Right then better start my '77 S1 project...

[CharlieCroker]

Hahaahha... dude you know I've been looking for months and months, this one came up at a stupid stupid price, I ripped the blokes arm off! Coming next week, installation in the next month.

[CharlieCroker]

Few photos of the Elite at Ultimate Stance, the air ride Esprit is on our stand also, will try and get a photo of the two side by side. Happy Sunday, Charlie ;-)[br][br][br][br][br][br][br][br]

[CharlieCroker]

http://instagram.com/p/u71SR9x6la/

[mikeeech]

some good comments on there about it Kampfreddie. You have done a stunning job. What does aunt Nellie think?

[CharlieCroker]

Didn't mean to push instagram, I was testing to see if I could embed a photo directly into here! Haha, you like my new handle, I'm running out of characters! Interior comes tomorrow, hope it lives upto the photos.

[CharlieCroker]

OMG! Lads I have had a major result. The interior I found off eBay arrived today and apart from general dirt and a few areas of loose stitching the set is 8n practically new condition! It just needs a clean and leather conditioning. The only drawback is that the rear quarters are definitely from an Eclat and not the Elite. No problem however I have Elite rear quarters and will in some way combine the two. Charlie is over the friggin' moon!

Oh and the price delivered? Are you sitting down, £200 in total. Less than a fifth of another interior in not as good condition I was recently quoted. Everything comes to those who wait...

[Simon350S]

Nice one. Looks like it's all coming together for you nicely!

[CharlieCroker]

Just been having a look at the rear quarters from the eclat to elite, seems there are more than a few differences which are not at first obvious. The major difference is the swoop up which is clear but the seat bekt positions are different as well as some of the shaping at the bottom. Now I don't know if my elite quarters have at some stage been altered, possible but the shaping looks sharp and clean so leads me to believe there are factory. Anyway after all this I've decided to strip my original elite quarters and recover those to match the original eclat interior I have just found off eBay. It's a much easier option than trying to hash the two together to make one, plus I'll have an untouched original 'eclat' rear quarters to pass on to someone else should they be looking. Just a small setback but will look fantastic in the end.

[Denis247]

Looking good. How does it perform?

[CharlieCroker]

It goes really well, sounds amazing and the ride is surprisingly comfortable, neither hard or soft. Steering is incredibly light as I have the smaller profile tyres up front. It's slowly getting to where I want it to be, can't wait to install the original interior but will have to make a few tweeks before I go ahead with it. I think it will be off the road for a while until I get the interior in, however I want to do all the carpeting before I put the seats in, reckon that is a couple of weeks work. Just trying to get things done beforecthe show season next year.

[cbclotus]

well done car looks great .Good luck with the trim.Mike

[CharlieCroker]

Just pre fitted the eclat rear quarters to my elite, obviously they don't fit, it has amazed me the differences between the two. Although at first glance they look very similar there are lots of little differences which add up to me having to combine the two. I have to separate the speaker pod bolster from the eclat quarter and add this to the elite quarter which I have already taken apart. Reupholster the elite quarter before adding the original eclat speaker pod to this, make sense? To do it correctly it is a much more involved process and I'll post photos as I go, it's complicated. Watch this space...

[dixi4uk]

It looks like a good plan coming together on the rear quarters.

 

I was always under the impression that the rear seats of an Eclat were different from the Elite.

 

Have you trial fitted them?

[CharlieCroker]

Not yet, but I've put them upto the elite rear seats and I can't see any difference in shape or length, I think they will slot in. The issue is the quarters but I have my original elite ones so I'm sure with a bit if fettling I can find a solution. I just dont want to cut anything unless I absolutely have to.

[CharlieCroker]

Few photos of the rear quarters and the different constructions. This photo shows the fiberglass construction of the Eclat rear panel.

And these photos show the Elite rear quarter construction, the speaker pod and rear panel is made of fibreglass but the bolster is made of wire frame and foam.

I hate the wire frame because firstly it had hundreds of bloody hog rings holding it together (evil little sods) I have about 3 blisters and so many punctures in my fingers. Secondly the frame is not a good base for the final material because it is sinking in places and does not hold the shape well. So what do I do, persevere with the wire frame or separate the good fibreglass off the Eclat quarter to make a full fiberglass elite rear set? I don't really want to cut the good eclat panels as they are untouched original items and will sell on.

[mikeeech]

with my insight - which had some really thin moulded mat'ing to cover the rear deck I used a two part resin to soak into the material to give it strength which the leather could be trimmed over. Could you do something similar then angle grind off the wire and then back fill with expanding foam and shape?

[CharlieCroker]

Great idea Mike, might look inti that. Here's a few photos from Ultimate Stance 2014.

[Simon350S]

Shame you weren't fully slammed in those nose to nose shots. I thought you had him, but then looked at the first shot and noticed he'd dropped a bit more air out of the Esprit to claim victory!

The last shot of yours fully down looks like you may have just pipped him!

Edited November 9, 2014 by Simon350S

[dixi4uk]

Charlie,

I know you like the DIY way of approaching things but I think converting these rear quarter panels from Eclat to Elite is not going to turn out well.

You are not that far away from Lotus Bits is it not an idea to visit and see if you can colour match up a couple of Elite rear interior quarters?

Failing a match any colour leather would suffice and then use the Furniture Clinic dye matching service to recolour.

You may need the Furniture Clinic anyway to restore those front seats.

I have found they have a very good web site with advice, videos etc. The photographic results shown on their web site are, quite frankly, outstanding.

 

Just a few random thoughts,

Adrian

[CharlieCroker]

Cheers Adrian, I've not done anything yet and I can already see that combining the two won't actually work as you suggest. I think I will stick with my original Elite quarters and have those recovered, I already have a good colour match waiting. Don't worry, I have everything under control and won't bastardise anything, just need to work with what I already have. 

Shame you weren't fully slammed in those nose to nose shots. I thought you had him, but then looked at the first shot and noticed he'd dropped a bit more air out of the Esprit to claim victory!

The last shot of yours fully down looks like you may have just pipped him!

 

Haha, you do know that he has just fabricated a new set of front rose jointed control arms, he now has an extra full 30mm extra drop! Love that photo though, it amazes me how much bigger the Elite looks in comparison to the Esprit. All good fun!

[johnpwalsh]

Just wish I could open the photo's but not possible out here.

[iambadgerous]

I've said it before but I'll say it again... that thing looks awesome.

[CharlieCroker]

Just found this video on vimeo 

 

Probably the best images I've seen to date to get a really good idea of how low and sleek she is, @1.14 seconds in. You'll also see the air ride Esprit in there which is super cool as well. 

 

 

[Simon350S]

You got a decent amount of time in that video, nice one, and then pop in at the end for a sneaky quickie shot, cool....

[mikeeech]

Love the matador at 2:00.