S3 noob advice!

S3 noob advice!

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darkcat

Original Poster:

2,344 posts

175 months

Tuesday 9th August 2011
quotequote all
Hi chaps, nipped over from the tvr forum for a bit of advice.

Im selling the chimaera this weekend, and have always fancied a lotus esprit, so ive been to look at one today, its a 1983 S3.

its not got an MOT currently, i intend to do some tidying up and get it on the road within a couple of weeks, if i go ahead.

Ok, so the issues it has:
It has not been on the road for some time, a few years i beleive, however it has been started up and moved about around once a week (so im told...!)
when starting, it was a but, erm, unsure if it wanted to play. it fired then cut out, then fired and was ok on choke, however it wanted to stall rather than idle happily.

I am going to assume that this is a mixture of old fuel, and probably needing a combination of a good service, and maybe a carb rebuild kit (x2), followed by a tune-up.

Would i be along the right lines here? there are no funny noises to speak of, and has good oil pressure.

It needs tyres, they are shot. recommendations?

it is generally tired.. needs some exterior trim (black rubber part over the side-seams) where can i get that from?
and the interior is.... erm tired too!! it smells rather musty, like an old church...

Junglehop

363 posts

193 months

Thursday 11th August 2011
quotequote all
Hmm are you intending on doing the work yourself? In general i would run a mile from an esprit that has been sat..depends on the price. could be all manner of issues lurking there. i have sorted S3 na and a S3 Turbo that came out of storage and it still has issues and now looks like a full engione rebuild is on the cards. got any pics of the car?

tyres are easy. they no longer do the correct sizing on the rears but if you go down a size there are a few options i went for firestones on teh NA and teh Turbo has pirelli p600(0)s on them.

if i can be of any assistance drop me a line.

darkcat

Original Poster:

2,344 posts

175 months

Thursday 18th August 2011
quotequote all
well this is a lively forum!! (!!)

Thanks for your reply Jon

Yes I'll be doing it all myself, apart from fitting the tyres!
Its not been stood still for a long time its been started, moved, used briefly etc.
Its cheap. well cheap for its general condition anyway. I never buy suspiciously cheap cars, they are cheap for a reason. and I know why this is cheap :-)

I'll be going for a set of Falken's I think, will be using 225/60/15's on the rear.

Junglehop

363 posts

193 months

Friday 19th August 2011
quotequote all
The Lotus/Esprit Forums on here are dead! check thelotusforums.com and seloc.org they are both very helpful.

Just buy the car and do it! you only live once. is it a turbo car? what year?