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Hello everyone, After extensive research.. Looking for a census of owners and specialists who would be prepared in principle, to purchase Avon 205 60 VR14 tyres for their cars and clients. A mould has been found, I believe it may be that of Turbospeeds of the period and will be of the long time missed V speed rating. As we all know there is a very limited choice for this size and no options other than H rating. About time a period high quality tyre was offered to compliment the handling dynamics of our cars. Esprit, Eclat and Elite.... If interested please let me know. We need numbers to make this happen. Regards …

Hi All, I have new to me barn find Elite s1 (GEB193N). Tyres are extremely old. So I need 4 tyres just to get the Elite off of the ground to move it. Please can anyone recommend 205/60R14 tyres that will live through restoration and drive well once Elite is on the road Elite s1 tyres are hard to find and as Elite has original wheels keen to fit recommended tyres cheers Neil

Does anybody know the thickness of the spacers that sit under the clamps on a manual steering rack? SJ say no longer available, but they just seem to be a thick piece of steel with two holes in. I shall have to make them but need to know thickness. Thanks Roland

I understand that Lotus uses parts that are used on other makes of cars. On my 83 Excel, the rear ones although not leaking are looking and feeling a bit tired. They are coil overs. Any suggestions for replacements from other makes. Prefer not to import from Britain as frieght is horrendous from Britain to NZ at the moment

Never a dull moment with the Eclat! Driving home this afternoon and step on the brakes at a junction. Pedal gives me a bit of extra initial resistance at first. I push a little harder and hear a "poof" of air and the pedal drops to about halfway as the brake comes on a little more strongly quickly (that's a really bad explanation - what I mean is when the pedal drops with my foot pressure, the braking is not inline with pedal pressure. Then for the rest of the travel it feels normal again. Let the pedal out and do it again, same result. If I used very gentle pressure on the brake pedal pushing it down I could almost avoid the change in braking performance but could still …

Got a leak from the power steering rack on both sides potentially (disappointing only 2 years and 500 miles after a rebuild, but here we are). I see that SJ sell a power rack rebuild kit, but do you know if these kits can be fitted whilst the track is still on the car? I just remember from last time getting the track off was an absolute nightmare. I'm sorry getting some Lucas Stop Leak I'm the hope I might get lucky, but preparing for that not being the case.

Hi for you guys on 15" wheels Pirelli are making these again https://www.longstonetyres.co.uk/catalog/product/view/id/5998/s/215-50zr15-pirelli-p700-z/category/8819/ Great news foir those who want to keep the handling at its best, and lets be honest why else would you buy a Lotus.

Hi Whilst out having a drive I heard a bang from the back end. It turns out the long diff stud has snapped in two. My questions are how easy is it to replace? What else should I check or change? From what year did they change to the stepped stud? It looks like this one is not stepped but I won’t know for sure until no get it all out. Any advice is much appreciated

Hi all, does anyone happen to have any details on rear wheel bearings? I would like to try and source locally in South Africa if possible as I need to get this job done quickly. Car has serious oscillations in the rear at 70 km/h. Thanks in advance!

Bit of a puzzle here. I was out driving my 521 Eclat earlier and the rear felt strange going through corners, almost as if it was steering itself, and not in a good way! When I got back to the garage, I checked front toe and it was toe in 1degree. all good there. Checked the rear and it was 3 degrees Toe Out, 1 degree on nearside and 2 degrees on offside. No inner washers on the rear radius arm mounts so I have no adjustment left. Nothing seems loose or bent on the rear suspension No idea what to do next! Anyone experienced this before?

To summarize: I think one of my rear brake shoes is somehow locking the drum after a short drive. I’m not sure if that’s true, or how to fix it. Here’s the story: My last real drive was about 100 miles - no problems. after that drive, I drove to my storage shed & left it there for a couple weeks. Came back to drive around the block, which I did successfully (2-3 miles), but after I parked the car for about 10 minutes while I rearranged the shed, I reversed a few feet, then when I tried to go forward, I only made it about a foot before the car stopped and wouldn’t move any further - like something was stuck. I tried reverse again… several f…

Background: Not too long ago, I had no rear brakes on account of a very leak differential. Since fixing the diff, I've been running into rear brake problems (which were probably always there, but I never noticed until the brakes actually started doing something). Previously, I'd found that one of my wheel cylinders was sticking, so I replaced both wheel cylinders. I completed that job in September, then drove about 100 miles without issue. I then put the car in storage until last weekend. The first couple stops out of storage went fine, but then I started noticing the rear brake sticking again. By the time I got home, it was a real problem - the left-rear woul…

For all those wondering, yes, Brake Servo 83-91 Type 50 227mm (Britpart) STC2878 does work, with a little effort. The end result is brilliant, servo works a treat. Getting the old servo out was the biggest problem. Rusty studs meant the first stud took an hour to get it part way undone, but the nylocks just got harder the further I undid the nut. Gave up and tried another, and it came off eventually, but very awkward and tight. So after 3 done, returned to first one, and it eventually snapped, so job done. removing the servo is tight at best, and another thread on here suggested putting plastic between servo and body...good advice, as it was a big …

Hi According to my workshop manual the fluid amount should be at 1.14 litres,but with the back of the car jacked up with the rear wheels 6 inches off the ground its only possible to get around 900 ml of ep90 into the dif before the fluid starts running out of the filler plug hole. Any suggestions or do i just need to jack it up higher?? Thanks Angus

My first post here, as I struggle restoring my 1976 Elite. I already know of some of you from the Lotus Grand Tourers group. I need to drop the diff for brake work, and I remember from many years ago it was very hard getting it back; seems it needs 2 hands to work 2 jacks, 2 hands to keep it steady, one more to align it and another to start fastening it in place. As I'm now much older and not so strong, it will be a problem and no way can I remove the wheel cylinders with the diff in place, even having cut holes in the body for access. First question; if I slackened the front diff mounting nuts right off but left the nuts on, would it be possible to drop the rea…

The putting together of the rear end of the Eclat is going slowly but surely, but I've come across a bit of a sticking point, quite literally. Got new brake shoes as one of mine was getting to the limit and the other was right at the limit. Everything was apart so I thought I may as well. Pistons all retracted and adjusters as far into the wheel cylinder as possible and on go the shoes. And then the drums, Except the drums are a tough fit over the shoes, especially on the passenger side. Both went on in the end but not without a lot of persuasion. Right now only the driver's side is back together but there's a LOT of drag in the brakes (i.e. with the wheel on it's not eas…

These bearings are now very expensive - about 4 times the average cost of a wheel bearing. How many miles will the average rear wheel bearing do before getting noisy? They seem to have a reputation for being a weak bearing but I'm not so sure. There's very little grease in these bearings even when new and I'm sure if they could be regularly lubricated their life would be extended considerably. I've been looking at how to achieve this and I think it could be done. If a hole was drilled in the middle of the outer race and that hole was lined up with a similar hole in the hub carrier when the bearing was inserted that would enable grease to be pumped into the centr…

Whilst trying to diagnose my rear brake/wheel bearing issue, I noticed that the car is running about 2.5cm lower on the passenger side than the driver's (measuring the height of both front and rear bumpers); with the driver in that drops to just under 2cm but that's still quite a difference. I'll try to do some troubleshooting this weekend but wanted to check with you guys in case I miss anything obvious. On my to-do list I have... Check tyre pressure. Almost positive that there can't be almost 2cm of difference but it's the lowest of low hanging fruit loosen up suspension bolts on driver's side and tighten again when at ride height (had passenger rear …

I have a lot of noise coming from the back ‘axle’ so I’m going to replace the UJ’s after seeing how old they look and not being able to get any new grease in them thro’ the nipple. The bearings don’t seem to have any wear on them but I wonder if the grease has dried out causing the noise. I’ve been told the bearing races can be separated; can anyone please explain how this is done. I’ll inspect and if okay repack with new grease. Any advice gratefully received. TIA, G

After the Covid lay up, my Eclat front brakes were rusted up so the callipers came off for a rebuild, I thought that I would change the fluid while I was at it. The front brakes went well and I am getting a solid pedal, the rears are a different matter, I got the central bleed nipple off after a struggle and on pressing the pedal,only the slightest drop of fluid comes out and the pedal pressure remains firm. I wonder if the problem is with the balance valve or must I get the bleed pipe off and clean things out. If this is the case I am dreading taking the diff out to get access as I will have to work without a ramp and am tempted to go for the hole in the floor …

Hi rear drum in binding on rear brakes handbrake cable seems to release therefore I need to get the drum off my elite 503. Looked in forums and manual but bit confused as to minimum bolts to undo to take off brake drum . Jacked up car removed rear wheel and removed 4 bolts holding drive shaft to drum . If possible can someone simply list steps of what to do next , ie what bolts to undo and in what order and what needs jacking up .! Looks like I need to remove totally the whole shaft where I had thought it could be slid out the way and this would involve even disconnecting the suspension spring ??

Hello, I'm refurbishing my Excel brake master cylinder. I have managed to get it apart but in doing so had to drill out the stop pin in the second fill port. What is it for? Thanks Brian

I have a 1978 Elite S1 and I need to replace the rear shock absorbers soon - now in fact. Does anyone have a definitive recommendation for their replacement on a like for like, direct replacement fit basis? All the usual suspects like PNM, SJ and LotusBits appear to have different offerings and without direct experience of any of them, I can't decide which way to go. Any help is welcome - the only caveat being I only want a direct like for like replacement that I can bolt in and drive - I don't want to alter anything on my set up. Many thanks Simon

Afternoon all, I'm desperately looking for the following specs Ride height front and rear Camber and toe specs front and rear 1977 Eclat 520

Hi, have looked through the forum but couldn’t see details on the thread size of the 2 jacking points? under the fron t cross member and the same at the rear just behind the diff. Are these points suitable for fitting jacking pads to?