Another esprit to return from the grave......

[silverfrost]

Hi All,

Just thought i would start a project thread on my project, Its a 1980 esprit, later chassis i.e it has top control arms, old school rims i.e the essex rims, total rear end change... rat ridden interior whats left of it custom tailgate, and plastic windows exept for the front screen,

Its was just what i was looking for, as it was used in hill climbing before, I wanted to change a lot more things on the esprit but could not bare to cut up a decent car, This one is way to far gone to be restored to origanal spec, Hence why i purchased it!

Project will involve another V8 conversion, total bodyshell removal to strip and paint the chassis, new suspension, inside will be stripped out of whats left, sprayed satin black custom rewire, new gauges and one seat!

Body wise it will all be sanded back, will have to see what lies beneath the paint and years of leaves!

Will update at the various stages, heres a few pics of the poor old thing, super flat tyres and all

Regards danny

[Rick Edwards]

very good luck !!

Looks like you have your work cut out for you.

Puts those of us who just drive them and get others to do the work to shame!

[Jonathan]

Perfect for a man of your tallents - whats the deal ? return to road or track / fun car ?

[silverfrost]

Hi Jonathan,

Its going to be built with track/hill climbing in mind, Just wanted to go a little further than the last conversion, the silver ones in good nick which limited my choice on mods from going to far, This car is a basket case, but its what i wanted, no interior and bad paint etc plus the hole in the back will be filled with another audi lump

The mechanics etc will be no dramas as i have already completed a mutant build, bodywork wise im fairly good at fabbing stuff up etc, On this i can practise my fiberglass skills and learn as i go, Im very excited and looking forward to seeing this motor take shape.

No point really as a fun car as the silver G motor is to quick as it is, but that said i would not like to damage the silver one in a accident on the track so have got this instead!

Plus having a project on the go keeps your brain ticking over well thats what i keep telling myself!

Regards danny

[Jonathan]

Ya, thats pretty much what I wanted to do with the GT2 (what I am doing LOL)

Fibreglass is a doddle as you might already know - that P40 / P38 despite being WWII american fighter bombers is really good stuff for grafting and finishing. P40 esp onto the original matting can easily support my weight, it's incredible stuff.

Try this place for fibreglass etc

http://www.cfsnet.co.uk/

Where I get all mine from - the best stuff is the West System Epoxy resin (I'd say go for the normal, not the long set stuff) - it's by far the best resin I have used.

Gonna be a good 'un

[mike_sekinger]

Hi Danny,

Now that really is something to sink your teeth into

Looking forward to the updates as they come.

Cheers,

Mike S

[saggitarius]

Love this project.

And I agree that with that starting point you can't do much wrong :-)

Looking forward to the build, pictures and solutions.

[Loose Cannon]

Poor thing. Has that rear tyre actually rotted away?

[silverfrost]

Poor thing. Has that rear tyre actually rotted away?

Hi Mark, No the poor old thing had been left standing in the same spot for many years So hence massive flat spots have formed where the tyres had gone flat!

Jonathan cheers for the links for the fiberglass stuff pal much appreciated and will let you know how i get on, First attempt on the fiberglassing will be to get rid of that horrible sun roof!

Regards danny

[Tony K]

That is one flat-spotted tire!

I love the early Compomotive rims on the first Turbos.

Good luck with the project!

- Tony

[simonb]

would check its history first, just to make sure it is nothing interesting

[silverfrost]

would check its history first, just to make sure it is nothing interesting

Hi Simon,

The car has had the same owner for many years, It used to run with a rover v8, Spec wise its just a S2.2 due to it having the later chassis with the job links, Defo not an essex as there is no sign of blue underneath the paintwork, one of the past owners must of just got hold of the split rims of another esprit, as i presume it started life with the old s2 alloy wheels.

Not quite sure if you mean interesting by bad past or rare spec, but if its the later its way to far gone to be brought back to life to its former spec, Especially having no gearbox, engine etc, It has also been used for hill climbing and has had bits chopped / fabbed etc over the years and not to the best standards!

Tony as for the tyres i was amazed that the fronts pumped up to full pressure, but the rears have split sidewalls due to having the extra weight of the engine and gearbox etc pressing down on them for the many years it has stood.

Regards danny

[hilly]

You weren't kidding when you said it was a bit ropey and an ideal base for a project...........

Still, it good hands now to turn it into a running car.

Good luck with it mate, you know how to get hold of me if needed ......

Hilly

[mangel]

A/ I'm really chuffed your starting another project

B/ I like the rims but the tyres are really ropey!!!!

C/ I would love you to do one of these coversions on a later car one day as I reckon an S4 or similar with an Audi engine would be awesome (not that they are not already but it would get rid of my couple of niggles)

good lucky and I shall read with interest!!

[silverfrost]

Well,

Some slight progress on the car, still removing years worth of snail shell, leaves etc... Well one major change to the body!

Some people will not like this but as said before this car was to far gone, I have wanted to do this on an esprit for ages and after some measurments, looking for alignment angles etc, I have decided to go the full hog and clam shell the rear end.

The cut on the body will not be visable as it will sit underneath where the body waist line trim goes, the whole rear end will tilt back for routine checks and easily removed for large scale work on the engine bay. Plus i miss my spitfire days when i could sit on the front tyres and service the engine

The B post will be re inforced with alloy sheet and fiberglassed in, The rear end that i cut of will be stripped of non essensial weight and have an alloy pipe frame bonded and bolted in, The main reason for the chances will be weight reduction and ease of working on the car, plus its something different! All the windows have now been removed bar the windscreen and door drop glass, capping rails have also been removed.

Panels will now be prepped and primed in the next few weeks, The fuel tanks are the worst i have seen and will been replaced with alloy custom units! On the fuel caps filler side they will be on the tank itself on the fuel cell and the holes in the clamshell will be glass matted up accordingly!

Hope this does not bring a tear to any owners eyes

Hilly no dramas mate engine will be going in fairly soon, so yes mate im sure you be getting a few pms on the vems side pal from me

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH I hate uploading photos onto this forum, Keeps saying that i dont have enough room...I have hardly posted any pictures!

Regards danny

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f36/deeto912/clamshell003.jpg

Edited May 11, 2010 by silverfrost

[hilly]

Those fuel tanks look past their best ......

[silverfrost]

Those fuel tanks look past their best ......

Andy the drivers side had a mouse/rats nest in it, the passenger side was full of water! I remember seeing Waynes project cars fuel tanks and thinking jesus, but these are the worst i have seen now, just glad there was no interior as stripping it out i would of been worried about rats jumping out

Regards danny

[Loose Cannon]

A clamshell sounds a great idea, it was the single most unfortunate deviation from the original concept IMHO.

[silverfrost]

Hi,

Just a small update on the project and a few pics hopefully if they upload After cutting the rear of the body off to make the clamshell, My attentions have turned to removing stuff from the engine bay, all pipes have been removed,fuel tanks seat belts etc, the wiring loom has been pulled back through into the cabin. Which leaves me with a nice cluster free place to strip the chassis and get some paint on! Also i need to do some welding and add a small bracket to each side of the chassis to add a bit of extra support to the fiberglass round where the fuel tanks sit, due to the rear end been removed.

My attention then turned to the cabin to look at extra ways to support the door shut gap as the rear end is now removed, Only to find that the plywood is long gone! Its like pulling tree bark off it just falls to pieces Not a drama though as i will just order some marine plywood and cut to shape, However it seems strange as there seems to be fiberglass bonded to it....I though it was just screwed on

Also had a look round the front end to see what could be removed, however the bolts for the bonnet are way to far gone and will have to be grinded off, will leave that for another day, Managed to get the headlight pods raised and the dirt underneath you could of grown spuds in!

Also tell tale signs of the cars first colour silver, aka silverfrost, The very strange thing also found was the front bumper, has been cut down, to begin with i thought it was an old S2 bumper, but no the bumper wraps around the sides, it seems a very tidy job and must of taken a fair bit of work! Bonus really as it saves me some work

Thats about it for now, Regards danny

Edited May 17, 2010 by silverfrost

[Bibs]

Use this button to insert images.

[silverfrost]

Hi Bibs,

Have tried that before chap and keeps telling me that i have used up my file space, hence why i used the photobucket and it this was the way that works for me otherwise no pics!

Regards danny

[Bibs]

No, you're not using that button, you're trying to use the attachment system. Use the button as I suggest.

Using that button, insert the link you get from photobucket in the box that pops up and hey presto.

See...

[silverfrost]

Happy days Bibs just cracked it

Regards danny

[Bibs]

Good man, it's easy when you know how

Next, remember to use a new line for the image and another for the text, keeps it all in the right places. I'll have you raw coding HTML web pages by the end of the day

[silverfrost]

Hi,

Just a quick update on some things on the car, The main priority at the moment was to replace the Marine plywood bulkhead,

It was falling to pieces and needed sorting out pronto as it looked a right old state, Once this is done i can start on some fiberglass work for the clamshell conversion. Not as straight forward to replace as it was bonded to the fiberglass in places!

So started to removed the rotten pieces and the bolts that hold it in, Most snapped of due to rust! Once i had removed the plywood backing, This was what was left!

After all the old wood and years worth of crud cleaned up popped out to find a friendy wood merchant that sell marine plywood, Fourty quid later one large piece of wood! Purchased some marine plywood from a local merchant and had a bit of a tidy up as a tidy ship is a happy ship!

The red circle in above image shows the state of the backing plate for the door catch....will be replaced with alloy to stop the same problem happening in a few years time! Luckily some of the wood that the rear screen sit in was still in tact so a decent template could be made,

The phot above shows the carange of what it looks like with all the plywood removed! After making the upper section in was screwed in place, I still have the bottom and mid section to do, these will be bolted down to the backing plate, I think i will also use resin and maybe fiberglass the wood in to add strength to the structure. The picture below shows some progress with the new top bit of plywood fitted.

More updates to follow shortly, Regards danny