Why would I do this?
I decided to put this web site / blog together as a resource of my ideas and experiences. When I decided to put a Honda engine in the back of my S2 Elise I found it really really difficult to find independent information about turn-key and DIY installations. I hope the ‘Elise conversion community’ will help me accomplish my task and I’m happy to showcase their products if they wish. Obviously any free kit would be much appreciated.
Who am I?
My name is Nick Morgan and I’m a ‘real’ car nut. I’m competent at mechanical work and have access to a well equiped workshop. I rebuild a 1978 MK-1 golf as my first car, way back in 1990-91 and I’d never do it again. I have a degree in IT and work in the IT sector. I enjoy track days, of which I’ve done plenty and that’s why I have the Elise as my track day machinery.
If you want to contact me with any questions or comments please do so at: nick.morgan@elisetyper.com
I reserve the right to publish any emails sent and don’t appreciate abuse or SPAM. People who want to help or have constructive criticism or remarks to make will get a hearing and the right to publish their comments.
My Car
Its a 2001 Series 2 Elise (as pictured above) which has covered 15k miles. Its got Nitrons, sticky tyres on light weight wheels and a harness bar - apart from that its standard. I want more pull on the straights during track days so I’m changing the engine. Its my track day car and I plan to keep it for a long time.
Do you want to help out?
You can if you want - I’d be happy to publicise any information from 3rd party suppliers, manufacturers and customers who have experience on Honda, Audi, Duratec conversions and related topics.
Why would I want to share my information openly?
I work in IT which for better or worse has shaped my views with regard to community projects. A community being a group of like minded individuals with a single goal in mind. In this case, putting a new engine in the back of a great sports car. Many traditional engineers will be un-aware of the Open Source movement and be very reluctant buy into its ideology. To find out more about the open source movement go to: http://www.opensource.org/
Why would you want to spend hours making and designing something and then not sell it for a profit? Well you can, its just the freedom of information around your product that will ultimately help you:
- Make your development the industry leader and bring down production costs through economies of scale.
- Develop your product through its complete life cycle.
- Enable a forum for knowledge sharing, reducing your support overheads.
- Increase the residual value of your product.
There are many examples where software engineers have taken advantage of these opportunities and made a sustainable business in the medium term. The software to drive this web site is all open source, Linux, MySQL, PHP, WordPress - all free to non-commercial entities such as this.
Please, lets not be confused here - I’m not planning on giving away anyone development information, diagrams or secrets which are owned by a manufacturer. What I do plan to give away is ‘My Experience’ of the process. This will include:
- Information related to any products I use.
- Where to source these products.
- Potential alternatives if (I’m made aware of them).
- How I installed these products.
- HOWTO’s and build guides.
- A directory of contacts and manufacturers.