Lotus Elite / Eclat / Excel

I have used a Woollies kit on my half leather Lotus Blue leather and was very impressed. No hassle with renovator lifting. The passenger coving has been recovered with a beige colour and the renovator provided a perfect colour match to the original. Obviously I had no problems with quantity. At the ...

Hi Andy. Welcome. You might own one of the first Excels, worth checking VIN number and car build number. Just in case, SJSportscars can supply almost any part you need, a bit pricey but good service. Oil leak. If cam covers I suggest you get 4 gaskets, 2 spare, they are called saddle type, and I sug...

With a rack which clicks on to power IMO needs seals checked in the pinion, that is full rack dismantle and complete seals renewal.
The kits are not cheap at 50 pounds, spend time getting the teflon seals back to size before installing the pinion. Jubilee clips and boiling water.

Dave the cog

At low speeds a dry speedo cable can cause fluttering.
With the clock out it is easy to oil the cable, next time you fix the magnet.
You may disturb the sealing of the cable to body bulkhead grommet, great for water ingress.



Dave the cog

Oil pressure. As this reading is key to engine condition I only use a mechanical (hydraulic) guage. Inmediate and foolproof. Water temperature. Fluid temperature meters are quite cheap which can be strapped onto the required pipe or hose. Once the temperature ia accurately established you can play a...

Tyre pressures? You can see if the pump is working by looking into the reservoir with the engine runninig, you should see a swirling flow, get someone to turn the steering wheel and you should see a stronger flow. This does not mean that the pump is achieving sufficient pressure. Otherwise find a fr...

I believe the S1 Elite is Oxford Blue. There are only 4 colours mentioned in the Elite Workshop Manual, White, Red, Yellow and Orange.
Oxford Blue was an original Lotus colour.


Dave the cog.

After removing the tank to repair chassis to body fixing point I had a petrol smell in the boot. I had a minor moisture at the outlet banjo. Also try checking fuel pump connections and fuel pump body bolts. The plastic pipe disintegrates because fuel vapour is not compatible with plastic. Dave thr c...

Perhaps the term Coilover has come from USA where shortenings of made up words leads us not to know exactly the meaning. Many cars had springs(coils) located in a different position to the damper (shock absorber in English, why have a wet shocker?) It was found you get a better reaction to have the ...

What does the term COILOVER really mean?
It appears that Elite and Excel originally carry coilovers but this Forum refers to changing to Coilovers.
Can someone clarify, please?

Dave the cog.

Stirling Moss. Apparently after a race his gearbox used to be a gonner, Fangio´s perfect. Not surprised Stirling liked automatic. The ZF 4HP22 box, besides needing Excel specific auxiliaries previously mentioned, must have the Control box (internal valve box) specific for the Excel so that gear chan...

As posted some time ago, the clutch (and brake) master cylinders can be better accessed if you drill a large hole in the fibreglass bulkhead
inmediately above the cylinders. This does not affect body strength.

Dave the cog.

SJS do a Secondary Door Seal C082U5779F which appears under Esprit and I believe fits the Excel. I got my D Seal very cheap from China but you have to make up the right angle corner joints. Delivery took 6 weeks. Now that I can post photographs I cannot find the Photos of my door seals. Dave the cog.

Has anyone installed on an Excel a single Winking headlight, strictly illegal I suppose, but what other car can do it?
Could even be remote operated.

Dave the cog.

Well searched Richard. A very exact document putting the clock and chassis numbers to the Excel development, Many thanks.
It appears the document is dated 1991 and only 56(´91) and 16(´92) cars were built after then so probably no further history.


Dave the cog.