Restoration of 837G

[Alistair Enser]

Hi all,

 

Esprit S2 help 

Does anyone know where I can source similar or replacement sensors/contacts that go on the ends of the dashboard to trigger the interior lights when the doors are open ? 

Mine are complete but don't seem to work so assume they are furred up inside 

Thanks 

Ali

 

 

 

[drdoom]

Hi Alistair,

Those quite convincingly appear to be momentary "on" push buttons commonly available through vendors of electronics components. SJ or other well known specialists may have them in stock. You'd be wise to investigate the presence of + voltage at the courtesy lamp on the firewall before concluding where the fault may be. There is a fuse in one of the glove box located blocks which is dedicated to the rear screen heat and the lamp, providing + voltage at all times to the screen relay, then on to the courtesy lamp and finally to each of the door switches. Of course you must consider faulty earthing as well.

Cheers 

[Alistair Enser]

Hi Drdoom 

Thanks for the response . My dash is currently out of the car ( full rebuild) and I have metered the push button . It just doesn't change status whether pushed or not.

I asked SJ and they said they couldn't source them , but like you I assumed it would be easy to find a replacement from an RS/Maplin type place but can't seem to find  anything that would be suitable 

If anyone has any luck / advice do let me know 

 

Thanks 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JonSE]

https://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/cut-to-length-door-switch.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsIO64vj08gIVUuztCh2hLwy-EAQYEyABEgKuGfD_BwE
 

Hi there are several after market ones, if your keen on keeping the original you could switch the internals I expect….

[Alistair Enser]

So.......fellow campers. After extensive research I couldn't find the 'sane" switch anywhere.

Armed with my trusty soldering iron and a good soaking of stripper to descale the internals and repair a broken contact I'm please to say I now have two working door switches, and on a positive - originality is kept 

[Alistair Enser]

As the weather was nice at the weekend and the roads were full with petrol queues,  I decided to stay home and get some quality time on 837G-  stripping down the front end , lights , Aircon, bumper, electrics etc in preparation for the day when I get the body off. Many many rusty bolts later - victory .

I do have some questions which hopefully someone can answer. Underneath the front spoiler/splitter there is a separate GRP panel/ undertray which runs the width of the car and seems to partially protect the radiator and aircon condenser - does anyone know what this is called and if anyone sells them . Mine could be repaired, but it has clearly been grounded out at some point and probably 40% of it is missing.

Unsurprisingly the Aircon condenser is missing too, so I imagine this may have taken a bearing at the time the panel was damaged.  Does anyone have experience of sourcing the panel and or condenser and possibly the Aircon pipes . I seem to have everything else but the pipe connectors are very rusty and I don't know how gas tight the old pipes are .

 

Any help or advice would be appreciated .

I will send some pictures during the week 

 

[drdoom]

Alistair, your A/C system if original will be in need of substantial if not complete replacement by now. The OEM hoses will not adequately retain the refrigerants now permitted, the compressor oil will be incompatible and dryer consequently not salvageable. The compressor may have been knackered in service due to neglect. All in all you have quite a commitment to make if restoring the system.

The piece which serves to gather up the bits underneath the nose is generally referred to as "radiator pod" though listed on the SJ website as "radiator duct", and is essential for both protection and airflow management.

[Alistair Enser]

Thanks Steve 

It is indeed a rare original factory option. Sounds like an expensive pain , but I will persevere and do it properly. Do you have any experience of compatible upgrades? I would like to keep as original as possible . I guess the dryer is Delphi ?

Thanks for the note on the tray name

 

 

 

[910Esprit]

It will be a rare option on an S2, so definitely worth progressing as long as you still have the evaporator in position.   Have a look at this thread 

 

[peteyg]

With your radiator cowl/duct, whilst not original I would recommend adding some thin sheet metal to the corners where the braces bolt through or even along the width of the cowling edge to act as a skid. You will ground the cowling, guaranteed.

Pete

[Alistair Enser]

Thanks Pete and Steve . That gives me something to go on 

As you say it is a very rare factory option - so would be nice to fix .

 

 

 

 

[drdoom]

The HVAC unit is situated in the most inaccessible point on a running car, therefore there is no margin for error in terms of restoring that. Be certain the heater core is sound, that the heater flow valve is perfectly good, that the air doors are freely moving with their vacuum actuators, and that the foam strips which seal/cushion the door joints are renewed as they crumble away with age. Of course the evaporator must be checked and flushed at minimum, and the hoses replaced as mentioned earlier. Fuss carefully over the integrity of the rubber elbows' seal where they connect the nylon vacuum lines to the various valves. Plenty to do in this effort but I feel it altogether worthwhile for comfort's sake.

Cheers

[Alistair Enser]

Anyone out there with sage advice - please on body/chassis splitting ??

 

Happy New Year 

With the fist day of non rain in 'forever' I took to stripping 837G yesterday ready to get the body off.

I am 'trying' to get the body off my S2. The interior is out , dashboard is out,seats ,carpets out . I have disconnected all electrics and  hoses ( water, air , brakes ) 

I have remove  3 bolts across rear boot bay, 2 bolts either side going through rear bulkhead into engine bay(behind where seats are) plus another two random bolts below them on the drivers rear bulkhead. I have removed seatbelts plus the 4 additional bolts along the tunnel (2 each side ) , plus the two bolts in the front footwell (1 either side ) , plus removed the pedal box and 4 retaining bolts. Additionally I have removed the two chassis mounting bolts in the spare wheel compartment (1 either side ) .

Hey presto - body still stuck tight.  Does anyone know of any other magic bolts connecting the body to the chassis? 🤪

 

Any advice appreciated thanks

 

[drdoom]

Hey Alistair,

It's been a while since I've shifted mine but your account does seem to cover the pertinent attachment points. There is some angularity needed in mating or separating the two, with clearance in mind as either the 2 chassis tabs aft of the engine bay firewall or the front chassis box section travel vertically. In other terms it is clear that my method employing trolley jacks fore and aft must alternately lift each chassis end in stages with adjustment of the chassis position fore-aft in order to stick it fully home. 

By my vague recollection you do seem to have the fixing points covered but perhaps once again survey the engine bay for any obscure, stray bit which might hang you up. Once confident you truly have no such remaining concerns it's time to apply a modest measure of force to commence separation. Should not require a great effort and once underway you'll simply need to mind the angular aspects outlined above.

Cheers 

Are there 2 brackets ( 1 each side ) on the chassis perimeter tube above the engine mounts attaching to the body?

[Alistair Enser]

Thanks Steve

 

i will take a look for the brackets you mention. What seems weird is that if I lift the body from the front or the back it literally pulls up the entire chassis and suspension - it is not even ‘vaguely’ lose

 

I’ll keep looking 

[TAR]

Taken from the manual  

[drdoom]

What may be hanging you up can be seen in the rather poor photo attached here. Location more correctly described as outboard side of the perimeter chassis tube, engine bay aft of the engine mounts.

[Alistair Enser]

Thanks everyone. I’ve certainly removed all the fixings listed. The rear of the car will lift using a crane completely clear of the chassis , the front still seems ‘very heavy’ so I will do some more investigating as I don’t want to break something if there is a rogue bolt somewhere at the front. All the interior and dash are out along with the fixings listed , but the aircon/fan under the passenger dashboard is still in situ- is that somehow bolted to the frame ? As this is a factory aircon model

I’ll report back as I progress at the weekend now 

 

thanks again 

[Fridge]

Bill Galbraith has a useful step-by-step instruction sheet on the Lotus Owners group online in the US. Google it. I can no longer attach photos or docs on here.

[drdoom]

I can think of nothing in the HVAC unit which would attach to the chassis. It's often been some overlooked stray line or cable hanging up separation of the two.

Bear in mind the angular aspect in dealing with the forward end, the suspension turrets are not purely vertical.

[TAR]

You have to lift the body slightly forwards and up as it catches on the bolts for the front suspension top mounts.  

[Alistair Enser]

……..so mystery over

 

i don’t know if this is normal but..

 

in the front footwell of my S2 I have a chassis mounting bolt on either side which is removed as per all the instructions, but in addition the  bolt for the front upper wishbones goes through the body ?

it is these two bolts that are holding the front of the car in place while everything else is removed .

 

Is that normal ?

[drdoom]

Aha! No, that is not as it should be though quite possibly an improvement structurally! Tim @TAR astutely pointed out the normal state of things wherein the shell does hang up on the fastener if not angled away while separating from chassis. The proper arrangement has the bolt drawing up its associated washer tight to the chassis turret. There is a hole in footwell on axis with the pivot bolt so as to permit socket attachment, and a plate or plug applied in order to seal out the elements.

Cheers

[Alistair Enser]

Thanks Steve .

I did think it was odd.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Fridge]

Don't forget to capture the thick alu angled washer which is on that bolt, between the body and the chassis (certainly on an S1).

Edited January 7, 2022 by Fridge