Brief history and a few photos (edited cos all the links were dead!!)
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 - actually he probably didn't drive it much harder than I do :shock:
I won't link to the video here tho plenty of versions on you tube :roll:
- The car featured in the History of Lotus Cars under Type104 (volumes 1 2 or 3 (it's in em all)
Cover Vol 2
Page 1 of double page spread
Page 2 of double page spread
When I bought the book from a stand at the lotus show the lady at the till said "There is a car in the show that is in this book"
I laughed and said "I know it's mine" :lol:
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) but for one insurance company to consider it as a classic or cherished policy and a 3 figure insurance premium.
So I knew about what it was long before I bought it
Here it is looking very sorry for itself in the workshop at Hethel (many years before I bought it - 1998 now I've checked my records)
Show Pictures
On the club stand at the Lotus show at Donnington 2002? not long after I got it I think - shock horror BC in washed and polished show std shocker!!!!
Engine
General Pics
Sometime between then and now - don't really know when assume 2003
Holiday Snap
On a European tour (taken in the hills around Umbria in Italy)
Yes you can get over 30 mpg out of a 3.6 Litre twin turbo and over 500 miles out of a tank full of fuel!!!
"It's not a photoshop honest" pics
Finally some pics to validate a picture that people always assume to be a photoshop
Background - I washed it and polished it (thats like a really really rare event) - it was a sunny day and I drove to a place where I know you can get some nice car pics (it suddenly persisted down with rain and the roads were wet and dirty on the way there)
darn- Oh well might as well take some pics then anyway
Not too mucky really
Oooh maybe not
Definately not clean - Most of the day wasted then!!
So how the hell did this one work out so right
But it's been used before around the Forums
And in B&W
Obviously never raced or rallied
Currently
But it's dry ;D
It's hasn't seen the road in anger for a couple of years due to work and life generally getting in the way (took it off the road when the clutch started slipping but there was a list of jobs that needed to be done even before then) but it will see the road next year and here is the LC plan for winter 2006/spring 2007
(Done) = completed
(Purchased) = Parts already got
Brakes
New SS pistons, hoses, discs and pads (Purchased)
New piston seals - must order these (Lisa Birthday present suggestion fell on deaf ears
)
New fluid and bleed system
Engine
Exhaust manifold gaskets plus tidy up engine bay
New heat shields (Purchased)
Oil cooler leak :roll: (It's been like that as long as I can remember :shock: but Murdo has helped me out with that)
Idle control valve replacement. (Purchased)
Full service Kit (Purchased)
Replace header tank level sensor (Purchased)(Done 21/10/06)
Oil and Filter change (Purchased)(Done 21/10/06)
Some other stuff long overdue
Transmission
Full gearbox and diff fluid change (Purchased)
Clutch
New friction plate (Purchased)
Plus strip and rebuild and lubricate mechanism inc modified "Pin" (Purchased)
Replace Clutch fluid pipe. (Purchased)
Exhaust
Free of Cat Flaps (seized from lack of use) (Done 21/10/06)
De-cat downpipes (Purchased)
Cat flaps to be removed
Couple of rubber mounts need replacing (Purchased)
Chassis
Poly bush where avaliable and treat any rust/grot (Purchased)
Maybe a bit of powder coating but it depends on what I find. It's actually looking quite good underneath considering 3 year lay off with two years spent outside :roll:
Front Suspension Subframe - Spare one - shot blasted and powder coated along with roll bar
Interior
Replace gearshift surround (Purchased)
Tunes and speaker replacement (Purchased)
Replace parcel shelf (Purchased)
Sort out window issues (see told ya it was on the list)
AC overhaul, pressure test seal replacement, oil change and re-gas
Fit tracker (Purchased)
Fit RB Boost guage in place of clock (Purchased)
Body
Sort out gel coat cracks and body scratches and stone chips
Replace front air dam rubber lip and fit with SS bolts & washers (Purchased rubber trim - must buy bolts and washers)
Replace broken door mirror cowling
Re-fix all the rubber trims on bumpers and door trims (they are all lifting in places) Started 25/10/06
Replace front indicators (Purchased) (Done 19/10/06)
Replace main front vent grill - its got slightly larger holes than std bloody pheasants!!!(Purchased)
Fit missing trim tape (this car didn't have a full set)
Replace rusty old bonnet rod with SS one (Purchased)(Done 19/10/06)
Wheels and tyres
Refurb Wheels and replace tyres (Done -2004)
Fit wheels and tyres and get it off the space savers (Done 21/10/06)
Anway I guess if people are interested they will follow the thread
Not aiming for big transformation or anything unusual Just getting it back in shape
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 - actually he probably didn't drive it much harder than I do :shock:
I won't link to the video here tho plenty of versions on you tube :roll:
- The car featured in the History of Lotus Cars under Type104 (volumes 1 2 or 3 (it's in em all)
Cover Vol 2
Page 1 of double page spread
Page 2 of double page spread
When I bought the book from a stand at the lotus show the lady at the till said "There is a car in the show that is in this book"
I laughed and said "I know it's mine" :lol:
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) but for one insurance company to consider it as a classic or cherished policy and a 3 figure insurance premium.
So I knew about what it was long before I bought it
Here it is looking very sorry for itself in the workshop at Hethel (many years before I bought it - 1998 now I've checked my records)
Show Pictures
On the club stand at the Lotus show at Donnington 2002? not long after I got it I think - shock horror BC in washed and polished show std shocker!!!!
Engine
General Pics
Sometime between then and now - don't really know when assume 2003
Holiday Snap
On a European tour (taken in the hills around Umbria in Italy)
Yes you can get over 30 mpg out of a 3.6 Litre twin turbo and over 500 miles out of a tank full of fuel!!!
"It's not a photoshop honest" pics
Finally some pics to validate a picture that people always assume to be a photoshop
Background - I washed it and polished it (thats like a really really rare event) - it was a sunny day and I drove to a place where I know you can get some nice car pics (it suddenly persisted down with rain and the roads were wet and dirty on the way there)
darn- Oh well might as well take some pics then anyway
Not too mucky really
Oooh maybe not
Definately not clean - Most of the day wasted then!!
So how the hell did this one work out so right
But it's been used before around the Forums
And in B&W
Obviously never raced or rallied
Currently
But it's dry ;D
It's hasn't seen the road in anger for a couple of years due to work and life generally getting in the way (took it off the road when the clutch started slipping but there was a list of jobs that needed to be done even before then) but it will see the road next year and here is the LC plan for winter 2006/spring 2007
(Done) = completed
(Purchased) = Parts already got
Brakes
New SS pistons, hoses, discs and pads (Purchased)
New piston seals - must order these (Lisa Birthday present suggestion fell on deaf ears
)New fluid and bleed system
Engine
Exhaust manifold gaskets plus tidy up engine bay
New heat shields (Purchased)
Oil cooler leak :roll: (It's been like that as long as I can remember :shock: but Murdo has helped me out with that)
Idle control valve replacement. (Purchased)
Full service Kit (Purchased)
Replace header tank level sensor (Purchased)(Done 21/10/06)
Oil and Filter change (Purchased)(Done 21/10/06)
Some other stuff long overdue
Transmission
Full gearbox and diff fluid change (Purchased)
Clutch
New friction plate (Purchased)
Plus strip and rebuild and lubricate mechanism inc modified "Pin" (Purchased)
Replace Clutch fluid pipe. (Purchased)
Exhaust
Free of Cat Flaps (seized from lack of use) (Done 21/10/06)
De-cat downpipes (Purchased)
Cat flaps to be removed
Couple of rubber mounts need replacing (Purchased)
Chassis
Poly bush where avaliable and treat any rust/grot (Purchased)
Maybe a bit of powder coating but it depends on what I find. It's actually looking quite good underneath considering 3 year lay off with two years spent outside :roll:
Front Suspension Subframe - Spare one - shot blasted and powder coated along with roll bar
Interior
Replace gearshift surround (Purchased)
Tunes and speaker replacement (Purchased)
Replace parcel shelf (Purchased)
Sort out window issues (see told ya it was on the list)
AC overhaul, pressure test seal replacement, oil change and re-gas
Fit tracker (Purchased)
Fit RB Boost guage in place of clock (Purchased)
Body
Sort out gel coat cracks and body scratches and stone chips
Replace front air dam rubber lip and fit with SS bolts & washers (Purchased rubber trim - must buy bolts and washers)
Replace broken door mirror cowling
Re-fix all the rubber trims on bumpers and door trims (they are all lifting in places) Started 25/10/06
Replace front indicators (Purchased) (Done 19/10/06)
Replace main front vent grill - its got slightly larger holes than std bloody pheasants!!!(Purchased)
Fit missing trim tape (this car didn't have a full set)
Replace rusty old bonnet rod with SS one (Purchased)(Done 19/10/06)
Wheels and tyres
Refurb Wheels and replace tyres (Done -2004)
Fit wheels and tyres and get it off the space savers (Done 21/10/06)
Anway I guess if people are interested they will follow the thread
Not aiming for big transformation or anything unusual Just getting it back in shape
I would love a carlton but would probably have to settle for a GSI 3000 though.
falls out of the market and it ends up not being worth a balloon you can still go out and do some donuts in it or just look at it. 
dated from 1994. i paid 5k for the car as a finance repo from the channel islands and spent a further 5k getting the car right again including a 1 bar chip conversion which brought the power up to 450bhp and caused me no reliability issues. the trim parts were the most expensive and the 4 door rubbing strips cost over £300 and were supposed to be the last factory set. my nearest lc approved vauxhall place is in litchfield and had a couple of lc,s in there which were waiting for parts but as said the abs have a mine of good info for keeping these things going. its one of those cars that few have seen and even fewer have driven and although now its performance is nothing special back in 1990 was a proper monster. easily the best car ive owned for the money and definitely one to keep wrapped up and brought out for a blast on a sunny day ,if you used one as a daily driver it wouldnt be long bfore you either got banned or run out of grip/talent which i did many times before selling it on ,the worst being coming down a slip road onto the m6 in the wet doing a 100+mph powerslide knowing full well that if you back off the gas in an lc in the wet you will be in a serious tankslapper ;D .
