Ian's S4s refurb

[Chillidoggy]

It's safe to say that we are going to disagree, but I any case, take a closer look at the photo of my Lotus ABS shroud, and then at the earlier Esprit shrouds, and tell me how they differ.

[lotus4s]

Ian,

Sorry to disagree but it's an accepted principle among auto a/c experts that a completely sealed shroud gives optimum air flow and pretty much all current auto a/c systems are designed that way. The benefits are most notable at low speed and idle conditions. Having openings around the fan will allow the fans to suck air from behind the rad and condenser instead of through it. Some shrouds are equipped with holes and rubber flaps behind them to open at high speed to allow for the addtional benefit of the ram air affect but cooling the engine and condenser are generally issues that are more problematic at low speeds and stop and go traffic. 

Cheers,

Jim

[Alex Carter]

but right or wrong hey its your car do it how you want 

[Chillidoggy]

Indeed Alex. I wasn't suggesting you're doing anything wrong, I just have differing ideas, but I wasn't about to criticise your work because I'm sure it will be fine.

Jim, I hear what you're saying, and I agree that a shroud may be better at idle and slow speeds. However I feel that at normal road speeds they mask too much of the radiator, unless, as you say, there are flaps fitted that open up at speed. The fans don't run in normal usage (well, yes, it's different in FLA), only when the car had been stopped for a while, or if the air-con is running at speeds below (I think) 35mph.

Air doesn't like going around corners, or hitting a blank wall. And the path that air has to take is tortuous enough in the Esprit rad-pack. Again, take a look at my Lotus shroud: There are more holes than there are plastic, and that works OK, doesn't it?

The new Spal fans that we are fitting are much more efficient than the Ford fans, so no-one is going to have a problem in that department. In fact, if the original system is in good order, I don't believe anyone should have a problem with cooling. You pays your money, you takes your choice, and deleting the shroud is my choice.

[Barrykearley]

The shroud came off in multiple different smashed pieces when I did my old one. Fitted three really cheapie eBay fans with no shroud at all, simply bolted the fans to the rad frame - and it was absolutely fine even in the hottest weather and traffic conditions.

id do the same again - was simple, effective and for once in an esprit - cheap(ish)

But and its a big but - after all the stick you've poked me with @ian29gte - I reckon yours will boil over like a b@tch the second the sun comes out 

[lotus4s]

 @Barrykearley

[Chillidoggy]

In spite of it being a dead cert, a gentleman like me wouldn't take your bet, Barry. After all, you'll need all your spare cash for your own project..........

[Chillidoggy]

Having now had a chance to clean up and inspect the steel/rubber condenser pipes, they look like they'll be OK to use once more. If they were as knackered as Alex's then I'd have been going down the single condenser route. Of course if I put it all back together and they leak, then I won't have any choice but to do that anyway. The only issue I have is the centre support, which is borderline as to whether I make a new one.

And then I remembered - I still have to finish off the front suspension rebuild, and am still waiting for the PNM front brake conversion to arrive. Still, at least the binnacle from hell has finally been removed to remove and repair the oil pressure gauge that Sparky broke. Just when you thought it was all going well, eh?

[Yellow Peril]

I've just done my engine bay and used their reflective tape to do the edges and cover the joins
http://www.thermalvelocity.co.uk/Heat-Shield-Tape/Reflective-Heat-Shield-Tape/p-150-474/

[Chillidoggy]

Nice. What's your real name, by the way? Sure I met you at Brands Hatch last year?

Just a thought - my GRP was not exactly burnt, but discoloured by heat from the turbo around the wheel-arch section (on the left of your photo). Might be worth you covering that up too, and also the chassis tube directly below it, the heat from the turbo or exhaust knackers the galvanise in the area. I wrapped some heatshield around the tube.

 

Oh, and you should post your photos in your rebuild thread!

[Yellow Peril]

We may have met. Yes. 

The new manifold is ceramic coated but not the turbo. Good shout on the chassis pipes. 

[Chillidoggy]

And just to add to the workload the PNM 6-pot big brake kit for the fronts has arrived!

 

[Vanya]

Hot damn! What will you do with the Brembos? Or is it you thats got them up on eBay at the moment? I'm mulling over the HiSpec kit for my SE.... 

[Chillidoggy]

I can't imagine why anyone who buys the car when I sell it would want brakes that are inferior, unless they're an absolute stickler for originality. I'm not a lover of cosmetic changes, but improvements like this make sense to me, and so I shall probably sell the Brembos on when I get round to it. It's the reason I chose black for the new calipers so at least they're the same colour as the originals; I'm hoping for a discrete look.

[Chillidoggy]

As usual, the pedant in me decided it wasn't happy the condenser centre support would live for another 20 years without failing. After a sandblasting, I could see the lower end was decidedly thinner than the top, maybe half its original thickness. Given the state of the original condensers, and the fact that it's not a simple task to access it, I started on fabricating a new one from some 1.5mm zintec sheet steel. I hope to finish it later today, then get started on putting the rad-pack together, and fitted.

 

[Chillidoggy]

After yesterday's problems with the centre bracket, I've changed tack, and decided not to fabricate new claws, instead using a new strap arrangement. This will either work, or it won't. Purists may cringe, but needs must.

I also have to modify one of the condenser end brackets, which is irritating, but unsurprising.

 

I'm blaming Alan for all this, and will expect some kind of recompense when I see him. A case of London Pride or Newcastle Brown will suffice.

[Chillidoggy]

Going back to the brakes from PNM, Pete told me that the electric parking brake that was due to be on sale soon has been subject to a modification, in as much as Hi-Spec are now going to incorporate it into a 4-piston rear caliper, instead of it being a standalone unit on a separate bracket.

No doubt the timescale will increase, but it makes sense to have an integrated caliper to me.

[Chillidoggy]

Meanwhile back with Rubik's rad-pack...............

They say there's a fine line between genius and madness, and whoever thought this up was either a total nut-job, or a genius. I stuck the new foam on the bottom of the new coolant rad, to find that it was thick enough to meet the bottom of the rad duct. That was annoying as it was a Lotus part. As it happened, I'd ordered two of the larger cross-section foam that's fitted at the top of the rad, so, I swopped them around. The rad fitted nicely in the duct, and having fabricated the new centre strap, I proceeded to assemble it. It became clear that the RHS bracket needed to be modified, so that was cut and welded. It also became clear that the new charge-cooler radiator need to have the lugs I'd asked for removed, as I couldn't fit it past the brackets once the condensers were in. That done, I mocked it all up, before tightening all the new bolts.

It was at this stage I noticed the poxy condenser pipes hanging on the wall, and had to dissemble the damn thing all over again to fit them. It's like a puzzle that you have to do one step at a time, you can't skip any steps or it just won't go together. Having taken it all apart again, I fought with the pipework, and realised that one union was too tight. Having previously soaked them all in caustic to remove any of the old alloy remaining in the threads, I got to the point where I could feel it binding up, so backed off. Those experienced in such matters will know the feeling on the spanner when the point of no return arrives! Another soak in caustic did the trick, and some lubrication, and I've got away with it this time around.

Retired for G&T's now, but I reckon it's close to being refitted in the car.

 

 

[silverfrost]

Awesome work Ian, very tidy indeed 

[swindon_alan]

Trade the bloody thing in for @Barrykearley's V8, you obviously have far too much time on your hands Ian. Fancy an S4s instead Barry? I hear that they only have one limp turbo so much cheaper to refurb

Edited April 10, 2016 by Bibs

[Barrykearley]

 turbos at turbo technics for refurb. They will be back on the hard again soon !!

[Chillidoggy]

"Too much time on your hands"?

I've  got the wife bending my ear to get and finish the lounge refurbished off, because she's pissed off with doing it all herself what with me living in the garage all weekend!

 

I hope you have better luck at Fawlty Turbos than I did, Barry. They sent me the wrong one. Dealing with their "customer service" morons was interesting, to say the least.

[Barrykearley]

that's not what I needed to hear @ian29gte

[Chillidoggy]

35 minutes ago, Barrykearley said:

that's not what I needed to hear @ian29gte

My experiences are listed here. I'm sure you'll be fine, Barry.

[Chillidoggy]

Work has ceased after some serious ear-bending. Managed to get this far, ready to fit.