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Exige V6 Style Front Clam Conversion

18K views 148 replies 20 participants last post by  kyjoe 
#1 ·
Is there anyone on here who has done this conversion and could speak to the level of difficulty to install? Such as fitment, wiring, or additional parts like headlamps, brackets, grills, any specialty hardware. The Clam in Question

I'm new to the Lotus scene so don't roast me too hard if my questions seem uninformed, that's why I'm here.
 
#2 ·
I’m interested in this myself for my Elise. I know another Elise owner interested as well for his. There seems to be the option to go new or old style headlights but why go old if you are choosing the update route already. Do I hear a group buy anyone??


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#3 ·
It says in the description it is for the 07+ headlight assembly, so do you have that or a pre-07 headlight assembly? Greg is also very responsive and can give you better answers than anyone else.

I am finishing up this install: Elise to Exige Front Clam Conversion Kit

Overall, I'd rate it a 7/10. There are several places where pencil marks were drawn for areas to be trimmed, but then they were almost an inch off in places (the cut was almost an inch away from the pencil line that was in the right place). There are also quite a few pin holes in the gel coat, and I've had to blend in some bumps in the fiberglass. I've also had to fill some areas where the fiberglass wasn't fully pushed into a corner, so there was a bubble between it and the gel coat. I've also had to redrill several holes to get them to line up. Some of that depends on your attention to detail though. I have definitely fixed some things that most shops would just hope the client doesn't notice after it's painted. Plus I don't think it is realistic to expect better than an 8/10 with any made-to-order fiberglass, so I feel it is still pretty reasonable. Just be prepared to fiddle with it for a bit if you want it perfect.
 
#4 ·
For myself personally I'm not too concerned about it being a flawless mold. I would expect to have to do minor filling and sanding here or there. Not to mention I would likely vinyl wrap everything.

My question does seem vague looking back at it, in reference to the headlights my concern is sourcing them out. I didn't know if this was an off-the-shelf item a salvage only or some type of holy grail piece that would cost a fortune.
 
#9 ·
Could you please provide a link to this.

So cost wise its looking like it would be about 10,000 for the clam, having it shipped, and headlights. Now my question would be what's the going rate for a exige front clam and headlights in good condition?
It sure would be great to recoup about a quarter of the upfront cost.
 
#7 ·
Alright, that settles it. Let's get about 5 or more people and on this clamshell group by so we can get a price drop by about 20%. Now I just need to find an exige that has a busted front clam...

I would like to hear from someone who has actually done this conversion though to see what the obstacles are and converting it.
 
#8 ·
I spoke with Sherman from HethelSport - and he did direct me to order through GRP, because they do Elise/Exige bits for HethelSport - about this clam before... I was looking for pics of it installed - unfortunately, if memory serves me right, Win-Ace has only produced this clam 1 or 2 times and do not have any pic of them installed and painted :( From what Sherman told me, it does share some mold/fitment features of the GTR Clam Win-Ace does - and being that it's designed for S2 Elige, I would assume it would "bolt" up like the stock S2 clams. Sherman did say if I wanted one, i would have specify fitment for S2 or S3 car...

Here is the most significant reply from Sherman when I was emailing about this just shy of 2 yrs ago:
Sherman said:
Hi Tray-- Yes, all the clams are made to order and therefore for a specific fitment: S2 or S3, Elise or Exige, and S2 or S3 headlights. So eight combinations, and the fabricators have not built every combo but they do make the changes based on the same adjustments they do for the GTR Clam. I realize this becomes a leap-of-faith but they do know the installation differences between the cars so fitment will be good. I will say that there may be some need for a bit of trimming or fitting since Lotus cars do come out of the factory with a bit of variance (for example, the rear clam on my Exige S was almost 1/2" off center. Really not noticeable until I put wider tires on it and saw the gap between the tire edge and fender lip was different).

The fabricators sent the same pictures as the ones on the website:
The grey car is an Australian S2 but with the S3 headlights. Sorry, couldn't get different pictures, which is a bummer.

Access panels, grilles, come with the front clam.

The front & radiator grilles come with the clam. Which access panels are you referring to?

Price is $5,499 which includes freight to your nearest shipping port. I will take care of customs, duty, Homeland Security. I can also arrange for shipping from the port to your shop/home--prices depends on location, I would budget $400-600 but can also pickup yourself (it's big, heavy crate though).

Clams usually take about 5 weeks to fabricate and then another 5-8 weeks for shipping (just depends on the freight schedules and luck).

Hopefully this answers your questions but if not, or if it stirs up more questions, please let me know.

Thanks! :)

Sherman Koo

HethelSport, LLC
(925) 402-4991 HethelSport.com
 
#13 · (Edited)
I'm interested in doing this conversion as well. I reached out to Greg for more info on clam fitment. Its a pretty expensive fiberglass piece, im hoping not much bodywork is required for fitment. I did ask if the spine mount comes already glued on the clam. Also waiting on the Galpin Lotus parts dept manager to call me back. The parts rep had no idea about the vision pack deal even though its on their website and i kept referring to it. You'd think he would just pull up their own site and see.

Update- ordered the 2 headlight deal through another lotus dealer. (Back order of course) It’s a promotion so won’t be available at that price for long. Normally the lights are 1900 a piece.
 
#15 ·
I could see trying this if clam was trashed but just swapping out for the sake of it seems like a huge check to write for cosmetics. Last person I know of that tried to do this clam swap none of the lines matched the car on the elise. Looks ok on Exige with the hump hatch, but the flat back on the Elise makes things look quite off.
 
#18 · (Edited)
I talked to Sherman at hethelsport directly and made sure prior to purchase that the fitment and mounting points are good and only slight adjustment might be required for install like every other aftermarket body kit. I have done many kit installs on other cars Ive owned and the fitment always varies but this is the same company (win ace) who makes the evora body kits and the reviews on them are good. You specifically said the lines didn’t look good because my car is an Elise but on the exige it looks better because of the hump back. That’s not fitment, that’s your opinion. I was also told only one other person has this clam, so of whom do you speak of? If you really want to provide valid input then pass me their name so I can reach out.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Sounds good man, I’ll definitely continue to update on here.
So far:
Clam- ordered, Elise fitment with 2011 headlights
Lights- ordered using the above package deal, on their way
Wire harness- I found a guy (actually on eBay) who makes/sells replacement wire harness pigtails for the lights. He’s making me a harness adapter which will plug directly into my 2006 harness and into the 2011 headlights.
 
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