Lou R

Hi all, Was wondering if anyone could tell me the model number of the 70 amp Motorola that was used on Air Conditioned S2's. I've looked extensively but can't find any reference to the model number. My car is a Federal car but the Parts Manual indicates this 70 amp Motorola was used on all air conditioned cars so maybe it was also used in the Euro market (?). I need to have mine rebuilt (prefer to stay original) which will include replacing the case since mine has a large piece broken off. The guy rebuilding mine is having a hard time believing it's a Motorola (sure looks like a Motorola) even though I'm pretty confident it is the original. Does anyone have this info ? Many thanks, Lou R

Hello All, I'm going through the wiring harness on my 79 Federal S2 and was wondering if anyone knows the value of the resistor that's in the panel light circuit (for illuminating the gauges). I'd like to test mine but I don't know the ohms I should expect to see. Hoping mine is OK as none of the usual suppliers seem to offer these. I'm sure I can find a non-original replacement but once again I guess I need to know the specs of the original so I can match it. Can anyone help me out ? Thanks, Lou R

Hi Giorgio, I checked the door handles on my 79 Federal S2 and the studs are 5mm x 0.8 TPI - originally fitted with nylocs. Lou R

Danny, Just a thought - I have always planned to bring the original speakers to a specialist and have them rebuilt with more modern cone material and maybe a heavier magnet (but keeping the dimensions unchanged). Haven't gotten there yet but may be worth considering. I haven't looked for a more modern speaker with the same dimensions but it seems like a rather odd size so I've never been too optimistic I'd find new replacements with the same dimensions. Good luck. Lou R

Danny, See attached photos of my 79 S2 (Federal) door cards. Speaker measurements are 8"L x 2.75" W x 1.5" H. Hope this helps - let me know if you need any additional details. Lou R

Hi Danny, I have a 79 S2 (Federal) I'm currently restoring. The door cards are off and are still fitted with the original speakers. Like most of these cars, the PO fitted different speakers by cutting holes in the lower rear section of each door card. He opted to leave the original speakers in place (disconnected) because he would have had to remove the marcasite from the door cards to get them out. I'll try to get a photo tomorrow. They're pretty flimsy and won't take much power. The only markings I could decipher was 38EM/68 (no idea what that means). Lou R

Doesn't Lotus Marques in Victoria do this ? I purchased a rack rebuild kit from there a few years back (good quality) and I'm almost certain they also do the rebuild themselves if requested.

Dave, Nice job ! I bought one of the 3D Printed repros for my federal S2 and was not satisfied. Very flimsy (like rice paper) with virtually no structure to it and no texture on the face so it is not suitable (at least not for me). If you're going to be offering these to others please reserve one for me. Thx, Lou R

Hi everyone, I realize this might not be the best forum for this query but I thought I'd ask as I'm not finding success anywhere else. Specifically, I was wondering if anyone knows of a source for the rear number plate "bucket" that was fitted to Federal S2 cars. Haven't been able to locate one from the usual suppliers and these have been NLA from Lotus for years. Mine is warped /damaged beyond repair. I was thinking of doing something custom as I don't particularly like the recessed look of the Federal number plate but, in the end, I'd prefer to stay original first. Switching over to the much nicer looking Euro plinth isn't an option since the US style number plates look odd when mounted to the Euro plinth. Does anyone know of a source for this plastic part ? Thanks, Lou R

Hi All, Does anyone know if the fuel filler cap on an S2 was used on other cars. I need to replace one of mine and I've been unable to locate an interchange with another car. I know they're available from SJ (as repros ?) but I'd much prefer to find an original. Thanks, Lou R

Shenton, Great find ! I live in New Jersey and have a 79 S2 that's just like yours. Carnival Red with gold decals and black lower body trim. Can't see the interior of your car but I'm guessing it's probably black (tinted to a greenish hue by now from sun exposure) or maybe tan ? $2500 seems like a pretty fair price for that car - they're hard to come by which should help when/if you ever decide to sell. I've had my car for a number of years now and am doing a slow nut and bolt restoration. I've already completed the chassis with all new suspension, steering and brake parts, refurbished Speedline wheels and I have a ton of new and restored parts that are ready to go back on the car when their turn comes. I overhauled the transaxle myself and am starting on the body now. Hopefully, it'll be ready to paint by the end of this summer (I'll be doing that myself as well). Still a million jobs to do (engine, rebuild wiring harness, re-trim interior, etc. etc.) but I'll get to all of them eventually. Feel free to PM me with any questions you may have. I'm not an expert but most Esprit owners probably know more than they may realize. Additionally, using this forum will only make your restoration easier. I was in Connecticut (Berlin) a month ago on another British car quest - too bad you didn't have the S2 then otherwise I would eagerly have dropped by for a look. If I'm up that way any time soon I'll contact you. You're welcome to stop by my residence if you find yourself in northwest New Jersey. Best of luck. Lou R

Hi Giorgio, Your alloy fan cowl is very nice (seems much better than the original plastic). Did you have it made up or is it available from a Lotus supplier ? Thanks, Lou R

Hi Giorgio, I checked the bolts that came off of my 79 Federal S2 and those bolts are M8 x 45mm with a 1.25 thread pitch and are rated at 8.8. There is also a 32mm diameter washer which is 3mm thick as well as a smaller flat washer and the nyloc nut. Hope this helps. Lou R

Hi Giorgio, My S2 was equipped with 4 Cibie lamps (all 4 lamps were the same). I wasn't sure if they were all supposed to be identical so I started researching to see what would be correct. The following response was received from Daniel Stern Lighting here in the US: Your lamps appear to be in good condition, but no, it's definitely not the case that all four should be the same. For one thing, it's not legal (in Europe, USA, Canada, or most of the rest of the world) to have fewer or more than two low-beam headlamps on a car. The number allowed is two, and the number required is two. With high beam it's different; each vehicle can have either two or four. But even if your inboard H4s are wired up so they light only in high beam mode, that's far from optimal. The reason is because the H4 high/low beam lamp's high beam mode provides mostly width and close-range fill, while the dedicated H1 high beam lamps provide mostly long-range distance reach and mid-range fill. The H1 high beams and the high beam mode of the H4 high/low are intended to work together to provide a composite beam that gives you the width _and_ reach you need for empty roads, particularly in a high-performance car. The high-beam lamp units that go with your H4s are the second ones pictured at http://www.danielsternlighting.com/products/products.html (you'll recognize the first headlamp as the H4 unit you already have). So the first question is whether you want to correct the setup and put the intended high beam units in place. The second question is how your headlamps are wired (or how they will be wired by the time you're done with them); see http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/relays/relays.html . This goes into selecting bulbs. Small H4 headlamps (any brand) are quite inefficient on low beam, so if that's the kind you'll be sticking with for your low beams, and you drive this car at night, you really ought to put in better bulbs for at least adequate nighttime seeing -- but that will require decent feeds and grounds. At your service, DS I have not replaced my lamps yet as there are many other things to do so I cannot comment further on the above. Hope this is of some help. Lou R

Geert, Thanks for the confirmation. I'm pretty sure the S2 has the same induction parts as the S2.2 so going with the 48mm trumpets will keep it as it left the factory. Thanks again, Lou R

Jon, Thanks for the photo. After studying it I'm thinking the 60mm trumpets I thought would be correct might be a bit too long. Even though they will meet the recommended 25mm clearance they still seem long compared to those in your photo. I know that replacement trumpets are also available in 40mm and 48mm lengths (among others). A little further research indicates the shorter trumpets are used in high RPM applications and the longer ones are better for street use. I'll wait a little longer in the event someone can provide a trumpet length as per the original specification. If I can't get any further advice I'll take a stab at either the 40mm or 48mm versions. Thanks again for the help. Lou R

Hello All, I have a Federal S2 which I am planning to fit with Dellortos. I acquired a set of DHLA 45's and an original Airbox from a fellow owner in the UK some time ago. I've since rebuilt the Dellortos but have noticed there were no trumpets (aka ram pipes, air horns) included with the carbs. Are the trumpets supposed to be mounted on the carbs or are they omitted with the standard airbox ? I realize the Parts Diagram shows them but I'm not entirely certain I understand what benefit they provide. Can anyone elaborate ? Also, if they are supposed to be installed, is it correct to install them such that the airbox body is sandwiched between the flanges on the trumpets and the carb body ? If anyone can also confirm the length of the trumpets that would be very helpful as well (I suspect that 60mm is correct). Many thanks for any advice. Lou R

Hello All, Does anyone know where Lotus sourced the various dash knobs on the S2 (mine is a Federal). I need to replace the dash gauge dimmer rheostat knob and am also missing the knob used to control the temperature on the A/C. The A/C knob was missing entirely when I got my car and I've been unable to find any decent photos which depict this specific knob. Haven't been able to find anything to date - any thoughts ? Thanks, Lou R

Hi Rob, I've already done this on one side of my 79 Federal S2. After removing the window frame and door cap moulding from the door shell I simply sanded them to bare metal (the window frame is alloy but the door cap moulding is steel). I then repaired any small scratches/nicks using a suitable metal filler and then sanded, primed and painted both pieces. I use SEM Hot Rod Black (on all trim that was originally painted satin black) as I really like the gloss level and I've found it lays down really nice. I know paint selection is a matter of personal taste so if you chose to do this work yourself make sure you follow the manufacturer's recommendations on prep. Also, SEM Hot Rod Black is not available in spray cans so you'd have to use a spray gun. I was very pleased withe end result and all in all it was a fairly straightforward and simple job. You can certainly try powdercoating or other paints but be aware they may not all match up and when the car is completed you may have noticeably different shades of paint on various trim pieces. Good luck Lou R

John, Many thanks for the offer. After further review yesterday I've come to the conclusion that I need to perform some further surgery on my modified crows foot. Looks as though the heel of the crows foot is a different arc then the speedometer gear so I believe the heel of the wrench is pivoting on the nut which is causing the whole thing to fit a little loose. I'm planning to grind back the heel of the crows foot some more so it will fit a little deeper onto the gear - hopefully this will prevent the flats of the wrench from slipping and working itself loose and give me the bite I need to get the darn thing off. The surgery will have to wait until tomorrow - the wife doesn't appreciate the sound of a die grinder running at full steam on the weekend ! Lou R

Thanks John, I'l give it another try today with the same 4 foot pipe and see how that goes. Maybe I'm being too much of a wimp and need to give it my all and hope for the best and stop worrying about damage to the internals (?). If no progress, I'll start looking for a longer pipe ! Odd how the wrench isn't as tight a fit as I'd like. I measured the span of the nut with my calipers and it actually seems a little smaller than 36mm. Nothing suitable using SAE standard so I guess I'm stuck with the 36 mm option. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks again for the advice. Lou R

Hello again all, After spending most of the spring and summer doing other jobs on my S2 it's time to get back to the transaxle overhaul (a good cold weather job). After modifying the 36mm crows foot wrench to fit the speedo nut I was once again ready to attempt to remove it. With the gearbox mounted in my big vise and locked in 1st and reverse, the crows foot fitted to my 18" breaker bar and a 4 foot length of pipe extending onto the breaker bar I was sure it would come off relatively easy. However, after applying what seemed like a ton of force at the end of the 4 foot pipe I still can't get this gear off ! I was exerting so much force the wrench started to deform the flats of the speedo nut. Something's gotta be wrong here. I've removed the tab that locks the nut in place on the shaft. Mine had broken off previously but I managed to extract it - the slot where the tab fits into looks to be clear. Am I missing something here ? Any chance this is a reverse threaded shaft ? I know I've exerted more than enough force to overcome the 120 ft/lbs or so of torque. I don't claim to be Hercules but with all that torque exerted using a 4 foot pipe one would expect it to give way. I'm afraid I'll do some damage (to the gearbox and myself) if I apply any additional force. Any further advice from those of you who have been here before ? Thanks, Lou R

Hi Moritz, Thanks for the reply. Yes, I was referring to the right side panel with heater and panel light rheostat controls. I've never seen a replacement panel for an S2 but I know that RD Enterprises has them for a Turbo. Unfortunately, they are completely different than the S2. I know there is an Ebay vendor that re-creates them (for Turbos and S3's) - maybe you can find him and ask if he'll do one for an S2. I also considered using stencils and decals but I don't suspect they would come out as nice as I would like. I've since located a source here in the US (actually a friend of my wife) who is knowledgeable about graphic art and who was confident she could re-create the graphics as I have on my S2. I'm currently finalizing details with her and hope to send her my panel so she can apply the new graphics. I just sent her a sample of a painted piece of steel so she can ensure there are no problems with the new graphics sticking to the paint I plan to use. Once she confirms it's OK, I'll strip my panel, re-paint it and send it to her to apply new graphics. I can certainly send you a photo when I get it back so you can judge for yourself if it looks good enough. I'm sure my wife's friend would be willing to help out others. I'll ask her how much she would charge others for this same work - no doubt it will be much cheaper than prices I received from graphic arts companies (over $200). It'll be awhile before the process is complete so please be patient. Thanks again, Lou R

Hi All, Does anyone know where I might obtain the dash graphics for a Federal (or Home Market) S2 ? The dash lettering and assorted graphics on my S2 are OK but the underlying paint on the dash panels is not too good and will require a re-paint. Obviously, I'll have to remove (and ruin) the existing graphics to get at the underlying panels to repaint. I've seen some vendors selling replacement panels (partials) but never just the lettering. Anyone ever had to go through this before ? Many thanks, Lou R

Hi Fabian, I purchased similar decals for my S2 from UK Ebay vendor "lankester367". Using my original decals as a template, I worked with him to tweek the details so the final product would be as close to the originals as possible. I was pleased with the end result. You may want to contact him to see if he can help you. By the way, I also found the Dingdong decals to be somewhat different than the originals which is why I contacted lankester367. Lou R