mark chandler
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| posted on 20/11/11 at 09:48 AM |
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Lotus Esprit, what do we think of these
I have been offered an n/a esprit, it had a £5,750 engine rebuild 5 years ago, shortly afterwards a stone passed through toil cooler so was parked in
a garage SORN'd and left....
He wants £1,500 for it so what do I need to look for.
Lets assume the crank is stuffed (I do not know if it was turned off immediately) so where do I need to look for rust on these, tips pointers?
Are these just rubbish so best to avoid?
Cheers Mark
[Edited on 20/11/11 by mark chandler]
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iank
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| posted on 20/11/11 at 10:08 AM |
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Body is fibreglass so no rust worries there. Chassis is a backbone so should be checked for accident damage and rust (though I believe that's
pretty rare) is best treated by putting in a a galv replacement rather than repair. How to check is detailed here
http://www.lotusespritworld.com/EBuying/76-88guide.html
£1500 sounds good value IMO even if the engine is wrecked.
--
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
Anonymous
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lsdweb
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| posted on 20/11/11 at 10:20 AM |
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Repairs / resprays of bodywork are time consuming and expensive. Apparently electrics can be a bit dodgy.
I love them but they are not for everybody!
Any pictures?
Wyn
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Wheels244
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| posted on 20/11/11 at 10:21 AM |
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I'd buy it just to look at it for that money - I love the look of them.
There was a 'Wheeler Dealers' program about a blue one they restored that might give you some pointers - if you can put up
with the annoying cockney who knows nothing about cars 
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blue2cv
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| posted on 20/11/11 at 10:26 AM |
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What is it they say LOTUS stands for Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious
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Davegtst
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| posted on 20/11/11 at 10:38 AM |
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I used to have a turbo SE. Great cars to look at but not very nice to work on, the interior is very dated too. Depending on the year the chasis
should be galvanised but most of the other brackets aren't so they rust easily. It may be a cheap car to start with but restoring one can
swallow huge amounts of money and an n/a will never be a desiarable model. What year is it? Any other details or photos? Also remember with these,
if it isn't leaking oil there isn't enough in it.
 
[Edited on 20/11/11 by Davegtst]
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scootz
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| posted on 20/11/11 at 10:45 AM |
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Restoring ANY type of car swallows money. Lotus's's's's are no different!
What year is it?
PS - Love them!
It's Evolution Baby!
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ChrisW
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| posted on 20/11/11 at 12:31 PM |
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For £1500 I'd get it bought just so I could say I owned one!
Chris
My gaff my rules
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steve m
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| posted on 20/11/11 at 12:44 PM |
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Im with Chris
if i had the £1500, and space to have another car, i would have it
But as said LOTUS does stand for money pit, and the build quality was shite,
Steve
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scudderfish
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| posted on 20/11/11 at 02:29 PM |
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A few years back there was an article in PPC about a bloke who put an Audi V8 in the back of one. Just an idea.....
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ChrisW
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| posted on 20/11/11 at 02:52 PM |
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Indeed there was! Looked like a lot of work, but probably the most sensible plan to junk anything mechanical that says Lotus on it!
Chris
My gaff my rules
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lsdweb
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| posted on 20/11/11 at 04:23 PM |
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Friends of mine, who are doing all the chassis work on my 26R, built / rebuilt an Esprit with a massive V8 in - here
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lsdweb
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| posted on 20/11/11 at 04:25 PM |
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And the blog here
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907
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| posted on 20/11/11 at 04:30 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by ChrisW
............................................., but probably the most sensible plan to junk anything mechanical that says Lotus on it!
Chris
Heathen !
Paul G
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scudderfish
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| posted on 20/11/11 at 04:37 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by lsdweb
Friends of mine, who are doing all the chassis work on my 26R, built / rebuilt an Esprit with a massive V8 in - here
Tell them their website has been hijacked. The front page is full of hidden links to porn.
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lsdweb
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| posted on 20/11/11 at 06:37 PM |
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Thanks Scudderfish! I posted the links from my favourites without trying - Google Chrome has just blocked me from accessing them! The links
aren't to my friends' sites - they just built it.
Sorry for taking the thread off track!
W
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JoelP
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| posted on 20/11/11 at 07:22 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by scudderfish
quote:
Originally posted by lsdweb
Friends of mine, who are doing all the chassis work on my 26R, built / rebuilt an Esprit with a massive V8 in - here
Tell them their website has been hijacked. The front page is full of hidden links to porn.
AVG reckons it blocked a threat from it too.
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gottabedone
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| posted on 20/11/11 at 07:43 PM |
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Avast didn't like it either - may be worth removing the link just in case someone reading doesn't have protection
Steve
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Bare
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| posted on 20/11/11 at 08:47 PM |
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Depends on What? year it is. Earlier ones used Taunus Front end bits and the rear suspension was Lotus Europa. Crap is a charitable descriptor
IMO.
Later versions had a bodged 7 type front suspension and links added to the rear bits as well Big improvements.
But Still wasn't Any kind of a Racer.
Having spent a bit of time on the 907 engine it was a faboulous bit of Kit 35 ! years ago.
Currently a Focus has a better motor. If a turbo'd version? well...l all I can say is that currently, Children can do a better job of it .
Old tech not overly well executed even for 'back then'
Typically the entire car was hobbled by Piss Poor assembly as was(is??) anything Lotus.
IF you buy and the price IS tempting you will likely spend Thousands just 'patching' it.
I know, I restored my Europa 3 separate times and I never managed to fix it satisfactorily.
I restored my XK120 'perfectly' the first time... as a bit of a reference / comparison.
Take care in what you wish for :-)
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