V8 FOU

Need a petrol cap for a 2007 Exige. £200 from SJ etc!! Does anyone have one, or is there an alternative? Thanks

All very strange. Perhaps this is some smoke and mirrors act to offload the company to a new owner, but debt free. Let's hope there is enough money and motivation for dealing with the cause of all this...... Look out Dani Boy, I would be watching your back if I were you!

What I find worrying is that we have seen so many companies being bought either by "investment" banks or in smaller instances MBO's (Comet /Jessops) nad they all lurch from one re-financing crisis to the next disaster. Make no mistake, the DB legacy of debt is HUGE. All his profligate activities and lavish lifestyle...... As stated above, Lotus cannot service this size of debt without DRB paying it off, or at least part, and getting some of it written off. We are all getting severe cramp with having everything crossed for so long.......

Just about to re check mine. What settings do people use - the factory ones, or are there better ones to use? I reckon I need a bit more caster as the steering is a bit dead in the straight ahead position. Everything is in good nick with all new poly bushes etc.

My Esprit go a little "squigly" coming out of a roundabout in the wet in 2nd gear...... I now have traction control for the same situation, it's called 3rd gear...... One of the problems with these sort of cars is the age of the tyres. Most tyres are finished after 5 years regardless of how much tread they have. This can cause all sorts of problems, especially in the wet. So check the age of your tyres.

How about an engine cover?

Seeing as the Esprit was in the workshop, I thought I might as well do a few of the little jobs and fettling. First was the wiper linkage, which has become very loose and clonky. Well, it was a Manchester car, so it has had a lot of wiper use! I had a linkage and motor which were NOS from Ebay. Oh dear, pre '98. So after about 4 hours to get it all out, the new linkage is a bit different. Typical. So, dismantled it and put the main body in the lathe and turned a bit off it (about 1/2") and machined a new circlip groove in the wiper spindle. Have to add, that this mis-match was discovered after fitting the new linkage.... What a horrible job. Found the OBD socket though, hiding behind the glove box! Also re-fittted the glove box hinge springs correctly - the factory fitted them the wrong way round..... So now I have a clonk free wiper mechanism. Or at least when I put the rest back together. And the seats, steering wheel, vents etc. The LH knee bolster is a real bugger. The lh top mount requires you to put your hand through the face vent hole.. 'cos they used a nut and bolt. So, put a rivnut in there to make reassembly easier. Ah, water loss. Big panic, thinking "liner trouble". Like the Captain of the Titanic. Drained a bit of engine oil after leaving the car on the ramp for a couple of days. No water. Huzza! So where next? New t/stat and cap fitted a while ago so not those. Put the pressure tester on at 25 psi. No real signs of anything. Took a look underneath. Drips from a hose. Change the clip. More drips from another hose etc. Spent a couple of hours tightening and replacing hose clips. Now holds pressure, so no more water loss. Perhaps. My troubles with the clutch, or rather, my ankle have been mentioned on here before. The servo helps, but still painfull. The problem is that you need to point your toes away as the pedal is depressed. I can't do that, (no more ballet for me). So I found a pedal arm in the Micra that was part of dual controls. Bolt a bit of angle iron to the clutch pedal face and fit said pedal, which can swivel a bit and brings the pedal closer. Feels good. I'll try it again when I put the seats back in! What else? RH headlamps need adjusting. The angle of dangle needs setting up. The joys of Esprit ownership. All this must be the fact hat is has just passed the 30,000 miles.

Eeek! I hope this was real cheap! You don't really need to disconnect either lead, but always disconnect the earth (-ve) first. A very easy rule when removing or installing any battery - when removing, you are "taking away" so -ve first then +ve. When installing you are "adding" thew battery, so +ve first then -ve. Easy. BTW, if you have an old fashioned battery charger, ALWAYS disconnect the battery when charging. Because older chargers can give out "spikes" that can harm alternators,ecu's etc...

And....... What happened next?

Had a dust up with a Cayman S the other week. Hmmmmm Let's say Lotus 1 Cayman 0 Left him easy up to, ahem, shall we say, v fast. Very fast. 'Nuff said.

S'not a Lotus is it?

Thanks! Ordered one on Ebay for £10. Another job jobbed!

I'm very interested in the traction control. Your pm box isn't accepting messages!

Which car was the centre fresh air vent robbed from? Late dash BTW. Looks a bit GM to me. Need a new one as mine has cracked.

More likely a leaky turbo line. Best check for that first....

The only 'box that will fit easliy is the R25 and that is a horrible unit. Only 3 speed and no lock up. Yuk! Drove the car down to the boat today. Got caught in traffic - my ankle is horrendous, I can barely walk. So it may be that the Esprit has to go. Sob!!

OOo er!! But I know what you mean. This is what has been ignored by DB and the like. Passion, that's what we have for our cars.

Possibly.But as i said before, it's not just the effort, but the problems with flexation. But I will have a go soon at the hinge idea,.... However, been to the Boat show today and looking at a couple it could be sell everything and buy a bigger boat!

Good thinking! I was thinking of using an alloy pedal cover on a hinge perhaps. Another project......

Thanks. I am lucky to have a left foot at all. My talus and metercarpals were all busted and the ends of the tib and fib. There are about 10 screws on my ankle / foot and a plate. I am looking at possibly getting some of the metalwork removed next year -trying to keep to "only" 1-2 operations a year these days! I spoke with a friend of mine who is a petrolhead and ortho consultant and he thinks there might be some room for improvement. Oh my patrner is an ortho sister, so that helps a bit! Looking at the car today, because of the lack of flexation being the main problem, I may try making the clutch pedal pad hinged so that I don't have to flex my ankle whilst pushing the pedal down. Anyone got a spare clutch pedal?

Oh dear. Paddle shift blues....... I have driven enough Maseratis to kmow how to get on with the paddle shift. The latest software works very well. Good enough for VB-H and good enough for me. I do wonder how many critics of the F1 system have actually driven one for any length of time - or are just re-gurgitating the word according to Clarkson

Hmmm... How about a Ferrari F360 F1? In blue, of course. Red is so, er, footballer. Anyone got any experience?

David. You are right. Evoras, despite their nose diving depreciation, are still very expensive for what you get. You are also right about wanting something more "modern". Values? Well, for a laugh, I tried the we buy your car sitye, and they offered £17K! The Club Lotus valuation is £23K. Both more than I paid a year ago. According to Guy Munday, values are on the up, and he has adjusted (great euphamism that) the prices upward in Glasses Guide. But, it is, the usual only worth what someone is willing to pay. I did think about an auto conversion - but the only "easy" conversion is a Renault 25 'box. That isn't a nice 'box and wouldn't be strong enough. We will see how the clutch conversions go...... I have driven a few Maseratis with the flappy paddles and found the change very good. The later software is a lot better and you need to lift slightly on up shifts. That was ok for me. But I found the car a bit uninvolving. Same with the XKR

Ok, interesting replies! I have already servoed the clutch for a 40% reduction in effort/. I am going to try a different servo for a 60% reduction. If that doesn't work then I can get a electro hydraulic conversion to operate the clutch from a lever on the gear lever. Pain? It isn't the pain while driving. I took the car out for a good thrash around the lanes last week - could harly walk for 2 days after. That is the problem. I have very little flexation in my left ankle. I am also going to alter the angle of the pedal a bit too or perhaps make the pedal surface hinged. It IS funny though parking the car on double yellows and leaving my Blue Badge on the dash! Evora? I guess in a year or two as the Esprit increases in value and the Evoras continue to nosdive, I should get 2 for the price of the Esprit!! Keep the suggestions coming.....

I really love my V8 Esprit - I go on enough about it! But, I have a problem. My left ankle, along with most of my limbs was severely damaged in an accident 4 years ago. So operating the clutch is painfull - hence the servo conversion - but it still hurts like hell after a long drive. Soooo, what do I do? Sell it? What would replace it with the same appeal? With an auto box or flappy paddles? Evora IPS? Not with that degree of depreciation. Porsche, Aston, Jag? No, sorry, but too common. Tried an XKR and a Maser 4200 and OK ish but not that certain je ne sais quois. Ferrari? Oh per-lease! Perhaps a hand clutch conversion for about £1K. Any (helpfull) suggestions?