New to this Forum and new to Lotus ownership

[BayouBill]

This is a pic of an 87 model. It appears the entire roof section lifts out. Is this standard on all Esprit models? If not, which models have this option?

[Painterdave]

Hi Bill your friend may have kept notes on the cars maybe good to have a look 

[Barrykearley]

4 minutes ago, BayouBill said:

This is a pic of an 87 model. It appears the entire roof section lifts out. Is this standard on all Esprit models? If not, which models have this option?

That’s how they are with Glass roofs 👍

[BayouBill]

Barry, you quoted "That’s how they are with Glass roof"   'They are" do you mean 'all' Esprit models have a removable roof panel?

Dave, yes I plan to go thru all of his data, both paper and digital. I realized a long time ago records are very important so I plan to do a deep dive into his files ...

[CarBuff]

IIRC, the G-car removable roofs were usually glassfibre, like the bodies. (not glass or plexi)

 

Removable roofs were not fitted as standard until the Stevens-bodied cars (1988+)

 

Dig through the statistics here:

http://www.lotusespritworld.com/EModels/S3.html

 

[Kevin Wheeler]

The sunroof on mine is glass, I am pretty sure. It was a factor fitted option. Not standard.

Mine is an 84 Turbo. Sorry, I don't know when they started to be fitted.

[Painterdave]

Small shoe s as the pedels are close together for the drive back

[BayouBill]

Atwell,

Like Kevin's post indicates, I've seen several 84's and 87's with stock removable roofs. I plan to do more research on this topic and I'll start with the link you provided. Thanks

Dave, I'm familiar with small pedal boxes. I have size 12 shoes so typically I drive shoeless in those cars 😲

[ChrisJ]

It was a factory fitted option - probably from MY85 onwards (the ones with colour coding as standard). Did it ever become standard fit at some point on the G cars - maybe the HC?

I don't have one on my MY82, but I think it should have a bag or such like to fit it into the boot/trunk and isn't there wind deflector as well?

 

[BayouBill]

 I've started researching my friends 87 VIN:

1987 has a hashtag# specifying it as the first year of the Stevens cars. I thought that started in 1988? Which 87 VIN numbers are Giugiaro Vs Stevens? On a prior post a Forum member stated "'87 was the first year for the Stevens in the UK/Europe"

I think N/A stands for "Naturally Aspirated".

The 87 VIN is SCCFC20A9HHF61026

The 85 VIN is SCCFC20A1FHF60661

Again, Thanks for your comments ...

Edited January 16, 2022 by BayouBill

[BayouBill]

OK, I keep coming up with more questions,

I've never owned a car that's Turbo charged and I read a Forum comment stating "Turbo life is limited if warming and cooling is not carried out". I'm hoping someone will clarify this for me.

Any other Lotus or Esprit info a newbie needs to know before my upcoming 1,500 mile trip. Also, this will be the first time I've driven an Esprit 😳

[Barrykearley]

Don’t be tempted to boot the daylights out of it from cold - and once finished driving just leave it to idle for a few minutes.

no matter what anyone might say - them turbo things ain’t unreliable or troublesome - on boost they are a thing of pure delight.

[jep]

Warm it up, oil takes longer than coolant so probably 15 mins below 3500rpm.

Watch your gauges and learn their characteristics. I have saved at least two engines in old cars by spotting a change in needle readings outside the norm. One Lotus (oil hose) and one Jaguar (coolant).

Justin

 

[CarBuff]

The relatively thick 20W-50 (or 15W-50) oil needed for the generous engine clearances DOES need about 15 minutes of easy driving before you explore the limits of the tachometer.😏

 

But one thing to remember, the original oils specified were mineral oils, not synthetics. So unless you visit a few racetracks en route, a synthetic oil shouldn't need that idling period before shutdown (to avoid 'coking')

 

Our '88's turbo is still original...at 98,000 miles.

 

+++++++++++++++

 

One instrument to pay attention to is the voltmeter. ours reads about .75 volts low, but it still charges the battery up at an indicated 13.5 VDC after a start, settling down to an indicated 12.8 V after 15 minutes of daytime running.

The original alternators (if still equipped) didn't provide much amperage during low-RPM running, so check that the battery is strong, otherwise you will over-tax your alternator in stop n go/nighttime traffic. (The voltage regulators overheat, and drip black potting compound onto the alternator.) Look at the top of the A/C compressor for 'black goo'.

Edited January 16, 2022 by CarBuff

[Kevin Wheeler]

4 hours ago, ChrisJ said:

 but I think it should have a bag or such like to fit it into the boot/trunk and isn't there wind deflector as well?

 

I have both a bag and a wind deflector.

I have only taken the roof out once. Never again in case I break it and cannot replace it! I did, however, work out how to get it into the boot, which is a bit of an exercise!

[Kevin Wheeler]

If you have not driven a Turbo before, perhaps I can give you a warning based on my experience: the turbo gauge is not supposed to go all the way round! If it does you are overboosting and could do all sorts of damage. 

In my case add a wet road,  10 year old tyres and an enthusiastic right foot and you may end up going backwards down a dual carriageway. 

I cannot remember the numbers, but my gauge starts at the 7 O'clock position. Don't let it go past 1 O'clock.

If it has stood unused for a while you may find the wastegate is seized, which was the problem with mine.

[Escape]

I think you have the wrong table for decoding the VIN, as it's for the later cars. I've attached the earlier codes, those make more sense for your cars. 😉

As for your trip, 1500 miles is a long trip for any car not regularly used. Give her a very thorough check to avoid surprises and make sure to have some sort of back-up plan. It will make for an epic roadtrip and you will certainly get to know and bond with the car. 👍

Esprit VIN.pdf

[BayouBill]

Fillp - Thanks for the PDF but I think that table is for newer cars. I say that because my car is a 87 and this chart covers years 88-92 also Engine/Vehicle Types don't match.

Bold = VIN #

S-1 Manufacturer Identifier

C-2 Manufacturer Identifier

C-3 Manufacturer Identifier

F-4 Vehicle Type -   !

C-5 Vehicle Type -   ! ---- 082 Turbo     085 N/A

2-6 Vehicle Type -   !

0-7 - 910 2.2 Turbo ---------!

A-8 - 912 2.2 Turbo---------!   0A9 doesn't match 910/11/12 ???

9-9 - 920 2.0 Turbo---------!

H-10 - Model Year J=88, K=89, L=90, M=91, N=92 (my car is a 1987) ???

H-11 - Plant H=Hethel

F-12 - Market Chassis F=50 States (USA)

6-13 - Market Engine 6=50 States (USA)

1-14 - Serial Number

0-15 - Serial Number 

2-16 - Serial Number          1026

6-17 - Serial Number

Atwell, what type/weight oil do you recommend?

[Escape]

Bill, you're right the table I sent is for 1988 and later, but the coding is the same as for earlier cars. The one you posted earlier is for later cars. There is however a difference between domestic/ ROW and US coding, so you need to look at the bottom table in the file to get the correct info. 😉

Model year 'H' is indeed 1987, as far as I know both I and J were used for 1988. So everything seems to check out.

Filip

[MPx]

Mine is early '86 registered (late 85 build) and doesn't have a lift out roof of either glass or fibre...so it was obviously still an optional extra at that point late in the run.

Take your time and enjoy the drive.  And if it does all go a bit pete tong, think of your friend and know that most of us will still think that you are a very lucky man.

[BayouBill]

Thanks Mike, no matter what happens my friend will always be in my heart ...

[ramjet]

Welcome to TLF Bill.

Sad story, but remarkable generosity.

I've noticed an issue with all of your cars though. They all seem to have the same issue. The steering wheel and the pedals are on the wrong side of the car.  

If you have any questions or issued with using the forums, feel free to ask one of us mods. We're here to help.  

[BayouBill]

Thanks for the warm welcome Michael, although I don't think I could learn to shift with my left hand😉

Looking forward to the upcoming 1,500 mile road trip in a 1987 Esprit Turbo HC. 

I hope everything is in good working order, otherwise I'll get a crash course in Lotus-ology ...

 

[CarBuff]

13 hours ago, BayouBill said:

I hope everything is in good working order, otherwise I'll get a crash course in Lotus-ology ...

Or, Bosch Barf-ology.

[BayouBill]

I hope my 1,500 mile trip to pick up a golf cart last week isn't any indication of how my upcoming Lotus Esprit trip will go.

About half way to my destination I heard a squeak, sounded like a loose v-belt. I pulled off the interstate into an auto parts parking lot. After investigation I found the harmonic balancer was falling off in my hand. The only thing holding it in place were the v-belts. 

I spent the next day and a half working on the truck in the parking lot in the freezing cold. Managed to get the new pully installed and changed out the v-belts while I was there.

Hopefully the 87 Esprit will fare better than the 2003 Tacoma ...

Pic below - you can see the timing belt case is broken due to the harmonic balancer wobbling violently.

Edited January 30, 2022 by BayouBill