1982 S3 turbo esprit decals

[edge]

Hi there,

I'm having my 1982 turbo esprit stripped down to gel coat and repainted red.can anyone advise me what the correct decals should be for this model?

Many thanks Dave.

 

[910Esprit]

There's very good info in the Service Notes, sspecifies type, size and positioning etc.  Not got a copy to hand this weekend 

[stephenwhyte]

Hi Dave - should be like these. Great to hear another one being brought back to life

 

[stephenwhyte]

Also I should have added that the colour of the decals will depend on the interior colour of the car - black = black decals, cream/beige interior = gold decals. I've seen grey & silver ones too but gold & black seem to be the ones most commonly used

[edge]

Hi Stephen,

Excellent!Thanks for all the info,I had already got the gold decals and stripes,did the BBS wheels have the gold centres or just silver?mine has the beige half leather interior which I may or may not have re upholstered in full leather in the future.yours looks nice.my bumpers are color coded though.I want to keep it as original as possible.

Cheers all the best.

The bottom one is the way I had in mind for mine as long as it's not too far from what it should look like.really unsure about the wheels?

[stephenwhyte]

Hi Dave,

Car looks really good - had it long?

I would personally think the bumpers on it should be satin black unless your car is one of 2 of that period that left the factory colour coded - Lotus have stated there was 2 that left the factory body coloured (probably at the request of the first owner) but are unsure which 2. 

As for the wheels I think they could have left the factory painted with gold centres on request but standard order was silver.

As far as your car is concerned I would personally think that with gold decals, gold centres would work well. If it was me though I'd contact Andy Graham at Lotus and ask him what the spec was when it was new - they do say original is always best after all.......now more than ever to protect the cars value.

[naasaa]

Well, then I have the second with body colored bumpers 

Black interior and silver decals.

[stephenwhyte]

45 minutes ago, naasaa said:

Well, then I have the second with body colored bumpers 

Black interior and silver decals.

Have you checked with Lotus that this is how the car left Hethel?

[ChrisJ]

Hi David

I see you already have the decals - make sure that they are the 160mm ones - check that the "t" as that shown in Stephens photo. The later decals have a different one. Yours looks like an early 1982 car - the indicators are the earlier variety.

My BBS wheels were painted silver - not polished - from the factory, and when I had them refurbished a year or so ago, I had them painted again - no polished rims or gold centres.

As Andy suggests check what spec the car had when new. You might have to specifically ask Andy Graham re the wheels. You should also ask about the body colour bumpers to find if your is one of the 2  from 1982 - no-one has had it confirmed that theirs was one yet - mine isn't, even though it has been body coloured since 1985. Would be great to know if they are still around.

What tyres do you have/are you going to get?

If/when you refurbish the interior, I'd keep the 1/2 leather rather than going to full leather to keep it original. I have a 1/2 leather Excel, and will probably refurbish this with leather/alcantara in the next couple of years.

Hope we get to see the car in the flesh.

1982 is the best year for our cars.

Chris

 

@naasaa - Lars, would love to see some pictures of your cars

 

[naasaa]

No; haven't checked with Lotus.

Here's some photos.

 

I just recently acquired a 1984. Calypso red with tan interior.

The decals are gold, but rims are silver. I would love to polish these rims, and paint the center gold.

Were the center usually gold along with gold decals?

Lars

[ChrisJ]

@naasaa

Hi Lars

I think the fact your mirrors are black might mean it could be a factory one where the bumpers were the only thing coloured. if someone was colour coding it after the fact, they would have done the door mirrors as well - as they were done in 1985 MY. Which is what happened with mine I guess.

Checking my communications on this with from Andy Graham - my bold

Quote

I am only aware of 2 ’82 MY cars specifically requested in the build file to have body coloured bumpers, so they would have been painted post production, perhaps to freshen it up against the new ’85 model?

No mention of mirrors.

You really need to check now with the factory  I think we'll all be interested to know!

I think silver rims will be how they came out of the factory. Mine is white, gold decals, silver - not polished rims.

Chris

[stephenwhyte]

Lovely car Lars!! I would bet on the bumpers being originally black and the decals being replaced at some point as they are the smaller sized variant used on later Turbo Esprits........they also look more silver than the normal gold used - but would definitely suggest send am email to Andy Graham at Lotus. His email is [email protected]

[ChrisJ]

Didn't spot the decals  

[edge]

21 hours ago, ChrisJ said:

Hi David

I see you already have the decals - make sure that they are the 160mm ones - check that the "t" as that shown in Stephens photo. The later decals have a different one. Yours looks like an early 1982 car - the indicators are the earlier variety.

My BBS wheels were painted silver - not polished - from the factory, and when I had them refurbished a year or so ago, I had them painted again - no polished rims or gold centres.

As Andy suggests check what spec the car had when new. You might have to specifically ask Andy Graham re the wheels. You should also ask about the body colour bumpers to find if your is one of the 2  from 1982 - no-one has had it confirmed that theirs was one yet - mine isn't, even though it has been body coloured since 1985. Would be great to know if they are still around.

What tyres do you have/are you going to get?

If/when you refurbish the interior, I'd keep the 1/2 leather rather than going to full leather to keep it original. I have a 1/2 leather Excel, and will probably refurbish this with leather/alcantara in the next couple of years.

Hope we get to see the car in the flesh.

1982 is the best year for our cars.

Chris

 

@naasaa - Lars, would love to see some pictures of your cars

 

Hi chris,

 Its nice to get so much interest from people,i will give Andy a ring to find out about the bumpers,it would be nice if mine was one of them because they do look nice colour coded,at the mo my wheel centres are red too so need to find out about them as well.

cant tell you what tyres it has yet because the cars in the paint shop.i have to say though that im really liking the polished rims with gold latice so i may just do that anyway.

have done most of the mechanics myself brakes cambelt etc.just got to do the bushes in the gear linkages now because its like stirring porridge at the mo although all gears are selecting fine.its nice to own a car that i can actually work on myself!!no computers etc.i will probably follow your advice regarding the interior.

Edited May 2, 2016 by edge

[stephenwhyte]

Please delete this message - I tried but no joy

Looks great Dave - so how long have you had the car? It's very similar to one that was for sale in Norfolk recently but don't think it's that one as it didn't have red wheel centres. 

[stephenwhyte]

Looks great Dave - so how long have you had the car? It's very similar to one that was for sale in Norfolk recently but don't think it's that one as it didn't have red wheel centres. Looking at the photos of yours I always find it interesting just how these Esprits were constantly evolving and getting little tweaks here and there back when they were being made - both yours and mine are '82 models, but mine had the radio speakers at the top of the doors whereas yours have been moved to the improved position of the dash. Yes I'm a bit mad on detail.....

Another thing that would make me think that your bumpers have been painted is the fact that the waistline on your car is body colour and would always have been black originally so I'd think it's been a full respray at some point.

[ChrisJ]

Stephen - not sure where my speakers are - in the door somewhere behind a couple of teddy bears.

David - re tyres. 

If you stick with 235/60 on the back, you have only one choice Pirelli P600s- and a fairly expensive choice this is.

or you can drop down to 225/60s where you have a wider choice - and at a much more reasonable price. I've got Vredestein Sportrac 5s on the rear of mine - Sportrac 3s on the front.

Chris

[wolflyn]

On ‎01‎/‎05‎/‎2016 at 07:05, 910Esprit said:

There's very good info in the Service Notes, sspecifies type, size and positioning etc.  Not got a copy to hand this weekend 

hi, did you get the chance to find that info in the service notes?