S1 Project car

[LOTUSMAN33]

Hi Everyone

I Collected my S1 Project car today after months of searching, I did a 600 mile round trip to collect my car, this was an eventful journey as the bonnet blew off during transporting from Kent to Plymouth, lucky the bonnet stay prevented it hurting anyone on the M5....

This will be my 4th S1 with the last one I restored being TNR 160R which is now owned by Ken Baird.

I have now bought a good base S1 with an excellent bodyshell and no sunroof to fix. It still has its wolfrace alloys and Vegali clocks but has been fitted with S2 lights which I will change back to original. I will be giving the car a full restoration with the body coming off. It will be getting a Tartan trim.

This is a good base car although it is mechanically in need of a total overhaul due to being lad up for many years, I had to call on all my neighbours to help unload and get into my double garage which is at the top of a steep driveway.

I will post some pics soon

Dave

[TAR]

Well done on saving another car.

I look forward to seeing the restoration unfold.

[slewthy]

Great stuff.

4th S1 - bit of a record?

Why S1? Glutton for punishment?

Any pics of your previous cars? Let us know your plans/budget/equipment.....well,....everything!!!

Pics will be very appreciated.

[Paul Coleman]

Glad to see you now have an S1 project car Dave Another one saved from a murky garage.

I want to see plenty of pictures of your progress. Get the spanners out...

Cheers, Paul.

[Simon350S]

Glutten for punishment alright!

Have fun, I'd love a decent barn find....

[GavinT]

Excellent Dave, well done. Please post lots of pics as work progresses. Best of luck.

[LOTUSMAN33]

Thanks guys

I have spent most of Saturday clearing the garage, amazing what you find so I think ebay may get a few new listings.......

I have now had time to take a good look at the car, it is in better shape than I first thought, the chassis and suspension have a lot of surface rust but a quick wire brush and it looks like alot may be saved. The engine bay oil cooler looks like it has seen better days and the drive shaft UJ's are knackered. The rear discs look great and will go again. All the calipers are partly seized which is expected. The gearbox has been leaking on the back end slightly.

Not sure about the engine, the number is DC 907 78 19 15418, It is not the original as I have all the previous V5 copies. Last owner thought it was from a Jenson but I am not sure, does the 78 mean it was a 1978 unit? Jenson stopped using them before then.

If it is an Esprit engine I will rebuild it, if not I will source a replacement. Does anyone know?

The body is excellent with no cracks, It does have a mint set of S2 rear lights, surrounds and number plate plinth which will be going on ebay. I have sourced the originals already and only have to recut the hole for the number plate, I think the slots have been enlarged for the lights so a little glass fibre work will sort.

I plan to have the body off before xmas so I can get it put in storage until I have completed the mechanics. The car will be going White with Tartan. The wolfrace wheels are great although I have a spare set if I find any problems once the tyres are off.

I will be searching for an original S1 steering wheel which may take some time. Does anyone have one to sell?

The car came with a brand new fuel pump, distributor, waist line trim, manual, UJ's and some service items. It was last on the road in 2004.

My thanks go to Paul for passing on the car details and owner contact.

I will keep the post updated as progress is made, if anyone else is looking for a S1 let me know as I have been offered a few.

Regards

Dave

[GordonMasson]

Glad to see you got your car Dave ...will look forward to seeing your restoration take place over the comming weeks / months.

I guess you will be making / getting a hold of the original mirrors for the car?

If you are making them give me a shout because i need a couple

Cheers

Gordon

[LOTUSMAN33]

Hi Gordon

I am looking for the mirror, Paul Coleman says Nick Fulcher has the moulds to manufacture so I will call him this week. TNR 160R had its original mirror which will be hard to locate as I have not seen any for sale and I visit auto jumbles when I can.

Hi Simon

Yes four is a little mad, my first was kitted with Turbo bits so not very original, then I bought TNR which was a cracking car, I sold this one to Ken Baird. I bought a black 77 S1 a couple of years back but could not find anywhere to keep it as I had a JPS S2 in the garage.

I only have hard pics and don't have a scanner at present, I will try and sort out and put the pics on. You can see TNR 160R on the LEW website under owners cars.

I am planning a £12k budget on the car but I am sure that will change.....

[LOTUSMAN33]

Started stripping her tonight, I removed the S2 rear lights which have been fitted badly and the number plate surround, I will have to re-cut the hole for the plate plinth as someone has glassed it over. I will speak to Kris to make a template from his Orange car. Thankfully the electrics have not been cut for the lights so I have marked up for future use. The tailgate has also been removed and the rear bumper/spoiler. All seems well so far, the wood is all there but will need remaking in the engine bay. The engine has seen better days and the carbs, clutch etc are all seized. The exhaust is stainless though which is a bonus.

I have started stripping the interior out which hopefully can go straight to the trimmers and be stored/ worked on slow time.

I will take some more pics but have attached one of its first and last journey for some time.

I have not 100% decided on colour but will more than likely be white as I always seem to go for White Lotus cars....

[Nelly]

Hi Dave,

Good luck with your new project. Saw Ken's S1 at Goodwood in the summer, so it looks like the car is in good hands!

Neil

[smokingkills]

Nice one Dave, looking forward to seeing it in the flesh.

[LOTUSMAN33]

Thanks Kris, I need to take a template from your rear lights sometime so I can cut the correct size holes and possible fill in if required. Hows your car coming along?

[smokingkills]

That's cool I can drop them over next weekend. My progress has halted for the time being, I've been preparing my new impreza for mot.

[paul s1]

good looking car nice to see another one saved

[LOTUSMAN33]

Hi Steve

Was that the yellow 77 car which went on e-bay, looked like a good project.

I have now removed all the interior and doors, heading the right way with horrible surprises yet, sheared a seat belt bolt though which will have to be drilled, no doubt the first of many....

[LOTUSMAN33]

Hi Steve

I am have the chassis blasted and powder coated by a specialist finishers in Plymouth, they will do most of my metalwork. Yes I do have the wood panels and will give you the dimensions. I am going to re-make mine as they are de-laminating in places.

What are you doing with the sunroof on your car? I have replaced the roof panel a couple of times before.

Cheers

Dave

[Matt-watts]

Looks a great project Dave please keep us posted with your progress pictures !

Steve I have a whole handbrake assembly and even a new bracket that is mounted in the sill if your in need of one

Best Wishes

Matt

[Paul Coleman]

Dave

Just watch those seat belt mounting brackets as mine were disintegrating...

One of them was literally almost paper thin...

Paul.

Edited October 12, 2010 by Paul Coleman

[LOTUSMAN33]

Thanks Paul

I will check them tonight, I have not removed the sills yet, If mine are like that I will fabricate from stainless in work.

Steve

I will check out your site when running

Checked seat belt mounts tonight, looking OK as far as i can see......

Spent an hour out the garage and progressed quite well, all electrics labelled, both rear windows removed and metalwork, both cant rails removed and all trims. This Esprit is so far coming apart far easier than all the previous ones I have worked on, a hour or so a night and the body may be off before the end of October which would be great.

Thanks for all the messages, certainly helps the motivation especially with the cold weather knocking on the door!

Will get some more pics of the whole car done this weekend as plan to get the tanks out and see how rotten they are, can't smell petrol though even up close so may be lucky, if knackered I may have to go stainless.

[GavinT]

got your website bookmarked, be keeping up with the progress.

[LOTUSMAN33]

Quick update - Tanks now out of car, both ok although passenger tank getting thin on top so will need work. All engine bay electrics now disconnected and marked up, All rear cables now released and chassis bolts removed from rear area. Just front end to strip then get that body off.............

Found my first crack in the engine bay floor area, nice easy one to repair, looks like a jack has slipped at some point.

[LOTUSMAN33]

Body now ready to come off, all chassis bolts removed and front end stripped.

I will try and get some mates around this weekend to assist in the lifting.

Need a genuine bumper now as found mine was fibreglass when I removed it, really good quality though. Radiator looks like it is in fantastic condition without corrosion, only had two fans fitted and both have seen better days though. Found another small crack behind the front bumper which will need repairing and pulled one of the body to chassis bobbins. Found spare wolfrace was mint when I removed it today which was a nice find.

[LOTUSMAN33]

Been a slow weekend but body is now raised off the chassis by approx 3 inchs, had alot of problem getting the chassis/body split due to all the sealant around the mounting areas, had to spend hours slowly trimming with a stanley blade, had a couple of cables I missed still attached which needed removing. I have got a few people coming around Saturday to get the body fully off so the mechanical work can finally begin.

I would like to get the chassis stripped and blasted before xmas to see if i need to renew/repair, as can be seen by the pic car cancer is well spread and doesn't seem like anyone has given any TLC for 30years.........

[silverfrost]

Dave,

Great effort on the project so far and cheers for the pictures always like to see proper body off restorations like this on early cars, Hope the chassis blasts up ok and no pin holes are found.

Good luck with the rest of the restoration and keep the pictures coming.

Regards danny