mike_sekinger's Esprit Blog

The S300 restoration project that I started last year is now in fresh hands.

As many of you will know, I decided to withdraw from Esprit projects and engine builds in order to give time back to my family.

The restoration of S300 #25 is now in the talented and capable hands of Dave Lisle (aka CHANGES). I would expect Dave to start a dedicated Blog for this project soon and wish him the best of British in bringing this great car back to a fantastic factory-fresh condition.

Cheers,
Mike Sekinger

Almost one full year after the last dyno session where we experienced the clutch problem, we were back at it this weekend.

With approx. 8000 miles on the engine and the upgraded AP clutch fully run-in, everything was set and ready. We did a total of 14 runs, with adaptions in between - final run produced:
Peak boost: 1.1 bar (turbine housings limiting factor)
Power: 507bhp
Torque: 437 lb/ft
Inlet temp: peaking 40deg C
AFR: flat 12.1
Advance: 19deg

">http://

With the car in the hands of the new owner, there is little more for me to do. I would imagine that we may provide some further updates on the Forum from time to time. Over to you Peter !

Cheers,
Mike S

Yesterday I drove the V8 from our place in France to Düsseldorf. A little shy of 1000Kms, but the weather was absolutely spectacular.

The engine behaved very nicely and despite my discipline I did get caught speeding once on the way through France. Only a minor infringement, but still a 45€ spot-fine. :thumbdown:

It was after 9:30pm before I entered Germany and first encountered some unrestricted Autobahn. Given the lack of traffic, I decided to open up a little and see what speed was possible. The gearbox has a 3.44 to 1 cwp installed and managed a GPS based speed of 295Km/h @ 6500rpm..... would equate to 200mph with just over 7300rpm.... promising :thumbsup:

I can honestly say that is the fastest I have ever been in an Esprit and that it did not feel very safe :censored:
The noise from the road, wind and engine was almost intolerable. Next time I will use some earplugs !

Cheers,
Mike S

Had a small problem with a stuck wastegate on the V8, when it returned to Lotus in December last year. The wastegate was freed up and all seemed to be okay following that.

At the weekend, I was doing to checks and routine maintenance and noticed that the wastegate was stuck once again. It was not able to close fully and movement was very stiff. The car has been used most weekends, so there is something not right. Not my favourite job, but the turbo had to be swapped out. The units are hybrids, but luckily I had another pair on the shelf.

Once off, I split the turbine and was able to get some movement in the wastegate, but it is definitely not free. Guess, I need a new swing arm.


The new unit was easy enough to fit



After adding the coolant back in and bleeding the system out, I went for a test drive. I´ve now got solid boost to 1bar, which is making for instanely fast acceleration. The best news of all, is that the clutch is now rock solid at that boost level.

Sometime soon, I´ll be looking to get the car back on the dyno for some real optimisation.

Cheers,
Mike S

Finally after the S4s is away, I had chance to return to the S300 project.

The final preparations for the extraction, complete with the engine loom


Engine lifted and chassis rolled out of the way



Engine compartment starts the clean-up - first impressions are good.




Engine will be rebuilt with lightweight rods and billet steel crank - should be good for some serious power :construction:

Cheers,
Mike S

Well, it has been a great day !

First came the Lotus Parts Sale - some relevant savings for me so fingers crossed for a result.

Then I managed to recommission and road test both Esprits. Was a cracking day :thumbsup:

V8 bled and ready for road test


No problems, so on with the rear deck and ready to make a return trip to Lotus for the continuation of the dyno work


Bleeding out the S4s.


The S4s was also super-sweet... a little more responsive with the104* inlet timing


More news as it happens.

Cheers,
Mike S

Hi Folks,

The weather was really quite warm today so I decided it was a good day to remove the S4s engine.

The time consuming part is the preparation to disconnect everything - the actual lift is easily a one man job with a little care

A/C was non-functional, so left the pump attached


Limited clearance on front body


Ready to roll the chassis clear


Papas little helper :innocent:


Manifold nuts removed


Twin cracks in the old manifold


Nearside tank ready for removal


Underside of nearside tank badly corroded


Empty engine bay


Not a bad days work :thumbsup:

Cheers,
Mike S

Posty finally came good with my long awaited SPA dual intercooler temperature gauge.

The gauge loom was absent, but at least I was able to install the two k-type thermocouples in the right hand chargecooler body.



Still waiting to hear back from AP, but I expect an update on the clutch solution in early January.

Happy New Year to all ! :band:

Cheers,
Mike S

Yesterday I made a start on the restoration of this fantastic Esprit.



It was specially ordered by and supplied to Romano Artioli, the boss of Bugatti when it owned Lotus back in 1994. The car has been well looked after over the years, but its owner would like to have it restored and approached me with the job for the mechanical aspects. The restoration of the interior and paintwork will be a task for someone else.

The first task will be to remove the engine and gearbox for rebuild/overhaul. Made a start with uncovering the engine, so that I could have a proper poke-around:


Trunk removed


Engine brace and air filter/feed stuff away


Legendary T3/T4 turbo still in good shape


Shift mechanism and exhaust hanging bracket


Not bad for 16-odd years of use




More updates in January.

Cheers,
Mike S

Hi Folks,

After last weeks dyno session I needed to remove the gearbox and inspect the clutch.

All of the chargecoolers stuff removed


Driveshafts out of the way and the gearbox slide back free of the clutch pack


Gearbox lifted clear and clutch exposed for removal



Flywheel removed, re-faced and replaced



The clutch will now be sent off to AP to see if they can install a stonger diaphragm with a target to get somewhere close to 550Nm of clamping force.

Here are the Final Edition springs and dampers installed last week. The ride was hugely superior to what was installed before.


Cheers,
Mike S