These cars are now well over fifteen years old, and parts such as seals and the hard top covers are no longer sold new. The forum threads here are from 2004 to 2013, so expect to find parts second-hand and check availability before you plan a job. Prices quoted are old and in euros or pounds as posted.
At a glance
- Check all four parts with an original hard top: the top itself, two rear covers and one front cover. The covers are almost impossible to find separately.
- Original or aftermarket? Ask for photos of the inside. An original NA top is unlined, an original Turbo top is lined, and most aftermarket tops are unlined.
- Early cars with aluminium rear roof brackets need the later plastic ones for the top to pull down and seat properly.
- Seals: the later Turbo seals fit an NA, and Elise S2 seals were said to fit.
- A hard top isn't a cure for leaks, and both roofs leak if the windows and doors aren't adjusted properly.
Buying a hard top
- The four parts. An original comes with the top, two rear covers (hiding the fixings) and a front cover. Owners said you only need a Torx driver to fit it, which came with the top but has often been lost. Make sure all four pieces are there: separately, the covers are impossible to find, and one of the three extra parts is a nightmare to source.
- Original or aftermarket. The original Turbo top is lined, the original NA top is not, and most aftermarket tops are unlined, according to owners in 2010. Always ask for pictures from the inside so you know what you are buying. In 2010 an owner said the original Turbo top cost about 1,950 euros new, and aftermarket tops about 700 euros. The original NA tops were supplied new in silver only, to match the window frame; Turbo tops were supplied in the car's colour. These are old, single-owner figures.
- Early cars. One owner said that if your car has aluminium rear roof brackets, you need the later plastic ones from Lotus for the top to fit properly: the aluminium ones don't let the back of the roof pull down and seat. The workshop procedure in Fitting the hard top says the same for cars up to model year 2002, and lists the bracket swap.
- An Elise hard top. A 2010 poster said an Elise hard top will fit but the Elise roll bar cover is rounder than the VX220's and it looks odd. Only one photo was known. Another owner thought it fitted no worse than the soft top. Nobody had posted detailed pictures.
- Storage. The original comes with a very flimsy cover and nothing to hang it up by. Aftermarket storage bags do the job. A hard top doesn't fit in the boot, so you need somewhere to keep it. See Fitting the hard top for the fitting procedure.
Seals
- An owner in 2013 asked about replacing worn seals at the front and back of the hard top, which had gone white and weren't straight. He couldn't find the original ones online. Another owner said the Elise S2 seals are the same and fit fine, and a third said a particular seller stocked them. The listing he quoted isn't reproduced here, because it may no longer be available.
- When the Turbo came out it had different seals, which a 2004 owner said can be retro-fitted to an NA. One owner who did so in 2005 said the new "turbo seals" made fitting an aftermarket top harder, because getting the top to sit flush on them took repeated manoeuvring and put stress on the seals.
- Seals that squeak: one owner said no amount of silicone on the seals stopped a squeak over uneven ground, and he was relieved when he took the roof off in spring.
- For the soft top seals and corner drip cups, see Soft top: sagging and leaks.
Does a hard top stop leaks?
- No, said an owner in 2004: many cars leak and a hard top isn't a cure. A soft top can be made watertight, and if the windows and doors aren't adjusted properly, both a hard and a soft top will leak.
- His soft top leaked a very small amount at the join of the windscreen, roof and door, only when stationary in a thunderstorm. Adjusting the side window, the roof tension and the door position stopped it, which he called a bit of a black art. See Adjusting the windows.
- One Turbo owner said his hard top had not leaked at all. A shower-cap style cover over the soft top at night in winter was another suggestion.
Fitting tips from owners (2005)
These are in addition to the workshop procedure. Several owners said it is easy and takes 5 to 15 minutes, while one aftermarket-top owner found it hard:
- With an original top: one owner removes the cosmetic covers, lifts the top over his head, sits in the passenger seat, then lowers the roof onto the seals so it rests on its own weight. He gets out and checks no seal is bent over or pushed out, tightens the front and rear bolts only until they start to pull the roof down, then tightens them in equal amounts so it comes down level. The front bolts are a male and female connection that need the roof lifted a couple of millimetres to engage, so do the front first.
- Seals: a supplier of an aftermarket top said a little washing-up liquid on the windscreen seal lets the rubbers slide over each other so the top drops into place.
- A drop into the cabin: one owner dropped an aftermarket top through the black plastic sill while fitting it alone, which put a hole in it. A poster said such plastic sills cost about £70 each at the time. Take your time, or use a second pair of hands.
- The front panel is a cover, not a fixing, said one owner, who advised always removing it when fitting or removing the roof. The first owner's aftermarket design had a different front fixing, so don't assume the instructions for the original apply to yours.
Is a hard top worth having?
From a 2004 thread. Owners were split, and mostly used it as a winter roof:
- For: quieter on the motorway, warmer, safer to park, and the car feels like a coupe. One owner said the car handles a little better with it on. One wore it from about December to mid-February, another from late October to March.
- Against: you lose the ability to whip the roof off on a sunny winter day, it takes about 5 minutes to remove (or 3 minutes with practice), it doesn't fit in the boot, and one owner said you will get teased at a track day with it on. An owner who didn't use it much decided to spend the money on go-faster parts.
- An owner with a slashed soft top fitted the hard top on Friday and Saturday nights as protection.
Help wanted
We don't have a current supplier for hard top seals or the covers, a photo of an aftermarket top's fixings, or the part numbers for the Turbo and Elise S2 seals. If you have replaced them recently, please tell us where you got them.