1980 Lotus Eclat V8 No Reserve Auction on 2040-cars

Introduced in late 1975 a year after the polarizing Elite, the Eclat was designed to be a sportier version with a lower price point. Within a few years it had become the preferred version and it superseded the Elite completely. It was far better looking and was soon appointed the same way as the supposedly more upmarket Elite. This Lotus Eclat VIN #80010140U is one of only 20 imported to the USA in 1980. Rolls Royce the importer for Lotus in the USA in that year didn’t even sell all of them due to its $30,600 sticker price. It is also truly an example of the era that still turns heads with the undeniable look & sound of an ‘80’s supercar, bearing a strong resemblance to a Ferrari 308 GT4. The Eclat is perhaps the least common of any Lotus today with fewer than 500 ever imported during its eight year production run.

This car’s original four cylinder engine was replaced after a stuck throttle grenaded it. As the engine bay was originally designed to take a doubled version of that engine, a Rover 3.9 V8 fit perfectly and actually weighed just over 30 pounds more than the four. It cruises well at 80 and gets there fast. A true long distance GT, I drove it from New Hampshire where I bought it, to my home through 14 states the first week of September 2012 and averaged over 22 miles per gallon! The car sounds like a NASCAR stocker and pulls as strongly as it sounds. It cruised at about 2,650 rpm in 5^th at 80mph and has plenty of grunt to accelerate at that speed. It handles like a Lotus should, and it rides and drives comfortably and straight; as I said, it is a great road car.

I am selling it now because I have moved to a new home and lost my ample storage. I only have room for my Seven and Elans. When I bought it I was impressed with the story told by the seller and thought it would be the perfect counterpoint to my older smaller Lotus cars. The reality is I haven’t driven it much and so with no storage space it is the one that has to go. Here is the seller’s story from the summer of 2012: “This car has been a labor of love over the last ten years. I am truly hoping the car will be purchased by someone who will cherish her as much as I have, and will be able to complete the small issues that will make her perfect. I have only put about 5200 miles on the car since its conversion, and have no idea how many miles were originally on the car since the odometer was not functioning when I got it. In the last ten years I have spent over $25,000.00 on upgrades. The Rover V8's torque is a vast improvement over the original Lotus slant four. I spent over $5,000.00 on the engine rebuild alone (not including the installation). The engine uses an Isky 621282 Cam, and Edelbrock 500 CFM Carb mounted on a Buick 215 four barrel intake manifold. The TKO 600 five speed transmission was over $2,000.00, not including the addition of the required electronic Speedometer to match it. I have replaced the fragile clutch cable with a hydraulic system, using a master cylinder mounted to a high performance floor mounted clutch pedal. The ignition uses an MSD 6 AL box, MSD Coil, Pertronix PE D175510 distributor, high performance cables, and an Optima red top battery (mounted in the trunk). The new exhaust includes stainless Magnaflow mufflers, and chrome tips. The V8 conversion was originally performed by George Squire, of "Former Glory Racing" in Connecticut, and additional upgrades were done by "Mom's Garage" in Manchester NH. The suspension includes Spax adjustable Coil-Over Shocks, and all new bushings. There are also four new Falken Ziex ZE-512 tires on the car.”  

That’s the story that sold me and I really have enjoyed the power and cruising ability of the car.

Now for the not so good news:

• The AC was working perfectly until the blower fan just stopped and now it doesn’t blow hot or cold. I am not an automotive electrician and the wiring no longer matches the diagram so it will take a good diagnostic person to solve the problem. Since it happened suddenly, it seems logical that once diagnosed it will be a simple fix, though I have no way of really assuring that.
• The power steering rack has a slow leak. I believe it’s just the seals and have not bothered to get it fixed. I simply add fluid to the reservoir as needed.
• The original bumpers are "wrinkling" so I have a set of bumper covers designed for the car from Sports Car World ($560.00 and hard to find) included. They require someone with the skill to trim them, and install them to make the car look like new.
• The headliner was sagging and the previous owner used a set of pins and buttons to keep it up and it’s useable as it is.
• The driver seat does have some damage as pictured on the left side near the shoulder repaired with filler. It’s not a great job, but it works. Both front seats bottom seam stitching is wearing, but they are holding now and could be repaired to be like new.
• The exhaust manifold seems to have a leak, and there are "small cracks" on both sides.
• The windshield has a crack up high, under the black sun guard strip. Since I have owned the car it has not gotten worse and I have not trusted anyone to take the trim off and replace the windshield. The person I got the car from gave me a new windshield and it is lying in the passenger seat in the photos.
• The driver’s side mirror is broken and needs replacement. The rear speakers are "laid" in place recessed into the rear side map pockets, where the magnets rest in the small holes that the original four inch speakers were in. They do not shift, and the sound is good, but they are not "professionally installed". 

Even with these shortcomings the car is still very usable and all these things are repairable by a good home mechanic except possibly for the A/C issue.

The extra parts I am including are:  Lotus Eclat shop manual, second set of original Lotus rims, Eclat Windshield, extra low profile air filter, used power steering rack (in the brown paper in the boot for buyer to have rebuilt), and brand new bumper covers, miscellaneous small parts including dash switches, and gauges, touch up paint, and extra leather dye. The car is being offered with the parts included. These parts are worth over $2,000.00 together and I have no interest in selling them separately as I know the car needs them. This car is a great deal for anyone who is mechanical and has time to work on it. I wouldn’t hesitate to drive it back across the country today.