Front Brake Pads. All Vauxhall's Lotus Carlton brake parts are extortionatly priced. The front's brake pads are something like   £350 a set. Fortunately there are alternatives. The correct Ferrodo part is shown in their catalogue, but they won't supply them to you.  Try D.C.COOK Motorsport of Northampton (01327 857875) . They recently supplied me with a set of FRP216R's for £70. Several different materials are available, so ask them for advice. They are thinner than Vauxhall ones (17mm instead of 21mm), and they don't have the cutout for the brake wear sensor, but at 1/4 the price who cares ? AP Racing dealers will supply you with a set of CP3215-167-3423F for around £100. These are supposed to be the correct brake material, but they are thinner, and they don't have the cutout for the brake wear sensor either. I recently saw a company called SEJOC at Trax 99. They had a pad on their stand from EBC that did have the break wear sensor cutout in it. They told me the part number was DP2938, and they cost around £95 a set. I haven't followed this up, but if your interested contact them on 01375 846401, or kevin@sejoccar.freeserve.co.uk

Rear Brake Pads. Vauxhall's pads cost an unbelievable £150. They are the same size and shape as the front pads on a 1973 Mini. You could probably have bought an entire Mini for £150.back in 1973 ! But what this means that even my local Halfords stock pads for the rear. The only thing to be aware of is that the material used for the pad is different, so braking may be impaired. You may be better off using competition pads, which are available from companies such as Mintex or Ferrodo. Try one of the companies listed above if you want some advice, but since the rear brakes are responsible for less than 30% of the braking effect, I think that £20-£30 for these is a much better idea than £100+ for Vauxhall ones.

Handbrake shoes. These are the same as on the Carlton GSi3000, so just about any source of these will do. Expect to pay £20-£30 a set. By the way, my handbrake is rubbish, and I wouldn't trust it to hold the car even on the flat. I always leave it in gear. Does anybody else have any comments ?

Brake disks. Both the front's and rear's are around  £600 a pair from Vauxhall. Ouch. I haven't yet found who the original manufacturers of these are, but it sure as hell wasn't Vauxhall, Lotus or AP Racing. What I have found is that you can get outer disks (also known as rotors) from companies such as AP Racing, and have central mounting bell made to mount the disk onto the car. The bell is typically bolted to the rotor   using 16 bolts Nylock bolts. Although this arrangement will probably cost you a similar amount as the Vauxhall disks in the first instance, subsequent disk replacements will only require a new rotor and bolts, which will be significantly cheaper. Another possibility that has been suggested is using the center part of the original worn-out disks as the bell. All you have to do is cut off the old 'rotor' part of the disk, and drill 16 holes with which to mount the new rotor, and voila. Probably not a job you ought to tackle yourselves with a black-and-decker. Give it to a reputable engineering company - please. For more information, take a look at Refurbishing Your Calipers.

Exhaust Pipes. It's normally the rear box that goes first. The Vauxhall original isn't too badly priced at about £200. It is supposed to be made from Stainless Steel, but if it is, it's an inferior grade. You could consider using a company that offers a lifetime guarantee, of which there are many. I have recently had a Powerflow unit fitted, but a look in any motoring magazine will reveal a plethora of other companies.  Joe Ellis' company BTB exhausts make a cat back exhaust system in stainless steel that uses the standard rear trim for around £550 + VAT. He also runs a race spec Lotus Carlton, and you can find details on this at www.racecar.co.uk/btb/lotus.html. Before you get any garage to start work, make sure they are going to be able to re-fit the original tailpipes. Make it crystal clear to them that you aren't interested unless they can do so. DO NOT ALLOW THEM TO FIT ANYTHING ELSE.

Badges. There are two 'Lotus' badges decorating the body kit just behind the front wheels. It is cheaper to buy these from a Lotus dealer than from Vauxhall. They are the same as used on the Lotus Elan. Similarly, there are two badges on the boot lid, one which says 'Lotus" and the other says either 'Carlton' or 'Omega'. The Lotus badge can be obtained from a Lotus dealer for £25. Again it's the same part as on the Elan. But the Carlton and Omega badges have to be bought from Vauxhall, and they (apparently) charge £55 for it

Ignition Components. Several people have EMAILed me to tell me of problems they have had with ignition packs. The LC has 3 ignition coils in a wasted spark arrangement, mounted on a plate that is bolted to the side of the engine. A complete replacement unit costs £1329, and single replacement coils cost £181. The pack is actually a Delco-Remy unit, and the ignition coils themselves are the same as those used on the Lotus Elan, so a Lotus dealer may be another source for these. I have also been told that the coils only have a 'road-life' of 70K miles, so I may be in for a big bill myself soon.