78070100S Progress

[drdoom]

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

[drdoom]

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.

[drdoom]

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

 

[JonSE]

Photos!

PHOTOS!

Keep up the great work, an Esprit restoration is what happens when you are making other plans in life, or something like that 🙂

Its a lovely thing to have in common though and I’ve met some fantastic people and made some great friends through this forum via my own plastic escapades.

Other cars have come and gone but the little Esprit seems to be the one that keeps me interested through it all. Keep up the great work but I do need those pics to crib for my own rebuild 🙂

[GTK]

Yes, yes! photos!

especially interested in how the alcantara looks. I figure it has to be the only thing remotely like the original [not even uttering the word]

[drdoom]

9 minutes ago, GTK said:

Yes, yes! photos!

especially interested in how the alcantara looks. I figure it has to be the only thing remotely like the original [not even uttering the word]

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

[drdoom]

Page 2, for A-pillar in Alcantara. Nice stuff but rather a bear to work with over curved surfaces, as I'm told.

[Djs44]

I gave up on the alcantara headlining and have gone with the original material . 

[drdoom]

Headlining for mine will be original as well. I've no need of throwing Alcantara up onto the roof but the A-pillars appear better integrated trimmed in fabric matching the dash and doors. The headlining fabric will be applied also to the 2 trims which cover the side edges above the door windows, better integrated than contrasting.

Cheers

[Fridge]

Having only just recently trimmed my car you might want to rethink trimming the header and cant rails in the roof lining material.

If you think about it, the cant rails, header (and in a green & tartan interior of an S1, the bulkhead) form a frame, which also extends down the 'A' pillars. Whereas the headlining essentially forms an inset. It is even a single piece which goes underneath the panels.

Even modern car interior spaces are designed as such. Trimming those panels differently to the rest will look a bit odd.

[drdoom]

Tip of the hat to @Fridge for the advice on overhead trims. I've collected a gallery of Esprit pics over the years, one of which nicely illustrating how the trims serve to frame the "ceiling". In fact it would be jarring to trim the side edge pieces in other than Alcantara as both nearby areas, firewall cover and windscreen finisher, are so trimmed.

Thanks indeed 

[Fridge]

Though we often doubt them during our restorations, those designers knew what they were doing 😆

[Djs44]

18 hours ago, drdoom said:

Headlining for mine will be original as well. I've no need of throwing Alcantara up onto the roof but the A-pillars appear better integrated trimmed in fabric matching the dash and doors. The headlining fabric will be applied also to the 2 trims which cover the side edges above the door windows, better integrated than contrasting.

Cheers

Drdoom 

I like Alcantara but it is difficult to work with I understand . On my car the a-post trim are leather as per the dash so makes sense to do yours the same as you dash - then all the roof /cantrail etc all the same colour 

[Fridge]

Yes, that's the problem with Alcantara. Even at its most thinnest it hasn't enough give to get around the negative and compound curves of the interior panels. Marcasite had just enough stretch.

It's such a problem finding a suitable replacement. I think an expert trimmer taking their time and understanding the original requirements would be able to nip and tuck Alcantara to achieve a good result. The problem is that the Esprit is so uncommon, particularly the earlier series that few trimmers have anything to go on if the panels are already stripped or in a very poor condition.

I took very detailed photographs of all my interior before stripping to save trim costs. I even have the old material stored for future reference.

At least the JPS Commemorative edition is leather which is more easily available. Though the gold fabric is another unicorn material it seems.

[Djs44]

1 hour ago, Fridge said:

Yes, that's the problem with Alcantara. Even at its most thinnest it hasn't enough give to get around the negative and compound curves of the interior panels. Marcasite had just enough stretch.

It's such a problem finding a suitable replacement. I think an expert trimmer taking their time and understanding the original requirements would be able to nip and tuck Alcantara to achieve a good result. The problem is that the Esprit is so uncommon, particularly the earlier series that few trimmers have anything to go on if the panels are already stripped or in a very poor condition.

I took very detailed photographs of all my interior before stripping to save trim costs. I even have the old material stored for future reference.

At least the JPS Commemorative edition is leather which is more easily available. Though the gold fabric is another unicorn material it seems.

I tried hard to get the gold fabric and failed. I've had to do the armrest in leather as one possible source of the material wanted a small sample and took it from the visible area ....

[Fridge]

Did you try West Country Trimmers near Newton Abbott?

[drdoom]

The electrical campaign, in this case something akin to exploring unmapped jungle thickets with no regard for either time or budget, is about to conclude. The bulk of wiring and bits have been carefully placed in 2 storage bins, the final section which spans the scuttle beam undergoing checks for fit and taping up. As requested by sympathetic TLF'ers I reluctantly here post the odd pic.  

[Fridge]

That junction post is ideal for running clean +12V to the cooling fans, headlights and window winders via fuses. I also ran a dedicated earth from back there too, rather than earthing those items through the loom.

[drdoom]

Agreed. As this evolved I found it irresistible to target loads by grouping, so forward luggage block serves pod full time (relays within), ignition switch, main beams, low beams, pod lifts, horns, electric water pump, and electric parking brake concept. As to the tunnel array we have large posts for windows, wiper unit, cabin fans, accessory loads all,etc. The black 4 terminal block seen left is for dedicated direct to battery feeds in 10GA for the ECU.

Rehab beckons sublimely . . . .

[Fridge]

Yes, I've done similar, but using original style relays behind the millboard finishers adjacent to the lefthand pod motor. They take direct power in dedicated +12V and earth via junction boxes via an additional fuse box next to the original two in the glovebox.

I wasn't sure high amp circuits would benefit from dedicated "fat" earth over running it via the original earth in the loom? My electrical knowledge isn't that extensive, I just applied common sense.

I could do with adding relays for the horns as per the Esprit S2 wiring.

 

Edited May 6 by Fridge

[drdoom]

Sunday confession again, despite terminal apostasy. Spending time readying bits for packing off into storage, casting about in other threads for thoughts on my wiper drive noise, while today checking the HVAC unit readiness and finding it not quite there. I've adapted a '90's era Honda spec water control valve, among other things, to a later casing/controls unit from a wrecked '95 and it's been a series of in/out exercises for the HVAC, scuttle beam, binnacle and control lever unit getting the heater and vent controls sorted. So it's a blessing that the trimmer did not pivot around quickly for the instruments binnacle, less aggrieved that I'm grappling with the untrimmed GRP.

Cheers

[Fridge]

My car was bring used with minimal interior for 3 years over the Covid pandemic due to mainly economic reasons, but also to allow me to snag test the car without having to continually remove interior trim, or get it dirty whilst still working on it. It was the best decision I made.

It also meant that I had two "new cars" for the price of one, 3 years apart.