LotusGuy48 Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 For sale, a 2001 Superformance S1 Lotus 7 replica with 13K miles. Price is reduced to $18,995. This car was manufactured in South Africa by the same company that makes the AC Cobra and Ford GT40 replicas along with the Noble. Considered by many to be the very best Lotus 7 replica ever made, it comes with a tube frame making the car very light (around 1,400 lbs). Factory performance figures are 0-60 in 5.3 seconds with a top speed of 125 mph. Fuel economy is around 30 mpg overall from a 10.6 gallon tank. The body work is very high quality fiberglass and aluminum with very tight seams better than one sees on many production cars. The front suspension has double wishbone control arms with castor and kingpin angle adjustment and billet machined aluminum-alloy uprights with independent camber adjustment with adjustable coil-over damper units. The rear suspension has a live axle located with four trailing arms and state-of-the-art Mumford linkage giving optimum roll center control. The compact suspension package much improves rear trunk space with enhanced handling, performance and ride comfort. The car also has a decent size trunk about the same size as a Mazda MX-5. There is a lockable glove box and fresh air ventilation with two speed fan assist. The car has windows that slide up and down as well as a top (not shown) that can be used as a "T" top or stored in a bag in the trunk. The doors can be easily removed for that motorcycle feeling. The exhaust sound is nice and throaty without being too loud. The cockpit features a carbon fiber dashboard with full VDO instrumentation with an oil pressure gauge and tachometer in front of the driver with a center mounted speedometer and smaller gauges for oil and coolant temperatures, a fuel gauge and an analog clock. Synthetic Mobil 1 oil has always been used from day one and the car comes with an Aces sequential shift light system located on top of the dash to show optimum power and shift points. The engine is a Ford Zetec 2 litre 16 valve dual overhead cam engine with Superformance headers putting out around 175 hp mated to a 5-speed very smooth and fast shifting short throw transmission very similar to the MX-5 with a very progressive clutch. The front brakes are ventilated discs with lightweight Wilwood 4-pot calipers; the rear brakes are solid discs with Wilwood 4-pot calipers with a Wilwood spot caliper hand brake. The seats do not move in the S1, the pedals are on a carriage that moves with a turn of a large aluminum knob under the dash. Pedal set-up is perfect for heel and toe driving. The steering geometry is designed to minimize bump steer while giving sufficient angle compensation in tight turns. With three turns lock to lock the S1 has a 27 ft turning radius. Full harness seat belts are standard equipment. The car is mechanically perfect although it does have a couple of minor paint blemishes This car is for you if you want super car performance at a reasonable price with looks that generate admiring attention and lots of thumbs up (even from state troopers) and if you stop for gas be prepared to stay at least 15 minutes or so to answer all the inevitable questions that will come your way. Only reason for sale is I am buying an Elise. For more information call David at 407.256.1028 or email LotusGuy48@earthlink.net. The car is located in Apopka just outside Orlando FL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FightingForAir Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 (edited) Am very interested in this car. Everything sounds great to me except the motor. If I buy a 7 I want more juice. I'd be shooting for minimum 300 hp and 250 or so lb/ft. Is engine swap an option in the Superformance? Would an LS1/LS2/LS3 fit? Thanks in advance for any info. If I can do an engine swap relatively inexpensively, I'd be in. Otherwise, I think I'd have to wait for a good Brunton in my price range. Edited April 11, 2011 by FightingForAir Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 You could probably swap in a new Duratec pretty easy and get close to 300hp stock... doubt you could plop in a V8. Don't know how close you are for a test drive but you'll likely be surprised by how quick these cars are with so little power. I really like the S1s, probably the most civilized of the bunch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FightingForAir Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Thanks ... I'm out for a weekend hooligan and autocross car. Really, really would like that 1 to 5 hp to weight ratio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S1Steve Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Am very interested in this car. Everything sounds great to me except the motor. If I buy a 7 I want more juice. I'd be shooting for minimum 300 hp and 250 or so lb/ft. Is engine swap an option in the Superformance? Would an LS1/LS2/LS3 fit? Thanks in advance for any info. If I can do an engine swap relatively inexpensively, I'd be in. Otherwise, I think I'd have to wait for a good Brunton in my price range. FightingForAir, Your idea of a LS engine swap is a cool idea, but there's alittle more to it than just replacing the engine. The transmission would need to be changed, if you can get a big trans in the tunnel, its tight with Type 9, new drive shaft, and you better swap out the rear, because thats going to blow the first time you stand on the gas. But if can do all of that relatively inexpensively, I'd like to drive it when you done. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Thanks ... I'm out for a weekend hooligan and autocross car. Really, really would like that 1 to 5 hp to weight ratio. Another option to a V8. My Caterham SV has 4.5 lb/hp using an internally stock 1.8 Miata motor with a Garrett 2560 turbo, larger injectors and a Hydra ECU. It dyno'd at 301 RWHP and 262 lb ft of torque but has about 30 hp more since I removed the catalytic converter and got the water/methanol injection system working. A Miata engine should fit anywhere a Zetec would. I did have to modify the Miata transmission tailshaft housing to fit in the tiny Caterham tunnel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LotusGuy48 Posted April 11, 2011 Author Share Posted April 11, 2011 A very good friend of mine here in Florida bought an S1 and put a Honda S2000 engine in it. With some minor mods he got around 275 bhp out of it. Only problem was that the exhaust manifold was on the passenger side so he had to cut a hole on that side of the engine bay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FightingForAir Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Yeah.... I hear ya ... thanks for the reminder. I'm definitely putting emphasis on the "relatively" inexpensively. That's the real catch and what I'm trying to work out. I sooo badly want to join the 7 replica club. Just gotta figure out my best angle to do that and get what I really want without breaking the bank. FightingForAir, Your idea of a LS engine swap is a cool idea, but there's alittle more to it than just replacing the engine. The transmission would need to be changed, if you can get a big trans in the tunnel, its tight with Type 9, new drive shaft, and you better swap out the rear, because thats going to blow the first time you stand on the gas. But if can do all of that relatively inexpensively, I'd like to drive it when you done. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FightingForAir Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 What do you think I'd be looking at for cost with something like this? I'm not mechanically inclined so I am going to have to elicit some help with whatever I decide to do. I do have resources I can tap, but perhaps not for all the angles. For some of the work, I may likely need to hit up the local hot rod shop. Another option to a V8. My Caterham SV has 4.5 lb/hp using an internally stock 1.8 Miata motor with a Garrett 2560 turbo, larger injectors and a Hydra ECU. It dyno'd at 301 RWHP and 262 lb ft of torque but has about 30 hp more since I removed the catalytic converter and got the water/methanol injection system working. A Miata engine should fit anywhere a Zetec would. I did have to modify the Miata transmission tailshaft housing to fit in the tiny Caterham tunnel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FightingForAir Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Oh ... and thanks much everyone for your input. Seems like a very helpful and friendly community here. Hope to join the family soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FightingForAir Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 FightingForAir, Your idea of a LS engine swap is a cool idea, but there's alittle more to it than just replacing the engine. The transmission would need to be changed, if you can get a big trans in the tunnel, its tight with Type 9, new drive shaft, and you better swap out the rear, because thats going to blow the first time you stand on the gas. But if can do all of that relatively inexpensively, I'd like to drive it when you done. LOL Sooo ... sounds like the LS, trans and rear would not fit ...??? A couple reasons I'm interested in that option is that I have a local source that has a one that I can pick up for $2,000. 2nd reason is lots of power in a compact, lightweight, reliable N/A package. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Flying Miata has a good reputation for hop ups. There's a few guys here that have some awesome 7s with their set up. Here's a price list on their turbos to give you an idea of costs. http://www.flyinmiata.com/index.php?dept=35 If you want to throw in a V8 a stalker is your best bet I imagine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 What do you think I'd be looking at for cost with something like this? I'm not mechanically inclined so I am going to have to elicit some help with whatever I decide to do. I do have resources I can tap, but perhaps not for all the angles. For some of the work, I may likely need to hit up the local hot rod shop. I did it relatively cheaply. I bought a wrecked Miata from the salvage auction for $1,800. It had a little over 18k miles on it. I parted it out, kept the engine and transmission and few other items then sold off the parts. I recovered my investment, had a free engine and transmission and around $1,500 pure profit which went into the car. This worked out so well I bought another Miata and did the same thing. I now have an engine and transmission sitting in the shop for use if one or the other should fail. I bought a used Link ECU for $450 which came with a set of 550cc RC injectors. I bought a new turbo for my Miata and moved the old one to the Caterham. A turbo manifold from FM cost about $400. The intercooler cost about $300 and I fabricated the plumbing from exhaust tubing and Samco hoses. The only other major expense was a little over $1,000 for a custom built stainless steel exhaust system. The nitty gritty details are here: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/636168/1992-mazda-miata-mx-5/page-10 The finished product is in the link in the sig line below I did 95% of the work myself farming out the exhaust, motor mounts and machine work on the transmission. If you want to talk about it, PM me your phone number and a good time to reach you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LotusGuy48 Posted April 12, 2011 Author Share Posted April 12, 2011 I believe the cost of the Honda S2000 engine was around $3,000, Steve bought it from a shop in Jacksonville Florida that sells parts from wrecks and had it installed by another shop. Let me contact him and get some actual numbers for you. Be back shortly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LotusGuy48 Posted April 12, 2011 Author Share Posted April 12, 2011 Just heard back from Steve on his S1 Honda S2000 engine project. Apparently the Honda S2000 engine was an F20C. My memory says the early models up through 2003 were 293 hp and redlined at 9,000 rpm. Later models were detuned to 284 hp and redlined at 8,500 rpm. With headers the early models gained to 300 hp. His was a low milage early model. Those were more in demand & usually went for $5,000 to $6,000 with transmission, ECM & wiring harness. He watched eBay for 3 months & picked his up for $3,000. Then installation including a new custom drive shaft was another $2,500 to $3,000 along with custom headers as the exhaust is on the passenger side as I mentioned. So you would be looking at around $6K for this sort of project or an out the door price of around $25K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 Skip, Your car is one of my favorites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 Thanks Mondo, I appreciate the kind words. When I get asked what's under the bonnet and I tell them its a Miata engine and transmission I often get some strange looks. I wait a bit then mention the turbo, horsepower and weight of the car and their attitudes noticeably change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 Skip: You make it sound so easy:). Didn't you spend around 70 hours just sorting out the wiring? BTW-I agree, yours is one of the nicest se7ens. I love the color, attention to detail and of course, that thing is "all motor." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 Skip: You make it sound so easy:). Didn't you spend around 70 hours just sorting out the wiring? BTW-I agree, yours is one of the nicest se7ens. I love the color, attention to detail and of course, that thing is "all motor." I've been a gearhead all my life and have worked on cars since I was 15 so it really wasn't difficult, just time consuming. I didn't set a schedule for completion and would walk away when tired or frustrated. I did spend about 80 hours on the wiring since the Link ECU and Miata engine had nothing in common with the ECU wiring that came in the kit. I removed a complete wiring harness from a Miata, stripped off the tape and identified each connector and labeled it. Then I removed all the excess wires and connectors, shortened the remainder to fit in the chassis and set about merging it into the car's wiring. It still amazes me that the engine started on the first attempt. In the middle of all this, myasthenia gravis hit my eyes and I had to stop the project for six months while the docs got that under control. I had eyelids I couldn't keep open and when they were I had double vision which made it impossible to read the wiring diagrams and work with the wires. It eventually affected my diaphragm which is why I have to carry supplemental oxygen with me 24/7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 Jeez, Skip, sorry to hear abt the med conditions! For a non-gearhead, like me, 80 hours on wiring sounds like pure torture. Mike M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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