my final drive

[esp88]

Sorry to hear that Simon

But health and family come first and I wish you all the best......

Y.Hotta

[mangel]

Dude, This is really bad news, Hope you find a good buyer from the community and will stick around.

[bigsi]

im not going anywhere toby and i still intend to go to the factory, one way or another.

[tb3033]

Si,

Im sorry to hear of the unfortunate news but remember whether you own the car or not will not detract from the considerable achievement of restoring a rather tired turbo into the best one currently available. All under some very difficult circumstances too. I for one have been inspired by your devotion and attention to detail.

Ambrose.

[doct93]

Sorry to hear of all your problems- I take it you have a good rheumatologist locally, have requested a second opinion etc? Always worth checking there's nothing obvious left to try down the unusual anti-inflammatory drug line like methotrexate, penicillamine, gold etc. I'm sure there are more new ones since I did my training.......!

All the best anyway,

Tim B

[simonf]

Bad news big-man! But i hope you are going to stay a LEFer, how am i going to get my car running right without your useful input and technical diagrams! Surely an Excel might bw a good substitute? You could always rip the front seats out and drive it from the rear!!

How about nice cumfy coupe - something like a BMW 635CSI Auto! Not the Esprit i know but a very cool car as discussed earlier on another thread?

[Dan]

Sorry to hear your news, big man. You're putting your priorities the right way round - family and health before toys - but do take some time to let the decision sink in before you take action, even if you're sure now it's the right move to make... like "sleep on it" but maybe for a couple of weeks. If you still feel that selling is the right route to go down, then do it. I don't think anyone here will be upset that the car goes to a new owner, because they all know how meticulously you'll vet all applicants for the post! I speak as an outsider, but I think it's fair to say that all the work that went into restoring your car was not for the sake of the car, but for you. Whether you can retain the car or not, that sentiment still remains. Remember, it was "plan BigSi", not "plan YTO 80Y"...

[bigsi]

i will make you a deal.. you find a cure for this lot and i will keep the car.. i dont think the pics of the rest will sit well with peoples food

[yeller77]

oh and kimbers if your dad wants to swap my car for a nice new eagle then its a deal as long as he can get an extra 2" inches put on and left there!!!!

Well, if MJK can fit in it, I'm sure you could, too!

Sorry to hear of your health troubles, Si, but I admire your realism in wanting the car to be driven if not by you then by another who could appreciate it. You've done it well. If selling, I'd lean more toward your upper range as there's little question of it's condition and the circumstances of its restoration and ownership are well known in the public domain - a rarity.

Best of Luck with all!

Eric

[doct93]

I tend to specialize a bit higher up (above the ears!) but rheumatologists are often quite clever people. Time for a review? These auto-immune-type things tend to all respond differently to different treatments and are very hard to predict. Trial and error is usually required. Not that we doctors guess, oh no, perish the thought, but we do like to take credit when our guesses work!

Tim B

[chandrab]

I don't know if I can be of help here, but my sister is a Rheumatologist at UC San Fran Medical Center. It's the one of the best in the US for Rhematology and they do a lot of research there (fitting since my sis has a very rare combo of a PhD in immunology as well as an MD degree). They see a lot of rare cases and I'd be happy to put you in touch with her to see for additional consult/diagnostic work. If she can't help you, I'm sure some of the others in the Rhematology department might be able to.

Drop me a PM and I can organize everything.

Best of luck,

Chandra

91SE

[bigsi]

been cleaning the car again today and giving it a wipe down, did a few things and i also made the sill carpets to replace the carbon style sills i put in and make it a standard carpeted sill area with leather gaitor for the handbrake and guards for the seatbelts. and i sat there looking at the car and i realised im at my most happiest when im doing somethng on the car, wether it be cleaning, fabricating polishing etc. and then it dawned on me, i love my car, i love every eccentricity about it and most of all i love being able to work on it due to the fact its so simple to work on (on a good day).

so now im at a crux as what to do, do i leave the car for sale and get a joe shmoe sensible car or do i pull the ads and keep the car, i didnt realise just how gut wrenching this was going to be!

any advice greatly appreciated..

[andydclements]

What to do may depend on your answer to this.

Are you happy doing the work on the car for the sake of doing it, or doing it hoping that you'll be able to drive it again soon?

Personally, I love working on the cars at times, and hate it at other times (normally when something goes really pear shaped, when I have too little time, or when my spine has gone into spasm and I can't work on most bits. But, at the end of the day the reason I like working on the car is that I can convince myself the car is better for it, and I'll therefore benefit from that in some way when I drive it next.

What ever your choice it will be a painful one.

Keep it, you've got another little one on the way, you can't drive it at the moment with your joints as they are, and you can't predict your joints will be fine in 6 months time, or 3 months, so you can't predict when you'll be able to drive it again.

Sell it, it's your pride and joy (after your family), you love working on it, improving things, or even just cleaning it, so you'll miss it.

Draw up a list, why I should sell it and a list why I should keep it, then try and make an impartial decision based on what you've put on those lists.

Oh yes.

If I was in the market for a TE, I'd be saying sell it, to me, but I'm not (not sure if that's fortunately or unfortunately).

Andy

[Advantage]

Do you need the cash? Or are you just thinking about preserving the car?

If you're not needing to make a financial gain from the sale and are just having some odd 'This is a Living Breathing Car' thoughts then you're being a bit of a loon.

Some people make model areoplanes, some people collect stamps or do jigsaw puzzles as a feelgood pastime. You tinker with a 1983 Esprit. Why the heck would you get rid of your hobby?

The car won't care about sitting waiting for it's next drive, you'll be doing preventative maintenance along with your ongoing projects so it isn't likely to deteriorate anytime soon.

I'd suggest if it ever gets to the point where you haven't wanted to touch it for three months or it becomes a pain in the bum to motivate yourself to fiddle, then that's the time to sell. (I don't mean health issues preventing you from fiddling, but losing the enjoyment of fiddling.)

If however, you and Kelly have potentially earmarked the cash for a way of enhancing the family's life, then sure get rid - it's just a car. You'll have the support of the forum whichever decision you make.

[bigsi]

its not about the cash and never has been, its about making a real hard decision, and im so worried how the new owner would treat the car, it would break my heart to see it thrashed and treated like crap. even more so to see it in a state of ruin or worst still accident damaged.

yes we have a new baby on the way but we are prepared for that, i suppose the car is my only hobby i have really, and coming to the occasional meets and having a drive out for an hour or so. yet at the same time its not been that long and its gutting not being able to jump in the car this weekend and drive it.

and yes kelly thinks its time i had a more sensible car that is easier for me to get into and easier to drive etc. but then as she has little to zero interest in cars she really doesnt care what i do, as she says "its my decision"

i spent a good hour on the phone with rob carrier this morning and we had a real good chat about things as rob has had issues for the past few years himself and he was the best person to speak with.

i have now pulled the ebay ad and i have emailed kato to pull the lew ad also. i cant bear to sell the car its going to break my heart if i do, and i dont trust anyone else to look after the car in the same way i do.

even though i spoke with troy , kimbers, alan morgan (didnt get to speak with bibs as he was tres busy) and they understood the issues i cant bring myself to do it.

i really have to thank rob for all he said to me and the suggestions he came up with as did many people here, once again showing how great a community we have here.

i have found a seat supplier that has some seats that may just do the job and they are new and cheap, this will help my lower back and hips as they have a little more padding in and are wider, also the plan is to get a removable steering wheel boss so i have to look into that.

its taken a few days of realising how big a space in my life not having hte car would make and no longer having a hobby that i enjoy.

so i apologise to you all for this moment of madness, im really sorry its just been a case of me being low and in pain all the time and not knowing what to do about it and being concerened about what would happen withthe car.

i have to get the cam belt changed and i have to send some things to nick fulcher but i am going to speak with the doc next week and see what can be done to change my medication and see if there is anything however slight that can be done. someone suggested a few alternative things so im going to try them out.

thanks for the support

simon

Edited July 14, 2008 by Laura

[rogerch]

Good decision

[rocket63]

Thats great news Si. Good for you buddy

[mr.oogieboogie]

cool, hope it works out

[superdavelotus]

Hi Si,

Great news on your decision to keep your car. PM me with the make and model of seat you are looking at. If I can get hold of the same seat then I do it for you at cost! (I'll even show you the receipt). If this is a way to keep you in Esprit ownership then I'd be glad to help out. I have quite a few seat suppliers that I don't even list on my site so please let me know. Also my number is 0771 775 0453 if you need to speak to me.

Regards,

Dave Walters

[Katie]

Si, I'm glad you are going to keep the car. It would be awful to make a decision that turned out not only to be wrong, but irreversible.

I have read within the thread you are looking into altering the seat. Is there any way of having a removeable steering wheel? Is that possible? If it were, it may afford you alot more space/ease of movement getting in and out of the car.

Where there's the will, there is usually a way.

[Advantage]

Glad to hear you've had a change of heart, Big Bloke. If it keeps your mind occupied, then it's worth keeping.

Good point on the steering wheel, Katie. A lot of the 'Pie Challenged' Elise owners use a removeable wheel to aid getting in and out.

Just a thought on the cambelt, Si - it's only been a year or so since it was changed. Are you just being super cautious?

[Atle]

Good stuff, Si!

Follow your heart and stomach (for my part both are of the same virtual size). After all, the amount of time, attention and nonetheless money I myself put into the mothering (uh - fathering) of my Esprit compared to the limited milage I record annually has nothing to do with common transportation-wise sense, rather just the thought of having such a car in my garage. Like owning a valuable piece of art so to speak.

As we say in Norway: heal well; hope you can enjoy painless drives in the future. (Worst case, you Brits have such a choice of civilized exotic sports cars - maybe a Jag would work as an alternative?)

[bigsi]

i have found a snap on wheel kit on the net for just over

[DanR]

Nice you're keeping it. Could you get a custom "L" frame made that has you virtually on the floor with appropriate padding under your bum and thighs. Then have the sides of the central tunnel and sill padded just beside where you sit. Something similar to how the old Triumph GT6 was.

From my experience with the S4 seat, it could be modified this way to specifically suit you when the side bolster rod frames are cut off. The seat section is probably also a good length for you. I think there was a cock up with the seat being made too long for the average bloke. It's 56cms compared to the 51cms for your normal Recaro and other sports seats.

PM me if you want photos of the frame and what I think could be done to it.