About to realise a dream!

[GTK]

Hello, I'm about to fulfil a long time wish and finally get my first Lotus, an Esprit S2. The only way it could be any better is if S2's had been made with S1 looks and interior but I'm not complaining.

I'm so excited that its completely absorbing my days and Im looking forward to getting acquainted on the Lotus forums. I'm a 37 year old fella and the Lotus is the second last car for my forever car stable. It'll be joining a classic Mini, a pair of land rovers and a BMW motorcycle. Im not Anthony Anstead but I'm decent with a spanner and I have good glassing experience from time spent at sea. I can't wait to work on something that demands finesse

Edited March 6, 2015 by GTK

[The Pits]

You're very welcome to TLF George, as is your undoubted enthusiasm!

 

Hope it all works out for you. S2s are one of the best looking of all the Esprits, in fact it's on a par with the S1 for me. If I could I'd have one of each!

[NR2k]

Welcome George, you are joining those of us who are in the process of getting their esprits back on the road. Good luck with the restoration.

[ChrisJ]

Hi George

 

Well done in getting an Esprit. They are fabulous cars, and I'm sure that you will enjoy both the recommissioning and the driving once back on the road. There is a huge amount of knowledge on here to help you when you need it. I have no spanner ability, but have learnt a lot just by following the progress of other people.

 

You should start a thread about your car.

 

Value, difficult one as prices seem to be on the up, but from what you have said, non runner, been stored, interior damage - I would have thought less that £5K.

 

Chris

 

What's car do you still have to get?

[GTK]

Thanks guys. There's a little lead time before I can get the car, not least because I'm not rolling in pocket money with a new business that needs further investment. But it belongs to a good pal who's known for years that if was ever to move, it'd come my way. He knows I'll cherish it so I'm getting it for a good deal less than £5k.

The only other car I'd love Chris is a Morgan (something in the Aero family) but to be honest Im a sucker for an underdog - hence everything else I have, and bar polarising looks the Morgan doesn't fall into the underdog category imo

Edited March 6, 2015 by GTK

[slewthy]

Hi George! Congratulations on having great taste!!

An S2 thats realistically restorable for less than £5k must be a good deal!

 

Re suspension, replacement shocks, springs and suspension bushes, nuts and other perishables/wearables all around will be circa £1000. You can price it up right now on SJsportscars website.

 

You really need a workshop manual - how about this one on ebay? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lotus-Esprit-S1-S2-S2-2-Workshop-Manual/261802061546?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140122125356%26meid%3Dee08b526e3f44f3888c2c3120b729542%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D5%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D290526554023&rt=nc

 

Also, parts diagrams are a must! They are accessed by becoming a full forum member on here for the price of a round of drinks.

 

Simon

[ramjet]

Welcome to TLF George.

 

Ad a fine dream you have! Best of luck with restoring your S2 and I hope we see lots of photos.

What colour and are you going to leave the colour alone?

 

Any questions or issues with using the forums, feel free to ask one of us mods. We're here to help.

[Bibs]

Welcome to TLF, good luck with the car

[GTK]

Great response guys, thanks a mill. You seem like a really cosmopolitan and friendly community.

 

Simon does the taste comment extend beyond the Lotus?

 

It's white with a blue int. (is it velour or velvet or what?). I'm not going to play with it Roger(?). I want the pure experience of a car I've only been able to read about for so long. I produce video so one way or another there'll be visuals 

 

The manuals and if you'll bare with me for a short time; the full membership, will have to wait such is the financial campaign for the car itself. 

[ChrisJ]

Good colour exterior, and good to see another that isn't leather - they are very rare now.

 

Chris

[GTK]

I haven't been able to find a picture of a blue non leather interior. And there are so many interior colour/upholstery combinations it'd be interesting to know what was actually available from Lotus.

[Loose Cannon]

Hi George, the S2 is beautiful car in it's own right, some prefer it to the S1 actually despite the gulf in prices. Having said that all these 70s Esprits are a challenge to restore and run; sub 5k is an excellent starting point but things get very expensive unless you are handy with spanners.

 

I've not heard of a blue interior on an S2 before, so probably a retrim. If you post up some codes from the chassis tag someone will be able to tell you the original exterior/interior colour combo.

 

So are you planning a ground up, or just get the thing running and take it from there?

[GTK]

That's interesting about the colour. There are a lot of questions unanswered at the moment. I'll probably know more after Paddys day.

Ultimately it'll be a ground up job but in the short term if a sympathetic restoration and some cautionary engine work would get me a few weekends in the summer then ill be sorely tempted. As it is I've my classic Range Rover to do first

[Neverweaken]

Hi George, only spotted this thread. Looking forward to seeing some photos.

There's not too many G esprits in Ireland

[GTK]

Only days to go now. I'm tortured.

 

I've only ever seen two here mate. They were side by side at Mosney one year, hadn't seen them before and haven't since. One was red and I can't remember the other colour, but I think it must have been that yellow one that is on youtube. Do you know of others?

[Al]

You mentioned in your intro about time spent at sea.  Who with, when and what as?  I know a lot or Irish mariners as still at sea myself.  I assume you were a Ginger Beer if handy with spanners.  I'm one of the ornaments on the mantlepiece in marine parlance although now on drillship so should my Marine Soul for the $ many years ago.

 

Anyway a bit off topic but welcome to the Forum and good luck with he rebuild.  Esprits are still my fave older car and if I don't scratch the itch soon will never afford one as prices seem on the up and up for nice ones.  Not sure I have the patience or time for a rebuild project.

 

Al.

[GTK]

I wish I was a master mariner but alas I'm not Al. Not even close. My ancestors were on the mantlepiece too, generations of them under sail and through to steam, all across the globe. Had I been as wise to it as I am now I think I would have followed in their footsteps as a career choice in my teens. As it is my experience is all sail, as mate, and due to ability and necessity; would be bosun. My first taste was a proper baptism of fire; I joined a refit on the hard and continued it while running across the Med, Atlantic and Caribbean over many months. 

 

The Pacific still beckons but my sailing is on hold while I sort out my life My long term plan is to get myself a largish sailing cat. Flying is getting very old, and I'm half Irish half Mediterranean so I have an unavoidable back and forth to manage. 

 

If you don't mind me asking, what fields do you work?

Edited May 30, 2015 by GTK

[Al]

Hi George, ( I should have looked closer at my last post.  Full of strange words where spell checker has sorted out.  I did mean sell my Marine soul!)

 

Sound like an interesting life.  I used to enjoy sailing larger boats round the Western Isles but lost the contacts and the time. Only sailing these days is Hobbie Cats in holiday destinations for the odd hour here and there.

 

If only's!  Had a few of them in my time at sea.   I was 40 years at this game last Sept. Mind you I ran away to sea as a very young boy.....  Actually started as Deck Cadet with BP at just 17 and then moved into the supply and diving boat world in 85 when the kids came along for the 28/28 rota.  That somehow eventually transposed into the only DP FPSO for a few years then into Drillships and made it to Captain in 1998.  For the last 4 years I've been Master/OIM with Stena Drilling on the Stena Carron if you Google her.  A 6th generation, harsh environment, ultra deep water beast of the type some people wearing green in Seattle would love to ban. 

Over the years have been based in N.Sea for a good few years then Brazil for 10, then part of Macondo/Deepwater Horizon response in GOM. Then Drilling West of Shetland for 2 years in wildcat drilling , East of Canada, back west of Shetland for a quickie then off to Angola last May.  That was supposedly a 3 year contract but we were one of the first casualties of the oil downturn last November when our contract was cancelled by Statoil. Granted it was for an eye watering daily sum so not totally surprised and they did have to pay sweetly to get out. We left and came to the anchorage at Las Palmas in Gran Canaria in January.  Sitting here like many others ever since on a skeleton crew looking for contracts.  The outlook in drilling right now is fairly bleak but we are keeping her in tip condition ready to rock n'roll when required.  Where and whenever that may be.

 

Cheers,

Al.

[Barrykearley]

Um.........cough...........

PICTURES????

[Al]

Who from? George and his forthcoming toy with 250Hp (or whatever - I haven't a clue) or me and my 6 engined 63,200Hp machine?

 

After 40 years at sea most of my photographs are banned or termed illegal these days!  What happens at sea, stays at sea. .  If you were meaning me then I guess I could post up plenty but I'd better not hijack poor George's intro thread.  I'd start another one if there was enough interest.  I suppose "Pilots" needs a run for its money.

[Barrykearley]

No only car based.

Did a quick stint on a cruise ship for a electrotechnical officer......... Yes what stays at sea sure does........... The fixtures and fittings you could play with were nice......

Raw bhp on wheels is far better.......bow thrusters are impressive though

On topic !!!!

[GTK]

Haven't seen the car myself yet Barry, another 10 days or so and I'll gleefully oblige with the snaps!

 

Have you on the AIS Al, and if anyone would like to see what Al drives go here. Al I'll delete that link if it's inappopriate. And don't worry about the post, I was scratching my head about the "Ornaments" for a minute, and then thought ginger beer was cockney rhyming before twigging the reference

 

We were lying off Gran Can for about a month making final preps for our Atlantic crossing. The skipper had decided taken me with him on an errand of sorts leaving the cook (not much of a sailor) on watch. We got a frantic call from a panicking cook that the anchor was dragging and the adjacent yacht owners were loosing their sh*t because our 60ft-er was getting uncomfortably close.

 

ps, Esprit S2... 160bhp Al. You still need one though

[Barrykearley]

Now that's a tub.........

Never fancied a life career at it I'mafraid - too much money - too much reason to be there and miss the home life.....

I'd have been an alcoholic with syphalis within no time........

[GTK]

hahaha! Not that I'm one to talk, but extended time at sea is not for everyone. Personally I'm the opposite Barry, and my greatest love of the sea is the freedom from the things imposed on you by others; rates and taxes and levies and what is deemed to be socially correct. Of course the trade off is you have to be willing to be extremely self sufficient - actually one of the things that I cut my glassing teeth on was reinforcing a damaged hull cross member, try fibreglassing laying upside down in the bilges.\

 

I'm lucky enough to live by the sea, the family home directly influenced by my seafaring ancestry. I've watched the ships go by since I was a child. The horizon has always called to me. This time of year as the yachts start passing way way out there, I get this pit of the stomach feeling I'm in the wrong place. 

 

The promise of this Esprit is keeping me straight just now. In fact, this car has done more for me in terms of the big picture than you could know. I don't want to get sappy but I'd lost direction a little after about 8 years of global wandering. I'd decided it was time to put a proper base down for myself and self build a house here at home so I could start the long road to realising other dreams like the catamaran. My business is fledgling and I'm largely penniless. But the friend, who I made swear over 6 years ago that if he ever decided to move his S2 on, had to give me first refusals, called out of the blue in late Feb. I should be ploughing all funds back into my business but this car doesn't come around but once (as is being discussed in the "Prices Soaring" thread). So I had to get motivated and hungry. 

 

I've worked every angle of my own business to generating cash. I built my own website, made my own business cards, I've played removal man, gardener, mechanic, piano restorer, graphic designer... every skill I have to make every little few quid I could. I've also sold a lot of things I thought I'd keep forever, guitars and water sports equipment... and it's been liberating. The Esprit has reminded me that I was raised to work hard, and that if I do so I can generate money in a fulfilling way. And the beauty of the whole situation is that as I restore it I'll be all the more conscious of what it cost me, and the job will be all the better for it.

[Al]

Another reason to get into the offshore side of the game I guess Barry.  Dry ships and no shore leave  although we do have a fair few women when operational as our facilities are much better than many rigs so we can accommodate easier.

 

George,  no problem with the link, it is all out there in the public domain anyway and in fact there has been a lot more photos  uploaded since I last looked!  Trying to work out when all were taken!  Generally hard beasts to capture close ups as she only entered port twice in her first 5.5 years.  Although we did have Greenpeace camp out on the anchor for a few days back in 2010.

 

The anchorage here is no better even for our size.  We were dragging about 10 days ago when a 45Kt blow was passing for a few days. Thrusters on and in DP anchor assist.

 

My Chief Mate (or Barge Master in the drilling parlance) is an Aussie who for his next 4 weeks is away to sail round the Med taking part in the Auld Timers series or something.  Lovely old properly built boats rather than plastic tubs or canoes with sails.  They have a bit of a competitive sail near some port then delivery/core crews generally it sounds, sail them to the next lovely location a couple of weeks later and the owners join for another weekends sport. Nice work if you can get it. His mate is an owner.