Esprit V8 project

[neal]

The only potential downside which other might not appreciate is the noise. The turbo whistle is going to be significant and right behind my ears.

And that is something you don't want?

[mike_sekinger]

A bit of a family day today.

What better use for old timing belts?...

Cheers,

Mike S

[bzguy]

love this project !

Mike, you've a got your own private security team over there

Edited March 21, 2010 by bzguy

[Simon350S]

They really do look like their dad

[lotus4s]

Thanks for the info Mike.

That's a great little team of mercenaries you have there....

[Iconic Ride]

And that is something you don't want?

Hi, Mike.

I'm with Neal on this one. Anyone who finds the sound of a wound up tubo(s) offensive doesn't deserve to drive this car!

Neal brings up a valid and interesting point. If you don't install the quarter panels, what is your plan for the initial intake source for airflow to the cone filters and/or their respective airboxes? What about a pair of Exige roof (hatch?) scoops? Too "boy racer" maybe? It would actually look uber cool to be able to see the "non-boxed" cones through the rear side windows, but I reckon that's not an option.

Separate question: Did I understand you to say that the [future build] X-plane motor would not be "upgraded" powerwise?

Lastly, are your kids available for guerrilla warfare hire? I have a bit of a wildlife issue out back, and could use the help.

Cheers,

John

[mike_sekinger]

Hi John,

Great to have you back.

Personally, I like the turbo whistle but it is likely to be rather load with this arrangement.

The intention for the filters is not so hard to imagine. The air is still captured in the same way and will simply feed an enclosure. I`m hoping to be able to use the rear quarter glass as one side of the enclosure, as it will be useful to be able to see what is happening inside.

The kids are still in training

The x-plane engine will be built-up with a mild output in mind. After all, it is being built more for aural delight than for utlimate performance.

Cheers,

Mike S

Edited March 22, 2010 by mike_sekinger

[Iconic Ride]

Looking forward to whatever you come up with, Mike. Sounds like there's a good chance that the foam will "see the light of day" afterall.

And come to think of it, I believe you had indicated early on in this thread that the X-plane was, in fact, primarily an exercise in Acoustic Alchemy (interesting group by the way, if you've never heard them play).

[mike_sekinger]

Home for a bit of an Easter break.

Wayne - this one is for you !

Got my delivery from C&R this morning and it is absolutely grand - this should help keep the core temperature under control.

I´ve also been preparing the tanks for painting tomorrow (using POR15 Metal Ready)

Just need to source some appropriately sized closed-cell foam now.....

Foam sorted!... should be here within a week or so

Cheers,

Mike S

Edited April 1, 2010 by mike_sekinger

[Simon350S]

That rad & fan setup does look sexy!

[saggitarius]

A beautiful cooling device you've got there.

Do you know if this is the same size as on a G-car? Or at least if the one you've got will fit in a G-car?

Regards

Geir

[mike_sekinger]

Hi Geir,

I do not know if this design will fit in a G-car. Maybe someone has knowledge about the radiator sizes across the years?

I had a truly horrid day removing all of the old chargecooler rubbish in prep. for the new stuff.... plastic fish pond hose....

Managed to remove the old radiator assy. ready for the installation of the new one - a ´fun´ job

Also had time to POR15 the fuel tanks. Hopefully, they will be good for a few mone years.

All in all, not a bad day.

Cheers,

Mike S

[ifly]

Mike,

Love all the updates and the pictures to give us a true view of all your hard work.

Quick question what are the dimensions of the old baffle box in front of the fuel tanks behind the passenger seats where the old speakers used to go?

Thanks in advance.

[mike_sekinger]

It is not the easiest to describe, but I´ll do my best.

The area is a not a uniform box. It´s dimensions are approx:

rear-most: 160mm(W)x 130mm (H) opening to

front-most: 210(w) x 150mm (H)

depth is 80mm

speaker aperture is dia. 130mm

Was that what you meant?

Cheers,

Mike S

[ifly]

Mike, much appreciated! I only asked as you had them clearly visible in your pictures and have been considering committing sacrilege by adding subwoofers in there.

Thanks again. Bob

[mike_sekinger]

Great weather here in France, but still managed some time in the workshop.

Setting up the wastegate capsules - 2x everything....

Engine building should start next weekend.

Cheers,

Mike S

[WEllison]

Hi Mike,

The radiator looks just like the drawings, but its nice to see the real thing. I am still waiting on the completion of the intercooler radiator. They both should ship this week. The plenum and anti-flow reversal flaps should make a big difference for low speed cooling. The Molex connectors which come with the Spal fans are not waterproof, so I am replacing them with Delphi automotive connectors.

Wayne

[mike_sekinger]

Hi Wayne,

Yes, I´ll also be replacing the fan connectors.

I´ll take some images of the install (hopefully next weekend). Due to the thickness of the core, I may need to bring my central oil cooler forward a little more than originally planned.

I´ll keep you posted.

Cheers,

Mike S

[Simon350S]

as far as I'm aware the radiators were pretty much unchanged on the later cars so they should fit I'm thinking.

Shiny turbos, nice

Just checked, although the radiators themselves have different part numbers, the cowlings that mount the fans are exactly the same part number.

This means that the fixing locations for the radiator must be exactly the same and the size of the rad should be the same. They are still 2 core so I'm guessing just a slight revising of the design happened but they should be interchangeable.

The pipe locations are the same as well.

[WEllison]

When I designed the radiator I used the largest standard size two row aluminum core I could fit in the space of the OEM radiator. In order to do so, I had to give up the additional thickness of the steel frame used to secure the OEM radiator. That's why the mounting bungs are now recessed into the end tanks. The end result should not require relocating the OEM A/C twin condensors. I know your oil coolers were large and non-standard but the OEM A/C unit should fit in it's stock location as well as the Radiator. This radiator was designed to cool about 450 HP and handle the extra 50,000 btu of my intercooler radiator.

Wayne

[WEllison]

Mike, since you got rid of the fish pond tubing here's how I routed mine.

I mounted the 7 GPM pump on the front cross beam, this is why the radiator could be no more than 6" deep

Edited April 8, 2010 by WEllison

[mike_sekinger]

Hi Wayne,

You are a perfectionist!... that is a very smart installation.

Having the hardpipes take the tight bends is a very sensible idea.

Is that a Bosch pump? It looks identical to the one I have but mine will be located in the engine compartment, close to the header tank.

The original Thames Valley Racing fitment involved two totally separate water circuits - one for each cooler/radiator. My intention is also to run a single circuit with a Y-pipe split for the two cooler bodies.

After seeing your images, I pine to live in a warm and dry climate...... our European cars do not look so clean and pristine underneath...

Cheers,

Mike S

[WEllison]

Mike,

The pump is from Spearco (P/N 2-1441) but it looks a lot like a Bosch pump. The pump has a rated life of 18,000 hours at 35 PSI and 7 GPM. Since this pump requires flooding to prime I wanted to mount it low and away from engine heat sources. That's why it's up front. Being up front makes it easy to add a relay to the existing stack up front and run the wires.

Wayne

Edited April 8, 2010 by WEllison

[mike_sekinger]

Gorgeous weather here and had a visit from Mat, in his lovely new Eclat. We´d been promising to get together for what seems like ages, so it was a real pleasure to finally meet up.

Spent a fun few hours chatting about thing Lotus and looking over his new pride and joy - even got treated to a short drive into the village

Had a bit of time in the afternoon to unpack some customer cylinder heads and install the core plugs and blanking screws into the new block. Now I can really start to make progress on the build

Cheers,

Mike S

[Bibs]

Your house and location look idyllic Mike, very jealous