I Bought the Last Iconic Supercar You Can MAYBE Afford!!! (I got a REAL PROJECT)
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- Опубліковано 9 вер 2024
- I have ALWAYS wanted a proper mid engine supercar, but I checked my wallet and the F40 is out of the question! With a lot of searching I grabbed a 1979 Lotus Esprit, which is one of the all time best looking, proper iconic supercars! I went out to grab it with a bunch of my buddies and we had a blast just trying to get this thing fired up! We shot this before we had wireless mics, but the sound is pretty decent.
Edited by @jamesgravey
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Quickly becoming one of my favorite channels to watch. I absolutely love your honesty, nobody ever says what they paid for stuff. Keep it up man, you're as rare as they come.
Same here! Love the videos
Needs A K Series
Thanks man! Just doing our thing over, having fun and making car vids.
Tony is a true class act for sure!
Just found your channel! I’ve been looking for an Esprit S2. What did you guys ever do with it??
You're gonna need a Rock Auto sponsorship! If the gears and gasoline guys can get one from Advanced for buying WD-40 and brake pads every episode, you can definitely swing a deal Tony. Want to see this thing rip!!
That is a great purchase Tony, as was your 911.
I live 60 miles from the factory, let me know if you need bits putting in a box and sending to you. New bits are not cheap though although their are some excellent specialists.
Its all together and looks very cool.
Don't forget, Colin Chapman knew what he was doing, he won the fastest races!
These cars went through our race workshops in the late 1980s early 90's with Elans. They do have peculiarities.
Research is key.
Sometimes it seems like you have to go back 5 steps to move forward one. However you will ace it, I am sure.
Well done.
Had one of the turbo Esprit's in my shop a few years back. Did all the suspension bushings, refurbed the shifter, rebuilt the steering rack, did intake, exhaust and turbo gaskets, plugs and wires. A lot of turbo lag compared to modern cars, but fun to drive if you keep it spun up. And tiny inside, but far less claustrophobia-inducing than a Europa!
Really excited about this project. My dad had a 77 when I was learning to drive stick and he always encouraged me to take it out may he rest in peace. Very fun car when you get it sorted. Corners on rails, great brakes, good comfort, and quick steering. Like a go kart. Not fast but not slow and so exotic. Center of gravity is really low. Colin Chapman knew what he was doing. I hope you get to have some fun with it. The headlights work on vacuum and are a common problem. You get used to the pedals but it’s really tight down there. Wear skinny shoes, no boots.
Little Devil hoodie is a BMX Classic. Love it!!
That is an AWESOME project, Tony. Can't wait for more content.
Great content! love the budget oriented nature here, many youtube channels are hard to relate too with their daddy's palatial estates and massive shops. The budget HRG stuff was always great too, looking forward to a Tony-Lotus commercial in the style you did the Widebody Vette, that was pure gold!
Tony- Those SU carbs you have on there work very well, but one thing I've found with them is on a cold start, even in warm conditions, they absolutely NEED the choke. I didn't hear any mention of that when you guys were fiddling with them.
Watching you getting the Lotus running brings me right back to high school when I had a Renault R10 rear engined car that I had to crank start (because the starter was bad) and then hand throttle like that until it warmed up a little. Fun little car. This Lotus should be a riot to drive.
Hot Rod Garage if it comes back for another season, will no be the same without you on it. Just now found out you had a UA-cam channel now. Definitely will be supporting this channel.
HRG is already putting out new eps with Lucky and Alex Taylor. Still worth watching either way.
Lotus was the Sponsor of the Monterey Classics one year. As such, there were a significant number there. During the pre-race parade, the Lotus's contingent was by FAR the best looking group. It was the most Speed Racer parade moment. That day, Lotus became the all time favorite. I was a Porsche kid before that.
I'm jealous ! Worth every bit of what you paid , always been one of my favorite Cars to look at , constant velocity carbs HATE stale ethanol gas , or maybe you're low on "kindling" by exhaust manifold , you & your Friends are funny as hell , have fun with it !
14:36 guy trying to drink with the lid on haha
I knew it was an Esprit as soon as the video popped up... If it needs one of everything please put some power into it and make it a truly super car.. they always get built back to stock and while they may be moderately fun to drive id bet it could be better with power and brakes to match their handling and looks..
Honda/Acura K20 power would do well in there
Yeah. Make a $30,000 car into a $5000 with a K swap.
why do pl want to ruin perfectly good balanced cars with stupid engine swaps and obnoxious exhaust systems
Adding a turbo would be in keeping with later Esprits, and a modern turbo (and maybe fuel injection) would really pep that engine up. Modern Lotuses have used Toyota engines, so maybe that would make more sense than a Honda?
@@1one3_Racing Ariel Atom?
Being an 80’s kid I always loved the Esprit. On the bright side 1800lbs is pretty easy to push (if the calipers aren’t locked up).
You have over a 100 thousand subs!!!! Keep it up Tony, we appreciate the content.
In the mid 70s I rode in a coworker's Lotus Europa. It weighed around 1400 lbs IIRC and was (under)powered by a Renault something or other 4 banger. Acceleration was nothing to get excited about but the cornering! Gokarts had nothing on this car. Went around corners like it was on rails. What a hoot.
Lotus stands for
Loads
Of
Trouble
Usually
Serious
Awesome cars though. Love the videos, have fun with this one.
but it swims
Wild :) I'm in the UK, so have seen quite a few of these in the flesh, unlike the stuff you normally feature :) My tenuous link to these cars is that my dad had a Morris Marina back in the very early 1980s, which uses the exact same door handles :)
Very cool! Yeah, this thing has bits from tons of different cars on here.
Pretty cool Tony. That’s a decent investment. Talk to Tavaris about parts supply. He had a later one but similar drivetrain and he had a parts car.
^ This.
Totally iconic 70s exotic car, not a supercar by any stretch. The Mazda Miata is a kick to drive for the same reasons the Esprit was in its day....Lotus built some of the best handling enthusiast cars ever. A totally epic build! I'm a new subscriber and already primed for more!!
I'd be happy to have a Pontiac Fiero. That's as close to a mid engine supercar that I'll ever get. I'll be lucky if I can even get one of those
Tony did you see Tavarish's Lotus project and think "Wow, that looks terrible! I want one myself so I too can go through that kind of torture and misery." He did start off with one and ended up getting a second one to try and make one good one out of. They are both still in sad shape.
Love the Esprit. Thought I saw it on your lift earlier and have been waiting for more vids. Wish I would have bought one 10 years ago when excellent ones were $20-25,000. I’ve had to settle for its very similar forerunner the Europa S2…it’s even smaller, about 1500 lbs, but same basic backbone chassis, suspension and transaxle under fibreglass body. You’re definitely going to love how it handles!
Can’t wait for more videos of this car. Seems like a great project
Congrats. I had the 4 seater version of the time, a 1978 Lotus Elite. That was euro spec w two twin 40 mm Dellorto carbs. 160 hp. I believe the US Stromberg Zenith version had 140. These engines are robust with regular oil changes. Rebuild the carbs, change the timing belt and hopefully you should be good to go engine wise. I used mine as a daily driver for 4 years.
Hello Tony the new car looks interesting can't wait to see what you have in store for it. Wishing you and your family well Take Care Sir
Excited to see where you take this Tony! I wonder how much cleaner you could make the engine bay by modernizing it with a Haltech 😎
When I was young a buddy and I had stolen an Acura legend in Irvine. We were topping out at around 140 on the freeway in the wee hours of the morning. Highway was pretty empty at the time. And this bright blue Lotus Esprit blew past us like we were parked. It's been one of favorite cars ever since.
I had almost forgotten about these. And yes, they are very good looking cars! Especially in dark colors. That metallic paint is killer looking. Glad you found one.
In the late Summer of 1986 in NYC I bought TWO De-Tomaso's---A Green 67 Mangusta with the 302 and the ZF 5-Speed. It's one of 401 built. The other Car is a '71(first year of production)Pantera with the 351 and the ZF 5-Speed. I paid $6000 for the pair. I was 22 at the time. In 1988 I bought my first Mustang...a Green '68 Shelby GT-500KR Fastback from a Philadelphia Police Impound Auction for $375.00. All these years later I still have them. The Shelby still has a Rod knock and burns Oil but I never tore a Car apart before. Ahh the days when crap like this was cheap. Have lots more crap like this/never bought a 'New' Car/Truck in my life. Been enjoying the Channel,it's seems to be progressing quiet well. Keep it up.
From what I'm seeing. A fantastic find at an amazing price. With your wrenching skills and a lot of love. Overtime it should become the special car it started as. Just one request. Please No LS swap. Really miss you and Lucky on Hotrod Garage but I'm happy to be a sub on your U-Tube channel.
Fastly becoming one of my favorite channels, I love how honest you are. You should do a Smog/Malaise Era car, They are the HOT build right now because they are still affordable, the parts are still available at the local and online parts stores, they were generally taken care by their owners really well. Just do what us regular guys are doing, clean it up, fix what need fixing throw a cheap but good paint job on it and daily it plus have fun with it on the weekend going to Cars and Coffee's and Cruises. Kinda what you did with the 1980 Dodge truck but include a paint job.
The Esprit is basically the same size as a 308 Ferrari, which is 1 foot shorter than a 2nd gen Toyota MR2 and the roof comes up to the side mirror on the MR2. So, yes, these are small cars
Forget the 2nd gen MR2. Get a 1st gen 85 or 86. The supercharged has more power, but the NA version is a lot more fun to drive. It is a total 9/10ths car
Block off the carbs with masking tape and crank it over. It’ll build big vacuum and suck the snard through the fuel ports so you can at least hear it run before blowing it apart. It works for my lawnmower and pressure each season at least!
Really looking forward to seeing how progress is made on this project, it was a dream car of mine but prices have gone to high here in the UK.
Strange carb's on it though, it must be US spec. We had twin Dellorto DHLA carb's here for one choke per cylinder.
4:17 Someone give this man a high five for owing Tony as well as that magnificent mullet!
I knew I saw something fun on the lift when you were tearing down that Pontiac 400
Awesome pickup for an affordable supercar! I didn't realize how light these cars really are.
K-Swap would be sick in that lightweight platform.
100% would sound awesome as well.
Wouldn't be cool at all. Much cooler to get this running perfect and break the Lucas curse. This is the whole point of this rare car. English heritage, engineering, dreams and ideas. The queens supercar.
Would way rather have this engine gone through and fixed up. Keep some heritage, keep the awesome sound, we don't need to k swap the world.
A proper swap would be a cosworth or Rover V8, Montreal engine with zf5 trans axle. The untimate swap with be a 90s lt4 dohc zr1 engine which was designed by lotus
@@destro513 I was holding back from saying it needed an LS swap!
Congratulations on joining the Lotus fraternity Tony. They’re great cars once you get them sorted. Enjoy the restoration process. Thankfully plenty of parts and specialist suppliers around still.
Yeah!!! Dream car of mine here, glad it’s in good hands and will be brought back to glory. I do think a Honda K swap with 6speed would be a fitting upgrade
300hp N/A K24 in this thing would be amazing. Plenty of power for the weight of the car, but still usable. That would be an absolute joy to drive
2.0 or 2.4? Turbo or no?
Hey, Tony. Great pick for a resto project. I don't know if you watch much content, but if you do, look up a channel called Soup Classic Motoring. He's also restoring a late 70's Esprit. And by restoring, I mean it's bate frame is sitting on a mezzanine in a body shop in Ireland and he's pulling apart factory spot welds to repair rot and damage from previous owners. And his stop-motion videography can be mesmerizing to watch. I watched his full Range Rover resto vid from beginning to end almost without blinking. Anywhoo, worth checking out if you have time.
Love Tony, love what everyone is doing. But if you want this channel to reach the next level, PLEASE make sure the audio is good. With just the mic on the cam, everyone is super quiet so I ramp the volume, then you put music over a montage I'm RUNNING to my keyboard trying to lower the volume. Don't have this problem with HRG! You don't need a crazy setup, just get some wireless lavs and put them on people and in/on the car, and mix it all later. For our ears sake! Thanks!
The old slant 4 with Lucas Electric! Beautiful Lotus Tony!!! I love it!!
Do you still have this car? It’s been a year.
"It's quite the project..." Lotus-say no more, Tony.
It will always be that way
What happened to this thing!? Ever get it on the road?
Get rid of the glass fuel filter, they crack and then spray fuel over the engine till they catch fire.
Good fun project. Resto mod maybe? EFI, modern brakes and coil overs…
A guy with a vicious mullet holding a Bud heavy watching people start an English car is what makes this channel great
I love this channel. Tony and crew rule, reminds me of old school roadkill when it was just a couple dudes having fun and making it happen.
Too funny. I’ve lived in Mansfield my whole life and never got all those lights green on Trimble. You must have a charmed life. Love your videos!
The rear looks like a mix of a 80s firebird and a pantera. I LIKE IT!
Growing up riding bmx in the philly area i have to say i’m liking the little devil hoodie.
I'd rip out every inch of wiring, go with a universal harness, and if possible a basic bitch LS swap. Hoping you find time to pump out some content with this car, would love to see it come back to life.
Id swap in a turbo or supercharged modern 4 cyl with FI.
That v12 Aston Martin engine would be perfect for this thing
Man, I'm such a car nerd I knew what it was just from the outline in the thumbnail. Cool score, dude! So jealous!
Bruh, you are the man! HE HAS A MOUSTACHE, he has a Lotus, nothing else needed.
the look when it first fires is pure joy.....some people would never understand.I DO
Thank you for buying a Lotus! Love these cars. Really looking forward to the progress.
It's all there at least. I personally LOVE Lotus Espirits. They are so cool.
80s styling in the 90s. You can't get much cool than that.
Looks like strombergs like off a triumph tr6, go thru em and make sure you refill them with oil! Usually 1/4-1/2” up the center oil check rod
Stay Tuned is in my top 5 and a Saturday morning cruising the StayTuned back catalog is a nice way to chill before the weekend chores!!
The red one they blew up in the Bond movie is my dream car. I don't snow ski, but it would have to have the ski rack. Those original wheels are straight 🔥🔥🔥
I love your eclectic taste….. Pontiac, mopar , lotus , street bike. Never a dull moment. Your killing it with this utube channel 👍🏻👍🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
Nissan 240
You have so many ultra cool projects at your house. I have all the tools and scars on my hands and forearms from working on old cars but my last old car took the wind out of my sails for that kind of work {1994 Silverado 4WD single cab short bed}. But I do so enjoy watching the experts bring these sweet old rides back to life.
Look into Grose jets or Viton tipped jets for those SU carbs, you can change the oil in the carbs to change how the slides respond.. and you definitely need a pair of flow meters to sync those things.. don’t even try using Carb Stix or a vacuum gauge.. and the distributors are not exactly water tite.. check for excessive play and stuck parts…
Esprit’s are Sports cars.. could never run with a real exotic.. until the Turbo and V8 cars.. but the S2 is a wonderful car to drive.. can be made fairly reliable with a few simple but non-original mods..
Tony, if you still have an LS4 laying around you should put it in that Esprit. I'd run it with 706 heads instead of the 243s because Holdener proved they make more power on a 5.3 and a TBSS intake if it will fit because that is the best factory cathedral port intake, then I would run it with a 92tb, 1.75"-2.5" headers, maybe a functional Tri-Y if possible, 1218 Pac Valve springs and an Elgin 228/230 or 238/242 cam. If there it piston to valve clearance with flat tops and 706s with a big cam run thinner head gaskets to get the thing between 11. 0:1 and 11.6:1 maybe run it on E85 if you can get it. That would be incredible.
My first “supercar” as a kid. There was a red one in chalfont. Lived in the back of the highlands if you remember that spot off 202. He would roll by and we’d chase him on our bikes.
At first I though you were gonna say a Pantera.. not affordable but yea the esprit is forgotten by the 90s and later generations. WOW that paint is great on vid, can just imagine what a detail and ceramic will do. Love the rear deck (can’t remember the name) and all that flat glass. Sweet pick!
Cool swap would a 2.0 eco boost from a focus st or stay true to Lotus with a toyota 2zz from a elise or exige. Eco boost is probably cheaper and able to push 400 to 500hp that your looking for. Love the vids and can't wait to see this project up and going.
Louts and Ford teamed up in the 60's to make one hell of an indy car
Was hoping to see a part 2 of this car curious to know if you ever got it running and driving?
Love Stay Tuned. Most slept on car show on the Tube. PA Represent 💪🏻
I love the very last few years of the Esprit.
Good luck with this project.
The door opens and at first glance I’m like, Pontiac Fiero?! lol I’ve loved Lotus’s since I was a kid. I used to always see a white Esprit and a Magnum PI Ferrari around town when I was little and I thought they were the coolest looking cars ever.
I'd ditch the stromberg carbs for SUs, or EFI. Also, top up the damper oil in the carbs. Those carbs run lean and terrible if you don't keep the damper oil topped up.
I had an 89 esprit turbo, the 2.2s are gm based. The clutch went out in the car, lotus wanted $4500 just for a clutch kit, that’s how I ended up with the car. Everything in the engine bay looked pretty familiar to me having owned a bunch of shitty gm cars. I took the old clutch disc to advance auto, I’m friends with the manager, went through a bunch of clutch boxes and found out it was the same as a 94 cavalier. I ordered a hd clutch kit from eBay for $89, and the car still runs and shifts strong to this day!
Awesome project!! I feel in love with these when I saw them for the first time in the Bond movies. Geeez that was so long ago.
Too funny - last video in your shop I saw an Espirit on the rack and now I find out its yours! Way cool Tony! It'll be great to see this back on the road. 1800#?!?!?! I love the term "add lightness" Love the channel!
great looking car, but even as a kid I hated the re-use of the Morris Marina door handles.. I love the pumping the throttle... those carbs are CV so no pump on them...
The S1 was the Bond Sub (actually it was the S1 prototype). 1979 is an S2, which showed up in For your eyes only (1980 S2 Turbos).
dudes mullet is awesome
Awesome car. Please don't k swap, the lotus twin cam is a lovely revy engine an sounds amassing at high rpm, do definitely put on the later dellorto carbs...
Same door handles as the classic Range Rover , discovery 1 and heaps more British Leyland cars . Super dope car Tony
This could become the best automotive channel on youtube.
There was a nice one of those in my old neighborhood. Blue with a big wing for racing. It was at a meet with a bunch of modern Ferrari and Lamborghini's. Good luck with your new toy.
Sounded like good even compression while it was cranking. Don't forget to check the oil in the carbs.
Subscribed immediately. I've been aching for a Lotus Esprit Mk1 swapped with Volvo 2.3 T5 engine. Been digging around for available donor Esprits today, stumbled upon your video, will keep track of your project! Bets of luck!
Surely the obvious home for your V12 motor? The V8 twin-turbo versions were absolutely vicious!
So many swaps are possible... IMHO, go with a Honda K-series swap. In basic stock form, they make 225whp. With a basic turbo kit, they do like 500-600whp. More than the transmission can handle. So most either go with a quaife sequential transmission or a PPG gearset and billet bellhousing. Then the 500-600whp can be applied regularly. It would transform this car into a true "supercar"
Tony, in my opinion you score the best mean looking lotus. Tavarish buy one but your unit is in waaaay better condition. Cant wait too see more of your content
Yeah, I like the performance of the later cars but I think the early car is SO much cooler looking.
I really dig the way that thing looks in black, looks more sinister than the pleasant white color
I appreciate your enthusiasm. Not anything I am remotely interested about but good for you.
Are you planning an update on this car? I don't see any other videos about it on your channel. I know ls swaps are over done but imagine that car with an aluminum short stroke big bore ls with light weight valve train 4.8 l crank and 4.200 bore would be a high rpm screamer add a couple turbos and hang on. Or you could go the Honda route but honestly I think that car was built for a screaming V8.
I actually sat in the 007 submarine when it was brought to Lotus of Palo Alto, Ca., back in 1977. It had a scuba tank, drivers seat, and a steering wheel. Can’t wait to see you get yours on the road! 👍🏻
The Rover k series in your Espirit is used by Chinese MG in 2 litre efi, with variable valve timing and oh yeah twice the horses! I think it can bolt in with the lotus sump and ecu.
That Lotus weighed over 3000 pounds. The weight you spoke of was Lotus first mid-engined car, the Europa @ 1600-1700 pounds
Love the Esprit's from that era. Great find.
You have such a different taste in cars compared to the average car guy. You are all over the map with your cars and I definitely dig it.