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Junkyard Find: 1978 Lotus Esprit

by Murilee Martin
(IC: employee)
September 11th, 2012 9:00 AM
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In all my years of crawling around in high-turnover self-service wrecking yards, not to mention old-timey slow-turnover wrecking yards, this is the first Lotus I’ve found. And it’s not just some boring Eclat— it’s a genuine mid-engined Elite! Granted, it’s been picked over pretty thoroughly…

Someone with a Sawzall got most of the fiberglass body, but you can see hints of Lotus-ness here and there.

Thanks to all the valueless Jensen-Healeys out there, the Lotus 907 engine isn’t difficult to find these days. However, the transaxle in this car might be worth pulling.

Veglia gauges with what I assume are Lucas Electrics components— such a reliable combination!

















#1970s
#1978
#1978LotusEsprit
#BritishSportsCars
#California
#DownOnTheJunkyard
#Esprit
#Junkyard
#JunkyardFind
#Lotus
#Malaise
#MalaiseEra
#LotusEsprit
Published September 11th, 2012 9:00 AM
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I'll get me mechanic, Ed, to work on the oily bits straight away.
I wonder if the chassis is salvageable and restorable. If it is, this car would be a perfect candidate for custom coachwork.