Dan --
I've owned 2 Esprits, an 85 Turbo and an 89 Turbo SE. I've also
driven a non-turbo. Personally, I like throttle response, and the
turbos don't have it. They are ungodly fast (particularly the SE). I
replaced the SE with a Ferrari 348, which I've been much happier with
despite the fact that it is quite a bit slower off the line.
I really like the look of the Esprits, and the motor (in non-turbo
form) is quite a piece of work. If I were to get another, I'd look
for an early (lighter) non-turbo HC. I don't know when they started
making the HC's, and they may have only sold them in Europe, but it
should be a pretty easy conversion to upgrade the pistons and go to
the higher compression.
Parts are very expensive, but not hard to get. Check out Dave Bean
Engineering in LA (209) 754 5802. Sometime in the 80's, they started
galvanizing the backbone chassis. Before that they might have rust,
but nothing like a Jag. For prices, you can get good early 80's
models (even Turbos) in the 10K - 12K range. $5500 would be a good
price if the motor and tranny are in sound shape. The interior's
don't hold up well, so expect somewhat of a mess.
-- Jeff.
Date: Thu, 30 Jun 94 11:46:49 PDT
From: Dan Graves <dan@fubar.rose.hp.com>
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I have a few questions about Lotus' (Loti). Sometime within the next
year or two I'd like to pick up another project car to work on. The
Lotus Esprit has caught my eye in the past and I was hoping to get some
background on the car. I know very little about Lotus (other than what
I read on the brit-car server over Mosaic) and know that when I was on
this list awhile back there were a couple of guys that seemed to know
quite a bit about them.
My questions are the general ones:
Are parts hard to get?
Are parts expensive? I'm used to Jaguar prices, any worse? 8-)
Are they rust prone?
How is the driveability? (fun factor)
If I get a non-turbo model what kind of upgrades are there (if any)
for more power? (engine swaps possibly?)
Any owners out there? How 'bout some personal opinions.
The only price references that I've found are other Esprit's forsale in
Hemmings. I can't find anything in the Old Car Price guides or in
the older car Kelly Blue Books.
And finally, the reason I was inspired to write this today was because I
saw an Esprit in the local paper forsale. The ad says, '77, new engine,
needs work. $5500/offer. That's not much to go on and I haven't called
or seen it yet. I might take a look at it just to see what's out there,
but it would be nice to know a little bit mroe about Esprits before I go!
Any help is appreciated. Please e-mail directly, I am not on this list!
_________________________________________________________________________
Dan Graves dan@mothra.rose.hp.com
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