Where have you been in your Esprit!??

[doynk2]

Having just returned from a 10 month - 4000 mile journey in my Esprit S3 - the cam belt snapped. But thats the price you pay for driving it and i loved every minute of it.

(thanks for all the advice in the technica forum.)

From digging my car out of 5 foot of snow to off roading it (not getting very far) in Ibiza to the alps summer roads and passes and finally Monaco for a quick lap, its been a great adventure and not ONE problem.

Just want to know if anyone else has traveled with their Esprit and have any interesting stories to tell!

As a new comer to this site can i just say what excelent advice ive had from all the people on here.

thanks!

Edited June 7, 2006 by doynk2

[Evil_Dr_Fish]

Awesome! You star!!

We *were* planning to head to Monaco, cannes, Milan, Stelvio etc etc etc - were due to leave tomorrow

Alas my Esprit as ever had other plans for my money and the engine went clank... AGAIN!

(was a completely new unrelated problem to anything else this time - nackered turbo sending its contents into the head )

[molemot]

Been round chunks of France, down to the boat in Briare, St. Jean de Losne (another boatyard!), Cambridge (yet ANOTHER boatyard - and got nicked for 105mph on the M11 - wasn't TOO bothered, it could have been the 155 on the downhill bit of the M25, but that's another story and a long time ago!). Last weekend was in Wales - don't go there without some kind of speed camera locator - next weekend off to Fordingbridge and Tuesday back to France again. Been to Oxford, York, RAF Binbrook (home of the Lightning- those were the days of REAL British aeroplanes!)

Thruxton, Goodwood, and lots of places even more boring. Don't matter WHERE you go, it's the MANNER of the going that really matters!! As you say, once it's fixed, USE IT, and then fix it again as required!!

[JRTurbo909]

brave man to go camping in an Esprit and a Fiat. Cheers to you though. you are using the car as it should be used.... on the road.

any nice esprit pics?

Shah

by the way... isnt it kinda odd that ur woman is in all that boarding gear and there is no snow around...

Edited June 7, 2006 by JRTurbo909

[Tony K]

One of the best drives I ever had was in the red S1 from my parents' home in Cleveland, Ohio, to Miami, Florida (where I was living at the time). About 1280 miles. The highlight was the West Virginia Turnpike, where (with the exception of toll booths) I never went under 80mph between Charleston and Beckley. Only touched the brakes three time in that stretch, too! B) For those of you who have travelled U.S. roads a lot, this is the infamous very twisty section with all those curves labelled 55mph with signs that show pictures of trucks tipping over.

This area is all the Appallachian (sp?) Mountains, always providing nice scenery. Just below West Virginia, you go through Virginia for about 60 miles. There, there are some steep grades, a couple of tunnels, and one breathtaking overlook as you begin the descent of a mountain.

Of course, the S1 was right at home cruising up and down Collins Ave. in Miami . .

I have pictures of most of the trip (not the WV Turnpike section -- both hands on the wheel there!). Aside from some of the most fun I ever had with a car, this was a nice way for me to tell off everyone who ever berated the Esprit for its reliability: 1280 miles, by myself, no cell phone, no spare parts, just a handful of basic tools, 1 quart of Mobil 1, some extra coolant in a liter bottle, a few cassettes, and my right foot. B)

[Tentenths]

4,000 miles - now that's what I call a journey

Any more pics featuring the Esprit in suitably exotic/interesting locations?

Intrigued as to how you managed to carry two MTBs in/on an Esprit (or an X1/9 for that matter)

[Tony K]

Oh, and this summer, Patty and I may be taking the Esprit to Quebec and Nova Scotia . . . we'll see...

[slade]

Been up to visit my parents in Sacramento, no interesting pics of that because it's not an interesting place. 7 hours each way (ok... I cut them to 6 in the esprit )

My favorite trip... Phoenix and back, beautiful drive through the desert, wish I had pics, must do it again sometime. 6 hours each way typically (ok, cut down to 5 once again

Slade

[JRTurbo909]

I have been meaning to take the Esprit up the California Coast along the 101. Its a beautiful drive just begging to be driven in the Esprit...

shah

[Jonathan]

I have been meaning to take the Esprit up the California Coast along the 101. Its a beautiful drive just begging to be driven in the Esprit...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My friend's done about 1/2 that drive in a bog standard car and loved it.

Really like to do some more long distance drives but taking the Esprit kinda scares me (rightly or wrongly).

Need to go down to Cornwall this year, might make a big road trip out of it.

There are places that sell guides to do themed tours in the UK.

If you're into engineering etc you can do the 'Industrial revolution tour' for example and hop from one place to the other sight seeing - the guide has recomended hotels and pubs along the route.

Dunno if they do them abroad but best way to see the places you'd probably never see in your own patch of the world.

[calvan]

I,ve driven my '97 V8 between Calgary and Vancouver a few times, just short of 600 miles each way. It is scenic drive across the Rockies, and I improved it with a 200 km. detour to avoid highway construction last time. Having said that, I basically sick of it from repitition these days.

My wife and I took a good drive two years ago, taking an extended route to Calgary. We crossed the line into the U.S., went down the west coast of Washington and Oregon. The coast is spectacular although we encountered the worst traffic along this stretch. We then backtracked up the Columbia valley, through Idaho and crossed back into Canada in the Kootenay region of southeastern B.C. Some great roads with little traffic as we avoided the interstates as much as possible. The total distance was a little under 2000 miles spread over about five days. The Esprit ran fine the whole time (this was before the engine blew up) and there may be a similar trip in the cards for this year.

Mike.

[peteyg]

Good skills!! when I first got the S2 I took a trip to St Tropez to visit my Uncle for a few days followed by a blast through Italy then into Slovenia when my folks have got a place - fantastic.

Only broke down once-ish when the U/Js gave up in Burgundy but that only meant a couple of days stay in Meursault indulging in some of the world's finest wines while the really helpful garage chappie sourced some metric U/Js and ground them down to fit. Did however notice a knocking noise after getting off the ferry in Calais. Turned out to be a bust wheel bearing, though didn't find out 'till long after I'd gotten home. Only other problem was me leaving the fan on on the return ferry trip (It had a manual switch as the PO thought it was cheaper to do that than buy a new thermostat - idiot) so ha ha, everybody drove off and there was the silly sportscar still on the ferry with a flat battery -'what a wally' was the look you could see on their faces (or words to that effect).

Off to the alps next month for a 10 day blast - can't wait!!

Live down in Haslemere so if you need help with the head, give me a shout!

Pete

[JRTurbo909]

i love that picture!!! just became my wallpaper

i hope to have a story like this soon. great idea for a thread...

Shah

[Tony K]

Okay, Pete, now I'm jealous!

My uncle lives in Maribor (sp?). I haven't been there since I was a kid. One sort of dream of mine is to drive some of the highways in Croatia and Slovenia, which are (in my ethnically biased opinion) the most beautiful seashore and mountains in the world.

[dodgy]

hmmm, i need to get out more.

all of my decent runs have been with LEW/LEF.

MUST get a passport?!

[peteyg]

Okay, Pete, now I'm jealous!

Edited June 7, 2006 by peteyg

[andecorp]

The famous Great Ocean Road in Australia brought a smile to my face in the Esprit

[s4simon]

The stressful streets of Ye Ol London Town

But as of this weekend my Esprit and I will be free to roam the Great Australian Wilderness

- Err, that'll be the beach this weekend.

[lemoncurd]

The famous Great Ocean Road in Australia brought a smile to my face in the Esprit

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I bet that was great fun in an Esprit!!

Me and a friend drove it 6 years ago on a trip to Oz before University. Even in a battered hire car from the only backstreet rental company that would risk giving a car to a couple of 18 year old lads it was great fun!!

Brings back memories even now!

[Tony K]

Tony,

Give me a shout when you're planning to come over. House is in Kranjska Gora so plenty of mountain driving!! Then over to Maribor with a few bottles of slivovec in the back!! - in fact the cars might run quite well on that stuff.

Pete

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Will do! (although it will be at the very minimum a year from now, more likely two)

Slivovec -- BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! My brother and I introduced that stuff to all of our friends (no one has ever heard of it in the States), and they think that we (and all Croatians) are crazy! (but they love it) Lightweights, I tell you!

Edited June 8, 2006 by Tony K

[doynk2]

Pete!

haselmere - please dont be suprised if i take you up on that offer and dont be suprised at my lack of knowledge regarding engines. but i am willing to learn!

To answer some questions - the bikes went nicely on a bike rack on the x19 and the snowbards were for the glacier in tignes so no snow down the bottom of the runs! that was mid july.

more pix exotique soon!

[fmxa]

Driving to San Francisco via Hwy 1 in Big Sur; the sun was out, the road was open and the views were awe-inspiring - only description that fits is "spiritual"

[WayneB]

Having just returned from a 10 month - 4000 mile journey in my Esprit S3 - the cam belt snapped. But thats the price you pay for driving it and i loved every minute of it.

(thanks for all the advice in the technica forum.)

From digging my car out of 5 foot of snow to off roading it (not getting very far) in Ibiza to the alps summer roads and passes and finally Monaco for a quick lap, its been a great adventure and not ONE problem.

Just want to know if anyone else has traveled with their Esprit and have any interesting stories to tell!

As a new comer to this site can i just say what excelent advice ive had from all the people on here.

thanks!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sounds great!

Alas, I dont really clock up the Kms in mine

2 kids/ wife mean the Van or Wagon get used for long journeys

Would love to take mine to Monaco and hang out!

[USAndretti42]

Driving to San Francisco via Hwy 1 in Big Sur; the sun was out, the road was open and the views were awe-inspiring - only description that fits is "spiritual"

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Looks like a candidate picture for the calendar, Paul!

[slade]

I've always liked the palm tree plates... I like palm trees. All trees should be palm trees. bit more artistic than the stock ones, but my favorite is still the sunset plate that actually is correct for my car.

(I found a company that pressed old liscence plates to custom designs... I was wondering who would ever notice if I got a new sunset plate, and put the stickers on it... ).

good calendar pic. Wish I was there.

Slade