'84 back on the road afer 2 years
Discussion
I have an '84 Turbo Esprit which didn't get driven in 2004 because it did not pass emissions and also it had been 7 (!) years since the timing belt had been changed. Also, I was concerned that the carburettor gaskets were too old.
So, earlier this year I had the car taken to a shop where the owner/chief mechanic has a good deal of experience with Esprits (it's actually a Jaguar shop) and he's done excellent work on my car in the past. What he did this time was a "30,000 mile service" which also involved fixing a cracked exhaust manifold. That last bit turned out to be quite a job. The good news is that my car did pass the emissions test and now I can drive it as much as I want.
Not having driven the car in a while provides an interesting experience (more below).
Anyway, in my stupidity I forgot to mention that I wanted the carburettor gaskets and the diaphragm replaced. For some reason, I tricked myself into thinking it would automatically get done. Calling him later, he mentioned to me that the gaskets appeared to be fine and not shrunk. I believe they were last changed in 1998.
So, for now I have to do the "feel test" for fuel underneath the carbs. The problem is - there is no way, no way at all, that I can get my hand or even the tips of my fingers underneath the carbs. My car is a Rest Of World car and the metal tubing around the carburettors is definitely arranged differently than on U.S. model cars.
One thing I've tried is to use an inspection mirror and a flashlight - but even then the little mirror and its shaft cannot be slid under the carbs. The other thing I thought of is wrapping a paper towel around a cardboard "stick" and sliding that underneath the carbs to see if any fuel gets on the towel. Does anyone think this would work? Due to massive amount of heat this engine seems to generate, I would have to wait about three hours before it cooled down sufficiently to test it without burning myself on all the hot bits.
So, in the nearly two years since having driven the car, I'd forgotten just how bad the shift mechanism is. It's not so much the linkage -- I've had a bad linkage before, and it's been fixed as good as it will ever get -- rather, the bad part is the shift between 2nd and 3rd (either upshifting or downshifting). The shifter feels like it's in molasses and it is so slow to take out of gear, move it, and get it in the other gear. That, coupled with the imprecise feel of the clutch (no sense of the engagement point), does not make for a fast shifting car and no fun at all in city traffic.
My other cars are a 2001 Audi S4 and an '81 VW diesel Rabbit (Golf). Compared to the Audi, the Esprit has no acceleration. Even with "only" 250 bhp, the relatively heavy Audi will push you back in the seat and keep you there to top gear. The Esprit used to seem fast, perhaps my perception has changed over time. Well, the Esprit is clearly the better handling car without any doubt at all. Now, amusingly, the 50 mile-per-gallon Rabbit has a very decent clutch and shift mechanism; it is fun. One thing I learned is not to go from driving the Esprit directly to driving the Rabbit - the first time I did this I practically kicked the Rabbit's clutch through the firewall.
-Dave
So, earlier this year I had the car taken to a shop where the owner/chief mechanic has a good deal of experience with Esprits (it's actually a Jaguar shop) and he's done excellent work on my car in the past. What he did this time was a "30,000 mile service" which also involved fixing a cracked exhaust manifold. That last bit turned out to be quite a job. The good news is that my car did pass the emissions test and now I can drive it as much as I want.
Not having driven the car in a while provides an interesting experience (more below).
Anyway, in my stupidity I forgot to mention that I wanted the carburettor gaskets and the diaphragm replaced. For some reason, I tricked myself into thinking it would automatically get done. Calling him later, he mentioned to me that the gaskets appeared to be fine and not shrunk. I believe they were last changed in 1998.
So, for now I have to do the "feel test" for fuel underneath the carbs. The problem is - there is no way, no way at all, that I can get my hand or even the tips of my fingers underneath the carbs. My car is a Rest Of World car and the metal tubing around the carburettors is definitely arranged differently than on U.S. model cars.
One thing I've tried is to use an inspection mirror and a flashlight - but even then the little mirror and its shaft cannot be slid under the carbs. The other thing I thought of is wrapping a paper towel around a cardboard "stick" and sliding that underneath the carbs to see if any fuel gets on the towel. Does anyone think this would work? Due to massive amount of heat this engine seems to generate, I would have to wait about three hours before it cooled down sufficiently to test it without burning myself on all the hot bits.
So, in the nearly two years since having driven the car, I'd forgotten just how bad the shift mechanism is. It's not so much the linkage -- I've had a bad linkage before, and it's been fixed as good as it will ever get -- rather, the bad part is the shift between 2nd and 3rd (either upshifting or downshifting). The shifter feels like it's in molasses and it is so slow to take out of gear, move it, and get it in the other gear. That, coupled with the imprecise feel of the clutch (no sense of the engagement point), does not make for a fast shifting car and no fun at all in city traffic.
My other cars are a 2001 Audi S4 and an '81 VW diesel Rabbit (Golf). Compared to the Audi, the Esprit has no acceleration. Even with "only" 250 bhp, the relatively heavy Audi will push you back in the seat and keep you there to top gear. The Esprit used to seem fast, perhaps my perception has changed over time. Well, the Esprit is clearly the better handling car without any doubt at all. Now, amusingly, the 50 mile-per-gallon Rabbit has a very decent clutch and shift mechanism; it is fun. One thing I learned is not to go from driving the Esprit directly to driving the Rabbit - the first time I did this I practically kicked the Rabbit's clutch through the firewall.
-Dave
Hello Dr. Hess,
I'll give that a try. However, even when the car had been sitting in the garage for months, I noticed a slight but distinct gas smell coming from the fuel filler caps (not bad enough to fill the garage and blow the house up, but if you got close to that part of the car, you'd definitely get a whiff of gasoline). So, I'll have to get my nose closer to the carbs to make sure where the smell is coming from.
John Browning didn't design this car, that's for sure.
Thanks for the suggestion - I'll try it next time and hope I don't burn my nose :-)
-Dave
I'll give that a try. However, even when the car had been sitting in the garage for months, I noticed a slight but distinct gas smell coming from the fuel filler caps (not bad enough to fill the garage and blow the house up, but if you got close to that part of the car, you'd definitely get a whiff of gasoline). So, I'll have to get my nose closer to the carbs to make sure where the smell is coming from.
John Browning didn't design this car, that's for sure.
Thanks for the suggestion - I'll try it next time and hope I don't burn my nose :-)
-Dave
Yeah, darn few things are designed like ol' JMB could do. Not many things are virtually unchanged and still in production a hundred years later. OK, Mausers too, maybe, but I can't think of many others.
Otherwise, I suppose you'll either have to try the mirror trick or just break down and put new gaskets in regardless, which given the consequenses of a leak is probably not a bad idea.
Dr.Hess
Otherwise, I suppose you'll either have to try the mirror trick or just break down and put new gaskets in regardless, which given the consequenses of a leak is probably not a bad idea.
Dr.Hess
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