2023 and new beginnings….. what next.

[Barrykearley]

Yesterday I finally managed to complete the tank install - 17 litres of petrol put in them.

the carpet set arrived from @Steve V8 and I couldn’t resist placing them in the car to see how and where they fit. Even chucked in loose - wow what a huge difference it makes to the cars look. Off to buy glue today.

[ChrisJ]

Am really looking forward to seeing this back on the road.

Back in the day used to think ... meh, but now - they are part of the Esprit history and need to be kept and used.

[Barrykearley]

This afternoon I opened the workshop door and was immediately hit by the complete lack of petrol smell - so tanks are indeed perfect. But they were pressure tested so that’s no surprise.

Car dragged outside and carpets glued into position. I have to say that was a hugely satisfying job.

 

@ChrisJ I’ve really no idea what I think of them tbh. They are history and they are something different. To me they are very reminiscent of the 1980s Amiga/atari games. There was no way after tracking this elusive “missing car” down over covid was I going to pass up on bringing her home.

[Barrykearley]

Ok today I took on what I’d been putting off for the last week. 
 

chassis pipes - now these looked ok with only minor weeping being apparent. I’ve been here before with a couple of esprit’s and I knew they needed to be done after seeing the engine ally pipes. Popped to our local place - £45.86 later I’m the proud owner of 4 pipes to go through the chassis.

get back and take off some rubber pipes ready to remove.

that’s the heater pipe and it’s completely blocked.

the bigger rad ones were weird - one full of sandy debris - the other full at the end with what looked like Vaseline. For those that know - the pipes going back in are straight not hockey stick shaped as you can’t get them in with the body on.

Pipes were a complete mess - and without doubt would have caused me huge issues had I not pulled them.

i bell mouthed the pipe ends using the hammer and carefully selected socket method - a bend was made halfway down to avoid the selector mechanism by the use of the correct piece of 2x2 and 2 fat blokes.

 

ps - I know stainless is heavier - but I don’t care I’ll just eat less.

[Barrykearley]

Today I’ve managed to fit the rear bumper and lower valance. 
 

put a battery on and checked a few of the electrical bits and bobs. 

 

this evening with Danny’s assistance we’ve even managed to fit the rear trims in the cabinet and fit the seats and seat belts.

I have to say the black bumpers really do give a far better look.

[Barrykearley]

More pipes stripped off yesterday. The one new ally pipe from SJ is wrong as it has a 30mm tail off to the stat housing and the one on my car is 22mm apparently that’s an upgrade that lotus did in a tech bulletin.

all of the ally is a mess - and it’s all being replaced. I’m stunned just how much vile horribleness is in these pipes. Remote thermostat cleaned and tested.

[910Esprit]

That gunk would clearly be a disaster in waiting - Be really interesting to understand the cause - such as a mixture of incompatible coolants or maybe some 'radweld' type stuff or something else...   

[Barrykearley]

It’s sweet tasting @910Esprit - so almost certainly coolant that has solidified after nearly 30 years of being laid up and drained down.

heater matrix flushed today and connected back up to the through chassis pipes. Another two couplers made from the remaining tube pulled out of the chassis and that took about 8 attempts to find pieces not pitted internally or externally. Literally every single pipe is being replaced or removed, cleaned and refitted.

I flushed the radiator - but it was apparent that it’s leaking and rotted out somewhere. Only the foam is damp - it’s not pouring out - but that’s a job to finish this weekend. The oil cooler pipes came undone beautifully which stunned me.

[Steve V8]

6 hours ago, Barrykearley said:

It’s sweet tasting @910Esprit - so almost certainly coolant that has solidified after nearly 30 years of being laid up and drained down.

It looks like the plughole after my son gets out of the shower.

 

[Barrykearley]

Ffs @Steve V8 don’t taste it 

[Barrykearley]

So onto the rad pack dropping this morning.

some interesting spares found lurking in here.

ahh looks like I will indeed be deleting the aircon 😂

rad pack on floor and stripped down

fans will be replaced with aftermarket units - but these seem ok. Radiator will be dropped for recore next week. 

[Barrykearley]

Radiator dropped to be recored yesterday. Sadly the place I used in Hereford has now gone so it had to go to Redditch.

All the engine bay pipes and clips were fitted yesterday. Today the manflu is still bad so I sacked off work when I went in to find the place crawling with painters and decorators and thought I’d get in the garage for an hour or so.

Engine wheeled out 

and that’s it for now - engine is back insitu. Loads to do - but that’s enough for today.

[Barrykearley]

Yesterday I managed a couple of hours down the shed. More bits bolted back on.

the worst was the near side rear brake caliper which was the wrong side of the chassis after the lump was dropped in. So had to remove to put the right side. I’ll have to bleed that again now 🤪

some water pipes Installed, engine mounts bolted up, gearbox mounts replaced, rear deck hinges fettled and measured as I’ve no idea how they fitted.

 

had a phone call from the rad shop to tell me that’s ready for collection Monday 🥳

[Barrykearley]

Radiator was collected Monday and is now back on the car after refurb of the frame and new fans installed. 
 

turbo from @Escape is now at turbo technics for their magical touch. We are edging ever closer

[Barrykearley]

So I’ve done some more over the last week. 
Throttle and choke cables fitted, rad packs on and plumbed up, fan pack wired, brakes bled, clutch bled, lower front valance fitted, boot floor rivnuts installed, new front upper ball joint's. She is indeed eeking closer to starting.

My pile of parts is becoming ever smaller.

[Barrykearley]

Turbo arrived this morning - luckily the UPS driver rang me as TT had used the farm address they had on file 🤪 - the gate was locked at the end of the drive so he called - that was lucky 🤣

 

anyway - it’s a thing of beauty - how’s this for a transition @Escape

[Escape]

Glad to see it turned out so well and another part of Eleanor will live on.

[Barrykearley]

Refurbed turbo is now back on the car.

Some minor fabrication and it now has a full stainless exhaust to go along with it.

We are edging ever close to start up day.

[ChrisJ]

It is going to be epic.

Hope you take a video of the first startup.

[910Esprit]

Think its a wise move going with the later turbo.   The external wastegate runs much closer to the manifold than is recommended by the manufacturer on the G version

NB - Did get your water pipes from SJ?   I've just got round to fitting the large one with the temperature sender.   The old sender is 1/8NPT, but the replacement pipe seems to be drilled for a G1/8 BSP sender, which seems a bit odd...   

[Barrykearley]

Yes @910Esprit I got them from SJ. Didn’t notice a thread difference but maybe didn’t look tbh. I did whack on some thread tape though.

The reason for the swap was a multitude of reasons. Alunox didn’t have the earlier manifold off the shelf - as it happens it took me months to get round to it so that wouldn’t have mattered. The old manifold was cracked anyway and the turbo was shot so that needed rebuild. It was simple economics and the later setup was simpler, cheaper and just a better setup.  Just need to figure out where to cut in the water cooling pipes now.

[Barrykearley]

Gearbox oil swapped yesterday. Some fettling on the turbo and inlet to get stuff lined up nicely. Rear cross member refitted along with the extra braces that are unique to the St Tropez .

 

stuck a battery on the old girl - I get ignition lights and the electrics work - but no fuel pump running and no starter engagement. I gave up at that point for fear of a Basil Fawlty moment. I’ll have a brew and go and take another look today.

[Escape]

Are you sure all the grounds on and around the engine are properly connected?

[Barrykearley]

Yeah - done that one chap - I’ll get busy on it shortly. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard the fuel pump run when I was playing with the electrical stuff before the engine went back in and I popped the cut off switch.

 

[Barrykearley]

So - fuel cut off switch needed cleaning. That sorted the fuel pump out.

the Ignition switch is something else 

with some fettling that now works.

getting the fuel pressure sorted seems an issue though - the regulator does chuff all and the pump runs at what looks like over 20psi on the gauge I have - it’s flooded the engine terrible and won’t adjust down.

abandon ship for today until I can get a second pair of eyes on this - oh and to allow the fuel that’s now everywhere to evaporate