Nut and bolt of 358G

[johnpwalsh]

So the task has begun. S1 striped to it's bare bones, chassis blast cleaned and two areas of corrosion found. To cure this a jig was built to keep the chassis rigid, corroded areas cut out and new metal set in place. 2 coats of zinc phosphate prier applied to all area's both inside the box and the outside then a special coating of rust preventative finish paint applied. Chassis all ready for rebuilding.

All suspension and alloy components vapour blasted and primed with a preservative coating to await rebuild once all the parts are available.

Inlet manifold and carbs vapour blasted in preparation for strip down and rebuild.

Body shell sent off to the paint shop for complete respray in original Calypso Red.

Hold up's caused by. 1/ Waiting on PNM for prices and availability. Now 5 weeks and umpteen phone call's still waiting.  2/ Waiting on cylinder head to be returned from a complete rebuild. 

[LOTUSMAN33]

Good effort John, nice to see you are going original rather than the usual white. 🙂

Whats the interior plans? 

[johnpwalsh]

On 28/03/2023 at 19:38, LOTUSMAN33 said:

Good effort John, nice to see you are going original rather than the usual white. 🙂

Whats the interior plans? 

As original as possible with Alcantara replacing the material that's no longer available. Complete new wiring loom (if anyone knows of a GOOD supplier, ping me a link/message) and all connections to be updated to hopefully remove the common earthing issues in the future. Wheels have already been done and are looking ace.

[Alistair Enser]

Sounds good John - and like the profile picture of the Ekup !

I'm on the reassembly stretch of 837G which is a black and gold ( non JPS) S2. I too have kept it original, but was lucky to have a complete Marcasite interior in good condition .

I hope your build goes well and look forward to the updates and photos 

[johnpwalsh]

Well after an unusually long wait for prices for all the components to starting the suspension and engine rebuild on the S1, they finally came through yesterday. One expensive order placed for complete set of suspension bushes, front and rear shocks, every new nut and bolt to put it all back together. The the engine components, rings, shells, bearing's, thrust washer's, gasket set, cab rebuild set, pistons liners etc. The full works. OUCH. And just for extra punishment I also had to go and order another load of parts, this time for the Elan 130+2 which is due out of the paint shop next week. I had a preview yesterday and she is looking resplendent in her fresh Lagoon Blue with Silver metalflake roof. Wow, just wow. The S1 is next booked in for the paint treatment which will be followed by the S2 which we collected 2 weeks ago and then maybe might just get time before the end of the year for the S4.

Now that would be a line up for a photograph all in new paint. S1, S2, S3 N/A, S3 Turbo and S4 all together with the Elite in Lagoon Blue, Eclat in Yellow, Eclat Excel in Jubilee red and Excel SE in Monaco White in the background. Maybe give me about 5 years to get them all done 1st though.

[johnpwalsh]

Sneak preview prior to final sand down and lacquer. And a peak at the S1 in the far side as she waits her turn for a fresh splash of colour.

As found after 23 years in the shed.

Current owner purchased her at 1 year old. She was then parked up and replaced with an Elite in stunning Black which he still owns, but in storage. That was replaced by a 2nd Elite which I purchased from the family about 5 years ago. This led to a long friendship with many requests to help out when 1st, the brother sadly passed away, then a few years later, the mother passed away suddenly. This only left the father and the daughter who became custodian to the car's. The Black Elite is being left to the grandson and i have been requested to help get back up and running. The Elan is now under ownership of the daughter who was actually taken home form the hospital as a baby in the Elan. Unbelievably, these three cars are/were all resting in a garage only a hand full of miles from Hethel.

Now all back to original colour's.

[Paul Coleman]

On 28/03/2023 at 17:26, johnpwalsh said:

Body shell sent off to the paint shop for complete respray in original Calypso Red.

358G was yellow originally?

[johnpwalsh]

42 minutes ago, Paul Coleman said:

358G was yellow originally?

Interesting. I know she had a repaint about 30 years ago, but there are no signs of it having been Yellow. Guess it's time to check the data plate. 

Thanks Paul.

[Paul Coleman]

16 minutes ago, johnpwalsh said:

Interesting. I know she had a repaint about 30 years ago, but there are no signs of it having been Yellow. Guess it's time to check the data plate. 

Thanks Paul.

I think they look much better in yellow than 'Ferrari wannabe' red

You can check it on lotusproject.co.uk

Edited April 7, 2023 by Paul Coleman

[johnpwalsh]

I know Gordon's car very well and he only lives about 40 minutes from me. As for Lotus Yellow, my best ever S3 N/A was Yellow with the dark Red interior and that was a stunning car.