Esprit Turbo project car - part3 - the further continuation

[Lotusfab]

I’ve had a bit of a setback. After spending three days changing the design and remaking the upper rack I decided to scrap it and start again. These racks have to be really good and work perfectly to the same standard as the rest of the car. The  first design was over complicated and had flaws, which I didnt really appreciated until I constructed it

 I now have a new plan and hopefully this time I will make progress, I have done a lot of research and have found a Pin lock that is ideally suited to this application. Its taking longer than I might have hoped, but I will get there. I have decided thanks to all the input on here I must finish this car to full James Bond spec with identical locking ski racks. 

You may wonder why I haven’t been clocking up the miles. Well I am being extremely pedantic with this car because of my previous mishap. I noticed when driving I was getting about 85 degrees temperature. When stationary it was going to 110 degrees.  I thought it might have air in as 110 is far too high!  but couldn't understand how 'it had not cleared. The switch for the fans is 90 degrees, so  it needed investigation. I had changed the temperature switch to a modern one and thought this was the issue. So I swapped all the front pipework and returned it to Lotus spec.I still had the fans coming on at 110 degrees! The temperature gauge was bench calibrated with the sender. I decided to test the system again as I could not fault anything else.

 I took the sender out and placed in in hot water with a laboratory thermometer. I found at 90 degrees the temperature gauge was indicating 110 Degrees! Also as the water cooled there was a consistent over read. The temperature gauge has two calibration holes covered in small cork inserts. I made a tool out of a  5 mm rod. When inserted in the holes it is possible to change the calibration. I heated the water to 90 degrees and calibrated the guage to read exactly 90 degrees. I then cooled the water to 50 degrees and checked the reading. I found correcting the upper reading fixed the entire scale.  I have successfully calibrated the gauge to within 3 degrees across the 50-90 degree range. The fans com on at exactly 90 degrees! They switch of after about 30 seconds and the reading drops to about 85 degrees. Sometimes the gauge sticks probably because the car is stationary and the temperature change is small. The upshot is  Its all working perfectly like a Swiss watch!
I posted this so that anyone who thinks they may have a temperature issue tests the calibration of the sender and gauge first and  in situ. Its easy to test and quite simple to adjust the gauge if you make the tool. The tool can be made quite easily with a bit of filing from a 5 mm stud. 
Right back to version three of my ski rack mechanism!

[Lex Templar]

On 03/07/2020 at 05:55, v8vantage said:

Went to all that trouble but fitted the wrong size skis and wrong bindings. Doesn't anyone pay attention to detail anymore....other than Fab.  Ultimate garage would be to have the actual Bond cars in there rather than replicas.

Who’s garage is this do we know Roo?

Unfortunately there is no white FYEO movie Turbo left as 0858 is now copper. The Dezer white car was a press mule with a 2.2L na engine so I don’t think it really counts. The copper Dezer Car didn’t appear in the movie either.
It would be nice to see 0858 surface in Dubai but I’d say we will be waiting a while.
 

My ideal garage would be 3 factory Bond ‘specification’ cars.

 

Is it Martin Williamson’s garage?

 

[Lotusfab]

I took the car on its longest run yet. 280 miles covered so far.I tuned it a second time but already it has started to drift off. I am slowly working through a snag list. Speedo is now working again after using a cable tie to hold the Angle drive down.
I discovered after feeling quite hot on my long drive the vacuum powered Mode and fresh air flaps weren’t working. The demist was stuck on fulI hot which was a bit uncomfortable, so I spent today fixing it! Gear surround out and drivers seat. The main vacuum line had disconnected. I glued it back in with superglue. There then appeared to be a vacuum leak from the upper flap valve. I was going to replace it, but thankfully Andy on here told me they have to be connected only one way. I swapped the leads over and job done, all fixed.

I noted a slight squeak when selecting first gear. This was being caused by my upgraded bearing in the middle of the selector rods. I adjusted it and the rod is no longer rubbing where it exits the chassis. Whilst I was adjusting this I noticed some gear oil coming from the selector on both sides.I have an early gearbox. I upgraded the selector to C35 spec and the selector cover. The selector has too much play because  I hadn’t noticed the C35 top cover has also been modified, That is what was causing the seepage. Easy fix just swap the cover or change the spec back until I have more time.

Theres the odd rattle which I will have to identify and fix.

I took the isolators out from the front springs to lower It slightly. This was a bad move. Any dip or road hump and the car contacts at the front. You really have to go very slowly over bumps. This isn’t practical so I am replacing the isolators. I still need to align the wheels. The tracking is off at the front and the wheels need balancing. I will spend a lot of time getting the geometry correct, like I did with my S1.

You have to expect some jobs when you have completely rebuilt a car that hasn’t been on the road  for many many years. I didn’t have hardly any issues with the S1, but thats probably because the Turbo is so much more complicated and has many many more parts. Its taking a while, but soon I hope to have no snags! Its all starting to bed in as I rack up the miles. I was very pleased with the engine temperature it stayed at 75 degrees during the cruise. When I stopped in heavy traffic it got up to 85 degrees, but then we started to moved before the fans kicked in. Temperature control is perfect now.

Should  hit 500 miles soon and then I will have a thorough check over. 

[Barrykearley]

Well done chap 💪👊

[Lotusfab]

Thanks Barry, getting there with the car, very slowly.  Ski racks are progressing at a snails pace despite hours and hours of work. The lower ones are done and just need smoothing, primer and paint. The upper ones are causing big problems.I had to abandon my design and start again from scratch. Thankfully James on here is an engineer and came over to have a look. My design wasn’t strong enough. Thanks to his idea of using mild steel U channel I now have a new design. It will fit into the original fibreglass shape with some modification, but be far stronger than the film prop design.It should allow me to reach reasonable speeds with no issues. I just have to make them, but I have been enjoying driving the car and perfecting it - so I took a short break from the racks.

 

[Lotusfab]

I have replaced the front isolators ( rubber pads on top of springs). The car is no longer scraping on the ground when the road surface is dipped. Also there seems to be much less vibration. I would not removing any of the isolators in order to lower the suspension. It really is so much better with them installed. But then any little vibrations and rattle tends to annoy  me whereas for others it might not be an issue. I have completed all of the snag list. In the end I upgraded the whole top of the gearbox to C35 standard. No more oil leaks from the selector shaft with new seals. I even aligned the front wheels, as the professionals had done it wrong! I was going to take it back but I really don’t like other people working on my car. So I used the trac ace system and set it up myself. I converted the book mm toe in to degrees using a chart. 
 The very last job will be fitting new tyres and rebuilding the front compomotives with the correct 1 inch Essex lips. before I switch over I want some pics of the car and Goodyear decals for my new tyres. 
Have to say its all running very nicely. Its great to have confidence in in the engine and I am enjoying driving. When its run in It will be even better!

If anyone wants to have a look the car it will be at the Black Swan pub in Ockham Surrey tomorrow morning Sunday 12 th July for the Breakfast car meet.

[Lotusfab]

Speedo

I have finally got to the bottom of the issue. It wasn’t being caused by the angle drive it was the inner cable. It was moving inside the outer sheath towards the gearbox. This was enough to disengage it from the instrument. Fix small piece of rivet in angke drive end to stop cable from moving all the way in.

Ski racks

Finally I think I have a strong enough workable solution. I have decided to go back to the hinge idea. I believe  I have found the best quality hinges that are strong enough for the application. They were kindly supplied by Gold and Wassell. 
https://www.goldwassallhinges.co.uk/contact

This is an old british company they were extremely helpful. They are the only company I found that had what I needed. Better still the pin in the hinge is stainless, we would not want it rusting!

On another note I notice exact James Bond copy Astons are selling for 3.3 million and they are all sold even though they arn’t road legal! Maybe not such a bad idea to copy the Bond Car exactly with skis! 

https://www.auto123.com/en/news/aston-martin-1964-db5-reproduction/65022/

[Lotusfab]

The real different between a Lotus Bond car and an Aston Bond car is it took me about 6000 hrs to research and build - the Aston 4500!

[Fridge]

19 minutes ago, Lotusfab said:

The real different between a Lotus Bond car and an Aston Bond car is it took me about 6000 hrs to research and build - the Aston 4500!

6,000 hours on reasearch?! I'm glad you're not on my payroll! Build, though, I'm surprised it's that few

I have never clocked my time on the S1, but know to the exact penny what it's cost. Even down to masking tape and other consumables. It's shocking how it all adds up. If you haven't done the same on your TE, then I'd suggest you could easily add £2,500 or more to your larger ticket items.

Good work on the hinge place. I used to work near there. There are lots of great, traditional small companies in the  Midlands making high quality items such as this.

[Lotusfab]

I stopped adding up about two years ago as it was depressing! I am quite happy to be on your payroll for Bond research. If you want me to make stuff no problem, but it does take a very very long time! I would be a natural at lowering productivity! I am easily distracted and get side tracked into James Bond trivia! Everything I do costs a fortune and theres lots of wastage. On the plus side my cars are nice when done! 
On a serious note those chaps at Gold and Wassell were really really helpful and make great products. We need more of these sorts of businesses in the Uk.

[Fridge]

8 minutes ago, Lotusfab said:

On a serious note those chaps at Gold and Wassell were really really helpful and make great products. We need more of these sorts of businesses in the Uk

We do. We definitely do.

[Lotusfab]

Enjoyed a morning out at Newlands Corner, a bit wet but we can’t always go out on dry days! I built this car to drive and thats exactly what I intend  to do. Still ironing out small defects. Car is slowly improving. I removed the oversize jets I put in previously and went back to stock. Now I have more experience I would say the stock jets should work perfectly if they are clear. The issues on the acceleration prior to this build were caused by incorrect pump jet setting. So when I upped the idle jet size it appeared to improve masking the real issue. Now the pump jets work the larger jet size makes the mixture too rich. This results in unburnt fuel. Just need to retune now the new jets are in. There is a very slight bumpiness which I think is down to the Eagle tyres. They are too old just like me and passed their sell by date. I have a new set of Vredsteins waiting to go on once I have solved the Goodyear decal problem.

I have found an enthusiastic new company that will be able to make Neoprene Decals. They are cut from sheets and put on a backing. I am considering my own solution which may produce identical letters. This involves taking a silicon mould from the Goodyear writing on an Eagle NCT and using this to cast Urethane Rubber letters that have been coloured with white pigment. Not sure which route I will take yet. 

I also need to remake the front wheels. When I first put them together I couldn't get hold of the Essex 1 inch lips and nobody would part with their spares. Happily I now have the correct 1 inch lips and so will remake the front wheels when I change the tyres.

I had an annoying squeak which I thought was the wastegate. I now have the remanufactured wastegate and today noticed it had come back. I finally traced it to the flap inside the air system. You can hear it move with a squeak when engine rpm falls and defrost is selected. I thought this noise might be the chassis bolts! 

I also had an intermittent high pitch rattle. This was being caused by the tailgate not seating on the upper seal. Solution increase upper seal thickness, which I have done.

Its driving very nicely now and I think when the tyres  are changed it will be the icing on the cake. It sticks like glue already on corners and I havn't yet finished setting up the chassis. Overall the Turbo Esprit is a great car to drive with most of the reliability problems probably caused by lack of maintenance and replacement of worn out parts. 

340 miles covered.

[Kevin Wheeler]

With the amount of work you have done, I really would not risk old tyres - especially in the wet! If you have new tyres available might I suggest that you put them on before you worry about any squeaks or rattles!

[Lotusfab]

I’m changing them soon.just need to get some professional pics with skis fitted before I take them off. .

[21gg]

I suspect it wont be upto your high standard but could you not use a template and spray the goodyear on to the tyre?

[Lotusfab]

Thanks Gavin. I am really positive this company I have found will make them really accurately and everyone on here can get them from the uk instead of the US. To help them achieve the accuracy I have just sent them one of my spare Eagle NCT tyres. It may take a while whilst they make the tooling but I have every confidence they will be very accurate and the original Style vintage Goodyear - not the updated version. Heres the website where you will be able to buy them. 
https://tyrewallstickers.com

 

[Lotusfab]

Coolant

If you have problems getting air out of the cooling system on a Turbo it is almost certainly due to the thermostat not opening at the correct temperature. I had horrendous problems with this until I replaced the thermostat with the new one I sourced earlier in this blog ( with a link). As soon as it was changed it was easy to get the air out. It worked exactly as per the Lotus manual. Drive the car then open the radiator bleed. No more boiling over!

[drdoom]

Well done Fabian, you are a model of determination and devotion to the marque! Curious about the radiator bleed, is it located top or bottom?

[Lotusfab]

Thanks Steve. The bleed on the Turbo is on the top left of the radiator accessed through the front boot under a rubber. My S1 doesn't have a bleed and this is a massive issue. Getting air out is really really difficult. I intend to modify the S1 and put an air bleed on. If you car hasn’t got one I would definitely put one on before the rad goes back in. 

[Lotusfab]

Finally I think  I have turned a corner. I just tuned the car with the original jets. Its running really well, very responsive and no flat spots! Completely leak free, which is a small miracle for a Lotus! More importantly I have made a breakthrough on the ski racks! After several failed attempts and thanks to a friend who is helping with the welding I have almost completed one mechanism. It is far stronger than needed. I have used some 4 mm steel which is double the spec used in most other designs. I now have a lot of confidence these will easily take any ski loads. I should complete it over the next few days. I has a key lock, which is a slight deviation from the original. Hopefully the decals with be done soon and I can switch wheels and tyres. It has taken almost every day of lockdown to get to this stage.

[Lotusfab]

So first mechanism is complete now building the second one! 

[Lotusfab]

Goodyear tyre decals

I have paid for the tooling these are perfect, the best copies you can get and made in England order here

https://tyrewallstickers.com/?rtwwwap_aff=fabiansteele_5
 

Once they are on my tyres I shall post pictures. I am still working on the ski racks. I a, having problems with the second mechanism. Third attempt to get it right! Should be prepping them for spraying and drilling the tailgate very soon! Almost covered 500 miles. When I switch tyres I will get a lot more in!

[Lotusfab]

https://tyrewallstickers.com/vintage-goodyear-eagle-nct-tyre-stickers-now-available/

[Lotusfab]

Update

Finally two working ski rack mechanisms and lockable! I am still figuring out how to attach the fibreglass aerofoil to the top. I should be drilling the tailgate in the next few days. Then I can test them with the skis, Then take is all apart, spray them and Put them back on. My target to finish it all  is 31 st Aug. The temp is causing me problems as its a sweat box in my garage ,and not very pleasant when fibreglassing! After so long the worst id now over. Developing something from scratch isn’t easy. The project started to come together when a friend offered to weld my mechanism design. Its far stronger than it needs to be and all compacted into a very small space. Pics to follow when I fit them!

[Lotusfab]

No going back, first rear rack test fit with holes drilled!