Lotus Esprit S4 (1994)

After suffering from corroded HT leads I had those replaced. I have also purchased two new dampers for the rear - which are yet to be fitted to the car. The pads on the front were a little low and so I contacted PNM - who asked if the car was to be used on the track (it isn't). He advised on getting the standard road pads, which were less than £18. The car appears to brake - dare I say it better than on the greenstuff pads that were on there before.

The car passed its MOT after some replacement ball-joints on the front and thankfully the intervention of Trev from the forum with a second hand CAT.With the advisory that the front tyres needed replacing - which I have duly done. Goodyear F1's all round - which came with an offer of £20 fuel from Goodyear.

I am now starting to "detail" the car. Repairing stone chips and the like. Also, having the front area resprayed after a bird strike last week that knocked the headlamp pod backwards. Thankfully GST repaired it - but it has gouged the sidewall of where the headlamp pod sits. This is going to be repaired at the same time the bumper is.

So it has had the repairs and the front bumper resprayed. Finally starting to look as I would like. I have also repaired the drivers side fuel flap which had never functioned properly. I purchased some new struts for the rear boot - so now the back lifts as you would expect. I have spent some time getting the preliminary direct off the engine, but know it will need another going over soon. I am sending the car to GST to have its cam belt and oil changed soon. The only remaining problem is the air-con not working. I am looking at that job with complete trepidation, as I know it can get pretty costly.

When I bought the car Gerald at GST had spotted that one of the shocks was seeping a bit. Took it in and whilst I waited had them replaced. With the exception of the CAT (it doesn't have one) we should be MOT ready!

I had a fantastic spray job on my misdemeanour a couple of weeks ago. I am still yet to see the blow in join - really well done to the guys who di the work. It will teach me to never back my car into my house again!

The smoke coming from the deposits on the manifold have been getting more noticeable to me - and probably to anyone who was near to the car - so I stopped by GST - who very kindly replaced several of the O rings that had hardened and had started to seep oil. Now - no smoke! Another job crossed off the list.

So yesterday I picked up the car from GST. The wiper is as quiet and perfectly lined up as I could have hoped for. Simple things!!

Gerald told me that there was still an issue with the parking - not on intermittent - but coming from normal speeds to stop. He wasn't too sure what it was - but thought it could either be wiring or the stalk itself - as the parking on intermittent was spot on.... strange!

When I have time - I will buy another stalk and install it - to make sure it isn't that. Having said that - the assurance that the wiper won't break again is a great consolation.

I reversed my S4 into the corner of my bungalow 2 days ago. I wanted to wash it. We have a gravel area to park the cars on and a concreted area whcih was the original drive. I decided to move the S4 onto the concreted area reversed up and parked up. What I didn't realise was that I had rolled backwards and hit the wall.

It has taken a 50p sized layer of paint off the corner.

So I thought I'd take it to the local Chips Away in Cambridge. They decided I should be royally charged by offering a respray of the affected area for £300 (plus VAT!) I found that a little to hot to handle and decided not to book it in and find the guy who painted my M100 hard-top some years ago.

On switching on the windscreen wipers I found the arm progressively dropping down the screen, it eventually got caught on the lower part of the screen and stopped. I turned off the motor so as not to cause any further issues.

I decided to pop in to see Gerald at GST - who had already warned me that the wiper had been repaired by a previous owner and that it was on borrowed time. He had also warned me that the part I needed (as the splines and tapering of the spline had been pretty much worn away) was discontinued - and therefore would probably require finding a second hand one. For the first time in the day - lady luck showed her welcome face. I called Paul Matty's and fortuitously - they had one left. I bought it the next day.

I also found a wiper arm on the Lotus Forums for sale for £47 which I also bought - as I suspected the final moments of the wipers life would have wrecked what little bite there was on the arm.

The car is currently with GST - and they are foraging around behind the dash with the nimble Dammo from GST set to work getting the linkage and motor out.

They have also found that either the parking switch or control unit may also have a fault as the wiper parks OK on intermittent, but not after bring the wiper system off wash-wipe or normal wipe.

With winter coming up - and some longer journeys planned - I could not face being stranded without a wiper. Looks like - with the help of GST and good fortune - I'll have a new wiper system ready for winter!!