1988 Esprit engine FS

Yeah, I should probably have listed this in parts for sale but I wanted to make sure everyone was aware of it ASAP just in case someone was seriously interested.

$4k NMNA located in mid-Missouri

That would be fun on a Fiero.

Gearheadotaku (Forum Supporter) said:

That would be fun on a Fiero.

For irony...a Fiero wearing a Lotus Esprit body kit.

Find a Chevette and build a Vauxhall Chevette HSR tribute?

edit: a HSR in need of some love and attention 

Gearheadotaku (Forum Supporter) said:

That would be fun on a Fiero.

 I think you're over estimating this. 210hp (in 1988.) 

Rons said:

Find a Chevette and build a Vauxhall Chevette HSR tribute?

edit: a HSR in need of some love and attention 

My thoughts exactly.

Stroker - complete tangent, but assuming this is yours I'd also assume you have or had an Esprit. I'd love to hear what that's been like at some point.

In reply to Matt B (fs) :

Not mine per the NMNA notation.

Saron81 said:

Gearheadotaku (Forum Supporter) said:

That would be fun on a Fiero.

 I think you're over estimating this. 210hp (in 1988.) 

True, but relatively minor changes brought it up to 264 bhp the next year. The Jensen Healey guys would be one possible place to look for buyers (although they tend to be a...thrifty bunch).

They look better than the modern DOHC turbo I-4s but don't match them for output.

Convert back to N/A, install in Locost 7?  No idea what bellhousings/transmissions would work for that swap, though.

In reply to stroker :

Missed that somehow. Doh!

Paging Dr. Hess! Wasn't he living in MO and owning an Esprit?

For 200hp from a 4 cylinder, I think I'd rather have a naturally aspirated K that always runs.

edit: wiki says the '88 turbo was more like 215hp. The next year in '89 they bumped it up to 264 (280 with overboost).

In reply to maschinenbau :

The Chevettes made something around 300hp from 2.4l.

Different engine but one was used as a design study for the other (down to starting with its block during the development period) but I forget which is which.

In reply to ae86andkp61 (Forum Supporter) :

Former owner as far as I know if I remember right a misfire overheated the cat and set the body on fire and there was nothing left of it.  Then he got an Elise but someone didn't notice it was in front of them and totalled it and he had to fight USAA for over a year to get them to pay for it.

$500 price drop.  Now $3500.

IIRC, conventional wisdom when I was an Esprit owner was that the bottom ends were safe at 400hp if you were so inclined.  You'd need to source a air-to-liquid intercooler from a later car though.  That architecture topped out at 300hp from the factory for the '95 S4s and (Euro-only) Sport300.

It's still crazy to me that I'm running a reliable (well, for 12k miles so far) 1.5ish bar through my bargain-basement 1.8L '19 VW engine.  In 1995, 300hp, running 1 bar in a 2.2L was pretty stout.  The VW even makes more low-rpm torque than my S4s did (thought not MUCH more).