John Trenaman's 1986
John Trenaman from Ashford, Kent, UK owns a 1986 S3 in Red, with a Tan interior.
Model:
S3Year: 1986Colour: RedInterior: TanDriving Style: NormalMiles per year: 1,000Owned Since: Jan 2009Purchase from: PrivateServiced at: The carhas been serviced by me and my father and tuned by Bill Richards Racing (highly recommended)Other Cars: –Previous Lotus': NoneWhy an Esprit: I wanted an Esprit because I love the shape and that their BritishUpgrades: I've replaced the manifold and upgraded the remaining sections with a stainless steel one from SJ Sportscars.Problems: Problems, none major apart from the manifold which we did with the engine in and trying to find past owners!Info: see below
Searching for the History
I purchased my Lotus Esprit S3 (D424 XPH) in January 2009 from a gentleman in Weston-Super-Mare and became the tenth owner and new to the Lotus marque. The car came with little history but all inspections lead me to believe the 33k on the clock was genuine.I have carried out several jobs on the car and it was while replacing the capping rail trims I discovered a note made by a marker pen stating 'Show Car' and the name Doug. I contacted Andy Graham at the Lotus archive who confirmed that the car was built as a show car and is believed to have appeared at the 1986 International Motor Show at the NEC. It is not known if it appeared an any other shows.
Since recieving the certificate from Andy I have begun to research the history of the car in an attempt to discover its life. So far I have discovered that the car was delivered to Bell & Colvill in November 1986 and sold to a gentleman in Maidenhead, who sold the car after 7 months as he hated the visibility offered at junctions. He was not informed that the car was a show car.
I have also learnt that the eighth owner, a gentleman in Bath, owned the car for 13 years. The car was purchased from London Lotus Centre in 1993 for £18,000 and sold as being a show car. While the car was parked in Bath a youth ran over the car which put the owner off driving the vehicle and resulted in the car being dry stored for 12 years (hence the mileage).
I was informed by the last owner that the car was sold for £800 as a non-runner but the owner had failed to notice the battery was missing and did not know how to release the handbrake. I believe during the dry storage the history was lost.
I have also made contact with the 4th owner, in Burford Oxon, who informed me the car was also purchased from the London Lotus Centre and later sold back to them. The 5th owner was the 4th owner's father.
I have written to all the previous owners, 7th owner in Ruislip, 6th owner in Uxbridge, 3rd owner in Croydon and the 2nd owner in Cardiff. To date I have not had any response from these owners. I expect that they have all moved during the life of the car. I am especially keen to contact the 6th & 7th owners.
I have also written to Bell & Colvill and the London Lotus Centre. Bell & Colvill unfortunately do not have any information on the car as they have changed their computer system twice since selling the car. The London Lotus Centre does not exist anymore.
So if you can help please contact me, you may have been an owner, you may have attended the '86 show and have photographs you could share with me, you may have sold, serviced or repaired the car or you may just have information on how to find out more about my car. Thanks in advance.
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