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moved on from the j's

3K views 11 replies 5 participants last post by  autotech1117 
#1 ·
as many of you know I sold my sunbird to speedracer a little over a month ago. decided to get a bit radical with her replacement, so here it is.

99 lotus esprit 22k miles

power plant is a lotus built twin turbo 3.5l 4 cam v8

5spd,mid engine, tube chassis, full fiberglass body, weighs in at 2600lbs
 

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#2 ·
I hate you....

One of my bucket list/dream cars, though I think I'd go a bit older, late '80s to early '90s.

:love:
 
#3 ·
wasn't a fan of the factory oz racing nova rims that came on the car. unfortunately odd lug spacing, offset, and different front to rear hub diameters means there is NO aftermarket rim options......I got in contact with BBS directly and they sold me a set of Ferrari 360 rims they had. correct lug spacing (5x108 and needed to get hub centric rings made for front and rear, as well as longer lug bolts)........since it was a discontinued set and the last set they had I got them @30% off and free shipping for $2681.......a lot for 4 rins, but when the only other option is a custom made set @ about $5k, I didn't hesitate for a second.
 

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#4 ·
also the tail lights on the car scream 1990......so they had to go.....the replacement panel and 4 lamps cost a fortune ($1990 shipped) but really updates the look....first pic is off internet, didn't take a pic of mine before we tore it apart. middle pic is test fit. last pic is internet, but what itll look like
 

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#6 ·
have done mostly maintenance on it, since had only been driven 1000 miles since 2008....I put more miles on it in 14hrs driving it back from PA. Flushed coolant as radiator was pretty plugged up, replaced one oil cooler line, oil pressure switch, new clutch (which is a twin disc and costs $900 for just the discs from AP racing, complete assembly is $3k) and kn air filters....still waiting on a thermostat and coolant lever sensor from the UK.

As for performance it doesn't really need much, but I did install a boost controller (the lotus programming has progressive boost limits in each gear, and quite low...only 7psi in 1st). Removed the muffler, to get some sound out of it, and high flow cats.

@six_shooter I really preferred the Ferrari 355 look of the 97-04 stlye, and really wanted the torque of the v8. the 4cyl does produce almost as much hp, but really lack the low end.
 
#12 ·
Lotus sourced the original steering wheel from an early 90s firebird and really looks out of place. The hub diameter and spline count was different tho, and to make matters worse the steering column is kinda "one off" so no adapters for an aftermarket wheel are available. A few owners retrofitted some older non-air bag wheels, but at a cost of nearly $800.

so......I took a hole saw and cut the center out of the steering wheel, removed any residual pot metal, foam, and vinyl from the steel hub in the center and began making an adapter. I bought a Camaro grant wheel adapter just to get the trim ring. test fitting that showed it would contact the air bag coil (clock spring), and the adapter holes were too far out to try n bolt it to the original hub. Then I sourced some .020 plate steel, cut out the needed larger diameter circle, welded that to the face of the hub, test fit the trim ring, and marked holes for drill/tap. After that just needed to determine if it needed any extensions. I originally went with the 2 inch, but then went with a 1 inch as it just felt better. Mind you this cars column doesn't tilt or telescope. once all this was fitted nicely just needed to wire in some resistors to keep the airbag light off and pass bag functional, bolt on the new wheel, wire up horn button, and add a nice little lotus logo. went with a d shaped to get a little more leg clearance to get in n out. total cost of about $225
 

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