Need a little help with my project......

[plasticfantastic]

Hi all,

After spending a few hours on the car yesterday the shell is now seperate from the chassis, i will be listing it on ebay on monday and i will put a link to it on here.

Cheers

[plasticfantastic]

Hi all,

My Esprit body is now on ebay starting at £750 no reserve, heres the link....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/360396592592?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%3A80%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dp5197.m570.l1313%26_nkw%3D360396592592%26_sacat%3DSee-All-Categories%26_fvi%3D1&_rdc=1

Cheers

[Paul Coleman]

All I can think to say to the whole thing is... why? But each to their own, whatever blows your skirt up

This is an Esprit restoration forum and you're ruining one to make a kit car

Paul.

Edited September 27, 2011 by Paul Coleman

[nic996]

That's a touch unfair. I imagine the car had already been ruined by a neglectful previous owner. If the body and various other parts sells then he could well be resurrecting another Esprit and helping keep a host of others in tip top condition.

[Paul Coleman]

That's a touch unfair.

Quoting from his initial post...

>>Comments good or bad always appreciated

Paul.

[plasticfantastic]

This is an Esprit restoration forum and you're ruining one to make a kit car

Paul.

I think you will find paul that this forum is for Esprit projects aswell as restorations, so i think it fits in fine. Plus as nic pointed out it wasn't me who took this car off the road in 2007, nor did i neglect it previous to that.

When i bought the car i didnt intend to strip it but the more i looked into it the more i found that it suited my needs for my F40 project. As nic already said, if one does get sacraficed then it keeps others on the road.

If my project isnt welcome here then just say and i'll leave. I just thought it would be of interest to fellow petrolheads, seeing as it is Esprit based.

[Bibs]

You're very welcome and I'm sure there are a lot of interested people who want to know. Paul is allowed his opinion and perhaps he should remember that you are allowed yours.

Ultimately, it's your car and you can do with it as you wish.

[plasticfantastic]

You're very welcome and I'm sure there are a lot of interested people who want to know. Paul is allowed his opinion and perhaps he should remember that you are allowed yours.

Ultimately, it's your car and you can do with it as you wish.

Many thanks Bibs, I will continue to update as my project progresses.

Cheers

[910Esprit]

As we all enjoy photos of projects, what state does the rolling chassis look like? Post some pics!

[slewthy]

Look, we all are sad when an Esprit bites the dust but given the choice between rotting to nothing/sold for the price of gold by the likes of Douglas valley and being used for various projects/keeping other Esprits alive, I'd go for the latter.

I've already had a good look at the body you are selling. 18 months ago, I may have bought it.

Your project is very interesting and is likely to raise many relevant issues to purists and modders alike so I also welcome you here. Your GFRP skills alone are worth alot.

I can understand Paul's feelings and do empathise but if we all stuck to original it could get alittle dull. I like the variety we get on this forum.

Its also nice to have some ''healthy'' debate!!

[DanR]

Any damaged F40s around that can be restored to your Esprit body

[plasticfantastic]

Cheers for all the comments guys, im much happier that this thread stirs emotions in people than gets left on the side lines!

Today i am having a big move around in the workshop trying to make enough room the get the chassis inside the F40 body so i can start on the floor pan, im also laying up some very thick flat grp sheet to cut up for the tunnel and floor sections. I'll update a little later with pictures of how its all going. I'll also get some pics of the chassis, which is in very good condition.

Cheers

[slewthy]

You must do this for a living. Right?

[plasticfantastic]

Hi all,

Sorry the updates have been a bit lacking lately, im having internet problems again.

We are slowly progressing with the project, and this week we finally got the body over the Esprit chassis. Separating the Esprit body form the chassis wasn't a massive massive job, and my chassis seems to be in pretty good condition. Except for the added engine mounts, but the grinder soon sorted them out. Heres the pictures....

Next i have to line up the chassis with the body then i can fix them both down in position and start to do the floor pans and the tunnel.

The Esprit body finishes on ebay today, over 100 watchers and no bids.

Comments always appreciated

Cheers

[DanR]

Impressive project you're doing. What's your plan for restoring torsional rigidity to the chassis?

[red vtec]

I'm very impressed by your skill.

I would think using the Esprit chasis will actually help the car to have some proper road holding?

[plasticfantastic]

I'm very impressed by your skill.

I would think using the Esprit chasis will actually help the car to have some proper road holding?

Thats exactly why i went for this chassis. I plan for my body to add a lot of stiffness as well as a built in roll cage that will triangulate to the strut tops. The roll cage will also be bonded into the shell.

Cheers for the comments

[andydclements]

Impressive project you're doing. What's your plan for restoring torsional rigidity to the chassis?

The body (according to sources at the factory) doesn't really add to the torsional rigidity, the chassis / subframe does that itself.

[DanR]

I've read in various articles on both the G and S models that the body adds to the rigidity.

EG...Once bolted together, the body and chassis create a structure with almost double the torsional stiffness of the basic backbone chassis...

http://www.lotusespritturbo.com/Lotus_Esprit_Turbo_Road_Test.htm

From repairs I've done to the rear bobbin mounts on a few Esprits there's a noticeable improvement in stiffness. When my engine was out I made additional chassis-body braces which re-alized another improvement as well.

The plan to tie a triangulated the roll cage is a good one and offers the opportunity for an even stiffer car than the original Esprit.

[The Veg]

But can the car be TOO stiff? Bicycle manufacturers learned years ago that a certain amount of frame flex can be a good thing.

[DanR]

Maybe for pushbikes but never for cars. Manufacturers and racers are always searching for better ways of engineering to make their vehicles more rigid.

I don't know about bikes but one chassis that needs a little flex is a go-kart. They are then fine-tuned with adjustable stiffeners. Neither of those have springing and shock absorbers.

[Bibs]

The Evora torsional rigidity is 26,600 newton-metres per degree, aka a freaking lot! The Esprit SE is 5,850 n m /^o by comparison.

[nic996]

If the suspension design and set up is not up to scratch then an overly stiffened chassis will show up the suspensions ride and handling short falls very obviously. In that case an overly stiff chassis would not necessarily be desired. Of course, in the case of the Evora, the chassis stiffness will have already been set before the final tuning of the ride and handling.

[DanR]

If the suspension design and set up is not up to scratch then an overly stiffened chassis will show up the suspensions ride and handling short falls very obviously. In that case an overly stiff chassis would not necessarily be desired. Of course, in the case of the Evora, the chassis stiffness will have already been set before the final tuning of the ride and handling.

Easy fix. Soften the suspension ie springs and shocks. The ride, handling and road holding will be better as will NVH.

[plasticfantastic]

Hi all,

 

Sorry there hasnt been an update in a really long time, life took me away from my project, but im now back to it. I will update later with progress and pictures.

 

Cheers