Lotus Esprit itch

C

Chris_D

Elite
 Mostly Holland. Sometimes UK.
Uh ohhhh, why do I find myself looking more at Lotus Esprits on Pheads and youtube instead of the zed coupe I'd promised to get myself....? :o

I know why, it's because my dad's had an S2 ever since I was a kid and he still has it and he's sort of promised it to me to look after when he 'pops his clogs' as he puts it. :o :cry:

However, scratching an itch that's just out of reach has to be one of the most frustrating phenomenons known to man. Yes, of course I've thought about hiring a hitman or spiking his favourite tipple, Laphroaig with arsenic, but the problem with that idea is that mum will gain power of attourney over his estate and as I don't see eye to eye with her, especially in regards to his car collection, I know she will auction them off, Chasing Classic Cars-style. :x
I also know she hated that particular car as it consumed most of his spare time while he was tinkering/repairing/swearing or throwing things at it :lol: time that could have been spent focusing on her/kids/houserepairs/dog/foreign holidays. :roll: 'silly old dad and that piece of cheese' she'd mutter in discord.

What are my options then:

  • waiting for my ol fella to kick the bucket so I can inherit the S2.
    Caveat: I might go before him - I'll get mown down by a dutch farmer in a tractor while out biking this summer. 2 close calls last year - my luck has to run out some time....

    Buying a more up-to-date GT V8 (nearly did before the zed came)
    Caveat: being single/no kids will be confirmed as the modus operandi for the rest of my life due to experiencing the all-consuming Esprit-maintenance phenomenon and all it entails - losing all one's spare time due to repairs, tinkering etc

    Paying top whack for a fully upgraded/restored Esprit but worrying about some twonk rear-ending me and writing it off
    Caveat: well other than writing off the car will be the initial capital outlay vs useage/maintenance algorithm. i.e. is it worth it?

    Forgetting the idea altogether and re-focusing on the coupe
    Caveat: that feeling of what might have been. Back to the itch.

This one looks dreamy
[youtube]Bx4NBGlGHLk[/youtube]
 
What a strange power the Lotus brand seems to have over us. I had an 1970 Elan which I sold many years ago. Sublime driver but fragile. Lotus cars were never well built. The Europa that I had , 1969, was probably one of the worst cars ever built. It went round corners well but the quality of the materials was poor. I suspect that the Esprit would give you nothing but problems and perhaps the build quality would annoy you at the end of the day. May I suggest that you have a quiet work to your Dad and get him to change the ownership of the car over to you. I do not know your full situation but you and your siblings are entitled to one third of the estate should one of the parents dies. I would suggest anyway with care home fees that your father if indeed a care home is in the near future should start gifting away his assets now leaving him only his pension income.Long term care costs are crippling. Otherwise if his pension will not cover the care home a charge will be made against the house. Care home fees are £4000 per month. A meeting with an accountant should really be made otherwise you will be left with nothing. So do what you want. You only have one life to live and there are so many cars. Just don't buy a Lotus :D
 
Lots of trouble usually serious.....my first car was a Plus 2 S 130, I rememebr gunning it away from some lights outside a packed pub in the summer, only for the rear donut to come apart, and the driveshaft came through the fibreglass floor. Then there was the time with the earthing problem, quite common on elans. The earth strap had come loose, so when I turned the ignition on nothing. One car electrician later we discovered that the car was trying to earth itself via the throttle cable, so a nice spark against the body of the weber carbs...God I miss that car... where are you now UFC 578K. Looked at a red Esprit 25 years ago, lovely car but sooo impractical. Have you thought of an Excel Celebration??
 
The car tried to burn you and seriously injure you and yet you miss it ! Lotus magic ! Yes I do miss mine as I remember the old days. My throttle cable melted with the same problem leaving the engine screaming at full revs.
 
Interesting insight into your family dynamics Chris. I’ve no advice regarding your Dad’s Lotus.
There are women who are passionate about cars – they love the aesthetics and the modifications, and are happy if you spend lots of time and money on them; they will forego holidays and expensive shopping trips to keep the car. They see sports cars like the Z4 as works of art and enjoy the experience of being driven in them. They constantly comment on how beautiful and breath-taking the car is and have opinions on the smallest details – like suggesting lowering the ride height or agreeing that the pillars will look better gloss black. Some of these rare creatures don’t even drive.
If you must live with someone then finding one of these women makes life a lot easier.
 
I defintely get the Esprit itch -but the reality will be rather different
I owned what I thought was a well sorted Elan coupe which was great to look at and nice to drive but always annoyed with bits falling off and going wrong -most classic Lotus owners will i susepct tell you a similar tale of woe . So scratch the itch as long as you go into it with your eyes open -and yes I also scratched the TVR itch twice which also ended in tears ....
 
Marlon said:
Interesting insight into your family dynamics Chris. I’ve no advice regarding your Dad’s Lotus.
There are women who are passionate about cars – they love the aesthetics and the modifications, and are happy if you spend lots of time and money on them; they will forego holidays and expensive shopping trips to keep the car. They see sports cars like the Z4 as works of art and enjoy the experience of being driven in them. They constantly comment on how beautiful and breath-taking the car is and have opinions on the smallest details – like suggesting lowering the ride height or agreeing that the pillars will look better gloss black. Some of these rare creatures don’t even drive.
If you must live with someone then finding one of these women makes life’s a lot easier.
Click to expand...
My wife judges a car on the pasenger vanity mirror. If it has a light OK . If not sell it. So when I buy a new car never mind the service history is there a light in the mirror?
 
Marlon said:
Interesting insight into your family dynamics Chris. I’ve no advice regarding your Dad’s Lotus.
There are women who are passionate about cars – they love the aesthetics and the modifications, and are happy if you spend lots of time and money on them; they will forego holidays and expensive shopping trips to keep the car. They see sports cars like the Z4 as works of art and enjoy the experience of being driven in them. They constantly comment on how beautiful and breath-taking the car is and have opinions on the smallest details – like suggesting lowering the ride height or agreeing that the pillars will look better gloss black. Some of these rare creatures don’t even drive.
If you must live with someone then finding one of these women makes life’s a lot easier.
Click to expand...
You're a lucky lucky fella colin!
 
raymond.harper said:
Marlon said:
Interesting insight into your family dynamics Chris. I’ve no advice regarding your Dad’s Lotus.
There are women who are passionate about cars – they love the aesthetics and the modifications, and are happy if you spend lots of time and money on them; they will forego holidays and expensive shopping trips to keep the car. They see sports cars like the Z4 as works of art and enjoy the experience of being driven in them. They constantly comment on how beautiful and breath-taking the car is and have opinions on the smallest details – like suggesting lowering the ride height or agreeing that the pillars will look better gloss black. Some of these rare creatures don’t even drive.
If you must live with someone then finding one of these women makes life’s a lot easier.
Click to expand...
My wife judges a car on the pasenger vanity mirror. If it has a light OK . If not sell it. So when I buy a new car never mind the service history is there a light in the mirror?
Click to expand...

:rofl: classic
 
Ducklakeview said:
[ref]Chris_D[/ref], option No 5?

Poison them both???


Does Laura like cars BTW :evil:

Mike
Click to expand...
Bwaaaahahha i can see the headline in the Liverpool Echo now mike: "Son poisons parents and disposes of bodies under patio before murdering neighbours and entire street to gain posession of old Lotus"
And yeah Lau loves the zed but i'm not allowed to floor it, cos 'she'll puke over the nice leather seats' if i do.
She's not me bird in any case. She was but we're just bezzies now. :wink:
 
raymond.harper said:
Marlon said:
Interesting insight into your family dynamics Chris. I’ve no advice regarding your Dad’s Lotus.
There are women who are passionate about cars – they love the aesthetics and the modifications, and are happy if you spend lots of time and money on them; they will forego holidays and expensive shopping trips to keep the car. They see sports cars like the Z4 as works of art and enjoy the experience of being driven in them. They constantly comment on how beautiful and breath-taking the car is and have opinions on the smallest details – like suggesting lowering the ride height or agreeing that the pillars will look better gloss black. Some of these rare creatures don’t even drive.
If you must live with someone then finding one of these women makes life’s a lot easier.
Click to expand...
My wife judges a car on the pasenger vanity mirror. If it has a light OK . If not sell it. So when I buy a new car never mind the service history is there a light in the mirror?
Click to expand...
Lau was EXACTLY the same - the mirror barely scraped the criteria for acceptability and I wasnt allowed to buy one without heated seats. Lol. Oh yeah and any car i bought needed adequate boot space for all her accoutrements :roll:
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You lot are far too modern far me. What ever happened to turning up with the new car you just bought and telling your other half to get in.

You actually ask first..... :? .
 
buzyg said:
You lot are far too modern far me. What ever happened to turning up with the new car you just bought and telling your other half to get in.

You actuality ask first..... :? .
Click to expand...

That's what I do..

Mike
 
Ducklakeview said:
buzyg said:
You lot are far too modern far me. What ever happened to turning up with the new car you just bought and telling your other half to get in.

You actuality ask first..... :? .
Click to expand...

That's what I do..

Mike
Click to expand...
It's called 'post-purchase conflict-avoidance methodology'.
 
My last weekend car was a 1988 carb turbo Lotus Esprit. I miss it dearly but the Z4 makes up for it. I had the Esprit for 6 years and rebuilt the engine. They can be difficult to maintain and are troublesome. Also certain parts are becoming difficult to get hold of, the exhaust manifold being one . When I sold mine it went 10 minutes after advertising it and now resides in Belgium. However the new owner has had plenty of problems and I believe the car is out of action at the moment.
The car had a sports exhaust and was capable of throwing flames if you spooled up the turbo and then lifted off the throttle. My abiding memory is the noise and backfiring from the exhaust. Our high street is fairly narrow and people used to come out of shops to see what had gone past. GET ONE NOW!!!!!!
 
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