Considering a Lotus Excel - Should I get one?

[smiffy220]

Hi, I'm a new user on here and have been considering getting a Lotus Excel. I don't know too much about the usual faults and what to look for etc, could anybody offer some advise, or should I steer clear of these cars? Are they troublesome?
Any help or advice greatly appreciated. Thanks, Dave.

[lambert.john]

You choose an Excel with your heart, not your head. If you feel you have to ask, the answer's probably "no". The youngest of these cars is now nearly twenty years old, and age alone dictates the need for plenty of TLC to keep them running well. However, for those that are smitten the investment in time, money and effort is worth the rewards - the driving sensation and, of course, the turned heads!

[microsoft excel]

As lambert.john says "buy with your heart not your head" my fan fail warning lights flickered at 90 + mph (tracks and foreign countrys etc) so radiator needed a rebuild.
With radiator out it's easier to do the cam belt and tensioner at the same time, when doing this I found the inlet cam sprocket was badly worn and that the previous owner had set the belt tensioner incorrectly.
Bill now approaching £200 and I still have a big smile on my face.

If this is for you then you need to get one.

Karl

[Dr_G]

You have to carefully consider what you are looking for, and what you want the car to do for you. If you are considering the Excel as your only car, to cover 20000+miles per year with only a days reprieve for services then perhaps you should look elsewhere. As a second, third or fourth car, being used for work sometimes and for days/evenings out I think they are a great choice.

Parts are mostly available and at a reasonable cost. Reliability is good as long as you buy a well maintained car and keep things tip-top with preventative maintenance. Fuel economy is perfectly acceptable for an old-fashioned low tech carb engine, but again if that is a primary concern then best look elsewhere.

They are incredible cars to drive around the twisties!

Good luck with things.

[amarshall]

You have to carefully consider what you are looking for, and what you want the car to do for you. If you are considering the Excel as your only car, to cover 20000+miles per year with only a days reprieve for services then perhaps you should look elsewhere. As a second, third or fourth car, being used for work sometimes and for days/evenings out I think they are a great choice.

PIFFLE! As I keep saying - mine is used every other day and is a very practical car for my work. It runs through Europe regularly (currently in Madrid with it and heading up through France later in the week - never missed a beat all the way here).

Spares are getting trickier, but the knowledge here helps - as does a shed to keep things in as you acquire them.

Buy a good one, service it properly and don't skimp and you'll be fine.

[smiffy220]

Thanks for all the advice. The car would be no.4 effectively, so would only be used weekends and sunny days etc! I also have a 1980 Opel Manta Berlinetta Coupe, so would have to juggle between the 2 'classics' and my two modern cars. Just thinking about the Excel at the moment, I've always liked them (likewise the Manta's) and now toying with the idea of adding to my list of enjoyable motors. I like the driving experience (as well as the looks you get), so it sounds like the Lotus would be the ideal choice. You see some cars being sold for £2k to £3k etc, would your advice be to leave these cheap ones alone? Or are there bargains to be had? Much over £3500 and I'll be struggling to keep the wife also!! (Hmmmm?).
Thanks.

[chrisw2811]

Hi Smiffy, there are bargains to be had because Excel prices seem to be low in comparison to other cars of similar performance and roadhandling. I bought mine for £3750 in 2004, including a private number plate that is probably worth £1500. It is number 4 vehicle (2 other cars and a motorcycle) but number one as far as my daughters are concerned. If you decided to buy a low cost example it would be prudent to select one with a good service history and to budget for ongoing maintenance, as you would for any car 20+ years old, but you shouldn't be afraid to drive it. Excels seem to last longer if driven regularly - a point you should consider when evaluating potential purchases .

[salviablue]

its really down to what you want the car for, how much time/ability/tools you have for maintenance and repairs or how many spare drinking tokens you have as whether to in with a 'cheapie' or not. The 'chances' (if you have anything like my motor luck) are that something eventually will go wrong causing engine damage/catastrophic electrical failure/fire whether you buy an expensive top nick one or a rolling resto . But i suppose the same is true of any older car.
You will be spending lots of time swearing and cursing at the car (or the lotus specialist under your breath, think ££££).

Every job is a big one, and usually leads to you noticing something else, thus bits come apart-together-apart-together and broken/chipped/scratched or it stays off the road! It will always take around 3 times longer than you think any job will take or more expensive if you're not doing the work yourself. Also if you want everything original and official and new/shiny add more wallet/head ache. I think the main advantage in buying a top notch well looked after example is that it will be much simpler and cheaper to keep on the road and will probably spend more time on the read too. Although there will be more heartache if it goes disasterously wrong!

I bought a mid ranged example, no service history bar full engine rebuild inc. Custom liners/pistons, new interior and geometry setup. The paint work was awefully thin and scratched/faded and there was stress cracks in the usual places showing previous crash damage but the chassis looked good from underneath and it had many new parts inc. SS exhaust, clutch, radiator, oil cooler to name a few.

After chasing lots of nigglies and nearly getting everything as it should be, bar paint work/stress cracks, the throttle linkage got tangled on the water temp sender wire and jammed open, i only noticed when changing gear, the revs went up not down!
Subsequently i discovered at least three cam carrier torx bolts have rounded off heads, making carrier removal very very awkward to say the least.
What happened to me wasn't a parts failure or poor maintenance/carelessness but a combination of bad luck and not double and triple checking everything and thinking what might go wrong i can stop now (i.e. Ensuring all wires are well tied back, can't come loose and entangle, etc). Be aware things can get rerouted 'non-standard' during the cars life and cause future problems where non where likely before.

Mine cost me around £3k, maybe i paid too much, but nothing mattered whilst i drove her, all was forgiven, but now she is sat on my drive and if i'm lucky (yeah right) there will just be a bit of valve damage to the tune of £500 or so, otherwise piston and/or bottom end damage =£k's.

Get as much info on what to look for as possible. Write it all down/print off and be familiar where on the actual car you're supposed to be looking and what good/bad examples look like. Its hard because there is no one definitive guide .

Main things, and i'm sure others will correct me or add to this
Look for chassis damage- paint may indicate cracks in galvanising. If the angled 'skirt' along the bottom of the chassis is wavy or bent it may indicate chassis flex from a crash, especially on the front arms, although this may be from (careless?) jacking. Check the front triangles too, that they are straight with no kinks/bends/twists.
Make sure the enginge doesn't smoke, rattle and there are no flat spots on accel. There should be no hesitation on accel either (although it doesn't perform until 4k + revs).
Make sure it doesn't jump out of gear esp. on over run.
Make sure there is no knocking from the back end.
Make sure cornering is smooth, there should be no twitchyness or appreciable roll. On low speed cornering the front end will twitch/jump about a little etc due to lack of ackerman geometry, thats normal.

On all the cars i tested and on mine, the brakes feel a little spongy but should stop the car well and give no fade. There should be no 'pump up' brake loss whilst breaking.

Look out for cracks on the body inside the the engine bay, either side of engine, front inside corners, where the brake servo is mounted also around the door apertures, especially rear bottom corners and where the upper and lower body shells meet, the roof around the front and rear screens, inside boot corners, look along panels in the light to try and see any marks that may indicate a screw head under the paint/gel coat that would indicate panel repair. Especially nose and rear flanks.

check all the electrics work, if they don't could just be dodgy/corroded or stuck contacts on switch gear or harness points (usually the case i've found), or could indicate an earth problem/short.
make sure the fan comes on, check with car sat at idle, fan wont take long to come on, check water temp sits roughly in the middle on guage.
I think the electrics where done by some kid on work placement at Hethel!

Check there are no fuel leaks, follow the fuel line, especially where it splits into the carbs.
Check there is no chance of the carbs spitting petrol out of the trumpets and it dripping onto the dizzy, i.e. There is an air filter, pref with enclosure.
Check the tyre pressures before test drive if possible as someone may over inflate to try and hide broken spring or out of true geometry or worse, twisted chassis.
Check the car sits square to the road.
Check front and rear seat belt mounts and bolts from under the car as there tend to rot,esp rear mounts.
Check the exhaust doesn't rattle against anything as these are a real pain to align.
Check the doors open and close with out drop/drooping (usually indicates rotten door beam)and that they close fully and you can't fit your little finger between upper door frame and body. Door adjustment is a real bad pain.

Everything else is superficial and won't bother you once you're on the road and she takes you through a few corners and shows up many modern expensive 'equivalents'.
I am sure any thing i've forgotten someone else will fill you in
if you enjoy 'drivers' cars, you will not be disappointed.

Nice choice with the manta, though i prefer the monza my self, i haven't driven nor owned either so hats off to you. Good luck.

P.s. Sorry if i seem a bit embittered or a doom monger but i really do love these cars and highly recommend one. Just take extra care with the engine as its the only appreciably expensive bit, very much so, as in think new excel or good 2nd engine fitted would usually be cheaper than rebuilding the broken one! Just make sure everything is as it should be under the bonnet, the filter and belts are fresh tensioned correctly and genuine parts, nice petrol (shell optimax or v-power ), the oil is top quality and nice and warm (10mi or so drive 2.5k max revs) and roads are dry(ish) before you thrash her- and she loves a good thrashing!
Keep us informed when you view/test drive and we'll try and give pointers. Just don't buy the first you see without advice as you'll be addicted in the first instance!

[smiffy220]

Thanks again folks, you have been brilliant! I'll let you know if and when I purchase one. But I think it's more likely to be a 'when'!!
Just out of interest, are there any members in the South East Essex corner who might let me have a look around their pride and joy, so I know what I'm looking for?
Thanks, Dave.

[tricky]

Hi
As some one else has already mentioned dont be put off by a low price there are some real bargains out there, i am currently trying to sell my excel ( brought an esprit) and after dropping the price by a grand ( now at £2500) and its had a lot of major work done respray, new carpet , roof linning, wheels tyres,replacement engine and head gasket etc etc (it was a bit of a barn find when i bought it) i am still struggling to get interest.

The excel is a great car to drive, much of the parts being of toyota origin make the car very reliable and robust aswell, and with a galvanised chassis and a glass fibre body no corrosion problems to worry about.

Unfortunately you to far away to view mine, but good luck with your search and hope you can join the pleasure of the lotus drive soon

[smiffy220]

Hi Tricky, I think I've seen your adverts for that car when you dropped the price on Pistonheads. Whereabouts are you then, and is the car the SE model? For that price and no major problems I might travel! Have you anymore pictures please? Is it all taxed and MOT'd?
Haven't heard from anybody in the Essex area anyway?
Thanks.

[tricky]

Thanks for your interest i have sent you a PM

cheers

[royal]

If you love driving then yes. I bought my Excel 8 weeks ago for £2500 and I have not stopped smiling, : I used to own a JPS Europa so knew what I would be getting into. The car came with a full service history, every bill that had ever been spent on it and a typed list in order of every part that had been fitted. The old owner used to commute to work every day in it, so had 97000 on the clock. I drove 187 miles to see it, fell in love at first sight paid cash and drove back in it, that is some faith in the car. It is so nice at the end of the day to jump in the car and have a blat around the lanes of north Devon it brings a smile to my face , although not at the moment as tourist are down here driving at 20 mph admiring the view, roll on the end of the holidays, so I can do some serious driving. So go for it, get the right car with a history and enjoy yourself. Keith

[smiffy220]

Keith, I think that'll be me too! Looking forward to sorting out my finances and starting to look in earnest for one. Hope you get to have a blast round those Devon lanes again soon. I know them well, so understand your frustration at the moment!
Cheers.

[Dr_G]

No need for the capital piffle comment. I though we were all allowed a view here, without impinging on others?

Best of luck for your search smiffy.