The Lotus Grand Tourers

My Excel came with a horrible wooden goose-neck job so I replaced it with a Toyota one eBay 122077958539 as it's not unlike an original.

It has the correct pattern for the Toyota 'box, i.e. reverse under 5th, and being Toyota it has the correct thread form.

Andy

Good news

My brakes felt the same too but just happy to get rid of the ticking.

Cheers

Andy

Not necessarily, mine's an 86 and it's Girling. But it is a Lotus...

If you look at the eBay number in my earlier post, that is the Girling one - the Bendix looks quite different.

HTH

Andy

Hi - yes it pops out (wahey...) leaving the gromment in place, but you can't see the spring; it's moulded into the body. Another alternative is to buy a generic in-line valve from eBay, fit it in the hose and drill out the ball and spring from the original leaving it open. I considered this but as t...

Yes I think you're right Pete, different installations - as long as the vacuum is there no worries.

The pulsing only becomes an issue if the NRV spring goes weak with age as on mine - new NRV and tight clips and no longer sounds as if the tappets want to modify the bonnet!

Cheers

Andy

Hi Ian Mine is Girling (86 SE), but oddly enough and just to confuse matters the original nrv was white as you correctly identify it is on the Bendix. The new one is black, eBay item no 392068577346 but I note it's now £15, not the 10 I paid. The hose lengths are really useful thanks - I suspect min...

Hi, Yes it certainly is normal. It's the suction of the 4 stroke cycle amplified through a small hose. The reason I know is that if the non-return spring on the servo vacuum connection (white connector from this hose at the servo) goes weak the sealing ball rattles with each pulse and sounds like a ...

Better for today's potholes too!

No probs Richard. It's the Vale book, yes. I have just dug it out again. Yes he shows your pic and another of the same car on pages 96 & 97. The car is red with beige interior. Single fuel filler another identifier and £5729 at launch as opposed to £6483 for the 501 (if you believe Mr Vale of course...

Richard, feel free to do so. I was well chuffed when I was offered the opportunity by Classic Cars. Mike at Lotusbits who supplied the Elite said I was like a kid in a sweet shop! A timely reminder also that I must get round to joining club Lotus. By the way the red 520 you referred to in your nosta...

Hi Trevor The Elite was my dream drive as I sat in a new one in 1976 at Camden Motors in Leighton Buzzard when I was 8 years old. Despite the showroom having Astons, E Types etc, the Elite was just out of this world at the time - it stayed with me. I wanted a car I could use regularly and Mike was a...

Thanks Guys for the welcome and kind comments. :mrgreen: Stu - 'Sunny Kent' is purely wishful thinking on my part as the weather has been rotten down here the last month or so. Mind you, the time it's taking me to prep and paint the front bumper it will be sunny by the time I'm finished... Cheers Andy

Good morning All Just by way of an introduction – I purchased my 1986 Excel (early SE) in November from Lotusbits after being lucky enough to be invited for a ‘Dream Drive’ in a 1976 Lotus Elite by Classic Cars Magazine. The Excel was the ‘chase car’ so I got a good test drive. Mike had gone through...