1985 Lotus Excel

Description for Lotus Excel 1985

Nice original un-modified '85 Lotus Excel in excellent condition for a 34 year old British sports car

• This car was imported from the UK by me personally in 2010. It was the 5th Lotus I had purchased in a 3-year period, as I wanted an example of each model in the Lotus lineup that had been produced up to that time.
• The previous owner in the UK used it as a daily driver during the prior 6.5 years and it was purchased with the current 93K miles on the clock. It has been driven less that 100 miles since 2010 and has been in temperature controlled storage with the rest of my collection during my ownership.
• Like all Lotus cars, the Excel has an entirely fiberglass body. Sometime in the past, the top portion of this car (above the trim line) was resprayed with a single-stage paint, correctly matching the original Lotus factory red color. The car has been recently detailed and the paint buffed & waxed to a nice finish. However, please keep in mind this is still a 30+ year old car. It was a daily driver, not a show car.
• The Lotus Excel was constructed using a galvanized wishbone chassis, so unlike the previous Eclat model, there was no opportunity for rust on the frame. The brakes, transmission and other mechanical components were supplied to Lotus by Toyota and match those used on the same vintage Supra.
• The 85 Excel came with a Lotus-built 912 engine delivering 160 BHP. This engine was tested and showed 185PSI+ compression on all cylinders and very good leak-down scores. Clearly, although there was no documentation to prove it, the engine must have received major service work during previous ownership. The clutch is hydraulic and works perfectly, with no sign of slippage during acceleration.
• This Excel starts immediately, without hesitation, idles perfectly and drives very nicely. No leaks, no smoke, no overheating. This model has power steering and dual radiator cooling cans, but NO A/C. All electrics work correctly (unusual for an older British car with Lucas components), including the CD player w/ 4-speakers & electric windows.
  

Significant work was performed on the Excel shortly after it arrived to put it in good order, including the following:

• (4) new brake disks, pads & front calipers rebuilt
• New clutch & slave cylinders
• Dellorto DHLA45 carbs rebuilt & tuned
• New cam belt, tensioner, crankshaft sprocket & both v-belts
• New plugs, cap & rotor
• New thermostat, coolant and hoses
• New 15W50 Mobil 1 & filter
• New fuel filter and tank/fuel lines flushed
• Entire door window frames & glass tracks replaced/powder-coated (previous rotted out)
• The previous owner noted that he had replaced the rear differential, power steering rack, headlining and door pivot pins during his ownership
  
• A new battery was fitted in the last 30-days in preparation for sale

Things that could be improved to enhance this collector car:

• Windshield has a small delamination patch in the passenger upper corner. The previous owner noted that this existed when he purchased the car over 16 years ago and it has not changed status while I have owned the car. However, replacement windshields for a Lotus Excel are available and could be replaced.
• One of the photos identifies that the respray paint job on the RH door and rear panel show "bubbled" surface defects. Again, this existed when I purchased the car 10 years ago and has not degraded since, even during the recent detailing service.
• The rear brake calipers could do with a rebuild kit. The brakes work properly, but the bleed screws on the rear calipers are frozen and will require work to free prior to future bleeding service.

VIN SCC089912FHD11950 This is the original VIN. Use a proxy VIN because that eBay system does not accept a foreign VIN.

On May-30-19 at 05:42:57 PDT, seller added the following information:

More details I thought of after placing the ad:

• The tires have almost full tread on them and show no sign of cracks or imperfections. However, they are more than 20 years old based on the molded-in dating on them. I recommend replacing before driving the car at high speed.
• Since this Excel was manufactured for the UK market in 1985, it left the factory with emissions hardware or catalytic converter.