Has anybody bought a pair of these yet? They claim to be the right shape (which the repro bumpers previously available certainly weren't) and as they are in Stainless Steel, they shouldn't start to rust within a year (which the repro bumpers previously available certainly did!).

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Lotus-Elan-2-NEW- ... .m14.l1318

Mark

Mark,

They look great and hope you get a positive reply on quality. I have been looking for a good rear for a long time with out any luck. I have one that is worth rechroming but the estimate for that was near $450US. Big risk if quality is not good. As you might tell I am in the USA and would like to be sure if we freight across the pond.

Lets hope for a good reply
Mark

Thanks for pointing these out!!!

Hi Mark
I haven't seen these on eBay before, so it may just be a new line for these guys....in which case we may not learn from anybody on this forum what they are like. The company has a good reputation with the Escort and Lotus Cortina boys for accurate bumper reproductions, and they are a fussy lot!

They are not too far from me, and I'll see if I can get over there in the next couple of weeks with my original bumpers and compare. They are no more expensive than the other repros, and much the same price as re-chroming nowadays (boy, that's become expensive for a good job!) so if they are good they should sell well.

Mark

Mark (elan in the forest):

That would be great if you could post an assessment and comparo to original. I am very interested in these as well. The quoted shipping to Canada looks reasonable at 39 British pounds. Would hate to get them over here and find they have lousy fit.

I had no idea of the cost of getting the originals re-chromed; mine are pretty free of dents but there are a couple of rust spots that have been covered up with silver tape, so I am sure prep work would be required.

A bit of a question; would the standard mounting bolts be the way to go or could there be a corrosion issue with steel bolts and ss bumper? Perhaps something to ask them.

Who knows. they may even be OK with some sort of group buy or discount?

Cheers!

They've been doing Anglia/+2 front bumpers for a while.
There's only a couple of less-than-perfect feedback comments: "lighter gauge than originals, slightly different pattern" (TR2/3) & "a little bit different size as the original ones" (Escort Mk1 front).
I will await a positive review...

Matthew

I ordered a bumper from them today. Somebody told me the bumpers are a bit thin, but of good quality. We will see. I will report to you guys in about three weeks!

Didn't anybody else search for Group Harrington (watermark in the photo)? They are at http://www.groupharrington.com/ - physically in Viet Nam. No agenda here, just data.

I did. It is a British company manufacturing in Vietnam. It seems legit.

Stu

SS bolts are available, I bought a set on ebay for not much money.

If these bumper fit they are very cheap, I paid about £220 for a chrome one that started to rust within 6 months. I am very interested in these

Jason

I emailed them this morning to go have a look, but no response yet.
The company has been around for a while, so no worries there. I heard of them a few years ago when they were taking containers full of old knackered Lambretta scooters out to Vietnam, geting them restored, and bringing them back to be sold in UK / Europe. Sounds enterprising to me.

I'll also ask them if they just sell the rear bumper...the one most of us need.

On re-chroming, I had one done a couple of years ago. They are quite thin metal to start with, and the result looks very good, but has gained a few ripples, which the chrome guys put down to the metal being so thin. At just short of £200, not too impressive.

Mark

They sell the rear bumper for 299 pounds plus postage.

Approx. US $668 total (including shipping) if you are in the US.

I hope the quality is good. I will let you guys know. And I will post pictures.

Carlos

Well at least the tradition is maintained. The stainless bumpers Lotus put on the Elite are alarmingly thin. Perhaps I'll put David Mousley at MK 14 Components onto Harrington Group, We have not been able to get Elite trim for a while.

Also note they are listed on eBay.com in $US.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Lotus-El ... enameZWDVW


Cost: US $999.00
Shipping To Canada -- US $119.00

Total: $1118

From Britian:
Cost: £499.00
Shipping: To Canada -- £59.00

Total: 558.00 = 1,087.31 USD

Looks like I save a few bucks with the US listing.


For reference my parts book lists:

Four only front bolts at 5/16" x 3/4" c/w self locking nut 1/4"???, washer special, rubber block.
Two only rear bolts 1/4" x 7/8" c/w self locking nut 1/4", washer plain,
Two only rear bolts "blanking", no size specified
Four only rear bolts, no size or type specified

Not sure if these fit the bill (set of eight for Lotus Cortina, but billed to fit Elan & Europa):

Set of 8 Including nuts and Spring Washers.
They are 5/16" UNF Thread x 1" Long


http://cgi.ebay.com/Lotus-Cortina-Bumpe ... dZViewItem

Any help on correct bolts appreciated.


Cheers!

I've had a reply from Harringtons:

[i]All our bumpers are produced and shipped from Vietnam. Though we have a satellite office in Bath, which takes only takes care of our smaller items like the decals, Isetta parts, VW parts, and Ford Cortina and Escort quarter bumpers. So I afraid you wouldn’t be able to have look- unless of course you fancy a quick visit to Vietnam (cool place to see!!)

We have had a lot of interest in these bumpers- and please feel free to check back in a couple of weeks once some of our customers have test fitted them.

I am sure there will be no issues (we do also produce for Ferrari, Aston martin, maserati, rolls Royce, Bentley and Mercedes!) however we fully understand people’s caution.

By all means, if you wish to buy, and test fit- we will give you a 100% money back guarantee including postage. Lets face it you will be doing both us and your forum chums a favour!

We are here for the long run- we are gearing up to produce 72 different models of bumper, so test fitting and feedback is of vital importance to us. I have actually put off a couple of American enquiries, until we get the chance to have a couple of sets test fitted in the UK.

I would also like to provide the correct stainless bolts, if someone were able to measure the correct domed head, collar, bolt length and thread. Could you help with that info?

If you can, I would be happy to offer you a discount on the bumpers.[/i]

So there you go...a discount for the first to come up with the COMPLETE spec for the bolts....especially the rear ones.

And some news on the Elite front for you, Russ:


[i]P.S. Nathan and I just had a look on the élan forum… regarding David Mousley and elite bumpers and grille…. We have already put these into production for David, correct in every detail right down to the fact that one side on the rear is nearly 1 inch longer than the other!! Nathan just told me the story about Colin Chapman and Frank Costin building the elite prototype in a lock up garage-Fantastic![/i]
Mark

Yes. I am one of those "American enquiries" so my bumper will be delayed a bit. This is the answer I got from them:

"We have just recently launched the Lotus Elan+2 and the Lotus Europa. I am keen on selling our first set or 2 in the UK and get feedback their once they have fitted them. We always do this with newly launched bumpers. I am very sure that that there will not be any issues with fit; however, should there be an unlikely issue on fit, it would be cheaper and easier for bumpers to be returned from within the UK to our UK address than from the US. Would you mind waiting for a couple of weeks?"

I hate to wait but I like the idea of testing.

Best

Carlos