Bought another Giugiaro Designed car

[Riley88]

Hey all,so ive ventured into the realm adding to my dream car collection now that my delorean is finally paid off. I had a few cars in mind ive always wanted to own, but I need something to wrench on outside of work to keep me busy. I found a private collector with a massive collection of cars who was making space. This is what i ended up with. She needs some underside work and maybe some electrical stuff ( definitely) But she runs. Another Giugiaro beauty and almost as good looking as the Delorean!

Here are some pics. 1978 Lotus Esprit S2

[mark w]

Very nice. Im too tall for one of these or I would have one too!

[Jimmyvonviggle]

Beautiful. One of my dream cars as well. I’m sure she handles great.

[DMC-81]

Beautiful. One of my dream cars as well. I’m sure she handles great.

+1 Congratulations!!

[Dangermouse]

Great color too

[Jonathan]

Very nice. Im too tall for one of these or I would have one too!

^ X2!!

Beautiful car!

[David T]

Go over to Lotustalk and find the forum for the S2's. Lots of known issues but also fixes for them and info on where to get parts and service. Like Deloreans, the electrical system is a weak link, both have Lucas to thank for that. You might want to join Lotus Limited and find a local Lotus group. If you think Deloreans are hard to work on and get parts for, wait till you start working on your Lotus!

[powerline84]

Totally jelouse . I to want to own an Older esprit. Not sure I would fit but was talking to the delorean go guys at DCS about them. Chris has owned a few and he told me the same thing. Join lotus talk lol. I dig that forest green color to. Congrats man !

[Chris Burns]

Great choice man. Imagine those are a pain to work on, but a great car nonetheless.

Always called that car the Delorean's cousin.:)

[Drive Stainless]

I really like it!

[SoCalDMC12]

So cool!

[Jimmyvonviggle]

If you are looking for inspiration, or a place that does very high end work on Lotus, check out this shop. They were featured on Jay Leno’s web series, and they do phenomenal work.

https://www.lotuspbc.com

Here is the Jay Leno video.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VlMI9m-sn7I

[Riley88]

Go over to Lotustalk and find the forum for the S2's. Lots of known issues but also fixes for them and info on where to get parts and service. Like Deloreans, the electrical system is a weak link, both have Lucas to thank for that. You might want to join Lotus Limited and find a local Lotus group. If you think Deloreans are hard to work on and get parts for, wait till you start working on your Lotus!

Already been over there. Cant find anything related to supports for lca's, no solid state relays etc. Been looking, if you know any upgrades shoot me a pm. I have a whole set of links for places to buy parts etc but its just nos parts, nothing thats been re-engineered. I am having a new way bigger radiator and more modern fans made by lotus prepared by claudius but for now thats all I can find lol

[Riley88]

If you are looking for inspiration, or a place that does very high end work on Lotus, check out this shop. They were featured on Jay Leno’s web series, and they do phenomenal work.

https://www.lotuspbc.com

Here is the Jay Leno video.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VlMI9m-sn7I


lotus pbc is making me fans right now, i spoke with him over the phone for an hour or two. he is mailing me a whole wiring list. The wiring in the engine bay is a messssssssss

[DeLorean04254]

Very nice! Congratulations!

[opethmike]

Beautiful. One of my dream cars as well. I’m sure she handles great.

Driven many an Esprit, and owned one for a few years. They handle like they're made out of spaghetti. Very fun cars, but... very noodly. Lotus's handling reputation comes more from the Europa and Elan.


Hey all,so ive ventured into the realm adding to my dream car collection now that my delorean is finally paid off. I had a few cars in mind ive always wanted to own, but I need something to wrench on outside of work to keep me busy. I found a private collector with a massive collection of cars who was making space. This is what i ended up with. She needs some underside work and maybe some electrical stuff ( definitely) But she runs. Another Giugiaro beauty and almost as good looking as the Delorean!

Here are some pics. 1978 Lotus Esprit S2

Enjoy! She's a beauty. Had an 87 for a few years myself.

[David T]

I would be very careful with anything from PBC. My car ('99 Esprit) had a rad installed by them by a PO and it was a total mess. Talk to JAE, their parts are always excellent along with their customer service.

[Riley88]

I would be very careful with anything from PBC. My car ('99 Esprit) had a rad installed by them by a PO and it was a total mess. Talk to JAE, their parts are always excellent along with their customer service.

copy will do

[zimvsdib]

just saw this. Beautiful esprit. how did you find such a nice example?

[Riley88]

just saw this. Beautiful esprit. how did you find such a nice example?

Total luck. The purchase was literally be me sitting at home going "i should buy a lotus" and looked and saw a series 2 for sale, couldn't believe it. It was sold by a private dealership without a physical dealership. I am not allowed to meet the owner but his car collection rivals Jay leno's. I was allowed to take a few photos of what parts of the collection I saw but am not supposed to post them to any blogs etc. Ill see if I can post a few that dont reveal anything. I took a pic of the vin of the delorean there as well. Very well preserved car too. My car has the motor and transmission out, i am replacing the fuel tanks, all bushings and por-15 alot of stuff, and doing replacement of alot of parts on the motor as well as new hoses and a new prepared by claudius radiator pulled from a v8 esprit twin turbo. 59384593855938659387593885938959390 by the way that alpine, i included in the photo has the Same motor as our deloreans except it is carbed. I let the mechanic who works on site know, hey you ever end up getting rid of that alpine gimme a calll, AAAYYYEEEE

5938259383

[opethmike]

Man... Esprit motor pulls are NOT fun! Do it yourself?

[Riley88]

Man... Esprit motor pulls are NOT fun! Do it yourself?

Wasn't too bad . Have a friend who's shop let's us keep the car there. We actually pulled just the transmission. Then I was like well I gotta redo the water pump and update hoses and may as well replace the original fuel tanks . So we pulled the motor separately. It took a full day start to finish for both but honestly with the right tools it wasn't so bad ( and a loft). Now if I was doing this in the garage? I would probably still be just cleaning electrical connectors and the such. Half the time it's waiting on a part from England or doing research. I'm checking the Rover sd1 forum to find led tail lights no luck. I want to do all led to make it less strain on the electrical system but I gotta try to find a cross over list for standard to led p/n`s. That is half the fun though

[mr_maxime]

When I found my DeLorean I also saw a white esprit turbo for sale around the same price. It was much further away so I got the DeLorean instead, but I still wanted one.

I saw the wheeler dealers episode where they worked on one and noped out. Unless that increased the work to add to TV drama, it seemed like the access overall mde maintenance a nightmare.

[David T]

Maintenance access is difficult. General rule-of-thumb is if you have more than 2 things to do on the motor you pull it. Keeping up with the service is even more important to a Lotus than a Delorean (it is still important on a Delorean too). Getting parts can be difficult (depends on year, model and which part) and the price of the parts is higher too. Unless you have a well-sorted one, it can be very expensive and frustrating to own. It is also hard to find local qualified techs to work on the car without butchering it. All that said, it is a delight to drive (a well sorted one of course!). Supercar performance without the supercar expense. If you buy a Lotus without having it's service history it is going to cost you dearly. Fixing up one that hasn't been used for a long time can be VERY expensive. They have a bad reputation mainly because most are not well maintained.

[opethmike]

I personally found the V8 Esprits much easier to work on, motor-wise, than the 4s. But neither one is pleasant.