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Little bit of an update from me - I went to view the Black 400 at Williams Motor Group on Weds and ended up driving home in it Considering the high-ish mileage it all seems in very good condition, interior is absolutely immaculate bar some scuffs to the kick plates, outside also appears in very good condition apart from a few blemishes where the PPF has been stonechipped.. The only fault I've found so far is the glovebox string is broken/disconnected, which doesn't appear too hard to fix!

Thanks for all the views. I'm having a look at it next week (If not sold before then) and will see if I feel sufficiently moved to buy it😉

My Dad passed away in his sleep last night peacefully. God rest his soul.

Finally received my Lotus certificate of provenance and my GT410 Sport is 1 / 1 in Metallic Vivid Green.

I disagree. Curbed wheels and a few dings don't mean a car is not properly maintained. Some folk treat cars as fun first, details second, with the emphasis on driving. That doesn't mean they don't service it correctly, warm it up from cold and have mechanical sympathy. Justin

She lives! We had the engine and gearbox in a couple of weeks ago, and then other stuff came up. This week we set out to finish things, and tonight was the big night. She didn't fire without some drama though! First we started hearing strange and very disturbing sounds from the bellhousing. Turned out one of the starter bolts had stripped the threads in the bellhousing, allowing the starter to shift just a bit and that cause the gears to grind. Phew, easily fixed and most importantly, nothing internal in the engine! To actually get her to fire I needed to tweak the ignition timing a couple of times, and then she sprung to live! Idle is way too high, but I know I still need to fit new seals between the carbs and the head (lost in the post it seems). She does sound healthy and eager, and at revs the engine sits perfectly stable. First the seals, then trying to fine tune everything. And finish up a lot of bits and bobs, like refitting the bonnet. Nice way to end the year. And a huge thanks to my pal Wouter!

Magma 😍 (via Twitter @lotuscarsmena)

Thank you all so much guys. After reading all your advice I plan to do the following: I'll set the C-TEK to re-condition the battery today. At the weekend I will disconnect the charger and measure the voltage across the terminals of the battery. If it is lower than, say, 12.3v I will replace the battery. If the battery is OK, I will check the tension of the alternator drive belt. If it's loose I will try to tighten it. I will run the engine and measure the voltage across the battery terminals. If it's outside the range of 12.5-14.7v then I will look at getting the alternator repaired or replaced. Either way, I will report back with my findings.

If you've no idea how old the battery is, for the sake of £60-70 I'd replace it so you've a known good start point with it. They don't last forever, even on a CTek or similar.

@GreenGoddess As per my earlier post - no need for a bulk buy, includes glue, instructions and they're UK supplied https://tyrewallstickers.com/collections/good-year/products/vintage-goodyear-decals

Thought I'd start this early as @Kimbers always asks for suggestions, ignores them all, and ends up going to Cyprus Where are people thinking about going in 2023? For us, we had an epic Mexico road-trip (Acapulco to Cancun) in 2022 - highly recommended if anyone is looking for something out of the ordinary, and easily doable with booking.com and Hertz (or similar). My 60th is in 2023 so I want to do something a bit different in Africa. We went for a one week break over Christmas 2019 to Uganda to see if the kids liked it (they can have Ugandan passports if they want). They really enjoyed it (phew), especially the 2 nights we spent in the National Parks (yes Kimbers - on "safari"). I'm now in the middle of planning a road trip across Zambia. Lusaka (play some hockey), Livingstone (Vic Falls), Kafue (safari), South Luangwa (safari).

My Lotus Evora GT410 Sport journey has started today when visiting my GT410 Sport in Essex Blue today at the detailer, ready for its full clean, ceramic coating and maybe some Xpel PPF over the carbon areas! This will be my first Lotus and I am really looking forward to getting to know the car. Hopefully I have picked a good one after cancelling my Emira order. I couldn't find a 'GT410 Sport Club' thread, so thought I would start one. I know there are some other GT410 Sport owners on the forum and would be interesting reading about your car, any modifications or issues you may have or may come across in the future. Thanks, Phil

Probably a Lotus....but what was your favourite driving moment in 2022 and in which car? I borrowed a few interesting motors during the year but they all ended up reaffirming my preference for Lotus. My favourite is usually the last one I drove. So today, Excel. Justin

Better not post mine

The barn find Elan +2 we had running so smoothly in no time. 😎 Very close second my Excel, she did great on our roadtrip through the Peak District. Not really had the occasion to experience many other special cars. I was offered a go in a Fiat 595 and an Audi E-Tron but declined as neither gets my blood flowing. I'm sure I'll get to drive my mate's new GLE hybrid (when that's back from it's maiden voyage straight from the showroom to Sweden), but I don't expect to like it or be impressed. I am very much looking forward to driving my Esprit and project Range Rover again in 2023! Not to mention my own Elan +2 that we fired up last night after an engine rebuild.

An exclusive club but one that we have to join at some stage in life rather than through choice. Have a good vacation.

Wordle 559 3/6 🟨⬛⬛🟩⬛ ⬛🟩⬛🟩🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 I guessed this 5-letter word in 4/6 tries. ⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛ ⬛🟩⬛⬛⬛ ⬛🟩⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Can you guess this word? https://wordlegame.org/uk?challenge=YmFnZ3k Daily Quordle 340 3️⃣5️⃣ 6️⃣7️⃣ quordle.com ⬜⬜⬜🟨🟩 ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ 🟨⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟨⬜🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜ ⬜⬜🟨⬜🟩 ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

If my calculations are correct and if all goes well, I should be able to manufacture and supply sets of these Good Year white tyre letters for around £40. That price will include the following: 5 sets of 25mm GOOD YEAR letters (enough for 4 tyres plus a spare set to replace missing letters) Glue Template UK postage (International tracked postage will be £8 extra) It will be a couple of weeks before I know if I can make this happen. I will report back.

Sorry to hear that Bill, my thoughts to you and your family.

Looks like we will follow the US.... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64130655 It is understood the UK will demand a negative test before travellers can board a flight from mainland China - bringing Britain into line with the approach taken by the US.

Since you have working ignition, it would be worth leaving the ignition for 10-15 minutes, as sometimes the comms will recover. Also a couple of ignition cycles during this process can help - always leave it 5-10 seconds for main relay to power down, before putting it back on. Seen and done this many times after reprogramming ECUs. If not, then the ECU recovery procedure, or reflashing should work. You'd be fine to stick it in neutral (you should be able to do this with ignition on, foot on brake) and winch it to a trailer with driven wheels on the ground - the manual really means towing it. Pushed plenty of them around in neutral without any issues. Dave

My esprit!

Thanks Bibs, as helpful as ever 👍

Just to be different - this Renault. Drove across Mexico in it from Acapulco to Cancun.

It's worth doing some basic load testing of the battery too after charging, i.e. turn on your headlights for a few minutes and see whether the voltage holds. It might hold steady after a charge with no load, but as soon as any load is applied, it plummets.

To be fair, I only have one Lotus, unlike most!

One? Showoff.

Good idea. That's what I did with my Evora No affiliation, but try TAYNA batteries. Excellent, next day service, competitively priced and very good to deal with if there are any problems. Customer focussed, and you can't say that about many companies these days. https://www.tayna.co.uk/car-batteries/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAtbqdBhDvARIsAGYnXBOWzSkrKWs2WLQ9DXtmOpcbttnHrQF4scUQz4HK1p2r6L8hA5p4AD0aAmd2EALw_wcB

Then tea would have been a decent drive!

For me it's always the drive home in a Lotus with a new MOT 😉 And the drive I dread most is taking it to the MOT station. I have a direct link to the Bank of Craig Moncrieff in Barbados 🤔

I can only imagine the thought processes of some in regards to women 😂

Their leg of lamb is always good value.

Not sure if the car is still available but I bought my Evora 400 from Fish Brothers last March (for a bit more than this on an older plate with higher mileage 🫣). From personal experience, I was happy with the whole process and them as a dealership. They aren’t skimpers as they had changed the rear tyres and supercharger belt before I commited and then followed up on some other bits a post-purchase. When I went to pick up the car it had been beautifully prepared and presented. I agree about the tyre and wheel issue. For me it doesn’t inspire confidence, but on the flip side you’re seeing the car warts and all. It could even be that this is a customer car that they are selling in which case it’s all up for negotiation with the tyres etc. The brake bells look rough due to the car probably standing but there should be no wear on these and the pads with 12k miles. If there is significant brake wear that’s a bad sign. There also appears to be surface oxidisation around the alloy parts in the engine bay which is a bit weird. This is from moisture either dripping off from the boot lid or elsewhere. Bottom line is that 12k miles is very low. It says it’s a 1 owner car. These are big plus points. It clearly has spent a lot of time standing. I would say go and look at it, have a good test drive and carefully inspect the body and the service paperwork but ask in advance about what appears to be a gap between Oct 17 and March 2021. That for me would be the biggest issue - an owner who potentially missed services on a £90k car. You could also I guess then arrange an inspection or take a critical friend with you.

Tyres are Michelin PSS so discontinued. Possibly the original tyres from new? So the seller would need to replace at least two. Brake discs - replacement would be too expensive for them given they have the ally bells. I’d expect them to either dust them over in silver or discount the car. I’d be more interested in how lipped they are, it isn’t difficult to remove them and refurb them yourself. There’s a sub £50k deal to be had there for someone as it has been available for a good while as others have said. Not helped by those photos showing minor things that could/should/can be easily sorted. Stunning colour - Ice Blue? Can’t have been many of those made.

I think it’s a price point thing too - you’re not going to find many S1 Evoras sub £30k which are ‘bang on’ in every department, but for £50k++ and esp. with low mileage like this it’s a no brainer to prep the car properly. But perhaps we’re being unkind and the photos got taken before the wheels went off for refurb/new tyre? 🤔 Surface rust on the discs is to be expected at this time of year, but the state of the carriers suggest the car has spent a fair amount of time outside in its life! Also… maybe the dealer is figuring that if you want a 400 in this colour then all this can be sorted in the negotiation and niggly replaceable/fixable stuff isn’t going to put you off? Good luck finding another, and all that…

Will love the technology but will hate being hailed as a cab. 😂 Best not pick black if you live in London or Yellow if in NewYork. 🤣

Wordle 559 3/6 ⬜🟨⬜🟩🟨 ⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 I guessed this 5-letter word in 5/6 tries. ⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛ ⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛ 🟨⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩⬛🟨🟩⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Can you guess this word? https://wordlegame.org/uk?challenge=ZmVuY2U Daily Quordle 340 8️⃣9️⃣ 3️⃣7️⃣ quordle.com

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Clearly people have different levels of expectation...! If its not bang on I'm not happy...I can live with a bit of dirt or surface rust on a substantial part but anything rotten, damaged, faulty or unsightly has to be replaced... Each to there own but looking at the wheels, tyres, discs on that car I'd want more...If you don't care about the condition of simple to replace parts then you probably don't care about the rest of it, ( ie all suspension components, rack, brakes, clutch, gear linkage, switches, relays, etc etc ). Perhaps it's a beauty but if a seller can't be arsed to prep a poorly maintained car then they shouldn't expect to sell it.. If its a poverty spec run about I get it but not a performance car..

Wordle 558 3/6 🟨🟨⬛🟨⬛ ⬛🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 I guessed this 5-letter word in 3/6 tries. ⬛🟨🟨🟨⬛ 🟨🟩🟩🟨🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Can you guess this word? https://wordlegame.org/uk?challenge=dHJhY2U Daily Quordle 339 3️⃣4️⃣ 5️⃣7️⃣ quordle.com ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨 🟩⬜🟨🟩⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨🟩 🟩⬜🟩⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟨⬜🟨⬜🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Voodoo blue for me. Well known ex lotus car

* * * * * 2021 Evora GT 410 Sport.............dark metallic grey.........

I was able to clean the car this morning so for no other reason than it still looks great, here are a few gratuitous pics!

Hi Phil, picked up your message. Here is mine, picked up from Silverstone at the beginning of November. Have not stopped grinning since. Just hope the weather improves so I can get out more.

...and we are finished. Can't wait to get it back this week and have some fun. Shame about the weather!! 😅

Here is mine brought new 2020 only fault engine management came on, dealer cleared it under warranty said it was a problem with the gearbox oil cooler that needed freeing off.

And here’s mine in Estoril Blue (BMW colour) with tan interior. Only departure from standard are 400 dampers from the Touring spec and that I recently had fitted. It has Xpel covering on all the important little places and a ceramic finish from new. There was a problem with the aircon from new but that was soon fixed under warranty and been ok since.