Rebuilding An Extremely Rare 1 Of 15 Lotus Esprit I Salvage Hunters: Classic Cars

[@colingeorge4378]

I owned this Esprit STX596S from around 1985 to 1993. It was my daily driver when it worked, up until the last 3 years when it was put in a garage and left. I sold it when I was moving house as I had no time to work on it. I have two pictures of it in 1985 on Cippenham Green in Slough when it was road worthy. I rebuilt the engine/ gearbox and drive shafts when I first got it and enjoyed driving it, especially round Castle Combe race track when I took it there.

[@Dr.SwinttonEdleyGossier]

My neighbour owned one of these cars when I was a child. Always had a soft spot for them. It's good to see such a respectful restoration. Looks amazing.

[@bradders56]

Quest TV is my favorite channel and this is one example why.Thank you.

[@alexanderstefanov6474]

The best car they've done so far, the DS was good but this esprit is just to die for, I doubt it left the lotus factory as nice as this

[@baysidelad1]

Nope, Fiat 130 Coupe

[@beverleyreid1318]

I went to buy that actual car in 1980. It was dog rough, had a burst exhaust and ran like a bag of nails, it also had overheating issues. The dealer wanted five and a half thousand for it which was almost two years wages for me so I walked away. Delighted to see Matt again and so very pleased to see it restored to better than new. As someone else has said, I would have liked to have seen the other aspects of the restoration, engine, suspension and chassis.

[@Stratoszero]

They were 5 grand for about 25 years!

[@MachineDoctorRen]

Here is the full episode: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y6jMemNop9WjbLM

[@rbev90]

a video of less than ten minutes doesnt give enough justice to the amount of work restoring it

[@tonybosworth5382]

WE HAVE THE 1 OF 4 US SPEC YELLOW AND TARTAN CARS. My dad bought it new in 1977. My brother is now in possession of the car today in Australia. Still left side drive, 100% original and 30,000k’s on it.

[@BarbRebola]

Flying through the Bottoms with Dad and beach boys cassette - remember pinned to the seat and thinking “this is cool” ❤

[@jacquesraymond6892]

Probably better than what it was brand new in 1976. Very nice combination of colors. A real OEUVRE D'ART. Congrate to everyone who worked on that car.

[@mattdelange]

Props to Steve Fulcher for the interior. His dad, Nick, started my S1 interior, and Steve's finishing it up. Mine's also orange, but not original. It's an S1/S2 mongrel a previous owner started. 😆..."Looks like a Scotsman's exploded."

[@russcooke5671]

Are you sure he’s name ain’t spelt Steve VULTURE

[@pip5461]

I'd like to see more of the renovation, as opposed to the beginning and end of the project...!

[@uleertel]

Watch the full episode then😅

[@TheAllyMor]

@@uleertel good point 😂

[@yandman26]

Watch the program then

[@wombat2248]

Funny quick Lotus fact, they used to ‘steal’ and use parts from other existing models on the market. EG , recognise those door handles? - Morris Marina !

[@danielhillier7417]

Almost all companies do this. Diablo VT, Nissan headlights, Mclaren F1 had VW Corrado wing mirrors.

[@Quinndiver]

and also used on the late MGBs

[@kevinseven6633]

And the series 2 Esprits used the rear lights from a Rover SD1.

[@johntate5050]

@@kevinseven6633 Drew's mutton chops belonged to Amos from Emmerdale Farm.

[@jakespeed63]

Outstanding example. Love this no-nonsense program. These chaps have impeccable taste.

[@jwenting]

no Drew, the inside just has a fantastic patina. You love patina.

[@johnwebstet8132]

Loved the TV show Salvage Hunters Ckassic Cars very enjoyable hopefully we can see it again soon!?

[@ianmontgomery7534]

I love how Drew described this vehicle. Considering the state of some of the antiques he buys this wasn't too bad.

[@darrenbrailsford6809]

What a beautiful thing. Absolutely stunning. That is one on the most beautiful cars ever made. Simple and very elegant. I used to have one some years back in white, and oh why word I want another one. Simply stunning. 👍

[@philtucker1224]

Very very nice story and with a lovely ending! Top marks lads! 👍😊🇬🇧

[@pete5534]

I love the way this show is produced.

[@paulwyatt2508]

Some one who lived a mile from where I lived as a child had one the same colour he was allways polishing it great car hope all goes well

[@newtronix]

Love the Morris Marina door handles!

[@philpalmer4877]

Brilliant bringing it back to original state, then back to the showroom for a photo!

[@brendansmith7872]

Drew Pritchard just has the gift of getting these projects right and doesn't mind spending the money for quality craftsmanship and Lotus is great example of perfection 👌

[@christoskyprianides5865]

Unbelievable, amazing. I love classic cars. In my country is not easy to make a proper overhaul. I want to see more detail during the making process.

[@scottyenzo]

Beautiful worth every penny 💯

[@johncrosley1]

I know why Drew Pritchard likes Lotus cars. They’re the only ones in which he doesn’t a booster seat.

[@fivedotsdave9723]

In the description it states that ''Drew takes a risk'' but please don't forget about Paul is the main man really, it's Paul's business and staff who do the work, normally.

[@jeffcondell]

Outstanding job all round!

[@panasonicchrome7915]

This is wild interior back in the day 🤘 Coolest Lotus they ever made 🤘😎

[@billgordon6489]

An object of utter beauty. Love the colour but my favourite is white for obvious reasons though I have to say this is a very close second 👍🏻

[@wallyr.7854]

Absolutely gorgeous 😍, love LOVE classic Lotus cars

[@GTE_Channel]

Esprits with cloth interiors look neat. The leather ones look like a complete mess. I love it.

[@scotthart2]

My absolute favourite car of all time.....beautiful

[@nickthomas181]

I love the colour and that superb interior!

[@mattrooke3210]

Lovely cars when they are well maintained, a nightmare if abused. Memorable drives and rides and getting the spanner’s out in a ‘78 Esprit.

[@MrDDawson]

would have loved to see much more of the work. amazing car.

[@MachineDoctorRen]

The full episode is here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y6jMemNop9WjbLM

[@bsmith8943]

Doing the lords work.

[@stotheh]

Brilliant job. It does look like a wedge of Red Leicester though, in the nicest possible sense!

[@andyday60]

My childhood dream car - and what a stunner!!

[@CherylCold]

Would be great to see the full episode. the S1 really suits orange, just oozes cool.

[@donnakebabmat5413]

The DeLorean had the Esprit windscreen. The Esprit had Leyland door handles. Well, it had lots of borrowed stuff on it. My own JPS had a Mini starter motor. I know where there's another orange one. It's in a hoarder's barn, went to see it 30 odd years ago. I believe it's still there, because all of the other crap piled in front of it is still in place.

[@schmitty1944]

The DeLorean does not use the Esprit windscreen.

[@DrieStone]

I've always loved the simplicity of the S1/S2. I own an S3 turbo, which I also love, but I do think it lost just a little something when they put the extra "bits" on it.

[@armandovalmont9762]

Must have felt like being the total boss owning this car already before it became iconic in the 1977 Bond movie.

[@oohmeconkers1968]

I’d love an esprit.. don’t think I’d fit tho… sat in a few back in the day and had trouble then and I was a slip of a lad with good knees!!

[@timpriddy349]

that color combo is unique

[@deanmouhta]

Excellent. Skilled automotive technicians and some fancy editing to get months of work into 10 minutes. Ta

[@messenger8279]

I knew a bloke who stripped and rebuilt one and it was a total nightmare. Good luck with that.

[@leecollins5479]

cant wait to see this episode!

[@CLR-RealEstate]

Incredible and nicely done!

[@garethmorgan3874]

Think he should stick to old chairs and tables 🤣

[@nectafarious8842]

I bet he does when he sits down...

[@nicholasdavies6264]

Wow ! A beauty!

[@TheJensenInterceptor]

Fantastic - Really really Fantastic

[@jamesdeane6052]

Amazing video well done!

[@antoniojavier4693]

Fine work

[@stuartsmith5308]

I bought an S3 in the 90's, sadly it let me down and i sold it back to the dealer. Very slow, terrible gearbox. But, they do look beautiful.

[@russcooke5671]

A very slow lotus. Mmm. It sounds like there was a problem with the engine. Did you ever have the car dyno tested And did you bring it up with the dealer Also did you not road test it because surely the reason why you bye a lotus is for performance 👌👌👌👌

[@robsawalker]

One of my favourite cars ever - just stunning. Wonder how much it sold for?

[@cray2349]

I think they got 67 or 68K for it on the TV program. It cost them 30K for the car, 16K for the interior and I think 7K for the respray. There must have been some other costs but they didn't tell you that..

[@russcooke5671]

@@cray2349 That much money for an old lotus. I can remember when they were cheap because of the terrible build quality. These old bangers are for show and not to be driven. Give me a Japanese car anytime.

[@Stratoszero]

@@russcooke5671 Do you prefer rust then?

[@russcooke5671]

@@Stratoszero don’t lotus rust then ??

[@Stratoszero]

@@russcooke5671 no not really. Chassis did rust until about 1980 then galvanised after that so nothing apart from brackets and bolts to rot. That rust free body is a big part of the reason why they get a bad rep IMHO. They wear out like anything else but that lovely rust free body can be polished up to look pristine, thus duping the unfamiliar punter into buying a lemon. Then he tells his mates in the pub what shite Lotus are etc etc instead of admitting he's a bit of a tit that gets dazzled by a pretty shape. There's a yellow Esprit like that been polished up and passed on for years, I recognise the reg plate each time its gets advertised after someone should really have scrapped it. The other scenario is that even when they do die the bodyshells sit around forever in front gardens like a bad advert because there's no scrap value in them. I've owned a dozen old Lotus; they were never as bad as everyone made out when compared to their period competition, and after about 1992 they were very well made indeed. The only people who still bang on about how crap they are have never owned one.

[@peterthomason6088]

Im not sure they made a profit on this, I think the buyer was the winner here. It will only ever appreciate

[@SlippingTime]

Great episode. I would love to know what is said about my Esprit in that book. How does one go about getting that info? Thanks so much for putting this episode together and sharing with us. More to come hopefully.

[@w4vy]

Contact lotus ?

[@bugsbacon3025]

This is just a starter for 10. Please release the full restoration.

[@jonathancollard3710]

It’s making my late model V8-Gt I recently bought look like very good value….. 🤨 But being serious…good job guys. Keep up this great work of restoring classics 👍🏻👍🏻

[@ro63rto]

Drew, stick to running your appointment only furniture shop and leave the cars to people that actually know about them.

[@guyforlogos]

It’s to bad the Lotus sign was missing from the building :( it would of made a great before after shot!

[@johntate5050]

'Too' bad, not 'to' bad.

[@guyforlogos]

@@johntate5050 wow, tanks teecher, so gladd U spent 10 munths certching the enter net tooo chek speling onn not a test. Dueshebag.

[@johntate5050]

It's basic grammar. You should have mastered it in infant class.

[@guyforlogos]

It’s KZbin not the SAT’s. Besides you, nobody gives a flying f**k. Keep that crap tooooooooo yourself jonnybe…. a goodie effing two shoe.

[@roasthunter]

And it's barely turned a wheel since being restored, 13 miles between July 21 and 22, probably the drive to the MOT station and mileage 75624 at last MOT in July 22 a few hundred more than this video, currently MOT expired as of the end of July 23. Shame when cars get restored and then barely used, cars are made for driving!

[@grahambaynham745]

Yes back to the original spec, with no wild Pritchard idea's, nice job ,

[@poorlifetv3452]

Wow ,I love 🚗

[@andrewmarsden1970]

Brilliant.

[@Trickey1]

Is there a more in depth video showing the engine etc ?

[@bumfluffmcregor3730]

This episode should have been called drew gets bumped makes a change from him bumping people selling a crusty old lamp for a grand

[@nathanthomas8184]

11 out of 10 - drinks all round

[@PhilPace94]

I was expecting him to paint it black

[@r.p.3192]

I owned 2 Esprits. An early rhd S1 and a lhd S2.2. You must be a brave man to drive an early Esprit daily, but hey, I did it! Even in the snow! When I turn 60 I’ll buy myself another S1 for retirement. My former ones did not survive my divorce…

[@Omegaman1969]

I had the same, a Red S1 and a Silver S2...........I bought myself a white S1 about 4 years ago and should be able to take it for it's first drive in 30 years today......fingers crossed lol

[@DrewDienno]

they cut out so much of the interesting restoration part

[@mickthemonkey]

Same as a Countach, looks best in it's original form. Love the silly interior, maybe not £16k worth though.

[@baysidelad1]

maybe not???? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Absolute rip off merchant

[@craigschulz1852]

Give Elon Musk a call. He has the Lotus from the Bond movie. Yes , that car!. He bought it from a guy who got very very lucky after finding it in a storage locker.

[@russcooke5671]

16 grand for the interior it’s not even leather . You should stick to Old furniture 16. Thousand pounds. How many hours Labour that’s 320 per hour for 200 hours. Mmmmm

[@charlesjohnstone7924]

Check your arithmetic...

[@russcooke5671]

@@charlesjohnstone7924 your right Charles I am way out. I never was any good at maths. I was a slow starter at school and never caught up. In fact One day the teacher sad to me today’s letter is P. So tell me something your not good at beginning with the letter P. So I said spelling miss. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿❤️👌

[@cmac2243]

Fantastic 👍

[@adamjames3985]

Why is this episode not on discovery +

[@garymcgregor7048]

When's it on TV

[@SajidHussain-lj5mr]

Wery nise koloured kar 👍

[@drewzfoster]

I felt like was watching an ancestry show when he was looking at the lotus build book.

[@michelececcon]

Alla fine quanto è costato questo restauro ? E a quanto l’hanno venduta ?

[@miguelangelmendoza1643]

excellent perfect

[@emilyloveoriginal]

WoW, WoW WoW from #EmilyLoveTheOriginal Incredible work !

[@keijojsalmela]

Yes, love it. ❤😅

[@ingvarhallstrom2306]

So, what was the total cost?

[@xbioman7882]

In about 1978 I had a chance to buy such a Lotus Espirit. When I got on the lot the salesperson wanted $25K. When I left she was down to $17K. The car was BRG as I remember, but the tartan interior turned me completely off. I just could not see paying so much money (lots for the time) and hating the interior.

[@lotusman1974]

Very nice restoration of at least the interior and exterior of this Lotus. I am alway shocked at how badly people take care of older Lotus's. Incredibly bad condition for many. The original tree that they took both pictures near is actually looking rather poorly and i would day is actually dying. This Esprit is an old car.

[@mariaarthur6868]

Wasn't this guy dealing in antigues...... nd now cars...

[@shawtravis7384]

LOTUS = Lots Of Trouble, Usually Serious

[@ronniebrown806]

Whow!🤩

[@growjunkieradio]

GoodVibes

[@pltopper771]

Miss Moneypitt

[@alanstanley9465]

How much was the total cost and how much did they sell it for ?

[@Omegaman1969]

Must have been 15k for the body work , 10k engine, 16k interior.....probably another 10k in bits and bobs.....That's 51 plus the purchase price of 28. I doubt it would fetch more that 70.

[@russcooke5671]

@@Omegaman1969 16 grand for the interior seems crazy 16 grand. Why. ???

[@Omegaman1969]

@@russcooke5671 Everything is overpriced these days.......I agree it's silly but good upholsters are very hard to find. I had a 911 interior done which came out very well and was leather...that cost 6k.

[@russcooke5671]

@@Omegaman1969 exactly what iam saying. 16 grand for a cloth interior. I think he said it for a joke and drew thought he meant it and said yes straight away. No negotiation like he does usually He know the cost of restoring fabric furniture and there’s not a lot of difference. So I think the quote was intentionaly high thinking Drew was going to say your joking and offer him half and I should think that’s nearer to the true cost. But what do I know. I am just an average run of the mill Brain surgeon. Not bragging.

[@Omegaman1969]

@@russcooke5671 No seriously that is about right, that guy is the only person with the correct material for the Esprit....I have an S1.

[@ronwade2206]

A Volvo P1800 is much more fun to drive, we had one customer with one of these things and the just didn't drive that well and, these are a monster to work on mechanically!

[@jimmcleskey4927]

I love Esprits and I have an S1. Unfortunately, mine was painted and the interior was redone in non-original colors), buy it runs and drives. I cannot imagine someone would give me $37.7k for it. Does an S1 Esprit shell that needs a new roof really cost £28.5k in the UK?

[@FridgeProductionsLtd]

Yes, as they’re rare and have been rising in desirability.

[@jergervasi3331]

I love Esprits as much as anyone, but... the economics of this build are completely befuddling me. What was the total spend? How was it not a massive loss? Just the 28,500 buy price ALONE...

[@SHERMA.]

he never actually bought it its all just pretend they will of approached the people renovating the car and asked them to play along as if they are doing it

[@russcooke5671]

@@SHERMA. really ??? THATS really naughty. It’s just not cricket. Well I am shocked and amazed in equal measure. By Jove what is is coming to when you can’t trust a second hand car dealer and a second hand furniture dealer two trades that I’ve all thought were upstanding pillers of the community. By Jove old bean they both deserve a bloody good trouncing My god I need a stiff drink to calm my nerves.

[@russcooke5671]

@@SHERMA. your talking bollox. Just saying

[@asennad]

I have a 1983 S3 Esprit. To hear them quote 16,000 £ (!) for an interior is insane. Mines been redone in real leather and it wasn't close to that.

[@TroyHR123]

Classic Car auctions recently sold a nearly identical spec factory fresh rebuilt 1977 LOTUS ESPRIT S1 27000 miles car for £59k. This car has 75000 miles on it and given the £16k interior, extensive body work/ full respray presumably the mechanicals were shot to bits (were'nt told if anything was done on that front); your right there is no way this build came even close to breakeven.

[@bumfluffmcregor3730]

Drew got his eyes ripped out 16000 for the interior what a mug

[@garrywitcomb2334]

This is not a car programme . . . It's a wim for Drew . . . Stick to Country Houses chap 😤

[@mctend9108]

I don't know what 'wim' means, but I'm sure I agree. What a pompous guy. 😖

[@bocomoto]

Yea,.. but what about the ‘meat and potatoes’ of the car,...like the Engine and really important mechanicals??!!!

[@buzzcrushtrendkill]

Interior and body, spot on. But not a second of the engine running or it moving under its own power...hmm...

[@ВиРе-н2ю]

Similar to Maserati Khamsin?