   |
|||
| September 2007 - 1700mi Sussex
(WI)
to "Deal's Gap" a.k.a. Rt 129 a.k.a. the Tail of the Dragon (North
Carolina)
-- Pics by Killboy.com
-- |
|||
More
pics of the car in motion can be found at Killboy's site:
http://www.photoreflect.com/store/ThumbPage.aspx?e=3123311&g=04RK00JT05
(hit continue when entering the site) Pics were taken during the RX8 Brotherhood run Sept/2007. |
|||
Main Page What's a Seven? Driving Build-page-story Build-page-pics Zetec vs. X-Flow Gearbox upgrade 50th Anniversary Conversion to Zetec Maintenance Log Gallery Anecdotes Registration Books Links |
1984 Lotus Turbo Esprit USA spec Turbo 210HP/200ftlbs | ||
1976 - 1988 Original design by Giorgetto Giugiaro |
 |
 |
|
| Arrival,
Wisconsin from Boston-MA - Fall 2002 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
|
| Classic Italian Lines |
May 2003 |
Classic Giugiaro lines and edges |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
| Fall 2005,
Wisconsin B-roads |
Wisconsin
roads, for driving |
||
| Some
words about this car.. I really do appreciate reliability, to be able to jump in the car and go to where-ever and back. Yet, in 2002 I finally broke with the mold of consumerism expectation and decided that between the 7 and another British made vehicle I should be able to get around. Since I do not mind carrying tools around, a Lotus and another "Lotus-that-Colin-didn't-want" should work well. In 2001 I was looking for an upgrade for the Crossflow engine for the 7 and located a Lotus TwinCam engine somewhere in Boston. Someone had an Elan 2+2, a very clean Giugiaro Esprit and... a TC engine. I flew out to look at what he had (this was Sept 9, 2001), and the 2+2 had already been sold. The Esprit and the TC were still there. The low mileage Esprit was very clean but needed mechanical TLC (I think all Loti probably do). The TC was in bits, but also a Stromberg version, where the 1+2 and 3+4 intake manifold channels are paired and part of the head casting. In a high(er) performance engine this results in charge stealing of the 2+3 or the 1+4 cylinders during exhaust/intake overlap. With individual chokes, as offered by the Weber DCOE's this issue is resolved. The DCOE TC's are the sought after engines, although supposedly they have more charisma than reliability. I left the TC in it's boxes, but they did offer me to test drive the Esprit. Compared to the newer Peter Stevens cars, the Giugiaro cars have several nice design elements, such as the original rear suspension layout with the gearbox mounted disc brakes. This design functions without requiring a rear anti roll bar. The drive was impressive, in fact the car really surprised me. I had been told that the Esprit was just a large Europa, but it's clearly a lot more than that. This car is powerful and nible and comfortable to drive. It sounds good, has sharp steering, free of a power assist, and it brakes very well. There were issues and we couldn't agree on a price. Then 9/11 happened and I lost interest in car shopping. A year later I called and they still had it.... the rest is in the picture page below! The original Esprit was not a design Colin Chapman was closely involved with, supposedly the Lotus engineering team "owned" this one. In it's original S1 form it was intended to compete with the Ferrari 308 and Porsche 924. With the early S1's 2.0ltr / 160 BHP, performance was good, but not sufficient for that class. The addition of the Turbo and added displacement (2.2ltr) changed all that. The small Turbo and the novel blow through carb design offered very good performance with minimal turbo lag. The 45dg left banked short stroke engine design itself is very robust and smooth with great attention given to cooling and lubrication! This all-Alu engine with it's 16V DOHC head is very well engineered. The temperature of each individual head section is separately maintained with considerable cooling (coolant and oil) capacity by means of an array of three blowers and radiators that nearly span the width of the front of the car. They lay nearly flat and with spoiler ducting provide top down cooling while maintaining a low nose profile. Personally I appreciate the styling, which was Giugiaro's opportunity to compete with Bertone and Pininfarina. The Peter Stevens models have rounded edges and loose "the edge" (again, in my opinion) of the original design. I call it the "Origami car" - (Japanese paper art). Driving the car: The handling and balance of this car are outstanding. When "loading" the turbo (early application of throttle in the turn), it's easy to provoke the rear in wet conditions, but the balance is such that it comes back instantly with lift throttle. Power is good, and really good at speed. No need to downshift. Floor it in 5th gear at 3000rpm, and power is there, making freeway passing effortless. Yes, there is wind noise, esp. around the air intakes, but there is also a very nice engine note. The 4cyl Turbo sounds sonore at low rpms and builds a nice wail with throttle applied! On upshifts there is the characteristic gurgling noise from the right side intake duct. I drive it with the passenger window open whenever I can, just for that sound! Long trips work well. There's room in the back for a couple softbags, or a medium size roller, tools and laptop and camera gear. There's room in the front compartment as well, next to the spare tire. |
|||
Maintenance record |
|||
|
|
Event | Comment | |
| 9/11/2002 23,000 | Flew out to Boston with my wife Lia and
we drove
it back to Wisconsin, a 1400 mile journey.
The owner had the battery and engine oil
replaced
in preparation for our trip.
Thanks, Geri and Alan S. ! |
A true Lotus experience. At speed this car is magical... Around Toledo, the temp guage starts to climb... we slow down, but it keeps climbing.... goes to 140C (#@$!). Yet, the engine sounds and feels fine. At a gas stop, we carefully check the coolant, which is ok too. Then, the T-Gauge settles back to 85C and the journey continues. Lucas effect ? (PS: this turned out to be a bad "regulator" for the fuel and temp guages. Believe it or not, this non-documented bi-metal item is burried in the console.... replaced it with a conventional 3-pin regulator - all is well) |
|
| 9/12/2002 24,400 | Arrival |
 |
|
| 9/19/2002 24,500 | Fuel smell in interior | Found the Lotus
Factfile website.. this is an invaluable and critical resource
replaced the fuel vapor line between the left and right fuel tanks. |
|
| gear crunching when warm | replaced "red hose" clutchline with braided stainless steel line from David Bean Eng. | ||
 |
brake rubbling, heavy vibration in steering. Probably from standing for the past two years. | replace front brake rotors. David Bean had them in stock. Not bad parts availability for an '84 car! | |
| 9/25/2002 24,800 | tires unround - sitting for 2 yrs... | 195/60-15 and 235/60/15 Michelin Pilot's all-season version. These are excellent in the wet and dry. | |
| 9/25/2002 24,800 | Heater does not work | reattached vacuum hoses under dash | |
| 10/3/2002 25,100 | Odd noises when accellerating and decelerating in lower gears | Replaced left front motor mount (rubber melted) - common Turbo Esprit issue | |
| 12/29/2002 28,000 | it's dirty again... | Wash, Wax.... | |
| 4/20/2003,
29,000 |
AC
still does not work (sitting too long..) |
recharge
was all that was needed. Been fine since. |
|
| 5/30/2003 31,000 | Exhaust header leak somewhere | search,
locate and fix mission...Turned
out to be one of the 8 air-injection feedtubes
had rotted through. Tied it off and plugged the port entry - fixed. In
2005, removed the air injection system and it still passed emissions! |
|
| 6/21/2003 31,800 | |||
|
|
Engine bay fan no longer comes on |
Fuse holder cracked - replaced. | |
| 12/24/2003
36,400 |
Right (front) trunnion nearly seized, causing steering pull | ground-off
trunnion (to protect tread) and replaced (used Mobil synth W75-90) |
|
| 3/20/2004
38,000 |
Timing
belt looks suspect |
replaced
along with all other belts.
Done with engine in the car. Not easy but doable. Vacuum pump is tricky. Need contorted 3/8" allen wrench(es) - I cut & bend 2. |
|
 Bottom view. I
marked the belt position before removal, and locked auxiliary and both cam shaft pulleys with ty-raps. |
It's close
quarters, but lots of light and mirrors (no smoke) work. Crank pulley
and
thermostat pipe (the curved one on top) must be removed first. After
locking the 3 pulleys, the tensioner is removed. Check the ground
strap, replace if suspect. This is important to bleed off static, which
otherwise attracts dust onto the belt and increases wear.
Transfer belt pencil marks to the new belt to ensure position and thus timing. |
 Ty-rap assembly
before removal,
otherwise parts may fly everywhere. Note ground strap. |
|
| 4/2/2004
39,000 |
Heavy
steering, pulls to one
side under breaking |
Right
front trunnion has seized
- replaced, problem solved. At the same time, replaced both balljoints
as well. |
|
 Note: oil filler hole Trunnion screwed onto upright. |
 Fresh Top Ball joints |
||
| 9/22/2005
47,000 |
Just
running, some wind noise, right side |
Realign
passenger-side door |
|
| Oct
2005 48,000 |
Got
collectors plates as it's now 21 years old, and it still passed
Emissions! The latter being a WI requirement before applying for
Classic / Collector status for the car. |
||
| Nov 2006, 54,000 |
Runs like a top. Need more
polishing.. |
||
| Feb
2007, 54,500 |
Passenger
door still sagging, strike plate bolts not tight. |
||
| Dec
2007, 59,000 |
|
In
September '07 we made a nice 1700mi trip to and from Route
129 ( Rt 129 ) ...
great stuff. |
|
| Sept
2008, 60,500 |
Less driving this year, but no troubles. |
||
| October
2010 66,500 |
Clutch
master cyinder
fluid leak |
replaced
master and slave cylinders, issue resolved |
|
| November 2010, 66,700 | New
front brake rotors and pads |
||
| June
2011, 69,000 |
had
Mraz upgrade the A/C R12 to R34 fittings, to be compliant. |
Worked
out excellent. |
|
| August
2011, 70,000 |
Time
to polish the rims |
||
| June 19,2012, 72,400 |
Sold - time for something different | ||