Look what Q has brought for us. Isn't it nice ?

[jonroberts]

So it's not Monaco White and its not going to have a Green/Tartan interior in it !

 

This is1976 Esprit S1 chassis No. 235G - Orange/Brown Marcasite.  

 

Finished bodyshell was delivered just in time for Xmas by Mark at Stocks Coachworks who has made a superb job of it.

 

Complete strip back to gelcoat, some star crack repairs, filling in the holes left by non-standard door mirrors and a strange 'kitchen cupboard' like handle somebody had fitted on the tailgate. 

 

Painted in Standox 2K base and clear coat S04 Orange, wet sanded then polished with 3M compounds.

 

 

[cbclotus]

Looks fantastic .Mike

[Simon350S]

Orange S1. Yum yum..!

[Mark Blanchard]

That's going to be stunning when it's finished.  Is it the same car that's in your avatar (and was published in Classic Car magazine 1996)?

 

[nello]

You have to love the 70's.......... reminds me of my old Lancia Fulvia spec which was factory chocolate brown with green carpets and orange seats   Looking forward to seeing the end results Jon!

[jonroberts]

Hi Mark - yep, same car, thats me driving it.  They promised me copies of the hundreds of shoot photos they took on the MoD test facility at Chertsey hoofing round the track with a photo car in chase. Never got any unfortunately.  Still have a pristine copy of that months mag though !

[v39]

That looks like mine! 176g

[jonroberts]

Nice one David.  How many other early Orange cars are left in the UK I wonder ?

[v39]

Not many especially the early ones like ours with originally gel coat finish.

Will be interesting to see them together?

[slewthy]

You could all meet on a wednesday......

[tonytransam]

Nice! I still have that mag, how much does he charge to paint a shell?

[jonroberts]

All I'll say is it wasn't cheap, but the finish and attention to detail is outstanding - I'm very pleased with it. The significant recent price rise in S1's meant that a quality spray job was financially justifiable!

 

My shell was in pretty good nick with only one area of previous repair on the rear end that wasn't visible until all the paint was removed. They removed that repair and re-did it properly in the quoted price.  I stripped out everything that could be removed completely, including glass, and just gave him the empty body, tailgate, bonnet and door shells which cut the cost down quite a bit.

 

Give Mark a call and discuss what you need..

[tonytransam]

Still unsure what to do with my S1, it's a very original car 45000 miles etc yellow with tartan, most here can appreciate but average people can't, faded interior and old gel coat paint etc. Looking at all these restored S1's now gets you thinking.

Edited December 28, 2014 by Roger Moore

[jonroberts]

I've seen the mag article on your car, it looks really nice. Being an early model with the centre ashtray (as Paul Coleman keeps pointing out!) is pretty rare.  I wouldn't worry too much about faded paintwork unless you really want to make it stand out, that just adds to the 'patina'. I would probably be inclined to redo the interior if it is seriously faded, torn/worn or smells like a wet dog. 

[tonytransam]

Interior is ok, just a couple of fag burns as the lady that owned it before was a chain smoker, fading of the green cloth, It would be perfect to restore as all the sponges and seat shapes are in good order. My only apprehension is that it is original and drives really well, problem is when you see all these crisp restored S1's now.

Edited December 29, 2014 by Roger Moore

[jtmco]

Anthony,

 

They are only original once!  Put some seat covers on it to protect what you have left and enjoy that it "drives well"

 

Jim

[Tony K]

You should be able to polish that gelcoat to look new. Remember, it never did have quite the reflective lustre of a newer urethane finish; that is part of the "look" that adds to the "mystique" of an early S1. Not to mention that, unlike any traditional paint new or old, that gelcoat finish is nearly impervious to stone chips.

Personally, to me a urethane finish where a gelcoat finish once was is a downgrade. And as already noted, they are only original once. There are and have been plenty of S1s in shoddy condition deserving of a full restoration; there are so few good original examples left that I think a car like yours is worth preserving for a while longer. You can always restore it later!

[tonytransam]

Ok agreed but in regards to my body work, it has sinkage in places and a darkness coming through, it will not polish out. I will turn my attention to maybe restoring my S2 seeing as I have seem to missed out on the motor show car.

Edited December 29, 2014 by Roger Moore

[jonroberts]

In my case, the paint had faded terribly on the areas exposed to the sun (yes Tony, we do have sun here every once in a while!) and would not polish up. It had been repainted once before so was no longer original gelcoat anyway. I also wanted to remove the aftermarket S2 door mirrors (two holes in each door) and the holes left by a PO's kitchen cupboard handle on the tailgate!  Three or four star cracks around the door hinges (lack of check restraint, now rectified) and two more on the rear quarters where something rolled around in the boot area and tried to punch, out were sorted properly.  In my view, those were all a detriment to the look of an otherwise pretty car. 

[Lotusfab]

Hi Jon,

If you want accurate esprit decals I spent months sorting them. The info where to get them is in the exterior section on here if you haven't already seen it. The decals supplies by some dealers are inaccurate.

[Lotusfab]

Any more pics yet?

[jonroberts]

Been a while since the car came back from its respray and managed to get weekends and evenings on the reassembly.

 

Started off at the front (why not?) refitting the brake and clutch master cylinders, heater (lots of fun here)   and the front vent

 

 

Installing the headlamp pods. Naturally, the LOTUS nose badge had to go on !

 

 

Motor mounting after clean up and zinc plating

 

 

I kind of got into the zinc plating zone here  

 

 

Then attacked the job of the waist band trim (not quite as bad as I was expecting)

 

 

Front indicators, bumper and seal and the early S1 spoiler blade.

 

 

Then moved rearwards onto the engine bay carpets

 

 

Didn't like the look of the rear quarter lights, so they both got completely stripped, painted and reassembled

 

 

I did the capping rails, 'chrome' capping rail trim and the tailgate last weekend and am now just about ready to fit the front and rear screens back in. Putting the front end together - especially the heater assembly, the wiper wheel box and mounting is SO MUCH EASIER without the front screen in !

 

 

 

Dashboard top 'Marcasite alternative' material is glued in place prior to the screen going in.

 

 

 

Next update will probably be the screen fitting. I'm waiting for the weather to get nearer to 10 degrees C just in case there is any problem with the Dinitrol adhesive/sealant at these low temperatures.

 

  

[vintaylor]

hi jon . Did you use one rubber spacer for the wiper box ? .. Am I correct in saying its wiper box, rubber spacer, body, bezel and wiper arm and nut?

[Paul Coleman]

Vin

 

I've been speaking to Jon about this over the weekend as I fitted my wiper box yesterday. I reckon it should have a 9mm spacer between the box and the body. Then there should also be a 9mm spacer on the outside next to the body, then the stepped metal bracket, then the wiper arm, after that is another metal spacer and finally the nut.

 

I only had 2 3.5mm spacers giving 7mm between my box and the body as that was all I had to hand and I reckon there are about 2mm of thread sticking out above the nut. So 9mm would have been just about right.

 

Interestingly, SJ only sell a 9mm spacer.

 

Paul.

Edited February 22, 2015 by Paul Coleman

[jonroberts]

For reference, or at least on my car, the distance from the bodywork to the underside of the bonnet where the wiper sits was 49mm. Thats the maximum you have before the wiper arm scrapes your bonnet! You need the inside spacer wheelbox=>body to ensure the top of the wiper stem is low enough for the wiper not to foul, if that makes sense.  The S1 manuals only list one spacer, not two, but the S3 parts manual has a better diagram and shows both spacers. My photo above does not show the wiper retaining ring and the stepped retainer plate, both of which go underneath the chrome bezel first. Retaining nut last.  This is for the push-on wiper blade - I believe the later wipers are retained by a nut but should be the same arrangement.