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Here's the problem with Lotus Cars in general, it's a unique and quirky Brand, one Americans might hear whispers of at a local track day, one that conjures mystery, and also a great deal of jeering. As a Driving Enthusiast (You'll notice I didn't say Journalist), it's much akin to chasing the Holy Grail. Lotus Cars, are held up by the experts as either the standard in driving experience, or disaster in ownership, with very little in between offering something substantial as a baseline. There's something special that occurs when someone is charging a corner, or setting up their entr

Moving on . We now have the damaged section removed at the rear and the rest of the structure solid.. I have shimmed some wooden blocks into place where the new section will sit . This is so it will be in the same plane as the one removed.. Before we can proceed with the body work there is a small section on the chassis that came to light needing addressing.. This is very common and a real pain to do neatly when not fully re - working the whole chassis .. However i do have a very effective and strong way of dealing with it .. The cause is the turbo outlet pipe bu

Out for a blast on my local roads.

This pic here may give you a better perspective on getting all the corners in the correct plane .. Although its only when you do an eye level view that you appreciate the full accuracy .. A good indication here is the strip light reflection as it goes from the h/lamp pod to the bonnet .. This shows they are in the same plane ..

40 mph! just tested up to the above speed. No audible noise no vibration with one ski fitted! Looks like skis on an Esprit are no problem with this design. There might be effects at higher speed, but it all seems rock solid so far! New tyres and Goodyear decals look awesome! Note the front lips are now Essex!

Last one for a while I promise lol. Today.

All four skis now fitted tested to 70 mph! You would not know they were fitted unless the window is open. Then you can hear an increase in wind noise. I am sure you could go a lot faster without any effects, but those tests need to be done on a track. I will film the next one and post it!

We can now start the repair procedure. The first job is to address the rear body to chassis mount on the O/S . This has had an attempt to repair previous, unfortunately it was a bit DIY and had failed again .. Having an M10 bolt instead of M12 fitted did not help it much.. Once I remove the crumpled steel patch we exposed the problem . There is not a lot I can do with that , the bobbin has gone and very little structural strength left in the immediate area. To correct this we need to strip back the whole area, cut out, then fit a proper repair section . By cutting

A sad day. The temperature dropped sufficiently to necessitate wearing overalls for the first time in 2020. Even our heating came on this evening! Anyhow, cambelt replaced today. Still awaiting an aux belt, so can't quite sign it off yet. Seems this engine is a @CHANGESbuild. Very nice work! Point of interest: written on the alternator is 'Early Excel' I see i failed miserably to photograph it. This Kevlar reinforced hose proved tougher than the Mother-In-Law's gravy. It defied most attempts to remove it, or even move it a millimetre. I tried expletive

I did a test drive with a 400 last weekend. At first I was looking for a 370Z Nismo or something other sporty. After some days Lotus came to my mind and I was thinking about an Elise or Exige first. So I registered at the German Lotus Forum and suddenly got a private message from a guy that was selling his Essex Blue 400. He was offering me a test drive and a very good price. So I took the chance and drove 500 km to see the car (I have never seen an Evora in real life before). What an amazing car! We went for a 15-20 minute drive and after the first 500 meters I was like: I need this car! I ha

Esprit with necessary Oil Rig!

Yesterday in Switzerland.

Finally made it out of the garage. I actually went out for a drive in it! Sorry about the van....

Well, it all went well yesterday and I was able to use the car as hoped, with no further issues. The reason I’d wanted to use it was my mother died just over two weeks ago, 3 weeks shy of her 99th birthday and she loved her one ride in the car just after I got it 2 years ago, giggling like a child as I hoofed it round a roundabout. It was probably her last big thrill as shortly after that she went into a care home where she eventually passed away. Anyhow, yesterday was her funeral, so it seemed appropriate to use the car in which she had enjoyed riding so much.

This isnt me however I did the event last year. what you need to remember is this circuit has an elevation change of over 500 feet from the Pits to the top at Skyline

A few more pics after a full professional detailing including double layer ceramic coating to bodywork, wheels, brakes & suspension. Now fully protected for some post lockdown fun on road & track over the next couple of months.

This made me happy today

I've joined the club!!! And yes......that picture is actually my car!

Went to a business meeting. made me smile. (and also lots of other people).

Not sure what happened there so will try again.... GRP V3 lights on Evora 410.

I am the second owner. I was looking for one with a yellow roof but with the side sills painted black, which I was going to get done myself. I had seen the exact same colour combination 400 drive past my workplace a few times and I fell in love with it, so I thought if I buy a yellow 400, I might have to get the roof and sills painted. Then this came up with the alcantara interior that I was looking for and the forged wheels. Lotus lettering on the back was painted at the factory. I thought this was a nice touch. It turns out the previous owner worked near me and it was the same

A day out a the slopes!

Whilst removing the various panels and parts I was extremely disappointed by some of the assembly work done by the company that previously painted and converted the Esprit to later spec.. I won't dwell on this to much , but the amount of loose and incorrectly fitted nuts and bolts was shameful .. The rear bumper only had partial stud plates on top with rubber rivet nuts on bottom , most were finger tight .. The front bumper spoiler was in place but again no lower stud plate, also no belly trays or rad ducts were fitted ..This means, No air control on radiator and under body at all .. very

Received the new Royal Mint £5 coin featuring Wet Nellie this morning.

Two handsome Italian big shots made improper advances towards Wet Nellie, but she defended her honor with great success. Good to see Paul Clapham too, since our monthly NE Lotus Club meets have been curtailed recently.

When you look at the crazy prices asked for Ford Escorts, Cossie's etc that Esprit is a bargain.

Esprit (and others) at Jim Clark's birthplace.

End plates came back and I'm absolutely chuffed with the results. The Motorworks did a fantastic job spraying the exterior of the endplates whilst also giving me a nice edging which really makes the wing look OEM+ and less bolt on. Over the weekend I met up with a few fellow folks from TLF as we commissioned a private day at Thruxton skid pan. A great time with friends and learning a bit of car control. Next up vents incoming for the front clam

New addition to TLF HQ...

Running real sweet, shame about the plate! I finally cracked it today. The was a very slight stumble at 2600 rpm on transition to main jets. I reinstalled my 43 idle jets (from 40) and its running perfectly! I look forward to doing 1000s of miles! Its been a long process but I am finally happy, apart from the plate!

Great turn out for today’s’ breakfast meet at Dave and Megan’s, who were amazing hosts and thanks to @ChrisJfor organising - super fun morning

It was close but no cigar.. Even though the way I cut out the section , means all the cut joints are covered or out of sight when joined up ; The one 20mm small area that is not, did not match that well . It is really just sod'd law that it was just that one spot . Typical .. You can just make it out , the lower lip is much deeper on the original panel and the angle is slightly off.. But hell its all going to be ground out and GRP'd so not problem .. however it will need building up all the way round to be consistent.. If you are aware of the underside shape you will realise

Had our first run out to a local meeting at Evegate near Ashford on Sunday. Everyone I spoke to was so relieved just to get out of the house!

Adding to the trail of 430 pics. This one by GF Williams.

https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/1977-lotus-esprit-s1?fbclid=IwAR3RWJrA_8jiiYLybSaw3TK3x47lh8X_YozEs9g8RbfXCqX-PhB78_sDc1s Lovely looking S1 coming to auction for any buyers Dave

Paintwork done and looking to good compared to rest of car so I need to knock it back a little but very pleased with the results, I think I will paint the roof and capping rails along with rear valance and that should do it. Half tempted to not fit front repeaters as although I have them I do like the clean lines and many S2’s never had them like the S1’s. Unfortunately all the JPS did A little flat and polish on the other 3 marker light panels today and that’s all my fibreglass repairs complete.... oh other than the fire damaged engine cover so may attack that soon.

Before I bought my first Esprit a year ago, one of my pre-requisites was to build a garage for her beforehand. Took ages doing it myself, but happy with the result. Garage sized to ensure enough room for an S4. Hadn't done any groundworks before, or built anything bigger than a wood shed, YouTube is an excellent training resource

Part 7 Matching doors and front wings . This was an interesting match up . The contours drifted off and panel alignment was challenging.. The swage height had already been established as the default position so the rest would be where it landed .. From the next pic you can see the top of the wing will need extra building if we were going to get any flow across the gap. This was not where the sculpting would end . As we progressed down the face, the top section of the wing was well out of alignment. For those thinking why not move the top of t

It amazes me that people will spend hundreds, sometimes a thousand plus pounds, on a detail and the latest ceramic coat etc. But then often "scrimp" on the important stuff. I have a 20 year old VX and every time it goes in for a service the instruction to a renowned Lotus specialist is the same - whatever she needs mechanically just get it done and get it done right. i usually leave the car with them for a week to allow them the time to look at it properly (happy to leave longer) as I really just want anything mechanical done well, done right. I worry about the bill when I get it but said reno

BOND IS BACK! Finally they are secured with collars. Just a clean up needed and a seal to be adjusted. Then its closed cell foam and skis! Looks like a spaceship. I’ll have to call Elon - he should have sent this to Mars!These are the real deal, not film props!

Part 5 Generating shape and profile continued. There was enough room in most of the fixing holes to get a reasonable position, but to get the best mean result I had to slightly slot a couple .. This still left a lot of basic miss matching which needed working with the fillers again to level out.. You will note on the last pic that a piece of molding trim is taped in place next to the transom panel .. This is to ensure that the body line blends perfectly when completed rather than just random butting up .. This is just one of those tiny details that easily g

As promised a few pictures of my new car

Ski racks in paint

Conscious I've been very quite of late... fact is I've just been stacked and trying to get the right balance between family, work work, Alias23 bits, oh and finding a spare slot on track has been pretty difficult. That said the group buy organised for the 380 Cup CF wings are being packed and shipped this week - So we should see some new additions to the Big Wing Gang club very soon! ... and yes weekends have resorted in packing!!!! For the keen eyed, you'll see I've finally managed to sort my own wing game out, the funny story for the last month or two has be

This car is now on my driveway. Search complete! Thank you to everyone for all their help. Really appreciated.