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I didn't get kidnapped or contract something nasty, thanks for asking The very long coming new episode of the Esprit build follows shortly!

Touché! 😄

My first branded Esprit

It's great that you had that to hand! I realised later what you meant, and I've had a chance to measure the aftermarket dampers that came with mine since. Couple of observances too, first that the hole centre on the bottom of the damper is offset on the vertical plane, so the measurement from one side will be slightly different to the other side. Also that my dampers were attached via the upper of the lower arm bolt holes, so definitely not the ideal in terms of the lower arm total travel. I'll add a few pics I took. My Gabriel dampers [which someone suggested were common after market back in the '80's/early '90's, were definitely too long. They measure 355mm or 360mm [depending on which side you measure from] and give or take a mm, using the same reference points as you used, at full extension. I extend one of them to 343mm and marked the lower body of the unit so that I could then mount it to the chassis [in the lower mounting holes] and accurately extend it to that length. Then checked where the lower arm was in relation to the bottom plate of the chassis shock tower. It was *just* touching the bottom plate. I've had to straighten my bottom plates and it's possible that they could be sitting slightly high. If they are, it's not by much, I'd be suspicious about whether the bottom arm would still hit under a heavy bottom out situation that deflected the damper bushes. Anyway all's well that ends well for now. Good to know to be exacting about damper length. I have a set of low miles Pro Tech adjustable dampers on the back burner, that I'll measure for ref, when I am able.

Hey Steve, hope all's well. I didn't even think about the knock on from which mounting hole I used, even though I noticed the two different holes before I put the damper in. I'll check it this morning with the damper in the lower pair of holes. The other damper has never come out of the arm because it's seized in so it'll be interesting to see which pair of holes it's mounted in. I'm not with you in terms of where you're measuring the damper, the hole centre of the bottom mount, sure, but at the top? Are you measuring to the tip of the ram at full extension? Basically I don't know what the isolator perch is?

Yeah fair enough Steve. It would definitely be good to know the length of an OEM damper. I did check with some fellow Esprit owners and more than one has experienced the same damage to the chassis.

I know I'm pulling this chat out of the vault but I'm glad to find it because I've just noticed that my front arms have been bottoming out on the chassis and making a mess of it. I've straightened the chassis plates and the whole bottom panel is removed in the photos below, but both were fairly badly damaged before I worked on them. I read that @C43 has made modifications, and was just wondering what kind? Has anyone else made modifications they'd be wiling to show? As the photos below show, the shock absorbers do not act as bump stops. The dampers on my car are aftermarket but when the bottom arms hit the chassis there's still another 25mm / 1" of travel in the damper. [the pin line on the damper body I'm measuring from is the extent of travel in the unit at the point of bottom arm contacting chassis. I don't think bending the panels away from the bottom arm would be good for the structural integrity, nor would it create enough free space for full travel. I'm leaning toward a horse show shaped reinforcement in that area, to allow the bottom arm to pass through, this could also be engineered to serve as a jacking point, but I'm torn by originality. That said, the types of road these cars excel on are the types of roads that have fast crests. I don't want to have to back off

Congrats on making a deal with B&C, sounds like a great result all round. Such a beautiful and unusual colour too! We never got those engine photos 🤓

Are you nuts Second guessing myself, and the jigs, and the measurements, took a day of my life. I was going back and forth with the callipers and the jigs, fitting and refitting. That's actually what I'm doing at the start in the overhead shot. A DAY! No you're 100% on the money. Although it doesn't seem that water had gotten in there to date, but my thoughts are as yours. I just have a pathological urge to keep things as original as possible, which is ridiculous given everything I've done so far. It's as is because I swept this issue under the mental rug. There's another pair of spots I couldn't weld to around the back of the new tube that could let water in too, so that'll have to be seam sealed at very least. Lotus hadn't welded both sides of the tube like I have btw.

Don't have a [chassis] leg to stand on. 🤓

That's cool, it's not that one above though right? I mean that looks like some sort of licensed aftermarket thing.

Here’s an (overpriced) fun thing... https://www.donedeal.ie/vintagecars-for-sale/john-player-special-203-autoradio-new-unused/27956879

Well if this isn't a common Esprit chassis problem....

Well I should probably tell you to go back and do your homework, but I realised that many just won't bother so I started to recap the Lotus work in a dedicated run of videos starting with episode 62. I don't think I've ever gotten job satisfaction from anything in the past like I've gotten from that cradle. It's been a recurring source of joy! Thanks Henry Thanks Robin

Thanks esteemed 'Flounder' It landed and has been put to work on the chassis! Today is a big one actually, all going well I'll paint the inside of the backbone, do some welding practice and then seal it up for good.

Episode 68 of the abused Lotus Esprit restoration

😁 I'm way ahead of you on that one, got a little trick up my sleeve

😅 I'd love a few of those but I'm on a budget so I'm just using what I can put my hands on. There are nice ones that punch and then dimple die at the same time.

I got cross eyed Def wouldn't still be making the videos if it weren't for Valet Pro's support, cheers Greg My folks had a Black and Decker franchise when I was about 10, and on Saturdays I'd hang out with the repair techs [this is back when you could have your steam powered tools, even your kettle, repaired]. I had an interest in woodwork so one of the techs built me that turquoise jigsaw out of shop reconditioned parts. So it's a Frankenstein unit, and you jest but it's never let me down, and I was very glad of it when I broke my lovely Elu rig during the filming of the last episode. Both tools at least 30 years old. Actually you might have noticed at times I was pinching the flex up into the handle. That's because there's a loose connection and I haven't had a chance to open it up and rewire 😅

Know I'm blowing my own trumpet but I'm proud of this panel I've made, but then I did take three runs at it 😇

This one's for anyone who shies away from those little wiring jobs...

Not sure I'm following? Do you mean the grey plastic that holds the heater? It's unfeasibly thin for sure. Was thinking carbon fibre might be a suitable replacement for the slightly cracked one in my car.

Yeah not a big deal, my heart sank but more because of the anti climax than the work. Practice is never a waste. Unless it rhymes with banking.

I've never said this outright, but a huge part of the reason my project stalled for a year, was because I got stuck circling the decision on how to fix the badly damaged cradle on the Esprit's chassis. I've broken the back of the job, pun intended, in the past couple of weeks...

Christmas came a day early. I was rushing so this wasn't very scientifically executed, nor did I use lube, but one Esprit S2 body weighed. I will do it again, properly and without the sound deadening and few bits and pieces that are visible in the shell. Also will do it on flat ground, balanced next time. Still, it gives a good idea of the rough weight. Total from the four scales was 182.5kg / 402lbs. Deduct a kilo or two for the extension lead and a few plastic containers of fasteners, and another couple of kg for the sound deadening at your discretion. Ignore the numbers scribbled on the scales.