Alfa2Evora

Another Sunday, another car show. Well, I've got to make up for all the ones I missed out on last year when the Evora was awaiting her facial reconstruction surgery, haven't I?. This time, it was the Kingdom Classics show at the Vintage Bus Museum in Dunfermline, a great location with loads to see and do. Here she is, showing the pumped-up Beetle next door what a proper sportscar looks like - that must have been why he only stayed for an hour or so then disappeared, .

First chance I've had to post these on here, but I flew the Lotus flag at the Scottish Festival of Motoring last weekend, having been invited by the organisers to display in the indoor 'Showcase Arena'. With the front bumper finally replaced and fresh paintwork on it and the clam (thanks to the way too close encounter with an SUV many months ago), I set about and gave the rest of the bodywork a machine polish followed by an overall waxing to get it all to an equal level of shininess, the wheels were sent off to be powder-coated in 'Xtreme Black', the brake disc centres wire-brushed and painted black to match the wheels and the brake calipers stripped back to bare metal and repainted in 'Italian Racing Red' with the raised 'LOTUS' script picked out in gold - much tongue-out concentration was needed for that I can tell you, . New badges for the wheel centres and nose were the cherries on the cake. ........and on the drive through to the show, this happened..... She scrubs-up not too badly for an old girl.

Evora sailed through its MOT today without so much as even 1 'advisory' - not bad for a 2010 old girl with 100k miles coming up any day now, and that until a couple of weeks ago sat unused in the corner of a body repair shop for 3 months, .

Hi Al. If you could circulate it on WhatsApp, that would be great as I'm not up to speed yet with all this modern technology - if the device switches on, that's a major victory in my book, . No need to nominate a particular car in the case of Lotus owners - all models are more than welcome. We are being a bit selective with some of the groups attending to avoid an invasion of the 'sit with it revving flat-out against the limiter' brigade but I'm sure that's not necessary here, .

Another date for your diaries, and possibly the last chance this year to show off your pride and joy before it gets tucked away for the winter. CLASSICS AGAINST CANCER CAR SHOW Pyramids Business Park, Bathgate, EH48 2XW Saturday 7th September 2024, 1200 to 1700 This is the show’s 3rd year of running and already it is promising to be bigger and better than before. Last year, we had over 270 cars, 70 motorcycles and a dozen or so light commercials in attendance, everything in fact from a 1912 Ford Model T to a brand new Lamborghini Huracan Evo Spyder. Everything that is except a Lotus, so with the enthusiasts of the Stuttgart marque already having reserved 12 spaces with an option on several more, we need to redress the balance with a good display of Hethel’s finest. All cars will be parked on tarmac (so no concerns over being bogged down in a muddy field) and will be allocated at least one and a half spaces to ensure there’s plenty of room between the displays. Cars should be in place by 1130 and there’s no entry fee – all that we ask is for a donation in one of the charity collection buckets that will be present on the day with all proceeds going to help 2 local cancer charities. There will be plenty to see and do with live music, food and drink stalls, kids’ entertainment (bouncy castle and such like), raffles, etc, in addition to the impressive display of vehicles of all shapes, sizes and vintages. If you would like to attend, please message me on here or through Facebook Messenger (www.facebook.com/david.boyd.1048/) as I’m coordinating all the entries for the show and reserving the required space for each club / individual entry.

No criticism from me as I use it too - almost all the time in the Alfa and every 3rd or 4th fill in the Evora. However, the last tankful the Alfa got left me with a very sick car. Running perfectly before, and for about a mile and a half after sticking in £70's worth then it was coughs and splutters, engine light on and limp mode getting it home. AA recovered to the local Alfa indie, where they're currently trying to fit it into their otherwise booked-weeks-ahead workshop schedule but their preliminary quick inspection suggests a tank full of crap. Tesco are disclaiming any responsibility despite my having now identified 5 others who've suffered the same at the same station on the same weekend. One of them said that the pump ran out of fuel while he was filling so sounds like we all got the rubbish dregs at the bottom of the storage tank, .

All the cosmetic improvements I've had done to my Evora over my 9 years of ownership have been entrusted to them. From the 'black pack' back in the first few weeks, through the big rear wing and other bits and pieces 6 years ago, to the aftermarket bumper initial fitment 3 years ago, and its very recent replacement (along with the addition of some functional louvres) following the car park incident, I've been nothing short of delighted with everything that they've done. The finish they produce is exceptional and has stood the test of time - 9 years and 65k miles later, the piano black on the roof still looks like it was just done yesterday. I can't recommend them highly enough. They may not be the quickest or the cheapest, and I'm sure that they'd be the first to agree with that, but you most definitely get what you pay for with them. Any excuse to post a picture of my 'baby', but here it is just after collection from them last week - everything ahead of the A-pillars was repainted.

HOW MUCH? With the fuel light on and the range down to 30 miles, I went into our local Shell station today to fill up the Evora with V-Power - I know it probably doesn't need it, but I always like to treat it to the good stuff. In the 3+ months that it's been off the road, I was expecting that the price per litre would be up a bit as the regular 95RON stuff I was sticking in the courtesy car had crept up about 1p per month from 145.9 to 149.9. At the last fill, V-Power was 157.9, so a 12p differential which I was expecting to have been roughly maintained, although having said that it was previously a 10p mark-up and only a 7p difference a year ago. Well, at least the second digit of the price difference had been maintained. Only problem was, the first digit had gone from a 1 to a 3!!!!! . Yep, once I'd scraped myself up off the floor, and rubbed my eyes in disbelief, the price is now 32p more than 95 at £1.819, . A quick phone call to arrange a second mortgage, a hard swallow and I filled her virtually to the brim for the princely sum of £100. "We don't sell as much of that as we used to" commented the cashier when I went to pay. "No shit Sherlock", .

I've only had the car back from bodyshop a few days, but with some late-night buffing sessions, I managed to get it ready to show off its facelifted look at the Bangers 'n' Flash car event at St Andrews today. After parking up in line with everybody else and setting about removing the inevitable road grime with the quick detailer kit, one of the organisers came over and asked if I would mind moving to the centre of the display field as they wanted to showcase what they considered the 3 best cars attending - flattery will get you everywhere. So, straight into the spotlight virtually from the off, sharing the 'stage' with what could have been a Lotus if things had worked out differently, and some tricked-out Beetle lookalike thing, . Bibs will probably be issuing me with a ban for daring to post this so here goes nothing, .........................

I've posted these 2 pics already in the "What made you happy?" thread but I'm sure 'over again is not forbidden' is the appropriate rule of thumb here as they're relevant in this thread too. My Evora is finally back, after 92 days languishing in a body repair establishment having a nose job after having a BMW X5 take a shortcut over it rather than going around it in a car park way back in September 2022 - yes, it can take that long to get parts even when they're needed in a hurry, . Anyway, it's back now looking better than ever, especially sporting its 'new look' for 2024. The bodyshop was mixing up the batches of Laser Blue and Piano Black paint anyway to paint the new bumper and the repaired clam so I thought we might as well take advantage of that and not let any excess mix go to waste, . The Sahara Sand effect in this one was an 'added extra' courtesy of a passing rain shower, .

Thanks Andy, it turned out even better than I was expecting. The wheel arch vents are fully functioning, not just for show, with baffle boxes beneath to prevent any crap from the tyres being thrown up through the vents and onto the clam or windscreen. I'm also hoping that the louvres on the radiator outlet duct create a venturi-effect and help suck out all the warm air that lurks in there. If nothing else, they look way better than the flat mesh panels that were there before which were starting to look decidedly second-hand with a dent/crease in one of them and paint starting to flake off them both. The body repair guys commented on that too - the carbon on this bumper seems to be even better than the previous one and I thought it was pretty good. Laser Blue. Here's another pic from a different angle. The Sahara Sand effect was not specified by the way - thanks for nothing passing rain shower, .

After 92 days going cold turkey, I finally got my Evora fix today when I collected my P&J from the bodyshop after its way too close and personal encounter with an SUV in a car park back in the dim and distant past - it took so long to source some of the parts needed before it even went in for repair that I though I might never see it resplendent again. However it was worth the wait. My chosen repairer may not be the quickest or the cheapest, and I'm sure they'd be the first to agree with that, but they're certainly the best. They match my nit-picking attention to detail and that's saying something. While it was in, and with the clam having to come off anyway for repair, it seemed a shame to let all that paint they were mixing, go to waste so I took the opportunity to add another couple of embellishments to the front end which I'm well-pleased with I have to say - I think I've really got the spirit of GT4 captured now, .

Northbound just before Southwaite Services at around 7.40 last night (Friday) - I was in my 40-tonne truck heading south so didn't acknowledge your presence.

I'm booked for the BVAC Classic at Thirlestane that day. Who knows, I may even have a car to show at it, assuming all the planets in the known universe are all in alignment before the end of the week, .