1984 Lotus Excel
Discussion
I bought this from a dude near Stafford the other day. This is only the 160 BHP version, not the 180 BHP one, but it is still mucho quicko (Lotus 912 engine with two Dellorto 45s, Toyota five speed gearbox). The exterior is quite excellent - almost unmarked and shinaaaaaay. The interior is a bit shabby around the edges (worse than it looks in the photo below). There are decent tyres all round, two brand new. The wheels are the Toyota Supra ones. The car runs well and sounds good, and handles like, well .... like a Lotus. It has a 1990s electric immobiliser of the usual weird design and an uber rubbish 1980s cassette player. The lights pop up OK (one after another, in correct Excel styleee) and the other electric bits are working (the passenger side window only works if you swear at it).
I could have got another 1984 red one (with the lovely Eclat style wheels) for a bit more wong from a dealer up the road from me, but for some reason I liked this one better. I considered going to Belfast to buy the green SE Celebration that has been on sale there for ages, but... it's been on sale for ages, which can be a worrying sign.
I shall get the oil changed and the radiator flushed, do the cambelt, refit the rubbing strips that are missing from the rear flanks, and maybe splurge a few quid on new carpets. Anyway, me likee!
PS: Some of the photos below are from the sale ad. I haven't got round to taking many of my own pics yet.
I could have got another 1984 red one (with the lovely Eclat style wheels) for a bit more wong from a dealer up the road from me, but for some reason I liked this one better. I considered going to Belfast to buy the green SE Celebration that has been on sale there for ages, but... it's been on sale for ages, which can be a worrying sign.
I shall get the oil changed and the radiator flushed, do the cambelt, refit the rubbing strips that are missing from the rear flanks, and maybe splurge a few quid on new carpets. Anyway, me likee!
PS: Some of the photos below are from the sale ad. I haven't got round to taking many of my own pics yet.
Fuel fires can occur because of a dodgy linkage at the carbs, IIRC. I think there may be a mod to help avoid this.
Talking of cars on fire, I saw a Panamera burned out on the A14 a couple of weeks ago, although whether this was the consequence of a mishap or sme TWOCers I do not know.
Talking of cars on fire, I saw a Panamera burned out on the A14 a couple of weeks ago, although whether this was the consequence of a mishap or sme TWOCers I do not know.
In the early 1980s, Lotus had a link up with Toyota, which bought some Lotus shares. Lotus gave Toyota some handling advice for its sporty cars (Lotus have often had a sideline in selling suspension and chassis expertise to other companies). Toyota supplied Lotus with gearboxes and driveline components and other bits. The Supra wheels were an option, AFAIK. You could also have the same wheels that the Eclat had, which are prettier, but the Supra wheels still look OK. Some say that the Excel is a Supra in drag, but this is not really true, as it has a Lotus chassis, engine, and bodyshell, with various Toyota components such as gearbox and brakes. It is arguably one of the best cars that Lotus have ever made, at least in terms of every day usability, even if it is not the fastest or the most grippy Lotus ever (not that any Lotus is slow or ungrippy).
Plans: A general engine service plus cambelt, and tart up the interior a bit, as it is tired. Probably leave the engine standard. Get some bangin' choonze (AKA a better stereo to listen to Radio Three). This car actually feels quicker than the 180 BHP Excel that I had a few years ago, but that one had a high mileage engine. Maybe this one just feels quicker because it is red.
This is to be one of a three classic car squadron that will be collectively used as daily transport (unless all broken down simultaneously!). This might even be the one that stays out most in the winter, as apart from rust in the door beams, corrosion is not a huge issue for these jalopes. The other two components of the squadron are a Dolomite Sprint, that has its own thread, and a mystery car that may be unveiled in a week or so (nothing very exotic, but another 70s/80s Britheap).
Plans: A general engine service plus cambelt, and tart up the interior a bit, as it is tired. Probably leave the engine standard. Get some bangin' choonze (AKA a better stereo to listen to Radio Three). This car actually feels quicker than the 180 BHP Excel that I had a few years ago, but that one had a high mileage engine. Maybe this one just feels quicker because it is red.
This is to be one of a three classic car squadron that will be collectively used as daily transport (unless all broken down simultaneously!). This might even be the one that stays out most in the winter, as apart from rust in the door beams, corrosion is not a huge issue for these jalopes. The other two components of the squadron are a Dolomite Sprint, that has its own thread, and a mystery car that may be unveiled in a week or so (nothing very exotic, but another 70s/80s Britheap).
Edited by anonymous-user on Sunday 5th July 19:19
Cheers! Here is the car practising for being covered in foam by the fire brigade when it goes WOOMF on the motorway. Actually, it's at the local Romanian car wash. They are short staffed at present. The bloke in charge says that he may have to hire some Greek dudes as his fellow Romanians are now too posh to wash cars (oof, bit of current affairs controversy, think I got away with it).
Note amazing details like the red lights on the doors actually working. Note also the slightly shonky and not entirely well matched interior trim, as original.
Temp needle still a bit high, so car in local garage tomorrow being prodded by blokes with spanners.
Note amazing details like the red lights on the doors actually working. Note also the slightly shonky and not entirely well matched interior trim, as original.
Temp needle still a bit high, so car in local garage tomorrow being prodded by blokes with spanners.
It is ace to drive. Quick, nimble, grippy, rorty. Eightiestastic with some residual seventiestabulousness. I also prefer the other wheels, which I had on my Eclat, but the Supra ones have a certain muscular butchness about them.
SD1? On the advice of Counsel, I assert my Constitutional privilege.
SD1? On the advice of Counsel, I assert my Constitutional privilege.
Nothing can fill a Fabboceptor sized hole except the Fabboceptor, but I don't know where it has gone. My neighbour wants 30K for his Mark III, and it is a very good one, but I ain't got a spare 30K.
I have hankered after an XJS, but the good ones are now too spenner, and also I would like a six instead of a twelve, and they are v hard to find.
Morris Ital, naaaaar (though I once almost bought a blue boggo Marina in honour of my late and very beloved uncle, who had several of those back in the day). Montego Countryman? Er...., no.
I have hankered after an XJS, but the good ones are now too spenner, and also I would like a six instead of a twelve, and they are v hard to find.
Morris Ital, naaaaar (though I once almost bought a blue boggo Marina in honour of my late and very beloved uncle, who had several of those back in the day). Montego Countryman? Er...., no.
I was VERY disappointed that it took the Lotus well over a week to misbehave. Standards are slipping! The two electric fans have stopped turning. I noticed this before the car boiled (I was in heavy traffic on the Westway), and stashed the car in an underground NCP just by Marylebone. One 10 Amp fuse had blown, and I didn't have a spare, so there ensued a comedy cab ride all over NW London looking for a garage or motor factors that sells fuses. No petrol stations do nowadays, it seems. Eventually I got one from a Audi dealership, plus some jokes about crap old cars. The fuse popped as soon as I put it in and tried the fan (which has a manual override switch). Fan Fail light on dash came on. I tried a 30 Amp just to see where the tripping point might be, but still no fan (or radio -seems to be on the same fuse), although that fuse has remained intact.
As the traffic was very heavy I decided not to risk driving fanless to the M40 and left the car overnight. Now pondering either driving it home at 3AM in cool and quiet, or getting the AA to come over and have a shuftie. Will do the latter probably, but am stuck at work at present.
As the traffic was very heavy I decided not to risk driving fanless to the M40 and left the car overnight. Now pondering either driving it home at 3AM in cool and quiet, or getting the AA to come over and have a shuftie. Will do the latter probably, but am stuck at work at present.
Many AA and RAC men love old cars, and some of them served their apprentice time in the 70s and 80s working on such cars when they were new. Some of the patrols just want to put you on a truck, but if you get the right guy he will make a big effort to fix the car, and be happy that it is not a computer with wheels.
Plan now PLANNED.
I will be up mega early tomorrow, and will take the car in the cool and quiet of the morning, stopping on the way if need be, and going via Regent's Park to the two Johns in Highbury, who are mega diamond geezers and looked after my cars when I lived in that London. Old school mechanics in a big shed full of tat. Their only failing is that they forget to charge for their work.
I will be up mega early tomorrow, and will take the car in the cool and quiet of the morning, stopping on the way if need be, and going via Regent's Park to the two Johns in Highbury, who are mega diamond geezers and looked after my cars when I lived in that London. Old school mechanics in a big shed full of tat. Their only failing is that they forget to charge for their work.
A plague on golf and its sticks! A good walk spoiled, as Mr Twain said. The boot is useful for transporting dead hookers, but only small ones. Getting into the rear seats requires a bit of technique, but then you sit quite comfortably with your knees up, so long as you are not very tall. The people in the front can move the seat forward a bit, and then you can go four up in reasonable comfort, but I say again: not if you're very tall. It's the sort of car that sort of wraps itself around you a when you sit in it, which is handy if you are planning to wrap it around a tree, as is the done thing. Looping back to mistresses, that reminds me of a sad story of a friend who was pulled dead from the wreckage of his Esprit Turbo. The woman in the passenger seat was only slightly injured. The problem was that she was not his wife.
Years ago I had a Triumph Vitesse. It was looked after by a Greek dude in a shed in Hackney. He would practically do a nut and bolt rebuild, then when you asked him how much, he'd shrug and say "I dunno, call it fifty quid*". The two Johns have to be chased to send you a bill, and when they eventually do, it is always less than you thought it would be. They love to chat about old heaps, own a couple themselves, and make good tea. Mechs like this are to be cherished.
* or, as we now say, 800 billion New-Drachmas.
* or, as we now say, 800 billion New-Drachmas.
I loved the Fabboceptor to bits, and miss it a lot, but hey ho.
Back in the world of plastic fantastics with dodgy electrics, in the cool of the early morning I drove the car gently from Marylebone, via Regent's Park and Camden Town, to Islington, where the spectacularly ace two Johns took it in for a look. The car didn't overheat on the way, although it was getting quite hot by the time I reached the garage. One fan has seized. This almost melted the wiring and also blew out the override switch. One fan is now working, another is to be ordered. Car staying in London for the weekend so that the Johns can look at it some more next week, attending to some other niggles that need doing anyway, and fit the fan when it arrives.
Back in the world of plastic fantastics with dodgy electrics, in the cool of the early morning I drove the car gently from Marylebone, via Regent's Park and Camden Town, to Islington, where the spectacularly ace two Johns took it in for a look. The car didn't overheat on the way, although it was getting quite hot by the time I reached the garage. One fan has seized. This almost melted the wiring and also blew out the override switch. One fan is now working, another is to be ordered. Car staying in London for the weekend so that the Johns can look at it some more next week, attending to some other niggles that need doing anyway, and fit the fan when it arrives.
I like my local Romanians, and they are careful dudes, although not as good as at a place a bit further away run by an Austrian guy who is very meticulous. I feel sorry for the younger blokes, who are lonely, get a lot of xenophobia from mouth breathers in Aylesbury, and live on 10P a week while sending the other 35p back to the family. I bung them a decent tip.
Thanks, I will post some more next week.
Here is a detail of the curious 90s immobiliser. Imagine an object shaped like a tiny set of Pan Pipes that plugs in to an aperture in the dash. The chain link between it and the key ring looks rather like a watch chain, as seen on the rather over filled waistcoat of the traditional Rumpole type bazzer. I have never had and never wanted to have a watch on a chain, I hasten to add.
Note also somewhat scruffy panel, OK ish but faded carpet, and the override switch fitted by some bloke.
Here is a detail of the curious 90s immobiliser. Imagine an object shaped like a tiny set of Pan Pipes that plugs in to an aperture in the dash. The chain link between it and the key ring looks rather like a watch chain, as seen on the rather over filled waistcoat of the traditional Rumpole type bazzer. I have never had and never wanted to have a watch on a chain, I hasten to add.
Note also somewhat scruffy panel, OK ish but faded carpet, and the override switch fitted by some bloke.
Edited by anonymous-user on Saturday 11th July 17:14
One rather annoying thing about an early Excel is that the three spoke steering wheel (initially an option, later standard) is set quite high and obscures the temperature gauge and some warning lights. The instruments are in the same layout as in an Eclat. The Eclat's two spoke steering wheel (also seen on some very early Excels) allows you to see all the instruments and lights. The later Excel has a revised panel layout that is not obscured by the steering wheel.
Someone reading this and hankering after an Excel, buy this one! Some eBay ads drive you bonkers, some are hilariously rubbish. This sounds like a pleasant lad selling what could be a pretty decent motor. Pity it's white!
I like this part of the ad -
"For anyone who has never driven or been in an Excel before, they are incredible. Ive owned a number of fruity motorbikes and cars yet this is the most entertaining with amazing steering feel, balance and the best 4 cylinder noise ive ever heard."
I would agree with him entirely save for the fact that, through sheer luck and being old, I have driven some cars that are even more entertaining and sound even better than an Excel, but I think he is right to praise the type.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lotus-Excel-SE-1986-QUIC...
Also a red 1990 on eBay, crrebntly at 1500, could be more of a project.
I like this part of the ad -
"For anyone who has never driven or been in an Excel before, they are incredible. Ive owned a number of fruity motorbikes and cars yet this is the most entertaining with amazing steering feel, balance and the best 4 cylinder noise ive ever heard."
I would agree with him entirely save for the fact that, through sheer luck and being old, I have driven some cars that are even more entertaining and sound even better than an Excel, but I think he is right to praise the type.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lotus-Excel-SE-1986-QUIC...
Also a red 1990 on eBay, crrebntly at 1500, could be more of a project.
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