My Service History

A Brief History of Lotus Carlton 0112G

Last Updated 09 January 2000

18 April 1991 : First Registered as "POD 144" and sold by Piper Engineering (Services) Ltd. of Tonbridge Wells, Kent. First registered keeper was Ms K Wheeler, also of Tonbridge. – Does anyone know who she is?

15 May 1991 : (786) 1000 Mile service at Piper Engineering (Services) Ltd.

23 July 1991 : Second registered keeper J Schofield of Otley

16 Jan 1992 : (5860) 9000 Mile service at Nidd Vale Motors Ltd. of Harrogate.

17 Jan 1992 : Third registered keeper Mr. Bracey of Apple Litho Ltd., Bristol.

13 Feb 1993 : (17885) 18000 Mile service at Welch Bristol

27 Apr 1994 : (28251) 27000 Mile service at Welch Bristol

8 Feb 1995 : (35126) 36000 Mile service at Cowie Bristol (formerly Welch’s)

31 May 1995 : (36961) MOT.

Oct 1995 : Appeared for sale in the October edition of ‘Top Marques Magazine’ .

25 Oct 1995 : (40000) Bought by me to replace my company car – a Vauxhall Cavalier GSi 2000.

13 Dec 1995: (45259) Oil change at Philip Sergent's.

9 Mar 1996 : (45664) 45000 Mile service at Cowie Bristol (formerly Welch’s)

25 April 1996 : (45788) Clutch Failed. The lining detached from the flywheel side of the clutch plate. New clutch and pressure/cover plate fitted.

8 May 1996: (48091) MOT. Nothing serious, just a couple of steering track rod ends.

21 Aug 1996 : Front Spoiler re-sprayed – It seems to be a magnet for every stone in Somerset.

21 Sept 1996 : (55225) Rear brake vibration. The webbing that connects the two halves of the vented rear disks fractured, causing the two halves to spread apart. Replaced rear disks and pads.

21 Dec 1996 : (55451) 54000 Mile service at Cowie Bristol (formerly Welch’s)

18 April 1997 : (59216) Clutch Noise. The bell housing around the clutch release fork baring started to fracture causing the clutch release fork to rub against the cover plate. A known problem on the LC. Bell housing was repaired.

22 May 1997 : (60886) MOT. Again nothing serious, just some more track rod ends.

4 June 1997: (62221) Wheel baring noise and Air Con failure. Both front wheel barings replaced and the Air-Con re-filled.

23 June 1997: (62556) Brake fluid change at Philip Sergent's.

9 Aug 1997 : (65741) 63000 Mile service at Cowie Bristol (formerly Welch’s)

16 Sept 1997 : (67774) Front brakes fading. Front disks found to be extremely worn (only 28mm thick, originals are 32mm). Replaced front disks and pads. At the same time both the front caliper pistons and seals were replaced, because they were corroding badly.

7 Oct 1997: Both rear brake calipers stripped, cleaned and new pistons & seals fitted.

27 Nov 1997 : (68597) ABS warning light. Worn suspension bushes allowed enough rear axle movement for the ABS sensors to become intermittent. Both rear suspension bushes replaced.

15 Dec 1997: Annoying low frequency vibration similar to unbalanced tyres. Propshaft removed and sent away for balancing.

26 Feb 1998: (70500) Oil change at Philip Sergent's. First warning of stripped oil drain plug.

14 Apr 1998: (72450) Front tyres wearing badly after hitting curb at high speed. Tracking checked, but nothing found. Tyres bound to fail MOT.

6 May 1998 : (73191) Total Engine Failure. The main timing camshaft-crankshaft chain snapped, known to be a problem with all Vauxhall 6 cylinder engines. 4 exhaust valves and 2 pistons damaged. Replaced the damaged components, all the big-end barings, and all the piston rings. Cylinder head found to be OK, thank God. Replaced all the hydraulic valve lifters and springs. Replaced oil pump. Huge bill!

June 1998 : Joined the Autobahnstormers.

25 July 1998: Attended the Vauxhall National Rally, Billing, Northants. Came last in class in the Concourse d’Elegance.

5 Aug 1998: (74244) Oil change at Philip Sergent's.

18 Aug 1998: (74353) Slight mis-fire. First warning of problems wit ignition leads. Temporary repairs made because new lead set not immediately available.

25 Aug 1998 : Attended the Heritage Cars track day at Castle Coombe, Wiltshire. 5 Laps of the track – what great fun. I’ll be back next year.

12 Sept 1998 : (78000) Attended the Lotus Cars 50^th anniversary at Hethel, Norfolk, together with 12 other Lotus Carltons/Omegas. It pi**ed with rain all day long.

23 Oct 1998 : (78441) Water leak. Engine lost ½ pint of water every time it was started. Traced to a faulty water pump, which was replaced.

2 Dec 1998 : Bad mis-fire. The ignition leads on cylinders 5 and 6 showed signs of corrosion. All Spark plugs and Ignition leads replaced

10 Dec 1998: (80482) Oil change at Philip Sergent's. First warning of stripped oil drain plug.

7 Mar 1999 : (82049) Clutch Failed. The clutch release pivot snapped – another known problem with the LC. Replaced the clutch plate, pivot and fork. At the same time, serious fractures were found in the bell housing around the clutch release fork baring, a re-occurrence of a previous problem. New bell housings are on back order from the factory (12+ weeks lead time) so the existing unit was repaired.

24 Apr 1999: Attended Cars and Car Conversion Action Day at Castle Coombe. Photo appeared in Red Line Magazine. 5 more laps, but they have put in 2 new chicanes to slow things down this year. Extra braking effort causes brake fluid to boil after completing the session. Luckily stationary at the time !

9 May 1999: Attended London RS Regonal Day at Staines Rugby Club. I'm not sure why, probably because I was asked. Hundred's of rusting heaps of junk (Ford's) plus half a dozen gleaming Vauxhalls.

22 May 1999: Visited Spamspeed's rolling road, in Yate Bristol. Very unnerving, but came out with a reading in the 260-280 BHP at the wheels. I am told you can expect a 25-30% loss through the gearbox & differential, so this should work out at about 350-380 BHP at the flywheel. Not bad for an 8 year old car.

19 June 1999: Air-Con refilled, and UV leak dye added. Subsequently, leak detected in top right corner of condenser. Leak slow enough to last till next refill, when a change of refrigerant is required by law anyway.

30 June 1999: (88057) Thatcham approved immobiliser fitted, due to insurance company demands. Estimated fitting time 1 hour. Actual fitting time 8 hours. Apparently the wiring isn't like any other Carlton they have ever seen. Just as well they quoted me a fixed price.

14 July 1999: Attended Classic and Sports Car Action Day at Castle Coombe. 5 more laps, and managed to avoid boiling the brakes this time.

20 July 1999: (88614) MOT. Failed on rear shock absorber, exhaust pipe and leaky brake servo. Shock absorber replaced, and a new stainless steel Powerflow rear box fitted. Brake servo more of a problem. Refused to pay 500 quid for a new one, and eventually sourced one in a scrap yard.

25 July 1999: Attended the Vauxhall National Rally, Billing, Northants. Probably not last in class in the Concourse d’Elegance this year, or if I was, I didn't loose by as large a margin as last year. Then...

25 July 1999. On the way home from Billing, the clutch release baring pivot snapped - again ! AA refused to attend. Green Flag agreed to get me home, for 225 quid. Since this was the second time in only a few months, and new bell housings were still unavailable, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Details here.

23 Aug 1999: You can choose your friends, but not your parents ! My dad runs into the back of me on the M25 whilst following me to Heathrow. Mum on board at the time ! Rear bumper broken in two plus off side rear quarter damage. Car driveable (just) so I take it home to await insurance instructions.

10 Sept 1999. Finally got insurance approval for the repairs. Took the car to Monorep, Norwood Green. Expected repairs to be complete in about 2 weeks. Picked up a courtesy car - A Vauxhall Vectra 2.0 LS. Do these things have an Engine or a rubber band ?

11 Sept 1999. Attended Trax 99 at Silverstone - minus car. 21 other Lotus Carltons/Omegas present, but not mine ! I also missed out on a 20 minute track session. Very disappointed.

19 October 1999. Insurance company re-possessed my courtesy car, due to the length of time the repair is taking. The problem is Vauxhall can't supply a replacement rear bumper. I had been promised one for the 15th October, but that was a false alarm, and the Insurance company lost patience.

8 Jan 2000: Finally got my car back, almost 5 months after the accident. I had been promised that my case was being given 'the highest priority' on no fewer than 6 occasions when I called the Vauxhall customer support line. The last call developed into a rather heated argument, with me having to threaten legal action against Vauxhall. I was given delivery dates of 21st September, 15th October, 15th November but all these were just customer relations bullshit. The bumper eventually turned up on 16th Dec, minus the mounting brackets, which were (surprise, surprise) out of stock !