines to create a body buck. Lots of effort actually making the buck, though. 
JacksAvon - 31/8/14 at 10:58 AM
If it is a just a retro sports racer you want, go for the ERA30 from Tiger Racing.
Several have been built, all been through IVA and two have raced.
They can now be built relatively cheaply using an Audi engine/transaxle
Sam_68 - 31/8/14 at 11:06 AM
quote:
Originally posted by JacksAvon
They can now be built relatively cheaply using an Audi engine/transaxle
Still much more more expensive than a Westfield Eleven, though, so hardly budget?
And the engine is potentially at the wrong end...
Ugg10 - 31/8/14 at 11:51 AM
Could you make anything from the Ribble/Sammio 1950s style kits ?
Or there is this - lotus 23 but I think this is med engined - Lotus 23 Replica Fibreglass Bodywork - Noble / Mamba /
Auriga
Or this - similar to Ribble/Sammio - right era but not a sleek as the Lotus 23 - Triumph Herald / Vitesse ! based Kit car ( NO IVA
REQUIRED!! )