Inspired by the masochism of @Barrykearley, I've added another Lotus to the fleet.

An Esprit seems like something that'll never happen, but the idea of an Excel V8 has been bugging me for a while. The @Kimbers car is far too good to muck about with and will be staying relatively original.

So, I bought this.

It's looking very sorry and will take a long time to bring back to life. But another Excel on the road is a very good thing. In the worst case scenario, it is hopefully worth more than the sum of its parts - many of which are in the boot or on the seats!

The parts include a 3.9L Rover V8, and gearbox, already in situ. The original Lotus engine is long gone, so I don't feel bad about bringing it back to life in this fashion.

I WILL be modifying the car, although I am not going to do anything too crazy with the exterior. I'll definitely be changing the wheels as I hate that particular design. 

Ideas on a postcard for what to do with it!

Slam dat bitch !!!

go low - very low 

these bloody things are infectious ain't they - just suck you in for more.

Coilovers are already on it. My plan is to make a more overtly sporting car. A previous owner apparently planned to have it as a track day car and had fully stripped the interior, an interior is back in it but ultimately it will get retrimmed.

My plans for the exhaust mean track days will probably be impossible but I am looking forward to making a fast road car.

Get the seats done by a pro - and have a go at the door cards yourself.

i can recommend straight pipes - sound ace on a v8. The straight out no cat setup I'm running currently is loud according to @CHANGES ?

Straight pipes and no cats is the plan. I'm going to put different seats entirely in it. I just need to decide whether I want to keep the back seats usable, or not. 

Don't use evora 400 seats - the creaking will drive you nuts 

post up some more pics please......where did you find it

I see you have finally got a Lotus in the best colour 

I prefer those wheels to the Oz ones - why did they release a set of wheels where one side is going forwards the other backwards!!!

 

 

 

I'd paint it azure blue 

It is staying white. Ordinarily I abhor white cars but anything from the 1980s gets a free pass.

It was on eBay, made an offer, got it. Surprised it wasn't mentioned on here previously.

I had been looking for an Excel with a buggered engine so I could do a swap, this one cost less  than the sum of the parts with some of the work done already. Bingo!

I had planned on putting a Toyota/Lexus V8 in one to keep with the Toyota theme... but this'll do.

Missed that one - looks a very good purchase that 

you got her running yet ??

It only got back about five hours ago! It's currently in the hands of "a couple of old boys" who generally tinker with anything unusual. First port of call is take stock of what we have, make sure it looks doable.

The good news is the chassis (apparently) has not been cut away to make the bits fit.

If the chassis is good and solid - it's perfect. 

My first port of call is to take to my local for an mot !! Never bothered if it fails - at least for a few quid you get to know if it's good or bad

My s3 has failed on just brakes - so there's a job once the paints done

It presently doesn't run, needs some work to get it to that stage. The insurance is not cheap so I won't be insuring it until it is done. Still, many plans and no worries about keeping it original

45 minutes ago, Barrykearley said:

i can recommend straight pipes - sound ace on a v8. The straight out no cat setup I'm running currently is loud according to @CHANGES ?

Loud.... did you say loud ?  its just that my hearing has not recovered from the BK visit last weekend..   There is more tasteful ways of making a car sound good ...Sorry Barry..   I am sure James can get it to sing a good tune ... You wont go far wrong with a similar system to what we used on the works TR8 rally cars , they sounded awesome.. 

 

Insurance should be cheap as chips - even modified.

aib are great for my old cars - S4 a bit pricey - but still cheap.

if it's the modifications that the issue - then specialists like flux or kit car insurance is the next thing to look at. It's still an old ancient classic - and should be cheap

I don't want the thing to be unbearable but there's plenty of ways to quieten the car down. We'll start with straight pipes and work from there.

I did recently acquire another vehicle too but it's not a Lotus. Does have a V8 though.

Pics or it didn't happen

The excel Sounds like an interesting project. Look forward to seeing it when its up and running.

 

4 minutes ago, CHANGES said:

Loud.... did you say loud ?  its just that my hearing has not recovered from the BK visit last weekend..   There is more tasteful ways of making a car sound good ...Sorry Barry..   I am sure James can get it to sing a good tune ... You wont go far wrong with a similar system to what we used on the works TR8 rally cars , they sounded awesome.. 

 

I'd check for loose roof tiles just in case ?

4 minutes ago, Barrykearley said:

Pics or it didn't happen

1995 BMW 530i. Very unusual and short-lived 3L V8. Only got the cats and a tiny resonator. Makes a great noise. Manual box. Ludicrously good condition inside. Not very fast but extremely wafty and comfy.

Congrats on th Excel James. My friend bought a 530 to drive to lemans one year. Every year they bought a car to abuse to le man and back. He thought it was a cracking bit of kit for the small budget they had. 

 

Look forward to seeing the Excel being bought to life. 

 

 

Mine cost me my old Peugeot van and £500. Ludicrous value for money. Previous owner was a bit silly in selling it because he didn't mention half of the nice things it has on it!

13 minutes ago, Buddsy said:

really disliked those wheels as they look such a 90s design...but now I have started to like them as they are...such a 90s design

80s design

 

It's a direct replacement for the works van then 

best have a chat with the accountant 

1 minute ago, ChrisJ said:

80s design

 

One word

"pepperpots"

I take it your talking about wheels barry and not the lady out of iron man !