Esprit Turbo project car - part3 - the further continuation

[TAR]

Your blower motor looks in great condition, is it new?

 

[Lotusfab]

Hi Tim,

I cleaned it up, but of the interior parts are in very good condition. Especially th heater matrix bits. The loom has come up very well after a clean. A neighbour thought it was new as well! 😀😀😀

[Lotusfab]

Have assembled one wheel in about 5 hours! At this rate I will finish by Christmas. I ended up cleaning excess sealant for about three hours! On the next one only sealant on the inside edge and a bead around the wheel middle!

[stephenwhyte]

This is all really starting to come together now - looking absolutely stunning. Keep the photos coming Fabian. I think I may have to make a special trip to come and see this when it’s done.......where do you live Fabian? I take it you plan on showing it too?

[Lotusfab]

Yep eventually. I'm in Surrey where it always rains!

5 minutes ago, stephenwhyte said:

This is all really starting to come together now - looking absolutely stunning. Keep the photos coming Fabian. I think I may have to make a special trip to come and see this when it’s done.......where do you live Fabian? I take it you plan on showing it too?

Do you have a manual tailgate release on your car? If so where is it? Thanks. My third assembly attempt on the tailgate mechanism! 

[stephenwhyte]

11 minutes ago, Lotusfab said:

Yep eventually. I'm in Surrey where it always rains!

You want to sample the weather up here before you draw that conclusion fully. Can’t wait to see your car - I reckon you could open your own Fabian Collection instead of Deezer Collection with your two Esprits and charge an entry for the prividlge £££

11 minutes ago, Lotusfab said:

Do you have a manual tailgate release on your car? If so where is it? Thanks. My third assembly attempt on the tailgate mechanism! 

My tailgate release is a turning locking knob at the back of the car.....exactly like the Bond car - why what’s on yours?.....I’m confused as to why it would be anything else 

[jonwat]

Turbos had a lock, NAs had a cable release in the driver's B piller. 

[Lotusfab]

Thanks, Ive only got the lock, which I think is a disaster waiting to happen!

[stephenwhyte]

18 minutes ago, Lotusfab said:

Thanks, Ive only got the lock, which I think is a disaster waiting to happen!

So were you thinking I maybe had a Lever release in the cabin of the car for the tailgate? That oprion only became available for the first time on the ‘87 HC as far as the Turbo models go Fabian

[DaveyT]

I'm sure I've seen somewhere on here that someone added a mod for the failure scenario..

iirc, it was essentially a piece of string tied up under the rear valance 😳.??...but apparently, it worked perfectly!

[Lotusfab]

2 hours ago, stephenwhyte said:

So were you thinking I maybe had a Lever release in the cabin of the car for the tailgate? That oprion only became available for the first time on the ‘87 HC as far as the Turbo models go Fabian

I was hoping you did so I could find a release on mine! The mod Dave mentioned sounds interesting!

[Lotusfab]

Work has stopped due exhaustion! Doesn't look like I be done much but the parts containers have reduced a lot! It's all the niff naff bits and missing parts that are the problem! I bought some high tensile bolts of eBay for the steering. They could not hold the required torque without the thread stripping, wasted over an hour! I've thrown them away and shall be relying on S and J to supply the correct ones. In my opinion all the original bolts are much better than the ones you get now. The nuts are thicker and the set screws much stronger.  I've never had any original bolt strip or Snap! 

[Lotusfab]

Bumper

I had to replace some rivnuts. I would replace them with nuts and washers If I did this again. Far better in my opinion.

foam gasket on both sides of the side lights. I was lucky I found a new one. The replacement lenses are different to the originals, but most people won't notice.

 

[Andyww]

Fabian, be careful after you have finished the build that this does not happen, otherwise you might have to replace the bonnet with an HC one like this museum car owing to damage!

 

[Lotusfab]

Anyone got tyre suggestions? I have heard Vredstein are good but where do you buy them from and how much are they? 

8 hours ago, Andyww said:

Fabian, be careful after you have finished the build that this does not happen, otherwise you might have to replace the bonnet with an HC one like this museum car owing to damage!

 

That happens every time I take my S1 out! 😀😀😀😀

[Lotusfab]

Here is the correct way to assemble the tailgate mechanism.

I am renewing the vent system as the vent pipe had gone brittle. Here's the diagram and the original fixing method.

[PhilW]

On 2 April 2018 at 14:15, Lotusfab said:

Have assembled one wheel in about 5 hours! At this rate I will finish by Christmas. I ended up cleaning excess sealant for about three hours! On the next one only sealant on the inside edge and a bead around the wheel middle!

What sealant are you using Fabian?

[Lotusfab]

Sikaflex 221.in my opinion I would only use it sparingly on the outer edge. The rubber seals do the work on the inner face. Then when they tighten the Sikaflex will squeez out to the  centre. Add more around the centre and smooth it out. Job done. I used the sealant on the inner face and in my opinion it's a mistake. I have seen other posts on this but you don't learn until you do It Yourself! 

Im not suggesting anyone does what I did if you do it's at your own risk!

I replaced all of the rubber seals. The face must be perfectly flat. You may have to sand off some of the powder coat to get the wheels to fit together. I had these painted and still had to sand them to fit. Paint being thinner than the powder coat.  

[Steve4012]

I went with a good bead of silicone on both faces and all 4 have been fine for nearly a year now 

[Lotusfab]

Dash ready for new JVC speakers for the cockpit stereo. It has been moded with an iPhone input, only have the Spy Who Loved Me soundtrack on cassette tape! Can't really play that in the FYEO car!  New leather hopefully going back on soon.Only the tailgate to finish and all the nasty jobs are behind me. Steve at S and J saved the day. I lost the lever arm to the tailgate lock. I was wondering how to get over this small problem when Steve managed to find me a used one for a very resonable price! Sometimes you need some luck and a bit of help when building these cars. I've been helped by S and J , PNM and Lotus bits! Ready for the next problem! 😀😀😀

[Lotusfab]

Took the  tailgate mechanism to pieces again. Finally fitted correctly with the 3 mm stainless thin head bolts in the gutter. The long spring goes on thevleft as you look at the rear and the catch on the right with a pivot bolt.

Put a new spring into the pivot box. Much easier to do this with the pedal box out unless you are double jointed and have talents in common with Houdini! The door catch shims are a similar story, fit the catches before the fuel tanks go in or spend hours trying to assemble them! 

Attempted to fit the steering column but ran out of time. There is an annoying phasing procedure where you align the bolts and then turn the steering wheel through 3 splines before connecting the intermediate shaft. If you dontbdonthisnyou will get uneven feel as you turn the wheel. Full procedure in the manual! 

I also put a new seal into the oil cooler. Took me a while to find the correct size! I now have three spare and four that don't Fit! 

I hope I have filled the last box for plating, but I have thought that before and been wrong! 

Imboughtbforvnew pivit bolts forvthe gear change and have already fitted new bushes. I'm using the original

crossgate cable as it's in very good condition and much better quality than the new ones. It's really coming along now!

[Lotusfab]

Got the hang of it now! Second wheel done in fraction of the time. Sealant on outer edge of centre only then a bead around the middle!

Only two to go!

[Lotusfab]

And another!

[Lotusfab]

Thanks Jo for supplying the wheel lips!

[Lotusfab]

Et voila!