General Question

[Monaro5.7]

Hi guys

Sorry to crash the party, but over the last few years i have been looking around at the Lotus Carlton, Prices vary from as low as 10k to excess of 20k and even seen one in the north of Scotland for 55k

Iam getting into a position where i could be able to purchase one of these car around the 15k price tag, but what will i get with a car in that price bracket?

What are the main points to look for?
are these cars reliable? (weekend car tho)
does the body suffer like most Vauxhalls of the age?

I would be running this car along with my Vauxhall Monaro and the cars share some of the same parts

[H5OLC]

Hi

I have an LC which one of my friends on the forum here knew I was looking to sell. I will e-mail you some details in 24hrs once PH allows me to if you are interested.

Roughly with an LC a top spec one should be about £20K and a scabber about £10K. Autobhanstormers is the best place for advice. I know the £55K car as it is in a garage 15 miles from me, the garage are not really that bothered about selling it and it is spotless, but way over priced.

The main faults are listed on this website
http://www.lotus-carlton.fsnet.co.uk/Faults.htm

As with most cars of this age, condition, body work, service history are more imporatant than is it an 90 or a 92 car. Timing chains are a big issue on these cars as thaey are weak and if they break it is very expensive, a new head is £1800 alone. the gearbox bell hosuing can also crack due to flexing as the clutch is depressed (bad design), but fixable

I have not had any major problems with my LC except a bad earth. They are better as a weekend car than a daily drive. I wouldn't say they are good in town as the clutch is a bit heavy. They are reliable if looked after properly. Some parts are getting scarce for the LC now

Body work does like to rot if not properly protected

£15K should get you a decent car with service history and about 70-80K mileage, maybe a few minor problems, but nothing major

Andy

[GKP]

H5OLC said:

They are better as a weekend car than a daily drive. I wouldn't say they are good in town as the clutch is a bit heavy.

I ran mine as an everyday car for six years, they're very easy to pootle around in. I think the car benefits from being used regularly. My Missus was quite capable of operating the clutch in traffic, it's not that bad. She preferred the LC to the V8 Esprits.

As noted above, there are one or two specific mechanical parts to watch out for, but on the whole these are fixable. Nowadays, it's rust rust and rust that will be the thing that kills 'em. Wheelarches, sills, windscreen surround, rear screen surround, doors etc all can get crunchy.

[Monaro5.7]

Thanks for you comments, I was looking to run it over the summer and store it over the winter.

I have had a look throw the listing at work for bit and the main parts seem to be avalible brakes and service parts. also found out the LC shares some parts with my Monaro like bearings i think i should go and look at a few and do a bit more research on them.

Si