Lotus Excel Restoration Project - photos inside!
Discussion
My housemate (722Adam) and I have available to us a 1988 Lotus Excel, absolutely free of charge.
The car used to be a daily driver. The only problem with this outstanding opportunity is that the car has been sitting outside in Scotland for ten years. It was started and moved back and forth a bit every year for a while, but hasn't moved at all for the last three or so. The battery was off it so we don't know if it starts at all now. There appears to be a major damp issue too - I'll let the photos speak for themselves here:
This hanging tailpipe appears to be down to no more than a snapped rubber hanger.
Yes, that's an automatic gear selector. Arse biscuits.
These seats felt really rather incredibly soft. Worringly soft.
Mmmmmm.
Nobody seems to know what caused this, though most other paintwork seems OK.
So what do you think of the condition of the car? How much damage are we likely to find? We can hopefully recover it to one of our addresses and get it kept under cover for an outlay of £150 or so. We've no experience of any sort of restoration, but are both mechanically minded and don't mind a challenge. Originally we intended to straighten it out and sell it on - but does that look viable? Or does it look likely to be the case that we spend a few weeks finding more and more to sort and eventually scrap the poor thing?
It's things like the headlining that make me wonder. Clearly that'll have to go - how hard and expensive is it going to be to go about replacing it? And so on.
Over to you guys and your vast collective experience
The car used to be a daily driver. The only problem with this outstanding opportunity is that the car has been sitting outside in Scotland for ten years. It was started and moved back and forth a bit every year for a while, but hasn't moved at all for the last three or so. The battery was off it so we don't know if it starts at all now. There appears to be a major damp issue too - I'll let the photos speak for themselves here:
This hanging tailpipe appears to be down to no more than a snapped rubber hanger.
Yes, that's an automatic gear selector. Arse biscuits.
These seats felt really rather incredibly soft. Worringly soft.
Mmmmmm.
Nobody seems to know what caused this, though most other paintwork seems OK.
So what do you think of the condition of the car? How much damage are we likely to find? We can hopefully recover it to one of our addresses and get it kept under cover for an outlay of £150 or so. We've no experience of any sort of restoration, but are both mechanically minded and don't mind a challenge. Originally we intended to straighten it out and sell it on - but does that look viable? Or does it look likely to be the case that we spend a few weeks finding more and more to sort and eventually scrap the poor thing?
It's things like the headlining that make me wonder. Clearly that'll have to go - how hard and expensive is it going to be to go about replacing it? And so on.
Over to you guys and your vast collective experience
An SA! (automatic)
That's a VERY rare car. As far anyone knows only around 25-30 of them were ever made and a few have been broken for spares or converted to manual.
Headlining's not a massive job - it can be done by one person in a weekend (quicker if they really like glue fumes).
Most likely problems will be seized brake calipers, minor electrical niggles (corroded relays are common) and corrosion in the door beams (a weekend job to replace and they are definitely worth doing as they are the side intrusion protection as well as the support for everything on the door).
Most parts are still available, though, and the Toyota underpinnings mean it's pretty reliable once everything is sorted.
(should I mention, as I usually do, that my SE is my every day car and does about 12k miles a year, including blatting across Europe a few times each year ? )
That's a VERY rare car. As far anyone knows only around 25-30 of them were ever made and a few have been broken for spares or converted to manual.
Headlining's not a massive job - it can be done by one person in a weekend (quicker if they really like glue fumes).
Most likely problems will be seized brake calipers, minor electrical niggles (corroded relays are common) and corrosion in the door beams (a weekend job to replace and they are definitely worth doing as they are the side intrusion protection as well as the support for everything on the door).
Most parts are still available, though, and the Toyota underpinnings mean it's pretty reliable once everything is sorted.
(should I mention, as I usually do, that my SE is my every day car and does about 12k miles a year, including blatting across Europe a few times each year ? )
Edited by marshalla on Wednesday 11th April 11:06
marshalla said:
An SA! (automatic)
That's a VERY rare car. As far anyone knows only around 25-30 of them were ever made and a few have been broken for spares or converted to manual.
And people moan about the automatic Evora.That's a VERY rare car. As far anyone knows only around 25-30 of them were ever made and a few have been broken for spares or converted to manual.
OP, you could get it working and drive it around as it is, but I think it deserves a restoration.
I'm pretty sure the backbone chassis on these used to rot like a pear and so one left outside would probably have very little chance. Given the values of these cars, I would doubt it's viable. My mate has a mint 1979 Vegantune JPS Eclat which he's had since the 80s and you'd be amazed at how little that is worth.
Even little things like the aluminium pieces either side of the front screen are mega-money.
Even little things like the aluminium pieces either side of the front screen are mega-money.
marshalla said:
An SA! (automatic)
That's a VERY rare car. As far anyone knows only around 25-30 of them were ever made and a few have been broken for spares or converted to manual.
thats because the auto is rubbish! imoThat's a VERY rare car. As far anyone knows only around 25-30 of them were ever made and a few have been broken for spares or converted to manual.
Looks like a nightmare to me (coming from an Excel SE owner). The respray and trimming alone will cost more than the car is worth completed, so unless you are doing it purely for love and experience, I wouldnt have thought it would be worth the effort.
Good luck if you take the plunge though.
LuS1fer said:
I'm pretty sure the backbone chassis on these used to rot like a pear and so one left outside would probably have very little chance. Given the values of these cars, I would doubt it's viable. My mate has a mint 1979 Vegantune JPS Eclat which he's had since the 80s and you'd be amazed at how little that is worth.
Even little things like the aluminium pieces either side of the front screen are mega-money.
All Excels have galvanised chassis. We haven't found one with significant corrosion yet, except where there has been crash damage. There's a huge difference between Eclat and Excel - very few components are interchangeable.Even little things like the aluminium pieces either side of the front screen are mega-money.
marshalla said:
An SA! (automatic)
That's a VERY rare car. As far anyone knows only around 25-30 of them were ever made and a few have been broken for spares or converted to manual.
...
(should I mention, as I usually do, that my SE is my every day car and does about 12k miles a year, including blatting across Europe a few times each year ? )
I figured the automatic 'box would completely hobble it, I didn't consider that it might be very rare. So suddenly it appears it might be worth the saving, specifically because it doesn't have a Supra gearbox? Or is there simply very little demand? I figured it would be a terrible gearbox, really.That's a VERY rare car. As far anyone knows only around 25-30 of them were ever made and a few have been broken for spares or converted to manual.
...
(should I mention, as I usually do, that my SE is my every day car and does about 12k miles a year, including blatting across Europe a few times each year ? )
We expected the brakes would be shot, and thanks for the timeframes and the door info, that's something else we'll bear in mind.
How complex a set of electrical failures could we expect? Is there much to go wrong on these? I was concerned with there clearly being so much damp around that anything that ran through the cabin roof or floor might be in trouble.
(And yes, you should mention that, because it is excellent
care to share a photo?)We thought about having it as a daily, but both being 20 insurance isn't ideal and as students we can't really justify second cars even on classic policies, so we'd struggle.
I'm very interested to see underneath the thing, really, we didn't have much opportunity to do so but clearly if the frame is rotten then there's little worth in it. Nice to hear this isn't likely, though.
Our standpoint was sort of that we could do a lot of smaller, labour-intensive jobs ourselves to get it cleaned up and generally in much better shape than it is now, and perhaps sell it on as a reasonable project, rather than a completely horrendous-looking one?
Thanks all for your input so far!
McSam said:
figured the automatic 'box would completely hobble it, I didn't consider that it might be very rare. So suddenly it appears it might be worth the saving, specifically because it doesn't have a Supra gearbox? Or is there simply very little demand? I figured it would be a terrible gearbox, really.
Not a lot of demand for the SAs when they were new (probably because the Excel couldn't be sold in the USA ), and they appeared relatively late in the production life of the car.Contrary to opinions up there, the ZF auto is very capable - I've struggled to get away from a SA when "pressing on". Those who have them reckon the kick-down is set just right and the cruise control is very handy for eating up the miles in comfort. If you really don't want an auto - Mike Taylor at Lotusbits has done the conversion to manual on a few and can advise (and sell you lots of bits you didn't know you wanted
Electrical systems are not too bad - anything that can go wrong will have been experienced and sorted by another owner by now. There are some known weaknesses in the ignition area (a notorious lead from the distributor to the amplifier and occasional problems with the rev limiter), but the fixes are easy. Other than that, it's no worse than any other GRP-bodied car, and much easier to sort than anything with computers onboard.
Edited by marshalla on Wednesday 11th April 11:25
Thanks again, marshalla.
I think we couldn't possibly see it go to waste if there were really so few SAs made, so now it's just finding the time to get it moved and get a proper look at it! I would hazard that yes, the paint is bird poo or maybe tree sap, and is hopefully just lacquer.
Texas, firstly that's some seriously impressive lurking there, with one post for the entire length of time I've been a member! And secondly, I'm looking right now, thanks a lot
I think we couldn't possibly see it go to waste if there were really so few SAs made, so now it's just finding the time to get it moved and get a proper look at it! I would hazard that yes, the paint is bird poo or maybe tree sap, and is hopefully just lacquer.
Texas, firstly that's some seriously impressive lurking there, with one post for the entire length of time I've been a member! And secondly, I'm looking right now, thanks a lot
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