how many of you are doing a full resto

[andy b]

Having nearly completed a recommission of my ebay purchase.. I have bled swore bought more self tapers spent money and i was thinking i could not take on a full restoration of an esprit.

so if you could take the time just add some info like 

Did you buy a runner.

was it a basket case.

body off chassis.

how far have you got with it engine done /g/box done/  body in paint/etc.

how long have you been doing it.

you get the picture just interesting

an up to date pic would be nice.

YOU ARE ALL HEROES IT IS NO SMALL UNDERTAKING WELL DONE TO YOU.

andy b

[mikeh]

Andy,

I am in the midst of a restoration project(s).

I have a handful of S1's and I am focusing on completing 469H.  I've had it for 5 years.  It is a complete restoration project including removing body from chassis.  So far, the chassis, body, and engine are restored.  I have to install the engine into the chassis then I will install the body onto the chassis, followed by installing the interior that has yet to be re-stitched.  I'm planning on having it done for next Spring. 

My cars pictured in my avatar are completely stripped to the bare fiberglass shell out of necessity because of firewall rot and they were stored outdoors for many years so they are basket cases.  I've managed to sandblast and paint both chassis' and related parts.  That's all I'm doing for now until 469H is done.

A month ago I acquired another project- 390H.

I do most of the labor myself.

I've been active in the hobby for 15 years with a focus on body/paint work.

 

Good luck with your car,

Mike

I have a thread in the restoration section, but its not up to date.

[Bibs]

Hey Mike!!

 

You got another one?! You wanna get shot of that orange car to make room for it in the workshop 

[iainskea]

It is a massive undertaking. I must admit that I suffer from wishing I dug deeper on each part of the resto. Feel a bit of a hack really, but onlookers are gobsmacked, weird...

Iain

[andy b]

awesome a life's work well done i am 62 now i have done élan +2 mk 1 lotus cortina  lotus eleven. climax elite.lotus mk6. cateram 7 had an excel from new still running 98 thousand miles all done by my family and serviced by me. it is a passion enjoy well done I have enjoyed the esprit i have 2 just a different challenge but an iconic car just stunning looks. but to old to take on a full resto.

andy b

PS i am getting old i forgot i restored a lotus 18 f/j and raced it for ten years. then i swapped my eleven for the lotus 30 restored that and raced that for  9 years still got it 

i still have a mk1 seven to do and an eleven ex 1956 sebring car so i have to live for a while yet but the esprit compared to the older cars are something else to restore. i hope more people will respond to the thread it is fascinating with the internet the word is a small place. thanks for the reply. some up to date pics please. thats all for now andy.

[mikeh]

Bibs,

I bought 390H  outside of ebay (US).  I drove all the way to New Orleans Louisiana which is 1004 miles one way.  It was an enjoyable trip though, especially because of the anticipation of a new project.  I have it stored off site for now because a certain orange car=) (sorry Matt).

-Mike

Edited August 3, 2014 by mikeh

[mdw]

I recently finished a bod on resto of my 88 n/a.  Decided to keep the body on as the last car I did was so immaculate I didn't ever use it and sold it 7 years later having done 2000 miles.   With this one everything that works/ moves or operates works like new and is clean to work on but there is enough muck elsewhere for me to use it without  stressing.  Its still cost thousands more than its worth  but  I know it inside out and can do everything on it. 

I have only had 2 jobs don't by specialists and I wasn't very impressed by either.  4 oil leaks on a £5000 engine and seat recover that was probably right for the money I paid but would have been perfect with a little more care.  After taking the engine back for the first leaks to be sorted I gave up and did the rest myself due to the distance but mainly they were still leaking.     

[Paul Coleman]

I'm 7.5 years into the full restoration of the 30th S1 ever built. When I got it it had sat on a driveway in Bristol for 15 years and hasn't been taxed since the late 1980s - it was the proverbial basket case. The previous owner had cut 2 foot long chunks of the bodywork off around the engine bay on 3 sides to transplant a Rover V8 into it. He also modified the chassis as well to get it to fit.

 

The bodywork is now done, the engine has been rebuilt and yesterday I mated the gearbox back onto it ready to put back in the chassis - today's job. Can't type any more there's too much to do and I've got to get on...

 

Paul.

[andy b]

malcolm i have more or less done the same thing with the turbo just made a good driver the NA has been painted and i will put it away as i have the turbo to use, great that you have done all the work yourself.

 

Paul sounds as if you are getting there it was well hacked about mind you i don't blame you i love the S1 the car can't of been very old when it got messed about with. Did you put the chassis right yourself.

 

lain say hello to greg bray for me i have been over to visit him in brisbaine 

[march]

Hi,

 

I am a bit of a newbie to Lotus's - I have only been restoring my 99 Esprit V8 for the past 3 and a bit years. It was never meant to be a restoration but has become one - atleast it is nearly finished now - just the suspension and a few other bits to do (may be this coming winter if enthusiasm and time permit).

 

When I started it was meant to be quick fix (engine top end rebuild and a bit of tarting up and then enjoy) - Ha! how wrong I was - well I am over 3 years in, an awful lot poorer and have realised perfectionism often leads to disillusionment in supposed experts in there field (Leather Trimmers). But I now have a very, very nice looking esprit that is back on the road and will be driven for the first time tomorrow if I dare (All hedges in our mile long lane have been cut back, horse poo and stones are about to be cleared and the council has finally agreed to repair the pot holes). So fingers crossed for an ear to ear grin that it will make it all worth it!

 

Marc

[andy b]

 Marc well worth it V8 rumble in the jungle at least you stuck with it most people give up and the car is left in bits and parts get lost enjoy.

horse pool makes good undersell LOL.

[red vtec]

Well my engines out and the things to look at / fix are growing

[vintaylor]

well bought my s2 around 5 years ago as a project.. Initially thought it could be done without removing the body etc.. 

 

But in the end went for a full body-off restoration and had to get the chassis blasted and some areas repaired.  I suppose I am glad I didn't end up having a great looking body with a rusty chassis.

 

Right now I am still chasing after people to finish the work.  Body shell has been painted, most of the interior upholstery is done (only 1 seat and a few small bits left to do).  Engine liners have been replaced but engine still needs re-assembly.

Front suspension has been refurbished but needs assembly and rear is stripped but needs refurbishing and installation.

 

Gearbox is left untouched at present.

 

Biggest issue I've had the esprit whilst studying for my degree etc... so I suppose due to lack of time and finances I had to stretch the restoration time out abit.. But hoping to keep cracking on and get the rolling chassis done and back with body next year

[andy b]

Vin

Yes  I forgot all the early cars don't have a galvanised chassis so you don't have much choice regarding the chassis it has to come off to repair paint unless you are very lucky all us with later cars are lucky i suppose with galvanised chassis, 

It sounds that you are getting on well. good luck keep us posted on progress.

andy b 

[vintaylor]

Thanks Andy,

 

In a bit of a hold up with the lotus as I am taking care of some issues on my Alfa 33 daily driver... yes I am crazy to drive a 1994 alfa 33 on a daily basis lol

 

Came back from Italy and had no pressure in the clutch pedal.. topped up the fluid and bled the clutch slave cylinder which helped but the next day it had air back in the system.

 

So as any other Alfa whilst having the  slave cylinder done, I ended having the  oil pump, sump pan, engine mount, radiator fluid, front suspension done haha 

Also managed to get hold of the holy grail of lotus esprit parts!

 

A NOS original washer bottle ! haha who wants to buy it for £1,000????

 

Only kidding.. not for sale! haha

[andy b]

Just to keep the thread going how are you all doing if you can take the time. There must be more of you I am sure it will inspire some  people to continue with there projects cos it ant easy.

andy b.

Just waiting for the élan m100 tax to run out then mot the turbo and try it out i will have to replace the shocks soon what is recommended.

andy b 

[red vtec]

Mine is very slow I'm working on it around other things, but looking to rebuild the engine over the winter

[frix]

I started the restoration 4 years ago, I bought my S2.2 for £1200 and thought id bagged a bargin, well i now know what they mean about buy the best you can afford but at the time that was what i could afford! She was a wreck, 11 owners and sadly between them they treated her very very badly. Anyway i thought the only way of restoring such a rare and beautiful car is to strip and rebuild, so far ive rebuilt the chassis, had the body painted, wheels refurbed, fuel system bought, new wiring loom bought countless other bits painted and waiting to go back on. Left to do, well theres lots, ive got the material for the interior so hopefully i can send that to be done shortly, engine to be rebuilt next year and fitted. Hopefully the car will be finished by the end of next year as im sure there will be a few events for the 40th anniversary  and id love to be able to show it then.     

Edited September 11, 2014 by frix

[deecee]

95 S4S power train into an 86 HCI. New S4S motor, (Gas Flowed Head, Chargecooler, Heat Exchanger (Oil Cooler), Ball Bearing T3/4 Turbo, Adjustable Digital Turbo Boost Controller, Custom Wastegate & Blow Off Valve, Delco Engine Wiring Harness Spliced into G Body Harness, Renault Gear Box, S4S Rear Suspension (Adjustable Upper and Lower Links), Spax Shocks & Springs, Outboard Rear Wilwood Big Brakes and Rotors, Front Wilwood Big Brakes and Rotors, Wilwood Park Brake Calipers, Custom Ronal Wheels (18" front & 19" rear, 30 and 40 series Nitto Tires .

 

Completely Redone Interior with Sparco Sport 300 Style Seats (Lowered with Custom Seat Mounts = 2" Extra Head Room), MB Quart Speaker System, Custom Bass Box (Formerly the Center Console Map Pouch), Kenwood Head and Amps.

 

Reworked Rear Bumper, Reworked Side Air Scoops (ala S4S), 4 Round LED Rear Tail Lights, Flat Side Marker Lights, Widened Rear Lower Valance...will be adding Actuators to open Front and Rear Hoods, Reworking Headlight Doors to raise up a few inches with Projector Lights, and will be Clipping, Thinning and Rounding the Front Bumper.

 

...other than that, I left it totally original.  LOL

[lotus-62]

bought a running NA '85 esprit 3 years ago in the middle of a banks 62 build-up ( I wanted something to drive) turns out the m.o.t. guy must have been blind because there was so much wrong with the front suspension/steering that I find myself in another restoration (one thing leads to another, I even started with an rhd to lhd conversion at the same, because I needed the parts anyway so why not in LHD and do the conversion.

 

esprit is at a standstill as a member of the belgium lotus club paid me a visit to see my banks 62 build-up, he came all the way in his twin cam europa and the europa bug hit me like never before so the esprit needs to wait awhile before she gets any attention

 

did manage to find one of the previous owners (through the forum)  and he still had the original wind deflector I was missing

[MarkBa]

Here's my Europa S2 Gordini 5 speed- everything in the photo has been

done this year by myself. I have it running for the first time in 30 years, I'm just doing the 

interior, then its brakes & suspension...

[MarkBa]

Here's a more detailed pic of my Europa- got carried away here,

alloy swirl pot, polished brass heater valve, silicone hoses, s/steel clamps...

[andy b]

Great read chaps amazing amount of work going on out there enjoy.

Try not to spill to much blood.

andy b 

[frix]

 

Edited September 12, 2014 by frix

[mdw]

 

Try not to spill to much blood.

andy b 

Im not sure thats possible on a Lotus resoration.  Apart from the odd bleeding knuckle I did manage a A and E trip on my restoration when I stepped down into the empty engine bay with small sheet of ally which caught on something and the corner went into my eye!!!  It was one of those oh S%^& is this going to change my life moments........ However no long term damage thankfully.