S1 Project car - part 2 - the continuation

[Lotusfab]

Yep, it's still awesome though!

[winners]

Great photos Fab. 

[giorgetto]

Dito!  Thanks for posting the shots Fabian.

So, is this definitely the Bond S1?  

1. Rear window trim is chrome not black
2. No clock visible between the sun visors (possibly only seen in the S1 interior studio mock up for the underwater scenes)
3. No gear knob to check for missile launching button (again, as above)

As has been mentioned, the Lotus Bond cars were re-sold after shooting.  Is this true of all the cars?  If so, Lotus may have returned the window trim back to chrome factory spec.

I guess what I'm trying to ask is, do we have a definitive history for the Bond S1?  

• Leaves factory in '76
• Presumably shipped to Sardinia for film shoot
• Then what?.......Sold to a dealership?
• Was it then bought back from the owner by Lotus and kept at the factory until sold to Cars of the Stars Museum in Keswick?

I probably need to get out more.........

Genuinely would love to know though   

[Paul Coleman]

14 hours ago, TAR said:

you need to lose that gear knob if you want to be authentic.

Always seems such a shame to me that cars like that will never be driven again.

 

Don't think I'd even want to sit in it - I can almost smell it from here!

[Lotusfab]

On 11/01/2018 at 09:14, giorgetto said:

Dito!  Thanks for posting the shots Fabian.

So, is this definitely the Bond S1?  

1. Rear window trim is chrome not black
2. No clock visible between the sun visors (possibly only seen in the S1 interior studio mock up for the underwater scenes)
3. No gear knob to check for missile launching button (again, as above)

As has been mentioned, the Lotus Bond cars were re-sold after shooting.  Is this true of all the cars?  If so, Lotus may have returned the window trim back to chrome factory spec.

I guess what I'm trying to ask is, do we have a definitive history for the Bond S1?  

• Leaves factory in '76
• Presumably shipped to Sardinia for film shoot
• Then what?.......Sold to a dealership?
• Was it then bought back from the owner by Lotus and kept at the factory until sold to Cars of the Stars Museum in Keswick?

I probably need to get out more.........

Genuinely would love to know though   

I was speaking to Steve Fulcher(dad trimmed the car and asked him your question. He said there were two cars. One was put back on the production line and sold as a new car. The other was kept by Lotus and sold to the Keswick museum. That is the car now in the Deezer museum. I don't know why the bits you mention are different? The mystery continues! 

[PhilW]

I went to a talk by Roger Becker about 3 years ago. He said exactly that. One car was sold on. I remember him saying he knew exactly where it was. That could be taken as written off or with a particular owner. He would not give any clue or information about his statement. If he truly did know something I guess gone for ever now sadly, but equally sadly he is no longer with us either. 

[giorgetto]

On 1/21/2018 at 07:27, Lotusfab said:

I was speaking to Steve Fulcher(dad trimmed the car and asked him your question. He said there were two cars. One was put back on the production line and sold as a new car. The other was kept by Lotus and sold to the Keswick museum. That is the car now in the Deezer museum. I don't know why the bits you mention are different? The mystery continues! 

Thanks Fabian, I really appreciate you asking Steve.  Nice to have that confirmed.

I presume the other car was the camera car then.

On 1/21/2018 at 09:26, PhilW said:

I went to a talk by Roger Becker about 3 years ago. He said exactly that. One car was sold on. I remember him saying he knew exactly where it was. That could be taken as written off or with a particular owner. He would not give any clue or information about his statement. If he truly did know something I guess gone for ever now sadly, but equally sadly he is no longer with us either. 

Interesting stuff Phil.  Someone out there is sitting on a lottery ticket! 

 

[giorgetto]

Window trim does look blacked out below.  

Probably a temporary measure which could have been easily rubbed off once back at Lotus.

[Lotusfab]

I was thinking of blacking out my window trim, but could bring myself to do it in the end!

[giorgetto]

I'd imagine they did it to prevent reflections and lens flares.

I would struggle with your dilemma also.  I kinda like the chrome as it is.

You could always get the trim wrapped if you really needed to?

[Lotusfab]

Those camera men are quite brave sitting there knowing how hot it can get!

[Jared_nomak]

3 hours ago, Lotusfab said:

Those camera men are quite brave sitting there knowing how hot it can get!

The days before health and safety

On 21/01/2018 at 07:27, Lotusfab said:

I was speaking to Steve Fulcher(dad trimmed the car and asked him your question. He said there were two cars. One was put back on the production line and sold as a new car. The other was kept by Lotus and sold to the Keswick museum. That is the car now in the Deezer museum. I don't know why the bits you mention are different? The mystery continues! 

Yeh I bid of the two lotus back then but they both sold for 30k each it was the prototype and lotus car collection option, but around the same time you could buy a DB5 for £40k

 

[giorgetto]

4 hours ago, Lotusfab said:

Those camera men are quite brave sitting there knowing how hot it can get!

An explosive combination if the boys had been on the Peroni and Limoncello the night before.......ahem 

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-lost-lotus-restoring-a-race-car

On in half an hour on More 4 if anyone missed it, or on the player now.

[giorgetto]

 

50 minutes ago, Jared_nomak said:

The days before health and safety

Yeh I bid of the two lotus back then but they both sold for 30k each it was the prototype and lotus car collection option, but around the same time you could buy a DB5 for £40k

 

How far back were they for sale Ross, out of curiosity?

[Lotusfab]

Almost time for the S1 to roll out again. I had a oil leak which ai didn't have time to look at until yesterday. It's the dreaded   lower camshaft cover gasket. I have the rubber ones fitted. I have thought of a two stage attempt to fix. Clean it up free if oil. Seal thebgasket to the bottom only. Loosely tighten. Next day check the gasket is in the correct place and if it is seal the top and tighten. Using a paper gasket. Has anyone done this method?

When I get mire time I will carry out the oil restrictor mod, this will reduce the amount of oil in the camshaft area and should help fix the problem. The oil pump was rebuilt and seems to be far to efficient at pumping the oil!

[Paul Coleman]

On 1/22/2018 at 16:30, giorgetto said:

Interesting stuff Phil.  Someone out there is sitting on a lottery ticket! 

In the documentary on the accompanying DVD with the film it says that the camera car was Chapman's own car. So if you own a 1976 white S1 and Chapman was the original owner it's probably you...

 

[Lotusfab]

That's a pain, it's not my car, although it is identical!

[Fridge]

On 07/10/2015 at 13:54, Lotusfab said:

Have almost finished the rear valance. Just replaced ignition with the powerspark. Seems to work quite well.

Have replaced the Servo valve with a new one. It has stopped the clicking. Has come to my attention the servo pipe is incorrect. Its very thinsonhave ordered the correct one from S and J. Will have to redo all the pipes so have ordered these also. It appears the header tank was not ckeaned before the reassembly so will clean this out while Im at it. Cant believe I still finding lots to do!!!

What servo valve did you fit? My servo clicks too. It's a new replacement item from S&J, but I had to fit the pipe take-off feed.

[Paul Coleman]

I bought a replacement from SJ but it didn't fit. The plastic tube was smaller than the grommet in the servo?

[Lotusfab]

I bought one from rimmer Bros and it worked perfectly, I asked them to match it! 

[Fridge]

looking on the internet, the valve is located and is part of the servo unit?

If I bought a replacement from SJ, surely the item is faulty?

[Lotusfab]

It's a one way valve so you should be able to blow through it in one direction only to test it.

If this valve is ok it could be the seal into the servo where the valve pushes in.

[Fridge]

Is the seal the grommet in which the external connector fits to the pipe?

The grommet was new I believe, with the original connector. I had thought of sealing it somehow.

[Fridge]

On 28/06/2016 at 08:21, Paul Coleman said:

I have the full ss exhaust from SJ and it didn't need modifying at all. The original exhaust manifold was renowned for cracking and mine had cracks where it bolts to the head. Is your manifold perfect?

@Paul Coleman Do 'Double S' make the SJ stainless steel system? I bought one in 1992 and it's still going well in my other classic. How has your manifold stood the test of time - and 120mph runs? I've heard they're a bit questionable in quality. The system looks good.

(If you're wondering, I'm trying to fathom this thread and find any tips on making the vertical drop glass rail to work smoothly with the 4-wheeled trolley thing that bolts to the bottom of the window glass)

[Lotusfab]

44 minutes ago, Fridge said:

Is the seal the grommet in which the external connector fits to the pipe?

The grommet was new I believe, with the original connector. I had thought of sealing it somehow.

The grommet fits into the servo and the valve pushes in. If the grommet is new it should be ok. In my case a faulty valve was causing the ticking. Just pull the valve out and blow through it in both directions. It should only allow air in one direction else it is faulty.

28 minutes ago, Fridge said:

@Paul Coleman Do 'Double S' make the SJ stainless steel system? I bought one in 1992 and it's still going well in my other classic. How has your manifold stood the test of time - and 120mph runs? I've heard they're a bit questionable in quality. The system looks good.

(If you're wondering, I'm trying to fathom this thread and find any tips on making the vertical drop glass rail to work smoothly with the 4-wheeled trolley thing that bolts to the bottom of the window glass)

If you have replaced the window brush seals you may find the only way the window will work is if you don't tighten the bolts fully on the four wheel thing. That's if the wheels are seized  and they are sliding on the window guide in grease and not rotating. I replaced all of the wheels and pinions. The window guide has no grease so the wheels can rotate on it. As they seize up over the years people grease the guide rail. The new brush seals are a different rubber and profile. The create more resistance to the window movement although Andy reckons they work ok. I tried everything on my S1 including silicon to lubricate the seals. Nothing worked except loosening the window guide bolts.