greentengu

On a 1986 Federal HCi (Bosch injected turbo): When I removed the radiator to have it pressure tested then ultimr re-cored, there was a white plastic bleeder screw at the top. The radiator shop replaced it with a brass piece. But the OP has an '83, so theirs may be different.

Welcome and congratulations on your purchase! I love the white-over-red interior, but am not sold on the decals. However, while the front decal must go, the sides are only a problem if *you* are really nagged seeing them. If they don’t tick you off, best to focus on having the engine sorted. As regards the wheels, well, as long as they are doing their job, I would also keep any monies possibly spent on new (or used) wheels in reserve “just in case” a more thorough engine/fuel tank/electrical inspection uncovers previously-unseen gremlins. Again, cool color combination! Cheers, Scott

With modern software and a nice sound system blaring through a faux “exhaust pipe”, you could make an electric Esprit sound like anything from Luke Skywalker’s Landspeeder to a TIE fighter 🤣🤪

Good luck with your search—have to note that “rubber baby buggy bumpers” was the first thing I learned in my Voice & Movement for Acting classes back in ‘86, so your title certainly drew my interest! Scott

Hoping you have a full recovery with no surprises, and continued good health afterward!

Eagerly awaiting pics of the final, matte black product 😃!

I see SJ Sportscars has a front bumper for sale—I searched using the “Turbo prior 1988” drop down menu); not sure it’s what you might need. I looked for the “What makes me happy” thread but couldn’t find it, so I’ll simply wish you good health 😎.

Maybe not what you want, but RD Enterprises in my home town of Quakertown (PA, USA) has replica dash panels. Cheers, Scott

My answer to this is simply, “Yes, get them replated.” Why? Purely for you—so you can know you did so, and can admire how shiny and uniform they are after the plating. It is a small thing, perhaps, and one more expense for something you most likely don’t need done, but the feeling of satisfaction knowing you had the job done should be worth it. I’m restoring my headlight surrounds and have chosen to paint or touch up, which you probably can’t do due to the different applications—wouldn’t want to draw any flaked-off paint into your engine! Each cadmium plated ring was in different stages (with a fourth still attached to the bulb/light). One, totally corroded, got painted directly over the remaining cad plating (no sanding since cadmium dust can act like a slow-burn nerve agent) with self-etching primer, then spray painted with Zinc gold plating paint, and translucent hot pink and lime green paint by Testor’s (used for RC models & cars). The other two surrounds, I have done very light passes over slightly corroded areas with the zinc gold spray paint and a haze of the translucent pink/lime combination, to fill in the spots where there was only the “pot metal” chaff color. Is it a perfect solution? No. But I absolutely love doing this painting, as I like the result. The translucent pink/lime shifts in color depending on the light angle, but this only mimics cadmium rather than mirrors it. In the end, I am immeasurably satisfied with the blended result. So, get those intake trumpets plated (I don’t see paint possibly flaking off as being good for your engine!) and spend time admiring the plater’s handiwork 😊. Regards, Scott

How about a Zetec-e 2.0 liter engine from the 00-04 US Ford Focus/Mazda Protege? Many turbocharger kits and two (have to be used) supercharger kits available for that engine—one (Jackson Racing) non-inter/after cooled and another (PowerWorks/Cosworth Engineering) inter/aftercooled. I only mention these after seeing a pic a ways back of an Esprit with a Zetec engine, although the car was not in the US so no idea if the engine was the 1.8 or 2.0l.

Ahhhh blue roll: basically what I call “Torx” brand towels! Thank you for the link, exeterjeep 😀. Mystery solved, haha nice imagery I now have in my mind, Chillidoggy 🤣 (only I’d say it’s more like “Taco Bell” toilet roll over here 🤪!). I shall grab some green coolant, then—I’m not exactly an authority on coolants, but what poured out didn’t seem too discolored/brown/rust-tinted (it was a clear greenish yellow, which resembled “Prestone” brand “universal” coolant). Again, thank you Sparky, Chillidoggy, and exeterjeep! Cheers, Scott

I’m just bumping this up a bit, to see if anyone can help with what may be an uncommon, but present, kerfluffle. Cheers, Scott

Wow—I can picture this in my head. I’ve ordered J nuts from eBay for my front spoiler (to replace the blue/rust Ford fasteners). I, at least,would certainly appreciate a paper template! That will be for my “Part VI of my projects—I am taking your advice to not take on too much simultaneously & have made an outline “To Do” list to stay focused. Cheers, Scott

What a journey—whee! As I’m currently taking my front cooling system apart for rubber replacement and radiator inspection, before I forget to ask, what coolant (brand and color, I suppose) was the car refilled with? And pardon by immense ignorance, but what is the “blue roll” you gents are referring to? My only impression is a roll of blue painters tape, which obviously is not correct 😂. Just amazing to see the amount of work you put into keeping our cars alive and kicking 😊. Cheers, Scott

Hey geeman, Just so you don’t think anyone cares, I wanted to respond and say I spent time looking up various sources online such as Jegs & Summit Racing, plus, as you obviously did, fuel hose manufacturers direct on their websites. However, while I found numerous textured fuel/petrol hose, I was unable to locate an exact match. Note my search did not involve me checking The Usual Suspects like JAE, RDEnt (which is a few minutes from my house!), SJ Sportscars, Lotus Bits, Lotus Marques (AUS), PNM Parts et al. However, one would imagine the either listed hose is a strong winner in the utility department, and barring original hose, either may be a sensible choice. Cheers, Scott

Although we now know much more fully the harmful effects of ethanol on fuel systems, back in The Day the Federal (HCi) owner’s manual noted “a mixture of 10% ethanol (grain alcohol) and 90% unleaded gasoline may be used” (20). My how hindsight changes things!

12 x 1.5 thread pitch I believe. 35mm long including the non-threaded portion, give or take a mm. The threads only appear to be 28mm long. The entire wheel bolt stood upright is approximately 58mm long/tall. Cheers, Scott

I have to say “negative” on an access hatch behind the seat(s) of the 1986 Federal HCI; much of my interior including seats is out and all I see is sound deadening material and some carpet—no hatch.

Hello Nello (has a nice ring to it): I always enjoy a nice, bullet-point checklist when organizing any “To Do” list. So, for anyone else who comes upon this thread, here is what I gathered you may want to do in your Sleeping Nine Years, Time to Awaken list…with a few ideas added by me which I am doing for both my Federal HCI and a 1972 Pontiac Grand Prix. •R&R accessories belts •R&R timing belt and tensioner •R&R oil and filter per polowonder •R&R spark plugs •R&R clutch master cylinder •Possibly R&R brake master cylinder depending on condition •R&R other fluids per polowonder: —brake fluid —coolant —transmission fluid (a simple drain and fill with three [three] quarts per Harry Martens) •R&R wiper blade rubber (my suggestion as the rubber may be over 9 years old) •R&R input shaft circlip with up-rated circlip per carbuff, as well as crownwheel bearings (usu. with SKF bearings), also per carbuff •Remove and refurbish brake calipers; R&R brake pads if needed (or desired) per Neil Potter/910 Esprit •Possible replacement or “turning” of brake discs, as needed, per 910Esprit and Neil Potter •R&R spark plugs (cheap, why not, item) •R&R air filter if desired (cheap, so why not, item) per Barry Kearley •R&R fuel filter (per Barry Kearley) •Flush old petrol from the tanks (!) per Barrykearley. NOTE: MrDangerUS on Lotus Talk (and here on TLF) gives an outstanding set of petrol tank flush directions on page 2, post 29 of the thread “87 HCI Losing Power at 4k RPM” by KessOrden. •Check pressure of spare tire •R&R 9+ year old tires So far that seems to be The Basic List. Cheers, Scott

That was fast! 😃

It might also be possible the steering column of the Vauxhall cross-references to other General Motors models. Also, you might fancy inquiring over at the Vauxhall owners forum (?) or checking to look for parted-out cars there (although you’d no doubt need a number of posts to do so). Might be more economical than the £200.00 eBay steering column (I did a search before reading these posts 👀).

In most auto forums, “NA” refers to “Naturally Aspirated” while “FI” represents “Forced Induction”; however, yup, we have TE (Turbo—i.e. Forced Induction) Esprit and NA. Otherwise, the *general* nomenclature for Federal (US) cars also encompasses HCI/HCi or, as deecee notes, Bosch fuel injection…with all the other attributions (S3, S3 Turbo, etc.) tossed into the mix. Often confusing, always fun! 😝🤪

While I don’t know the make and model, Lotus Marques (Australia) notes the steering *rack* is Burman; not sure if the full column is the same. But that may be a starting point, at least (?).

Wow! Keeping my fingers crossed! 😁 Cheers, Scott

Wonderful news! 😇 Just for confirmation, is the GM part 1875990 hopefully correct? (Trying not to jinx anything!) Or did the Module take a different version of the bajillion part numbers? 😳 Fingers crossed x2! Cheers, Scott