[ESPREE]

I'm finally going to pick up my 99 V8 after a long, long road of setbacks and pitfalls!

First to set the stage... I bought it in April of 2011, and it promptly died two weeks later (spun rod bearing), and the engine was completely rebuilt. Unbeknownst to us at the time, the painter sandblasted the plenum and cam covers before powdercoating them, and filled my freshly rebuilt engine with sand. It went another couple weeks before spinning a main bearing.

We discovered that the sand was the culprit after rebuild #2. Fortunately he had insurance and they settled for the damages.

For rebuild #3 I got a new engine block, and replaced everything related to the oiling system (oil pump, oil coolers, oil lines, bearings, etc.). Turbos rebuilt too.

So here I am 3 years later.

Thanks are due to the forum members here for all of your help and support. If fact, without all of you we might never have figured out the sand problem until it was too late.

Please send some good luck my way that this pickup goes ok and I can start enjoying this car!

 

[Eken]

I hope it's bright and sunny up there today. You deserve a great day for a ride.

Ed

 

[G8nightman]

Wow good luck hope you can enjoy the car now

 

[carbuff]

Hurry and drive it home before it snows!!!!!!

 

[e-spree]

Good luck and good driving. Break that rebuilt engine in right and I hope all your troubles are ending now like this terrible winter.

 

[EspritNOOB]

Wow, I think I would have given up but after 3 rebuilds you deserve to have the best road trip of your life!

Happy reving!

 

[Turbo R]

Wow...and I thought I had bad luck! Today should be a great day for you...have fun!!!!

Roy

 

[G8nightman]

I'm finally going to pick up my 99 V8 after a long, long road of setbacks and pitfalls!

First to set the stage... I bought it in April of 2011, and it promptly died two weeks later (spun rod bearing), and the engine was completely rebuilt. Unbeknownst to us at the time, the painter sandblasted the plenum and cam covers before powdercoating them, and filled my freshly rebuilt engine with sand. It went another couple weeks before spinning a main bearing.

We discovered that the sand was the culprit after rebuild #2. Fortunately he had insurance and they settled for the damages.

For rebuild #3 I got a new engine block, and replaced everything related to the oiling system (oil pump, oil coolers, oil lines, bearings, etc.). Turbos rebuilt too.

So here I am 3 years later.

Thanks are due to the forum members here for all of your help and support. If fact, without all of you we might never have figured out the sand problem until it was too late.

Please send some good luck my way that this pickup goes ok and I can start enjoying this car!

What part of CT are you in?

 

[Night life]

-eek--eek--eek- you are a patient man, I hope the supercar gods are smiling upon you now, you certainly proved yourself :clap::clap::clap:

 

[roadtalontsi]

holy crap man, thats got to be the worst possible car ownership experience. It's worth the wait but holy crap thats alot of suffering.

 

[amanda11270]

WOW, thats some bad luck, I too would of given up on it, that had to cost a ton. I hope its all sorted now and all is well with it. I would of been ancy to drive it after all that time.

I always thought that if my Esprit's 4 banger craps out internally, I would go to an engine conversion from some other car, there are several junkyard's near me that I could probably throw some mess together to make the Esprit drive again

 

[shay2nak]

Wow good luck hope you can enjoy the car now

+1

 

[Plackslayer]

Congrats - we expect videos and pictures!

 

[Motard]

Damn man...

Tough story ! I can't imagine . Congratulations and enjoy the spoils of that war ! peacb

 

[Turbo R]

How did it go yesterday? Hope it all went well!!!

BTW, believe it or not, this is not the worst V8 story I have heard...years ago, there was an infamous red '98 V8 owned by a passionate Lotus owner who went by the name Mazman...I really felt for him and admired him for his perserverence. Not sure if he is on this forum, but despite all that he went through, his love for Lotus survived and I believe he eventually went to an Exige and then back to another Esprit V8!

Never give up!

Roy

 

[ESPREE]

Thanks, all - she made it home! We even beat the rain/snow. I'm in southern CT. It was definitely nice to drive it again, albeit cautiously.

Yeah, there were certainly many times I wanted to throw in the towel! It was a tough situation though since I couldn't sell it for anything with the engine not running.

So I decided to stick it out. My wife deserves some sort of award for putting up with this too!

I think the tough part will be trying to gain some confidence in it... I keep expecting some disaster or to hear that awful spun bearing sound again, but I'm hopeful that all will be well.

Here are some pics. I'll actually be shooting a short tribute film this summer with the Esprit, so a nice video is in the works.

 

[petemon]

Congratulations!

Must have been really sad going in the garage for the last couple of years...looking at the cool Esprit wall graphic and empty space with color-matching carpeting. rotfl

I should start a thread of "Best and Worst Garages". I think we are on opposite ends of that scale, mine's a mess but I do have a garage fridge stocked with plenty of Bud Light.

 

[Vulcan Grey]

Looks Great! Keep it away from sand!

 

[MidLifeZ]

Nice! Is that your garage it is parked in?

 

[ESPREE]

Must have been really sad going in the garage for the last couple of years...looking at the cool Esprit wall graphic and empty space with color-matching carpeting. rotfl

Yes it was! But at least the Esprit being away so long gave me ample time to clean it up.

If I actually had the car I probably would have just been driving most of the time.