> Lotus fans- whats the story on the Eclat' ? (looks like an Europa,
>with rear windows) I almost got roped in by a 2+2 last year before the PA
>beckoned. I haven't heard much about their desireability. Reliability
>seems about par- this one had a partialy trashed tranny (how expensive?),
>so the guy didn't want anyone to drive it, unless they were very serious.
>Even so, he wanted ~$7K.
Well, exactly what story do you want on the 'eclat? BTW the real successor
to the Europa is the Esprit - both are mid-engined being the commonality.
The 'eclat is actually too large to be considered a successor, like about
2450 lbs, capable of 160 bhp stroked out with an E-cam and D'ellortos, etc.
You are correct that the 'eclat is a 2+2, and you definitely would have been
roped if there was something wrong with the tranny. Essentially, the 'eclat
is a coupe version of the sister hatchback known as the late elite (i.e. not
to be confused with the early elite of late 50's early 60's fame) which BTW
was a monocoque body. I don't much care for the new elite myself.
In the fall of '84, I had been looking at the Bimmer 323 gray market car as
a replacement for my 10 year old but always driven at speed (~70 - tops was
~80 on the Jersey Turnpike) Superbeetle. Of course, a friend of mine let me
drive his '76 'eclat at lunch one day and darn if that British bug didn't bite
me pretty hard. I swear that there wasn't a car in the price range with more
bang for the buck!
I have a 2L 907 engine type 523 'eclat. It comes with several trannies.
If it is a four-speed, then it is a Ford gearbox - which is bulletproof in
terms of durability. If it is a five-speed then there are usually two options.
The first is a Lotus gearbox which is an aluminum (read that as light!) casing
with Autin-maxi gears - this is what I have on my '79 type 523 (comes with a/c,
power steering, electric mirrors,and leather interior) whereas the type 520,
which is the most common, comes only with electric windows and without the
power steering (better feel of the road) and a/c. If you choose to stroke out
the engine to 2.2L then you can get along with the Ford tranny, but there is a
5-speed Getrag available from England which is needed for the stronger torque,
etc. Also, need to do some chassis mods to handle the Getrag. The Getrag can
probably be had for somewhere in the range of $750-$1000 - I don't know for
sure what the going rate is currently. My 'eclat is one of 17 worldwide made
for federalized markets which consist of Japan and the USA and includes
California which is considered a separate federalized market. The total
production run for Series 1 'eclats was 1299. The follow-on model to the
'eclat is the Excel (no not the Hundai!) - Lotus was rather lax in not
reserving the name. It is not exported to the states. If it were, it would
now probably be priced more than the new Elan. I understand that in 1980, my
'eclat new off of the Royce showroom - they were the U.S. distributor back then
- went for something like $37,500. Of course, mine was had at a significantly
lower price! My final drive is 4.1:1, but if you want a higher top end there
are 3.73:1 final drives available.
For the serious Lotus buyer, I can currently point anyone interested to a '76
'eclat Type 520 which was rebuilt with a galvanized chassis - which did'nt
make it into production until mid-1980. The seller is only asking $8500 last
I heard. He needs the cash and I personally can recommend this as a very good
example at a reasonable price - our local to Boston Nelli club - New England
Lotus Lovers, Inc - we did'nt think that the acronym for Boston Area Lotus
Lovers Society would fly for incorporation - helped to disengage the body and
chassis. I personally helped to mate the two back together.
Parts are usually available from several sources here in the states or in
Merry old England - just a phone call away before 7AM EST.
I think I saw a recent article in British Car (Dec '89) that gave the rundown
on restoration for different makes of British cars - where the 'eclat was at
least mentioned. Remember, if you read an article - and I seem to recall at
least one - which calls the 'eclat ugly - they are really talking about the
new elite. It reminds me of the old AMC gremlin with its truncated rear hatch!
Only buy a Lotus if you are prepared to maintain it yourself!!!!!! To change
the propellor (main drive shaft) you have two options. Due to ingenious Brit
engineering, you can opt to cut out a big piece of the fibreglass trunk and
drop the final drive, or you can do as I did, and pull the engine and tranny.
It's a great learning exercise - and BTW - to all of you who are bagging and
tagging your parts as you strip them from whereever - would'nt it be easier to
just screw them together from where you took them, whilst just taking the
assembly off - and then when you mate everything back together, you know just
where it goes? It worked great for me. Just a thought!
There are only two 'eclats left in our club, and two others which are known
about in the local area in addition to the one for sale.
This spring I'm going to install D'ellortos and modify the advance curve with
lighter springs - so's the mid-range can kick in around 2500-3000 RPMs - well
within what is required for emissions (at idle) testing here in MASS. It seems
that RBT - you remember Bob Tufts - let me drive his '79 Esprit S2 this
summer when we were tuning my Strombergs (federal emmisions carbs) which has
the mods - his car came with the same setup as mine - just a different body.
Well, that darn ol' British bug bit me again! By comparison, mine is a slug
with the Strombergs - I just did'nt know it. It was heaven at 7K in each gear!
I haven't yet decided whether I'll change to the E-cam setup yet. It requires
resetting the shims on the valves. The difference is in the D'ellorto setup
depending on which cam you choose. For now, I'm considering the 707 cam when
I am prepared to stroke out the engine which will then need a 912 D'ellorto.
Since Lotus did a lot of work in figuring out how to adjust the D'ellortos,
instead of just using Webers, the choice is always clear - for a 907 engine -
stick with the D'ellortos.
(Tom Watt) watt@osf.org
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