Why would anyone de-seam an Esprit?

[Guest allgoodpeter]

Recently viewed an S3 that had had the waist strip removed, and GRP ground off so no seam left. I have no way of knowing if the two halves of the shell had been reinforced behind (if necessary?) but being as someone had then stuck a vinyl strip on to resemble the seam anyway it all seemed a bit pointless.

Was there a fad for deseaming these cars once - like they did with Minis - surely to do so is to massively lower the value? The car in question had had 18 owners so suspect it had been through a few boy racers in its time but although the car was good elsewhere inc a stonking engine rebuild, I yet again walked away from a purchase.

[FRANTIC FRANC]

I removed the waisteline trim on my second Esprit and it looked fantastic but it was a lot of work. The doors need a lot of sanding too even though they have a detachable strip and they must be stripped down to their shell to get to the inside . I will probably do it again on my current one. I put several layers of fibreglass on the inners but even before this I saw no signs of the two halves seperating.

[Nelly]

I am with youy Peter - for me, the wait trim is one of the signature things about the G Esprit, and I certainly would not entertain the idea of a car without it. But each to their own...

When I resprayed my car it could have been just another car unti the trim when on - the it suddenly became an Esprit, if that makes any sense at all!

[andydclements]

If you now own an 80s Esprit you accept it has a seem as that's how it was back then. If you owned on shortly after the Stephens restyle you may have been tempted to update the look a bit.

[Guest allgoodpeter]

Yes I think the seam is such a part of the whole G look that for me it absolutely has to be there. The rest of the car was just average - paint job Ok from a few feet away, up close, runs and overspray, interior worn but serviceable and recoverable, best bit was the motor that had had some good work done on it. 5K was the asking price and if it had had the seam I'd have had it.

A circumcised Esprit - definitely not!

[Guest allgoodpeter]

Possibly near mandatory on the Federal versions.........

[Artie]

Pics? I've never seen this!

[Guest allgoodpeter]

What a circumcision or a deseamed Esprit? I can supply a photo of one of these........

[FRANTIC FRANC]

I loved the smoother look - I only regretted not doing the same to the turbo tail!

Edited February 15, 2012 by FRANTIC FRANC

[wolflyn]

it certainly does clean the look up, but then again thats what circumcission is all about lol

[FRANTIC FRANC]

I think the worst thing about the S3/Turbo are the bumpers - they just don't look right with the wrap arounds imo so if I go this route on my white one I will think about swapping the front with a S1 bumper and cut down the rear (because I think it pertrudes too much) and remove the wraps, basically because I like the "LOTUS" maybe just mould it into the rear body.

[nello]

Is that Silver G strictly the 'de-seamed' look? I was expecting to see nothing along the wasteline. I like a waist.The only thing I'm not as keen on on the S3 Turbos' is the progressive with age ride height. The early cars look more exotic because of it (and mines as late as you can get!)

Edited February 16, 2012 by nello

[Guest allgoodpeter]

Totally agree with both - the bumpers look clumsy (we've discussed this elsewhere) and the ride height of later cars is definitely higher (to the detriment of the look) - compare Bonds S1 with the later Turbo. The Turbo looks like a cat on tiptoes. A cat with a bodykit as well.

If i EVER find my car and its an S3, the bumpers are going back to S1/2 size as a minimum.

I have a picture of the car I looked at (it was on ebay a couple of weeks ago for 5K) but my hard drive crashed yesterday, if its still there I will post it. It was very well done, dead flat and I didn't spot it myself for some time. But an absolute no-no as far as I am concerned.

[FRANTIC FRANC]

@nello -what do you mean expected to see nothing - there is nothing there? I even sanded down the small bump that is on the doors!

[karmavore]

I'm with Nello. I don't see the difference.

[esprit s2]

I agree. I'm not knocking the time and effort (and skill!) that's gone in to doing it but there is clearly still a seem. Just no plastic strip.

[wildatheart]

As the lower half is 'fatter' than the top there is a step between the two. The seam is gone, and filling the step to smooth it out would look, i imagine, a right mess.

[wolflyn]

more deseamed pics

http://www.thelotusforums.com/forums/topic/29353-g-car-moulds/

[frix]

although this was the proto type i think it gives an idea what a later model would look like without the waist band?

Edited February 16, 2012 by frix

[Guest allgoodpeter]

Very well done I have to say but someone obviously preferred the usual look and applied a vinyl coachline.

[nic996]

I really like the look of the deseaming but as I go through the process of restoring my car, I can see why people get upset by it. It's part of the character of the car. Part of the engineering process the car went through to bring the concept as efficiently (cheaply!!) to the market as possible. The two part mould process with a simple black line to hide the join is genius. Sometimes the simple solutions really are the most thought involving and ultimately the most satisfying to achieve.

My original plan was to de-seam but now I am firm in my decision to keep it. I think it would be a step beyond circumcision. My Esprit can keeps it's danglys but I understand why some people might want to try it out.

[FRANTIC FRANC]

Oh I see - my god no, to totally round out the bodywork would be a crazy amount of work (and filler)! The silver car used to be pillar box red, sprayed several times over its life. It is an S3 with turbo spoilers and the back half totally cut and joined with an orriginal turbo doner. The join was right below the rear quarter light and the original waiste line trim holder was badly damaged, along with the evidence of several masked of spray jobs it just looked so bad I took the plunge.

I known own ian4455 's S3 V8 which has also got the turbo styling but I am itching to get the belt sander out again!

[nello]

Would love to know what suspension set-up xspeedx has on that car ...