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mr50bmg

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About mr50bmg

  • Birthday 22/06/1952

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  • Name
    Mr. Luxury Yacht
  • Car
    1984 Turbo Esprit
  • Location
    Untied State of America

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  1. I have several sports cars, but this year I've been driving my '85 XJ-6 SIII about four days per week. By the way, that's a three-legged cat.
  2. Hello Nigel. You bring up an important point. Over the years I've attended and taken my Esprit to many exotic car shows and, while observing the usual Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches, etc., one thought occurred to me: only enthusiasts buy Lotus. Sure, enthusiasts buy other marques as well, but one never really knows if that Ferrari or Porsche owner bought the car for its perceived investment value, for the badge and status, or whether he's an enthusiast. With Lotus, it's a fair bet he's an enthusiast that knows a bit about cars and driving. Also, we both share Cayman S ownership (mine's 2008). I was looking for another mid-engine car and felt I wasn't ready for an F355. When I heard the seductive sound of the Cayman's engine behind my head, I was sold. Yet, some things on the car are total crap and I've written to Porsche about them. 90% of all be electronic stuff in the cabin should be thrown out (thus saving weight). Don't know if this is true on yours, but having the battery inside an electrically controlled bonnet is stupid. If your battery is low enough (and three weeks non-driving can do that), you won't be able to start the car and you won't be able to pop the bonnet. Not only that, you won't be able to withdraw your key from the ignition. Diabolical! You'll need to recharge through the fuse box or lighter. In true fashion, what the Germans should have provided to pop the bonnet open is an explosive bolt mechanism. ... and the cheap plastic caps for the oil and the coolant tank that are stiff and nearly impossible to twist back on? Those are an embarrassment I wouldn't have expected to see on a Trabant. Fun car to drive, though. When this thread first started, I thought it was about the older Lotuses - I didn't realize Andy has an Evora. Well, in my experience here, all of the newer cars - Elise, Exige, Evora - have been very well received. On our many shows or road trips, I've never heard my fellow club members being asked by others about reliability. I think the general attitude is that the Elise/Exige embody the true spirit of what a Lotus is and it is a car Chapman would have loved. So, here at least, I think reliability questions are a relic of the past.
  3. Returning to this forum after many years, I would like to add some perspective to this topic. First, in 1991, I bought a 1984 Turbo Esprit which I still have today. In addition to monthly drives of 50+ miles, I've taken many 300+ mile trips in it at least once a year and even a 2000 mile trip. Overall, in these last 24 years of my ownership, there hasn't been much anguish. Bad or poor maintenance by previous owners or unknowledgeable or uncaring mechanics have been the bane of many foreign cars. Also, in the 1950's through maybe the 1970's, many if not most Americans didn't realize European cars (especially British or Italian) weren't designed to run for 12 months with just oil changes for maintenance. A few years ago Hemmings wrote a story about a 900 mile trip in an Esprit and brought up all the tired clichés. I wrote to the author to complain, saying he did a disservice by perpetuating stories of issues that no longer exist. He replied back, essentially saying "well, that's the reputation they had, so I can repeat it." However, I do flinch a bit about the fit of the early Esprits (I can't speak for other Lotuses). A 1981 DeLorean has far better fit and finish than a pre-GM Esprit (an Elise owner in my club has a DeLorean, so I'm very familiar with them). So it is with other cars of the era such as the 911 and Ferrari 308. They looked more substantial and felt more substantial, even if an Esprit can beat them on the track. That feeling is what survives today. Lastly, I've owned an Audi S4 (2001) and now own a Cayman S. They are very good and extremely reliable cars. It does Lotus owners no good to hurl childish epithets at other marques.
  4. Hello all, I need to get the tach repaired on my '84 Turbo Esprit; , can the tach be removed by taking the fascia screws off or does the whole binnacle need to come off? The parts and service manuals don't make this clear. Thanks! Dave -- Once you start using Windows, your brain has a half-life -- Every time a new Windows OS comes out, I feel like a stroke patient: I have to relearn everything. Yet, I have UNIX manuals from 1976 that are still correct today. New functionality should build upon an unchanging foundation.
  5. Thanks - nice to know the Pertronix isn't the problem. So, can the tach be removed by taking the fascia screws off or does the whole binnacle need to come off? The parts and service manuals don't make this clear. Dave -- Once you start using Windows, your brain has a half-life -- Every time a new Windows OS comes out, I feel like a stroke patient: I have to relearn everything. Yet, I have UNIX manuals from 1976 that are still correct today. New functionality should build upon an unchanging foundation.
  6. Hello all, A while back, my '84 Turbo Esprit came to a halt with what was diagnosed as a bad coil. Possibly the electronic ignition module was also bad. I agreed to have this, along with the distributor bits, replaced by a Pertronix system (though, in the interests of originality, I might consider going back if parts are available). Anyway, the car runs but the tach is dead. Occasionally it will swing wildly between 0 and 2k. Maybe the tach died when the coil did or maybe it doesn't work with Pertronix? I really need the tach to work. Can it be removed by taking the fascia screws off or does the whole binnacle need to come off? The parts and service manuals don't make this clear. Thanks! Dave -- Once you start using Windows, your brain has a half-life. -- Every time a new Windows OS comes out, I feel like a stroke patient: I have to relearn everything. Yet, I have UNIX manuals from 1976 that are still correct today. New functionality should build upon an unchanging foundation.
  7. This information is excellent! Thank you Jon and Steve! I do have the manual on order, however it will take three weeks to arrive. Thank you again, -Dave
  8. Thanks for the replies, everyone. This is what has me and the mechanics baffled. They've tuned the car before and adjusted the carburettors, so they have the experience. Yet, before the floats sank the car was running fine. I didn't know my car had an HEI module, I thought is was just ordinary points. Anyway, the symptoms that I had that required me to bring it in were rough running at low RPM (under 2000) and an occasional odd sensation of power cutting out very briefly while just cruising along. I could've lived with that for a while, but I had to bring the car in anyway so they could insure it would pass emissions. -Dave
  9. How many cars were needed for Group B homologation? -Dave, wishing I had one of the Audis
  10. Nice fix, Peter. On a somewhat related note, many years ago I retrieved my car from my mechanic and started to leave. Noticing that the fuel gauge was reading surprisingly full, I asked whether they'd put gas in it. No. That was strange, but I drove off anyway. Minutes later, I noticed the temp gauge reading high. After getting scared, shutting the car off, checking things, and then restarting, both gauges read normal. Then, on a later date, after about 30 minutes of driving I noticed the same phenomenon: I look at the temp gauge, get scared because it's reading high, then also notice it tells me I've got a full tank when I know I've got much less. My "regulator" has since been fixed, but it's good to know there is this electrical interaction. If you're ever in doubt about your temp gauge, you can always stop, pop the hatch, and listen whether the coolant tank is sizzling or whether coolant is coming out the overflow hose. -Dave
  11. I already have the shop manual for my 1984 Esprit, but I've been told there is a "parts manual" that goes into significantly more detail, hopefully providing part numbers and sizes for my Dellorto carburettor jets. My car has been in the shop since June 2nd, where they've been trying to diagnose what's going on with my carburettors. This is a shop that has done great work for me in the past and has been able to tune the engine and carburettors before without problems. What is happening now is that back in late May, my car was running very rough. So, the first thing my mechanic discovered is that both floats had sunk and couldn't be repaired. It took about three weeks to get the floats because parts suppliers here either claimed that didn't have them or promised to send them but never did. Anyway, he decided to order them from the UK and the floats arrived in July. The time between July and now has been taken up with them tracking down intake leaks and fixing those. What seems to happen now is that at midrange RPMs the engine tends to surge and go lean. They have my shop manual (in addition to their own), but neither have the details on what size jets to use and the part numbers; they feel that somehow the jetting is wrong, even though they've been working on the car almost on a yearly basis for well over 10 years. So, what could've changed? With new floats and a new distributor, it should be as good as new. We're hoping the parts manual will have the needed information to confirm whether the jets are correct or not. Thanks in advance! -Dave
  12. Stunning, Tony. That one's worthy of the Lotus museum. The video was well done - very professional. regards, -Dave
  13. Very good - it's a Lamborghini LP560-4. The eGear on this car is outstanding! regards, -Dave
  14. Much more horsepressure than an R8 or GT-R. Also faster, and more expensive. Sorry for the ratty photo - it's a frame from my low-res video.
  15. Yes, this one was lots of fun; with a test drive to come soon regards, -Dave
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