Just been surfing ebay looking for a mini for the bird (new mini) and found this.
Very cool, love the details (interior - steerng wheel, pedal box, etc)
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LOTUS-MINI-VAN_W0 ... dZViewItem
Must shift! I met a guy at the weekend with a K powered mini running his own ECU and he said it was fun!
Mini Elise
funny story. i logged onto MSN last week and three of my contacts were on line. all 3 of them were elise owners and had suffered HGF in the past month. my car was off road aswell with HGF. hmmmm. coincidence. maybe, but it goes to show that the k series has troubles. 2 of these were standard engines, 1 was a DVA and 1 was a stu pollock special.
so, i stand by my k series is sh*t slogan.
so, i stand by my k series is sh*t slogan.
But you can fit a K in a round nose mini - can't do that with any honda engine and keep RHD.
I have a couple of mate's doing interesting mini conversions just now - a vx 1600 8v on TB's and the other a Zetec again with TB's but driving through a mini box.
BTW if a K is sh*t, try an A series
Strangely, i dont mind the crappy ride and handling of her new MINI now i'm in the elise most of the time
I have a couple of mate's doing interesting mini conversions just now - a vx 1600 8v on TB's and the other a Zetec again with TB's but driving through a mini box.
BTW if a K is sh*t, try an A series
Strangely, i dont mind the crappy ride and handling of her new MINI now i'm in the elise most of the time
Simon's gasket failed, so was a true HGF, most of the time it isn't a HGF but a head failure, hence they need to be skimed.
To say the K series is crap is, at the very least, an untrue generalism.
Ok, in this guise, and in this application it does seem to have developed a taste for eating heads, but it that the fault of the engine or is it the application? There must be hundreds of thousands of K power vehicles on the road, surly if the K was that soft then the hard shoulder would littered with rovers.
My opinon is that it's the application of the engine that is flawed, but then if Lotus weren't able to stick in a cheap, mass produced engine then perhaps the elise would be out of the reach of most of the pockets here.
To say the K series is crap is, at the very least, an untrue generalism.
Ok, in this guise, and in this application it does seem to have developed a taste for eating heads, but it that the fault of the engine or is it the application? There must be hundreds of thousands of K power vehicles on the road, surly if the K was that soft then the hard shoulder would littered with rovers.
My opinon is that it's the application of the engine that is flawed, but then if Lotus weren't able to stick in a cheap, mass produced engine then perhaps the elise would be out of the reach of most of the pockets here.
S2 Elise (cobalt blue with stripes) - toy spec
Caterham 7 - hillclimb spec
Yamaha Thundercat - 2 wheeled toy spec
Caterham 7 - hillclimb spec
Yamaha Thundercat - 2 wheeled toy spec
when i bought my elise i took it to my local garage who serviced my ibiza to show it off. the mechanic (a friend from school) took a look at it and was really impressed until he saw the K series.
when i got my engine tuned, and it failed, he laughed and said he told me so. this is a small independant garage in bo'ness that have seen more than there fair share of K series HGF and head failures. he was the first person to confirm what dva told me about porosity.
3 more things.
firstly, my comment of it not working was probably wrong. if it can be done cheaply, then i can see the point in doing it in a mini
secondly, my comment on stu having done a head for simon and it having HGF wasnt slagging off stu. far from it. i'm pals with stu and know he does good work. i only mentioned it to show that even K's put together by good guys like stu still have HGF. so the K isnt a great engine
thirdly, i stick by my comment of the K being sh*t. Maybe not a sh*t engine, but sh*t reliability. You may have never experienced it, but it doesnt mean its not a problem. remember rover were on watchdog for reliability issues with the K series. this is a well recognised problem that everyone except rover (and some elise owners) seems to realise
when i got my engine tuned, and it failed, he laughed and said he told me so. this is a small independant garage in bo'ness that have seen more than there fair share of K series HGF and head failures. he was the first person to confirm what dva told me about porosity.
3 more things.
firstly, my comment of it not working was probably wrong. if it can be done cheaply, then i can see the point in doing it in a mini
secondly, my comment on stu having done a head for simon and it having HGF wasnt slagging off stu. far from it. i'm pals with stu and know he does good work. i only mentioned it to show that even K's put together by good guys like stu still have HGF. so the K isnt a great engine
thirdly, i stick by my comment of the K being sh*t. Maybe not a sh*t engine, but sh*t reliability. You may have never experienced it, but it doesnt mean its not a problem. remember rover were on watchdog for reliability issues with the K series. this is a well recognised problem that everyone except rover (and some elise owners) seems to realise
I know you weren't have a go a Stu or his workmanship, just letting it be know that it was an actual compent failure, rather than anything to do with porosity and alike.
I'm just saying that the K series engine isn't all that bad. the 1.8's are over stressed, it did start out as a 1.4 engine for the metro and in true BL/Rover tradition they just try and squeeze more and more out of it. I had the 1500 in the back of my spitfire which started off as a much smaller engine, and it enjoyed throwing shells ever 2 to 3 thousand miles
Lotus changed engine suppliers for the elise so that they could break the US & european markets (UK sale manager told me that when they tried to sell the in europe they were told to go home and bring it back when THATS NOT IN THE BACK.
For me it's not enough of an issue to pay for an engine swap. I'm lucky enough not to have it as my main car and be able to do the work on it myself. I can buy a lot of gaskets and bolts for 8-10K
For others, the K has made the elise affordable and can't spend cash on conversions.
Sh!te K - I would say no, it was and is a good engine but is getting near the end of it's life cycle.
Unreliable K - yeah, probably!
I'm just saying that the K series engine isn't all that bad. the 1.8's are over stressed, it did start out as a 1.4 engine for the metro and in true BL/Rover tradition they just try and squeeze more and more out of it. I had the 1500 in the back of my spitfire which started off as a much smaller engine, and it enjoyed throwing shells ever 2 to 3 thousand miles
Lotus changed engine suppliers for the elise so that they could break the US & european markets (UK sale manager told me that when they tried to sell the in europe they were told to go home and bring it back when THATS NOT IN THE BACK.
For me it's not enough of an issue to pay for an engine swap. I'm lucky enough not to have it as my main car and be able to do the work on it myself. I can buy a lot of gaskets and bolts for 8-10K
For others, the K has made the elise affordable and can't spend cash on conversions.
Sh!te K - I would say no, it was and is a good engine but is getting near the end of it's life cycle.
Unreliable K - yeah, probably!
S2 Elise (cobalt blue with stripes) - toy spec
Caterham 7 - hillclimb spec
Yamaha Thundercat - 2 wheeled toy spec
Caterham 7 - hillclimb spec
Yamaha Thundercat - 2 wheeled toy spec
