The Lotus Grand Tourers

Slightly worrying if LB are disposing of their old stock of secondhand interiors ☹️ I know conventional wisdom in stock control tends to be ‘if it doesn’t move, scrap it’ but that is more applicable to a fast moving operation rather than one supposedly more to do with supporting restorations. Cheer...

Sagging drivers seat may well be due to a split rubber diaphragm on the bottom that holds the foam up. No-one is making/selling replacements, and I've yet to find anything similar from another car that can be made to fit. I even asked Newton Commercial, who supply these for a number of more common c...

That's a funky steering wheel!! Some "interesting" red highlights in that interior too. Wonder if the previous seats had been done in the same shade of red??

Hi, and welcome to the forum! Glad you've found us, I hope we can help you with any questions or advice you are after. It'll be good to see some pics of your car, we like pics of work-in-progress just as much as shiny finished cars (Possibly more, for some of us!). Yes, Lotusbits is the best source ...

Lotus (at least when they have been asked in the pre-Geely past) have been a bit dog-in-the-manger about this. If they were enforcing copyright because they wanted to make money out of selling copies of things, that would be fair enough - and I would buy a new workshop manual from them if they were ...

Just disconnect one of the wires to the coil when you are leaving the car unattended - most of todays scummy thieves would just assume it's knackered and never know how to fix it!

That's a sight I've seen twice in the last 14 months! Enjoy getting the centre dash vents re-connected to their ducts

Hi Malcolm, Sounds like you are getting on with sorting the car - keep us updated! I've had a real issue with coolant leaks over the last year-and-a-bit, so might be able to advise. I bought a coolant pressure test kit off eBay for under £40, which has been invaluable - if you are ever up Rugby dire...

Welcome back! And good for you for getting stuck back in, the renewed enthusiasm is great to see. Stick with it, and it will pay off soon enough.

Hi Malrig - welcome to the joys of Excel ownership! I've had my Excel for 13 years / 80,000 miles of everyday use and abuse, they are a great car. I'm not exactly local but not that far away, just East of Rugby. Marginally closer to you is MetBlue (Tony) who drives (sometimes) an Excel, and claims t...

Welcome to the joys of Excel ownership! We look forward to hearing more about your car and your adventures with it. That's some pretty good Lotus spotting around yours, I'd be lucky to see that many Lotus in a month (outside of car shows). Maybe a consequence of the fine weather we've been having re...

Fair enough!! Yes, your methodology ensures the same load on both, so your approach is sound, at least within the limits of how accurately you can measure the length.

Both springs are the same rate - (set end to end with an M12 stud down the centre. With 25mm compression on each spring, the longer spring still 6 mm difference). That test doesn't tell you they are the same rate. If you take two items, one 6 mm longer than the other, then reduce the length of both...

Hi Tony - I don't know if you've come across Northampton Motorsport . I read an article about them in a Practical Classics several months ago. They took their car along (I forget what it was), then they can put it on the rolling road and they have a full range of all the Dellorto (and other carb) pa...

Hi Dave, I had an aftermarket immobiliser/alarm fitted to my car too, I think the alarm may have been a Cobra but I cannot remember for sure. The immobiliser has long ago lost any label to indicate its origin! By the time I owned the car, the alarm (located under the bonnet) had been disconnected, a...