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Vehicle inspection, parts assessment and preparation for shipping

As part of our aim to offer an all round service to the Lotus Elite community, our scope does not just entail the parts sourcing or the restoration work, be it GRP or mechanical.  Sometimes we are asked to help out in other ways and we are more than happy to do what we can.

Soon after acquiring "unknown status" project car, a post was placed on the Type 14 Facebook page asking for advice, where the car had been acquired unseen and would be making it's way to Australia to become a Father and Son restoration project.

After a short "how can we help you message", contact was established with the new owners, Kim and James based out in Brisbane. As all the info we had were pictures of the car and a short history, it was decided that, to know exactly what they had on their hands, we would help out this side of the world. After some short emails the scope was decided and evolved from there.  Our services included:

Collecting the car from the storage in the UK where it had ended up having been pulled out of a garage somewhere in London that was about to collapse... not such good news for the storage conditions.

Back at the workshop, we conducted an extensive assessment of the condition of the car along with a full photographic report.

As the car was heading to Australia, it was recommended and agreed that as many of the needed parts would go with the car as possible and so a front to back, top to bottom parts assessment and list was made with prioritisations.  After a few optimisation rounds on line, along with a call or two to iron out the details, the list was complete - some 83 line items.  Then was just the task picking, packing and fitting in the car a lot of parts.

As the car was bound for Australia, the workshop at AS Heritage did some stripping and a lot of cleaning due to the bio restrictions. Included in this was some mechanical work such as refitting the head (this was in the boot) and stripping out all the brake pads, again due to the asbestos risk assessment needed before export and removing the tell tale signs of some little visitors during it's time in storage.  Once prepared, the car was collected by a specialist inspection company who will take samples and assesments needed to clear the car into Australia.

Throughout the process, the communication with Kim and James was great and was a critical part to align what was needed, what should be prioritised and what could follow, relatively easily in the future. For example, a rear screen and full exhaust system was agreed due to the risks and package sizes for shipping, new interior, due to the weight and then a whole lot of other bits to keep Kim and James more than busy for a few months.

This is a service we are very happy to provide and thank both Kim & James for trusting us to help get this project to them with more than enough to make a start and where, we will be on the end of the phone, WhatsApp and emails at any time to offer advice as needed.

We offered this as, as always, we love anything Lotus, Lotus Elite and so if you have a need, give us a call.

Adam & Ash 

Posted: 2nd June 2024