86 Esprit

[1986esprit]

well i found a 86 esprit 2.2l turbo my dream car. the only problem is is that the engine leaks oil like no other the engine is all together pretty much shot it runs but spews copious amounts of smoke black/grey. needs new tires all around. and the front window is cracked quite a bit. the body is in ok condition it has a terrible macco style paint job no major dents or dings atleast. their asking price is 18k but there is no way i would pay that much i said i'd give them 15g.

1.)is there anywhere i could buy a whole crate 2.2l or atleast a short block.
2.)also how much roughly would i cost to rebuild the 2.2l not including the turbo.
3.) where can i get a front window...? or do i have to get one fabricated?

i really want this car its a dream car of mine and i am capable of rebuilding a motor. any suggestions

[Demonized]

Originally Posted by 1986esprit

well i found a 86 esprit 2.2l turbo my dream car. the only problem is is that the engine leaks oil like no other the engine is all together pretty much shot it runs but spews copious amounts of smoke black/grey. needs new tires all around. and the front window is cracked quite a bit. the body is in ok condition it has a terrible macco style paint job no major dents or dings atleast. their asking price is 18k but there is no way i would pay that much i said i'd give them 15g.

1.)is there anywhere i could buy a whole crate 2.2l or atleast a short block.
2.)also how much roughly would i cost to rebuild the 2.2l not including the turbo.
3.) where can i get a front window...? or do i have to get one fabricated?

i really want this car its a dream car of mine and i am capable of rebuilding a motor. any suggestions

Seems a bit steep for an undrivable car.

[1986esprit]

Originally Posted by Demonized

Seems a bit steep for an undrivable car.

its "driveable" for how long who knows.

[lotus69f2]

A perfect low milage '86 Esprit is maybe a mid $20k car. $15 k for a car that needs tires a winshield and a motor is way too much. If they gave it to you for free, and you bought a crate motorand fixed the other stuff you would put more into it than it would be worth.

I would be very leery about buying this car. There is likey more wrong than you know.

If you knew exactly what was wrong with the engine and then could figure what was necessary to put it right then you might be able to make a reasonable offer.

[1986esprit]

Originally Posted by lotus69f2

A perfect low milage '86 Esprit is maybe a mid $20k car. $15 k for a car that needs tires a winshield and a motor is way too much. If they gave it to you for free, and you bought a crate motorand fixed the other stuff you would put more into it than it would be worth.

I would be very leery about buying this car. There is likey more wrong than you know.

If you knew exactly what was wrong with the engine and then could figure what was necessary to put it right then you might be able to make a reasonable offer.

wow i assumed that they where worth a bit more.

well my main concern is the motor and the window.

i've also noticed looking around that engine components are slim to none especially anything to do with the heads on these cars. i notice some guys talking about swapping motor so i did some google searching and noticed that honda has a 2.2l enigne i know that the esprit used a ford engine though but was wondering if the honda engine and the ford engine where very similar because if i could do that it would make the engine rebuild a snap.

also is there any ford vehicle that used the 2.2L turbo or even a n/a 2.2 using the same block and pistons?

[tesprit]

Originally Posted by 1986esprit

wow i assumed that they where worth a bit more. i notice some guys talking about swapping motor so i did some google searching and noticed that honda has a 2.2l enigne i know that the esprit used a ford engine though but was wondering if the honda engine and the ford engine where very similar because if i could do that it would make the engine rebuild a snap.

also is there any ford vehicle that used the 2.2L turbo or even a n/a 2.2 using the same block and pistons?

Well, first of all the Esprit does NOT have a Ford engine. If you are considering buying this car, it is nothing but a parts car, because replacing/rebuilding the Lotus engine will cost more than the car is worth. Try pricing out a windshield for this Esprit and you will be amazed at how much it costs, much less how much it will cost to have it installed. The windshield trim alone (usually gets destroyed while removing the old windshield) is crazy expensive and very few shops have the experience to replace one of these windshields properly. Fixing the poor paint will set you back a fair amount of money as well. Along with everything else I'm sure is wrong with this Esprit, if they gave you this car for free, you will still have paid too much for it by the time it is restored.

[1986esprit]

Originally Posted by tesprit

Well, first of all the Esprit does NOT have a Ford engine. If you are considering buying this car, it is nothing but a parts car, because replacing/rebuilding the Lotus engine will cost more than the car is worth. Try pricing out a windshield for this Esprit and you will be amazed at how much it costs, much less how much it will cost to have it installed. The windshield trim alone (usually gets destroyed while removing the old windshield) is crazy expensive and very few shops have the experience to replace one of these windshields properly. Fixing the poor paint will set you back a fair amount of money as well. Along with everything else I'm sure is wrong with this Esprit, if they gave you this car for free, you will still have paid too much for it by the time it is restored.

oh i had done some research and it showed that it uses a ford 2.2l i guess the saying is true the internet can be wrong .


anyways i found a 90 esprit 2.2 turbo for 24,995 that i will be looking at the next day i have off. it only has 30k miles witch is half of the last one i looked at.
heres that latest one:
Monza Car

theres another one thats white with the same mileage just 3k more on the price tag

[lotus69f2]

That car is more like it. THe Esprit rngine needs, absolutlely needs a timing belt at 30k miles and (if done professionally) is a couple of thousand dollar job. Consider that when making an offer. A lot of sellers pre-empt the haggling over the timing belt by doing it prematurely which is a plus. Also the later model car would be a better choice regarding reliability. As a rule, each new model year incorporated changes that improved both performance and reliability.

[1986esprit]

Originally Posted by lotus69f2

That car is more like it. THe Esprit rngine needs, absolutlely needs a timing belt at 30k miles and (if done professionally) is a couple of thousand dollar job. Consider that when making an offer. A lot of sellers pre-empt the haggling over the timing belt by doing it prematurely which is a plus. Also the later model car would be a better choice regarding reliability. As a rule, each new model year incorporated changes that improved both performance and reliability.

i can't do the timing belt myself? i noticed when they popped open the engine bay of the esprit today at the dealership that the belts are in the same place as the ford gt's ie: towards the front of the vehicle. i assume that is the problem child with the timing belt. or is there something i don't know about. i guess the question i'm getting at is what is involved in changing the timing belt.

[...m...]

...are you really set upon an eighties-era turbo esprit?..there's a 1998 V8 in my area which looks to be in excellent condition, priced for urgent sale at $22k - certainly it would be far less headache..

98 LOTUS ESPRIT TWIN TURBO V-8

[tesprit]

Originally Posted by 1986esprit

i can't do the timing belt myself? i noticed when they popped open the engine bay of the esprit today at the dealership that the belts are in the same place as the ford gt's ie: towards the front of the vehicle. i assume that is the problem child with the timing belt. or is there something i don't know about. i guess the question i'm getting at is what is involved in changing the timing belt.

Sure you can change the timing belt yourself. It just takes a lot of patience, time, good mechanical skills, and it helps to have a full repair shop with a lift at your disposal. I did mine ('86 Esprit) by myself with the car on a lift and it took me about three days. The working quarters are tight, you have to do a lot of it by touch because you can't see some of the timing marks, and you have to work carefully because if you screw up the timing, you will kill the engine upon trying to start it. The other option is to remove the engine/trans. from the car which makes the timing belt job a lot easier, but then you have to do a lot more disassembly/assembly work.

[lotus69f2]

Originally Posted by 1986esprit

i can't do the timing belt myself? i noticed when they popped open the engine bay of the esprit today at the dealership that the belts are in the same place as the ford gt's ie: towards the front of the vehicle. i assume that is the problem child with the timing belt. or is there something i don't know about. i guess the question i'm getting at is what is involved in changing the timing belt.

I did not intimate that you are incapable of doing the job. Since I do not know you personally and do not know your skill set I will not comment on whether you are capable of doing it yourself. I was simply saying that when done by a professional - with experience in Esprits even - it is a time consuming job and therefore expensive to do. And that this expense or difficulty in doing the job is something to be takng into account when pricing an Esprit.

Yes, the location of the engine with the timing gears and belts in the front and the location of ancillaries in the same spot are what makes it so difficult and time consuming.

[1986esprit]

Originally Posted by ...m...

...are you really set upon an eighties-era turbo esprit?..there's a 1998 V8 in my area which looks to be in excellent condition, priced for urgent sale at $22k - certainly it would be far less headache..

98 LOTUS ESPRIT TWIN TURBO V-8

not really the more i look into the engine design the more i actually hate it. frankly the exposed timing belt is and will always be a terrible idea especially on a car exposed to weather.

Originally Posted by lotus69f2

I did not intimate that you are incapable of doing the job. Since I do not know you personally and do not know your skill set I will not comment on whether you are capable of doing it yourself. I was simply saying that when done by a professional - with experience in Esprits even - it is a time consuming job and therefore expensive to do. And that this expense or difficulty in doing the job is something to be takng into account when pricing an Esprit.

Yes, the location of the engine with the timing gears and belts in the front and the location of ancillaries in the same spot are what makes it so difficult and time consuming.

no im sorry that came out wrong you just made it sound like something that was nearly impossible...so my apologies.

[Richg]

Vince,

As the owner of an '86....although its already been said....forget the one you first mentioned.

Way too many things wrong!!

don't do it!

Rich

[1986esprit]

Originally Posted by Richg

Vince,

As the owner of an '86....although its already been said....forget the one you first mentioned.

Way too many things wrong!!

don't do it!

Rich

yeah after i calmed down at the thought of owning my dream car and some research as to see the cost to rebuild the engine i decided it was a no go. i decided after looking over the engine design very thoroughly that i didn't much care for it either with the exposed timing belts and the fact that the vehicle requires way too much time and money to maintain. so i decided to go with an elise base model for a fun little car to play with. plus i find that the engine is less sensitive and requires less to maintain as its just a common 1.8l toyota motor

[Demonized]

Originally Posted by 1986esprit

yeah after i calmed down at the thought of owning my dream car and some research as to see the cost to rebuild the engine i decided it was a no go. i decided after looking over the engine design very thoroughly that i didn't much care for it either with the exposed timing belts and the fact that the vehicle requires way too much time and money to maintain. so i decided to go with an elise base model for a fun little car to play with. plus i find that the engine is less sensitive and requires less to maintain as its just a common 1.8l toyota motor

Excellent choice... And when you want it to move a little bit more, get yourself a supercharger, factory or after market.

[1986esprit]

Originally Posted by Demonized

Excellent choice... And when you want it to move a little bit more, get yourself a supercharger, factory or after market.

so far i think so too. plus it should make the ricers in my area . plus with it being a common motor in todays market engine parts will be readily avaliable for quite some time compared to the impossible and expensive parts of the esprit. and it seems there is a growing after market for the elise/exige vehicles which is very exciting maybe it will get as big as the mustang after market is. i found a yellow i believe its saffron yellow elise for 26k its an 05 and will be gong to see it on thursday which excites me

[Demonized]

Originally Posted by 1986esprit

so far i think so too. plus it should make the ricers in my area . plus with it being a common motor in todays market engine parts will be readily avaliable for quite some time compared to the impossible and expensive parts of the esprit. and it seems there is a growing after market for the elise/exige vehicles which is very exciting maybe it will get as big as the mustang after market is. i found a yellow i believe its saffron yellow elise for 26k its an 05 and will be gong to see it on thursday which excites me

Get an ECU print out and walk away if there is any frame damage.

[1986esprit]

Originally Posted by Demonized

Get an ECU print out and walk away if there is any frame damage.

what exactly is an ecu print? also i wouldn't buy any car with any sort of frame damage

[Demonized]

Originally Posted by 1986esprit

what exactly is an ecu print? also i wouldn't buy any car with any sort of frame damage

Frame damage is a bit ambiguous when talking about the Elise/Exige...

Have the seller take the car to a Lotus dealer, have them print out the ECU information.

It will list standing starts (launches), highest RPM (5 highest), and some other minor stuff.