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Scott Walker's 1978
Scott Walker from Reigate, Surrey, UK owns a 1978 S1 in Lagoon Blue, with a Brown Marcasite / Mole interior.
Model:
Year: Colour: Interior: Driving Style: Miles per year: 2,000 – 4,000 Owned Since: Purchase from: Serviced at: Other Cars: Previous Lotus': Why an Esprit: Upgrades: To date – nothing. Had a cambelt and all fluids / filters replaced as a precaution and now getting to know the car after many years of storage.
Problems: Info: I saw this on the Lotus Esprit World website in the classified section, and being attracted to the colour, I arranged to see the car.
The car had been originally supplied to Charles Follet in Mayfair, self registered and was therefore most likely a demo. It was nice to see that the car still wore the original "Follet" plates front and back. The car ended up at a used car specialist in Northants, and in October 1979 was registered to it's second owner. I still have the invoice for this which shows the car was sold for £8500. The second owner kept the car until October 2005, but there is a huge file of invoices showing that the car was rebuilt between 1987 and 1989.
The whole exterior was repainted in the original Lagoon Blue, in addition all matt black door trims, all chrome trims and join rubbers were replaced. The wheels were refurbished and fitted with Eagles at each corner. Mechanically, the car was then rebuilt, with new cooling system, new wheel bearings, bushes, dampers, steering rack, exhaust, carbs rebuilt.
The only thing that was left untouched was the interior. The pictures may well show the non - original wheel - which I have and will change. The interior is stripped at the mo, and all the sections finished in original beige mole velour are being replaced by magnoila factory pattern / stitched leather - which just made it as as option on very late S1's. The original Brown Marcasite trim has faded, but is all intact - this I shall re - dye by hand and in situ, before refitting the interior. The exterior is so good that I think that it's worth completing this, but I have spoken to trimmer and we have decided that it must be as it would have been as if it had have been done at Hethel.
Being a late S1 there are subtle differences to my early S1 - the headlamps are twin motors, battery has been moved to the back.
Strangely, the project stopped in 1989 and the car was mothballed until 2005, when it was sold to it's third owner through the local paper! He had the car for two months before I then bought it.
The car has covered 42,000 miles and drives as tightly as a much younger car, thanks to all the work done in the past. Thing I love about it is that every fitting / every fixture looks new. Looking underneath the car, all the nuts and bolts are like new. Plus I love the colour combination.
Since these shots were taken, I have changed the nose badge for the correct one in black and had my graphics chap remake the esprit graphics for the rear filler panels and the nose.
swalker@bellandcolvillplc.co.uk
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