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CHANGES

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CHANGES last won the day on January 8 2023

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About CHANGES

  • Birthday 28/09/1958

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  • Name
    Dave Lisle
  • Car
    Esprit SE, (modified)
  • Modifications
    See 412 bhp thread
  • Location
    Wolverhampton

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  1. Hi Grahame @Gjk I am sorry if i missed your pm. I checked back and could not find it .. i do try to answer all pm's and help out where i can .. Anyway, I think the area you refer to is the inside of the switch recess. You are correct the veneer wont take such a tight fold even with steam .. To the best of my memory when I glued the new veneer over the the switch hole i trimmed it out leaving it slightly proud. This was then sanded to a mitre . Small pieces were then cut to go inside the return of the hole where the switches go with matching mitres . These needed steaming to get a partial curve for those tight corners .. But four sections were needed . To memory it was fiddle with all sorts of wedges and jigs to hold firmly in place while curing . When all covered it was sanded as one before applying the gloss finish.. Make sure there is enough clearance for the veneer and clear coat gloss to allow the switches not to catch when re-fitted. I can not find the pic's of the process , probably stuck in old computer files. but tried to blow up area from general internal pic.. not the greatest quality , but you can just make out how that method finishes up .. hope that helps ..
  2. Hi Patrick I would start by measuring the set up height from the Chassis to the floor at the designated points.. This will give you the accurate data to start from .. If you have used all the correct parts and procedure it should be close to spec. . If not at least you have a data point to work from .. Unlike a steel integral chassis car the bodies on the Esprit do vary. So expect some differences to the arch height .. The important height is floor to the chassis . Torqueing up the bushes at the correct ride height is imperative to get the best results.. This being done at assembly height or other, is the most common reason for height and handling issues.. There are ways of shimming the body to get the desired level arch appearance once the correct chassis ride height is established .. Hope this helps ,
  3. Uhmm ,, If you think a manual is expensive, just wait and see how much your first f**k up is going to cost you for not having one.. Especially as you just shot yourself in the foot with your remarks.. This forum is in my experience the best out there , especially for Esprit owners.. technical help and advise is readily given.. This is priceless when it come to things that are not in the manual .. ie fault finding and failure reasons, etc the list is endless... I think a big apology to the CEO and readership would be a good start .. COURTESY COST NOTHING .
  4. @PrecisionMike The reason I have used these recommended products is purely because they have worked without issue in the particular application.. It is very rare for the 4 pot to fail or leak at the liner.. Not so with the V8 but that is another story .. This is even with the expansion/ contractions you refer to. .. Ensuring the land area /liner seat is fully matching the liner is an important aspect as i said earlier, so the nip pressure creates a zero thickness seal surface at that point.. By ensuring you use plenty of sealer around the sides , you will help stabilise the liner at the same time as helping seal quality ... Your choice of sealer is free to you to experiment with.. I as one are no stranger to trying other applications/products on the Esprit.. But , Its only when you test over time you can gauge the quality and suitability of changes and products made and used.. On my own Esprit I have tried certain things that have not worked to my satisfaction, then needed to redo that area reverting to original or something else.. In the case of the liner sealants used, They are still available, work as needed, so I have not seen any reason to risk trying others... I suppose the main reason is if a different sealer was used and failed , its a hell of a lot of work to put right when no gains were being made by changing in the first place .. Sometimes it is easy to overthink certain aspects, but I do agree new and more advanced products that are available now, could work just as well as the originals.. All it needs is someone like yourself to try them and report back at 100,000 miles how they have worked out ..
  5. @PrecisionMikeOn early iron liner engines I think a PL32 hylomar was used . I believe 572 came in later .. You can use either without issue if you follow the instructions .. The expansion of the iron and Nikasil liners are at different rates , hence the nip height difference. I think this is why people use the Hylomar instead of the 572 on iron liners . However the 3400 hylomar is anaerobic like the 572 . The PL32 is more like the instant gasket stuff you find in factor shops .. These were the recommended items to use , i never had issue with them ,so never tried others ..
  6. @PrecisionMikeI always used Loctite 572 on the 4 cylinder engines including my own . Some people have used Hylomar 3400 which became the alternative for the V8's ..
  7. As my involvement in this restoration comes to an end , I have time to reflect on what was required to get #44 back as is should be, body wise .. As always these are hard work but so rewarding to do. As we left it with the bonnet I will start with a pic of it finished, But its only when I look back that a proper comparison can be made .. Front panel/headlamp pod, before /after.... Remembering that out of shape poorly repaired , gel cracked quarter. After...... the rear transom area After...... And who could forget that roof...... After..... Getting the gaps smaller and consistent , is always rewarding , especially the t/gate and door gaps, along with panel alignment So that is it , onto the trailer and back to Derek. I would like to thank Derek for the opportunity to work on #44 and look forward to seeing it all completed ... For those who may not be aware, This was my last customer job, I am now retiring from restoration professionally... My own Esprit has been neglected too long, so after a short break that will be my next task.. thankyou, Dave Lisle ( CHANGES )
  8. Next stage is to shadow coat the black primer with white... Then you guessed it more flatting... This was much the same as previous except with much finer grade flatting paper.. The main consideration here was quality of flatted finish as the colour coat will be next.. The colour was applied in 4 coats , a light gripper coat followed straight after with two full weight .. after 20 minutes flash off a final drop coat was applied .. Another 30 minutes flash off, then a tack rag to remove any residue .. Then clear coat is put on .. one gripper coat followed by 2 full coats , 20 minute flash off then two more full weight coats .. Not bad out of the gun. But will still need some finessing .. The next step will make some cringe , but yes its back to flatting .. This is what is referred to as colour flatting . Many will just do what is called a nip and polish to remove any dust spots etc.. I prefer to remove any orange peel effect no matter how slight, especially on black .. As a result this requires being way more aggressive . The above is stage one , below is the second stage on the side section , with the centre still at stage one flatting.. The first stage was done with 1200 grit , second with 1500 grit.. This was followed by 2500 Then 3000 then 5000 A quick check with the line board for any little Wobblies that are harder to see in the semi matt finish . When happy, its on to the final flat with 7000 grit paper . As you can see we are now getting an acceptable flatness. So next stage is to work though the layers of polish grades with the mop, but i wont bore you with those just show a finished section .. Now all i have to do is the rest of the panels and the shell to the same standard .. Even more flatting.. but the result is worth all the effort.. Next post will be the culmination of all the hours of work ..
  9. After all that flatting and shaping, the wrists and finger are starting to feel the strain.. Time to take a break and shoot some paint,(well the polly coat) Three full coats were applied and this stuff goes on thick and heavy .. The polly coat leaves a very orange peal finish, while at the same time isolating all the substrates from any solvent ingress during paint application. Once applied we leave for several days to fully cure and get on with all the panels . The front spoiler off this Esprit was well damaged with previous repairs, so needed complete re-laminating like the rest of the body. Maintaining the shape was important so most of the work was done while fixed to the body .. This along with the rest of the panels were finished and polly coated . Everything then went into shadow coat of black...... Then back to MORE FLATTING , Its a good job i enjoy doing this. The above pic shows the orange peal clearly .. By using a large semi flexible sanding plane you can expose any low spots that did not show up in previous stages.. These will tend to be micro dips and easily missed.. Any of those little spots can be fatted out while carrying the flatness through to the tailgate and cap rails in one plane or curve angle. When the outer body is done its on to the panels and inner sections You may have also noticed that the panels have been fitted and removed and re-fitted several times during the processes. This is to insure alignment is maintained and provide access to normally closed off areas. A real pain but necessary Now another break from flatting..... Time to shoot some black primer at it ..... When you get to this stage , without the photo history no one would know how much effort has gone into each section .. And what was actually under that coat of paint ?... It can cover a multitude of sins , short cuts and cock ups !! Next stage More flatting ....
  10. Time to finish this thread. A lot has gone on in the last year, some hold ups and a lot of storage time . However the work did continue , I just never found time to update. So back to it ..... THE BONNET, This was going to be fun , a lot of work went into matching to the adjacent panels , but it still needed lots of levelling.. On the above pic , all the dark areas are low spots. On a good black paint job this would look all lumpy and crap .. This was the same all over with some major low spot areas.. So the only answer was to give this new panel the same treatment the rest of the body has had ( did not anticipate that) A quick check with the flexible steel ruler confirms the consistent profile is achieved . There was a big belly droop in the centre section, This took quite a bit of building to retain the profile in all 3 section of the bonnet .. Failure to do this would create a break in a smooth transition between the front panel and the bonnet angle .. This can be seen in the gap under the steel ruler, the dark area was actually 4mm at the worse point .. The next post will see the prepped shell going into polly coat then primer.. I will do this in the next few days , I think a year between posts is to long
  11. Above is a link to the original post on the induction development that @MrDangerUS is making reference to , for those curious ( page 12).. It does make a massive difference , but only as part of a package .. There will be some gains as an isolated area as Mr.D illustrates due to reduction in turbo scavenging that causes higher MAT. However In the second pic, of Mr D's post you can make out the intake grill on the body near the fuel cap .. Very early on this was identified as a choke point due to the restrictive nature of the grill by size .. We found fitting a circa 10mm or 1/2'' fine wire grill gave 30% more flow capability .. We also increase the intake aperture to 4'' .. This is a fiddly but very doable mod.. The next point is the air filter element .. This should be change to the highest flow unit available , especially when retaining the original position and housing .. We also found that gains were made by reducing the number of bends and making the run as short as possible.. All small points but they add up .. The only other point is the crank case breather pipe funnelling back to the intake .. This can increase MAT and reduce air quality .. Fitting a catch tank instead is a better option ..
  12. I have been asked if there are only the two wheels, the answer is no . It is a set of four as originally fitted to my own Esprit..
  13. I have a set of these wheels surpluss to my needs . These are the V8 wheels which are the same size as the S4s ... They are 17 inch front and 18 inch rear .. They can be supplied with center caps.. I would like £2000.oo GBP .. but open to sensible offers . You can contact me on the forum message , on my mobile 07889 647406, or e-mail ... espritchanges@yahoo.com
  14. You can see the two countersunk screw holes either side of the earth strap lug in the photo .. When Esprit have been repainted these can get disguised by paint and need cleaning out before removal . There is very little bonding to the GRP body and releases quite easy .. As part of the crash structure its strength come from the cross beam and sill anchor plate, along with the alloy door bar when closed.. In the case of this Esprit in pic, the sill anchor plate had rotted out . A rear quarter impact pushed on the door bar and the 'A' post bottom was not secure. As a result the whole structure moved forward damaging all the front arch and floor section along with the front wing .. I doubt if any of that damage will have happened if the sill anchor point was as per design spec. See Pic's
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