Robert Crooks

Danny That's really helpful. Thanks Stephen Am also beginning the process of redyeing my leather and will do the gaiter as part of this. Will certainly post some photos and observations over the next few weeks. My gear lever is less loose now as i have had some new bushes in the linkage. 3rd is still a little sticky, but will do some further work on this. Also planning on fitting a braided clutch hose which I understand should help. The seats are removed simply by undoing four nuts for each seat from under the car. The seats then simply lift out. Hope you are enjoying your car. Am keeping mine running over the winter. Just enjoying driving it too much to park it up. Robert

Alan Very helpful and looks great. Couple of questions. How does the top edge of the gaiter stay rigid? Is it just the stiffness of new leather, or is there something inside the gaiter? Also, how do you secure the gaiter to the gear lever on the inside at the bottom? By the way, love the look of your interior. Is that original? Would love to see some more pics. Robert

The gear lever gaiter on my 86 Turbo Esprit has collapsed - the leather is worn but I believe possible to renovate. I have purchased a new gaiter ring from SJ Sportscars which arrived just before Christmas. It wasn't quite what I was expecting. It is a black metal ring, approx 4 inches in diameter, with three equi-distant short projections at right angles to the ring. Can anybody tell me what to do with this? I presume, somehow, this creates the rigidity at the top of the gaiter, the leather then pushing back down on the inside towards the bottom of the gear lever? Is this right? Has anybody else renovated their gaiter in this way? Robert

I spoke to Steve on the Tuesday before Christmas and I am sure he said they would be shut until 05/01.

Great minds........ Went for the hairdryer this morning having spent 20 mins making slow progress. Worked a treat. Had most of the stripes off in half an hour. However, in the dog house now with the better half having burnt out the hairdryer before I had quite finished. Will be visiting Currysin the morning to get a replacement......to make amends (and finish off!). Thanks for the tips. Robert

Thanks John and Paul Mine are deinitely on top of the laquer. Have been using Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover as an alternative solvent to white spirit, and they seem to be coming off fine. Very slow job. A quarter of the car in 2 hours! No apparent colour shading issue so far. Thanks for the tips. Robert

I have three lines of gold pin stripes on the sides of my 86 Calypso Red Esprit. They are damaged and marked in places. Ideally I would like to remove them but not replace them all. Anybody done this? How easy are they to remove? Any tips? Is the paint likely to have faded on the sides of my car so that I will be left with a dark mark where they have been? Generally, I would say the paint on the sides on my car is pretty close to original colour - roof has possibly faded a little.

Thanks all. Will be getting all these things checked in the New Year.

Matt As a recent newcomer to Esprit ownership and this forum, I'd just like to add that this is a truly inspirational story. You should be enormously proud of what you are achieving. I would just love to have 10% of the skill, patience and attention to detail that you clearly possess in abundance. I would also add that Matt's is just one great example of countless inspirational stories and conversations that take place in this forum. As a newcomer, it is quite overwheling to be able to read all this stuff and begin to feel a part of it. Thanks to all. Robert

Andy Thanks for your helpful comments. I'm on new tyres and the pressures are right. Rack fitted by a Lotus specialist, but I'll send it back in for them to recheck and have a look at the geometry. I have just bought the car, and Murrays told me the rack was quite badly worn on the left and wouldn't pass the next MOT. It has been driven for a while on the worn rack by the PO, albeit not very many miles. Hoped the new rack would be the end of it, but wonder if the worn rack has knocked the geometry out or caused some wear elsewhere. Cheers Robert

I have just had a new (not reconditioned) steering rack fitted. But the steering feels noticeably heavier to the left than the right, not just at low speeds, but at higher speeds up to 30-40 mph. Any thoughts? Robert

Fabulous looking car Stephen. Gordon's was basically a good car. Just needed a little pampering, which it is now getting! Bit of work to do yet to get it to the standard of yours cosmetically, but for me that's part of the fun of it. I have this strange fetish for cleaning and detailing cars. So it was the perfect car for me. I'll post some photos next time it's thoroughly clean.

I bought it from a gentleman called Gordon Gooch in Edinburgh. He had owned it for 8 years, but only done 3k miles in that time. It was looked after by Murray Motors thoughout that time, and I had them do a full inspection for me before I agreed to buy. Prior to Gordon it was owned by a gentleman from the Sunderland area for 10 years. He put about 12k miles on it. The original owner had it for around four years and put over 50k miles on it. It had a new grearbox just before he sold it to the Sunderland gent (I have warranty documentation to show that) and I understand it had a new engine fitted at Hethel at about the same time due to porosity issues, but I haven't been able to prove that yet. It's a lovely 3 owner car that requires a bit of cosmetic detailing and a mechancial overhaul. It's having a new rack and discs this week, which should finish the first stage of the mechanical work. If anybody know more about my car, I'd love to hear from you. By the way, I am using a guy called Kevin Moore who trades as Esprit Cars in Hazel Grove. He is in his 50s, trained and worked at Manchester Lotus, and knows the Esprit inside out. He's a proper mechanic who just loves Lotuses. I would thoroughly recommend.

Graham Thanks for the invite. Unfortunately, we are away next weekend. I will definitely try and make it when you guys next meet in the New Year. I have a 5 and 2.5 year old, but I can generally escape on a Sunday afternoon for a few hours. Just finished putting the seats back in the car after a day of leather cleaning and feeding. Hands sore!!!! But looks so much better in there now. Was astonished at how easy it was to get the seats out and back in again.

Thanks Scott. Had lots of cars, as you know, but never fallen for one like this. Needless to say, Kerstine doesn't get it. Will win her over eventually, I'm sure. Keep in touch. Alex, thanks for the welcome. I am based in Marple, near Stockport. Am going to spend the next few months getting the car into the appropriate condition, but would love to get out with you guys in the New Year. I'll monitor your acitvities and get back in touch soon.

Hi Just purchased my first Esprit, a 1986 Calypso Red Turbo. Photos and member entry to follow. It's been a dream since my early teens, and just a week of ownership has blown me away. It's a good car, but needs some attention. Had a C service done this week, and having the seats out this weekend to thoroughly clean the cabin, and clean and and feed the leather. It needs new tyres. Am thinking about P7s, which I note some of you have recommended. Lotus recommend 225s on the rear, but I wondered if it is possible to fit 245s to the standard BBS?