Esprit Turbo project car - part3 - the further continuation

[Andyww]

I think this is one of those things where there is no hard and fast rule, such as the door handles, interior and exterior, some silver and some black.

[stephenwhyte]

Do you have a black aerial Andy? I’ve genuinely never seen one in black other than the one that looks to be black on the Deezer display car?

[Andyww]

Nope, mines silver. 

[Lotusfab]

Thanks chaps for pointing this out. I have looked into it further. Here's the original aerial from my car. I'm pretty certain it's a factory fit note the end edge is black. The end of the aerial(cylinder piece which screws on) was also black. The body was also black. I have looked at many other pictures. Despite the Deezer picture I believe in the movie the aerial had the chrome cup fitted but the end of it was black. Here's my proof. 

Bit of a problem to replicate as the new aerial has a slightly different end. I may either leave it as is or put the chrome dish on and leave the end nut black. I'm away so will have a look when I return. 

[Lotusfab]

Note MPV has its aerial extended and the end is black, luckily it had probably broken in the picture!

If you look through the glass on the MPV picture you can see the end of the aerial body is black. Looks to me to have the same aerial fitted as my original one?

[stephenwhyte]

I’ll get you a photo of mine shortly Fabian by way of further comparison. My thinking is the rubber bit at the bottom is black, the dome is chrome and the aerials themselves are silver but that’s just from memory and can’t remember what the top looks like - photo to confirm later. Hoping this is helping not hindering progress😬 At least yours will operate electrically up and down as it should......mine is more of a manual operation - don’t have it in me to have the door off to fix🤔😰

[Lotusfab]

I may have to go back to the museum again!

[Lotusfab]

Thanks Steve, will be interesting to see. It's starting to look like Lotus used anything they could get there hands on! 

[stephenwhyte]

Just now, Lotusfab said:

Thanks Steve, will be interesting to see. It's starting to look like Lotus used anything they could get there hands on! 

You sound surprised at that......having been to the factory no more than 4 months ago - I can confirm that policy is still going on, 40 years later!😄

[Lotusfab]

45 minutes ago, stephenwhyte said:

I’ll get you a photo of mine shortly Fabian by way of further comparison. My thinking is the rubber bit at the bottom is black, the dome is chrome and the aerials themselves are silver but that’s just from memory and can’t remember what the top looks like - photo to confirm later. Hoping this is helping not hindering progress😬 At least yours will operate electrically up and down as it should......mine is more of a manual operation - don’t have it in me to have the door off to fix🤔😰

Andy and me took his door off a few weeks back. It wasnt that difficult but you need a plan and two people. A trolly jack to support the door weight is a very good idea. Easy to damage the paint though! 

I did my S1 doors on my own and wouldn’t advise it. It’s ok if you strip the door completely to get rid of the weight. It would have taken two people and a lot of time to assemble the fresh air Flap with the windscreen in. I had learned the windscreen is the very las5 thing you should install when the whole car is running perfectly! 

[stephenwhyte]

Ha....I think I’ll stick to the pull and push method of working the aerial - sounds a lot less stressful!😉

[Lotusfab]

Your very wise and will continue to enjoy the perfect paint job!

[Andyww]

Technically you dont need the aerial as the tape aerials you can get on Ebay are ideal for inside a fibreglass body. 

But all of that extra weight being carried around for no reason got the better of my OCD! Apart from the faff of getting the aerial out/in, the actual fix was incredibly tricky and made no sense at all to even attempt. But thats the wonderful thing about classic car ownership, nothing makes sense!

[Lotusfab]

It's fun though! I can wait to have both Bond cars next to each other and take a  very nice picture!

I will probably take it to the NEC when it's done so you can all have a close up look. 

[stephenwhyte]

Here’s mine - the aerial itself is silver top to bottom 

[Lotusfab]

Mmm that's interesting. I would say that's the same aerial model as mine judging buy the black ring and width of thread. Is the body inside the wing  cavity painted black? The top of mine was different though. Maybe the mast has been replaced in order to attemp a repair? You can see from the MPV pictures the end of the aerial is black? The mystery depends. 

[Andyww]

Is this what they call aerial photography hehe.

Mine is identical to above.

[Lotusfab]

I would say MPV has the same aerial model and yet the end tip is clearly black as was my original?

People reading this might think we are into train spotting, I can assure you I'm not! It's all harmless fun. I will of course now have to return to the museum and take my aerial to pieces again! 😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩

incidentally Andy fitted his aerial using a metal bracket and not silicone. This is what I have done and it's a much better solution! 

[stephenwhyte]

Silver tip on mine

[Lotusfab]

I may have to come up with a compromise. The Aerial I have is vintage but new and works perfectly. Will devise  something which looks very similar. My original aerial is broken beyond repair!

[Andyww]

SJ sell the original Lotus part which is identical to mine but £235.

[stephenwhyte]

For what it’s worth Fabian my view would be to use the chrome dome if it fits and use all the other new bits you’ve got there already. I personally think the chrome aerial housing is one of those things that needs to be there otherwise it stands out as not being quite right. Your call though👍

6 minutes ago, Andyww said:

SJ sell the original Lotus part which is identical to mine but £235.

Feck that!!!😳

[ChrisJ]

52 minutes ago, Andyww said:

SJ sell the original Lotus part which is identical to mine but £235.

Interesting - didn't think it was available. With Stephen on his view though.

[Lotusfab]

It's actually just a case of removing the nut and using the chrome dome instead of the black one and the chrome nut. I have a draw-full of all these parts. Interestingly the Deezer car looks like it has a black aerial. 

Still, because the still image of Roger Moore and the car shows it as chrome with a black end this is what mine will be.

[Fridge]

Jeez £235 for an aerial. And I thought the price of some of my S1 bits and pieces was taking the piss.

BTW many aerial manufacturers use the same antenna and base components. Those features in previous posts all look very familiar. Hirschmann, the leading manufacturer as for quality antenna, use the same masts as some manufacturers items costs half as much. Though Hirschmann use custom electronics.