Esprit Turbo project car - part3 - the further continuation

[Lotusfab]

42 minutes ago, ChrisJ said:

I'd say for an 82 car that is way too high -  not just a bit. The 85MY onwards sat much higher, so are you currently  using these springs?

Check my album below below- you'll see the difference in height between an 82 & 87 Esprit.

 

 

Youve got some great pics on there!

[Lotusfab]

Well I'll call this Andys Temperature Experimant, as he thought of it!

 

Method

Here we have a travel kettle, two wires connected to the sensor wires and the original sender. The kettle is boiled. Water boils at 100 degrees.

Observations

The guage rises slowly to about 90 degrees then stays there until the water boils. It then increases to 115 degrees when it should read 100 degrees. The Voltage regulator and sender have  been changed.

Conclusion 

The guage needs calibrating or its F...d! There seems to be an erratic temperature increase which implies morevthan just a calibration problem.  Happily the car is running 15 degrees cooler than the instrument would have us believe. This was confirmed before using the strap on temperature sensors.

Solution

Get another guage!

 

[Lotusfab]

Suspension

Well its nearly time to perfect the suspension so Ive started to look into it in more detail. Im sure many of you will disagree with some of the comments. No problem I am very interested in any other info? Seems  to me in simple terms according to the parts manual the dry sump/Essex and the pre 1985 cars have a few differences.

The springs on the front are different conical/straight then Aircon or just heater.

The springs on the rear appear to be all the same -  just aircon/heater option (Aircon slightly longer)

The dampers are different but apparently just the mounts, so this should not affect the ride.

The dry sump has different trailing arms, upper and lower links, hubs and compomotive wheels.

So why in pictures do the Essex cars appear lower. Well there are stories of them being loaded or adjusted to sit lower. After 1985 the cars sit higher- this is purely early cars Im discussing. 

 

 

[silverfrost]

They removed the top suspension rubber mounts Fabian,  this made the Essex cars look even more lower and aggresive for the press photos

[Choppa]

Two thoughts on your temperature calibration conundrum. I've always believed the temp gauge to be indicative at best, slightly better in that regard than the Veglia gauge (!) but a little non linear around the 90 mark. Hence with mine which has an 82c thermostat, at normal running temp the needle is just short of touching the edge of the 9 if that makes sense. In my head I've always translated the mark to the left of 90 as a reading  of 70c and to the right as a reading  of 110c, other owners may have different values in mind.

Also worth bearing in mind when you are calibrating your gauge that with the radiator cap on  engine running  etc  the cooling system gets pressurized. So for example at 15 psi water boils at  121c so you probably don't really want the gauge range to max out when the coolant gets to 100c.

[Lotusfab]

Good point, thanks Colin.

[Lotusfab]

Well Ive managed to source a second temperature guage. i plan to test its calibration. If it is off I will calibrate it myself.

Ignition system

Well I built the circuit myself using a ballast resistor and coil. Im lucky I have an understanding of electronics. The set up is pretty simple. I post imformation about it purley to help those that are not electronically minded. The ballast resistor and coil are esentially a potential divider circuit. By this I mean they use resistnce to split voltage. I have a luminition ignition system with an optical set up. The coil im using I got with the car. I have noticed when the battery is drained it wont start. Also in operation there is a stumble when accelerating. I believe this is because the voltage at the coil is not sufficient. Theres an irony here. The point of ballast style coil is to aid starting at low voltage and run the coil at a lower volatge during continiuous operation. This is to make the coil more reliable.

When the battery gets drained the car will still start as the ballast resistor is bypassed to create the full 12 volts at the coil. I never bothered with this part of the circuit. I believe I have two issues. The luminition wires may be too close to the high tension leads, creating interferance. The  coil an resistor are not specifically  designed for the luminition or to work together. I just checked the resistor I bought is 1.6 Ohms. It should be 1.5 Ohms, the same as the coil. I could mess around perfecting this, but I don't have time. I believe the best solution is to replace the resistor and coil with a luminition matched coil and ballast resistor, it is all designed to operate together and should produce the optimum spark. Once Ive switched it all over I will report back. Its quite easy to  sort all this with a multimeter. It would be next to impossible to determine whats happening with out measuring voktage and resistance. I will,reinstate the  increased starter voltage (yellow and white wire). 

 

Something like this I think would work much better than my current set up.

[drdoom]

If all is wired up correctly I expect you'll be trouble free. I ran Lumentition optical triggered on a tuned Elan with total reliability over a period of 12 years with numerous track day laps to its credit despite high under bonnet temperatures. Used both Bosch Blue coil and aftermarket what-have-you successfully.

Cheers

[Andyww]

Lumenition systems had a flaky start, when they were initially adopted on the Esprit they failed often, which is why they switched over to the Lucas Constant Energy system. 

But they made improvements and by the time Lotus had dropped the system it was very reliable and has been  since those early days.

[cweeden]

On 26/09/2019 at 18:10, ChrisJ said:

I'd say for an 82 car that is way too high -  not just a bit. The 85MY onwards sat much higher, so are you currently  using these springs?

Check my album below below- you'll see the difference in height between an 82 & 87 Esprit.

 

 

Thanks for posting those. The fourth picture (and about 4 or 5 later on, 42 TFK) feature my first Esprit, an 87 Turbo HC. I bought it from a friend of mine who was the original owner and can be seen driving it in the pictures, he was a bit too tall for it so rarely drove it. I bought it in 98 with only 14k on the clock and in near concours condition. 👍

cheers

-Chris

[ChrisJ]

Hi Chris

Are you still in contact with Nick:? Say hi from me. You could also ask him about the cling-film  - That was one of the reasons for the concours condition

There seem to be a few images missing from the gallery -  I have a whole sequence of these.

 

 

 

 

 

[Lotusfab]

Had to adjust the handbrake today. 

As always not much ino in the manual on this. The left rear caliper wasnt fully engaging. I adjusted the entire system accessing the cables from the plate behind the drivers seat. The problem was the balance device wasnt centered. It took a while but in the end I got each caliper mechanism to travel exactly the same amount and release fully with no tension in either cable. Handbrake operation is now very good. I replaced the handbrake plate in sdie the sill with a new one , so no play whatsoever! 

Tailgate

I'm now restoring the tailgate. Theres a lot of work involved as It has to be James Bond spec. I hope to complete it and get it back in the car in the next few days. My last bit of fiberglassing! 

The tailgate glass surround is made of ABS plastic. Pretty silly as it gets very hot above the engine. ,My trim piece is damaged so Im going to repair the missing section using 1.5 mm ABS sheet. I also have to make some new ABS door edge protectors when I get time.

 

 

[Lotusfab]

Rear quater window

Do not remove! Thats my advice. To replace this neatly is really tricky! At least skill level 10/10! The problem is the original sealing systemmis no longer available. You can buy sealant tape. Whether or not it would hold in this area is debatable. So its Dinitrol. Yes the problem here is spacer blocks and the many different surfaces it will have to seal against. Make life simple and leave them in! Heres one done and the tailgate glazing. Leave the tailgate glazing in as well. It takes ages to do this all and is very tricky and I have had a lot of practice! 

 

 

Unfortunately, due to lack of rulers and wooden blocks the other side tomorrow!

[Lotusfab]

Heres the Dinitrol 500

[cweeden]

On 30/09/2019 at 18:59, ChrisJ said:

Hi Chris

Are you still in contact with Nick:? Say hi from me. You could also ask him about the cling-film  - That was one of the reasons for the concours condition

There seem to be a few images missing from the gallery -  I have a whole sequence of these.

 

 

 

 

 

Yup, I'm still in contact with Nick. If you PM me your email address I can put you in touch if you'd like me to?

cheers

-Chris

[Lotusfab]

 

Dellortos

Im a novice with these sort of carbs, apart from tuning them. I have been looking into the Dellorto operation. I started the car today and it seemed unbalanced. Also the idle had dropped. After pulling  the leads off and checking No2 had stopped firing! I put an earlier flat spot  from idle down to the ignition. Well Im lucky No2 had stopped firing. It forced ne to investgate further. I removed the idle jet and found it was blocked! I cleaned it and switched both  the main and idle jets with No1 cylinder. Put it all back and No2 is working again. And so is No1.  I read the idle jet supplies fuel for idle but  the mixture screw adjusts the idle mixture. The idle jet helps the progression from idle to main jet when accelerating. Thats interesting because I think it explans the flat spots on acceleration which seems to have gone now I cleaned the jet out! 

The idle jets and holders are the two on the left with the rubber washers. The tiny bit at the bottom is the idle jet , which pulls off. These are 40s which means 0.4 mm. (Hole size in jet). The fuel travels up through the jet from the fuel well and is mixed with air which enters through the side holes.  Heres a good diagram of the fuel. I dont think its a Dellorto but the principle is the same. I now have to retune the engine as the settings might have changed!  The good thing about the Dellortos is you can access the idle and main jets through the top cover very easily. Took about five minutes to get them out. interestingly all of the parts were cleaned in a special solution in a sonic bath!!!Only one quater window now and the tailgate to finish and its done! 

[Lotusfab]

Well its nearly there! The last window just went in. The tailgate is nearly ready for spraying. This took a great deal of work. I have decided to renew all of the idle jets. Size 40. Just need to fit the tailgate. Then its MOT and  number plate change! 

Ohh, the dash is coming out again. I have a really good condition temp guage to fit - hope its calibrated! 

Never ever put the steering wheel back on, quater windows back in, drvers seat or windscreen until everything is working. Its so much easier! 

 

[Lotusfab]

Temerature control

Well I have now replaced the temperature guage with another one. It over reads as well, but its about 10 degrees and its more consistent upto 90 degrees. I have a fan switch that operates at 90 degrees and turns off at 80 degrees.

I now have a laser thermometer and have extensively tested the system. At 82 degrees the thermostat opens. Water flows through the rad. The fans do not come on until the temperature builds up to over 90degres at the rad. The temperature guage is reading about 100 degrees. It stays there and the car seems happy. Temperature wise its all good. Indication wise the system is more of a trend indicator. I think if it started to go above the 100 mark you would have an issue! I may have a go at recalibrating the old guage. Maybe they are all like this? 

Tailgate louvres now have the brace fitted and are ready for fiberglassing. 

 

[snowrx]

My Smiths temp gauge tracks pretty well with the GM sensor I have mounted in my intake manifold coolant return passage. Looking at 100 on the gauge would raise my stress level, hopefully it will calibrate to normal. Have you double checked the voltage stabilizer output voltage? I assume with all the parts swapping  that all the connectors are clean and tight. 

I wonder if a trimmer resistor in the sensor circuit would raise or lower the displayed temp without disrupting the calibration curve? 

[Lotusfab]

Yep,thanks Thomas. I have renewed the voltage stablizer, instrument, sender and put new copper connectors on. 

I may try putting new contacts on the guage wires. I only did those to the regulator. Trouble is its a tiny gap - like brain surgery unless you take the whole binnacle appart!

[Lotusfab]

Ok. I have now replaced the sender, instrument and all contacts in the temperature system.  The temperature guage still overreads. The calibration is wrong! 

I have been tuning the engine after replacing all of the idle jets. Im still not happy with it as there is a slight hunting at idle. Im replacing the ignition coil and ballast resistor with a mega spark luminition. I will retune and see if this corrects the hunting issue. 

All the panels are now painted  and once I have replaced the ABS glass trim the tailgate can go back on. 

The louvres are finished and ready for paint, but I think I may do this aftervthe ski racks are sorted.

[Lotusfab]

[Lotusfab]

Bond louvres finished, ready for paint.....

Now to repair the ABS trim! You cant buy this, so a laborious process to repair!

Tempting to skimp on these restos, but when its already consumed a mountain of cash and nearly four years of effort you might as well do it right!

[Lotusfab]

Heres the repair piece now how to join it all together? made...

[Lotusfab]

Sometimes I wonder if Lotus intended space flight!