Esprit Turbo project car - part3 - the further continuation

[Fridge]

If you're going to all this trouble please do not shoot photos on a mobile phone or iPad. You'll be wasting your time.

Invest or borrow a decent digital camera. Either a "bridge" camera or a DSLR, and make sure you at least know how to set the white balance correctly. Without doing that basic thing your efforts will be next to worthless.

Really you should be using a spectrum analyser of some sort, or at least photographing items in daylight, not under indoor mixed lighting that you will no doubt find. Museums use a variety of lighting sources, both overhead public lighting and specifically for their exhibits. None will be colour balanced, and you will need to tell your digital camera (whichever you use) what is white.

Best of luck Fabian, but without any of the above your colour results will be arbitrary.

[Lotusfab]

Thanks Phil,  I bought a polisher and various pads on eBay with cutting coumpound 1200 grit. I found using wet and dry in various grades and buffing with autosol works well. It took a while buffing to get it to shine, but not much effort required with the polisher. You could achieve the same results by hand but it would take much much longer!

David,

I did look into digital cameras but decided the camera on the iPad Pro is as good as the base camera models.  I'm not interested in photography, so it's just a means to an end. We have done the colour thing to death on this thread. The only reliable way is seems is to take samples which I am doing including a sprayed piece of my car, carpet and leather. The analyser is just experimenting as it fixes the colour against a database you can select such as RAL colours. Not sure how good it is, maybe useless. 

The main purpose of the pictures is to get sharper, more detailed ones than are available on the internet, from as many angles as possible. Judging buy the quality of the ones I have downloaded I should achieve the goal. I want to photograph the ski racks from all angles and measure them so I can make exact copies. I have a ruler so will try and get exact measurements. I can always go back if I need to. 

[Fridge]

Hi Fabian, sorry I misunderstood what you're trying to achieve with the photography. Apart from the documenting details aspect.

I was lead to believe from previous posts that you also intended using photographs to compare the colour. This simplified approach using an iPad camera will still produce spurious results. Speaking as an expert.

[ANDYR]

Hi Fabian,

 

Have an amazing trip.  I think your investment in time, money and energy to go out and explore is inspirational.  Make sure you enjoy the rest of the collection too. There must be a whole heap of kit there to enjoy and 'exit through the gift shop' also for a bond poster etc.  It would be a shame for you to book in and then race through the exhibition to focus on the FYEO care and miss out on the other stuff...  remember, this is your trip and not a mission for us.

That said (ahem #clearsthroat)...

 

ski racks.

yours will be different as the skis were thinner in the 70's as we've all discussed.

what will really help me (and perhaps other people as they build their racks) are 5 key measurements.

can you confirm these measurements if possible:

 

A. I've got the base of the bracket, by eye as 290mm. basically from back of tailgate to the hinge.

B. the angle of the back of the bracket - i've worked as 65degrees (or 25 off from vertical).

C. the height of the bracket i'm working to - 105mm

the 'ski line' (where the ski sits on a shelf in the bracket) is 40mm up from the bottom

D and E are the measurements from the CENTRE LINE of the brackets relative to a point on the car body.

I lined this up before with part of the light clusters until it 'looked right'.

 

Again, I'm an S3 n/a , and there might be the odd change in certain dimensions but not sure.

The reason I only need the centre line measurements is my top bracket and base cradle are wider to accommodate today's modern ski's.  I've allowed 90mm +3mm for each, so it's quite wide...  which means my proportions will have to be different that the FYEO set.  if i've got the centres, I can work the rest.  Also, from your description of assembly, mine will be a bit like 'IKEA' slot together fabrication celebrating the construction of it and making the assembly part of the design.  As readers will know, the MDF models looked really smart.  Now we've the engineering CAD files ready to go, Fabain's final input will be invaluable.  The poly carbonate is then off to get jet water cut.  I will post the finals on here when done.  IF possible, can you lift the talgate and work out the positions and fixing system they got it on the car.  Max500 swears the original was balsa wood and just glued in place...

 

Thanks again Fabian for being cool about me hijacking attention on your post to get into the rack discussion.  I have a feeling they'll be a handful of brave souls who want to do this.  I'm off skiing this Wednesday but will check-in online to see the photos as thy arrive. have a GREAT trip.

Andy

 

[PhilW]

AndyR 

very well said. Its Fabians trip not ours. 

Im just looking forward to he discovers. 

Safe trip Fabian

Andy

will be very interested in the material and aint type tou intend to use. Can you tell me more?

Phil

[Lotusfab]

Well Im in Fort Lauderdale! Hope to leave for the museum 0920 tomorrow, 5 hour time difference. Will try to get measurements but will have to approach the subject carefully! Tomorrow very late I hope to post pics. There's a lot of cars in there from all our childhoods so will be getting pics of those too! Cheers.

[PhilW]

Have a great time Fabian. Looking forward to the pics. Phil

[stephenwhyte]

Enjoy the museum trip Fabian I hope it’s a major success for you!

[cbclotus]

Have a good break ..Fabian ..Hope you get to see the car up close ...Mike

[silverfrost]

Have a safe journey Fabian and enjoy which i am sure you will  ,   and hope you get all the help you need at the museum 

[Lotusfab]

Thanks. I'm getting nervous now. In less than five hours I will know whether the Copper Fire Esprit is in the museum! Trip advisor Is curiously lacking pictures if it?????

Well, guess it's off to Vegas if it's not there!

 Time to roll the hard Six!

[PhilW]

It will be there.  Be positive.

 

[ANDYR]

Enjoy the visit, Fabian.

check your batteries and memory so you come back with all your need.

sketch pad.

and uplift the polite and hapless Englishman.  the museum will got for that.... I understand you're a relative of Roger Moore too eh?

[Lotusfab]

Well it went much betterthan expected. The museum exceeded all expectations and is the best car museum I have ever been to. I was allowed full acces. So here are the answers!

both cars have cockpit stereos.

the Copper fire Esprit has a Turbo engine.

there are no signs whatsoever of a colour change on the Copper car but the plaque says it was white before. 

There are no signs of a G badge on the car.

the LOtUS in the bumper is missing. 

On the white Turbo the LOTUS in the bumper is hand painted and white.

The colour I painted my car is an exact match  to the original.

the LOtUS Gold leather sample is identical to the leather. 

The carpet is not brown but a rust, terracotta type colour.

The ski racks are hinged to the centre and are missing locking pins. The are poorly made out of fibreglass. The breaks are quite unique and sculptured with curved edges. I took a lot of measurements and with post some tomorrow.

[Lotusfab]

[Gis]

Great news Fabian, looking forward to the pictures and findings!

[PhilW]

Fabulous Fabian. Glad it has gone well. Can't wait for the pics

[Tocus]

Great research you did, now you can finish the car as it should be! the same as the real one!

[Lotusfab]

Here’s some more pics.

firstly the engine. The curator took the engine cover off. When I was measuring he said I’m not the first person who has done this!

The Turbo can be seen. It’s all in pretty poor condition!

[PhilW]

Looks like they need to get a duster out!

 

[Lotusfab]

Here’s the interior. By the way he told me some of the collection is going to a new Deezer museum in Orlando. He didn’t know whether this car was going.

We opened the front bonnet.the lighting is very dim so difficult to get pics.heres a pic of the LOtUS on the back of the white car. It’s definately hand painted and white, but it may have been painted by the museum. However it is which and paint on the car now!

[stephenwhyte]

White paint on the lettering is a right mess. And the black paint around the vent in the bonnet is different to what I expected

Glad the Copper Fire is a match - would hate to have been there if it wasn’t!!

[Andyww]

Dont forget to check paint code on the VIN plate.

Essex cam covers! That is significant as it ties in with the white car recently mentioned on Facebook which is also not an Essex but has Essex cam covers. So they seemed to have fitted these to all the very first batch of Turbos regardless of Essex or not.

Original tool roll! 

[Lotusfab]

Andy,

there's a lot I can tell when when I next see you that I won't put in here. Here's a better picture of the Ear of my car on the left and the museum car in the right. I would say I'm an expert now at recognising the paint. The paint code A19 is categorically not the original colour of this car. It is Matts 1981 fuel cap colour. Pictures don't show things exactly like the interior carpet. Which is very close to the body colour.

[Lotusfab]

Here's the interior. Think the paint code is irrelevant it will be A19 but as I have proved the formulation has been different for a long time now.the camera doesn't show these colours very well because if the lighting. The carpet looks very similar to the body colour. The leather sample from Connelly that I got I would say is the exact colour ofvthis interior. It is quite dirty!

In the bottom picture if you look up to the left you start to see the carpet looks like the body. It's obvious when you see it in reality. It's valued at 200,000 dollars!

And so with out further adoo, the ski racks. All the ones I have seen made are not very much like these originals. They are very flimsy and could not be used as is, but the hinged design is what I was planing so glad to see someone else came to the same conclusion!