drdoom

Page 5, here in my thread, appears a pic of door panel trimmed in Alcantara.

Ferking daft! On one of our local highly travelled thoroughfares authorities placed on the verge at mid-point of a sweeping downhill curve an LED noticeboard which flashes what it regards to be the speed of the oncoming cars. What idiocy! We've all got bloody speedo's on board, wisely ignored while keeping eyes on the road until they've been drawn off task to read what is not helpful. The world increasingly appears to operate under administration by crooks, idiots, and arseholes. Have none read Orwell??!!

Introspective at times lately, taking stock of what has been accomplished over the years and what it will take to get this Lotus back among the living. I am resolute in this, having reckoned competently with career, household and family challenges which impaired progress and somehow channeled my leisure energies into various technical meditations that are manifest in some elements of this Esprit. The electricals, for example, have morphed into a maximum effort ( though conventional ) build after starting out as mitigation for underfed lights and windows. Good to be moving on from that, having de-bugged and proven the thing works. Took up one of the Lotus positions, feet on firewall, head in driver's footwell yesterday exploring loom routing. In more normal upright orientation took up the exercise of instrument pod installation as dry run before the thing is trimmed, verifying the mutant loom path downward through the scuttle and reckoning with the struggle of heater control panel insertion into the pod. With door panels now nicely trimmed in Alcantara the folded leather inserts above armrest are proving to be a challenge in mating to the panels. Seems such a remarkable measure of force is needed in pressing the 2 pieces together so that sufficient length of the retaining clips protrudes through to the panel backside for bending over that I initially blanched, with a notion to whimper in the trimmer's direction for assistance. Left that aside for a couple of days and when later imagining how he'd resolve this with a bit of strongarm I took up the effort myself, elevating the force application judiciously. Result now being that all but the 2 corner point clips are bent over securely yielding a tidy joint between insert and panel. The force needed to compress the mating items at the corners is such that I'll need another pair of competent hands on task, either the trimmer's or a mate's. Onward

Yes, gathered some idea of what makes Offerman tick by way of interviews seen/heard over the years.

Lovely work George, though literally feeling your pain having done much of the comparable chassis prep on my own S2. The snippets of levity editted in were therefore a palpable relief, top marks in choosing Ron Swanson, Dr. Evil, etc. The colour you've chosen for this toy will certainly bring smiles. Ahh, to be able to travel by Esprit to the Six Hours, a fine treat we pedalled off to in hired Renault some years ago. Cherish the memories still. Cheers

Wiring path question in aid of my own S2 project - do the loom runs from instrument binnacle pass through the holes in scuttle not used for vents ducting, or do they otherwise route through the gap between pod and steering column? Cheers

Fair enough on wire and fuse pointers, not so on relays. What they afford is both reliable switching and the sparing of load currents through switch controls that may be hard or impossible to replace. Certainly there are a number of locations on our early cars where factory wiring was marginal enough to threaten fire hazards later once the load components went into decline. Cheers

I'd suspect the trims to be interchangeable, otherwise perhaps a change to the body shell would have been done and I've yet to see any suggestion that occurred during the GG cars run. Note that the triangular black bit where the trim meets the top of door-wing joint is a separate thing, a light piece of plastic fixed partially in place by the push pin visible on its exterior. That would need to be sourced along with. Cheers

From what I've seen, yes to Mediterranean locales and high marks for New Zealand which we found resoundingly appealing. Yep to Canadian wokeness, though it's way amplified by media just as are America's troubles. Sorry but media have a great deal to answer for at this juncture in history. Mexico, again as amplified by media, continues to seem relatively lawless in the same way most Latin American countries do though that does not stop many of our citizenry seeking property down there. Incidentally, select banana republics south of Mexico have turned out to be appealing for both Canadian and American whackjobs seeking refuge from the impending apocalypse(s). I suppose nothing promotes peace of mind like a hoard of guns, ammo, dried food, bottled water and camo outfits stashed in some frontier bush camp. As to Canada realistically, we lately had a reckoning while strolling the prime waterfront of Vancouver, long regarded as a world level destination. This was just weeks after our month long explorations in NZ and the contrast was striking. We approached from where parked to the east of Gastown which, though tourist magnet billed as the site where Van was founded, looks altogether shabby and certainly more so than 40 years ago. Not at all unlike most public spaces in this town where I regard the inflows of capital over recent decades to have been plundering the commonwealth. (small "c" intended.) So much for progress in this town. By comparison most everywhere in NZ we found things to be in fine shape and a populace looking remarkably well kept and well adjusted. Bet there are some hurdles to clear making way there as resident but it would be an easy sell were I not attached to my people here. Cheers

Yes to cutting in a separate starter switch, handy at times other than lighting up the engine and just the ticket for quick restart in the event of a stall in traffic. Considered the 308GT4 treatment but thought it more loud than the already striking interior form would benefit by. Do appreciate the GT4 more as time has passed by. A fellow Esprit owning mate doesn't fancy the fuel pump inertia switch, worries it could cut the fuel in the event of some unexpectedly severe pavement. Long years back we were motoring south down the lovely Oregon coast, he in the Esprit, me leading in my Elan when we encountered at motorway speed an abrupt edge in the tarmac. Must have been 1 1/2 - 2 inch sheer vertical edge, presumably due to unfinished road work, and marked by a pitifully small, hand painted piece of plywood propped up at the verge. Only able to recognize the peril at a very late stage I briefly pounded the brakes hard, releasing before impact to minimise the suspension trauma. My antics surely caught mate's attention but he was more focussed on the gap to me than would afford a good look at the tarmac issue, hence came at it pretty quickly. The jolt did no lasting harm to either car, I'm glad to say, but the Esprit bonnet was found to be popped off its latches when we next stopped for a break. Cheers

I'm inclined to pile on in this but we have hijacked the Ukraine thread and there is "The Donald" nearby in these General Chat fora.

Hi Tony, what you have there is the cluster native only to the S1. In case you hadn't spotted that. Guess that was needless to say, now that I have spotted the thread topic. Was focused on your personal profile inset which presents term "S3"

Ahh, Logan's Run . . . was it in that film we were treated to the sight of Jenny Agutter's ladyberries? Might have been Walkabout, though that one past me by. Of late my mind circles around from time to time in reflection on what gives my life meaning, if any. As half of one more childless couple there's none for us to focus on in support, and all too soon my aged parents will be gone. So it's thin ground on which to stand in regard to meaningful living, so what I consequently strive for is to make happier the people with whom I have contact at every opportunity. Even the bloody customer support types, despite a long stretch on hold listening to the loop of sometimes discordant "music". I'll carrousel myself out the door, thank you. Still have whitewater kayaking to try. Cheers

Put electricals work aside yesterday to take advantage of lovely weather, set up in the garden to scrape clean the trim piece which covers the windscreen - headliner joint. Dabbed a spot of filler where there were bubble voids in the gelcoat edge of the LED clock housing, filler also into 2 minor faults in the instrument binnacle facing edge.

Been through all that the long way around, Thomas is correct these switches are very amenable to restoration. Bravo Lucas!

Clearly we are passing through an era of chronic dystopia, where all is in crisis - gender, climate, democracy . . . and on ad finitum. Meh. Keep calm and carry on - mindfully.

In operating an early Elan on DCOE's I found that while the pedal pump technique was good for cold start the starter units on the carbs were flat superior, with them the engine would fire about as soon as key turned. Presume the Dellorto's are quite the same.

The hazard switch serves as a major connection point, involves the signal feeds as well. Did you remove the broken tiny lamp? From my experience recently working through the entire bloody loom of an S2 I would focus closely around the switch and its nearby connections. If your Turbo has been similarly wired the signal feeds pass through the flasher, then on through the haz switch before hitting the indicator switch for direction out to earth at the target lamps. So if the signals are truly functioning well then that rules out all aspects beyond the hazard switch. Cheers 672967631_ESPRITS2S3WITHLUMENITION.tif

Trimmer just reported the 2nd seat is now done, will drop by tomorrow with the pair, likely pack up the dash and glovebox for next tasks. As the electrical program has reached final form I'm connecting it all up for testing before packing it up for storage. Further bodywork and mechanicals ahead, will be quite a refreshing change. Cheers

What is thought of refinishing the trims in a brushed style? Would one accomplish this simply by sanding in linear fashion with suitable grit paper?

Back on campaign following weeks away travelling, coaxing the trimmer along with success and pressing on to wire loom completion. As posted in the GG Interior section I see it necessary to refinish the metal trims fitted to accent the doors, dash and tunnel panels. Both @Fridge and @EXCEL V8 have put forth worthwhile insights. Cheers

New Zealand, simply enchanting! Spent 4 weeks, drove over 4500KM mid-February to mid-March and was in love with the country from day 1. In conversation from time to time the Kiwis would share the thought that NZ was anywhere from 20 to 100 years behind the times, their more common complaint apparently. I'd say damned lucky for that as it's in terms of character and behaviour that they reflect societies of long years past. Consistently courteous, no rubbish to be seen at all, neither homeless nor druggies in evidence. Stunningly vast grass pitches on which cricket, field hockey and rugby would be the preferred sports, endless access to beaches and harbours.

Thanks for those insights, all worthwhile. I had been inclined to the approach Lou has taken, thinking it too difficult to accomplish what Pete is attempting. Cheers

The linear metal trims for doors, dash and tunnel of my S2 are complete and in fair shape but not perfect. Considering whether wise to have them polished somehow and open to advice. Are they aluminum and, if so, are they further coated? Cheers