brian_gt4

Esprit S1 & S2 Springs. Domestic & ROW springs are common. The Federal cars had different springs. Front Spring Dom / ROW (D079C4011F) Rate is 21.2 N/mm and Free Length of 355 mm (Fed Front Spring C079C4007F) Rear Spring Dom / ROW (E079D4033F) Rate is 27.5 N/mm and Free Length of 347 mm (Fed Rear Spring D079D4035) From memory (45 years ago so a bit hazy!) I think the Federal Cars had the front raised by about 12 mm. Brian

The original 900 Series Engine Block & Cylinder Head castings were produced by Aeroplane & Motor in Birmingham eventually part of the AE Group. Both were from Die Cast tooling. In the Mid 1980s Lotus was informed by AE were terminating production of these Die Cast components. A new source had to be found for the Block & Head. The original Die Cast Tooling had to be discarded. The new source was Zeus Aluminium Products (ZAP) who produced new Sand Cast tooling. Cant remember the exact location but from memory (nearly 40 years ago!) it was in Dudley. Both the Block & Head were redrawn to incorporate improved design features. The Zeus components can be identified by a 'Lotus Logo' on the casting.

All the Esprit technical drawings were archived 10 years ago (when I retired). Nearly all the Esprit drawings are on Hard Copy and recorded on the company drawing register. The V8 engine technical drawings are all on CAD files. I do not know who is responsible for archived material but I guess an approach through Lotus Aftersales would be a starting point as they would have been the last department to have had a reason to have access when ordering service parts. Brian

It does look like it is a Development or Pre Production X180. Can you post a clearer picture of the Engine No. ? The production ROW X180 started in October 87. The VIN is from 87 MY built cars. The production X180 cars were 88 MY Does it have a Renault Transmission?

Hi Bibs, Lynn says she can't remember posing for the photo!😉

Lotus Engineering spent a year developing the Esprit polyurethane bushes with 'Polybush'. Several material specifications were tested to determine the correct material that produced the required Radial, Axial & Torsional stiffness that gave the required vehicle dynamics. Vehicle track & road testing was carried out as well as measuring the vehicle suspension movement on the vehicle test rig by the Lotus Chassis Engineers. Several other 'Off The Shelf' polyurethane bushes were evaluated but all failed as they did not produce the required characteristics or durability necessary for the Esprit. Brian Angus

Hi Lex. Yes 10953 was built in Dec 1980. It was PTS on 17/12/1980 and Reg on 1/1/1981 10954 was PTS on 15/12/1980 - do not know what happened to this car 10928 was PTS on 25/11/1980 and Reg on 12/11/1980 as OPW667W as a Lotus Demo Car. It became knows as White Heat by the Motoring Press. Cheers Brian

The undertray has several functions. It has some aerodynamic properties as well as suppressing noise. The cutouts on the Turbo cars are for cooling especially on hot shutdown where it improves airflow through the engine bay to dissipate heat from the hot exhaust area of the engine bay and help to keep temperatures lower round critical components. Brian

Hi Alan, I don't have an Esprit - The V8 was the last car I worked with at Lotus. Brian

HI Andy, 10929 was registered on 5 September 1980 so would have been built during August - unfortunately I don't have a date of completion of build but no doubt it would have been on the production line in August. It was the first Non Essex Turbo to come off the production line Cheers Brian

Hi Bibs, Did not want to post much while I was still at Lotus - the Forum is really for owners to post their comments - I did not want to everyone to think I was the only one who had the knowledge to make comments - I really enjoy reading members comments. I'm not always right or know everything about the cars. Something else on the Bond cars - 10858 was fitted with a 912 NA Engine for simplicity. I am enjoying retirement - nearly 5 years now! I still keep in contact with some owners and I am always interested in what is going on and will help if required. Cheers Brian

My data on the cars White Cars. 10858 Originally Essex Turbo Dev1 (original Reg. NCL458V) Originally Essex Blue - repainted White with Reg. OPW654W 10929 built as white car (Reg. OPW654W) Copper Cars 10858 Repainted Copper featuring Reg OPW678W 10930 Copper (Reg. OPW678W) This registration number actually belonged to an Engineering Esprit S3. Car originally retained at Lotus.