My Esprit S1 import finally arrives!

[williamtherebel]

1 minute ago, williamtherebel said:

I have now decided to bite the bullet and find out why the heater/demister on my car has been so bodged up. I have already had some brilliant imput on other threads (Esprit S2 heater and Demister what demister??) from people cleverer than me!

I had already removed the binnacle and the trunking from the aftermarket blower so im already on my way.

So Ive removed the aftermarket blower, drained the coolant, disconnected everything! - pipework, rest of the trunking etc disconnected and removed the front dash, bagged everything and taken plenty of photos to aid it going back smoothly. (well that's the plan anyway!)

 

 

Removed the aftermarket blower trunking etc. Removed the blower motor bolts and managed to remove the heater unit and the motors after a bit of effort!

Motors are completely seized. Looks as if they have been coated in cement dust that has solidified!! No wonder they wern't working. Have to source a couple of blower motors now as well as the demister vents etc. Ive been given a couple of leads which I will be flowing up ASAP. Going to take the heater unit apart and give it a complete refurbishment.

[Fridge]

28 minutes ago, williamtherebel said:

 

What's the aftermarket heater blower? I can't imagine any other fitting in that space.

Have you seen my restoration blog, which details the dismantling and rebuild of it?

 

[williamtherebel]

Hi David If you look at the people who 'like' your restoration you would know I am following your restoration avidly! Regarding the heater unit, you are my inspiration for starting down this road !

I will take some photos of the aftermarket blower when I go to the garage tomorrow. However I don't think there are any identifying marks or numbers on it to give us a clue what it car it came from.

Keep up the good work. Cant wait for the next instalment! 

[williamtherebel]

20 hours ago, williamtherebel said:

Hi David If you look at the people who 'like' your restoration you would know I am following your restoration avidly! Regarding the heater unit, you are my inspiration for starting down this road !

I will take some photos of the aftermarket blower when I go to the garage tomorrow. However I don't think there are any identifying marks or numbers on it to give us a clue what it car it came from.

Keep up the good work. Cant wait for the next instalment! 

Ive taken some photos of the blower unit. There is a number on it but Ive not had much luck in tracking it down.  It was installed underneath the dash on the passenger side. A PO had made a large hole in the front compartment to accommodate the tumble dryer trunking! I will be re-fibreglassing it in due course. The last photo shows the arrangement as to how the blower was made to work (fresh air only). No heating. 1 left outlet for the passenger side face vent. 2 on the other side. 1 for the middle vents and 1 for the face vent in the binnacle.

 Ive dismantled most of the heater unit now. However I cannot remove the 2 flaps from the  control levers. Are they pressed in? I obviously don't want to force them out. Their too fragile. How do you remove them from the 'rod' that holds the flaps.?

[Fridge]

That all looks a bit wild!

The internal baffles (flaps) have fluted ends which allow their cast levers to be pressed on. Be very careful with the levers as they can snap. I detail in my restoration blog find that one had snapped during its previous ownership.

You should be able to prize the levers off and then extract the baffles out from within the heater box. You need to find replacement heater blower motors. I note you have mentioned their rotational direction in other parts of TLF. Don't forget by simply swapping over the power and earth leads will reverse their rotation!

Good luck with the refurb. I found it a very worthwhile exercise during the winter months. It works very well.

[williamtherebel]

Thanks David, Ill do what you suggest(VERY CAREFULLY!). Fingers crossed the levers will be ok. Ill report back as and when. 

[williamtherebel]

So heater unit is now in bits. Although after taking all the tiny screws out and drilling out the pop rivets, one side wont come apart. On closer inspection, for some reason on that side it has been spot welded. So Im just going to refurb it in situ. The 2 control levers were prised out VERY carefully. Thanks @Fridge.

Although I have got a lot of info regarding the blower motors, non of the part numbers Ive keyed in on the internet have resulted in finding the motors yet. Ive tried Lotusbits etc with no luck. I would have thought I would have found the blowers motors by now seeing as I can choose from the following:- Lotus Eclat/ Elite, Opel Ascona and Vauxhall Cavalier! Ah well, the search continues!

[Fridge]

Good effort. Now the fun begins!

Enjoy the process. I did.

I have a spare motor, but don't really want to part with it. However if you are stuck and make it worth my while I could be persuaded as I have a budget shortfall to make up on my restoration cost.

If you note from my restoration write up one side of the heater box is spot welded. I had mine media blasted and powder coated OK.

[williamtherebel]

1 hour ago, Fridge said:

Good effort. Now the fun begins!

Enjoy the process. I did.

I have a spare motor, but don't really want to part with it. However if you are stuck and make it worth my while I could be persuaded as I have a budget shortfall to make up on my restoration cost.

If you note from my restoration write up one side of the heater box is spot welded. I had mine media blasted and powder coated OK.

Yes it is fun! Ive really enjoyed the process of restoring it. Nothing like to the same degree as yourself, @Lotusfab and @Rolls, but Im reasonably happy with what I have achieved with my limited knowledge and expertise. Thanks for the kind offer if im stuck. Ill bear it in mind. I know that SJ can supply the motors, - at a price. However Ill see if I can track them down. Its the thrill of the chase I suppose!  thanks again. 

[fjmuurling]

Have you looked at spal blowers / fans?

https://www.spalautomotive.it/centrifugal-blower

Maybe they have something that fits? Sizes etc are in their catalogue.

[Fridge]

That's very interesting and could work. Probably better too.

Something like the 008-B100-93D even if its housing has to be removed. Fabricating a new mounting frame to fit around it that matches the plenum.

[williamtherebel]

Yes, the 008-B100-93D does look promising. Thanks for the link @fjmuurling. I will check them out. Ive been down to the garage today and had a close inspection as to the reason why my fans aren't working. After cleaning out all the dried 'cement' or whatever it is that's gunged up the works and sprayed all the rusty bits with WD40, Ive managed to move the fans on both of them.  The windings actually look quite bright. I would have expected them to have burnt out if they had been working and seized up because of all the crap on them. I would have presumed that whoever decided to install the aftermarket blower fan and cutting a great hole in the front bulkhead would have checked why the fans stopped first. Perhaps not. Anyway, gave them another spray before I came home. Going back tomorrow and am going to continue cleaning them up and get some power on them to see what happens. Worse case scenario -  Ive wasted my time and they don't work. But fingers crossed!

[machine7]

Might want to double check that spal fan. Looks like it is for a 24v system.

[williamtherebel]

On 07/11/2019 at 20:09, williamtherebel said:

Yes, the 008-B100-93D does look promising. Thanks for the link @fjmuurling. I will check them out. Ive been down to the garage today and had a close inspection as to the reason why my fans aren't working. After cleaning out all the dried 'cement' or whatever it is that's gunged up the works and sprayed all the rusty bits with WD40, Ive managed to move the fans on both of them.  The windings actually look quite bright. I would have expected them to have burnt out if they had been working and seized up because of all the crap on them. I would have presumed that whoever decided to install the aftermarket blower fan and cutting a great hole in the front bulkhead would have checked why the fans stopped first. Perhaps not. Anyway, gave them another spray before I came home. Going back tomorrow and am going to continue cleaning them up and get some power on them to see what happens. Worse case scenario -  Ive wasted my time and they don't work. But fingers crossed!

Cleaned up the motors a bit more so they are looking a lot better than they were covered in crap. Put power across them and-  voila, they spring to life! They run quite smooth and both speeds work. Gobsmacked. Ive tried to get some oil down the shafts because Im sure the bearings will be pretty dry. Brushes look good (after a good clean of course) and have plenty of life in them. I wonder how long ago the motors stopped working?? I will bench test them next week and keep them running for a while to make sure they work for periods of time but so far so good. 

Next problem, I phoned SJ to order some new heater control cables but they only have ones for RHD cars. LHD car cables are a fait bit longer. Any ideas?

[Fridge]

8 minutes ago, williamtherebel said:

Cleaned up the motors a bit more so they are looking a lot better than they were covered in crap. Put power across them and-  voila, they spring to life! They run quite smooth and both speeds work. Gobsmacked. Ive tried to get some oil down the shafts because Im sure the bearings will be pretty dry. Brushes look good (after a good clean of course) and have plenty of life in them. I wonder how long ago the motors stopped working?? I will bench test them next week and keep them running for a while to make sure they work for periods of time but so far so good. 

Next problem, I phoned SJ to order some new heater control cables but they only have ones for RHD cars. LHD car cables are a fait bit longer. Any ideas?

That's great. So are they original style motors, or some aftermarket models?

Best bet for the control cables would be the US IMO. @Tony K may be able to help?

[williamtherebel]

Yes, they are the original motors (as far as I can see). I'll post a couple of pictures next time Im at the garage (next week now). Yes I was thinking Ill have to get the cables from the States. I'll contact Tony and see what he says. Thanks for the contact.

[williamtherebel]

On 09/11/2019 at 14:42, williamtherebel said:

Yes, they are the original motors (as far as I can see). I'll post a couple of pictures next time Im at the garage (next week now). Yes I was thinking Ill have to get the cables from the States. I'll contact Tony and see what he says. Thanks for the contact.

 

[williamtherebel]

I managed to get the heater connector that was missing from mine (thanks @Nellie) It was a bit battered but I managed to straighten it out sufficiently to use. (I knew about it before Neil sent it).

I've now overhauled the heater (new foam and paint) and the motors and its looking good!

I have sourced some generic heater cables and made the ends match the originals and used the originals to get the correct length.

 

Edited December 23, 2019 by williamtherebel
wrong spelling!

[williamtherebel]

I'm also making fiberglass repairs to the inner bulkhead where the aftermarket air intake came in. I fixed a plate in the front bay so I could fibreglass it from inside the footwell. Just need to sand it down, fill it, then it will be ready for painting. Ive also had to do a glass fibre repair to the centre console where the large aftermarket vent sat. (another bloody big hole!)

[williamtherebel]

[Fridge]

Well done. Looks good.

[williamtherebel]

I know Lotus have a reputation for 'adding lightness'. However I was a bit surprised when I took off the centre tunnel to renovate it and found it was made from hardboard!! No wonder it was bowing in the middle. Im going to remanufacture it from thin plywood. At least I can use it as a template.

 

[williamtherebel]

[Fridge]

The original is plywood.

[williamtherebel]

Wow!!!!! Thanks for putting me right.