BASIC INSTINCT, the Lotus Esprit V8 Project

[TBD]

Every project needs a good name!

As a Project Manager I know how essential a good name is for a project to be successful. I've seen hundreds of projects and am convinced a good project name is essential for project success. Some project names are more creative like "All-IP", some predictive, like "Technology Refresh" or "DCC - Data Centre Consolidation" and some abstract like "NewCo". I've been amused to see several projects named "Phoenix" that have generally been set up after their predecessor project failed. Their successors were named Phoenix II more than once.

 

So, without further ado let me introduce you to "BASIC INSTINCT, the Lotus Esprit V8 project".

The Lotus Esprit starred in many Hollywood block busters, from the famed James Bond films we all love,  "The Spy Who Loved Me" and "For Your Eyes Only films to Pretty Woman (loved more by SWMBO) So, naming a Lotus Esprit restauration project after a film seemed logical. I have chosen "Basic Instinct", obviously because two Esprits played a major role in the film (and not the scene you were all thinking of).

 

Prequel

And in the beginning…

…there was a university student who first saw the Lotus Esprit S1 at the New York Motor Show and immediately fell in love with the car (AND the hostess, but that is another story). In his eyes it was and still is one of the most beautiful cars ever made. That student got older, went down the classic path of a petrol head (Alfa, Porsche, BMW, Audi, etc.), but by the time he could have afforded to buy an Esprit they weren't being built anymore.

Then, ten years ago this gearhead joined the group of Lotus owners with an Evora S, traded this up to an Evora GTE (that he then crashed) and has been the proud owner of the Lotus Komotec Exige EX460 JPS for the last five years. Meanwhile this idiot is approaching retirement and the nostalgia of old age reignited the dream of adding another Lotus to the collection to close the circle by with an Esprit.

Inspired by @Suddabym's amazing S2 this fool started looking for restauration ideas. He looked into an EV-conversion, even did some design analysis (see here) , but found no way to overcome the range barriers. Only when he saw a V8 in the flesh did he realize that this would probably be the best compromise between the dream and a "modern" car.. He was driving an Audi RS2 in 1996, when the Esprit V8 made its debut and those were great times (he is still record holder Munich-St. Anton in winter in one hour 50 minutes with the RS2).

The maniac started following the ads and, by coincidence stumbled across an auction for an Esprit V8 that had a great interior, a fully rebuilt engine and very low mileage. The paint was miserable (as he found out in the meantime, the car had been wrapped and when they tore this off the clearcoat stuck better to the foil than the car), but this wouldn't be an issue as changing colour would be inevitable. He set himself a very low limit, sure he would never win and placed a bid 20 seconds before the online auction was over.

He hasn't slept since!

 

The car has meanwhile been shipped to Komo-tec, who will be responsible for putting the Esprit V8 back on the road in pristine condition.

[TBD]

In the meanwhile Komo-tec have completed their initial inspection and the list of issues is amazing:

• Various paint defects (clear coat detachment, possibly partly osmosis / wavy-pored paint) - a clear result from pulling the old wrap
• Small ding in the front bumper
• Rear diffuser partially wrapped with unknown background (it's a fake carbon wrap)
• Interior partially foiled with unknown background (fake carbon wrap)
• Oil pressure gauge defective
• Defective wiper linkage
• Heating controller not working
• Air conditioning not working (line in the lower engine compartment probably leaking)
• Transmission very stiff
• Scraping synchro gear 2 and gear 5
• 1st gear 1 very loud
• Idle speed gets stuck
• Taillights glazed (probably have to be replaced - turn signals were colored red = not allowed in Germany)
• Transmission oils heavily
• No catalytic converters installed
• Rear axle rubbers LH and RH defective
• Broken front turn signal glass
• Front left headlight (one lens tarnished, one glass defective)
• Wheels need to be refurbished
• Tires front DOT from 2009
• Tires rear DOT from 2010
   

That is it! I've ssen cars come in for their annual inspection wiht a longer list of issues, this car is 26 years old! I expected the gearbox, I've had gearbox issues with every one of my Lotus, so the the known weaknesses of the Esprit gearbox did not surprise me. I always budgeted for a gearbox rebuild and hardening. Most costly item will probably the new paint job. I've pretty much finalized the design, but I'll keep that for later.

Next steps (from easy to hard)

• having the car painted
• rebuilding the gearbox
• Identifiying and ordering parts
• having Daniel find time and space in their workshop to begin working.

[C8RKH]

Woo hoo! Nice one @TBD. What a great post for a new thread and I cannot wait to see what you create Thomas and a view videos of it driving.  Best of luck. Superb project.

[jep]

Stone me. 😃.

Good luck, don't pussy around. I'll keep everything crossed for you. 

 

[mike_sekinger]

Great project.  I actually prefer the look of the earlier V8 in terms of wheels and rear wing.

Looking forward to seeing the journey.

[TBD]

15 hours ago, mike_sekinger said:

Great project.  I actually prefer the look of the earlier V8 in terms of wheels and rear wing.

Looking forward to seeing the journey.

And I actually prefer the later wheels and wing. So if someone wants to swap.

But on the other side, I very much prefer the earlier interior and dashboard.

[TBD]

Status update:

So we have been focussing on planning and setting everything up for the restoration:

• The gearbox rebuild will be performed by PUK Racing in Augsburg, Germany. The parts  are on stock at Quaffe and have been ordered. The removal and shipmentof the gearbox  by Komo-tec is scheduled.
• We've finalized the paint design and the car is now being prepared for painting.
• Needed parts have been identified by Komo-tec and being ordered.

FInalizing the design and repainting proved quite challenging after we saw the offer. Repainting a car and changing colour can cost a fortune and I definitively underestimated that. But, in the end no compromises are being made.

Amazingly, so far we haven't found any of the expected roadblocks.

BTW we did find out why the paint was so bad. The car had previously been wrapped and when the last owner had the wrap removed the paint came with it. Also, the wrap seemed to have promoted osmosis in some places.

[mike_sekinger]

I see some influence from Tim Neely`s Esprit V8 there.  Very nice.

[TBD]

22 hours ago, mike_sekinger said:

I see some influence from Tim Neely`s Esprit V8 there.  Very nice.

The Lotus Cars teaser was the initial inspitarion, but Tim's car completed the picture with those rocker panels. And a bit of EX460 for the front.

Unfortunately we wont be able to get the OZ saturn rims, the car being fitted with the older wheels. I'm still open to suggestions for a better alternative.

[TBD]

Time for an update. I finally saw the car end pf June at the paint shop. Such a dream.

 

Unfortunately the repainting is becoming abit of a nightmare. Evidently the car was already repainted at one time, but the paint didn't bond to the car. So, this will take a bit longer....

 

 

[mike_sekinger]

Looking forward to more updates as you progress.   It`s always good to see a project running through the process and getting some much needed love.

[TBD]

Just now, mike_sekinger said:

Looking forward to more updates as you progress.   It`s always good to see a project running through the process and getting some much needed love.

Took a day and a half, but first progress is showing. I'm sure hoping the rest will go faster.

[TBD]

So I've started looking at rims and tires for the Esprit. The familiar problem is that very few tires are avalable to fit to the stock wheel sizes. Semms like only less popular brands such as Nanking, Falken or Toyo are still making a tire that would fit for both fronts and rears. Also,the 6-spoke OZ Racing wheels on the car willnneed extensive refurbishment and repainting.

It looks like I may have found a viable option that would open to a much larger world of tires.

Team Dynamics (RimStock) has the Pro Race 1.3 (https://www.rimstock.com/content/pro-race-1-3) rim in 18"x8.5 and 18"x10 that could fit. Apparently the offset can be custom fitted, otherwise spacers could bridge the gap (objective being to keep the track as Lotus handling division designed).

There are a lot more tires available to fit the 18" wheels font and back, including the Michelin Pilot Super Sport (245/35ZR18 in Front, 295/35ZR18 Rear - each only 10mm wider).

 Team Dynamics wheels are fitted as option to many Exige V6 (including my Komotec Exige EX460) and I think they look very fitting. The Esprit has such a timeless (futuristic) look that it need not be locked into the past by old wheel designs.

 

[TBD]

FInally seeing the progress being made. VEry interesting how the paint shop is filling crakcs and holes by first making them bigger.

 

[TBD]

Thinks are really starting to come closer. I just love the gold flakes in the Lotus Motorsport Back!

[mike_sekinger]

Gathering speed.  It`s great when a vision starts to form into a result.

[TBD]

Just now, mike_sekinger said:

Gathering speed.  It`s great when a vision start to form into a result.

I can see that from your GT1 project.

[TBD]

So I have Komotec looking at the Braid Forged 7 wheels in 18"/19".  Daniel already has these for the Exige and the Evora and they are available in the right sizes.

Probably going for the Bridgestone Potenza Sport in 245/35R18 and 295/30R19, which are avery decent tire.

NB, if anyone is interested in a group buy on the wheels PM me.

[TBD]

For all whose curious as tho where we stand. The bodyis finally being primed and the paint shop should befinished by the end of October.

 

[Jacques]

coming very nice along the plan and well executed.

Kind regards,

Jacques

[TBD]

Today is a great day! Finally the last part, the main body shell, has completed painting!

I have been waiting so long for this moment. Motorsport Black was such a great choice with the gold pearl!

 

Following reassembly we'll still have a long way to go:

• Gearbox rebuild
• Big brake kit
• New wheels
• Suspension (mostly bushings)
• New ICE
• Odds and ends
• and, not to forget, Tuning.

 

[mike_sekinger]

Excellent.  A lovely Winter project that will be ready for 2023.

[AK70]

Time for an update? 😉

[TBD]

3 hours ago, AK70 said:

Time for an update? 😉

You're absolutely right! I was actually at Komo-tec to see the progress last week, so the timing is perfect.

The repainting is completed and the final reassembly at the paint shop nearly done. Of course, we found a few more parts to order and the painter is incredibly meticulous. They keep finding more sports that could be refinished or replaced (like the wiper arms, radio antenna, etc.). I'm glad we have a fixed price on this.

The new rims and tires are expected this week. Next step will be gearbox removal, which will be rebuilt and strengthened at PUK racing. The bushes still need to be replaced

Daniel vetoed all my thoughts about water/methanol injection and insisted we do it right! So he will be building a charge cooler setup for the car and we can use the tune from @mike_sekinger.

We've also agreed a target date around end February. Which means I can then pick up the car without needing winter tires.

[Escape]

What kind of chargecooler setup are they planning on? There's a few of us looking for alternatives after the ProAlloy group buy didn't happen.

The wait must be terribly long for you (I know about that...), but with a target date you now have something to look forward to! 

Filip