Hi from County Durham, UK.

[x68000]

Hi everyone. 👋 

I've just taken the plunge and bought a 1990H X180 Esprit Turbo SE with 39k on the clock. It has been SORN for almost 10 years and apparently runs poorly under 4000rpm, but sings above that. I've had it trailered to a local specialist and waiting to hear what they think about.....sure it's going to be complimentary 🙄

 

Car has huge amounts of lacquer peel so a full respray will be needed further down the line.......hope it gets to that stage. 

 

It's not looking its best, but I hope there is a salvageable car in here somewhere. It has lots of history and has been in a few lotus car clubs over the years. 

 

I'll make a thread on the esprit forums with any updates as we go.  

 

[Bibs]

Hi and welcome! You can call that a Turbo SE, the X180 was the designation for the earlier Stevens cars, NA and Turbo until the SE came along. 

BRG and magnolia is a very classic combination, very nice indeed! Good luck with the project.

Get the cambelt changed before you run it any more - They are a service item and being an interference engine, if it snaps you'll have a very large bill! 

[x68000]

Thanks for the info. I'm approaching this as a car enthusiast, but my Esprit knowledge is a little limited. The cambelt was changed a few years back and hasn't been driven since. I'm hoping it's going to be a decent one. It probably won't be looked at for a couple of weeks, so I'll be sweating on it for a while yet 😅 

[Bibs]

They need to be done every couple of years and it's not that big a job if you know your way around cars. We started off as an Esprit forum almost 20 years ago so there's tonnes of knowledge on here and plenty of super helpful members  

I had a Turbo SE myself for 5 years, was a fast car! 

[x68000]

I'm sure I'll be asking for help, good to know some Esprit knowledge is still available! 

 

I'll start a thread and will update it as the work progresses.....hopefully at a decent pace.

[paul s1]

hi michael nice car  there are a few of us in the north east lotus owners club that meet at the ravensworth arms at birtley ne11 0er on the first monday of the month  about 8pm  there are a few guys with esprits if you ever need any help or advice   they are also on facebook regards paul

[x68000]

Hi Paul, thanks for the message. That's great to hear I'm not alone up here. 

The car is in limbo for a couple of weeks while they find a slot to have a look over it, then I'll find out the extent of the work needed to get it back on the road.  If driveable, I'll bring it down. 8pm would be great as it'll probably look better when the sun starts to set! 

[paul s1]

Couple of the guys really know there stuff about esprits 👍🏻

There is a least half a dozen esprits in our area