---
title: 'Here’s Why You Should Never Buy a Cheap Lotus Esprit V8 Supercar (Broken for 6 Months)'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=19Ze06onZ6E'
video_id: '19Ze06onZ6E'
date: 2026-07-01
duration_sec: 1468
---

# Here’s Why You Should Never Buy a Cheap Lotus Esprit V8 Supercar (Broken for 6 Months)

> Source: [Here’s Why You Should Never Buy a Cheap Lotus Esprit V8 Supercar (Broken for 6 Months)](https://youtube.com/watch?v=19Ze06onZ6E)

## Summary



## Transcript

Looks like I'm here just in time for you
guys to mate.
>> Yes, we're about to put it in.
>> Wonderful.
>> I don't know about that.
>> It's been a long time coming, you two.
>> It has been this one. This one lasts an
extra long time.
>> Welcome to Hooies Garage, the dumbest
automo channel in all of YouTube. And 6
months ago, I bought a supercar that I
haven't been able to enjoy. The Lotus
Aspree burst onto the scene in the 1970s
and was made famous immediately in a
James Bond filmed as a submarine. And as
the 80s went on and into the early 90s,
it continued to be a popular car, seen
in a lot of film and television, Basic
Instinct, for example. But then it sort
of fell off the radar. People forgot the
Lotus Aspree existed, especially the
final iteration, which I think is the
best, the Aspree V8. updated styling and
updated performance with a twin turbo
flat plane crank V8 with 350 horsepower.
Manual transmission, amazing looks, and
price-wise, since they're forgotten
supercars, they sell for around 10 to
20% of a Lamborghini Countage or Diablo.
And that made no sense to me. Well, that
is until I bought one at auction for
$40,000 and discovered, well, it had a
lot of issues. The worst one, a
crunching transmission.
So, the entire drivetrain had to come
out so the transmission could get
rebuilt. But in this video today, the
Lotus engine is going back in.
Everything's get hooked up and hopefully
everything will work and I can drive it
home. That's that's a big hopefully
because it is a Lotus. In a previous
life, I was sitting on tons of staff
meetings in stores all over the country,
hiring hundreds of employees, and I
really wish I had a second brain that
paid attention to everything as there
was always something that slipped
through the cracks. What I needed was
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Looks like I'm here just in time for you
guys to mate.
>> Yes, we're about to put it in.
>> Wonderful.
>> I don't know about that.
>> It's been a long time coming, you two.
>> Yeah,
>> it has been. This one, this one lasts an
extra long time,
>> I suppose. So, the transmission is back
and it's been freshly rebuilt along with
everything else. And I guess this is the
way it goes in, correct? There. And in.
And
>> yeah, actually, I'm going to remove this
glass. I don't really want that to get
broken.
>> That's a good idea. It took a lot for me
to find that glass.
>> Let me get this out of the way so we
don't accidentally hurt this thing.
>> Sounds good. So, you can put it in the
back of my Dakota. Maybe that'd be a
good spot.
>> Yeah. So, Daniel, I know saying the
timing was a little bit of a thing,
right?
>> Uh, yeah. Thankfully, with all the stuff
that was supplied by the I guess the
people who were uh rebuilt the
transmission, it was so much easier.
They supplied all the
>> Oh,
that's that's not a top.
>> No,
>> that's not a top.
>> What? That actually was an old lens from
your Beck Spider you used to have.
The pranks keep coming.
>> I'm not cleaning that up.
>> You thought you just broke an unoptanium
piece of glass, right?
>> Um Wow. Okay.
>> Did your heart sink?
>> Yeah, that was not nice of you. That was
That was not nice at all. Well, okay. Um
well, now that that's uh Yeah, we we've
uh muzzles hopped that, I guess, we can
uh get the engine in, huh? Yes.
>> All right. Well, who's doing the pushing
and who's doing the receiving of this
injury?
>> I can probably do the pushing and
Danielson can do the aligning and the uh
insertion.
>> Wonderful. All right. Well, let's let's
hit it. Everybody puckered. Yes. This is
This is the puckering moment when
>> the irreplaceable engine goes up very
high and something Wizard bought at a
shop with something Wizard bought at a
swap meet for 50 bucks.
>> Yeah. But it's been a trooper. It's
lasted years and it's had never had any
issue.
>> This thing could lift a truck easily.
>> Yeah, it could.
>> Famous last words with this 9-year-old
hydraulic press.
>> The shaft lubed.
>> It seems to be.
>> We are in quite a mood today, aren't we?
>> Goodness.
>> Flat plane crank twin turbo excellence.
>> Straighten it out there. With about
4,000 in new parts and about $4,000 in a
rebuilt transmission
going back in. We're all so quiet.
>> Should I break some more glass? No.
>> Slow down. Slow down. You're going too
fast.
>> Okay, it's stopped.
>> Let's see.
>> If people are just listening to this
instead of watching it, they're
>> It's an ASMR radio show.
>> No, no, no, no, no. Sounds like
something else.
>> Yeah, I think it'll clear it. See what
you got up front.
doesn't have much.
>> Let's see.
>> It's gotten tighter here.
>> But that's that's plenty of room,
actually.
>> Mhm.
>> Okay. Weather. Um I guess I can only
reach.
>> Do you want me to crank it?
>> I can crank.
>> Oh, there's I'm stepping on glass.
>> Which which way do I crank?
As soon as you start cranking on low
>> the other way,
>> of course.
Looks like some hoses or I don't know if
it's catching over there.
>> It's okay. They're tied out of the way
and zip tied out of the way.
>> The hoses are
>> Oh, right up here. These are This is
wiring.
>> Yeah,
>> they even cut it out here. They really
did make this very easy.
>> I feel like the engine got smaller for
some reason. It was just it was a lot
easier to install than to remove.
>> But even the removal was pretty easy.
>> Removal was easy. Like I did on my
video. This is like one of the easiest
engine outs we've ever done
>> on any car.
>> So that lower your estimate from the
office visit.
>> No.
>> That was a very serious no.
>> Ready?
>> Yeah.
>> There we go.
>> She's in.
>> It's mated.
>> Oh my god. It's in.
We have mated.
I feel much closer to you all now. Much
closer.
>> Even after I broke glass and made you
shhat yourself,
>> it it enhanced the experience, I guess.
>> Yeah, I guess so.
>> Wonderful.
>> Adrenaline. Yeah.
>> Yes. Well, I guess I'll leave you to it,
Daniel. As far as getting everything
hooked up, back together. Let me know
when you're about to fire it up. So,
it's been about 2 months since the
engine slid back into the Lotus, and
I've been waiting very patiently for
progress, and it's finally happened. The
car is running apparently. Danielson has
everything all hooked up and going. So,
we're going to head to the car wizards
in a little bit except he's not there
actually. He's in New Mexico. We'll go
with Daniel and take it for its first
drive. But speaking of turninium turbo
goodness here, look at this Fast and
Furious crazy thing that April just got.
1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse. It's her latest
project. She documented on her channel
and I got to say it is so ridiculous and
cool. I picked it up for 4,500 bucks.
And the good part is the chassis itself,
less than 100,000 mi on it. 97,000 mi.
Look at this interior with that pattern.
It's the '90s were something else. And
the other good news about this thing is
a very nice body. It sat outside for a
long time, so the original paint has
faded, but there's no rust anywhere on
this car. You walk around it, that crazy
spoiler, kind of like the Lotus, it's uh
it's just so goofy looking. And of
course, the first Fast and Furious film,
you know, they had the floor fall out of
it, the nitrous exploded, all that
stuff. It's very stupid, but these are
pretty interesting tuner cars. And the
previous owner, he was a huge enthusiast
and did some things. You can see that
hole there. Take a look at this $4,000
car, but over eight grand into the
motor. So, the pretty purple valve
cover. Of course, that's a boy racer
thing to do along with the clear uh
timing belt cover. But it does have
built internals, a lot of stuff to where
on the right fuel, it can have over 500
horsepower. Currently, it's somewhere in
the mid-300s, which this one is a
front-wheel drive. It's not a GSX
all-wheel drive. So, that really is all
you want on pump gas. And uh it is it is
pretty silly. But then when it hits that
blowoff valve, it comes out of the hood
and makes just such stupid silly noises.
Now, clearly it needs some sorting, but
there's the turbo there. This intake, it
doesn't do anything. None of this stuff
is is hooked up except for that horrible
air intake. So, it needs a different
intake. I would love for this to be
routed somewhere else rather than out
the hood, but April is totally in love
with it. Uh, so most of the issues,
unlike the Lotus, are cosmetic. It runs
great. It shifts well. So, really, it
just needs to look as good as it drives.
And that door handle on the outside
doesn't really work. It's just so crazy
that we found one of these just in our
backyard less than an hour away.
Yeah,
it is full out hooptie, but it's a it's
a really cool hooptie. April's always
been drawn to the Eclipse, not because
of the Fast and Furious film or she's
much of a tuner person. She just thought
they looked cool when she was a teen.
This was the car that she wanted for her
first car. She didn't get it. She got a
fourth gen Camaro, which still a pretty
cool car,
but she also wanted something to really
perfect her stick driving skills cuz the
occasional lesson here and there
wasn't giving her, you know, the
confidence she needs, especially to
drive other people's cars for car
reviews. So, she really wanted a stick
shift car that she didn't have to worry
about as much to learn. And this one,
well, pretty easy clutch, easy
transmission, and then you get on it.
It's goofy. It is so goofy. It's
probably almost as fast as the Lot is,
too. But the nice thing is, uh, the
gears don't crunch. So, that that
shouldn't be the case on mine, either.
But here, I'll slow roll into third
here. That turbo kicks in.
The noises, the noises are just just
awesome on this thing. Oh, so
this car is so much fun for $4,500.
That's how much I spent just rebuilding
the transmission on the Lotus. So that's
what I tell. I mean, you can have so
much fun with period hoopties that are
tuner cars that were enthusiast cars in
their day and you drive this car and
people still go, "Wo, it's an Eclipse
because you never see them on the road
anymore and they're not worth all that
much." You can definitely find a cool
car that turns heads for not a lot of
money with a paint job on this thing.
It's going to be really, really cool.
But for now, it's just going to be a
beater. Okay, one more time. One more
pull. Go, go, go. Here comes that late
burst.
The torque steer also.
Oh man,
this this thing's great. It's good out
of the box, unlike the Lotus. But
actually, there is some more good news
at the house. I have sold two more cars.
One of them I wasn't even trying to
sell. And the other one, well, I thought
it was completely unsellable, but turns
out somebody wants it. This Porsche 911,
it is officially sold. I got $19,000 for
this thing. One of the backup buyers on
Cars and Bids pulled the trigger and the
money is in the bank. It's in the bank.
It's in the bank. Yes. And also, I had
an interested buyer here on the Ford
pickup truck, which Magic Mike is
working on because it's been sitting in
here for literally a year, not moving,
>> of course.
>> And step one was the battery. It was uh
completely dead.
>> Yeah.
>> But with my jump pack, it just wasn't
enough to get it going. I'm also worried
it was out of gas, so I put some gas in
it. But
>> perfect timing. you know, working on
cars and filming and talking, you know,
it's it's it's not easy, is it?
>> It's not as easy as everybody seems to
think it is at home,
>> especially in a swamp where it just
rained and so all the water collects in
here and Yeah, it's
>> and I just get to sweat through it,
right?
>> We sweat it out.
>> All right. Yeah, you're at full blossom
in your blouse there, as the people like
to say in the comments.
>> It's a hot one today. Yeah, I'm feeling
it.
>> All right, so the batteries hooked up.
Yeah, we're getting
>> We'll see after almost a year. So, I
brought these chairs out. I borrowed
them from my parents for my wedding,
which was a year and a a year and 10
days ago.
>> Yeah.
>> And I was supposed to go return them a
year ago. They're patio furniture. So,
I'll take put them in the truck and I'll
bring them over to them. That that's
>> always on the ball.
>> So, I bought this 72 Ford and this is
the trim package Ranger XLT because it's
the fancy one shortly after I got the
farm and it was cool to have this old
farm truck here and it is a really neat
spec. 390 V8 under the hood. And it has
the fancy interior as well. Kind of the
'7s fancy grandmother's couch here
material. That nice pattern there. Air
conditioning, faux wood trim, carpet.
This was the luxury truck in 1972 and a
camper special. So you could put, you
know, camper shell in the back and go
out into the woods or keep your parents
patio furniture for years. But anyway,
how's it looking? You see, we're getting
there. I quit dropping stuff, so I'm
making better progress.
>> There's that gigantic AC compressor.
It's kind of dark in here. And the hood
won't open all the way because I pulled
it too far in to this 70-year-old
Leanto.
>> Quite a departure from the Lotus, but
this thing only had two owners for the
last 50 years and just so much
preservation with it. You can see
somebody was doing their oil change
intervals up here in the 80s and 90s,
and they were printing it off up there
just to keep a record of it. So, let's
see. What's the last one? 1995 at 64,000
miles and it is currently at 96,000
miles. So, it was used quite a bit, but
I don't think it's turned over to
196,000 mi based on the condition.
Let's see. See if the radio turns on.
Electrocute magic mic here.
Yep,
that's working on here.
What?
What?
I'm not exaggerating when I said it was
a year.
It's been a It's been a year. It's been
sitting for a year and it starts right
up. That's pretty impressive.
And we're charging the battery. We're up
at like 139.
They they just they don't make them like
they used to.
>> Not like this.
>> This is stupid. Okay, let's see if the
AC still works cuz it's going to
still blowing cold.
>> Yeah,
that's wild.
That's nice. That's nice.
Her first trip into the sun
in a year.
There we go. I made it into a barn find,
Michael.
>> You know, all that barn dust kind of
makes things sell for more, you know.
>> Adds a patina to it.
>> Look at that. Now I don't want to sell
it.
I mean, 8,500 bucks. And I mean, I I it
hasn't moved in a year, so I should let
somebody use it that actually wants it,
right? I mean, that's what a smart
businessman would do, but
>> Well, first I need to return the patio
furniture and and then and then I'll go
up to the car wizards cuz I think the
Lotus Yeah, the Lotus is driving.
>> I'd say that's a good call. Yeah.
>> Okay. All right. Sorry, Mom and Dad. Off
we go with a very, very dusty windshield
with cat paw prints, but it's driving
really nice. It's It's like I started it
last week instead of last year. This is
pretty impressive. They really don't
make them like they used to. I can't
think of any other way to segue other
than the Lotus don't make them like they
used to either, I guess, with this V8.
This analog old school feeling. But as
much as I like this truck, I'm okay with
letting it go because I have not been
using it. If it hasn't moved in a year,
that's insane. Needs to go to somebody
who would really appreciate it. And
actually, this person emailed me, he's a
viewer. This is his dream truck. This is
an end- all beall toy dream truck. So, I
know it'll be loved and cherished. So, I
guess if he falls through, I'll be happy
to let it go. If he doesn't fall
through, then I'll hang on to it. It's
kind of silly because I have four
trucks, the Lightning, the two
Escalades, and then the Dodge Dakota,
which is a good beater truck to have
around. So, I don't know, but it's
pretty fun to have this thing out. Every
time I drive it, I just have a smile on
my face the whole time. Hopefully,
that's the case with the Lotus. I'm
smiling the whole time when I drive it.
So, finally, let's head back up to the
Car Wizards, but he's not there. He's in
New Mexico. So, it's Daniel's son. He'll
be checking it out with me. He did most
of the work anyway. Okay. This is a long
time coming. Almost 6 months. Daniel,
son,
>> has it been that long?
>> It's I got this thing in January. It's
It's June. Yeah. Every bit of five
months on this thing. So, it's in.
>> Yes.
>> It's bolted up.
>> Yes.
>> It's plumbed.
>> Yes.
>> Does it run?
>> It does run. Does run very well.
>> Well, okay. Can I Can you start it?
>> Well, do you want to start it?
>> Okay. Yes, I'll start it. Yep. I'll hold
the door for you.
>> You know, it's nice that it's lifted
somewhat to where entry is easier. Okay.
And we have a top. That's great.
That's much better than some Lexan and
blue painters tape.
All right.
>> You got to remember the uh
>> Oh, the immobilizer.
>> The immobilizer. Yes.
>> It's been so long. Jeez. All right. I've
forgotten where it's in the center
console.
>> Uhoh.
>> Behind the shifter. Oh, the dumbest
start sequence ever.
>> You got to wait until it clicks.
>> Yep. Click.
And then
yes.
Okay.
So, some new timing belts in that. New
timing belts.
>> The engine always ran well. It was the
transmission that was the problem. So, I
guess we're up in the air. I can put it
in gear, right?
Yeah.
>> I can barely hear you over the loud
exhaust.
>> Oh, she rolling. She's rolling.
Nice.
There we go.
Yeah, when it warmed up that one to two,
that feels smooth.
Whoa.
Okay.
Okay. But it's Hubie's garage, so
there's got to be bad news. There is bad
news.
>> Do I need to get out for the bad news?
>> Uh, yes.
>> The Wizards in New Mexico to miss this
momentous occasion, unfortunately. And
it's his last trip down there before he
comes back and moves forever. It's It's
so sad. Okay.
>> Okay. So, you want me to tell you or you
want me to show you?
>> I guess show show me.
>> So, if you look in here, right by the
oil filter.
>> Yeah.
>> Look at it.
Did Did you goop it up?
>> I did just to try to stop it until we
can fix it. But as you can see, it
doesn't work.
>> So that's the oil cooler that is
actively leaking oil.
>> Yes.
>> And where does this oil cooler go?
>> So these lines, if you follow them, they
go right here through this tunnel, which
this is not removable, and go all the
way here, and they split off to two
individual coolers, one here and one on
the other side, which the lines are also
leaking from there. just not as bad.
>> And that's all one piece.
>> It's all Well, there's two hoses, but
technically yeah.
>> Okay. But like there's not a hard metal
line in the middle. It's It's all one
piece front to back.
>> Yes.
>> And you've got to somehow fish it
through like an electrician
all the way through that.
>> Yes.
>> And it wasn't really leaking before. The
radiator was leaking before. Is that
replaced?
>> Yes, we have the new radiator in. We put
the fans back in and everything. Uh,
these were leaking before. Uh, and they
still are leaking. They tried to fix
them before and like I said, I did a
little bit just to kind of stop the the
massive leak from Yeah. Just until we
can get some the correct line to fix it.
>> So, I need oil cooler lines.
>> Yes.
>> And you have no idea how hard it is to
do until you start tearing it apart.
>> Yeah, I have no idea. I think it's going
to be as hard as any other car with
lines running down the middle.
>> Okay. Ferrari that
>> maybe I can't remember off the top of my
head.
>> You just pretend it's a Ferrari and
you'll be happy. Yeah. Okay. Well, I
guess since you gooped them up to where
they're not pouring out, we can drive
it right?
>> Yes, we can.
>> Okay. So, it's kind of good news.
Off we go.
That factory Lotus roof is a little It's
a little creaky, but it exists
>> and it works.
>> Oh, yeah.
That is smooth, too. That is really
nice.
>> Well, that's good cuz early on I was
having a little bit of issues shifting,
but it smoothed out pretty quickly.
>> Back down in second.
There we go.
Okay.
>> It's got good pep.
>> Yeah.
>> Oh, the AC works. The
>> AC works. Okay. The AC The AC worked
before, just not the heat. This airbag
light was on, too, back then, but that
was the least of our worries at the
time.
>> Yeah. Also, I can't do anything with the
airbag light. I don't have a scan tool
to communicate with it.
>> Yeah, that makes sense. All right, we
got Is that dust coming out of the back
or smoke or?
>> A little bit of smoke. Yeah. It might be
just burning off some oil, but we can
take a look.
>> Yeah.
>> Oh, just some oil on the exhaust and
stuff. Well, what's this?
>> Yeah,
>> that kind of sprayed.
>> Oh, here we go. It's coming from that
bolt right there. Look.
>> Weird. Okay. Well, that's new.
Okay. Well, that's an easy fix. It seems
like maybe it's loose or maybe the
gasket's worn out. So, I can pull that
out. Maybe put a new gasket in there.
>> Okay.
Normal first test drive things.
>> Uh yeah, for sure.
>> All right.
>> Well, I also forgotten the uh fire
extinguisher. It's always good to take
one on the first test drive.
>> Yeah. Stride man.
>> Yeah.
>> Kind of had that recently happen to him
with this Gallardo. It's very sad. So,
>> all right. We'll limp it back. But she's
still leaky. And this one's easy. The O
line anyway. It's a thing. But I knew
this was going to be a process and I got
it so cheap that you know it's it's
still worth it. And with these old
British cars, it's not about the
destination, it's about the journey. And
we are still on this lovely lovely
journey with this this car. It I mean
for the driving experience you get for
the money compared to how much does
everything cost now? Unfortunately,
Ferrari's Daniel Favorite are just so so
crazy expensive for even the ones nobody
wanted back then.
I'm I'm trying to remain positive. Stay
positive.