Whilst searching the lotus Esprit cars for sale I came across a reference to ‘Steve Taylor at Lotus Marques’ who had serviced a particular car for sale.
Doing the research I located Steve’s website at ‘Lotus Marques’ and boldly sent an email…’prospective Esprit owner, can you assist?
I met with Steve at a café east of Melbourne and if not for my sister attending I fear we would still be there shooting the breeze about Lotus and everything in-between.
All said and done I found a particular Esprit and found myself purchasing a rare Lotus Esprit Turbo Hc 1987, considered the best of the ‘G’ cars as they had ironed out most of the issues.
The purchase was initiated when Lotus Marques conducted a pre-purchase inspection and identified AU$6,800 in works needed and also identified the motor of the Esprit as being the best Steve had seen in his career of 30 years working on Esprit.
Through Lotus Marques website on the ‘Projects’ page I remained in contact and between the two of us increased the scope of works to include (for me) essentials when purchasing an old vehicle such as cooling, electrical and braking.
All the workmanship endeavours were fully undertaken by Lotus Marques in a manner to imbue total confidence.
Armed with this confidence the decision was ’finally’ made to drive the Esprit from Melbourne to Merredin in Western Australia which to quote ‘Ramjet’ a moderator on ‘The Lotus Forums’ we were instantly branded with ‘…you guys are mad’ at this point I would need to point out that Ramjet was the main mover for getting me into an Esprit by a very chance meeting at a gas station in Busselton, Western Australia and I never looked back! … Cheers Ramjet!
Whilst collecting my Esprit from Lotus Marques by some odd case of manipulated chance the Ramjet was also there so I had the privilege of a fang in a well presented S4 esprit and I honestly can say ‘OMG!’ a suitably impressive car even if in ‘Stevens’ guise! LOL.
Whilst sojourning in a S4S my co-pilot was given the opportunity of a fang in my Esprit with Steve from Lotus Marques as the co-driver and my colleague still talks about it today, often!
Heading off from East-Melbourne to at least the South Australian border requires the skills you do not immediately possess i.e. driving an Esprit in built up suburbs no less and navigating around Melbourne and I am pleased to say ‘No problem!
So, the first impressions of an Esprit:
Tight steering
Idle down rpm high (for a while, an emissions thing apparently)
Engine sounds sweet
No radio
Seating position very comfortable (my co-pilot had a bad back and for the whole trip he never took his pain killers so the Esprit is truly a GT
We arrived in Tailem Bend South Australia in the evening with nothing to report other than a splendid trip and no problems.
What we did do was during refuelling (based on experience from Esprit owners) we manned both sides of the filler caps to ensure no loss of fuel.
The next day we wiggled through short-cuts, became lost and almost bogged (seriously ‘almost’) but we endeavoured onwards to Streaky Bay in South Australia which is a very splendid place to dig in for the night (I mean highly recommended going in either direction, for myself a stop at Streaky Bay makes the trip)
When reporting back to Steve at Lotus Marques about the day’s events and the fuel consumption he was shocked and awed at the results we recorded considering the ‘spirited’ driving underway.
Our results to date were between 9 and 10 litres per 100klm which as we learned is respectable.
Two days driving an Esprit what did we learn? Well, lessons learnt those days are as follows;
• Double clutch 1st to 2nd
• Double clutch 2nd to 3rd
• Normal shift into 4th & 5th
• LIFT! The gear shifter BEFORE putting into Reverse
Doing all the above results in respectable gear shifting operations with a C35 Citroen gearbox.
A hot and cold interior is through a typical 1970s HVCC operation that worked ok although the heater was warmish as opposed to HOT and the AC is a no show.
The window washer output is lame to say the least and is on the table as an immediate upgrade.
Engine operation temperature sits on or just above 90 degrees Centigrade, the volts hangs around 13 volts, the oil pressure is constant and the fuel gauge winds down slowly from full to half then becomes undecided from half to near empty (at that time we were unaware we had 86 litres capacity).
We worked on the fill at half full policy which is an Aussie mantra when driving in the ‘Middle of nowhere’ as supply, power failure and ‘no one there’ are all possibilities but that said we had excellent experiences at all points of call but choose to always ‘be prepared’.
The next day started early and is to be the longest endeavour which turned out to be over 13 hours of essentially non-stop driving to Norseman.
The cold early start revealed the Esprit penchant for cool weather driving as it was most difficult to keep velocity below 140kph ‘but we tried’
The cooler charge air was having its effect and brings in another Esprit point of driving which is how little accelerator is needed to keep the car at any speed.
It appears that accelerator travel only serves to push the car hard and fast, that aside the accelerators purpose is just short of redundant with very little travel required to keep the car motivated.
The weather that day was typical overcast and wet although as we approached Madura Pass we could see the dark cloud band heading our way and the temperature rose from around 21 degrees Centigrade to about 32 degrees Centigrade and the cars performance was slightly less brisk as the ambient air temperature rose.
This only lasted a couple of hours and once again the wet and cool weather returned and we were not aware what we had just experienced was the weather cold front that had hammered Perth and the surrounds recently.
Despite the long distance across the most remote of driving experiences the Esprit performed very well and we eventually arrived at Norseman in Western Australia just on sunset with nothing to report other than the longest part of the journey went well with the car and crew most satisfied but buggered and desperate for a good night’s sleep.
The following morning a tyre pressure check is completed and another instalment of Hi-Octane fuel fed to the Esprit.
After a couple of film shots and a casual drive through Coolgardie we arrived at Merredin Western Australia where the co-pilot was dropped off to appreciative wife and daughters.
A night entailed the de-briefing of military proportions and then some to our audience in horror as the ‘fisherman tails’ of the recent grand endeavour were expounded, and then some!
Four days, many kilometres and a dream car Lotus Esprit I can honestly say I would do this trip again but will take more time to visit the many wineries we had to fly pass, bummer.
My confidence in the Esprit is sound and the work of the crew at Lotus Marques in Victoria instills that confidence and made this epic trip most possible.
Plans are underway to replicate the trip albeit via train with the car as cargo to Adelaide then via wineries onwards to Melbourne and then to Lotus Marques for a litany of work requests which to date involves a BOV, a ‘Steve’ Service (because she deserves it) and water pump overhaul.
Will report that trip as she unfolds.
J R Goldacre, Lotus Esprit Turbo hc 1987
5 Marong Court, Boronia, Victoria to Tailem Bend SA
Western Hwy/National Highway A8 and National Highway A8
667 km, 8 hours 27 mins
Tailem Bend, SA to Streaky Bay, South Australia
National Highway A1
826 km, 10 hours 30 mins
Streaky Bay, South Australia to Norseman, WA
Eyre Hwy
1,311 km, 13 hours 28 mins
Norseman, WA to Merredin, WA
Coolgardie-Esperance Hwy and National Highway 94
462 km, 4 hours 50 mins
Total Trip = 3,266klm
Trip details VIC = Victoria, SA= South Australia, WA = Western Australia
Additive = Nulon Octane Booster
Total litres = 324.65
Total miles = 1757
Total Kilometres = 3210
Fuel consumption 9.7L/100klm (average) [29mpg] distance read off odometer of car (98.3% accurate)
Fuel tank capacity for this Lotus Esprit Turbo hc 1987 is 86 litres giving a maximum range of 896klm to empty
Also of interest is we used only 25% of the dip stick in oil consumption
Turbo Thermals Bordertown SA (engine stopped 2 minutes engine bay cover lifted)
Turbo Thermals Streaky Bay SA (engine running at idle speed taken within a minute of stopping)
NOTE: Celsius to Fahrenheit by (C X 1.8) + 32 = Temperature degrees F
For more on Julian's epic drive from Melbourne to Merredin, Western Australia visit the video at the following URL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQX1FZL3laY
Doing the research I located Steve’s website at ‘Lotus Marques’ and boldly sent an email…’prospective Esprit owner, can you assist?
I met with Steve at a café east of Melbourne and if not for my sister attending I fear we would still be there shooting the breeze about Lotus and everything in-between.
All said and done I found a particular Esprit and found myself purchasing a rare Lotus Esprit Turbo Hc 1987, considered the best of the ‘G’ cars as they had ironed out most of the issues.
The purchase was initiated when Lotus Marques conducted a pre-purchase inspection and identified AU$6,800 in works needed and also identified the motor of the Esprit as being the best Steve had seen in his career of 30 years working on Esprit.
Through Lotus Marques website on the ‘Projects’ page I remained in contact and between the two of us increased the scope of works to include (for me) essentials when purchasing an old vehicle such as cooling, electrical and braking.
All the workmanship endeavours were fully undertaken by Lotus Marques in a manner to imbue total confidence.
Armed with this confidence the decision was ’finally’ made to drive the Esprit from Melbourne to Merredin in Western Australia which to quote ‘Ramjet’ a moderator on ‘The Lotus Forums’ we were instantly branded with ‘…you guys are mad’ at this point I would need to point out that Ramjet was the main mover for getting me into an Esprit by a very chance meeting at a gas station in Busselton, Western Australia and I never looked back! … Cheers Ramjet!
Whilst collecting my Esprit from Lotus Marques by some odd case of manipulated chance the Ramjet was also there so I had the privilege of a fang in a well presented S4 esprit and I honestly can say ‘OMG!’ a suitably impressive car even if in ‘Stevens’ guise! LOL.
Whilst sojourning in a S4S my co-pilot was given the opportunity of a fang in my Esprit with Steve from Lotus Marques as the co-driver and my colleague still talks about it today, often!
Heading off from East-Melbourne to at least the South Australian border requires the skills you do not immediately possess i.e. driving an Esprit in built up suburbs no less and navigating around Melbourne and I am pleased to say ‘No problem!
So, the first impressions of an Esprit:
Tight steering
Idle down rpm high (for a while, an emissions thing apparently)
Engine sounds sweet
No radio
Seating position very comfortable (my co-pilot had a bad back and for the whole trip he never took his pain killers so the Esprit is truly a GT
We arrived in Tailem Bend South Australia in the evening with nothing to report other than a splendid trip and no problems.
What we did do was during refuelling (based on experience from Esprit owners) we manned both sides of the filler caps to ensure no loss of fuel.
The next day we wiggled through short-cuts, became lost and almost bogged (seriously ‘almost’) but we endeavoured onwards to Streaky Bay in South Australia which is a very splendid place to dig in for the night (I mean highly recommended going in either direction, for myself a stop at Streaky Bay makes the trip)
When reporting back to Steve at Lotus Marques about the day’s events and the fuel consumption he was shocked and awed at the results we recorded considering the ‘spirited’ driving underway.
Our results to date were between 9 and 10 litres per 100klm which as we learned is respectable.
Two days driving an Esprit what did we learn? Well, lessons learnt those days are as follows;
• Double clutch 1st to 2nd
• Double clutch 2nd to 3rd
• Normal shift into 4th & 5th
• LIFT! The gear shifter BEFORE putting into Reverse
Doing all the above results in respectable gear shifting operations with a C35 Citroen gearbox.
A hot and cold interior is through a typical 1970s HVCC operation that worked ok although the heater was warmish as opposed to HOT and the AC is a no show.
The window washer output is lame to say the least and is on the table as an immediate upgrade.
Engine operation temperature sits on or just above 90 degrees Centigrade, the volts hangs around 13 volts, the oil pressure is constant and the fuel gauge winds down slowly from full to half then becomes undecided from half to near empty (at that time we were unaware we had 86 litres capacity).
We worked on the fill at half full policy which is an Aussie mantra when driving in the ‘Middle of nowhere’ as supply, power failure and ‘no one there’ are all possibilities but that said we had excellent experiences at all points of call but choose to always ‘be prepared’.
The next day started early and is to be the longest endeavour which turned out to be over 13 hours of essentially non-stop driving to Norseman.
The cold early start revealed the Esprit penchant for cool weather driving as it was most difficult to keep velocity below 140kph ‘but we tried’
The cooler charge air was having its effect and brings in another Esprit point of driving which is how little accelerator is needed to keep the car at any speed.
It appears that accelerator travel only serves to push the car hard and fast, that aside the accelerators purpose is just short of redundant with very little travel required to keep the car motivated.
The weather that day was typical overcast and wet although as we approached Madura Pass we could see the dark cloud band heading our way and the temperature rose from around 21 degrees Centigrade to about 32 degrees Centigrade and the cars performance was slightly less brisk as the ambient air temperature rose.
This only lasted a couple of hours and once again the wet and cool weather returned and we were not aware what we had just experienced was the weather cold front that had hammered Perth and the surrounds recently.
Despite the long distance across the most remote of driving experiences the Esprit performed very well and we eventually arrived at Norseman in Western Australia just on sunset with nothing to report other than the longest part of the journey went well with the car and crew most satisfied but buggered and desperate for a good night’s sleep.
The following morning a tyre pressure check is completed and another instalment of Hi-Octane fuel fed to the Esprit.
After a couple of film shots and a casual drive through Coolgardie we arrived at Merredin Western Australia where the co-pilot was dropped off to appreciative wife and daughters.
A night entailed the de-briefing of military proportions and then some to our audience in horror as the ‘fisherman tails’ of the recent grand endeavour were expounded, and then some!
Four days, many kilometres and a dream car Lotus Esprit I can honestly say I would do this trip again but will take more time to visit the many wineries we had to fly pass, bummer.
My confidence in the Esprit is sound and the work of the crew at Lotus Marques in Victoria instills that confidence and made this epic trip most possible.
Plans are underway to replicate the trip albeit via train with the car as cargo to Adelaide then via wineries onwards to Melbourne and then to Lotus Marques for a litany of work requests which to date involves a BOV, a ‘Steve’ Service (because she deserves it) and water pump overhaul.
Will report that trip as she unfolds.
J R Goldacre, Lotus Esprit Turbo hc 1987
5 Marong Court, Boronia, Victoria to Tailem Bend SA
Western Hwy/National Highway A8 and National Highway A8
667 km, 8 hours 27 mins
Tailem Bend, SA to Streaky Bay, South Australia
National Highway A1
826 km, 10 hours 30 mins
Streaky Bay, South Australia to Norseman, WA
Eyre Hwy
1,311 km, 13 hours 28 mins
Norseman, WA to Merredin, WA
Coolgardie-Esperance Hwy and National Highway 94
462 km, 4 hours 50 mins
Total Trip = 3,266klm
Trip details VIC = Victoria, SA= South Australia, WA = Western Australia
Additive = Nulon Octane Booster
| Litres | Miles | Klm | L/100klm | Location | Fuel | |
| 48.56 | Rockbank VIC | BP 98 [165.9c/L] | ||||
| 39.67 | 270 | 432 | 9.18 | Bordertown SA | BP 98 [161.9c/L] | |
| 25.09 | 158 | 253 | 9.91 | Mannum SA | BP 98 | |
| 33.6 | 226 | 362 | 9.28 | Port Augusta SA | BP 98 [152.9c/L] | |
| 42 | 250 | 400 | 10.5 | Streaky Bay SA | Shell 95 (additive used) | |
| 11.14 | 73 | 117 | 9.52 | Ceduna SA | BP 98 [169.9c/L] | |
| 46.3 | 304 | 486 | 9.5 | Border Village SA | BP 98 [198.56c/L] | |
| 18 | 123 | 197 | 9.13 | Madura Pass WA |
Shell 95 (additive used) [198.22c/L] |
|
| 52.67 | 335 | 537 | 9.8 | Norseman WA | BP 98 [180.0c/L] | |
| 48 | 288 | 462 | 10.4 | Merredin WA | BP 98 [161.9c/L] | |
Total litres = 324.65
Total miles = 1757
Total Kilometres = 3210
Fuel consumption 9.7L/100klm (average) [29mpg] distance read off odometer of car (98.3% accurate)
Fuel tank capacity for this Lotus Esprit Turbo hc 1987 is 86 litres giving a maximum range of 896klm to empty
Also of interest is we used only 25% of the dip stick in oil consumption
Turbo Thermals Bordertown SA (engine stopped 2 minutes engine bay cover lifted)
| Exhaust | Intermediate housing (water cooled) | Induction | Carburettor Box (Plennum) |
| 258C | 89C | 79C | No recording |
Turbo Thermals Streaky Bay SA (engine running at idle speed taken within a minute of stopping)
| Exhaust | Intermediate housing (water cooled) | Induction | Carburettor Box (Plennum) |
| 383C | 90C | 79C | 38C |
NOTE: Celsius to Fahrenheit by (C X 1.8) + 32 = Temperature degrees F
For more on Julian's epic drive from Melbourne to Merredin, Western Australia visit the video at the following URL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQX1FZL3laY