[Richard B]

Thought a few of you might like to see our Lotus Carlton which we are currently restoring.

I have always been a huge fan of these, never had one, never even been in one in fact! Nevertheless i have always hankered after one!

Steve got wind of a LC local to us, apparently mint condition, one previous owner, full history, dry stored for the last 7+ years.

So off we went to take a look, hoping this would be 'the one'.
We had recently viewed one which although very low mileage, was an absolute dog, so i was very hopeful this would be the other end of the scale.

Arrived at the guys workplace, where the car was dry stored, and he told us he had put it away around 7 years ago, absolutely mint, and had not touched it or looked at it since!

Then he showed us where it was stored....



In a storage container outside!! :wallbang:

After an hour, we finally got the doors open....

















We put it in a machine factory for about 3-4 weeks before going near it, left it to dry out.
Then we dropped the oil, fuel etc etc, got a bore scope in, bit of oil in the cylinders, fresh oil, fuel, new fuel pump, new battery and amazingly it fired up!

Then we turned it off and set about stripping the shell to see how bad it was.
It was actually not too bad, much better than we expected, and just the usual LC troublesome areas that really needed attention.

So the car has been with our bodyshop for a while, all metal work on the shell has now been done, and the doors, kits, bumpers all been refitted to check alignments, and then pulled back apart and everything primered.
Now the engine is out, and the underside stripped, on a spit.

Underside is being scraped right back, then wire wheel on a drill.

Here are a few pics....
Quite scary project, mainly due to the lack of parts/spares available.
I doubt we will make money out of it but it is a car which really deserved it















































It has come a fair way since these pictures, but through the Autobahnstormers club, the progress is in the club mag every quarter so i cannot post more updatres until after the next magazine is out.:smthumbup

 

[Mita]

Love these! Beastly cars! What a shame the guy stored it like that! Looking forward to seeing it done . Are you going full OE?

 

[Barrie]

Looks a fair old job rich:smthumbup

 

[Richard B]

Love these! Beastly cars! What a shame the guy stored it like that! Looking forward to seeing it done . Are you going full OE?

He was heartbroken when we got the container opened!

Yes totally original mate, stock power, stock exhaust, only an aftermarket fuel pump.
I am very excited for it to come together, and to get the running in miles done :smthumbup

 

[Mita]

Must be fun finding bits for it! Great stuff Rich love this mate

 

[strange_days_uk]

Great thread

 

[ant1]

Been trying to find one for years. My old man was desperate for one but sadly passed before we could make it happen, been looking ever since. Looked at 11 in total and they where all rotters.

If you ever sell it, please drop me a pm and let me know

 

[DanHawkes]

Awsome job Rich.

I remember the ripples this car caused when it was released which ever since had my wanting one. I know someone who has one of them sat in a garage which gets very rarely used. Often considered making him an offer.

In your opinion are these an 'iconic' car from another era or just a quirky fast saloon from the 90's? Not sure how many they made or how many are left.

Watching with interest. :thumbup:

 

[OGA11Y]

Amazing cars! Rarely see them on the road

Will be a cracker once its finished!

 

[tont2002]

I've been out in an OMEGA version of one of these with 500bhp, and it was pretty f***ing scary.!

Fair play to you for restoring one, I can't wait to see the restoration on this, when we are allowed to

 

[Ads9]

Keep the pics coming, one hell of a car and good on you for having a heart over head moment with it! :lol:

 

[Dereksti]

Always loved these cars,amazing find :smthumbup

 

[KARL W]

Had one back in the day, amazing car but kept eating head gaskets

Was resolved down the line and was trouble free after that.

Someone is going to get a proper LC after all that work:smthumbup

 

[DuncanIV]

Lovely car. Looks like you're doing a cracking resto.
I've seen some of these when the body kits get taken off its like they modified the rear arches with an axe and no protection put on afterwards.

 

[Gav33]

I Love these cars. Never seen one in the flesh though. Looks like a cracking restoration. Tempted to trade in the Evo if this is for sale. Keep the updates coming.

 

[squeakyclean32]

That brings back memories :smthumbup....I used to know someone who owned one of these....absolutely amazeing cars in their day...they still are today :coolsm:

Looks like it's getting some TLC now...quite a find :smthumbup...Looking forward to seeing it finished

 

[A12DY B]

Never really been a fan of these, but fully understand them

love to see retro cars done nicely

 

[thetyrant]

Great project and glad to see a LC getting brought back to life, we have a few customers with them and have been told all sorts of horror stories about the rust situation on most of them so good to see this one aint so bad

Keep up the good work

Ian

 

[J90ELB]

Iconic car, Stunning

 

[Richard B]

Been trying to find one for years. My old man was desperate for one but sadly passed before we could make it happen, been looking ever since. Looked at 11 in total and they where all rotters.

If you ever sell it, please drop me a pm and let me know

Really sorry to hear that mate!
Do make it happen, absolutely gorgeous cars imo and a very nice story to go with it. Sadly i have a customer who already wants this one when it is done and ready i am afraid buddy :handsup:

Awsome job Rich.

I remember the ripples this car caused when it was released which ever since had my wanting one. I know someone who has one of them sat in a garage which gets very rarely used. Often considered making him an offer.

In your opinion are these an 'iconic' car from another era or just a quirky fast saloon from the 90's? Not sure how many they made or how many are left.

Watching with interest. :thumbup:

Thanks mate,
Yeah i remember the big outcry when they came out, and they should be banned etc etc.

If i remember correctly it was in our local paper saying that Police had been told they were not allowed to try and pursue them :crackup:

I personally think they are without doubt an iconic car, when i first started looking around for one, they were around £20-£25k for a nice low mileage one, now you are looking £40-£50k for a real nice one.

Keep the pics coming, one hell of a car and good on you for having a heart over head moment with it! :lol:

I would say that i am not sure if it was wise letting the heart rule the head, but how excited i am by this car/project makes me believe it was indeed the right decision :smthumbup

Had one back in the day, amazing car but kept eating head gaskets

Was resolved down the line and was trouble free after that.

Someone is going to get a proper LC after all that work:smthumbup

To be honest they are supposed to be a reliable car, and quite bullet proof except a few key points, one is head gaskets, another rear self levelling suspension pump failure, and bell housings cracking iirc.

You must of felt fantastic having one?

Lovely car. Looks like you're doing a cracking resto.
I've seen some of these when the body kits get taken off its like they modified the rear arches with an axe and no protection put on afterwards.

Thanks mate:smthumbup, yes sadly the arches were never done particularly well and become a corrosion hot spot, such a shame!

That brings back memories :smthumbup....I used to know someone who owned one of these....absolutely amazeing cars in their day...they still are today :coolsm:

Looks like it's getting some TLC now...quite a find :smthumbup...Looking forward to seeing it finished

Thanks :smthumbup
Yes the performance figures are still quite remarkable even today, so they must of been simply ludicrus back in the day! :coolsm:

Never really been a fan of these

Shut the door :crackup::crackup::crackup::smthumbup

Great project and glad to see a LC getting brought back to life, we have a few customers with them and have been told all sorts of horror stories about the rust situation on most of them so good to see this one aint so bad

Keep up the good work

Thanks
Yes they do corrode badly sadly, but the shell is a Vauxhall at the end of the day :crackup::wallbang:
Having said that, most have done huge mileage and been used on bad roads with little protection, so any car of the same period tends to be just as bad.

Lucky with this that it was really bad, should be a real stunner once finished