cjtpb13

I have many fond memories from the past 6 years as a member of TLF...I have met many people from around the globe and with my business ( yes I still insist I am a poolboy ! ) I have had the wonderful opportunity of meeting many people of TLF in person. Many of the people I had met I still consider friends. I must say that without TLF a more difficult time would have been had figuring out all of the nuances of my Lotus Esprit S4. Time spent with Bibs and the gang at Dave Freemans replacing an engine was one of the most memorable and fun times I have had ever working on a car. And I did plenty to my own over the years. Unfortunately the dealership issues with my car took away much of the joy of my Lotus Esprit. It is pretty much all back to its original state after 5 long years of battling the Lotus dealership and the insurance company. However in discussion with SharkSandwich ( Art ) he made a comment to me a few months ago, " that if I did not smile when I opened up the garage door it was time to let her go. " So with that, yesterday I passed the car along to its new owner who left my driveway in Connecticut with a smile. Thank you for many wonderful years here. I will always think of a certain group whenever I have an evaporative pint !! Best of luck to all and safe motoring ! Christopher " International Poolboy "

Michael, One beautiful thing is, believe it or not, I can actually open the rear hatch without a need to remove either the rack or the bike. The vacuum cups are from a company called SeaSucker. www.seasucker.com They have the ability to be adapted quite easily to any other type of rack. And I then used Thule 599XTR Big Mouth bike carrier. SeaSucker makes a variety of their own bike racks however they all require removal of the front wheel and with hydraulic disc brakes I find it easier and safer for transport not to remove the front wheel.

Ian how are you ? They are actually vacuum cups which are not to be confused with suction cups. Each vacuum cup is rated at 210lbs of holding force. And yes tested on quite some twisty roads at high speeds. And bumpy roads as well. If I recall the original Esprit luggage rack utilized vacuum cups as well. At least an early generation version. The vacuum cups have been tried and tested for the marine industry for quite sometime. I actually use them on my boat for a variety of uses and also use them in my work on the SwimEx's. I figured if a 300lb NFL linebacker can pull on a stabilization bar in the midst of a laminar flow of 6knots it would hold my 32lbs of mountain bike and Thule tray. SeaSucker began developing bike racks for the last several years. Slowly gaining hold ( excuse the pun ) as most of their users tend to carry over from the marine industry. Which they also work underwater as well. The only thing I noticed was the mountain bike would sway a bit. However that is actually an issue with the Thule tray itself. And I think the answer is to redesign a better mounting plate for the upright carrier. Having the glass roof I will be able to see if I ever lose the rack and bike lol Christopher

Also important to remember that stainless steel hardware is not as strong

Simon, Yes lockouts on both front and rear. Hydraulic disc brakes are a blessing. Have yet to experience any brake fade and no cable stretch. 27 speeds though I am actually investigating into a 14 speed hub gear It is taking a bit getting use to the 29" wheels. They look out of place at times. Stared at 26" wheels for almost 20 years Comically enough the bike is taller than the Esprit.

Thanks Jason. Generally down at the beaches when in DE. Will have to look up that one. Hope all is well and next we meet in Macungie PA I will surely send a PM to yourself

Ah but even those of us that have talent in the garage must by all means have it in the kitchen. Funny about this thread. Was in the midst of making a chipotle garlic shrimp during a conversation with Art aka Shark Sandwich and I think he thought I never cooked. Actually most of my friends think I never cook. Which is true. Never home enough. However when I am I do cook.

Ah the infamous light switches... The way that the Federal cars are wired sounds the same. I have the early wiring harness in mine. I have not had a switch last more than 3hrs of continuous use while driving. Whether it be the parking lights ( side lights ) or the headlamps. Part of the issue is the way that they are wired and that the power from the headlamp switch also goes through the parking light switch. As does the power signal to the relay for the headlamp lift motors. Hard to explain in writing however as you can see from the photographs the switches can get quite hot and then internally one of the post will shift. Sounds as if this has happened and it is signaling for the headlamp lift motors to activate. The result of over heating causes the internal connector to shift in its location. In my case it causes all lights except dip beam to go out. So at night no dash, parking, or rear tail lights whatsoever. So the internal appears this way: Side note: my solution was to finally direct the aircon flow from left aircon vent on dash to flow over the switches to keep them cool. Figured that was more important than my hand freezing on the wheel

Well they looked worn before I received them. Yet the customs seal was not broken....hmmmmmm

Kimbers my father always said, " buy the best you can afford ". He also said, " never step on a pregnant alligator ". Both pieces of wisdom have served me well in life. I do not go thrashing down a 12,000ft mountain like a friend of mine does in the Rockies. However I do a lot of woods and urban streets. Full frame suspension seems to work well in both environments. Another look at my rack for the Esprit

Never had a means to transport my bike while using the Esprit. However with the Lotus dealership issues I had no worries about that for a few years. Now however I finally joined the two. Bike rack was designed for the Esprit in mind with the ability to use it on every other one of my vehicles.

Actually having to have formed my own mesh grille it is quite easy. Best method is to make a 2 wooden blocks the size and shape of your grill. Place grill material between in correct orientation and clamp together tightly. Then use a plastic/rubber hammer and shape it around your block

I installed individually. Remember to have the split in the pin 180* from one another and a dab of silicone at each end

So I completed my mountain bike rack for the Lotus. I ended up utilizing a Thule 599XTR bike carrier with the SeaSucker talon system and manufactured additional hardware to merge the two. This is the basis to the SeaSucker system: This uses a vacuum cup capable of 210lbs of holding force per unit. So the front has three such units and the rear uses one to stabilize. The result is as seen below. No issues and it can be removed and stowed inside the trunk once I modify the tray by cutting in half and installing a bolt in splice to join the two. That will be completed tomorrow after I do a speed run with the bike on the car. Will take a much better photo tomorrow as well in better light without my tools sitting on the sunroof.

I actually have in my contracts that if I am in a location for more than 36 hours they pay to have my mountain bike shipped. I just replaced my first mountain bike I had purchased in 1990. A Specialized Rock Hopper solid frame. It has placed many miles around the world. It has been to Europe, the Middle East, South America, Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean, Australia, Russia, and China. Finally got destroyed by American Airlines about a month and a half ago. Now just replaced it with a full suspension bike with hydraulic disc brakes. I will be finishing a design for a bike rack for the Lotus and trying it out next week.