They are one of those cars that for me I do not care how "unreliable" they are an S4 is high on my car bucket list.
They are one of those cars that for me I do not care how "unreliable" they are an S4 is high on my car bucket list.
1988RedT2 wrote: Perhaps no other car better exemplifies mid-1980's supersexy supercar. I would love to own one, but I would probably be afraid to drive it.
One of the few cases where I actually prefer the 90's soft edges to the 80's sharp lines.
Wasn't the Esprit the last production car ever sold with pop-up headlights?
Well, near as I can tell, my fire problem was caused by one coil pack not working. Power was down, but everything was running. I thought the turbo had gone out or blew a hose, so I thought I could limp home. But upon reflection, I think one coil pack wasn't firing. The EFI was happily dumping gas into 2 cylinders without spark, which then went unburnt out the exhaust to the cat, which got really hot, until it caught the car on fire. It was over in minutes. In my opinion, the best thing you can do is first off, replace the cat with a "test pipe." For off road use, you know.
Talk on the list has many cases of the cat causing fires. The other main cause of fires is the evap canister. In prolonged left hand turns (sweepers,) say on a track, and with a full set of gas tanks, the gas will slosh up to the right and overwhelm the evap canister, which then leaks and catches fire. Several have been lost to that. Mine was not on the car (evap canister delete.) Should have cat-deleted it too, but hind sight is 20-20.
The leaky gas tanks don't seem to have caused any fires that I've heard of. People usually notice the gas leaking and don't drive the car until it is fixed. R&R'ing the gas tanks is a serious PITA. It can be done with the motor in, and some have done it, but I don't know how they could. It was hard with the motor out, standing in the engine bay and wrestling the tanks out of the well they were down in. The reason the tanks leak is because they are held in (above and below) with open cell carpet jute, which catches water and holds it against the tanks, which then rust through. Pull the tanks, paint them (I used truck bed liner,) and use a closed cell foam in place of the carpet jute. There's also a rubber hose that runs between the 2 gas fillers. They rot and you smell gas in the car. Almost all have been replaced by now, I would think, but it is something else that needs to be done.
Oh, SE charge cooler pumps don't last that long. Better to replace it with an electric pump.
I worked on a n/a... believe it was 1977... alleged to have been purchased off the NY Auto Show floor.....
(n/a model)
It was sitting in the back of an old tire store... alongside a Austin Healy looking kit car. The induction system had been replaced with some SCARY (fire causing??) adapter and 2 large down draught carbs..... 
I managed to get it started... which considering the tools I had, the timing tensioner system, and others who had seriously buggered it up... I felt pretty good.
I was suppose to be "given the Healy kit... but once I got it fired... they managed to forget.... @!#$%$%&^(&^)&()&()_(_+^%^&#%^
(yeah, yeah E36ed)
Dr. Hess wrote: Well, near as I can tell, my fire problem was caused by one coil pack not working. Power was down, but everything was running. I thought the turbo had gone out or blew a hose, so I thought I could limp home. But upon reflection, I think one coil pack wasn't firing. The EFI was happily dumping gas into 2 cylinders without spark, which then went unburnt out the exhaust to the cat, which got really hot, until it caught the car on fire. It was over in minutes. In my opinion, the best thing you can do is first off, replace the cat with a "test pipe." For off road use, you know.
OK, that makes more sense to me... when the first couple posters referred to too much fuel getting the exhaust hot, all I could think was that it would be cooler if it was running rich. I always understood that a lean burn condition would elevate EGTs. But if you're just pumping fuel into the exhaust due to a no spark issue, then yeah. It would get hot as it started to combust in the exhaust. External combustion engine! 
Would some heat shielding help with exhaust temperatures?
A cat gets REALLY hot when unburnt fuel goes through it.... Mine was glowing bright red at idle when I was trying to track down a single cylinder misfire related to a megasquirt install.
SlickDizzy wrote: Wasn't the Esprit the last production car ever sold with pop-up headlights?
NSXs were being sold with them in Japan into the early 2000s if that counts.
GameboyRMH wrote:SlickDizzy wrote: Wasn't the Esprit the last production car ever sold with pop-up headlights?NSXs were being sold with them in Japan into the early 2000s if that counts.
So were S4 Esprits. It's close but the Lotus wins at 2004 being the last year.
S4 Esprits are on my bucket list too. It's the only car I'd seriously consider selling my J-H to buy.
Bringing this back to the top because I'm considering a late 80s/early 90s Esprit. My biggest concern currently is legroom. I'm 6'2" 225 and am wondering if I can fit in the thing. any bigger guys here with Esprit experience?
Cotton wrote: Bringing this back to the top because I'm considering a late 80s/early 90s Esprit. My biggest concern currently is legroom. I'm 6'2" 225 and am wondering if I can fit in the thing. any bigger guys here with Esprit experience?
We stuffed a 6'6" skinny guy in an S1 Esprit while at mecum last year, and it was amusing. The same guy fit in the last version v8TT model with room to spare.
We also test fit a 6ft 270 lb guy in that s1....and aside from having to take his shoe off to use the pedals, he fit.....somewhat. 
93EXCivic wrote:Travis_K wrote: They burn waay too easy for me to ever own one. If an engine management issue causing it to run rich and get the exhaust hot enough that by the time you notice and pull over enough of the body work is on fire that all you can do is walk away and call your insurance, its a car I never want to interact with any more than to stand and look at it.Megasquirt seems to be a great way to fix that. Or just install a EGT gauge...
Also there are all kinds of exhaust and turbo wraps available now, I'd think those would help...
I remember Wheeler Dealers redoing one and trying to fold Edd in there...
yamaha wrote: We also test fit a 6ft 270 lb guy in that s1....and aside from having to take his shoe off to use the pedals, he fit.....somewhat.
gah that's my concern. In extreme instances I've had to remove shoes and even the seat to drive and I do not want to do that again.
In reply to Cotton:
Seat you should be fine, but the older ones pedal box is cramped at best.....wasn't as bad IMHO as a Pantera, but my 5'10 210 self was thankful for wearing my narrow driving shoes.
I just remember any time they showed a picture of one on a test bench, the exhaust manifold was glowing cherry red. I thought that was not a good thing to have in a plastic car.
yamaha wrote:Cotton wrote: Bringing this back to the top because I'm considering a late 80s/early 90s Esprit. My biggest concern currently is legroom. I'm 6'2" 225 and am wondering if I can fit in the thing. any bigger guys here with Esprit experience?We stuffed a 6'6" skinny guy in an S1 Esprit while at mecum last year, and it was amusing. The same guy fit in the last version v8TT model with room to spare.
I'm 6'2" and didn't have a fit problem with mine but I seem to squeeze into everything just fine for some reason.
1988RedT2 wrote: Perhaps no other car better exemplifies mid-1980's supersexy supercar. I would love to own one, but I would probably be afraid to drive it.
Agreed but that's a 70s version, for the record. My favorites are the early non turbos. An S2.2 for me, please.They can be made to weigh under 2,000 lbs. and pretty uh, dependable with 225 whp. Not supercar specs but with modern tires and suspension that's just right.
yamaha wrote: In reply to Cotton: Seat you should be fine, but the older ones pedal box is cramped at best.....wasn't as bad IMHO as a Pantera, but my 5'10 210 self was thankful for wearing my narrow driving shoes.
okay that's good news then. I can work around pedal box issues. Now the question is reliability...or lack of.
1988RedT2 wrote:
I would love to drive one but I'd be afraid to own one. 8-p
I knew a guy who had one in the early 2000's. He said the car was far too much of a hassle for the level of enjoyment, and his was relatively reliable.
You kinda have to try it on. At 6'2", you will "probably" fit OK. Some of the taller guys remove the seat adjuster and bolt the seat down directly to the floor to get that extra bit. Oh, and go for 89-up.
Dr. Hess wrote: You kinda have to try it on. At 6'2", you will "probably" fit OK. Some of the taller guys remove the seat adjuster and bolt the seat down directly to the floor to get that extra bit. Oh, and go for 89-up.
The specific one I'm looking at is an 88, so I'm behind the 8 ball already.
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