71 replies to this topic

[Nelly9000]

I think its about time I raised this thread having had my S2 Esprit for two months now, but things are about to start properly.

Bit of background first - the car has been previously owned by Malc Holmes & Mat Kutub, two respected memebers of this forum and therefore the car may be known to some of you. I would like to personally mention Mat and put on record my huge appreciation for all his help (and support) thus far, I was far less prepared for this project than I thought and to have the advice of a previous owner has been invaluable.

Mechaincally she is sound but needs a complete respray and interior retrim.

The car is going off to be resparyed tomorrow. It is currently yellow and is going to be white. My ambition was to always have a white one and although the yellow grew on my, I have to stay true to my original dream! Some photos of the car taken this afternoon are below. She looks good from distance but doesn't stand up to close inspection. All the waist trim has been removed.

Plan in simple terms is to get the external side sorted this year, internal retrim early next year and any mechanical issues as and when. Maybe some more major mechanical stuff later next year depending on how things progress.

The work is being done by Stride & Sons in Southampton - their main man Dan is a former sprayer of the year and has done work on my Alfa and Elise. They are going to work on the car as and when rather than hit it hard, so it could be away anything up to a month, which suits me and my wallet fine!





I still have not fixed the bloody headlight which is why one is lower than it should be. There is a car electrician next door to the bodyshop so two birds will be killed with one stone. I nearly set the car on fire trying to fix it but thats another story!

I will get some shots as the work is being done and post when I can. I am looking forward to having a fine S2 in due course, this will be a marathon rather than a sprint!

Neil

Edited by Nelly9000, 21 June 2009 - 08:57 PM.

[USAndretti42]

Shouldn't need to fix the electrics to get the headlight level, just adjust the length of the pushrod between the motor and headlamp pod.

Doing the work slowly over a period of time as and when you want to is the way to go, I think. There's no pressure and the work can be more enjoyable that way. Good luck with the restoration and keep us informed.

[matk]

I would like to personally mention Mat and put on record my huge appreciation for all his help (and support) thus far, I was far less prepared for this project than I thought and to have the advice of a previous owner has been invaluable.

No probs. I have fond memories of her and want her well looked after. Good luck and keep the pics coming.

[IS]

Hi Neil - can't wait for the after-spray job pics!.

Iain

[LooseCannon]

Any S2 recieving attention =

Are you removing the sunroof?

[vintaylor]

cant wait to see pics of the re-spray!
cant wait to get working on mine, i'll be spraying the car yellow (its original colour) and i shall attempt to re-dye the interiour black since it has faded over the years, but all the interiour bits are intact and just need a little work.

[esprit s2]

Its gonna look brilliant! Can't wait to see it!
Long live the S2's!

[Nelly9000]

Thanks for the kind words guys.

Trevor - the headlight arm is unattached in the photos which is why one is lower. I am going to get the front section wiring replaced as well so its nice and tidy which should sort the headlight out.

Mat - Don't worry, she is in good hands (I think you know that!)

Mark - Yes, I am going to keep the sunroof - I seem to be the only person who likes sunroofs, all the other posts seem to want to fill them in! As the car does not have air con I think the roof will be valuable. Also, my first car (also from 1979, a Fiesta) had a sunroof so it feels somehow appropriate. I do get the feeling they are genrally disliked though!

Vin - nice to hear you are going yellow! My car was originally silver but if my 30 year old dream of owning a white one was not so strong she would be staying yellow.

Will do an update as soon as I have something worthwhile to post. The S2's seem to be on the up here at the mo!

Edited by Nelly9000, 22 June 2009 - 07:37 PM.

[matk]

That sunroof was a huge plus for me. I know its a little against total originality, but I lost count of the number of runs I did in the summer that were only made bearable because of an open sunroof helping ventilate the car.

[Malc Holmes]

Hi Neil,

I can confirm, all significant PO's liked the sunroof!

Look forward to seeing the results of the re-spray. Its been a long time coming. I started planning FOXy's respray 10 years ago. Glad you are the one to make it happen.

Keep us posted!

Malc

[Nelly9000]

Excellent, the sunroof fan club is alive and well.

Nice to hear from you Malc, as you had such a significant part in getting Foxy where she is today.

[vintaylor]

neil,
was wondering,is your esprit sprayed in a colour called 'lemon yellow', because the very original colour of my s2 was lemon yellow. would be nice to see an s2 with the same colour to get an idea of what it would look like.

And if white is your dream colour than that's the colour to get, because you will always regret it otherwise!

thanks,
Vin

[Nelly9000]

Hi Vin,

I am not sure what colour the car actually is, or even if it is a standard Lotus colour. I have some photos of the car some 10 years ago where the sills are also yellow (they are currently black but may have just been oversprayed), and this looks a different yellow again but may just be the photos deceiving me!

I am not sure if Malc or Mat (both previous owners) can shed any light on this as they know far more history of the car than I do.

Regards


Neil

[Malc Holmes]

Hi Neil,

I re-sprayed the sills, valence, etc etc. I didnt like the look with the lower part in yellow, made the car look 'fat'. The car left the factory with black sills as well, it just looks correct. The yellow does not quite match any standard Lotus colour, I took the fuel filler cap in to the paint supplier I use to get a match but their mixing technician went off sick for weeks and I eventually gave up. Yet another reason why it didn't get the full re-spray I had intended.

Malc

[matk]

I haven't a clue! I never touched the paintwork and didn't even know for two years after I bought her that she started life silver.

[Nelly9000]

Quick update, almost three weeks in. Progress has been slow, as I knew it would. Car is still being stripped down. The spray work is going to be the eas bit!

For those interested in the cars current colour - we found a tin of touch up srpay paint, which is Rover Inca Yellow - so must assume that is what the car was originally resprayed!

The doorcards are now off my next issue is the state of the door inards. Things are disintegrating as they are removed, and most of what can rust has done. No wonder the electric windows are so slow, its a wonder they work at all!

It looks likely that I will need to replace at least some of the channels that the windows run on so that is next the list of things to source. If anyone has experience in this please let me know.

Also, as the doorcards are off I will probably get them re-trimmed. I am probably going to go down the same route as Matt Watts did with his S1 and use black leather for the doorcards and dash, and go with a modern feel but with the same style as the original (with the silver trim). I am deciding on a contrast colour for the inserts and seat centres as I don't want it totally black - was going to use red, but someone has suggested white. I reckon that could look nice but keeping it clean might be an issue!

Again, any thoughts welcome!!!

Neil

[semi42]

i would keep the interior dark if poss. my s2 has cream leather and reflects back in the windscreen something awful

[Nelly9000]

I see what you mean! The dash is defo staying black, its only the door inserts and centre of the seats which will be a different colour.

Your car sounds like a beast!

[Backmarker]

As the exterior is going to be white, how about a tartan infill?

Todays leather is all ( plastic ) coated, so keeping it clean shouldn't be a problem as long as you do it religiously

Good luck

[Nelly9000]

I did consider that - good shout!