Ownership questions
Discussion
Hi all,
I am considering filling a whole in my garage with an Esprit, anything from 1994 onwards as the interior looks a lot better. I am not that fussed whether it is a 4 or 8 cylinder.
I will only use the car very occasionally, a high days and holidays car.
Does anybody have any experience as to how react to that sort of treatment, especially if left connected to a battery conditioner for a couple of months at a time. Also fair to say that I live in the Highlands so winter can be harsh so the car could be parked up for 3/4 months at a time.
TIA
I am considering filling a whole in my garage with an Esprit, anything from 1994 onwards as the interior looks a lot better. I am not that fussed whether it is a 4 or 8 cylinder.
I will only use the car very occasionally, a high days and holidays car.
Does anybody have any experience as to how react to that sort of treatment, especially if left connected to a battery conditioner for a couple of months at a time. Also fair to say that I live in the Highlands so winter can be harsh so the car could be parked up for 3/4 months at a time.
TIA
An Esprit really needs regular use. Mine (MY82) sees more use in the colder months than the hotter ones as it doesn't like the heat. The only weather I won't use it in is snow or ice. Currently it looks like I've been rallying it as for the last couple of weeks I've had to drive down a muddy track.
If I leave it for a while, 3-4 weeks, I'll trickle charge it for a couple of days before trying to start it, and if the weather has been damp, I'll run a fan heater in the engine bay for an hour or so to make sure it has dried out - I've experienced a couple of occasions where it will turn with no spark, and this cures it.
Mine is on carbs, so no electronics, apart from the clock, radio and electric windows, so I don't know what the battery drain would be for the later cars.
Couple of other things to think about, there are two styles of dash - the boomerang (original) and the modern smaller one, this would be a personal preference, and for the V8, if the engine goes wrong, the repair bills can be on the very large side. I've had 2 x 4 cylinder engines rebuilt (Esprit & Excel), and while the bills were large, they were manageable.
Good luck with the search.
If I leave it for a while, 3-4 weeks, I'll trickle charge it for a couple of days before trying to start it, and if the weather has been damp, I'll run a fan heater in the engine bay for an hour or so to make sure it has dried out - I've experienced a couple of occasions where it will turn with no spark, and this cures it.
Mine is on carbs, so no electronics, apart from the clock, radio and electric windows, so I don't know what the battery drain would be for the later cars.
Couple of other things to think about, there are two styles of dash - the boomerang (original) and the modern smaller one, this would be a personal preference, and for the V8, if the engine goes wrong, the repair bills can be on the very large side. I've had 2 x 4 cylinder engines rebuilt (Esprit & Excel), and while the bills were large, they were manageable.
Good luck with the search.
Most Esprit's hate being garage queens!
Seals dry out, things that cost massive £££ break or rot. If your going to buy an Esprit drive at least once a week in all weathers or your going to face big bills as something will just fail when moisture gets into it & it rusts away out of sight (fuel tanks especially which are an engine out job really to replace!)! You have to remember the Esprit was a very low volume car & when GM owned them they raided their parts bin for many components so reliability improved but even then the later V8s still prefer to be driven regular!
Many Esprit's suffered from rusting fuel tanks as the rear 3/4 window seal leaked that would be the first thing I would check by pulling the carpet in the small window then looking closely for signs of water damage, then see how smooth the clutch & gearbox are as both are big £££ to repair! 1st-2nd gears especially are weak due to all the torque so are the driveshafts (V8s can snap them without warning on full throttle I used to know someone who went through 2 of those then gave up in the end as the box could not handle the 350lb of torque!) as the box is from a Renault 21! Renault closed that gearbox productions line in 2003 that's why the Esprit got cancelled as Lotus could not afford to R&D a replacement gearbox!
Finally the engine it needs to have had regular services (belts especially) otherwise if skipped be prepared for failures (its not uncommon for cambelt failures to wreck the top end...that's like a £15-20K plus repair bill if you can even find the parts nowadays!).
You should also examine an Esprit on a 4 post vehicle lift at all angles to ensure no rust is underneath. The chassis is generally very good rust wise but some suspension components attract rust after a few years.
Buying an Esprit is something you have to be prepared to invest serious money in if it needs repairs. Its not for the faint hearted as it has about the same running costs as a V8 Ferrari from the same era!
Seals dry out, things that cost massive £££ break or rot. If your going to buy an Esprit drive at least once a week in all weathers or your going to face big bills as something will just fail when moisture gets into it & it rusts away out of sight (fuel tanks especially which are an engine out job really to replace!)! You have to remember the Esprit was a very low volume car & when GM owned them they raided their parts bin for many components so reliability improved but even then the later V8s still prefer to be driven regular!
Many Esprit's suffered from rusting fuel tanks as the rear 3/4 window seal leaked that would be the first thing I would check by pulling the carpet in the small window then looking closely for signs of water damage, then see how smooth the clutch & gearbox are as both are big £££ to repair! 1st-2nd gears especially are weak due to all the torque so are the driveshafts (V8s can snap them without warning on full throttle I used to know someone who went through 2 of those then gave up in the end as the box could not handle the 350lb of torque!) as the box is from a Renault 21! Renault closed that gearbox productions line in 2003 that's why the Esprit got cancelled as Lotus could not afford to R&D a replacement gearbox!
Finally the engine it needs to have had regular services (belts especially) otherwise if skipped be prepared for failures (its not uncommon for cambelt failures to wreck the top end...that's like a £15-20K plus repair bill if you can even find the parts nowadays!).
You should also examine an Esprit on a 4 post vehicle lift at all angles to ensure no rust is underneath. The chassis is generally very good rust wise but some suspension components attract rust after a few years.
Buying an Esprit is something you have to be prepared to invest serious money in if it needs repairs. Its not for the faint hearted as it has about the same running costs as a V8 Ferrari from the same era!
Edited by RS_MAN_CHILD on Sunday 11th February 14:49
Just had my tanks done on my V8 as the left hand tank was leaking. The tanks on the V8 were worst of the lot. A quick dusting of satin black was all they got from Lotus.
I had stainless steel tanks fitted as I've seen too much corrosion on alloy parts to trust an alloy tank. There were a few other mild/alloy pipes (fuel crossover pipe and the heater feed to head F pipe that were completely rotten which were changed out at the same time to stainless replacements (even though they weren't actually leaking, as soon as they were checked and the hoses removed from them, they opened up like a sieve).
A few other cars were also having stainless tanks fitted (an SE and a carb N/A). All have different types of tank due to different positioning of fuel pumps etc. They sit in foam which gets wet and rots. The water also sits on top of the tanks. The tanks on the SE were actually in very good condition externally but crusty inside. Only a matter of time with Esprit fuel tanks...
To be fair to the Esprit though, at least you don't have to worry about body corrosion of the fibreglass or corrosion on the galvanised chassis. In the world of classic cars, that is an under rated plus point of these great cars.
I had stainless steel tanks fitted as I've seen too much corrosion on alloy parts to trust an alloy tank. There were a few other mild/alloy pipes (fuel crossover pipe and the heater feed to head F pipe that were completely rotten which were changed out at the same time to stainless replacements (even though they weren't actually leaking, as soon as they were checked and the hoses removed from them, they opened up like a sieve).
A few other cars were also having stainless tanks fitted (an SE and a carb N/A). All have different types of tank due to different positioning of fuel pumps etc. They sit in foam which gets wet and rots. The water also sits on top of the tanks. The tanks on the SE were actually in very good condition externally but crusty inside. Only a matter of time with Esprit fuel tanks...
To be fair to the Esprit though, at least you don't have to worry about body corrosion of the fibreglass or corrosion on the galvanised chassis. In the world of classic cars, that is an under rated plus point of these great cars.
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