Description
1986 Lotus Excel SE (Ex Press Car) with lots of upgrades for sale
For sale is a beautiful and much adored Lotus Excel SE, which has been in the same ownership since 2010.
The car is in lovely condition and benefits from a host of upgrades, new parts and attention. Unfortunately, the car has developed starting issues which it is believed have been traced to low compression on one of the cylinders.
A spare, highly uprated 220bhp engine is available subject to separate negotiation and was earmarked for fitment but a house move forces sale.
A huge amount of money and time has gone into making this a standout car with specification as follows:
Former press car, registered in October 1985. Comes with a couple of well-known period magazines featuring this very car on the cover.
When running the car produced 200bhp on the dyno (printout with the car) when at the time the only performance upgrades fitted were a stainless exhaust and K&N filter. This output is significantly higher than the standard 180bhp, possibly on account of it being a former press car.
-Powerspark distributor and electronic ignition system
-Stainless exhaust.
-Hi-torque starter motor
-Recaro seats
-Refurbished fuel tank from Lotusbits
-New radiator and fans fitted only a few miles ago
-Kevlar fuel line with braided hoses to carbs
-Stainless header tank
-New carpets and sound proofing fitted in current ownership and rear seats recovered
-New clutch installed less than 100 miles ago
-OZ wheels
-Refurbished brakes fitted in current ownership
-New avo dampers and springs fitted in current ownership but springs could probably do with replacing now
-Refurbished PAS system fitted a year or so ago
-K&N Filter
-Cambelt changed by Lotusbits in my ownership
-New ignition amplifier and lead (photos taken prior to installation)
-New high-performance coil & spare new coil (photos taken prior to installation). Spare distributor and amplifier also.
-All new plugs and HT leads
-Professionally recovered steering wheel (leather with red stitching)
-Wood fascia (spare original black fascia comes with it)
-New original spec gear knob
-Very nice bluetooth stereo with new speakers.
-Driver side window relay upgrade
-Refurbished window frames fitted in current ownership
-New headlining and boot carpets done in current ownership
-Replacement door lock mechanisms fitted in current ownership
-Hi-torque battery
-Huge history file
Areas for improvement:
Low compression on one cylinder and will not start (at least not reliably). Will need a trailer to collect. A 220bhp spare engine is available subject to further negotiation.
Windows are slow on driver side and have given up on the passenger side. A relay kit has been recently fitted on the driver side but with little improvement. Land Rover motor upgrades had been planned once the starting issue was resolved.
Paint had previously started to fade a little. It has since been mopped, clay barred and had a ceramic coating applied, so the car is still very much red.
Usual windscreen delaminating.
The car would benefit from new dampers and springs as they are more than 10 years old now.
Looking for £6000 to a loving home!
Located near Reading, Berkshire.
