The Lotus Grand Tourers

Just a little 'off' lotus topic maybe when volunteers on the stand need to stretch their legs at the NEC for a short time they might be interested to go over to the Meguires stand. My son, although he has followed closely Lola's restoration to date his own interest is VW air-cooled. He has his lates...

Must say the performance uplift does sound very appealing ..but I'm not going to have a spare £10K+ to spend on mine anytime soon. :( I wonder what your asking price would be if you ever decided to sell? :) Work carried out in bringing the car up to its present mechanical and cosmetic standard has ...

The pin stripes may yet appear! Took Lola out over the weekend. Had many kind comments at (the many) filling stations along with car parks. The front brakes continue to be embarrassing (squeal) and have become reliant on the handbrake to slow her close to junctions! Hopefully that will be sorted whe...

Yesterday was the first real outing in Lola. Covered around 100 miles on B roads in West Cheshire and the Welsh borders. The cars transformation is remarkable. She started on the button and never missed a beat. Torque is quite startling compared to the the car in it original, albeit worn mechanical ...

After spending some nine months down at Lotusbits Lola is finally ready for my collection. The car is known and has previously been owned by at least three previous members of the forum who I'm sure will be interested. I met with Mike and Dave down at Lotusbits earlier today and went through the (ve...

For the waisline trim I recommend you refer to the SJSportscars web and click on the I (Information) related to waistline trim in the Body section. This is a full description of the (long) process to do it correctly. Dave the cog. I fitted new waistline trim to my car last year following respray. U...

ok research has come back and despite the engraving on the vin plate.....its showing as L12 Lagoon Blue now I know this is going to sound daft but Ive seen so many with what they say is lagoon blue but again.........its never looked the same colour twice...... is that the light or the paint?..........

With regard to the air-box lower clip, I had the same problem. I did eventually wrestle the clip loose but there did seem to be a fundamental issue of clearance to re-secure it. I removed the clip and cut about 8-10mm from the length of the lever. Re-fitted and now engages/releases easily without fo...

A little worried by this! My nephew is an authorised MOT tester and where he spends much of his time. He tells me that under the now current guidance a modest amount of leakage would not be a fail preventing the use of the car but would probably be mentioned. The line between modest and excessive do...

Any thoughts on which type of antifreeze is best, that is best at prevent corrosion? Historically I have always used the standard Blue Ethtlene Glycol but still find the aluminium bits corrode. However when I recently did a coolant change in our other car I ended-up using some green (Prestone) anti...

I have always found the Hagerty Insurance Classic Car Valuation tool useful. Had a look this morning and see that only the Eclat is listed up to 1985. I would think that the transition to Eclat Excel will be covered by years 83-85. If that is the case then:- Years 1984/85 Fair £4800.00 Good £6800.00...

Had mine from sjs 18 months ago. Not sure who supplies them but am delighted with the quality and no issues with fit for my 84 car. The only piece which needed to be trimmed a little was the rear shelf but found this very easy to do using the old shelf carpet as a pattern.

I have recently bled the rear caliper brake lines and that went ok. However, the front caliper bleed nipples seem to have a smaller nut size. A 7mm spanner is to large and both a 6mm and an imperial 1/4" are to small! Inevitably, in my attempt to bleed the front I have managed to 'round' the nuts al...

I have a replacement 'new' Girling brake master cylinder which will (hopefully) resolve Lola's scarily excessive travel at the pedal. The big issue now is how to bleed the unit! I am aware that bench bleeding can greatly assist in the process but does anyone have experience in doing this before seco...

I am trying to source a replacement girling brake master cylinder for my 1984 car. I have been asked by a potential supplier for the Girling Part Number (stamped on the body) and if possible the Tag Number. Sadly the cylinder presently on the car is a Delphi aftermarket unit and so the numbers on it...