such a great restoration! and truly a great machine! I never knew there were two models of the machine made with more programmes in the 84 version compared to the 83 one.
Will get around to touching up the edge of the lid soon, though might leave the grazes at the bottom right as a reminder of what it looked like (unless I get a good paint match!)...
Weird, but Hotpoint never quite seemed to remedy the length of the left hand side strips.
My parents 95452 suffered the shorter left, as did my godmothers 95450 as well.
Strange how they seemed to get the right hand to fit flush with the facia, but seldom the left. A shame really cause, if the sidestrip was flush fitting, that chip out of the facia would be even more difficult to see...
Sounds like a belt or motor problem to me.
It would be worth trying to fix it, but don't go overboard, plus spares can be difficult to find!
Good Luck
Jacob