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Found my Esprit

3K views 23 replies 11 participants last post by  79JPSBill 
#1 ·
Its too long a story to tell but I will be getting back my 79 Esprit John Player. I have not seen the car in 20 years. It will need work not sure how much. It has less than 30,000 miles.

Can anyone suggest a repair shop in the South Florida (Fort Lauderdale) area. Also would anyone know the value of this model. My sense is that older Esprit's are rare but not really worth much. My guess is a John Player car might be a little more valuable. Thanks in advance for any thoughts......Mike
 
#2 ·
Congrats

Congrats,, hard to believe you could find it again. That story sounds interesting. Lets hear it. Some folks will follow up I am sure to lend support and repair facilities. Pictures please.
Charro (JPS79Bill) may be able to really get you pointed in the right direction. I believe he is Fla also
:smile2:
 
#24 · (Edited)
Congrats,, hard to believe you could find it again. That story sounds interesting. Lets hear it. Some folks will follow up I am sure to lend support and repair facilities. Pictures please.
Charro (JPS79Bill) may be able to really get you pointed in the right direction. I believe he is Fla also
:smile2:
Thanks for the referral JET. I'm all over it :nerd:
 
#3 ·
I had raced the car at Moroso (Palm Beach Fl) and broke it. A guy said he could fix it so I gave it to him. It's been at his house for 20 years. I just have not wanted to deal with it. Crazy I know. He called me this week to come get the car. He still hasn't fixed it. I've become a Porsche guy (993 Turbo) but I have always missed the Lotus. Just hoping it will not cost more to fix it than it is worth. Will be looking at the car this weekend and will let you know what shape its in. Appreciate any and all feedback.....
 
#4 ·
Early G-cars (especially documented JPS models) are increasing in value lately.

when you said you "broke it' the question is, hopw bad? Any frame damage?

@jtrealty has brought a heavily damaged (but not totaled) Esprit back to life. @JPS79Bill is currently doing the same with a fire damaged S1, PLUS he owns a JPS car.
 
#5 ·
Found my Lotus

There was no damage to the car other than to the motor. Obviously I don't know its current condition - but at the time I gave up the car the body was very good, no frame or other damage - interior was decent. Again a lot of time has passed. Hopefully the car remains in decent condition. I very much would like to get it back on the road but of course that depends on its fixed "value" versus what repairs to the motor etc will cost. Again the car was straight when I gave it up, hopefully it still is..... my anxiety is building :)

Again thanks for any and all help - I've got a lot of Lotus "catching up" to do......
 
#6 ·
I echo that nicely maintained/properly restored S1's and S2's are going up in value, frankly asking prices for really nice ones can be higher than a nice V8, and certainly more than a G body Turbo and Stevens Esprit.

As for the JPS being of more value, it's kind of like the JPS Europa. Mechanically the cars are no different than their 'plain' brothers, it's all in the livery, and provenance. There is a JPS Esprit that pops up from time to time that belonged to Mario Andretti, having been given to him by the factory when he was driving for Lotus. Certainly THAT specific car has some extra cache.

I don't suppose your car has been languishing in Maryland for the last two decades? Phil Mitchell's been trying to sell his in-need-of-restoration JPS Esprit for years, I heard he may have recently off-loaded it. Was it yours?
 
#12 ·
I echo that nicely maintained/properly restored S1's and S2's are going up in value, frankly asking prices for really nice ones can be higher than a nice V8, and certainly more than a G body Turbo and Stevens Esprit.



As for the JPS being of more value, it's kind of like the JPS Europa. Mechanically the cars are no different than their 'plain' brothers, it's all in the livery, and provenance. There is a JPS Esprit that pops up from time to time that belonged to Mario Andretti, having been given to him by the factory when he was driving for Lotus. Certainly THAT specific car has some extra cache.



I don't suppose your car has been languishing in Maryland for the last two decades? Phil Mitchell's been trying to sell his in-need-of-restoration JPS Esprit for years, I heard he may have recently off-loaded it. Was it yours?




Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App
 
#9 ·
nope mine has been is Florida all these years. Again I would like to restore it but if the costs are high and the value is low I will try and find someone who wants to buy and restore it.......
Sounds like a great story. Having sold a couple of S2's in recent times I can say that they are rapidly increasing in value and both went to Europe for good money. The key really is in the term 'restore', there are so many levels of restoration and the costs vary significantly with each one. If its concourse then likely the cost will exceed the value, but a nice clean driver will be worth more than the cost to get it there given the current growing popularity of the early non turbo cars. The silver S2 I sold locally ended up being flipped for double on BAT (albeit with a new interior) and again went to Europe.
 
#13 ·
Neat story. I hope it all works out. If not, I probably have enough parts laying around to get back to roadworthy. Unfortunately I am a fair piece away from South Florida. However I will be in the Orlando area the week of May 22. If you are nearby, I'd love to take a peek...
 
#14 ·
Hi Mike - unfortunately I am in south Florida 3 hours from Orlando. I did see the car this weekend. The body is pretty decent. Needs some trim items and a little paint across the roof. The interior is in poor shape and will need extensive work. The car is straight but needs unspecified motor work, brakes, rotors etc. Trying to asses cost. Then I can determine if redo the car or sell it to someone who wants to restore it. Any suggestion as the best place to get motor/brake parts etc.
 
#17 ·
Don't know if you have heard of Arnie Johnson. He worked for Lotus from 1968 through recently and has a shop in Atlanta. He does engine rebuilds or swaps and is an amazing engine builder imo. He's the only guy I'd trust to rebuild my motor. If you want his contact info PM me.

Good luck!
 
#18 ·
thanks but the motor may not have to be rebuilt . Mechanically there will be things needed. Just trying to determine what that will be. If we can get the motor started that obviously would be huge. My preference would be to keep the car but I am considering selling it....
 
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