It's Just Like Christmas

I use a number of sources for parts, some more reliable than others. It really helps to get familiar with all of the Lotus Esprit parts manuals that are available out there for this kind of conversion. I have a couple of 80-87 manuals - one for UK cars and one for US cars. I also have PDF files of most of the other parts manuals, such as the S1 and S2 models, 88-92, 93-95, and 96-97 vintages. These can be had from various sources, such as Lotus Esprit World (you have to join Club Lotus to get access), individual websites where owners have scanned in copies of their manuals and making them available online, RD Enterprises has a website with the S1/S2 guides, and some people sell bootleg copies on CD, usually on eBay.

One problem with these electronic manuals is that most are graphical scans - they can't be searched for text, so finding part numbers is a real pain. Some are secure files, which means I can't use Adobe Professional to convert them to searchable PDFs, others are low-resolution scans, so even if they can be converted, the results aren't that great. So, as part of this project, I have created a spreadsheet that contains all of the parts manuals that I have managed to glom onto. It has taken about 3 months of evenings and weekends to transpose everything into Excel. I'm just about done, with some updates for the 80-87 turbo manual, and LEW has a 96-04 book that I need to compare against the 96-97 V8 book I've already converted, plus an S3 book I have on the way from the UK. Oh - and a lot of proofreading to make sure I haven't made any mistakes. I have taken some liberty with the formats of the manuals to fit them into a common table structure and I've tried to improve the consistency of part names and abbreviations used. The result is I now have a searchable list of a whole bunch of Esprit part numbers. What is missing, and what I will be working on in my spare time, is a parts chronology - a "horizontal" list of part numbers by section that shows when parts were added, deleted, and modified. There appears to be enough information in the parts manuals to take a good swipe at it. The problem so far has been trying to come up with a format that works.

The work has paid off, as I can now piece together all of the individual parts I need to glue everything together. More importantly, I know what I don't need to buy, so I can avoid jumping on a "rare" part that "might" be necessary. I can also understand the differences between various vintages of parts like wiring harnesses, fuel tanks, shift mechanisms, and other systems that are specific to model years. I'm counting on it to reduce the amount of wasted expense and the amount of rework I'll need to do on the parts I use.

Speaking of the parts I use, they are starting to arrive. There have been a couple of opportunities that have been too good to pass up that are stretching the budget a bit. Fortunately, my wife is a darned good banker, with flexible loan terms. The biggest source so far has been the Lotus Aftersales list. Lotus in the UK has been having garage sales for all kinds of parts for most of the road cars they have produced over the years. There are some Really Good Deals on this list, especially now that the dollar is stronger. Lotus opens up the factory for a day or two to punters, who pick through the parts and purchase what they need. For those of us unable to get to the factory, we can order parts through a Lotus dealer in the UK. I have been using Bell & Colvill. I send them a list and a credit card number, and Andy boxes everything up and ships it overseas. The first order arrived a few weeks ago, and I have another one in the works. I have found brakes, cooling system parts, wiring harnesses, ductwork, and shifter parts that are brand new for much less than retail. The wiring harnesses are a particularly good find, as I couldn't get the connectors and wires to make the harnesses for the price of the Lotus factory part.

Another great source of parts lately has been Martin Creech at SGT, also in the UK. They have recently announced a 75% off sale on some of their Lotus parts inventory. They have filled in some gaps in ductwork, clutch parts, and other bits and bobs, again new parts at good prices - even when shipping is added.

Other parts are coming from individuals parting out cars all over the world. I find out about these through the various forums out there that support Esprits. The hard part about this method is that in many cases, the owners of the parts don't set prices - they want the buyer to name a price and the negotiation starts from there. Sometimes, the price I pitch is apparently insulting, and that's the last I hear from them. Frustrating. Other times, deals can be worked out where everybody is happy. eBay seems to be the easiest route, because the market is a little more open, and the prices paid are set competitively - for the most part.

JAE is my preferred source for all things consumable, like hoses, suspension bushings, rebuild kits, gaskets, bearings, and brake parts. Jeff is an incredibly knowledgeable resoure, and he has the connections to find parts that are a little harder to find, like brand new hi-torque UN-1 gearboxes. He is a living encyclopedia on Esprit parts and has helped me figure out which routes to take when options arise. I wouldn't be able to do this without his help.