The Lotus Grand Tourers

Time to get planning for the Restoration Show next March!

I've just had confirmation of our stand from the organisers. A nice nearly-square stand of 11 x 9.5 m, similar (well, a tiny bit smaller) to last year, no pillars or intrusions. We are in a very similar position to last year - Hall 5 (with the Live Stage and Dream Rides), a block away from the Pride of Ownership exhibition. Pretty central, close to both the main entrance and the stairs to Hall 4, so plenty of footfall passing our way. We are backing onto our friends at the Sunbeam Lotus Owners Club again, as the only Lotus representatives at the show - no Club Lotus or other Lotus groups are attending so we need to fly the flag!

We comfortably fitted 4 cars (not all complete!) on the stand last year, so should have no problems doing so again. So far we have:

• Hedge-find Elite in desperately-needs-restoring condition, Andy Webber has generously offered to fetch and return this from Norfolk;
• My Excel - not got any major project to do this time (unless something crops up before March!), but it's long over-due a service and I have plenty of other running fixes to provide some activity.

So we have room for 2 more cars. It would be really nice to have an Eclat, in its 50th Anniversary year. Priority is for something with a restoration or repair theme, ideally with some live activity going on during the show, but I'm open to any suggestions. Also any workbench stuff can be good, I did my engine strip down a few years back, and Alan did a carb rebuild last time.

If you've not bought your car along to this show before it'd be great to have a new exhibitor. There's not cost to exhibit and you get free entrance to the show every day for two people; it's important to spend some time on our stand, chatting to guests, particularly if you are carrying out some work on the car, but there's plenty of opportunity to wander around and see the rest of the show too. It's a great place to carry out a short project (well, for me it's nice just to be inside, with light and warmth and a solid floor!) and the autojumble can be invaluable when you urgently need a tool or spare part you didn't bring! PM me if you are curious but need to know more...

I’m happy to offer the éclat Excel prototype.

I’m sure I can find something on it to do. I do need to remove and replace the carbs on this one now I’ve managed to get hold of a pair of the correct spec. So that could be done at the show.

I'm happy to bring my Onyx Green Elite along. I'll be at the show for a couple of days anyway, and I'm reasonably local. It's been at the NEC before, although with another club and that might have been November..

I'd like to get the electric mirrors and fuel gauge working again, give the interior a deep clean, and perhaps get a machine polish done. All possible at the show (power permitting) I think.

I'll see you in March whatever.

The83Boy wrote: Thu Dec 12, 2024 14:18 I'm happy to bring my Onyx Green Elite along. I'll be at the show for a couple of days anyway, and I'm reasonably local. It's been at the NEC before, although with another club and that might have been November..

I'd like to get the electric mirrors and fuel gauge working again, give the interior a deep clean, and perhaps get a machine polish done. All possible at the show (power permitting) I think.

I'll see you in March whatever.

Sounds a good option. There's no power supply on the stand, so if you have a machine polisher it'll need to be cordless, but we can recharge tools/batteries in the organisers office if needs be. I hope it's not too noisy!

Thank you for the display car offers. So we will be going with:

• Graham Atkins' hedge-find Elite, with Andy W generously sorting transport to/from the show
• "The83Boy"'s Green Elite
• Alan's Eclat/Excel prototype
• My blue '90 Excel SE

With the almost-beyond-restoration state of the first Elite, some live activity on the green Elite and my Excel, and the historical interest of Alan's prototype that should give us a nicely varied stand with plenty of interest. Now I'm just praying the Elite can be made to roll on it's wheels...

I'll be in touch again closer to the time with the more detailed arrangements.

Thanks Richard for confirming, 'trailer' dates are in the diary. If and when dates for any 'pre work' to get the Hedge Elite rolling firm up, please let me know.



Andy

Richard : happy to assist with hedge extraction when a plan is in place if needed.
Tony

It's a tilt bed trailer with a manual winch so 'free rolling' will be a fairly important.

Andy

Richard it looks like you all-ready have 4 cars for the show:

Graham Atkins' hedge-find Elite, with Andy W generously sorting transport to/from the show
"The83Boy"'s Green Elite
Alan's Eclat/Excel prototype
My blue '90 Excel SE

A gentleman by the name of Richard (seem to be others) who I met at the show in November has told me that he is willing to display his 1980 red elite 504 if needed. It’s Peter Russel’s ex car (vinyl roof/black leather interior). It also appeared in a recent article in Classic Retro Modern. Richard lives in Northampton and his car is drive-able. It’s a nice car which is being slowly fettled. I have spoken to him about what’s involved and he understands the commitment. As it stands you seem to have enough cars which is great but it’s an option if someone pulls out.

Richard, PM me if you prefer.

Thanks phoenix, that's helpful. The hedge-find Elite is dependent on it being able to roll on its own wheels (which I'm hoping somebody is going to be able to check/fix...), so if that car falls through then it would be great to have an alternative.

If you have this Richard's contact details (PM me so they aren't made public) that would be helpful, I'll get in touch and get things moving.

For those driving their cars to the show:

• My Excel
• Alan's Elite/Eclat prototype
• James' Elite Mk2

You will need to print out, fill in, and place on your dashboard a vehicle pass, which can be found here - this will allow you to drive straight into the hall, although this usually involves a brief visit to one of the outer car parks on the way.

You do NOT need to book in with Voyage Control, that is only for cars being delivered by lorry/trailer. You can turn up any time during the build-up period (Weds 10:00 - 6:00, Thurs 8:00 - 7:00). I'll be aiming to get there 10:30-ish on Thursday, so the ideal time would be late morning or early afternoon on Thursday, later than that it gets pretty busy so harder to manouvre your car into place.

You will not be allowed in and given a build-up wristband if you haven't at least pretended to read the Site Rules. Best option is to bring a hard-copy with you, failing that you'll need to use your 'phone to download a copy when you arrive. It's only 2 sides of A4, and only the 2nd page actually has anything relevant on it.