Time to start putting my s2 (79070782g) back together!

[vintaylor]

Finally decided to dedicate a thread to the rebuild of my s2.  As most of you know I bought the car about 5 years ago from the UK, took the whole thing apart for a full 'body off' restoration and now it seems I am about to turn the corner and start putting things back on the car!  I am a complete novice at this and funnily enough the esprit was the first car I have ever bought (some might same i'm ambitious but most think i'm stupid haha).  

 

 

 

The car was originally painted 'lemon yellow' (L31), however in its past it had been sprayed (very badly) in black.

 

It was a nightmare putting thing back to original state as even the bumpers had 3 times the mounting holes as when it left the factory - and still most never lined up.

 

The body has been sanded back to its original colour, and even gel coat in some places to repair cracks in the fibreglass.  It has been sat at my sprayer for about 2 years, but will finally be ready next week! and back in its original yellow colour.

 

Here is how it sat before painting in yellow:

 

 

 

The chassis has been sand blasted, repaired, cold galvanised and painted in satin black.  Most of the front suspension is done but just need putting together.  Once I get the body back I will dedicate all my time and effort into getting the rolling chassis sorted.

 

 

Interior is half way done, my upholsterer has now finished all the brown material areas and has begun work on the beige bits.  Originally the car came in black cloth and marcasite, but I thought to go down the two tone beige and brown scheme that was original on some s2's..  If someone ever decides to go back to original they can die the whole thing black

 

Here is the original interior :

 

And here is the work done so far:

 

 

 

 

 

I hope to keep a thread going of the progress and in case of any advice/help I might need in putting it back together - (I am sure I will need loads )

[iainskea]

Love the pics Vin, keep them coming!

[slewthy]

Nice work Vin -good to have a record of this.

 

I recall my ';turning the corner' moment well - the sick to my stomach feeling of "will I ever remember how all this goes back together" changes to your vision of the final result getting brighter and brighter. There are plenty of challenges left for sure, but this is the really fun bit.

Best wishes.

 

Simon

[vintaylor]

Thanks Simon,

 

Only worry is will certain body panels and brackets fit right, as I had fibreglass work done to the bonnet headlamps and front of the car .. I tried to measure everything up correctly so hopefully the bonnet will give me enough play to set it right.

 

Really looking forward to putting the interior back in now !  I'll probably get my old wiring loom looked at and possibly refurbished.

 

I think the no.1 fear for me is the wiring and everything still works properly.. It did 5 years ago lol

[Loose Cannon]

That brown marcasite trim looks awesome Vin, and great news going back to yellow.

[vintaylor]

Its not marcasite .. had to go for cloth interior in the end

[giorgio67]

I think the no.1 fear for me is the wiring and everything still works properly..

 

The wiring was a fear already at the factory....      

 

Ciao Vin

[LOTUSMAN33]

Hi Vin

Glad you decided on a dedicated post as you have already achieved so much. The body and trim are looking great and what better colour is there for sunny Malta!

Don't worry about wiring as enough of us have S2's so can take photos and help when required. Keep the pics flowing and regular updates as I find people's comments drive me to achieve more. I think you will have an absolutely stunning example by the time you finish as you pay attention to detail and clearly have patience.

Dave

[vintaylor]

Just came back from the sprayer.. went by to collect a few bits that he's finished off before I collect the body next week.

 

 

I'm over the moon with the finished result!! He truly dedicated endless hours of priming and filling to get the best finish possible!! Also chuffed with the satin black work :):)

 

The pictures were taken indoors and really don't do the colour justice .. it truly pops in the sunlight and I'm really happy I went with my gut and took the car back to original yellow !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[slewthy]

That does look lovely! Is is straight from the gun (I'm guessing so) or has some finishing taken place already?

 

Got to say, I'm loving the S2's I see atm. If I didn't think I'd have my jewels cut off by 'er indoors.....

[LOTUSMAN33]

Stunning Vin! Can't wait to see the shell, you certainly were wise going back to yellow!

[vintaylor]

Hi Simon..

 

That's pretty much all prep work and straight from the gun ... Will be giving everything a basic polish once on the car .. but it already shinny and no orange peel etc..

[CharlieCroker]

Wow, looks stunning, look forward to seeing it all back together. Great job!

[vintaylor]

well yesterday was finally D-Day and the esprit shell is finally ready!  So glad that I went with my gut and had the shell sprayed in Yellow... Can't thank all you guys enough for the endless support and advice you guys have given me along the way.. 

 

It finally seems like I have hit the turning point!

 

 

The transport guys were fantastic and made the transition from the sprayer into my garage easy!  had to make sure we had enough guys so we were 8 in total! haha but better safe then sorry!

 

 

 

 

Spent the day trying to scrape off the old insulation to prep the cockpit for the new insulation (maybe fatmat or dynamat)

 

 

 

The yellow really pops.. I keep having trouble getting my smart phone to take a good picture that reflects the actual colour..

 

Looking to tackle the engine bay in the coming weeks.. Does anyone have any paint they could recommend to paint the rear boot area and inside the engine bay area?

[slewthy]

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[LOTUSMAN33]

Beautiful Vin, you must be well chuffed with the end result! Store it carefully, I have used many different paints in the engine bay over the tears and all look fine. Not much is on show with all the boards and carpets.

Dave

[jonwat]

Well done Vin, looks really nice :-)

[UPAUTO]

WOW too

[vintaylor]

Beautiful Vin, you must be well chuffed with the end result! Store it carefully, I have used many different paints in the engine bay over the tears and all look fine. Not much is on show with all the boards and carpets.

Dave

 

Cheers Dave,

 

Was going to use body underseal for the boot areas and maybe stone guard for the underside of the engine bay.  Do you think I should use a heat resistant paint for the engine bay fire wall?

[LOTUSMAN33]

Sounds like a good plan although have my doubts about the carpet, saying that fibreglass burns like mad anyway!

You have the fun bit now like fitting the waistline trim etc!

How far are you going with the body build up as you want to keep the weight down until attached back on the chassis? Are you going to fit it with man power or a hoist?

Dave

[vintaylor]

While the shell was at the sprayer, I had him go over all the plastic trim with satin black .. The finish is awesome

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are the door weatherstrip frames made out of stainless steel and painted satin black:

 

and here is my proudest achievement ! the front radiator grille re-done in stainless steel ! makes me want to hang it over my bed rather then install it in the car! 

 

 

 

This is what I took off the car!

Sounds like a good plan although have my doubts about the carpet, saying that fibreglass burns like mad anyway!

You have the fun bit now like fitting the waistline trim etc!

How far are you going with the body build up as you want to keep the weight down until attached back on the chassis? Are you going to fit it with man power or a hoist?

Dave

 

Hi Dave,

 

Will probably re-do the sound deadoning and fit all the smaller brackets before it goes back on the chassis.

 

I'll also re-paint the areas of the car that don't show with underseal and have the tanks re-done in aluminium and go ahead and install.

 

It will all be done with man power... I had 8 people at my disposal when we moved the car!  So that made things super easy

 

Do you reckon the fire wall area in the engine bay would need heat resistant paint?

[Freemason]

Wow. Amazing project.

You weren't tempted to get the S3 rear light surrounds from SJ's? I hate how the original surrounds are fixed to the bodywork with screws, I'm going to try and fix this on mine.

[vintaylor]

Hi Antonio,

 

I've replaced loads of parts on the lotus.. so I decided to keep the lenses and use tapped inserts (got the idea from simon) this way I can bolt on the lenses

[vintaylor]

Today was a public holiday here in Malta.. Just having got the shell back I decide to use my motivation to tackle the bits of carpet still stuck to the shell and remove the left over cr*p in the chassis tunnel.

 

 

 

 

All clear!  Will probably go ahead and prep the footwell area with satin black paint to keep everything looking neat ..

[LOTUSMAN33]

Stainless weather strips? Nice one Vin, bet they were not cheap to get done?

The project is going to look superb and the standard is clearly fantastic. I would go with the heat proof paint on the fire wall, more importantly fit an extinguisher system as when they go they go quick! It would be heart breaking to think of all that work going up in smoke mate...

Dave