Carlton/Senator B history 1988 - to date

OK my sincere apologies for the length of this post!!!

Not a Senator but this is the car that got me started in big Vauxhalls.
A 1.8i L Carlton 1986 on a D988 HPW in white with 98,000 miles – Note new shape on a D!.



Fleet: 1. Carlton 1.8 Li Manual

Cracking car part exchanged at 180,000 miles – why cos I really wanted a Monza GSE but couldn’t find one that wasn’t rusty so it got chopped in for: This one – 2.5i 12V Auto 1989 G379 HKW in Haze Blue with 100,000 miles just clocked up and therefore only just run in





As featured in a full service guide for Striaght Six 12V's in Car Mechanics Magazine :oops:

Fleet: 1. Senator 2.5i 12V Auto

Sold Privately with 170,000 miles just after it won best in Class at Billing in order to partly fund the replacement I’d already bought

This one – 3.0i 24V CD Auto 1992 J905 HAB with 98,000 miles and it turned out a bit of a chequered history – despite it being a full History with the car if you see what I mean



It got featured with a load of club cars in car Mechanics magazine




Still got it (but the autobox got converted to a manual) with 166,000 miles shown on the dash but it’s donating parts to the L reg one later down the page – it will be going to the scrap yard soon. (honest love)

Fleet: 1. Senator 3.0i 24V Auto

Mising 12V reliability I had the option of buying my old Police car D868 GVG – it was looking a bit sorry for itself but was quick for a car with 300,000 miles – quicker than my 24V auto To 130mph





Fleet: 2. Senator 3.0i Manual (Ex Job) And Senator 3.0i 24V CD Auto

It soon became apparent that the Series 2 wasn’t going to pass another MOT but I kept it figuring I had all the running gear to convert a Monza GSE to Manual It lived on the grass for a while so I could continue to use all of the 2 car drive but then I got a lock up in town to store it – At this point I stopped counting it.

Anyway 5HAB’y had an engine problem so I need some wheels quick (as opposed to quick wheels) I bought a Monza GSE Auto with a mate to tide me over but then this one walks into my life

3.0i 12V CD Auto F64 MPM with mega miles but working AC and Cruise in the middle of a fuel crisis for £300 from memory



Fleet: 3. Senator 3.0i 12V Auto, Monza GSE (Auto) and Senator 3.0i 24V Auto- converted to Manual

At this point the plan to buy my mates share of the GSE came a cropper – he had it back for a bit of welding and flogged it – curse word I had all the bits to convert it to Manual – time to look for another Monza I think

Fleet: 2. Senator 3.0i 12V Auto and Senator 3.0i 24V Auto- converted to Manual

I think at this point I had my driveway extended and maybe over-awed buy the increase in parking space from 2 cars to 5 - I slipped/fell into the dark side

This K488 NNP 3.0i 24V CD Auto ended up in my care (selling on behalf of an Autobahnstormers club member who had emigrated) luckily I didn’t keep it long - he'd been trying to sell it before he emigrated but as he got more desparate the offers got lower.... I think £3000 was the best offer he'd got and it was worth £5000 so I offered to baby sit the car and transfer the funds once it sold for a sensible price which of course I got :lol:

I'd never been that sure about the colour till I lived with this one for a while and you can guess by the last purchase what I think of it now...



I bought 3.0i 24V (Ex Job – Herts) K616 CBM with 180,000 miles









Turned out handy cos I ended up lending F64 MPM to friend on Piston heads - Dom Colbech while I tried to resolve a few problems with his Lotus Omega – I didn’t see it for a while and he didn’t see his Omega either……

I also found a dead Monza GSE (see Monza GSE history thread) at the same time so that ended up here – dam car was a manual so all those conversion parts were just spares.

Fleet: 4 Senator 3.0i 12V Auto (out on loan), Monza GSE (Dead at the time) and 2 X Senator 3.0i 24V Manual (ish)

Meantime the Omega finally got fixed and with no need to keep it F64 MPM got sold too

Fleet: 3. Monza GSE (Dead at the time) and 2 X Senator 3.0i 24V Manual (ish)

K616 CBM kept me busy for a while, Change the steel wheels for alloy X spokes – stuffed leather in to replace the cloth – replaced all the damaged dash sections al the usual ex-plod car changes. Loved the car and boy was it quick it never had any hesitation in sending the calibrated speedo of the dash until it hit the stop. Anyway a lad who worked for me (just finishing a 2 year ban for DD) pestered the hell out of me so I sold it to him.

Fleet: 2 Monza GSE (Dead at the time) and Senator 3.0i 24V Manual (ish)

I was a bit flush with space and somehow having got rid of a Lotus Omega a Lotus Carlton ended on the drive around that time.

Brief history and a few photos again

This “Lotus Carlton” is the one used for

- The Top Gear review on Lotus Carltons and has obviously been thrashed to within an inch of it’s life by a certain Tiff Needell

- The car featured in the History of Lotus Cars

I guess that makes it well known

How did I get hold of it?

Purchased in a closed auction (sealed bids) purchase direct from Lotus Cars at Hethel with 21,000 miles on the clock – I nearly withdrew after I had the most awfull insurance quotes (very large four figure sums – gadzooks) one insurance company consider it as a classic so you can get a policy for a 3 figure insurance premium.








Rubbish pics but I seem to have lost a whole load in my last PC crash - thank you Bill for a quality product!!!

Best one is this one



Fleet: 3. The LC, Monza GSE (Alive finally and on loan to club member) Senator 3.0i 24V (now dead again)

Loads of drive space!! - Well with all that space shame to waste it

I bought a Carlton CDX or two

OK the 1st car shortly after I got it – the wolfraces I put on it same day as
– I had em lying around
– The tyres that were on the car when I drove it home were horribly illegal (I’m a cheapskate.)





What other faults did it have – rusty tailgate (seriously fubar), knackered rear air shocks, prop shaft centre bearing non existent, dents in every panel, hole in the inlet trunking hose from AFM, dismal interior all seats completely collapsed and in places covered in paint, cracked front and rear bumpers, stone chipped and holed light units
So why the hell did I buy it
- cheap and had a shed load of welding done to the chassis rails front and rear so was structurally sound
- I needed a load carrier – building work so didn’t give a rats what it looked like - well at teh time I purchased it!!!

Well in time honoured fashion it got lent out as soon as I had it road legal (new Monroe Air assisted rear shocks, second hand prop araldite in the holes in the lights, second hand Airflow meter trunking) and running sweet - a mate Will was moving house and combined with a nice big trailer we both have access too it was an ideal vehicle.

Trouble is while it was away I found another by accident :-) (it might have found me actually)

Again a 3.0i CDX Estate in the same colour but in auto format – This one cost me £50 in the end but had all straight rust free panels, doors, bumpers and lights – just a 1 day left on the MOT after a verdict on the test was to scrap it – terminal chassis corrosion, horribly blowing exhaust, 2 ropey tyres, no electric widows, knackered steering lock, whiney diff and a pretty close to dead auto gearbox.

It wasn’t local but close enough for me to blag a lift to go and get it so I parked on the drive knowing SWMBO would think it was the one I’d lent to Will being returned

Anyway Pics of the 2nd one






This great plan worked just fine till Will brought the original one back :-( - I had 2 then and a bit of explaining to do between the tears. A “promise” to strip it in a weekend and get shot of it resulted in a lot of parts swapped in a very short space of time and this being trailered up to the local tip
What got dumped






Didn’t leave much in it apart from bottom end, gearbox and diff which was a real whiney curse word anyway (did keep the driveshafts though)
We strip em proper round ere ;-)

Anyway so after all the good bits were swapped it started to look like a tidy car – almost a shame to use and abuse it for building refuse - except for the interior which in either car was a total mess and even though I’d made the best of it by mixing and matching it was still a minger.

Was I happy – nope and I got speaking to a fellow stormer - Billy Tarr – what did he have? A full leather interior and facelift door cards – What did I end up doing - yep you guessed it I drove up to York to collect the interior and a load cover and a few other bits – so now it has that fitted too.

Will I carry brick rubble in it? Well yes but I bought a big rigid plastic load liner from ebay for a tenner so at least I can keep the boot carpets from damage…… It was quite a tidy old bus now ;-) 1.8i badges kept people guessing!!!!

Fleet: 6. LC, Monza GSE (Still on loan to club member) Senator 3.0i 24V (dead again) 2 X CDX Estate and a Polo

Fleet slimmed by one when one of the CDX Estates was scrapped

So being unable to count I added another 3.0 24V CD Auto H898 KFS







Fleet: 6. LC, Monza GSE (Back home – curse word!) 2 X Senator 3.0i 24V Auto (one badly converted to Manual) CDX Estate and a Polo

It’s all got packed out on the drive again and I’m parking a car in the road

Would have been nice to keep H898 KFS but a little investigation into it history revealed it had been clocked at least twice in it’s life and was only fit for another years safe motoring – So I used it till the tax and test ran out and then scrapped it

Fleet slimmed by one again

Then guess what buggers up the driveway parking K616 CBM The New Keeper – caught twice in as many weeks for speeds in excess of 100mph he licence went on another holiday so it came back home to me. Unfortunately it had also hit the odd tree or two during his ownership so headlamps were replaced and bumper irons to straighten out the worst of it. Its arrival home caused other issues – I had severely exceeded my drive space allowance and was getting major grief.

Ebay sale of K616 CBM – Phew Space again - I had to deliver it to Newcastle - to be exported to Norway but I got what I needed for it

I can’t see any of the driveway but at least everything fits on it.

Fleet: 5. LC, Monza GSE, Senator 3.0i 24V Dead, CDX Estate and a Polo

Along comes a lovely K544 KNP 3.0i 12V Auto (Will I never learn)











Fleet: 6. The LC, Monza GSE, Senator 3.0i 24V (now dead), Senator 3.0i 12v CD, CDX Estate and a Polo

Salvation was at hand - the Senator 12V unfortunately was soon prised from my hands by a work colleague for minimal profit – curse word big mistake could have sold it 3 times over….

So by now a pattern should be emerging

- Fleet less than 5 means space on drive that can be filled

- Fleet more than 5 means no space on drive so something has to be sold or “loaned”

So one more Senator – justified to SWMBO by scrapping Shabby (oops was that supposed to happen like straight away!!!)

L690 HKX 3.0i 24V CD Auto (bought cheap as chips after the cam chain snapped)









Damn thing is finally finished - is it plug and play :?

I know I haben't done the lettering on the rocker cover......









Wall of shame - cars broken to save others just in view :roll:



Well it's plugged



Maybe next week we will see if it wants to play!!!!

Fleet: 6. The LC, Monza GSE (out on Loan – hooray!), 2 X Senator 3.0i 24V (Both dead), CDX Estate and a Polo

Since then Another Polo has arrived – it was a bit of a while but the old one went away eventually so I’m back to the above just a different Polo

In all this time I haven't used the Garage to store a car just the drive but as my garage is too short to fit a Senator or LC I decided to extend it....

Once the Extension was finished and 2 cars are about to be stored/restored in it space on the drive for another!!!!





Ex polac - complete with original Police log book

Head gasket is fubar but everything else is tidy and just needs a bit of work - I now have another project car - better finish the L reg one first :roll:

One arrives one must go







Bye Bye Shabby - you will be missed

Since then the fleet has been slimmed again - CDX sold to make some room - don't ask but I have a car on my drive that isn't mine - who needs friends!!!

Fleet: 5. The LC, Monza GSE (in restoration - see other thread), 2 X Senator 3.0i 24V (Both still needing work, one a head gasket and the other a dash) and a Polo or two!!

Anyway - mods feel free to delete if it isn't retro enough for you