Esprit S1 355H -- "Brasil"

[GavinT]

Well, if there is one person on this planet that has the enthusiasm and the skills to bring this S1 back from the brink, it's you Mr.TK. I am sure there will be many of us that will watch and admire as you work your magic.

Edited June 20, 2012 by GavinT

[Tony K]

Let me add, about the owner in NJ -- he had a keen intent on preserving this car and making it correct. He did spend the money on what he thought was a good shop, he exhanged the Webers that it had for Dellortos, he exchanged the black Vitaloni mirrors it had for a pair that looked similar to the original chrome Raydyots. He also kept it very clean. His intentions with the car were well placed, and I think he really wanted to make everything on it right.

[Tony K]

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Interior pics, taken this evening, with and without flash. Faded, of course, but worth saving, I think:

[ramjet]

Tony, your compression tests. Did you monitor the pressure over time to see whether one cylinder (presumably #3) sagged any quicker than the others? Presuming all the valves have the same sort of fit in their seats, it may help with fault finding, though I seem to think it's the head.

Oh, and I'm with the others. Keep the wheels and colours as is. Have you contacted the factory to see how the car was specced at delivery? If it is rare as far as colour goes, wouldn't this be one of those S1s that should be left as it came?

[Tony K]

Michael,

None of them sagged noticeably in the course of about a minute and a half each. I was just going for the quick test to see if they are close to even; I figured if there was something egregious, it would show a drop of at least 5-10 psi in that time, no?

And I absolutely agree with leaving this car as it came from the factory. A big reason for my purchasing this car was to preserve it and see to it that it remains "Brazil" with brown marcasite interior. The S2 wheels are not original . . . the Epsilons, of course won't be, either. But I do have one more good set of Wolfraces ready to go that now belong to this car. And correct original chrome Raydyot mirrors.

To all the Speedline supporters: Don't worry, I'll keep them on the car until I get the Epsilons sorted with new paint, a polish, and tires (which should be a while).

Here's the money shot:

Edited June 20, 2012 by Tony K

[ramjet]

Ah. I'm not that aux fait with which wheels on which models. Not a lot of experience with the older models obviously.

Could the car still possibly have come with those wheels on it or where they not sourced by Lotus at the time the car was built?

[Paul Coleman]

0355H AC7770713914 5 Met.Brown 27/07/1977

Hmmm... listed as metallic brown. Did they have metallic back then? 131J is also listed with the same colour...

0131J CC7770813989 5 Met.Brown 21/11/1977

And 370H is listed as brown but not met. brown...

0370H AC7770613890 5 Brown 15/07/1977

These are from the records on Frank's old website.

Paul.

Edited June 20, 2012 by Paul Coleman

[Jeanvm]

The box in the middle is that for the aircon?

[cjtpb13]

...Tony when painting the Epsilons wheels please make sure that you have a great base coat...as Matt and myself will each have a ( hopefully ) matching can of gold spray paint in the can to redo them in July. Neither of us would want our work to flake off and then be accused of shoddy workmanship...we do have a little bit of East Coast TSL pride...

p.s. glad to see Sophia's car coming along...tell Patty hello for me...

Edited June 20, 2012 by cjtpb13

[oranges1]

Hi Tony,

Congrats on this new rare find!

Even rarer that Colorado orange ;-) and what a nice name "Brazil", well done!

Owning the 243H with factory air-condition, I was quite surprised to see the version you have, with this large vent-box sitting on the dash... First time I see that!

Mine has the S2 gauges and controls and the additional vents integrated on top of the radio, strange as 355H should be a later production model. It seems that the Lotus parts-bin and specs worked their wonders -again!

By the way I re-condionned the air-condition this spring, -it cost me an arm, a leg and the rest....- so if you want pictures I could send you some...

Hope you do a video soon so we can all see it in motion!

Best and good luck!

Alexis

[Tony K]

Yes, Jean -- that ugly black box is the AC vent.

Jean/Alexis -- This installation with the vent box is normal for Federal S1s. They also normally feature two simple knobs for the controls (one with an image of a fan and the other with a snow flake), and a "Fan Failure" light a la S2/Elite. My understanding is that the conversions were done by the importer or dealer, not the factory. Alexis, I would love to know more about the history of your car, because it looks like it has a lot of S2 equipment; I'm wondering if it was used to prototype some S2 features?

Alexis -- Thank you for the offer on the pictures; I won't need them for re-doing 355H's air conditioning because 454H (my blue car) has working air, and I can just use it as an example. However, just for the sake of learning, i would like to see the installation in your car.

And now, before 355H goes in for cylinder head surgery, here is more metallic brown eye candy and a YouTube video whose picture quality just beats that of an Atari 2600 video game system:

[ramjet]

That's a great colour Tony.

[pyropolymer]

tony

congrats on the new ride

if epsilons are going on the car, let me know if you want to part with the s2 speedlines. ive still got tones of rare scorpion parts that u were inquiring perhamps we can trade?

cheers

pp

Edited June 21, 2012 by Bibs
Removed massive quote

[bobfogle]

Oranges1 and Tony K:

My S1 (116H) had AC (Dealer installed) when I bought it. To install it, they cut away the air intake filter box. During restoration, I removed all AC stuff. And re-installed the air filter box.

But I will be "re-installing" AC at some point. So - I'd appreciate any pictures, videos and description of your AC installations as they would be particularly helpful.

Tony - this is a particularly nice find and couldn't be in better hands. Let the journey roll -

Cheers,

Bob

[cjtpb13]

Tony,

Great Video ! Still LMAO !

Car looks great. Be fun to watch the progress...

[Guest surferphil]

Have you got your certificate of prvenance yet?

Looking good, if you ever feel the need to have a look at a project S1 in England.....

[Tony K]

Well, I just got off the phone with the seller in Florida. A lot more sincere and nice person than my what was most likely my mistaken impression a couple of years ago. He took some time to answer my questions about the car and its history.

- Original owner was a Charles Shaw from the St. Louis, Missouri, area.

- He purchased it from the original owner and then owned the car for "15-20 years".

- The mileage was "about 25k" when he sold it two years ago (Odometer is 27k now). Never had odometer replaced, etc.

- It has never had any suspension work or wheel bearings replaced.

- It had an engine fire early in his ownership (common with the Zenith-Stromberg carbureted cars). The damage to the car extended to the roof. The car was repainted at the time, the roof repaired. The engine was replaced with one out of another Esprit and was overhauled and given a new clutch at the time. I presume, as the rear hatch and engine cover are perfect, that they were replaced (didn't ask, but it seems obvious).

- It was at this time that the car was fitted with Webers. (now it has Dellortos)

- Only modification he can think of other than the carbs is that it has the E-cams. (nice!)

- He was the one who installed the Speedlines (which I will un-install! )

- AC has not worked for a while, only because it leaked out.

What he told me seems to be consistent with the evidence throughout the car.

I'd love to be able to talk to Charles Shaw . . .

Cheers,

Tony

Have you got your certificate of prvenance yet?

Looking good, if you ever feel the need to have a look at a project S1 in England.....

Phil -- I owe Andy Graham an email, and I will be ordering a certificate soon. I've just spent so much money this month that I need to pace myself for a little bit, so I will wait a few weeks with things that can wait!

[Tony K]

Okay, a little over a month later, and I had time today to pull the head . . .

. . . not a pretty sight!

Photos in a couple of hours after I get it, the garage, and myself all cleaned up, but here are a few initial observations:

- Head gasket was warped and delaminating and blistering all over, but especially between cylinders 1 and 2, where there was a tear in the gasket.on the liner side.

- The circumference of the combustion chamber where the "rings" of the head gasket are compressed was dirty between 1-2 and 2-3.

- Head had not been very thoroughly cleaned prior to installation . . .

- A quick placement of a straight edge down the middle of the head reveals a bit of daylight peeking through between 1-2 and 2-3... .

- Head has been milled down past its limits . . .

- Not sure what brand the gasket is -- either Cometic or some other/generic. Definitely not Goetze or Coopers.

- #1 combustion chamber is all beat up, like it had battered a valve or screw or something in there(!)

- (As a reminder, one of the spark plugs is cross-threaded...)

_____________________________________________________

Therefore, I'm not even going to bother with this head!

I have a couple of spares; one is from an Eclat, cast October '79; The head itself is in great shape (26k mile engine, I was the first to remove it -- original factory installation), but it has a couple of burned valves.

There are no immediately noticeable flaws with the cylinder liners or block; I have yet to measure it, though.

At this point, if I'm lucky and the liners are all okay, straight and at the correct height, then my plan is to replace all necessary valves on the 79/10 head, do a valve job, and button it all back up!

We'll see . . .

Pics to follow shortly . . .

- Tony

[ramjet]

HOW do people crossthread a spark plug? That is beyond me.

[Tony K]

The offending cylinder head:

I won't bother cleaning it up; I am just going to use a different head . . .

A close look at #1:

(Ignore the missing valve; it is nearly new, and was removed to use in the head that is going on the car.)

Difficult to see here, but it's all battered around the plug, too. This is the spark plug where I was getting a fine "spray" on the hose when i did the compression test. . .

Could the darkness between the cylinders be a leak?

The head gasket didn't look too good for having only about 700 miles . . .

The replacement cylinder head: Pulled from a 1979 Eclat with 26k miles. It has one burned valve, but the head itself is in great shape. It will be cleaned, inspected further, have the new valve installed, and all the valves lapped:

More progress and photos in a couple of weeks . . .

[yeller77]

From the looks of that head, it's definitely ingested something in the past, probably has been repaired in the past or it seems you would have found CSI-type evidence of remnants and more obvious piston and valve damage. Perhaps this occurrence to the replacement motor turned the previous Esprit into a donor which allowed the overhauled engine to be put in yours. In any case, I wouldn't use those K&N filters without safety wiring the internal hardware or having screens over the carb intakes, or you may end up with the same trauma. Been there.

Keep the pics and updates coming on your "Brazilian"

[GavinT]

Any updates Tony?

[Tony K]

Gavin,  

 

   Short answer:   No.

 

   Long answer:    355H is still sitting in the garage with the head off.   My attention turned to 155H (back on the road, yay!  ) and a couple of other people's Esprits . . . also, brought 437H (red) out of its slumber in Toledo and drove it home to Cleveland (requisite YouTube video forthcoming).  For the first time, I had all four S1s in the same place!      . . . . Spent the remainder of October and the first two weeks in November cleaning and preparing several cars for winter storage (3 Esprit, 1 Porsche, 1 Lancia . . .) . . .  too many cars!

 

   In addition to a series of gatherings for the holidays this year, Patty and i have turned our attention to the ongoing "interior restoration" of our house in Cleveland.  I anticipate resuming work on 355h in February or March, when winter is really dragging on.  My plan is to prepare the replacement cylinder head and refurbish all of the removed parts (exhaust manifold, cam covers, etc.) so I can have it back together in the spring and start driving it! 

[Mark Blanchard]

Hi Tony,

what happened to this fantastic looking car?  Are you still working on it?  It's the coolest looking S1 I've ever seen.

[Tony K]

Hi Mark (and everyone),

    The past couple of years have been overwhelming.  I have been keeping 100% busy with two small children, an exciting full-time career, the restoration of two old houses, and the maintenance or servicing of a fleet of now seven classic cars and two daily drivers.  To add to it, I've continued to work on car projects for other people in the past two years.  At the moment, a V12 Jaguar XJS convertible sits in my garage awaiting a new headliner and some interior work . . .
 
    I am a bit weary of having projects to work on everywhere I turn, and cars tucked away in three different garages in two different cities.  And I want to spend more time with my children while they are little.  So Patty and I are talking about simplifying our life.   What this amounts to, among other things, is that I am motivated to sell one or two Esprits and a Lancia.   I'd really like to keep all of these cars forever, but at this moment my motivation to simplify is greater. 

    I thought I'd start with this car, 355H, only because it is in nice shape and doesn't really need much.  It has 27K original miles, full owner history, lots of service history both recent and old, including the 12K mile service stamped in the owner's manual for the original owner by the selling dealer.  It has the E-cams, and I replaced the worn Dellortos that were on it with an excellent (and freshly rebuilt) pair.   Also sourced an original pair of chrome Raydyot mirrors, correct for a Federal S1, and an original air box.  This car has the Federal "hot climate package" (4 radiator fans) and air conditioning (very rare), although the AC needs to be serviced.  It has a new radiator and otter switch.

     Since I stopped posting in this thread, I have tended to the car, worked on a few things, and kept it waxed and covered in the garage with extra layers over the cabin so the marcasite doesn't fade.  I roll it to different positions to keep the tyres from flat-spotting and the wheel bearings from sitting in one position.  I keep a large fan blowing under each of my cars for most of the year to prevent condensation when the temperature changes;  the brake rotors are still shiny and the undercarriage the same.  I have not allowed it to deteriorate.

    If anyone might be interested in this car, I would entertain selling it to the right person (read:  good custodian, knowledgeable collector, and NOT someone who is just going to paint it white.  I have a white S1 if you must . . .).

    Right now, the car still has the head off.  Due to my own lack of time and tools, I sought to have someone else lap the valves and set up the clearances on the new head.  I finally found the ideal person this spring, but he is busy until the middle of November building race engines, and then I may or may not get a timely spot in his queue.  Otherwise the car would be back together and driving already.   The only other functional things it really needs are new rubber shifter bushes (they are worn, resulting in longer throws), and the heater core (matrix) has been bypassed because it was leaking.   The tires and hoses are good, the electrics all work, and the car drove and functioned great and doesn't really need anything else.

    I can deliver the car as-is, or wait until I can have the valves done and put it all back together, or I can put a "used" but good head from another engine on the car to get it going sooner.  I can prepare the car to any level that suits the new owner, from "as-is" to "every little thing sorted".   It can be had with the current Speedlines, or I can fit it with a set of Wolfraces.   I can send it off with the wrinkly Federal bumpers as-is, or fit Domestic/European bumpers.

    Price would be dependent on what I do to the car.   Would be happy to discuss it in detail with seriously interested parties so you know exactly what you are getting.  Given it's uniqueness, history and condition, I'd be looking for a healthy offer.   It's an awesome S1, and far better inside and out than all the S1s I've seen change hands lately.  

Here's a photo from a few weeks ago:


. . . and another with my littlest sweetie:

If anyone would really like this beautiful S1, please PM me with any "indications of interest".    I tried to list the car in lotusforsale.com (and will as soon as I can), but I was unable to register, so I hope nobody minds my mentioning it here;  TLF members deserve to hear about it first, anyway!    
 

Edited September 18, 2015 by Tony K