dave excell

I have the Quaife unit supplied by GTO it also has an upgrade 1st and 2nd gears (higher ratios) and better grade steel. They also do the ATB diff as well. Can't see any difference between the two except if you are in the UK then no import duty. Also GTO will build the box for you. Ramspott & Brandt in Germany also supply the Quaife conversion. They should be off the shelf. R & B price is listed as 3900 euros not sure on the GTO price as I got mine some years ago

I cant remember if I had the engine out or not, even so its tight as I had to flex some part of the structure to get them out. The bottom return on the tank is just too deep (although this may vary tank to tank). New aftermarket alloy ones from Esprit Engineering have no return and drop straight in and out. If you replace steel with alloy then paint them first as alloy corrodes as well as mild steel. If I had the choice again I would go stainless.

Get your eye prescription and then buy the glasses on the internet. Way cheaper and equally as good. try goggles4u Glasses direct etc. look at 'monysavingexpert' to see the difference in cost. I can afford to have a couple of pairs spare just in case as well as prescription sunglasses all for a fraction of the cost

We will be travelling down to pick up a few spares plus the usual chat and look at the various cars.

Hi. I am just in the middle of rebuilding my Esprit V8 engine after the usual leaking liner problem appeared. its a 1999 GT unit from a fire damaged Esprit and looks as if its done less than 20K miles as there is no bore wear, hone marks are all still visible. I purchased a set of Carrillo forged pistons and on weighing them, 7 were exactly the same, with one being less than 0.1 of a gram lighter. The Mahle pistons in my Excel 2.2 were way out in comparison and took a fair time to balance. Again expecting the rods to be out in the V8 on weighing they were all within 0.1of a gram. Can't comment on the 2.2 rods as one was damaged and I had to match to the lightest. i had the crank and rods crack tested before assembly as well as the crank & flywheel balanced. The difference in smoothness on the 4 cylinder was remarkable but I have the feeling I wont notice much difference with the V8. good luck with the rebuild.

We stay in the Ibis, Le Mans centre, Private underground secure parking can be booked in advance. You can walk across the bridge to the 'old town where there are plenty of restaurants and convenient to the cathedral if you want to take in the history . If you don't want to drive to the circuit there are trams a short walk from the hotel. Prices of the hotel go up on the weekend of the classic as you would expect and get booked up well in advance of the event. There are better hotels around but its the parking and convenience to the town centre that we like. Club Lotus used to organise through 'Le Mob' and while its mainly camping there are rooms in several old Chateau available which we have used in the past.

Hi Leigh Sorry I didn't see you there, I was in the middle of the M100 lot. Hope all is well. No I haven't sold the esprit V8 just got Ann the Elan. I am planning another trip to the Historic Monaco in 2020. we have done the trip in the Excel, Esprit and m100 Elan so far. all the best Dave E

I will have to pass on that one as I dont know of anyone who has that mileage on an M100. As far as I have experience of is my first Excel did 150,000 before a rebuild. My first Ford Diesel done 250,000 before rust got it and Ann's Octavia Diesel is currently on 175,000 with no rust problems as yet. Unless yours has that mileage, if so we have another 130K to go. .

If you mean the M100 is not that fast please think again as a Mk 1 standard Esprit barely makes 120 mph and a M100 tops over 130 mph My Esprit V8 is remapped to 440hp and the M100 won't live with that, but it will go on without any reliability problems for well over 100,000 miles.

Hammer - Simple but an essential

Just to add to the above I ordered a windscreen 14+ months ago and all I got were excuses. I then took out a court action only to find the company wound up. Please dont respond to ebay ads unless you want to loose money.

We are staying at the Holiday inn, London Rd, Wrotham Heath, Sevenoaks TN15 7RS. We can drop by the Premier inn on Saturday and pick up anyone that wants transport to the Wellington. Just give me a ring on 07305 309300, we will have space for 2 or 3. We may also pop in for a quick pint before hand any way.

I have a couple of spare set virtually unused buoght from SJS if you don't mind second hand. I replaced my entire system with a Lotusbits system so have spares of almost everthing

We have been on several tours with 'Classic Car Tours International' and found the hotels and stops very good. The proprietor accompanies the tour and is vigilat that the slower classics don't get left behind or lost. The tour success is dependant on the friendliness of the rest of the group and we have had tours with new Bentleys, Audi R8, XJR, Ferraris etc. and all have been a great fun to be with. We (Ann) also do self organised tours by ourselves, and have found some great stops along the way with a couple of not so good ones. Always Lotus cars generate interest at your stops.

Saw Diana Rigg in the avengers and that was the first step. Nearly killed myself on a Honda CB77 motorbike, and while recovering in hospital saw the Prisoner and then it was irreversible. However many bikes and cars later had an Excel followed by the Esprit V8 and just had to get the wife a M100 Elan. I have no intention of reversing the trend.