swindon_alan

Late S4s. Beautiful, a very good price too. Does it belong to anyone on here?

PS "Been on the road ever since" and "Year's MoT". Hmmmmm.

Saw this on eBay from my Esprit feed (@Bibs, has the TLF bot been turned off, nothing on here from mid December?) LOTUS ESPRIT V8 SE SPORT MIGHT PX Looking at the photos something is not quite right about it - I had better call the British Transport Police - so out of curiosity I had a closer peek. This is not criticism of course, just observations, being something of a V8 nerd. If it isn't "original" that's fine by me. First up, it is not a V8-SE but a V8-GT. Model Year 1998 specs are: 98 M.Y. Esprit V8 Esprit V8; VIN: w 5408 plus 5374, 5382, 5385 As previous with following principal changes: Restyled interior with compact instrument binnacle, new centre console and tunnel top. Four instrument set, new tell tale clusters, Elise style push switches. Deletion of boost and oil temperature gauges and time clock. Cobra 6422 security system with remote operation. revised interior climate control system, with rotary selector switches and electro-pneumatic flap operation, Stepper motor water valve. New face lever gas strut for tailgate. New low effort clutch release system with new hydraulic cylinders and rigid pipe. Revised clutch fork and stiffer alloy clutch housing. V8: Revised twin cable gearchange mechanism dispenses with translator. Modified transmission selector cross shaft. New Kelsey-Hayes EBC 430 anti-lock brakes electrohydraulic control unit. Single fuel filler. Esprit V8-GT: January ‘98 Esprit V8-GT; VIN: W 5442 As Esprit V8 with following principal changes: No rear aerofoil. Long type rear body spoiler. Matt vinyl interior trim. No a.c. (compressor retained for belt routing). V8-GT decal in rear quarter window It has the decal and the longer rear transom and of course the updated small binnacle interior. Factory options look like: - Leather SE seats (GT had S350 vinyl type?) - Air con "Not quite right" mods: - 96/97 AWI six spoke wheels instead of OZ Saturns, I muchly prefer them anyway! - Front indicators inverted - Bee sting aerial missing - 96/97/S4s rear wing, interestingly one of the pictures shows it without (although this might be a different car): Misinformation: Safety Features: Alarm, Anti-Lock Brakes (ABS), Driver Airbag, Electronic Stability Program (ESP), Immobiliser, Passenger Airbag Nope! Interior/Comfort : Air Conditioning, Auxiliary heating, Climate Control, Cruise Control, Power-assisted Steering (PAS), Power Locks Erm, no..! However the price, looks very attractive at £27k for a low mileage V8, but there are a few riders on that which would make me rather wary: YEARS MOT 34K MILES FROM NEW ,LFSH ,THE CAR IS ON THE VCAR AS A CAT D ,WAS HIT ON THE OFF SIDE FRONT WHEN THE CAR WAS A YEAR OLD ,.THE CAR WAS FULLY REPAIRED AND BEEN ON THE ROAD EVER SINCE .IT STARTS DRIVES AND STOPS AS IT SHOULD .THERES NO DOUBT THOSES LOTUS ARE ONLY GOING ONE WAY IN PRICE AND THATS UP THE WAY ,SO IF YOUR LOOKING FOR A INVESTMENT ITS BETTER THAN MONEY IN THE BANK , THE CAR HAS A LITTLE CRUNCH IN REVERSE AND EVERY ONE SAYING IT NEEDS A CLUCH ,SO I HAVE A NEW CLUCH KIT AND A TIMING BELT FOR IT, CAN SUPPLY AND FIT FOR NEW OWNER FOR EXTRA .THE LOTUS IS STILL DRIVING GOOD THE CLUCH IS NOT SLIPPING Just the one timing belt then? You pays yer money and makes yer choice I guess!

That is truly delicious Geert, I've never seen one before. Tip - follow Geert's link for lots more pics. @LOTUSMAN33 Dave, apologies for going off topic sir!

@gvy what's that hiding in the garage Geert?

The point still stands though Barry. Keep either of them very well serviced and they will be fine...

So your preference of the type of person to stick his tongue up your arse is...Barry?

I thought that was a "fitness" measure of Ms Rochette. A la Bo Derek?

@Giniw I spent quite a lot of time on this a while back trying to reconcile V8 ('96/'97 and post '98) servos but never actually got to the bottom of it. I have a folder full of Bosch Peugeot 406 master cylinders and servo pictures with "mebbe" against them for the earlier type. I think the problem is that their is only a Lotus part number sticker and no manufacturer information and as you noticed, there are differences. My gut feeling is that Lotus had a variant supplied from Bosch. If you can nail it that would be great, otherwise I will get back to it again at some point!

Awesome video! My hankering after an unobtainable (financially) Countach was the reason I reverted to a previous desire for an Esprit V8. Of course, if I could have both... Oh and the road surface quality out where he is makes me Mr Jealous from Jealousville.

I don't know if this is applicable as mine is a V8 but I mounted my (not OEM) horns behind the front lower grille and the compressor in the bonnet.

Hmmm...not sure, it really needs a '98 on V8 owner to have a look and clarify. I seem to remember I got that number from @Barrykearley when he had his?

Everything I/we know about air con condensors is here, although I don't think I have ever looked at the earlier original single condensors. Are there any labels or idents on yours? Unless someone else has or a spare that we can get something off? As above: @Andyww identified a replacement condensor I believe ...which I would be interested to know for the cross reference section.

@pureguava have you tried the ELM on another vehicle with a generic OBD reader as per Graham above? Some clone ELMs have a very dodgy MAC address and just don't work. I do have another driver you could try but it isn't on my current laptop.

No problem, we'll sort out. PM replied.

@Mightymetro parts manuals are here. I've got a downloaded PDF copy of the combined S4/S4s/V8 service and parts manual but I can't remember where I got it from? I thought it might be from LEW but he also only has the parts manuals. Anyway, it is 64Mb and a bit hefty for PM or email but I can get a copy to you somehow if you are stuck. Alan

Good news Paul. Now enjoy the immensity that is an Esprit V8!

Ooooh...who's V8 is that behind you Stephen?

WOW WOW WOW!

Beautiful Stephen, beautiful.

Hmmm. @modifiedv8engines It should come on anyway with the ignition on and the engine not started? To make sure it is not blown you could disconnect the warning light feed near the alternator, it's an NY = brown & yellow wire and earth it with the ignition turned on to check it.

They were probably an option on the GT3 Ian?

Engine rpm against road speed. Incidentally, Federal post 00 V8s didn't get the uprated chip hence the PUK upgrade option.

Wow, what a brilliant resource Andy! I didn't know that existed.

An interesting thought from @mike_sekinger, a dodgy alternator dragging the volts down when the car is running. This might be an other cause of the problem if it only happens when the alternator is warm? A test would be to check the battery volts with a cold non running engine and then when it is warm before turning the engine off and incurring the hot start condition.