drdoom
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Posts posted by drdoom
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The recirc/fresh air flap apparatus is out of commission, likely related to why the access hole was taped over. The smaller flap plate is meant to have an integral square section pivot rod along one edge which affords actuation by the vacuum motor on the bracket between it and the longer flap plate controlling flow through the two fresh air inlets. The square section permits the two plates to be clocked 90 degrees apart so that when one is closed the other is open. Looks like the smaller, recirc flap is not the correct item at all, rather it's a simple piece of sheet lacking the pivot axle hence the two screws pinning it closed. FWIW.
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George Orwell stirs in his grave.
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Photo attached of the hatch, second lay-up complete, first lay-up rough sanded. Lacking the confidence which comes with experience such as Dave's I've gone with GRP layers for the bulk of it. Didn't think to weigh the hatch before getting to it though, hopeful anyway that it won't come to much as deepest section is ca. 3mm. Now offering up the cant rails and peering further into the rabbit hole that awaits!
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You will find all of the Forum postings regarding ride, steering and handling to be helpful, as the basic Esprit platform was retained throughout the history. There were meaningful and quite noticeable alterations to front end geometry and spring rates with the arrival of the Eagle chassis but that's after your car I expect. With all in order you will find a chassis of high capacity, exceedingly well balanced with a most agreeable ride. Don't seek to reinvent a chassis designed by masters of the art, rather take note of specs in terms of what Lotus did. Let us know what you are feeling once you've driven the Esprit for a time, we may then be able to offer further pointers if you wish to zero in on what is exactly to taste. On dampers I've always been inclined to trade off a bit of ride compliance for quicker transient response, happy with Koni's on early Elan and Esprit though they are at best hard to find these days.
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What are your impressions of the ride, steering and handling so far?
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I'd suggest not to go with body colour. The body proper is a thing of great beauty, the engine bay somewhat less so. My thinking is that visual distinction between the outer and inner body surfaces is a good thing in the case of the engine bay. Up front under bonnet the flowing form of the wheelarches and whatnot wisely is painted to compliment, floor area excepted. Given a tasty silver treatment of the chassis elements perhaps blacking out the surrounding bay confines? FWIW
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Roger,
". . ..system by Lotusbits, it's not ideal . . .." Would you care to elaborate on this?
Cheers
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I'm into this matter up to the elbows, have an S2 in restoration which was factory A/C equipped but will have naturally aspirated dry sump upon rebirth. After long months looking into aftermarket options ( Vintage Air foremost ) I decided, rightly I believe, that retaining the under dash casing and related ductwork would be pragmatic. There is little room to spare in the space where the casing must reside, it takes some finesse offering up the thing for installation. Take a long look at the parts manual pages pertaining to the dash controls, HVAC fan and plenum, the forward firewall cut-outs, compressor mounting brackets/pulleys, etc, etc comparing A/C to non-A/C setups in order to gain a sense of the scope of the effort.
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Some simple thoughts to offer on the topic, informed by a successful campaign optimizing the performance of the cooling on a tuned '64 Elan S1. Focus first on whether there are any fundamental flaws in the kit, as currently used. Air in the system? Thermostat and pressure cap operating as they should? Fans are subordinate to the core of it all, cooling should up to task without them because the heat rejection is greatest when power output is greatest. Autocrossing, for example, is a situation where the fans would rightly be expected to be called upon, top speed runs on track not so much though each is a case of high heat rejection.
Shrouding is of serious merit when employed to duct air where flow would be most effective. One wants the flow in through the nose aperture to be channeled through the rad, not be able to bypass via leakage around the periphery. Also thought should be to flow outward aft of the rad as there will be no flow inward greater than that which is possible outbound. With a motor in proper tune the rate of heat rejection in slow traffic should not be all that remarkable, shouldn't require massive fans to keep that under control, no?
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Bumper is something representative of the Esprit theme, influenced by DOM item and IDGG prototype. Indicators will be Acura Integra ca. 90-91, wider than DOM but not so as to look out of place I do hope!
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Photo displaying replacement marine grade ply faired in with epoxy/cloth/Kevlar, cloth layers alternating light and coarse with every other coarse cloth weave clocked 45 degrees to maximize strength and stiffness. Door striker and upper/lower half joint repair well underway, same methods as bulkhead with epoxy/cloth only.
Custom front bumper creation project visible on the Workmate.
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Thank you both, Richard and Dave. Seems we have managed to promote Dave's business prospects along the way so happy faces all 'round.
I humbly concur with the advice to rectify the striker area as it will be suspect in most cases from what was seen on my otherwise fairly well finished S2. I worry that fractures in the area will serve as capillary pathways past the door seal and edge trim for those cars in all but the most dry climates. With enough neglect this may find it's way into the bulkhead ply and rot away. Note the discoloration trace on the ply aligns with the fracture in the door aperture flange. Dampness was prominent in the course of this car's life and what seepage had gone unnoticed was compounded by long storage, obscured if not worsened by the carpet and noise dampening mat.
For the sake of others' peace of mind I should suggest that most Esprit will probably have been more kindly treated. Still, the evidence of peril seems clear.
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PDF attached for Lez.
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Very interesting, please continue.
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For what it's worth I've cobbled up a simple AL profile pattern, picture attached. The inner radius was formed bending around a 3/8 drill shank in the vise. This is on an S2 from which the white filler/primer was just barely sanded through to the grey base primer. All layers are notably thin, gelcoat included. This car was never re-sprayed, first time down through the factory coats. Hope that will be of some worth as it's most worthwhile that the original crease lines be preserved.
Cheers
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George, what's your concern with regard to the wooden header rail? Mine is off pending tidy up of the headliner area.
Just about finished coffee and haven't forgotten about Rolls' wish for guidance on the fender crease profile. Shall be ready with that in the next several hours.
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Rimmer Brothers for the column mounted and dash switches, perusing those listed for Triumph Stag for the most part. Not sure there's anything amiss with the originality of those you have though.
Careful on presumptions of blame for the gaffer tape and tie-wrap efforts: I have a PDF collection of photos of your very car dated Dec. 2016 which was circulated by the chap in New Jersey whilst trying to sell the car last year. That fix of rad mounting was clearly in place at least by the time the PDF collection was circulated. Also visible is a photo of a vertical crack 2-3" in length in the rear bumper inboard of the RHS tail lamp. Love the car nonetheless, it's very much a diamond in the (not so) rough!
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Roland, I'll try to gauge the radius of the fender creases in the morning or as soon as I remember to do it thereafter!
Late now, bone weary from ice hockey, looking forward to the couch and a first peek at Paul Ricard since '80's GP TV.
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Wow! That roofline is perfection.
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If chassis blasting is yet to be done I'll offer 2 suggestions: have it blasted using something other than sand, walnut shell/garnet mixture does a fine job; know that it will take some doing to extract residual media from closed sections like the forward box/turrets. I clodged a length of heater hose onto the shop-vac in order to be able to snake into the further reaches. There will be quite the measure of material left there and it must be removed so as not to form a corrosion trap.
Agree that powder coat is not to be preferred. Well applied paint is better for this application. I'll attach a photo of the chassis, post blasting.
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Again, Dave, thanks for this trove of insight. I am readying the hatch seal for fitting to the hatch, and have revisited use of the metal rule to guide shaping the arc of its top. In terms of the door to body gaps does closing these require adding glassfibre to the edges, or is filler sufficiently stout?
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I was thinking, in error, that the S3 may have perch integral with the front damper. Now having reviewed the S3/ T/E Parts Manual I see that the spring is carried on a perch integral with the lower arm. Therefore I certainly agree there's reason to examine the rubber isolator.
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I'm not sure whether competent advice or work in GRP car bodies is as elusive in the UK as it is here in the New World. Perhaps owing to some ignorant bias that only things metallic can have structural qualities it seems all too typical that collision repairs are apt to be made by professionals largely with filler. One would hope for better, and perhaps it has improved here over the years with so much new wealth rolling around. In the course of a short drive home after a Friday lunch downtown this time of year one might expect to spot 2 Maclarens, a Lambo, several Porsches and the odd Ferrari or Corvette. Wouldn't care to count the Mustangs, Challengers and Camaro's, sundry Japanese toys, etc. So we should be past the point where GRP in cars was solely seen in usage for unstressed panels, like those Chevrolet clapped onto the Corvettes or those air-scooped bonnets on the original Pony cars. Lotus, incidentally, are relatively scarce to this day and it always turns my head when an Elise, Exige or Evora is spotted. Seven variants are spotted on rare occasions, otherwise it's the odd V-8 Esprit again rarely.
To the point of structural value disregarded in regard to GRP, the paint blast/removal revealed that my driver's side door had been clouted and repaired at some point. After lengthy work hogging away at filler from the inside with an angle grinder It became evident that nothing was to be gained in the effort so I switched to a cutting wheel and what was eventually extracted turned out to be a 5 x 16" resin section largely bereft of fibre. Thankfully, that was the only damage of consequence suffered in the hands of the PO's.
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Dave, that's superlative work, thanks for the ample guidance. I had read earlier threads where the metal rule method was described ( likely by yourself ) and did muck about with it a bit. With the hatch now fitted with its hinges I will review the state of things before proceeding to filling.
I believe you had made a cautionary remark as to the challenge of bringing door edge gaps tighter, can you elaborate a bit on that process?
Must the body be sanded right down to the pink gelcoat or will it be OK to paint over the grey (primer?) if finished to proper standard?
Is it possible to add air con to a Dry Sump Turbo??
in Engine/Ancilliaries
Posted
Good point, Tim, I am thinking from the perspective lent through work on my OEM a/c equipped car. So then the heater only cars can block the fresh air flow without going to recirculated?