philleech

I agree, its only an idea currently but could gather some momentum if anyone had a mould. Phil

So although Im supposed to be selling my S1 I havent been trying very hard and some of the feedback Ive had is that it still looks like an S2 with the wrong front spoiler for an S1. So Im contemplating refitting an S1 blade spoiler but I will need to rebuild the bottom of my front wings that were cut at the factory to fit the "new style" spoiler. My question is does anyone know of a source of S1 lower front wings or has anyone ever made a mould that I could borrow to make a pair ? SJ seem to have complete front ends for sale but theyre very expensive and Id be throwing away about 90% of it. Phil

As Paul said I had this done a few years ago but the problem is that the hole in the middle of the wheel is too large for the Esprit so that needs to be reduced too. 4 spigots were made that were welded into the wheels, the 4 original stud holes were welded shut and 4 new ones redrilled. Apparently it's very difficult to hide the welds if the wheels are repolished so I had mine powder coated instead.

Yes it was originally silver and was the first production silver esprit, not to be confused with THE silver car. Phil

Heres the first advert....... https://www.lotusforsale.com/ads/colin-chapmans-s1-esprit/

Im going to advertise it after Christmas on all of the suggested sites. Phil

What this bit? Yep got a shiny new one.

Hi Paul, I knew you had an e type too in fact Ive just seen a Paul Coleman on the etype forum and guessed it was you. Im going to advertise mine for £50k and see if I get any interest. As with anything its worth what anyones prepared to pay. My biggest problem will be being at home long enough to meet any potential buyers as Im not at home much for the next few months. Phil

Thanks guys how could I forget LEW and car and classic looks good too. Theres already an S1 on c and c so will hold off for a little while as mine will be cheaper than that one.....Wouldnt want to flood the market with two for sale at once!! In answer to your question Alan Im afraid Im leaving Lotus ownership after 30 years (Sunbeam, Elise x 2 , Exige , Esprit) to tick the next bucket list box which is a 2+2 E type. I just hope my two kids will still be small enough to fit in it by the time its finished.

OK so after 15 years of ownership its time for my S1 to go. Id love to keep her but Ive just bought a new project and Im going to need the space. The question is where is the best place to sell it? Ebay and Pistonheads would get maximum viewing probably along with maximum hassle from dreamers and hopeful joyriders. I will definitely list it on here along with the Club Lotus mag to reach the enthusiasts but I thought Id ask what avenues others have been succesful with. Phil

The 30 or 22 you refer to are the wheels offset. Not sure what the square box means though...

That's a bit of a shame as I can't fault it in my car in fact I was going to buy another one to put in my Jensen Healey once I got it back on the road. Phil

A further update is that I can confirm that the cars 80MPH top speed has increased by at least 25%! The family went to Barnoldswick car and coffee today in the family fleet (Esprit and RS4) and had a very enjoyable drive home. Her ladyship even had a silly grin driving the Audi. The correct ignition advance has transformed the Esprit from a sluggish toy into a 70s sportscar. I enjoyed driving her more today than any other trip weve been on. If only the Esprit sounded like the Audi... Phil

Ok so I was finally given time off decorating by the boss to play in the garage yesterday. Accusparks stealth electronic ignition unit now installed along with my original 25D distributor and new o ring. There is an accuspark electronic points system within the distributor and the balance weights were tied down. First thing to notice is that Im no longer leaking oil from around the dizzy shaft which straight away is a plus point. My car was runnning with 20 degrees advance at tickover according to the flywheel and the distributor has an 8 degree stamp on it. The car was timed by Lotus at its last MOT so Im using these figures as my datum point. The instructions suggest you get the car running again after modding the dizzy before connecting the stealth unit so I did as it suggested got the flywheel reading the same 20 degrees at it was running very roughly at tickover and not much better when I revved the engine. I retimed it again by hand turning the dizzy whilst the car was running to get a better result. I ended up with 8 degrees BTDC at tickover which is what the manual recommends. Unit then connected with 8 degrees advance entered into the fixed advance box and then a graph plotted with 0 advance up to 1000rpm then a straight line to 2500 giving 25 degrees advance from 2500 rpm upwards and a rev limiter setting of 6000rpm. Accuspark recommend building a dwell graph too with a minimum setting of 20 and max of 75. Lotus recommend an average dwell angle of 60 so I plotted a straigh (ish) line to accomodate these readings. Sent these changes to the unit via the USB connector and off I went into to the Wigan sunshine. There was an immediate improvement from my powerspark electronic dizzy that I had replaced as there was no longer a large acceleration flatspot mid range. This is what I was hoping for as the powerspark unit apparently has the wrong advance curve for our engines. Been out again today for a longer run with the boss in the passenger seat and even she noticed that the car pulls better than it used to. Obviously the £100 for the black box is the same price as an SJ dizzy refurb but the devil in me fancied plugging a PC into a 1970s engine to see what happened... Phil