Esprit Owners

Tony Krncevic's 1977

Tony Krncevic from Toledo, US, owns a 1977 Esprit S1 in Red, with a Black interior.

Model:
S1

Year: 1977

Colour: Red

Interior: Black

Driving Style: Normal

Miles per year: 1,000 – 2,000

Owned Since: 1999

Purchase from: Private Sale

Serviced at: R.D. Enterprises, JAE, Tingle's for parts. Service myself.

Other Cars: Another 1977 S1, and a 1985 Porsche 944

Previous Lotus': These are my first two

Why an Esprit: I have always wanted one, as long as I can remember. When I was very young, I was thrilled by seeing the white car in the movie. When I was in elementary school, I was excited by its looks and performance. When I was in high school, I was intrigued by the car's reputation for handling and speed, as well as Lotus' maxim for light weight and their ability to squeeze so much power out of a four. When I was in college I decided I had to have one, and two years after I graduated I bought one.

Upgrades: The red S1 has Dellorto carbs to replace the Federal-spec Zenith-stromberg carbs. It also has Lumenition electronic ignition. Chunky U.S. bumpers have been replaced by genuine original Lotus UK/RoW units.
This car is incredibly original and stock, down to things like the battery tray, mirrors, and a new-old-stock Lotus exhaust. The engine has been replaced and rebuilt, and a lot of small parts have been replaced over the years due to maintenance, but I have strived to keep this car as close to "as it left the factory" as I can, save for the carbs and bumpers, which are arguably more proper.
One notable upgrade is to the cooling fan wiring, which now has each fan on its own fuse/relay and the otter switch not carrying the load.
The car was repainted 15-20 years ago, and portions of the interior were retrimmed.

Problems: Right now, no problems!
Past problems overcome include loss of oil pressure from faulty cam cover gasket (resulting in engine rebuild), stripped gear on single headlight motor (rebuilt the motor), the usual motor mount replacements, realignment of sagging driver's door, replaced a couple of cooling fan motors, rebuilt timing belt tensioner . . . that's all I can think of right now, but there's a LOT more.
Prior to my ownership, the timing belt jumped twice, each time with a different owner.

Info: See below

I have owned the car since 22,108 miles; as of this writing, it now has 34,000. I have done a lot of events with this car, but two are worth mentioning:

G-man being interviewed near the display of his work.

In July of 2001, I was fortunate to meet Giorgetto Giugiaro at an event in Detroit where he was honored with a lifetime achievemant award as a designer. My car was part of a display of his work, and, serving as exemplary of the Esprit, was judged the best of his exterior designs by a panel of automotive designers and professionals. Even better, Mr. G. was kind enough to *autograph* my Esprit. He signed it inside the front compartment, on the smooth open area of the left wheelarch. As far as I know, I have the only "signed copy" of this magnificent work of art!

2001, Detroit, Michigan - Giugiaro looks on as the car is up on the award podium. G-man signs the car earlier in the day

More recently, June 2006, this S1 was displayed in the Ault Park Concours in Cincinnati, where it received an "Award of Distinction". Ault Park is one of the major Concours d'Elegance in the U.S., and this kind of exposure shows the growing appreciation in the States for the Esprit as a significant (and classic) automobile.

One last bit (for now): I enjoy my S1 and am not afraid to drive it. Recently, I completed over 700 miles in one weekend on a trip that included the USGP. My record trip in this car is 1250 miles from Cleveland to Miami, in October of 2001.
Web site for both of my Esprits: www.geocities.com/racing_nut_1/lotus.html

June 2000 Cleveland, Ohio at DeLorean Car Show – June 2001 Cleveland, Ohio at Wildwood State Park

January 2006 Toledo, Ohio at Murphy's Jazz club (no salt on roads!) – July 2006 en route to F1 race -- this was part of the recent 700+ mile trip

October 2005 - at my friend's shop when we were preparing to put the new engine in. I am the one in the plaid shirt and old blue jeans
June 2006 at Ault park. This is the engine that was put in the car in October. Fantastic engine.

June 2006 Ault Park Concours in Cincinnati

racing_nut_1@yahoo.com

Model:	S1
Year:	1977
Colour:	Red
Interior:	Black
Driving Style:	Normal
Miles per year:	1,000 – 2,000
Owned Since:	1999
Purchase from:	Private Sale
Serviced at:	R.D. Enterprises, JAE, Tingle's for parts. Service myself.
Other Cars:	Another 1977 S1, and a 1985 Porsche 944
Previous Lotus':	These are my first two
Why an Esprit:	I have always wanted one, as long as I can remember. When I was very young, I was thrilled by seeing the white car in the movie. When I was in elementary school, I was excited by its looks and performance. When I was in high school, I was intrigued by the car's reputation for handling and speed, as well as Lotus' maxim for light weight and their ability to squeeze so much power out of a four. When I was in college I decided I had to have one, and two years after I graduated I bought one.
Upgrades:	The red S1 has Dellorto carbs to replace the Federal-spec Zenith-stromberg carbs. It also has Lumenition electronic ignition. Chunky U.S. bumpers have been replaced by genuine original Lotus UK/RoW units. This car is incredibly original and stock, down to things like the battery tray, mirrors, and a new-old-stock Lotus exhaust. The engine has been replaced and rebuilt, and a lot of small parts have been replaced over the years due to maintenance, but I have strived to keep this car as close to "as it left the factory" as I can, save for the carbs and bumpers, which are arguably more proper. One notable upgrade is to the cooling fan wiring, which now has each fan on its own fuse/relay and the otter switch not carrying the load. The car was repainted 15-20 years ago, and portions of the interior were retrimmed.
Problems:	Right now, no problems! Past problems overcome include loss of oil pressure from faulty cam cover gasket (resulting in engine rebuild), stripped gear on single headlight motor (rebuilt the motor), the usual motor mount replacements, realignment of sagging driver's door, replaced a couple of cooling fan motors, rebuilt timing belt tensioner . . . that's all I can think of right now, but there's a LOT more. Prior to my ownership, the timing belt jumped twice, each time with a different owner.
Info:	See below