1982 Lotus Esprit S3—SOLD (subject to collection) For Sale

Well the time has come to let my S3 go to a new owner, as life has moved on to a different stage.
She is now back together after a very extended period of refurbishment and passed her MoT mid-November.
Is she perfect?.... No, but as you can see, she is very presentable, having had a significant amount of work done whilst indoors in a Bodyshop since 1998:

New clutch and release brg 1998 by Steve Williams of Maidenhead @75, 500 miles
New oil cooler around same time
Drove to my Dad’s Bodyshop in Lincoln in 1998 to repair stone chips and a couple of areas of gel cracks, and ended up starting an extensive refurbishment which, for various reasons, lasted for the next 20 years, with the vast majority of work being done since 2014

Body and trim
Resprayed in 2016 - described as very good rather than outstanding
Re-trimmed in Cream and Blue Connolly hide c. 2005

Engine specific
Engine Stripped due to crank end float at top limit. brought back to spec,
Mains checked for tolerance, oilway mod on big end cap carried out per Lotus service notes.
Bottom end re-assembled with Lotus Recommended sealing/ gasket products (kelvedon Lotus) including: new crank seals and oil pipe seal, new gaskets as required
New cam seals and thrust shims to maintain spec on cam end float SWLC/ SJ
New water pump with ceramic bearing and associated gaskets from Gary Kemp engineering
New engine and gearbox mounting bushes - SJ. NS heatshield installed
Stainless Exhaust studs fitted
Carbs overhauled with genuine Lotus kit inc viton tipped needles SWLC
New oil filter SJ
New Alternator -sj
Fuchs 10/ 60 - opie
Fresh gearbox oil - opie
And of course, the all important: New cam belt and bearing fitted (tensioned March 2019- LotusBits genuine parts), cam belt tensioner overhauled.

General chassis , supension and cooling system work:

New braided brake pipes all round - SJ
New clutch master, slave and braided hose
New brake master cylinder
Wheels refurbished and fitted with new Vredstien Sportrac 5s all round
New bushes throughout gear linkage (SJ)
All brake calipers overhauled with new seals and sliding pins (SJ)
Stainless back box and straight thro mid section. Also Heat wrapped from downpipe to rear silencer.

Fuel pump stripped, cleaned and rebuilt. In-line filter added before pump.
New fuel hoses throughout inc. breather pipe
Fuel tanks acid cleaned, tested and epoxy painted (inc one replacement from Lotusbits)

Front suspension stripped, blasted and epoxy painted, new metalastic bushes throughout (polybushes for ARB ends).
New trunnions and bush kits - SJ
Rear suspension stripped, blasted and epoxy painted
New trailing arm bushes -SJ
Wheels bearing checked, regreased and reassembled

New radiator c. 2004, so not yet used
Alloy cooling pipes replaced where necessary (LB)
Upgraded 10” fans in original rad cowling
New SGS tailgate struts
Relays and connector blocks checked and cleaned throughout

Currently living in a Carcoon.

Photo timeline of most of the work above, but some invoices missing.
Bell&Colvill supplied the car to NatWest, so she has FLSH to 44k, with further independent history to 54k
Sold by Paul Matty @67kto my previous owner, my purchase was at @c72k, then she came off the road @75, 600 as described above.

Bad bits:
Aircon system all present but inoperative due to thread damage on original compressor casting
NS door mirror solenoids not working properly (drivers side operational)
No ICE
Speedo not working (under investigation this week)

In summary :
My goal was to get the Esprit to a reliable, very presentable condition, but not so much as to be afraid to take her out and drive her as Colin Chapman intended. This, I believe I have achieved.
Rolling upgrades I had planned were as follows :
8xRear suspension bushes and springs (£210 for parts) - not done as I no longer have access to a garage with ramp
AC - possibly, but in our climate? Est £150-300 should you so choose
Carpets are in fair condition, but some may wish to renew £350 max
Paintwork? Again, I believe very presentable, no gel cracks, but a few minor blemishes which I believe to be in the lacquer coating. Not/ barely visible at more than 5 yards. However, if you want a Garage Queen, add sone budget here.

I do intend to put a few more miles on her as shakedown testing prior to sale, but there’s a few of youtube vids on the ebay listing. Cant post them here.

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