Esprit Turbo project car - part3 - the further continuation

[Lotusfab]

Not done yet lots of finishing needed. The tailgate isn’t that heavy really. Parts need adjusting, filling and painting. I plan to use seals between the racks and body sonit matches the rear spoiler.

[LOTUSMAN33]

Bet drilling those holes made your buttocks clench 😂

Seriously though they are looking good, well done Fabian.

Is Neil painting them or someone local?

Dave  

[Lotusfab]

Neil supplied the paint for my local man. I would go to Neil, but its a long way! I have some more drilling to do and none of it is permanently fixed yet. The worst is over. I shouldn’t have copied them so well, all the bits that don't fit well on the museum car don’t fit well on mine! Although the museum car has been repaired badly and the fixing methods were changed. My system for fixing is completely different. Its taken a couple of days to make the jigs for drillling.

The tailgate can still hold itself up so far. I made the racks as light as possible. The pin with pull ring takes all the load and the button is a lock, push in to lock and key to release. I have finisher inserts to fit around the pin after is sprayed. sic more holes left to drill!

[Lotusfab]

4 mm thick steel holding them down and welded to 3 mm ends. Hinge has a 5 mm stainless pin. Its all bolted down with four 6 mm bolts on the top and lower racks. Spray foam underneath will distribute the load more evenly with 2 mm closed cell foam sheet to mount it all on. 2 mm thick U channel underneath with bolts running through it. I upgraded my original design thanks to James input. All welding done by my friend John.

[Lotusfab]

[Barrykearley]

Wanna borrow some decent ratchet straps ?

[stephenwhyte]

You’re a brave man Fabian😬👏🏻👏🏻

[eeyoreish]

Somehow ironic that after all the time building the car you finally fit the ski racks in the middle of longest heatwave we’ve seen in the UK for years!

[Lotusfab]

It has been a sweatbox in my garage and hellish trying to get this done! I  have been working almost everyday since this lockdown started. Its hard to believe how many man hours the ski racks have taken. And even though it might look like I am nearly there copying the original design layout has created lots of fitting issues. They are all solvable but it means more work. I could have made a much better set if I had departed from the film prop design! But hey, we are trying to make an exact replica here, so I have made them as close as possible with the only addition of a lock.
The tailgate still can hold its self open with three of the racks fitted and the original gas struts, so their weight is not excessive. I have kept the weight of the racks as low as possible. The steel design I have made is effectively a steel band held with 4 X 6 mm bolts. I am confident these racks are as strong or maybe stronger than any racks out there. I will test them at high speed, but am confident there will be no issues. I want to travel at about 60 mph max.

[Lotusfab]

[PhilW]

Fabulous Fabian.  Cant wait to see this car.  Im just pleased at the moment to find 2 hrs to go out in mine.

 

[Lotusfab]

ski racks are now assembled fully, just prepping for spraying and its taking forever!

Deja Vu!

[Lotusfab]

Finally the racks are ready for spraying and the front ski bindings are on! Only took 2 1/2 years of hard work! I have even copied the gap in the spoiler! I have closed cell foam to fit between the rack and body copy the tailgate spoiler. I’m sure Lotus would approve! Maybe I could consult with them on producing a factory version? Doesn’t look much but has taken up quite a chunk of my life! I will be ready for movie cameos soon! Now to book that test track!😀😀😀😀😀👍👍👍👍👍

Oh, I have adjusted the back end of the rack since this shot so the spoiler aligns exactly. I am quite pleased how they have turned out,

[Stuart Monument]

Well done Fabian, Your attentions to detail is faultless 

[Lotusfab]

Thanks Stuart.

[v8vantage]

Close Fab, but might have to dock some points for attention to detail. I'll let you work out the difference between the original and yours! Also what are you going to do for a boot rack inside the car?

[Lotusfab]

Poetic license for the pull pin and lock!  The original just had a pin catch, but that wasn’t good enough to take the loads! In my design the 8 mm pull pin takes the load and the pin lock stops the skis from being nicked! 
Not many people will know this but the miami car ski racks were extensively repaired and the design was changed. Rivets and a metal sheet were added which wrapped around the edges. A screw was added to hold the arm down of the upper wrap. The top of the lower ones snapped off and was badly repaired.
These arm stronger than the tailgate. I have had to thicken the fibreglass in some areas to ensure they don’t fail.

I plan to used close cell foam inserts to ensure the skis arm clamped to position when the arms are down and locked. I plane to test the, on a track and will film it at different speeds. I’m aiming for 60 mph! I have to strengthen the tailgate. I am considering filling the void in the tailgate with fireproof structural foam to help spread the rack loads. 

I am really pleased to be at the point of spraying them.  
Thanks to James on here for his engineering advice and my mate John who helped with ideas and welding. The underside if the racks is filled with foam and they will sit on a closed cell foam gasket. The load is spread across the who area of the racks.

No boot racks.

I am left wondering how Roger Moore drove the car with the boots he gets out of the car with in the ice rink scene. I think they must have edited it! 

[Barrykearley]

This thread got me looking 

[v8vantage]

Fab I think you'll find in the movie the rear bindings are in their down and locked position on the car. Just a little thing but the racks do look fantastic. Is it possible to rotate the fuel cap so the handle is parallel to the road like the film car?

[Lotusfab]

I’ll have another look at the film and get working on it!

[Lotusfab]

Ahhh, I see what you mean! I will correct that ASAP. I never realised the fuel Cap handle was horizontal. Should be an easy fix.

[v8vantage]

With all the work you've done fab it's easy to miss a few little things. I wonder where they stored the ski poles...along with the boots!

[ANDYR]

Hi Fabian,

Been away from this chat for a while and now catching up.  EXCELLENT work on the ski racks - you've smashed it.  A working ski rack (as why would you want a non working one?) AND one that looks on point to the replica you're going for.  At first, impossible - like manufacturing an actual Harry Potter working wand or a Delorian that can take us back to 1955 (or 1985!).  but you've done it.

Those moon boots Roger Moore is seen in would be so hard to drive a Lotus in.  They are all foam.  Something that made me chuckle would be where x4 ski poles @ 120cm would live?  They might just stretch across the engine bay cavity, or get stuck in the bonnet somewhere... something to think or, or it's more equipment to dodge in the cabin on the drive down to the Alps...

Well done again on the ski racks.  Super work.  Awesome.

Andy

 

[Fridge]

More importantly, whilst discussing the carriage of various items of skiing equipment, you may want to brush up your skiing skills before setting off. As those mega long, razor thin planks from the early 1980s will certainly need James Bond prowess to control them on the slopes of Cortina d'Ampezzo, or anywhere we for that matter.

You may be able to fit some modern 165cm sidecut skis under the hatch ala Evo Harry.

It will be good to see these things painted and complete with their authentic stickers after this marathon of a thread.

[Lotusfab]

7 hours ago, ANDYR said:

Hi Fabian,

Been away from this chat for a while and now catching up.  EXCELLENT work on the ski racks - you've smashed it.  A working ski rack (as why would you want a non working one?) AND one that looks on point to the replica you're going for.  At first, impossible - like manufacturing an actual Harry Potter working wand or a Delorian that can take us back to 1955 (or 1985!).  but you've done it.

Those moon boots Roger Moore is seen in would be so hard to drive a Lotus in.  They are all foam.  Something that made me chuckle would be where x4 ski poles @ 120cm would live?  They might just stretch across the engine bay cavity, or get stuck in the bonnet somewhere... something to think or, or it's more equipment to dodge in the cabin on the drive down to the Alps...

Well done again on the ski racks.  Super work.  Awesome.

Andy

 

Thanks Andy for your help and ideas. It wasn’t easy, but I got there in the end. The only job left to do is fit them when they come back. I am considering fire resistant expanding foam inside the tailgate cavity to strengthen it. I have to run some experiments first. This would be an alternative to the steel collars, which might be very difficult to fit.