rmorrow 0 Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 (edited) Just joined the forum after taking delivery of a 1979 Esprit S2 earlier this week. Having browsed around, it's great to see so much information being shared and what a great online community of Lotus owners you have here! I'm pretty new to all this and have never owned a sports car or undertaken any restoration work before. I worked on road engine design at Cosworth for many years so I know my way around an engine but have never really delved into anything practical. Thankfully, the previous owner took very good care of the car and has provided me with lots of history information. It's been sat in a unit for a few years, so needs a bit of attention but hopefully I can get it on the road in the near future - after all, that's what a Lotus is for! Please be patient with me as I ask lots of newbie questions and don't be shy in telling me if I'm just being dumb! Anyway, the previous owner listed a few things he thought I should look at: steering rack, brake master cylinder and clutch master cylinder. Hopefully these tasks aren't too daunting. As you can see from the picture, the car is also going to need a new bonnet after the original flew off in a mysterious trailering incident, never to be seen again! It caused a tiny bit of damage to the headlamp pods and ripped the brackets from the bonnet sub-frame / slam plate (just gone to the workshop manual to see if there was a proper name for this bit, but no luck!) but I'm optimistic I can sort this out. I'd be grateful for any advice on a list of things to check over in a bid to make the car roadworthy. Should I just start with the service 'maintenance schedule' from the owner's manual? Already excited about being a Lotus owner - can't wait to be a Lotus driver! Edited March 5, 2011 by rmorrow Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Backmarker 6 Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 Welcome aboard matey. Fire away with your questions, we've all been Newbies at some stage in our Lotus ownership careers. Hope you're on the road sharpish and that you enjoy your time with the car. Graham Quote Wing Commander Dibble DFC<br /><br /> North Midlands Esprit Group<br /><br />NMEG "the formidable squadron"<br /><br /> "probably the most active Esprit group in the world" Andy Betts, Castle Combe May 2007 Link to post Share on other sites
Bibs 11,410 Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 Welcome to the forum and Lotus ownership! Unlatched bonnets on cars towed backwards often don't keep up with the car! Quote 88 Esprit NA, 89 Esprit Turbo SE, Evora, Evora S, Evora IPS, Evora S IPS, Evora S IPS SR, Evora 400, Elise S1, Elise S1 111s, Evora GT410 Sport Evora NA For forum issues, please contact the Moderators. I will aim to respond to emails/PM's Mon-Fri 9-6 GMT. Link to post Share on other sites
GavinT 114 Posted March 6, 2011 Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 Hello Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lotus4s 24 Posted March 6, 2011 Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 Welcome aboard Richard and good luck with your project. We'll all look forward to seeing it running again soon. Quote 1995 S4s Link to post Share on other sites
The Veg 0 Posted March 6, 2011 Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 Welcome Richard! Car looks pretty good even without a bonnet- can't wait to see it all polished and cleaned and roaring! BTW it looks like Essex Blue in the pictures... is it? That's the very sexiest colour for G-Esprits! But then I'm a little bit biased... Quote "If you can't fix it with a hammer, it's electrical." -somebody's dad Link to post Share on other sites
Loose Cannon 582 Posted March 6, 2011 Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 Looks like it has the makings of a great car there. For a bonnet there is a member on here breaking an S2 so could help you out, I think his bits are on Ebay at the moment. For the pure S2 look you will also need to change the sills, the current ones are from a Turbo Quote In the garage no-one can hear you scream Link to post Share on other sites
andydclements 790 Posted March 6, 2011 Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 Welcome to the forum and Lotus ownership! Unlatched bonnets on cars towed backwards often don't keep up with the car! I think even latched ones don't always keep there, the same is true of the rear hatches as well. Tilt/ tarpaulin is best. Richard. Welcome, both to the ownership of a great car (or in your case most of ) and the forum. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rocket63 137 Posted March 6, 2011 Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 Welcome to the forum Richard. Enjoy Quote Caught between a rock and a hard place in a catch 22 situation, So its 6 of one and half a dozen of the other. Your damned if you do, but your damned if you don't so shut your cock!!!!!!!!!!! Lotus Espirt Turbo S3 Lotus Esprit S4 Lotus Elise S2 Sport 130 Link to post Share on other sites
rmorrow 0 Posted March 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 Thanks everyone! I'm sure I'll a very active user over the next months (and years ?! ) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alan & Evi 0 Posted March 6, 2011 Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 Hi from us as well. That looks like it's going to be a beautiful S2. We became Esprit owners ourselves just before Christmas, but we took the easy option and bought a nicely running car to start with. Mind you, it did cost us a Florida holiday we'd been saving for, a quad bike, a motorbike, and a happy relationship with our bank manager to afford it! Like everyone else has said, I hope you get it on the road really soon - they're so great to drive. Welcome to the club. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
USAndretti42 313 Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 Welcome to the forum, Richard. I, too, worked in Costin House. I was at Cosworth from 1987 working on the YB engine before moving across to the racing side in 1995. And I used to own a S2. The Esprit is pretty simple to work on although reaching some of the fasteners can be a challenge but changing a timing belt is a breeze compared to the same task in many front-wheel-drive, transverse-engined saloons. You can spend a lot of time lying across the engine, though. Have you heard of Lotus Bits? They may have a bonnet in stock. Could luck with getting your car roadworthy. Don't be afraid to ask questions. No matter how stupid the question might be, some of the answers will be more stupid. And don't be afraid to post n general. Quote S4 Elan, Elan +2S, Federal-spec, World Championship Edition S2 Esprit #42, S1 Elise, Excel SE Link to post Share on other sites
slewthy 249 Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 Hi mate! Welcome to a great place. Talk to at Mike Lotusbits - very close to you. He has definately plenty of bonnets and for a reference, he charged £100 for a pucker replacement bonnet for my S3 recently. It would be worth while working out what you need and making a trip. Quote "Intellectuals solve problems; geniuses prevent them." Albert Einstein Link to post Share on other sites
rmorrow 0 Posted March 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 It's taken over a year, but starting to look the part.... http://www.thelotusforums.com/forums/gallery/page__module__images__section__slideshow__album__164 Plenty of jobs left to do but at least I can have some fun now! Let's hope the sun stays out! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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