On Jan 19, 2024, at 12:45?AM, Selbe, Shah <shah.selbe@...> wrote:

?This has been such a great discussion with a lot of knowledge sharing. Thank you all for your feedback. What a great community.?

I thought I had already sent this message, but I haven't seen it come through, so maybe something happened there.?
@Jim: to answer your question, I am located in Long Beach (CA) but only recently came here from LA. I bought the car in Los Angeles way back in 2005. It was painted grey by one of the previous owners but I believe it was originally white. The car is number 752H (I think that is correct; it is the last three numbers and letter on the "Unit Number" line on the plate in the car). If anyone knows any history or past owners of the car, I would love to learn more.?

Thanks,
Shah

What’s the upgraded cable kit and from where, thanks Gordon

On Jan 18, 2024, at 3:51?PM, palmer.jeff@... wrote:

?Shah,

I went through the same process when I purchased my S1 a few years ago, which had been stored by the previous owner for about 18 years. It had the original cam belt.? I followed the group's advice, pulled the engine and renewed several parts, brakes, clutch, suspension bushings, carbs, tanks, steering rack, etc.? Some of the highlights follow:

1) Pulling and reinstalling the engine by myself was relatively easy, but I could not remove the tailgate by myselt as it is heavy, large and a bit awkward and prone to damage if dropped.? Get someone to help. Perhaps you don't need to remove it.? I did because I could see myself sticking the engine hoist through the glass.? I used an engine hoist and hydraulic table cart to drop the engine.
2) Installed an upgraded cable kit that operates the tranaxle crossgate. The kit included a fat rod that does not flex like the original and completely cured shifting issues.
3) The water pump belt does not have a tensioner.? Finding the right size belt was a royal pain that involved incorrect fitment from the usual suppliers and multiple trips to the local auto parts store.? My guess is that the water pump was replaced with a nonstandard pulley.? Good luck with this.? I had to settle for an obscure lawnmower belt from the local auto parts store.
4)? The big miss, which was probalby due to my lack of experience was the master brake cylinder failure.? After I had finished installing all new brake parts, rotors, lines, seals, etc and bleeding the system, I took the car out for a test drive.? In a few minutes the brake warning light came on.? I then drove carefully and slowly home as the brakes were still working.? When I got home and looked at the master cylinder (MC), most of the brake fluid was gone.? I could not see any sign of a leak anywhere.? So I removed the MC and noticed that a lot of the brake fluid was in the booster. Apparently, the engine had sucked up some of the fluid as well.? I assumed that the new seals did not work due to the issues with the bore, although the bore looked OK and seemed to clean up rather nicely before I put the new seals in.? However, I wanted to be safe and sent out the MC to be resleeved. Got it back and put brand new seals in, reinstalled, bled, ready to go out for a fun, fast, first drive and sort out bugs.? Crap!? The brake warning light came on just as before.? I drove home and found that, once again, most of the brake fluid was gone.? I pulled the MC yet again and noticed that the fluid was in the booster.? I then noticed a tiny hole in the MC bore just before the piston/seals.? The hole seemed to have downward? angle but did not exit anywhere on the outside.? I assumed that the hole went somewhere internally.? I push a stiff wire into the hole but it only went in a short distance.? I pushed harder and corroded bits of aluminum started coming out.? I pushed even harder and the wire poked through to the outside of the MC.? What the heck?? A vent hole of some sort?? What 's its function?? ? I found out the hard way.? It's to prevent the brake fluid from being sucked past the seals.? Anyway, lessoned learned.? ?When you rebuild your MC look for the vent hole on the outside and make sure that it is clean all the way through.

After all maintenance items completed, the car runs like a dream and has had several +200 mile trips without any issues thanks to advice from this group.
Good luck Shah.

Best regards,
Jeff
139H

On Jan 18, 2024, at 9:10?PM, Bill Galbraith <Lotus@...> wrote:

?

There is a new crossgate cable from a newer Esprit that can be retrofitted to the S1/S2. Before I knew about it, I made my own. I used a piece of metric all-thread, and some 1-inch nuts to make the rod stiffer. I also replaced the pivot pin with a ball joint. On my car, the pin was severely worn, and the hole on the L arm was wallowed out. It is REALLY sweet now.

?

?

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of gsauerphd1 via groups.io
Sent: Thursday, January 18, 2024 8:26 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [S1S2euroS3LotusEspritOwners] Maintenance after storage

?

What’s the upgraded cable kit and from where, thanks Gordon

On Jan 18, 2024, at 3:51?PM, palmer.jeff@... wrote:

?Shah,

I went through the same process when I purchased my S1 a few years ago, which had been stored by the previous owner for about 18 years. It had the original cam belt.? I followed the group's advice, pulled the engine and renewed several parts, brakes, clutch, suspension bushings, carbs, tanks, steering rack, etc.? Some of the highlights follow:

1) Pulling and reinstalling the engine by myself was relatively easy, but I could not remove the tailgate by myselt as it is heavy, large and a bit awkward and prone to damage if dropped.? Get someone to help. Perhaps you don't need to remove it.? I did because I could see myself sticking the engine hoist through the glass.? I used an engine hoist and hydraulic table cart to drop the engine.
2) Installed an upgraded cable kit that operates the tranaxle crossgate. The kit included a fat rod that does not flex like the original and completely cured shifting issues.
3) The water pump belt does not have a tensioner.? Finding the right size belt was a royal pain that involved incorrect fitment from the usual suppliers and multiple trips to the local auto parts store.? My guess is that the water pump was replaced with a nonstandard pulley.? Good luck with this.? I had to settle for an obscure lawnmower belt from the local auto parts store.
4)? The big miss, which was probalby due to my lack of experience was the master brake cylinder failure.? After I had finished installing all new brake parts, rotors, lines, seals, etc and bleeding the system, I took the car out for a test drive.? In a few minutes the brake warning light came on.? I then drove carefully and slowly home as the brakes were still working.? When I got home and looked at the master cylinder (MC), most of the brake fluid was gone.? I could not see any sign of a leak anywhere.? So I removed the MC and noticed that a lot of the brake fluid was in the booster. Apparently, the engine had sucked up some of the fluid as well.? I assumed that the new seals did not work due to the issues with the bore, although the bore looked OK and seemed to clean up rather nicely before I put the new seals in.? However, I wanted to be safe and sent out the MC to be resleeved. Got it back and put brand new seals in, reinstalled, bled, ready to go out for a fun, fast, first drive and sort out bugs.? Crap!? The brake warning light came on just as before.? I drove home and found that, once again, most of the brake fluid was gone.? I pulled the MC yet again and noticed that the fluid was in the booster.? I then noticed a tiny hole in the MC bore just before the piston/seals.? The hole seemed to have downward? angle but did not exit anywhere on the outside.? I assumed that the hole went somewhere internally.? I push a stiff wire into the hole but it only went in a short distance.? I pushed harder and corroded bits of aluminum started coming out.? I pushed even harder and the wire poked through to the outside of the MC.? What the heck?? A vent hole of some sort?? What 's its function?? ? I found out the hard way.? It's to prevent the brake fluid from being sucked past the seals.? Anyway, lessoned learned.? ?When you rebuild your MC look for the vent hole on the outside and make sure that it is clean all the way through.

After all maintenance items completed, the car runs like a dream and has had several +200 mile trips without any issues thanks to advice from this group.
Good luck Shah.

Best regards,
Jeff
139H

Virus-free.

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?

?Shah,

I went through the same process when I purchased my S1 a few years ago, which had been stored by the previous owner for about 18 years. It had the original cam belt.? I followed the group's advice, pulled the engine and renewed several parts, brakes, clutch, suspension bushings, carbs, tanks, steering rack, etc.? Some of the highlights follow:

1) Pulling and reinstalling the engine by myself was relatively easy, but I could not remove the tailgate by myselt as it is heavy, large and a bit awkward and prone to damage if dropped.? Get someone to help. Perhaps you don't need to remove it.? I did because I could see myself sticking the engine hoist through the glass.? I used an engine hoist and hydraulic table cart to drop the engine.
2) Installed an upgraded cable kit that operates the tranaxle crossgate. The kit included a fat rod that does not flex like the original and completely cured shifting issues.
3) The water pump belt does not have a tensioner.? Finding the right size belt was a royal pain that involved incorrect fitment from the usual suppliers and multiple trips to the local auto parts store.? My guess is that the water pump was replaced with a nonstandard pulley.? Good luck with this.? I had to settle for an obscure lawnmower belt from the local auto parts store.
4)? The big miss, which was probalby due to my lack of experience was the master brake cylinder failure.? After I had finished installing all new brake parts, rotors, lines, seals, etc and bleeding the system, I took the car out for a test drive.? In a few minutes the brake warning light came on.? I then drove carefully and slowly home as the brakes were still working.? When I got home and looked at the master cylinder (MC), most of the brake fluid was gone.? I could not see any sign of a leak anywhere.? So I removed the MC and noticed that a lot of the brake fluid was in the booster. Apparently, the engine had sucked up some of the fluid as well.? I assumed that the new seals did not work due to the issues with the bore, although the bore looked OK and seemed to clean up rather nicely before I put the new seals in.? However, I wanted to be safe and sent out the MC to be resleeved. Got it back and put brand new seals in, reinstalled, bled, ready to go out for a fun, fast, first drive and sort out bugs.? Crap!? The brake warning light came on just as before.? I drove home and found that, once again, most of the brake fluid was gone.? I pulled the MC yet again and noticed that the fluid was in the booster.? I then noticed a tiny hole in the MC bore just before the piston/seals.? The hole seemed to have downward? angle but did not exit anywhere on the outside.? I assumed that the hole went somewhere internally.? I push a stiff wire into the hole but it only went in a short distance.? I pushed harder and corroded bits of aluminum started coming out.? I pushed even harder and the wire poked through to the outside of the MC.? What the heck?? A vent hole of some sort?? What 's its function?? ? I found out the hard way.? It's to prevent the brake fluid from being sucked past the seals.? Anyway, lessoned learned.? ?When you rebuild your MC look for the vent hole on the outside and make sure that it is clean all the way through.

After all maintenance items completed, the car runs like a dream and has had several +200 mile trips without any issues thanks to advice from this group.
Good luck Shah.

Best regards,
Jeff
139H

On Jan 18, 2024, at 3:51?PM, palmer.jeff@... wrote:

?Shah,

I went through the same process when I purchased my S1 a few years ago, which had been stored by the previous owner for about 18 years. It had the original cam belt.? I followed the group's advice, pulled the engine and renewed several parts, brakes, clutch, suspension bushings, carbs, tanks, steering rack, etc.? Some of the highlights follow:

1) Pulling and reinstalling the engine by myself was relatively easy, but I could not remove the tailgate by myselt as it is heavy, large and a bit awkward and prone to damage if dropped.? Get someone to help. Perhaps you don't need to remove it.? I did because I could see myself sticking the engine hoist through the glass.? I used an engine hoist and hydraulic table cart to drop the engine.
2) Installed an upgraded cable kit that operates the tranaxle crossgate. The kit included a fat rod that does not flex like the original and completely cured shifting issues.
3) The water pump belt does not have a tensioner.? Finding the right size belt was a royal pain that involved incorrect fitment from the usual suppliers and multiple trips to the local auto parts store.? My guess is that the water pump was replaced with a nonstandard pulley.? Good luck with this.? I had to settle for an obscure lawnmower belt from the local auto parts store.
4)? The big miss, which was probalby due to my lack of experience was the master brake cylinder failure.? After I had finished installing all new brake parts, rotors, lines, seals, etc and bleeding the system, I took the car out for a test drive.? In a few minutes the brake warning light came on.? I then drove carefully and slowly home as the brakes were still working.? When I got home and looked at the master cylinder (MC), most of the brake fluid was gone.? I could not see any sign of a leak anywhere.? So I removed the MC and noticed that a lot of the brake fluid was in the booster. Apparently, the engine had sucked up some of the fluid as well.? I assumed that the new seals did not work due to the issues with the bore, although the bore looked OK and seemed to clean up rather nicely before I put the new seals in.? However, I wanted to be safe and sent out the MC to be resleeved. Got it back and put brand new seals in, reinstalled, bled, ready to go out for a fun, fast, first drive and sort out bugs.? Crap!? The brake warning light came on just as before.? I drove home and found that, once again, most of the brake fluid was gone.? I pulled the MC yet again and noticed that the fluid was in the booster.? I then noticed a tiny hole in the MC bore just before the piston/seals.? The hole seemed to have downward? angle but did not exit anywhere on the outside.? I assumed that the hole went somewhere internally.? I push a stiff wire into the hole but it only went in a short distance.? I pushed harder and corroded bits of aluminum started coming out.? I pushed even harder and the wire poked through to the outside of the MC.? What the heck?? A vent hole of some sort?? What 's its function?? ? I found out the hard way.? It's to prevent the brake fluid from being sucked past the seals.? Anyway, lessoned learned.? ?When you rebuild your MC look for the vent hole on the outside and make sure that it is clean all the way through.

After all maintenance items completed, the car runs like a dream and has had several +200 mile trips without any issues thanks to advice from this group.
Good luck Shah.

Best regards,
Jeff
139H

On Jan 18, 2024, at 8:00 AM, Atwell <carbuff@...> wrote:

?Hi Peter,

It has been reported that rotors where the contact on top is RIVETED are not very reliable. Just a heads-hp for anyone planning to replace these parts.

Also, replace your spark plug wires if more than a decade old.

Measure the resistance of your coil, replace if out of spec...resistance is in the Service Notes.
--
Atwell Haines
'88 Esprit Turbo
Succasunna, NJ USA

From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Paul Compton
Sent: 18 January 2024 08:01
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [S1S2euroS3LotusEspritOwners] Centre console loose wires

?

?

?

Hi Guys
I'm currently in the process of refurbishing the interior of the S3 (1990) and when I removed the centre console I found that someone had left 4 loose wires - see photo - does anyone know to what they should be connected?

The unconnected wires are -
Large gauge Green & a Black
Smaller gauge black & a purple/black

Many thanks
John

?

?

Wow thank you all (Murray, Bill, Tim, and Steve) for the great info here! It sounds like I have a healthy bit of work ahead of me. Fortunately, the car was stored in a rather dry climate and covered and garaged, so I hope the issues around rusted parts during the storage will be less likely. Either way, I will be sure to check all the things listed here. Going to pull together a shopping list of stuff based on this feedback. I live about 1.5 hours from JAE (and just down the street from Lotus by Claudius) but already have an order opened with SJ Sportscars so maybe I can sneak in a few extras into that shipment.

I will certainly do a search of things on here to learn more. Does any of this work require pulling the engine or do you think I could get away with leaving it in place??