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tmr · 01-09-2009, 07:53 PM

They each have their charms. S1 and S2 are the purest, lightest weight versions, S3 coupes look great, but S4 had many improvements. S4 had negative ground, a lip seal vs. rope seal for the rear main seal, allowed for wider tires, better vacuum system for headlamp buckets, dual circuit braking system with better master cylinder. Things that were worse were the radiators, which seemed to get smaller with every model, the fit/finish of the doors, which was terrible by the time the S4's came out, more emission control stuff including Strombergs and less agressive distributor curve.

Most of the stuff is fixable with modern technology in any model. I had Joe Curto rebuild my Strombergs to the UK 'SE' spec I was given by Miles Wilkins, author of The Lotus Twin Cam Engine. I also had a distributor rebuilt per the same spec, used Sprint cams, higher compression ratio, UK intake manifold, etc. The result was a really sweet-running Stromberg engine that NEVER needed any adjustment and just ran like a top. No bucking, stalling, or any of the old Stromberg woes that plagued the cars when new. Sure, it didn't have Webers, but it ran great on the street.

Bottom line? Find the model you like best or can afford, then modify it to do what you want it to do.

01-09-2009, 07:53 PM	#13 (permalink)
tmr ATL Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 499	They each have their charms. S1 and S2 are the purest, lightest weight versions, S3 coupes look great, but S4 had many improvements. S4 had negative ground, a lip seal vs. rope seal for the rear main seal, allowed for wider tires, better vacuum system for headlamp buckets, dual circuit braking system with better master cylinder. Things that were worse were the radiators, which seemed to get smaller with every model, the fit/finish of the doors, which was terrible by the time the S4's came out, more emission control stuff including Strombergs and less agressive distributor curve. Most of the stuff is fixable with modern technology in any model. I had Joe Curto rebuild my Strombergs to the UK 'SE' spec I was given by Miles Wilkins, author of The Lotus Twin Cam Engine. I also had a distributor rebuilt per the same spec, used Sprint cams, higher compression ratio, UK intake manifold, etc. The result was a really sweet-running Stromberg engine that NEVER needed any adjustment and just ran like a top. No bucking, stalling, or any of the old Stromberg woes that plagued the cars when new. Sure, it didn't have Webers, but it ran great on the street. Bottom line? Find the model you like best or can afford, then modify it to do what you want it to do.