Cheap supercars?

16vCorey wrote: Actually it was $4300. Damn I wish i had $4300 right now. http://evansville.craigslist.org/cto/1569846449.html

Nice, Hard to tell from the pictures if it is a smart buy or timebomb, but definitly worth a look.

Dr. Hess wrote:

Woody wrote: What are earlier Esprits going for? Are there any common swaps for the normally aspirated fours?

Well, in general and as discussed previously, you can buy an Esprit for between $300 and $100K. The more you spend, the better car you get. The earlier the Esprit, the more "issues" and "English-ness" you'll get. My car, a 1989 model known as the "89 non-SE" in Esprit circles because it is one of like 117 1989 cars made without the charge cooler and other SE add ons, is about as early as I'd care to go. The 1988 US market cars had the Citroen gear box and Bosch EFI. I have the stronger Renault gear box and GM EFI. 1988 was also the first year of the Peter Stevens redesign and 88-up cars are known as "Stevens" versus the Giugiaro bodied 87-back cars, known as "G cars." But, if you're determined to get a G car, I think nice ones are in the lower teens these days. Earlier ones, as I said, start at $300 and go up. There aren't really any big common swaps. The 910 motor is pretty stout by itself and capable of 300+ HP reliably. It is an aluminum casting of a Bedford (UK GM) truck block with a Cosworth DFV head, in broad terms. Some V6's have been swapped in, some V8's like the Rover, of course, a SBC/SBF or two. I've seen pics of these on teh intraw3bz, y0, and I heard of a Lexus V8 in a race car in Oz.

Hey Hess, let me ask you - what are typical repair costs? Is it Viper-clamshell-hood-crazy? I'd love an S4 or S4s. Or one with an AJP V8 swapped in...

C4-C5 Vettes and Z06's get my vote. Parts probably aren't too rediculously priced, near 30 mpg on highway (if easy on throttle)..

oldtin wrote: Ready for an engine swap - $3,000 308 gt/4 fleabay

I never cared much for the 308 GT/4, but that car sold for $3201.

If it was on the proper coast, I would have bought it and figured out some kind of powertrain swap.

92dxman wrote: C4-C5 Vettes and Z06's get my vote. Parts probably aren't too rediculously priced, near 30 mpg on highway (if easy on throttle)..

I'm doing a little forum-browsing on C4s and the parts certainly seem to be cheap-ish if you exclude C4 ZR-1s.

There is something to be said for using a big mass-produced engine when you're selling the majority of your cars in countries that don't tax cars by displacement like a lot of European countries do.

In reply to JeepinMatt: What repairs are you talking about? In general, and by supercar standards, Stevens Esprits are fairly economical to keep going. Routine maintenance is more than a MR2, for example, but parts are not that expensive. I buy most of my parts at O'Reilley's. I maintain a cross reference list on my web page (www.drhess.net) that is pretty popular in Esprit circles. The internet support is tremendous. No matter what, someone has been there, done that and can advise you. As far as major body panels, well, stuff is available usually used and it isn't like the Viper. Being composit, it is all repairable and less subject to minor damage than steel/aluminum. However, if it's hit hard enough in the front, the frame will likely go. If you have some serious time to kill, check out Guy's pages: http://theriens.com/lotus/start.htm Guy wanted a V8. So he bought a wrecked one. Or two or three including the burned one, I forget now. But he did lots of cutting, glassing, frame repairs, etc. all himself. Got divorced somewhere in that, bought a house down the street from the one lost in the divorce, built a new garage, kids grew up, Kiwi visitors, etc. It's a very interesting read.

Anyway, bottom line is they are fixable and fairly reasonable to maintain. Early V8's are about the same price as a S4s.

Dr. Hess wrote: In reply to JeepinMatt: What repairs are you talking about? In general, and by supercar standards, Stevens Esprits are fairly economical to keep going. Routine maintenance is more than a MR2, for example, but parts are not that expensive. I buy most of my parts at O'Reilley's. I maintain a cross reference list on my web page (www.drhess.net) that is pretty popular in Esprit circles. The internet support is tremendous. No matter what, someone has been there, done that and can advise you. As far as major body panels, well, stuff is available usually used and it isn't like the Viper. Being composit, it is all repairable and less subject to minor damage than steel/aluminum. However, if it's hit hard enough in the front, the frame will likely go. If you have some serious time to kill, check out Guy's pages: http://theriens.com/lotus/start.htm Guy wanted a V8. So he bought a wrecked one. Or two or three including the burned one, I forget now. But he did lots of cutting, glassing, frame repairs, etc. all himself. Got divorced somewhere in that, bought a house down the street from the one lost in the divorce, built a new garage, kids grew up, Kiwi visitors, etc. It's a very interesting read. Anyway, bottom line is they are fixable and fairly reasonable to maintain. Early V8's are about the same price as a S4s.

Great info. Don't the early V8s have a nasty reputation for premature engine failure compared to the later ones, when they got it all sorted out? Like I said somewhere else, I'd love to grab an AJP V8 out of a wrecked Cerbera and put that in there. Great sound, lighter weight and no fancy turbo-gadgets.

The current issue of Octane actually has a feature where they compare the Sport 300 to the Sport 350 (King of the Hill 4 cylinder to King of the Hill 8 cylinder for those who aren't familiar with it). They do mention the Esprit's weakness as far as rigidity. They strengthened the car when they released the S4, and it still had only 20% the torsional rigidity of the Elise. I still cringe when I see so many wrecked versions of such a rare car.

The problem with the V8's was the timing belt. As long as you stay on top of that, they seem to be OK. There was some type of recall or something I think on the early ones and I don't remember exactly what they did, maybe just put a newer belt on. Belt tension has to be done with this harmonic audio sensor thing. The 4 cylinders are a lot easier to deal with in that area, but you still need to stay on top of the timing belt. I'm about due, knock on wood, myself. Just haven't got to it.

The V8 motor, they say, is good to 500 HP and Lotus detuned it so the transmission wouldn't grenade. There are some transmission upgrades to get it to handle more power, including a new mainshaft, I think, whatever the 5th gear rides on. The V8 guys say "never give full throttle in 5th gear." With the new shaft which doesn't have a notch machined it it or something, it can withstand the full power without snapping. There's also a dog box available and I think one other type of complete guts replacement. They say the dog box, while good for racing, sucks on the street.

Oh, and V8 Esprit owners prefer to outrun sport bikes in 3rd gear. They say they don't have to shift that way.