So I just bought this. Don't laugh! Update: not gonna happen :(

[Mr Tidy]

Not quite the same model but the same era!

These two were at a local car meet in March:-

[Chris_D]

Check the seat belt mounting on the sill. I was in goods-in when a faulty batch came in with the captive nut welded on the wrong side. I refused to sign them off despite pressure from management. Eventually they got another inspector to sign them off and a few weeks later I was sacked due to my poor attitude. If it is the faulty batch, the seat belt mount will basically be held on by just 2 small welds rather than be being clamped by the nut.

Blimey! Thanks for that tip!

Not quite the same model but the same era!

These two were at a local car meet in March:-

My budget doesn't stretch to an S1/2 sadly.
My dad has an S2 that's spent more time over the last 40 years on axle-stands in his garage than it's been driven!
Partly due to it's loathsome reliability and partly due to his somewhat clandestine tactic of avoiding his wife and kids!

[Mr Tidy]

My budget doesn't stretch to an S1/2 sadly.

No, they are in a different place price-wise but it seemed to fit in with your thread - they're even both white!

Hope you get a good outcome.

[ShaunKC]

Here is one I saw on my travels today, a bit more of a project car, but the same model I think!

It's quite literally become part of the scenery!

Yes, sad to see a car like this left in this state, needs a real enthusiast to bring it back to life, one with very deep pockets!!

[Chris_D]

Here is one I saw on my travels today, a bit more of a project car, but the same model I think!

It's quite literally become part of the scenery!

Yes, sad to see a car like this left in this state, needs a real enthusiast to bring it back to life, one with very deep pockets!!

One of the reasons I went for this as a 'project car' over say, a TVR, Porsche, old Italian sportscar [insert make/model here] etc., is the fact that for relatively little money and a decent baseline you can actually have an old exotic on the road eventually.
OK, now it looks like the engine might be a goner in the one I'm considering but even if that's the case, a bit more spent on a new V8 engine/gearbox will probably work out way cheaper than fettling any of the aforementioned motors.

The motivation basically is to keep me occupied during the evenings and weekends so that I'm not spending all my hours with the business.
I don't watch telly, I don't have a wife/kids/ expensive gf (and no I'm not batting for the same team ) so I have total freedom to make the best of my spare time doing something productive that won't break the bank.
I reckon the one on the hillside, if it hasn't rotted is salvageable. There's probably a story in it. Why don't you make some enquiries if you're round that way again? Where was it?

[ShaunKC]

It's quite literally become part of the scenery!

Yes, sad to see a car like this left in this state, needs a real enthusiast to bring it back to life, one with very deep pockets!!

One of the reasons I went for this as a 'project car' over say, a TVR, Porsche, old Italian sportscar [insert make/model here] etc., is the fact that for relatively little money and a decent baseline you can actually have an old exotic on the road eventually.
OK, now it looks like the engine might be a goner in the one I'm considering but even if that's the case, a bit more spent on a new V8 engine/gearbox will probably work out way cheaper than fettling any of the aforementioned motors.

The motivation basically is to keep me occupied during the evenings and weekends so that I'm not spending all my hours with the business.
I don't watch telly, I don't have a wife/kids/ expensive gf (and no I'm not batting for the same team ) so I have total freedom to make the best of my spare time doing something productive that won't break the bank.
I reckon the one on the hillside, if it hasn't rotted is salvageable. There's probably a story in it. Why don't you make some enquiries if you're round that way again? Where was it?

It's in Southowram, which is a small village outside Halifax, I think the chances are it has rotten to bits underneath though. I imagine it does have a story, otherwise it would be in the scrap heap by now! One for car SOS I think! If you really want a project, I'm more than happy to knock on their door and pass on your telephone number.

[Chris_D]

Yes, sad to see a car like this left in this state, needs a real enthusiast to bring it back to life, one with very deep pockets!!

One of the reasons I went for this as a 'project car' over say, a TVR, Porsche, old Italian sportscar [insert make/model here] etc., is the fact that for relatively little money and a decent baseline you can actually have an old exotic on the road eventually.
OK, now it looks like the engine might be a goner in the one I'm considering but even if that's the case, a bit more spent on a new V8 engine/gearbox will probably work out way cheaper than fettling any of the aforementioned motors.

The motivation basically is to keep me occupied during the evenings and weekends so that I'm not spending all my hours with the business.
I don't watch telly, I don't have a wife/kids/ expensive gf (and no I'm not batting for the same team ) so I have total freedom to make the best of my spare time doing something productive that won't break the bank.
I reckon the one on the hillside, if it hasn't rotted is salvageable. There's probably a story in it. Why don't you make some enquiries if you're round that way again? Where was it?

It's in Southowram, which is a small village outside Halifax, I think the chances are it has rotten to bits underneath though. I imagine it does have a story, otherwise it would be in the scrap heap by now! One for car SOS I think! If you really want a project, I'm more than happy to knock on their door and pass on your telephone number.

That's a very kind offer mate, it could facilitate as a donor/parts car for the one over here - especially if the engine is in good order, or at least better order than the one I'm looking at
I'll PM you.

[ShaunKC]

One of the reasons I went for this as a 'project car' over say, a TVR, Porsche, old Italian sportscar [insert make/model here] etc., is the fact that for relatively little money and a decent baseline you can actually have an old exotic on the road eventually.
OK, now it looks like the engine might be a goner in the one I'm considering but even if that's the case, a bit more spent on a new V8 engine/gearbox will probably work out way cheaper than fettling any of the aforementioned motors.

The motivation basically is to keep me occupied during the evenings and weekends so that I'm not spending all my hours with the business.
I don't watch telly, I don't have a wife/kids/ expensive gf (and no I'm not batting for the same team ) so I have total freedom to make the best of my spare time doing something productive that won't break the bank.
I reckon the one on the hillside, if it hasn't rotted is salvageable. There's probably a story in it. Why don't you make some enquiries if you're round that way again? Where was it?

It's in Southowram, which is a small village outside Halifax, I think the chances are it has rotten to bits underneath though. I imagine it does have a story, otherwise it would be in the scrap heap by now! One for car SOS I think! If you really want a project, I'm more than happy to knock on their door and pass on your telephone number.

That's a very kind offer mate, it could facilitate as a donor/parts car for the one over here - especially if the engine is in good order, or at least better order than the one I'm looking at
I'll PM you.

No problem, I'll look out for your PM and head up at the weekend.

[Steve67]

It sounds like you have a sticky caliper if it's pulling to one side, probably the front but it's also possible that a rear is upsetting the balance ... MOT brake test rollers should confirm that under different pedal pressures. I found that braided hoses firmed up the pedal a bit, but it's not going to fix your problem. Even with rebuilt calipers, new discs and pads I was disappointed with the brakes. Upgrading the brakes to larger diameter front discs & 4 pot calipers was the biggest smiles per pound on my car - the confidence it gave was worth every penny!

For the overheating, if it's mainly at speed, I suspect that the radiator is clogged up and needs a re-core. Since the thermostat is easy to access and cheap, I'd probably change that and check the small hose from the thermostat cover to the header tank is clear since this purges the air from the high point in the cooling system.

If overheating at idle, check that the fans cut in at 92 degrees. The otter switch itself (in the radiator) can also cause the relay to buzz. Over the years, I changed the otter switch twice but never had to change the relay. To check the fans, turn the AC on (not ECO mode), both fans should run. In ECO mode, the AC compressor still runs but does not activate the fans - this is fine when cruising with airflow through the radiators but not when stuck in traffic!.

[Chris_D]

It sounds like you have a sticky caliper if it's pulling to one side, probably the front but it's also possible that a rear is upsetting the balance ... MOT brake test rollers should confirm that under different pedal pressures. I found that braided hoses firmed up the pedal a bit, but it's not going to fix your problem. Even with rebuilt calipers, new discs and pads I was disappointed with the brakes. Upgrading the brakes to larger diameter front discs & 4 pot calipers was the biggest smiles per pound on my car - the confidence it gave was worth every penny!

For the overheating, if it's mainly at speed, I suspect that the radiator is clogged up and needs a re-core. Since the thermostat is easy to access and cheap, I'd probably change that and check the small hose from the thermostat cover to the header tank is clear since this purges the air from the high point in the cooling system.

If overheating at idle, check that the fans cut in at 92 degrees. The otter switch itself (in the radiator) can also cause the relay to buzz. Over the years, I changed the otter switch twice but never had to change the relay. To check the fans, turn the AC on (not ECO mode), both fans should run. In ECO mode, the AC compressor still runs but does not activate the fans - this is fine when cruising with airflow through the radiators but not when stuck in traffic!.

Thanks Steve.
Theres a good level of communication from the dealer at the mo. He's as keen to get it into good order as I am to buy it. I set some clear objectives re this and he's now busy with both issues.
He's suggesting a rad refurb and that might resonate with your idea for a recore.
I'll suggest that to him.
In the meantime, ShaunKC l, as above has spotted an excel on the side of fhe road and has kindly offered to reccy it for me at ghe weekend. If its an SE it could be a potential donor/parts car. Curious about the interior.

I'll update this thread at the weekend.
Thanks fir your input fella

[Chris_D]

Little update.

Oh well, it's still an ongoing saga with the overheating Lotus Excel.
I was being given the over-optimistic 'It will be fine by the weekend Chris' response to emails sent to the dealer through the week.
Was put off from going yesterday by him and suggested to come in today.
Was trying to ring in the morning but no answer.

So I decided to trek down there anyway and on my arrival I was given a rather feeble apology for not being able to get through to them by phone. Short-staffed on Sundays apparently.
The car was up on a ramp with what I can only describe as an Airfix kit-like mess on the ground around it. All the coolant plumbing and ancillaries detached and in bits. The rad nowhere to be seen and a rather worryingly-sized pool of oil on the ground directly below the engine.

Dealer: 'We gave it an oil change Chris'.
Me: 'Er, what? You did that the week before last?'
Dealer: 'Er, no we didn't have time, so we did it today.'
Me: 'But you told me yourself you did an oil change the week before last.....?'
Dealer: '...Anyway, so we're still busy with the cooling system. The radiator is being cleaned. We ordered some new hoses and some other things.'

At this point 2 things hit me. He's literally lied to me about the oil-change and he's been hedging all week about it being ready and it still isn't. He could have just told me it's not ready and we could have delayed another week if necessary.
Weird.

Oh wait, there's more; it transpires it's not even part of his dealer inventory. He's selling it 'on behalf of a friend'. I was never told this until today when I started asking about a warranty. I'd already negotiated it away but now it seems it would have never had one in the first place.
I'm 99% inclined to walk away from this now. I'm beginning to get the impression that they don't really know what they're doing and that they've just been waiting for an over-enthusiastic mug to come along and fall for it.

So it's good to set firm boundaries and acceptance criteria right at the beginning of any deal. Especially when you're dealing with cars of this age and reputation.

I haven't paid a bean for anything in this deal and I'm not committed from a legal standpoint so I have nothing to lose.
I'd love it to be a different story. I knew it needing some small jobs and issues sorting out and it would make an excellent little project car, but I really wanted something I could drive away from the seller. Not something I'd be worrying about it letting go and going pop-fizz from the get go.

Thoughts?
Stick with it, or cut and run?

[Z4C_er]

Well done. Love the idea of a project car.

[Chris_D]

SO, on my 5th and final visit to the dealer this morning I reluctantly decided to call it a day on this one.

As per the week before last I received a raft of reassuring emails from the dealer through the week and on the latest test drive this morning all of the issues that he said would be sorted are still there to more or less degree.
The overheating issue is still there but this time with added smells! I don't know if it's a result of removing, 'refreshing' and replacing the cooling system but the smells coming into the cabin while out on a run concerned me so much I had to pull over and pop the hood to see what was going on in the engine bay! Sort of a boiling coolant mixed with burning rubber, melting resin and dead cat, if you can imagine that!

Braking was still a bit of a lottery and I suspect they have simply just bled the system and put new fluid in rather than re-balance properly.

An additional issue that wasn't there before was that it popped out of gear a couple of times. This was the final straw as far as I was concerned. I would just be opening myself up to a lottery of more issues to come in my estimation.

Got it back to the dealer, explained the issues and I got the same pantomime response; 'But we fixed everything Chris, the car is perfect now!'. Er, I don't think so mate. I got the feeling that due to my enthusiasm and compliance to his stalling emails week-on-week that he thought he could probably mug me off eventually. Not so, sadly for him.
He became rather irate, verging on angry and practically kicked me out of the dealership which I thought was rather unprofessional and defeatist.
I duly thanked him for his courtesy and informed him that I would not be coming back.

I suppose the moral of this tale is that no matter how good you THINK the car looks externally, no matter what's in the history and paperwork and especially no matter what the dealer tells you, always let practicality and sense prevail over your heart and romantic enthusiasm!

So. On with the search. Any suggestions?

Budget is 10-15k including purchase and fettling to good mechanical condition. Has to be 'different' or quirky with a bit of a wow factor. Preferably with proven mechanicals, enabling some customisation at a later date. I'm all over Pistonheads and there's a huge amount of 'youngtimer' dealers here in The Netherlands with all manner of exotica. Something Amurrrcan is also perhaps an option as there's loads to be had here, possibly a legacy of all those Amurrrcan service personnel based here over the years.

Once I know it's a sound car then the real fun can begin. I have some ideas in mind but that's for a later post.....

[MrPT]

I think the moral of the story is, that for all your pratting about on this forum, you actually took a really sensible approach and got correspondingly fair outcome.

So. On with the search. Any suggestions?

Accord Type R. Miles under budget, but who cares?

[Cees Klumper]

Do consider that, even with a properly sorted car, at this age and build quality even when new, problems like these will pop up from time to time eventually. So you might hold out now for the 'perfect project car' (a contradiction in terms right off the bat), but be prepared that whatever you buy, 3 months down the road could just as easily start overheating/popping out of gear/pulling to one side when braking. Just look on this forum how many problems we have with our 'Zs' and those are practically new by comparison. But best of luck in the continued search.