History
Paid 17,000 UK pounds back in Mar 2003 from a Lotus Dealer in Torquay, UK..
Manuf. Dec 94 - so has the Brembos installed. Took 2 years to find the right one since the original plan is to export the car back to Australia in 2005 / 2006.
Most of the money has been spent on fixing the POs problems. Spent UK 3k on getting the engine bay issues resolved.
Oct 05 Continuance
Okay, some more ramblings now for all you hardcore Esprit readers.
I bought the car back in 2003 from a "Lotus Dealer" down in Torbay. This "Dealer" does not sell Lotus cars anymore for obvious reasons - they were evil. The main problem they tried to hide was a faulty ECM. To hide this problem they just disconnected the Check Engine light so that it would never come on.
When buying your first Esprit there’s so much to check. For starters, grab Kato’s Esprit checklist. As well, here’s a few other areas to check. In order of priority - Check Engine light comes on for ’Self Test’ at first start up (new ECU UK700). Any exhaust noise from the exhaust manifold - easier to hear this when the engine is started cold (New manifold fitted Uk1000) - Manifolds tend to crack at the 40 - 50k mile mark. Oil pooling in the spark plug wells, the sign of a Cam Tower leak, can become quite embarrassing (UK 200).
If you have the Lotus stock exhaust fitted, then change it over to a smaller sport version. SJ Sportcars do a great one and it’ll be the best mod you’ve done to the car - They don’t cost much either and make driving the car so much more enjoyable. I’ve added pics of the old and new exhaust. Original weighs a ton and also looks dang ugly - whereas the new one so shiny and er - small.
If you’re going to put new discs on the car, just make sure you buy some new screws for the front discs (rears are okay). Lotus tend to apply loctite 6,000,000 to this original screw, and there won’t be much left of it after you’ve tried to remove it.
During the Summer months of 05 I was suffering from low oil pressure. The cause of this was me. I didn’t realize that when I topped up the car earlier in the year I used Mobil 1 (0-50). This was causing the oil to thin out at high temps thus causing the oil warning lamp to illuminate when taking off at the lights. Pressure was actually dropping to 0.4 bar, which is well into the red on the dial. Interestingly though this is still above the Lotus minimum limit set out in the manual, which is 0.35 bar. Anyway, changed the oil to Mobil 1 (15 - 50) and the pressure is right back up there in the mid range.
If you’re hearing horrible vibrating noises from the back of your car (1000 - 2000 rpm) this will no doubt be the EBPV. Look for the piccy with the blue arrow. It points to the exact cause of the noise. To get rid of this noise all you have to do is get rid of the whole device and throw on the spacer - pictured (EBPV Spacer is readily available from online Esprit shops).
One of the interesting things about the car is that I find it more enjoyable just looking at the car than driving it (you can’t see the car’s beauty when you’re on the inside).
Jan 06 Continuance
Well another new year and the car is still in one piece - still shiney too.
She’s had her last coating of Zymol (dam that stuff smells so good - Mmm - or is it just me.)
Just sitting and waiting now for the expoer to Oz - which means I’ve got just enough time to place a last minute order for Lotus parts.
Feb 06 Continuance
Well I’ve received my last Lotus goodie bag from SJ Sportscars. I do like the new RED mats even if they did cost half a spleen. Better still the solicitors have got their A$$ into gear and we finally have a moving date of the 03rd March, which means the car will be driven down to the shipping agents in West London in 3 weeks time. I’ll then be Espritless for a good 2 months.
The last couple of weeks have been spent de-bugging the car, as the Australian Customs Dept. don’t like any nasty bugs to be imported with the car. As if they haven’t got enough big nasty bugs already. Anyway I’ve taken all the wheels off and cleaned the wheel wells and the underneath as good as possible. Plus cleaned up the gearbox housing and surrounds. Took a pic of the manifold that was replaced some twelve months previous - still looks pretty clean.
21 Feb 06 - My garage is now empty, and as such there is now a big hole in my life. Took a couple of snaps of the car at the removalist’s depot in London. I just hope to see it in one piece at the other end in Oz (some 8 weeks time).
June 06 Continuance
Made it to the other side of the world :-)
Car made it in one piece. Presently there’s a lot of work to do just to get it ready for its one off roadworthy check here in Adelaide, South Australia. One major addition is the rear brake light - which looks kinda ok - so it will stay on for the time being. I’m looking forward to finally getting the Oz plates on so I can start cruising around this fine city. Summers going to be a hoot as well since the beach is just at the end of my street.
Nov 06 Continuance
Ended up buying a house on the beach and we’ve just moved in, so now the Esprit has a permanent resting place. The car’s been very active in Adelaide, getting out and about a couple of times a week. A couple of pics added including a day out with a Toyota 2000GT, a local Lotus morning meet up (there’s not many of us), and a classic day out with a BMW 328 (1949). Next on the diarys hit list is the Classic Adelaide rally (Mid November), where I’ll be taking the car on the Annual ’Climb to the Eagle’ drive. This starts on the old Adelaide Grand Prix circuit.
August 07 Continuance
Well I’m now into my 5th year of Esprit ownership. Reliability has been exemplary thus far. Had my first breakdown this year and luckily it happened in my garage as I tried to drive it out. A complete slave cylinder failure. Got a mate to re-sleeve the cylinder and was back on the road in a week. The car gets an outing each weekend as the weather is always pretty good here in Oz. Another mild Winter has passed by and Summer is fast approaching. :-)
March 2008 Continuance
Celebrating 5 years of Esprit ownership. More remarkably, I’ve only had one failure during that time - Clutch slave cylinder.
August 2008 Continuance
Finally got around to replacing my rear wheel bearing. problem was first raised during an MOT in London back in 2006. The mechanic pick up an ever so slight wheel movement (around 2mm lateral). Never really bothered me until this year when it grew to 4mm of movement. New bearings were ordered thru SJ (top fella) and subsequently fitted without too much fuss. Over the winter I’ve also repaired the front rubber lip (new bolts and washers to keep it in place).
The images in my gallery have also been fixed as they were not showing. :-)
March 2009 Continuance
Commencing my seventh year of blissful ownership. Changed the Transmission oil with some nice new Castrol synthetic stuff (ps. the task is pretty much impossible without the right square socket removal tool). Even though I had lost some 500ml from 5 years of usage, there was no noticeable difference in shift change.
New front speakers fitted - 15 minute job, just make sure you have a 90 deg offset screwdriver handy.
New digital speedo fitted as the old one died at 50,000 miles exactly. Old one was easily repaired (10 minute job to reaffix the spindle to the magnet assembly).
April 2011
Another year of ownership under the belt, with nothing to report really. No breakdowns and no problems. replaced the plugs. Cheap and easy. About $4 each off ebay for the proper NGK’s. LEF Garage updated with 75 new photos.
Sep 2012
Transferred my ramblings to the Shannons website. Hope I haven’t bored anyone too much. Only 6 moths till I hit 10 years of ownership. :-)
June 2017
So where did those 5 years go... All going well. Still try to drive the car each week - if just to the shops. Last service was a major one with all belts replaced. Still sounds great and flies like a rocket ship. I've decided to redo the leather interior and found a place locally that can match the original Magnolia leather. No other issues in the last 5 years of ownership, just smiley driving fun. :-)
Modifications
Lotus Sports exhaust. Nothing else as it’s fast straight out of the box.
