Lotus_Repair

Damaged and bent sections being replaced. A few shots of work in progress.

I think I know a previous owner of that car.

I think that car was Ted's. He had a hard top. Strange how so many cars are remembered as who owned them. That is an early car from Steel. I have read that they made about 100 cars. About 76 cars earlier than mine.

Just over a month ago I finished my other project and started dismantling the S4 for restoration and repair. There are about 7 episodes on youtube now under lotusrepair. Engine/gearbox is out. Body is now off. Parts are being sourced. The "Super 907" is the official name of this series. The document for USA emissions lists the car series as "Super 907". Chris

I have finally started the restoration. My wife insisted I finish some house projects before starting the car. The dismantling has started and I am putting some of the stuff on youtube. Has anyone taken the body off a S4 before? Is thee any videos or photos of it being done? I think I can just work through it but wanted to get some research in before getting to that point. The body looks like it goes in on an angle and the front fits under the crossmember. The back then slides down over the frame until it rests on the side frame. The back crossmember is shimmed to meet the body before anchored down. That is what I see when I look at it. Reverse it to take it off. The Esprit, Elite and Eclat bodies all went on at an angle when built. The trick is using the balance points and not the stress points that could break the body. The Elite and Eclat used the door hinge point as the main point. I have removed the bodies of Elans, Europas and Elites doing restorations.

I have been looking in the normal places for these and have not found them yet. Is there a cross to different car? Rear suspension bushes

What I do need to locate is the chassis dimensions for repairing some accident damage on the rear suspension area. I will need to align the repairs when I get to that stage. Is there anyone else here with a Steel Bro car? Also need to find a wiring diagram for a S4

I do want to start with this is just the info I have started to find in the papers I got with the car. Some of this info could change The Steel Brothers looked to be taking the S4 with the 907 and creating other variants of the car. These are two hand drawn posters of what could have been called the Escape. Has this ever been posted before? I have docs on another car that was being developed on the same chassis and power plant with a different body.

I have only touched the tip of the information about the car at this time. many things to still read up on and what I might post could be different as I read through more info about the car. From the photos Kyle gave me I have summarized a few things. This car is a prototype but there was another after this that was also called a prototype. This car was the first to fit the 907 engine and gearbox. The second car was wider and longer. There were many changes done between the cars. This car is more of the basic S4 modified for the engine. The 2nd car is easier to see the body changes in width. The nose goes from a square to a rectangle shape for the increased width. At some point one of the wider cars also was in an accident. I am posting a photo of the front chassis damage. There is also a photo of the crash test car. Note the rubber nose and rear bumper pads.

Matching up the parts that are Europa or another Lotus is not a problem. It is the parts that are only for a S4. On a quick inspection of the rear i noticed that one or both of the upper radius arms will need to be replaced. I know there are rear suspension items that are bent from the crash. I am going to start a new thread in the general section for topics on the car.

Just joined this group. Many might know me from other groups. I just added my 10th Lotus to the collection in the Motorhouse. I am now the owner of the Super 907 S4 prototype. I am starting the evaluation process of what it needs and what parts I will have to source or make. Who is supplying S4 specific parts now? With Kyle's help I am learning more of the history of this car as i sort through all the photos and docs. I got a large stack of photos of the factory building the S4 cars. Chris K Maryland