Shell all primed up.

[Guest Troy Halliday]

I have just finnished priming up the shell on my S3 and tomorrow I will move on to doing all the bits like bonnet, tailgate, spoilers, doors ect.

It's so good to see the car one colour again

I have posted some pics to my online diary (see my signature for link)

[Splashout]

phhh look forward to seeing it with some colour on!

[Guest Troy Halliday]

Must admit I'm getting a bit anxious to see her in all her glory. I'm just pleased that it mno longer looks all spoty and messy. I got most of the bolt on bits done today. Just have the numbr plate light plynths, number plate suuround, doors, handles, front bumper and wing mirrors left. As I don't have the wing mirrors or front bumper it is going to be a bit tricky. I have a rubber front bumper and odd mirrors, so I'm trying to source some now new mirrors and new/secondhand front fibreglass bumper now.

Oh and I've posted some more pics of the odds and sods I painted today.

[Evil_Dr_Fish]

Once again, Geoff at Esprit Engineering WAS trying to do a deal for a whoel bunch of mirrors - try him for those too....

[Bibs]

Yes, Fishy does work for EE

[Guest Troy Halliday]

I did ring him about the mirrors he wasn't sure if there was any left and I'm stilwaiting to hear from him.

Just getting a bit itchy can't wait to get her all painted up

[Guest Troy Halliday]

I now have all the parts I need to start the colour coats. I managed to pic up my wing mirrors on Sunday so they will be primed and ready by the end of today. I will be wet flating the bumper today aswell and then I need to strip out all the plastic sheeting I put up. Have a good clean up and get rid of all the overspray dust. I would love to paint her this weekend and will aim to do so, but I'll have to see how it all goes.

I do have a little problem though. The paint I bought turned out to be a Tri-coat system. Which means it is a base coat ( a starnge Goldie colour) a mid coat which is a tinted clear coat (which looks like the see through syrup in rasbery jam) and a clear coat (the laquer). Unfortunately this is one of the hardest paint systems to do especialy DIY. I can spray but I'm no pro. I will need to spray about 5 coats of the goldie metalic colour, letting it flash of between coats (which means allowing it to become touch dry so that the thinners in the paint can escape). Then several coats of the tinted clear mid coat ( until I reach the desired colour) and then 2 caots of clear coat. The next day I will need to lightly flat of the clear coat using 2000 grit sandpaper and then spray a further 3 coats of clear coat. Between each coat of paint when it has flash dried a will need to wipe the car down with a tack rag to remove the dust overspray. Now here is the problem unless you get even coats the mid coat will look patchy. If you think of mehogany ronsel going over pine you will understand what I mean If you do not get an even spread of the tint it looks darker in places than in others.

Add to that that the door, bonet, boot, wing mirrors, light pods,door handles, light surrounds , number plate surrounds, number plate lamps, bumpers, and spoilers are not actualy on the car. But will need to be the same colour and you get the idea of the problem. Each individual part needs to be sprayed in the same direction as the part of the shell that it attaches to. With an equal covering of paint. Now a further problem is that the plastic parts that ae easily flexible need to have an additive that makes the paint flexible (flex additive or flexaid) but flex additive can slightly change the colour of the paint. So in order to loose the colour difference I will need to lightly blend the flexed paint into the panels that surround it.

So just a quick paint job

I can't wait.

Thanks for the words of encouragement Simon and from everybody. It helps keep your spirits up. Mind you seeing everyones cars on Sunday made me very keen to get it all done and get out on the roads.

Tomorrow I take my friends Lotus 7 replica that we just built for it's SVA. I built that last year in about 5 months. It has a 210 bhp Vauxhal 16v engine that I built and weighs about 520kg. Apperently it should see the sub 4 second mark 0-60

Roll on summer time B)

[Guest esprit geoff]

Well that's very brave of you to do all that work, hope it turns out well.

so were in Herts are you as I'm also in Herts?

good luck.

Geoff.

[Guest Troy Halliday]

I live in Waltham Cross, Juntion 25 M25. Where do you hail from.

[Guest Troy Halliday]

Well she's all painted now

It was a bit of a mission but I can't be bothered to go into that at the mo. I will be dropping the shell back on the chasis before I mop it up which with any luck should be next weekend.

I have added the pics to my diary the pictures don't show of the colour that well but you'll get the idea.

[Paul C]

Looking good Troy

Is great this online photo restoration too.

Will be a real milestone when the body is

lifted onto the chassis i'm guessing!

[rocket63]

Well she's all painted now 

It was a bit of a mission but I can't be bothered to go into that at the mo. I will be dropping the shell back on the chasis before I mop it up which with any luck should be next weekend.

I have added the pics to my diary the pictures don't  show of the colour that well but you'll get the idea.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Looking good Troy.

[Guest Troy Halliday]

Looking good Troy 

Is great this online photo restoration too.

Will be a real milestone when the body is

lifted onto the chassis i'm guessing! 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Getting it all in colour was another one of my personal land marks as was the finnishing the chasis. Must admit getting it back on the chasis is something I'm looking forward to it will make it easier to push around for a start

I've managed to get a few bits ready to fit I bought a new brake and clutch master cylinder. I had my rad recored to a three core with uprated fins and have two pacet high fow electric fans to fit. I managed to get a new set of rear lights which were in better nick than my old ones. I have sand blasted all the brackets that need to go back on and have already been painted. I have a small repair to do to the rad duct and battery tray which will be glassed at the same time. Rob Sport is not to far from me so I will pop up there and get my light motors reconditioned. I picked up some Elan push rods for the lights, the bar is to short so I have an engineer friend making me some new ones now. I have arranged to use a friends vynle cutting machine to do my graphics which I am working on at the moment. I am a qualified Graphic designer so the graphics side of it is easy. The trimming of the interior will start again and my shopping list gets longer by the minute as does the list of unavailable parts. The main thing thats ticking me of is the screen trim I desperately need some.

Oh well one or two things to do until I get to change my avatar, maybe I should have waited and bought a runner

[Evil_Dr_Fish]

Hi there - good work that man!!!! Great colour - a bit like the Bond Turbo but with a more modern feel

However... Is that ALL we get? ONE Picture? You're a cruel man Troy! (and what part is that?)

Yep I'm afraid that silver screen trim is utterly unavailable.... Try South West Lotus as they recently broke a white HC, then Douglas Valley breakers, then Boss motors then A1 and see if any of them still have the chrome strips. I THINK you may need to fit teh black plastic ones form a newer car otherwise? Or maybe have some machined?

[Guest Troy Halliday]

There shpold be quite a few pics of the parts I just checked and there is at least 25 new pics. I can't get a good overal pic until it's out of the garage as you just can't get far enough away to get it all in.

I must say I am coming round to the idea of the black plastic trims. Don't suppose they made the capping rail trim in black aswell did they?

I have had a good few people round inspecting it. You know the sort. The ones that said you can't! it's to difficult! The colour won't suit the car! Even though they had never seen it. So far they have all said that the colou looks great on the car, freshens it up, but still doesn't look out of place on a car of it's age. Only one of the doom bregade has asmitted they were wrong, the rest seem to have amnesia on the subject

I have got a few things I can do as I said to keep going but I need to spend quite a bit on some bits to move on. The bonus is that if I get stuck I always have the trimming to fall back on. As I already have all the leather and Alcantara.

[glynherron]

Hi Troy

how do you find the time to make such forward progress?

Looking great - love the colour too.

On the subject of chrome wscreen trims, I think that ultimately it will come to a trade off between good but second hand ones, or using the left and rights that are available new and cutting them to make the horizontal ones.

Did I send you some photos of mine that had new chrome trims that had been joined in the middle? If not let me know. Unless you are really looking, you don't know.

Keep up the good work

Glyn

[Simon350S]

Looks stunning Troy, can't wait to see it all back togeather and hopefully one day in the flesh. Wish i lived close enough to call around and see it as your progressing, but hey never mind. Like the way you've got esprit bits hanging everywhere, even off you garage doors! Must be chuffed its turned out so good.

Keep up the good work

Simon

[Guest Troy Halliday]

Yes Glyn you did post the pics thanks. I was impressed and it may be the way to go but I also need rear trims aswell

Problem was I removed the screens to do a proper respray job before I realised that the trims were not available.

As for getting the time I go straight round from work to my firends Mick, where the car is and work through until I have finnished the job in hand or until it is getting far to late. Then I get up early on the weekends and work on the car untill I'm ready to go out to the pub. A quick dash home shower shave and the other 'S' and out for a few pints.

When I have a project I have to get stuck right in. We built Micks Lotus 7 kit car in I think 4 months. The quickest that have had a customer build a car was 9 months and they said that their car was not a patch on the quality of Micks. Mick is getting a bit frustrated because he wants to help me on my car because of the work I did on his but he hasn't got a clue what to do. Mind you, before we started on his car he had never even done an oil change. He was very supprised at how much he did on the car. I set him a task told him how to do it and he went away and did it. He is a demon at fabricating brackets. Every bracket I asked him to make came back looking like a factory made item. He'll soon have something to do on my car and hopefully I can pick up the pace a bit. I was hoping to have in ready for June. I'm still aiming for June but it takes as long as it takes.

Simon and to anyone who wants to you are welcome to come round and have a look. As soon as it is done I will be atended the meets in it so you'll get to see it then. A few friends and I are setting up a car club which is open to anyone. We have so far ;

1 Triumph TR4

1 Triumph GT6

2 Lota Elan +2's

1 MGB

1 MAC#1 7XR (Micks Lotus 7 replica)

1 Westfield (another Lotus 7 replica)

1 Dax Rush (another Lotus 7 replica)

1 Suberu Impreza WRX

and

1 Lotus Esprit S3

We intend to go away for driving weekends around the country, stay overnight in hotels that sort of thing. We should be doing our first trip in August/September not sure where yet but I'll post details on this site and if it's near you then your welcome to join us the more the merier.

One downside though. The club is called ' The Herts and Baldy's ' it was the Herts and borders but as a few of the car owners are supporting their own convertable top the name was changed

[Guest Troy Halliday]

Well the body is back in it's rightful place. Yes it's back on the chasis ..... woohooo

I should now be able to crack on and get this puppy back together again. Starting to plan my list of jobs allready

[Jussi]

Can't wait new pictures about finished car... Earlier pics looks good, that would be better than new great job!