V8lightweight

I fitted a few bits of new carpet in the boot area this week, but also tidied up the peeling/ugly aluminium heat shielding in the engine bay, which was quite a lot more exciting than carpeting!

In a bit of a break from the engine work, the steering came back from Royal Steering Wheels, who did a brilliant job of recovering it. The new tanks also went back in, along with a new fuel pump. I also had an ebay accident with a fantastic retro Kenwood CD player and graphic equaliser (the same as the ones portrayed in the early 90's Lotus Turbo Challenge computer game! Some other odd bits : Cams look great and are now covered up again with the freshly paint rocker covers. Mixture of new and refreshed grilles going back onto the rear bumper.

New cam belt, water pump, chargecooler pump, oil filter etc etc fitted then I drove it over to SJ Sports cars where Steve and Ross gave it a thorough check over and double-checked the belt tension (SJ have been superb all the way through the restoration and have always gone over and above to help me along). I also had quite a few of the engine bits lightly shot blasted and repainted with VHT wrinkle red and high temp silver.

2 Years! I can't really believe it - where on earth has that gone? To be honest, most of the time has been has been taken up by work, lock down, home schooling and an extended period of the Esprit sat not gathering dust under a cover in the garage. The occasional shove out into the daylight saw the headlights finished and tested - seeing them pop up and light up was a real boost! Sometime in 2021, the car made it into work and with the bribe of bacon rolls a few of us managed to extract the engine Few shots of the tank void after the tanks were removed and the engine being cleaned up..

I've tried to get motivated over the last week and have started to pack away at a few more jobs. The wing mirrors have been rebuilt, side badges put back on and the lovely 1989 Alpine CD player and amp have been fitted. I also 'bit the bullet' and have stumped up for two new tanks, which I'm confident is the right way to go after checked the internals of the originals with an endoscope.

No problem - just speak to Laura, as she was brilliant and the price was reasonable. If you're passing junction 28 at any time, give me a shout and you'd be more than welcome to pop in for a brew and a look af the car.

Thanks Dave. A small company called Adjusted Customs in Devon did the seats for me.

After a job change and an appalling long time of no work on the Esprit, I sent the dash off to a truly lovely bloke for a refurb in November. I never thought that the light coloured veneer looked appropriate for the navy interior, so I asked for it to be darkened a little. It came back just before Christmas and WOW, what a fantastic job! I rebuilt the dash pod today and it looks amazing in the car - just the sort of incentive that I needed to get going again!

Still a fair way to go, but it did make it to its first show!

After a bit of an hiatus, there are a few bits going back on now (smallest always take the longest time). A few more photos of the progress.... Headlight backing plates and adjusters replaced/rebuilt...

Early start this morning - picking up a few bits from the powder-coaters.

Bolted a few bits back on this afternoon. Its squeezed in the garage, but I couldn't resist a few pictures of the finish.

I sincerely hope so, but I've organised an E30 M3 to be on standby just in case!

Thank you Filip - I think that I might well try that as a temporary solution, as I can always get it re-veneered at a later date. Its now home from the trimmers and on axle stands while the wheels are being powder coated. Just need to find some tyres next.....

Bit of tinkering before the car comes home tomorrow - scraping the old veneer from the dash (anyone just lacquered the bard masks?) and rebuilding the headlong mounting panels.