ABorkat

That's crazy! I just had to go to my garage and double check I'm one of only four LTE owners in the state of Georgia that I know of, and the only one in black is mine, so to see another black one and from my small county is really funny. I wonder what it's doing all the way over there???

Been meaning to post this for awhile, but this is what you see after taking the phillips head screws out, if you have to replace the seal. Move the locking slider, and the seal comes right off. Adam

Posting this for anyone who may need these gas cap rubber seals in the future, but I found that PNM Engineering, SJS, and JAE all have them. This time around, PNM had the best price after getting them shipped to the US, so I have a new pair on the way. Thanks Pete! Also, as Richard mentioned, just a few screws off the inside of the cap, and it's a two minute job to switch out the seals. Adam

the thing that you remove to add fuel? I'm referring to the part you unlock with a key, twist, and take off. Here's why I ask such a silly question - In my county, I have to pass annual emissions testing. Part of the test is checking this piece I'm asking about for its quality of sealing. On both mine, the gaskets are dry rotten, so they failed. Now that I'm out looking for them, I just can find any in the catalogs. Here in the states, we call them 'gas caps'. That search found nothing. I also tried 'fuel cap', 'fuel filler', 'petrol cap', and 'fuel lock'. What else could I possible call them?? I've left messages with Lotus Garage, SJ, and JAE, so maybe I'll find my answer and the pieces soon. Which brings me to my second question. How do you replace the gasket? Unless new ones stretch, I don't see how you get it over the locking tabs without tearing apart the gas cap. Adam

I saw that today, which is what reminded me to post this finally. Now if that were already at 21K, it would be perfect

So I've been driving around a bit now, and I knew my speedometer has been off. I had my wife follow me on the highway (in two different cars), and what I've found is that when my speedo reads exactly 70 MPH, I'm actually going about 53-55 MPH. We figure at a roughly 30% error rate, for 100 miles I drive, the speedo is registering 150 or so. From the work record logs, it looks like this problem started around 18K miles on the car. The last owner had it listed as an item to address by the mechanic, but on the work receipt there was no mention of it being fixed or charged for, and it's still way off. Now with the car at 24.5K miles, I believe the car has really only gone about 21-22K true miles. I know this isn't a huge difference, but here's my dilemma... I want the mileage of the car to match as closely to the true mileage as possible. First, my idea was to disconnect the cable for the next 6-12 months, or until I've driven another two thousand miles, reconnect it, and then have it fixed to read an accurate speed. If I do this, what will I have to do, and how hard will it be to do? I've seen a diagram from a posting here on how the cable is connected to the gearbox, but I don't know how to get to it, or how do remove it without causing any problems. Any input? Second, do think that what I want to do is wrong morally (although probably illegal here, but I'll look into that)? And if you do, what do you suggest otherwise? I know a lot of people freak out if they think it's been tampered with, but keep in mind, I'm not selling my car, and I plan to own it until I die.

Does anyone know this particular car? A friend of mine is interested, but he wanted to know the history of it, if anyone here knows. Now from the opinions of other collectors/hobbyists, does that price seem realistic? I've never seen a similar one for sale, so I have no idea... http://denver.craigslist.org/ctd/1391168414.html Thanks, Adam BTW, I thought there were 50 of these made??

I have no idea what these guys are saying, but I am in love with these wheels on a G car! They are silver, but the video makes them look white unfortunately. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQZk9FxcgCQ...feature=related This second video shows them from the profile a little better. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxaDCjlS_Gk...feature=related

Here in the states, we have this same problem but with Hondas. They're like gnats in a swamp. These guys think that bolting on a cheap mail-order spoiler, replacing their muffler with a tin can, and painting their car flamboyant colors makes them faster. Somehow they forget to actually tune their "tuner" cars. Needless to say, they never keep up! I've also been lucky enough not to have any of these fools ride my arse like that when I'm in the Lotus. Usually, they will pull along side me, rev a bit, and take off. For me it's not showing them I'm faster, it's the knowing I am and not needing to prove it... Now in my Saab and Range Rover, I have a great cure for these guys who ride too close. Both cars have rear fog lights built in next to the brake lights, that I can turn on with a push of a button. I love to do this, let off the gas, and laugh when I see them slam on their brakes in my rear view mirror Adam

About the same time and sitting out in the driveway in the sun, but during an average Atlanta summer day (where it's nearly 90 degrees in the shade!)

I had similar scare with the Leatherique. On my non-Lotus, the cracks where the dye was broken were left with this. After a few weeks, the darkening disappeared. I also notice something else (this time on the Lotus), which I emailed George at Leatherique about, and he set me at ease. A few days after the oil was done, all of my threads looked like they had absorbed all of the dirt and grime, and I couldn't get them clean. What he said, which I later found was right thankfully, was that the oil needed to finish penetrating the leather and these would dry up. They did, and now my leather looks and feels nearly new. I think when I run out of the Leatherique on my December treatment, I'll give Hide Food a try. I've heard it's also very good. And hey, it's got Nick's blessing, so what more can you ask for?!?! Adam

I can too if you need... Adam

Have any of the worldwide Concours d'Elegance shows ever invited a Lotus Esprit? I've gone through hundreds of websites looking for one, and found none. In fact, the only Lotuses I've found were some of the early racecars (Elevens and such). Adam

A few pics from Atlanta British Car Fayre 2009 this past Saturday. See the rest at http://community.webshots.com/user/ABorkat. Modern Lotuses: Nice asses : James' new toy: My car feeling a bit inferior :

Two months, 12 days, and 22 hours...

Thank you both. I guess I should have explained that better. I'm not actually re-dying the leather, only cleaning and conditioning it with the their rejuvenating oil and "pristine clean". I'm just afraid to over clean it. Thankfully, other than just being dirty, my interior is near mint AB

Back in '60's and earlier that I know of, Connelly leather was died from one side as opposed to being vat dipped. What I learned in one of the RROC club seminars is that early Connolly always had a slightly dirty look deep in the grains due to the dying process. When you clean that leather, you really don't want to scrub that out, although it could be done if you wanted. I've looked at some old Roll Royces, and you can see this easily on original leather. Overall it doesn't look dirty at all, but you can see the graininess. That said, who knows the proper leather appearence for the 1980's Connolly leather? I've started the leatherique process, and at the moment my leather is much darker in the leather grains (probably because it hasn't been cleaned much in 22 years). In a few of the more worn spots, the dirt is gone completely. My concern is how much to actually clean. If like early connolly skins, the darker grain color should be apparent, I don't want to over clean it. But, if it should be a consistant dye color across the leather, I want to really get in there with a soft bristle brush and do it right. Any thoughts? Adam

Which do you think of more? While my wife's not around, I'm choosing cars...

Looking for Lucas front bumber indicators for my 1987 Turbo Esprit at a reasonable price. Can be used, but must be in good condition. Only interested in the white/orange split indicators. Anyone have any or have a source? Thanks, Adam

My '87 LTE pods are perfectly flat in the middle areas, and overall they curve slightly downwards as you get to the edges. My recommendation for the fix is use a little high quality filler to get them a little flatter, if they noticeably concave with out a straight edge. While I hate fillers, consider that once they are repainted it would be much more noticeable when reflections or light come across a nice glossy paint coat. AB

I had this happen just after getting mine. I tinkered with the mechanics of it a bit, and during one test, the link arm from the motor to the pushrod broke. It ultimately gave me a lot of time to figure it out while waiting on a replacement. What I eventually did that got both headlights perfect was to unbolt the linkage to the pushrod, leaving it attached to the motor. Leaving the motor plugged in, turn the motor's manual knob until it catches and cycles itself. Watch your fingers! Turn the headlights on and off a few times stopping in the on position, and where the motor stops the link (top and slightly forward on mine) is where the motor thinks it should be under normal circumstances. With the pushrod disconnected, you can adjust the pod height by twisting the end of the pushrod. Keep re-adjusting the pushrod and loosely attaching it to the motor until the beams are in the full upright position. When you think you have it close to right, turn the lights off, and see where the pods lay. If they are a little up or down, pull the pushrod off again, and twist the end until it gets where you want it. First thing you need to do is unplug the motor. If it isn't burned out, this will do it. Mine got so hot, I was afraid it would catch fire. It's doing this because you're still getting current through the motor because it's trying to open or close the pods but can't. The current's just building up heat. As for the knob, you may not need it. It's really only helpful if your motor is shot. If the motor works, all of the mechanical adjustments should get you right. Also, what's missing? Is it just the black plastic surround? On an '87 you should have a metal screw coming out from that knob. If that's there, you can use something flat and wide like a butter knife to turn it. It's too small for a screwdriver to get in there.

Thanks Jim, I found it. Now, I have a new (or partially pre-existing) problem. I put about a half of a can of R-134a (system was converted) in because the pressue guage showed the level as low. I stopped when I saw a fast drip of a reddish thick fluid, almost like automatic transmission fluid. Before I could shut eveything down, I had lost a few onces of it. So, I put everything back together and called it a day. So my questions: - Is it safe to assume the problem with my a/c is most likely whatever this leak is? - My compressor doesn't come on now. Did I break something, or is it from the kill switch on the compressor because the freon is so low? - Does the kill switch kick in because there is too much pressure in the system? I think my next step is the shop, because my limited mechanical experience ends with recharging a good system. If it's much more than that, I'm at a loss.... Adam

Where is the low side coupler for the air conditioning on a Turbo Esprit? Adam

So I got my new side decals in, and I'm ready to put them on. I had seen in my shop manual where they go and how to measure, so I was all set. That was until I looked at the diagrams closer. While they show S3 and LTE decal position, none of them show the "turbo esprit hci" decal measurements. Does anyone know exactly where they go? Adam

Not cheap, but it does work very well for little stuff. www.drcolorchip.com