GerardJPC

The car has not sold yet, and I am tempted to keep it, as I like it very much, but I would have to lay it up in storage, as I am going away for a bit (this means either that I have finally been caught for all those murders I did, or that I've got a gig somewhere that is n ot old Lotus friendly).

This car is now for sale. https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C948964

My Eclat has a wimpy 1980s aftermarket sunroof. I'd much rather have a Riviera roof.

It is a wonder that neither Lotus nor TVR sued Winterbottom (or each other) - he sold the same car twice!

Mech update:-Good bit of progress today on Lotus, the new ign. switch is 100% better and positive key position restored. Top fusebox replaced & new terminals fitted to all necessary wires on new ign switch & fusebox. Absolute pig of a job! Wiper arm parks now correctly. Traced burnt fusebox to previous wiper motor failure as someone left a trace of repairs to prevent repeat. Have restored wiring to original as much as possible. Shame they left dodgy fusebox in though! It was causing an intermittent feed to about 5 circuits.I cut down the wiper mech cable and sheathed remainder in heatshrink tube, now no electrical hazard and wiper quiet & smooth. Still need to sort washer part of wiper switch next visit.Switch fibre optics still needs further mods today with LED looking good so far.Fusebox also likely the cause of other gremlins, work to continue on Thurs. to fit new lower fusebox. All in all it’s just years of quick fixes that gave caused tge problems, but it’s been a pleasure to work on. Much better quality than old and even 90’s TVRs & some nice design work has gone into this car.

Esprits are now 30K plus and so market attention turns to other Lotus wedge poppy uppy lampy cars with 900 series engines. The best Excel may now be worth 10K, and maybe very good Eclats and Elites are getting there. These cars were giveaways only a few years ago. I am not sure but I think that all Excels show as Eclats, allegedly because Lotus was too stingy to pay for a new type approval! I cannot recall what my 1990 Excel had on its V5. My 1984 Excel was an Eclat on its V5.

This car has been thoroughly bodged over the years but my mechanic Mark is a very fine de-bodger. The engine now runs much better as the fuel system no longer gets clogged with rust from the fuel tank. The lights are working properly. The car is not quite as planted on the road as the one Elite and two Excels that I have driven, so I may need to check the suspension.

Electrical mayhem - Mechanic says - For Lotus I found the following issues today in dashboard area:* Wiper motor worm wire cable has been fitted without shortening (i.e.is from a car which had 2 wiper mech's). Therefore the excess cableis moving back & forth at the top of the inside of dash, rubbingaway the fibreglass, and also is a big fiore hazard as is rubbingaway on a main wiring loom! Need to shorten this cable, and hopingit will reduce the friction & speed up the motor a bit. May also becausing it to jam occasionally.* Wiper module is fitted to this model, it doesn't match the Excelmanual (which shows a more basic non-module system), so I need tocheck this further. Although wipers do work most of the time, theyfail to park correctly even though a new park switch is now in place.* Wiper stalk fails to wash screen as you know. Hopefully can restorestalk to full working condition.* Ignition switch is almost worn out. It fails to hold in position II(as already mentioned). May be time for a new switch? Need to findwhat was fitted to these, looks like other Lotus models used the GT6as a donor.* Both engine bay fuseboxes have had overheating issues. The terminalsare riveted but said overheating has caused the terminals to workloose. 2 New ones on order. had to replace 2 wire connectors on theback of these today which has stopped two intermittent open circuits.* Ordered a new fibre optic sender as Rimmers doing a great deal onthese. Old one had flaked silver reflective paint. Will mod usingbright LED bulb instead as already mentioned.* Interior lamp inop with door open - appears to be faulty switches -power is getting to them. Will try to source* Heater flaps inop for console vents. Can see system relies on vacuumtubes - will trace source of fault next visit.* Radio wiring pretty terrible, can rewire & make good unless you haveanother in mind.* Cooling fans in engine bay cut in and at same time there's a relayclicking a few times in pedal area. Need to check this as might bereason for fan fail light problem.* Heater fan now ok - was one of the feed wires on the back of dodgyfusebox.* Heater speed switch is incorrect - hence no way to fit heater knobs.SJ sportscars got back to me but have no stock....searching foralternative supply.* Foglamp switch bulb replaced, now illuminates when on

Chapman would have sold the air for the tyres if he could! Special Hethel air, of course.

Yes, you do have to do that . It winds up well on motorways and will thrum along at very illegal speeds, but it won't win traffic light GPs.

The Series One Solihull cars rusted, the Series Two Cowley cars were better made and better painted. Mine has a small area of rust at one door corner but is otherwise pretty good. The colour is called Moonraker Blue.

Yes it is. It's a 1982 2600SE manual, and a reliable daily. I may be selling it. Lights up or lights down?

Frosty today -

I dunno, but I think that the wheels suit the car, as does the colour, and you could have a good weekend with that caravan. Here's mine getting some attention from the hard working Romanian car wash dudes up the road -

Thanks, I shall. SJ are v good.