At last, pictures of my restored 84' Esprit turbo

[andrew tolley]

http://server5.uploadit.org/files/S3ESPRIT-DCP_1135.jpg
http://server5.uploadit.org/files/S3ESPRIT-DCP_1134.jpg
http://server5.uploadit.org/files/S3ESPRIT-DCP_1133.jpg
http://server5.uploadit.org/files/S3ESPRIT-DCP_1132.jpg
http://server5.uploadit.org/files/S3ESPRIT-DCP_1130.jpg
http://server5.uploadit.org/files/S3ESPRIT-DCP_1129.jpg
http://server5.uploadit.org/files/S3ESPRIT-DCP_1128.jpg
http://server5.uploadit.org/files/S3ESPRIT-DCP_1127.jpg
http://server5.uploadit.org/files/S3ESPRIT-DCP_1126.jpg
http://server5.uploadit.org/files/S3ESPRIT-DCP_1125.jpg
http://server5.uploadit.org/files/S3ESPRIT-DCP_1124.jpg
http://server5.uploadit.org/files/S3ESPRIT-DCP_1123.jpg
heres some pictures of my restored 1984 esprit turbo that i said i would post on here, its now off the road for the winter, i will tax it next march so i can take it to donnington march 2005.
it makes me smile every time i open the garage door, hope you like it.
andrew.

[bigbub1968]

Congratulations Andrew you own a really nice Car!!! Looks beautiful in all the pics!!!

[avantiesprit]

Looks great!

I never noticed this before, but in one of the head-on shots, it looks very Countach-esque with that lower lip spoiler.

[Autocross7]

That is truly beautifulllll!!! But oh bother! You'v put the driver seat on the wrong side!

(just jokin' a bit) anyway... great car! The interior is spot on good as well!

Drive topless!!!
Cameron

[PatHeald]

Looks great.

What did you have done to the wheels?

The rims look like they have been polished, but are they lacquered too?

Good work!

Cheers

Pat

[andrew tolley]

hi guys thanks for the great comments, the wheels have been restored and polished at a cost of over £300 they don't have laquer i polish them with solvol autosol, hard work but they really shine, it also still as the goodyear original spec tyres in excellent condition which are no longer available.
andrew.

[lwasson]

Hey Andrew

Did you do a frame up restoration? I'm doing a frame up restoration on my 83 Turbo. Just about ready to put the body back on. Would love to chat with you on on your experiences in restoration.

www.erc.msstate.edu/~lwasson

Car looks impressive!

louis
83 Turbo

[86turbo]

beautiful... the wheels look amazing. Pics make me want to get a set of color matched bumpers for mine, to replace the black rubber. Good work! I'm doing a bit less intensive work to mine right now...
dan

[lotusguy]

Hi,

The car looks absolutely beautiful, you should be proud!

I'm afraid that I wouldn't want to drive on original tires though. Due simply to age, their integrity is seriously compromised. Dry rot, compound hardening, negatively affect the heat dissipation qualities.

You're not likely to prove the point until you get into the nether reaches of the tach/speedo - exactly where you don't want to find this problem.

I would be remiss if I didn't urge you to get a fresh set of rubber before you let 'er rip! Maybe keep them for exhibit/show, definitely not for driving!
Happy Motoring! ...Jim'85TE

>> Edited by lotusguy on Tuesday 26th October 23:00

[paul c]

lotusguy said:

Hi, The car looks absolutely beautiful, you should be proud! I'm afraid that I wouldn't want to drive on original tires though. Due simply to age, their integrity is seriously compromised. Dry rot, compound hardening, negatively affect the heat dissipation qualities. You're not likely to prove the point until you get into the nether reaches of the tach/speedo - exactly where you don't want to find this problem. I would be remiss if I didn't urge you to get a fresh set of rubber before you let 'er rip! Maybe keep them for exhibit/show, definitely not for driving! Happy Motoring! ...Jim'85TE >> Edited by lotusguy on Tuesday 26th October 23:00

I'd go with that advice too. My '83 S3 still had the original 21 year old spare. Would never have used it.


Great looking car
Most pleased you got the photos up for us to see.

[andrew tolley]

hi thanks for the good advice on the tyres, although they are original spec tyres they are new old stock and have not been on the car more than 3 years in which time they have covered 1200 miles, they look to be in excellent condition and i have drove the car up to around 120mph with no problems, what do you think? should i still change them?.
thanks andrew.

[paul c]

Oh, not so bad then maybe!
Is there a date code on them? Will look at my SE's boots tomorrow and see how old they are, she is a 49k miler so i may not be practicing what i preach!!!!

[lotusguy]

andrew tolley said:

hi thanks for the good advice on the tyres, although they are original spec tyres they are new old stock and have not been on the car more than 3 years in which time they have covered 1200 miles, they look to be in excellent condition and i have drove the car up to around 120mph with no problems, what do you think? should i still change them?. thanks andrew.

Andrew,

The integrity of the tire cannot be confirmed visually. Dry rot occurs mostly on the inside of the tire and the rubber compounds used in it's construction harden and degrade over time. Time is the key. They may be NOS, but when were they made? The degradation starts as soon as they leave the factory.

The most important thing related to safety on a high performance tire is it's ability to shed heat. Massive heat is generated by friction with the road and all the internal flexing and stressing of the tire, especially a high performance one. It's ability to release this heat is critical. Without this ability, the heat will build-up within the tire and affect the various components such as the carcass, belts and tread layers causing them to possibly delaminate.

I factor tire replacement into my maintainance expense every three years, even though there is usually lots of good tread left on the discarded ones. I drive my car hard and fast and the last thing I want to worry about under these conditions is the tire going away. Also, the performance suffers as the tire hardens as well.

I saw the effects of a tire delamination on an Esprit. It was the rear tire and it took out all the lower portion of the rearquarter body panel with it raising a $500 expense of renewing tires to a multi-thousand dollar expense of fibreglass repair and painting in addition to replacing the tires.

Too many Esprit owners use tread depth as the gauge for replacement. Three years(5 on the outside) should be the rule, because it's about time, not mileage. This is a very expensive thing to gauge wrong. That having been said, it's your car and your money, weigh the alternatives and decide.
Happy Motoring! ...Jim'85TE

>> Edited by lotusguy on Friday 29th October 19:00

[andrew tolley]

hi jim i am sure you are right about the tyres, i will look into getting some new ones, can you or anyone on here recommend what make and sizes to go for.
thanks andrew.

[lotusguy]

andrew tolley said:

hi jim i am sure you are right about the tyres, i will look into getting some new ones, can you or anyone on here recommend what make and sizes to go for. thanks andrew.

Andrew,

I am curently running Dunlop Sport SP 8000's. 215/50ZR fronts and 245/50 ZR's in the rear. I have loved the tires, although they have worn faster than any previous brands, especially the rears. This is most likely due to their soft rubber compounds which conversely have given me the performance I loved so much. A quantum leap over my last 2 sets- Goodyears and Goodrich Comp T/A's.

I am due for replacement this spring and will start looking in a couple months. Yokohama was supposed to have a replacement tire out for their popular, but discontinued tire (Model escapes me). I haven't been in the tire market a couple of years, so I don't know if they ever reached the market with them in the appropriate sizes.

I've also heard there are some good Kumos out there as well. Considering tire technology is constantly evolving, I'll begin studying my alternatives soon. If none are present, I'll stick with another set of Dunlops, like I said, I find little fault in them.
Happy Motoring! ...Jim'85TE

[PatHeald]

andrew tolley said:

hi jim i am sure you are right about the tyres, i will look into getting some new ones, can you or anyone on here recommend what make and sizes to go for. thanks andrew.

Tyres for the rears are a real problem in England.

When I replaced mine last year, the only available tyre for the back in the correct size was the Pirelli P600.

Unfortunately, the corresponding P600 for the front has been deleted.

I bought P6000s for the front and P600s for the rear, but I am not convinced that this is the best way to go.

The P600 is an old design. Apart from a couple of obsolete Mercs and some XJS Jags, the Lotus is the only car that uses them.

There is very little demand for them and consequently, the danger is that you might be buying a "new" old tyre, which has been sitting on a shelf for a few years.

My tyre fitter commented how hard the rubber in the P600s was compared to the P6000s when he fitted the tyres.

Performance of the P600s is OK, but then again, I only have the original Goodyears to compare them with. I can powerslide the Esprit out of second gear roundabouts on dry tarmac with very progressive loss and recovery of grip. The car is a joy to drift, but the ultimate levels of grip are not at all as high as I expected.

If I was starting again, I would make the effort to try the set up that Jim is using, even though this will certainly mean sourcing the tyres from overseas.

Cheers

Pat

[AZcar]

Truly Beautiful, I thought my original paint looked good on my 85, but yours is glass! What did you use on the exterior and interior, both are excellent, puts mine to shame? Did your restoration also include engine work, stupid question I am sure? Signed wounded H2O pump....

[Simonelite501]

This might help you on the subject of tyres
www.lotusespritworld.com/EModels/TurboE.html

FAB car by the way, worth every long cold hour in the garage. Very impressed.

[andrew tolley]

thanks for all the help guys, tyres seem to be a bit of a problem, will need to do a bit of reserch, i use autoglyn products on my lotus, the bodywork as been fully waxed at least 15 times in the last year, it really shines, mer is a good wax as well, but i favour autoglyn.
thanks andrew.

[andrew tolley]

THIS IS A SAD DAY BUT I NEED TO SELL MY MINT CONDITION 1984 ESPRIT S3 TURBO AS I AM GOING INTO BUISNESS, I HAVE JUST PUT IT ON THE PISTONHEADS FOR SALE SECTION, IF ANYONE ON HERE IS LOOKING FOR A GIUGIARO STYLED ESPRIT YOU WILL NOT BE DISSAPIONTED WITH THIS CAR, JUST GET IN TOUCH IF YOU WANT TO VIEW IT.
THANKS ANDREW.