Esprit Turbo project car - part3 - the further continuation

[Lotusfab]

Silver trim done! Doors next and bonnet!

[Lotusfab]

 

 

Johnathan sent me this, thanks!

[Lotusfab]

Letting the waistline trim relax in the sun prior to fixing! 

[stephenwhyte]

Happy with the paint colour in the sun Fabian?👍

[Lotusfab]

👍🏻

[PhilW]

Superb Fabian 

[stephenwhyte]

Amazing!!!😎👏👏👏

[Lotusfab]

Waistline trim, then doors, then bulkhead trim, then engine! 

Oh and front bonnet which I have prepped today for spraying the black bits! 

[Fridge]

I'm not looking forwards to that rubber side trim. Looks a right faff. Almost as much as those silver roof trims. I'm hoping I can get it done over this summer on a warm few days. Can you send the sun up to North Yorkshire about July ideally?

[Lotusfab]

The difficult bit on the S1 trim is the rear curves. You must heat it gently, sunshine is the best. Use wide masking tape so so don't get dents. Leave it to cool overnight in the shape. Clean off and roughen the mounting rail. Then cut a bit of spare trim. Adjust the nozzle on the glue to give you the correct depth bead inside the trim. To much and it will ruin the paint. Too little and it won't sick. Shape the ends to 30 and 60 degrees, checkout my S1 blog! Fill the ends with glue and smooth off. Job done.

3M products are the best, especially the blue 3M masking tape.

Now who's going to sell me a £10k JPS for my next resto? I was watching the Rush movie and have decided James Hunt was cool, especially the JPS colour scheme! 

[PhilW]

Fabian  I remember you tried a Land Rover brake servo unsuccessfully. I've found a company. They have taken mine apart repaired it and re swaged it. Not on car yet but they assure it works on their tests bed. Previously there test bed showed it was faulty. 

If you are interested let me know

[Lotusfab]

Thanks Phil. Have restored the servo. It will all be tested soon, hopefully! 

[Lotusfab]

James hunt in the White car goes up against the JPS Lotus in the 70s and wins!

JPS awesome colour scheme!

[Steve V8]

Maybe this one, "the Corgi car", I was talking to the owner @Fairlineguy at Castle coombe, it  may be available soon.

[Lotusfab]

Thanks Steve that looks very nice! I'll be  looking for a total rebuild, every nut and bolt. It's more Fun! 

[Lotusfab]

Have been really busy recently so not much done. I have replaced the radiator stays with stainless ones, that I still need to fit. The originals were heavily corroded. The doors are ready to go on just need to make two metal brackets - the ones that have sandpaper glued on. They are not available anymore and are used to keep the door in position. The door beams have been fitted with bronze bushes so will never need doing again! The bonnet is ready for satin black and the rubber inner tube seal. The trend is to use superglue to attach it. Originally I think it was held with HT contact adhesive. Think I may use the original method! The waistline trim is now shaped to fit just need to glue it on and use the two inch 3 m mask tale to,hold it while the glue sets. Remember thinner tape can cause visible dents in the trim. Soon onto the engine and trim! 

[Lotusfab]

Front undersheild

These hex screws that hold the front undersheilds on are No14 6.3mm. I had to buy a lot before I found that out!

[Lotusfab]

[silverfrost]

Paintwork looks stunning Fabiand,  even though only part complete those pictures of it gleaming in the sun look amazing !

A real credit to your enthusiasm and commitment on this project and fairly quick time frame imo.

look forward to more pics and write ups 

Regards Danny

[Lotusfab]

Thanks Dan.

[Lotusfab]

Waistline Trim

having done it twice now here's my tips. The biggest threat is using too much glue. I have made this error on both cars!  It will squeez out all over your paint work and be very difficult to clean off. If you make this mistake Cut your losses pull the trim off, clean off all the glue and start again. Don't press on and hope it will be ok because it won't! To help avoid this. Get a piece of spare trim and experiment with the bead size. Use a mastic gun and get the bead central in the trim. Don't fill it to both sides. You need room in there for the glue to spread so it doesn't come out the sides. To this end not using a continuous bead seems better.

I made the mistake of attempting to fix trim in poor light and with jet lag. I had to pull the trim off clean up the glue close the garage door and start afresh after some sleep with a new plan. I pushed the car out into the sun where I could see what I was doing and it was hot enough to help the trim take up position. I did all of it pretty quickly to a standard I was happy with. Most people may have been happy with my first attempt but I wouldn't! 

A bright sunny day helps the waistline trim become more flexible and more likely to stay in place. Use 3 m two inch wide mask tape to hold it. Cheap tapes might not pull off cleanly. The ends are cut at 30 and 60 degrees. I ipused a circle saw but a sharpe knife last time. I not sure which is best all I can say is my S1 is pretty spot on and it was done with a knife. I am having a great deal of trouble with the rear spoiler. I think the painting and filling may have adjusted the internal dimensions. It will need to come off and be adjusted. A bit of a pain, bit you have to expect  this with a Lotus. It's all hand made and nothing fits. This sort of project should only be taken on if you appreciate the man hours it will require. I saved a lot on the body and painting but there are still hundreds of man hours required to reassemble it. With prices as they are it is not economically viable to rebuild a Turbo to this standard. So don't do it! 

[silverfrost]

Have always thought of using a hair dryer or heat gun on the rear edges to help them fold round.

You could probably be a proper spotter and measure out the exact length for the rear end and heat on a jig prior to fitting to get the perfect angle and fitment and finish imo !

[Lotusfab]

[Lotusfab]

It's taken a long time but I'm nearly at the point of putting the bonnet and doors back on! I have fitted the rubber seal and just need to fit the wire mesh and the bonnet can go on. The doors just need some bracket(the sandpaper ones) made and then they can go back on. This will be a big turning point where most of the project will have been done. Am looking at having out of it back together by the end of August.

[silverfrost]

FInish on the paintwork look amazing as does the finish on those compomotives, you could eat your dinner off them !

Fantastic Job Fabian

Looking forward to seeing her out in the open with her final bits fitted.

How is the ski boot rack project doing ?