Dry sump turbo, how rare, how much
Discussion
Hi everyone,
This is my first post on the forum although I have been lurking in the shadows for a while.
I have the chance to purchase a one owner, all original, 1982, low mileage (22,000) Turbo which has been stored for 18 years. Over the last couple of years the owner has spent a fair bit of money having various parts replaced which had siezed/ deteriorated whilst in storage (Clutch assy, master cylinders, handbrake, cables, hoses, alloy water pipes etc, etc, also had the cambelt changed while the engine was out).
The body is fine but in my opinion it would require a respray to be right, the interior although covered in dust is in very good original condition
My questions are, How rare is the dry sump version and why did Lotus change to wet sump(were there problems with the dry sump) also, and I know this is a very difficult question to answer but how much, roughly, should I be paying for the car.
Les
This is my first post on the forum although I have been lurking in the shadows for a while.
I have the chance to purchase a one owner, all original, 1982, low mileage (22,000) Turbo which has been stored for 18 years. Over the last couple of years the owner has spent a fair bit of money having various parts replaced which had siezed/ deteriorated whilst in storage (Clutch assy, master cylinders, handbrake, cables, hoses, alloy water pipes etc, etc, also had the cambelt changed while the engine was out).
The body is fine but in my opinion it would require a respray to be right, the interior although covered in dust is in very good original condition
My questions are, How rare is the dry sump version and why did Lotus change to wet sump(were there problems with the dry sump) also, and I know this is a very difficult question to answer but how much, roughly, should I be paying for the car.
Les
Your first port of call for all things Esprit is Kato's wonderful website: http://www.lotusespritworld.com/
Have a rummage around in there for production figures for all the various models along with an overload of other info.
If you don't get the exact answers you want then join up to http://www.lotusespritforum.com/ There's a number of dry-sump owners on there that will willingly guide you through any potential purchase. (Just a quick note about LEF, the site is off-line at the moment and unfortunately Bibs, the site owner, is at the Motorshow and unable to get home to feed the hamster. Give it a day or so to be fixed, but it must be said this downtime is very unusual for LEF)
I do know why the dry sump was dropped in favour of the wet sump, it's simply that the owners found the procedure for checking the oil level far too complicated and ended up overfilling them, which caused more problems than the benefits the system gave.
Have a rummage around in there for production figures for all the various models along with an overload of other info.
If you don't get the exact answers you want then join up to http://www.lotusespritforum.com/ There's a number of dry-sump owners on there that will willingly guide you through any potential purchase. (Just a quick note about LEF, the site is off-line at the moment and unfortunately Bibs, the site owner, is at the Motorshow and unable to get home to feed the hamster. Give it a day or so to be fixed, but it must be said this downtime is very unusual for LEF)
I do know why the dry sump was dropped in favour of the wet sump, it's simply that the owners found the procedure for checking the oil level far too complicated and ended up overfilling them, which caused more problems than the benefits the system gave.
You can also try lotusbuzz too which has a few G car owners on there willing to help. Les,
Good advice above and a shame the site is down at the moment but don't suppose it will be long. I would have thought that Lotus also changed to wet sump on the grounds of cost against road use. It surely must be more complicated to build a dry sump and not use the rewards on the road? No disadvantages apart from the extra belt to replace and leaking/failing pipes to and from pump and tank. Should have a bit better pick up without the crank splashing around in all that oil.
Trevor.
Good advice above and a shame the site is down at the moment but don't suppose it will be long. I would have thought that Lotus also changed to wet sump on the grounds of cost against road use. It surely must be more complicated to build a dry sump and not use the rewards on the road? No disadvantages apart from the extra belt to replace and leaking/failing pipes to and from pump and tank. Should have a bit better pick up without the crank splashing around in all that oil.
Trevor.
There's a bit about wet and dry sumps here: http://www.lotusespritturbo.com/Lotus_Turbo_Esprit...
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