LSV Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 Hello, I'm currently working on my 84 Esprit Turbo (with factory fitted sunroof) and as the old capping rails were brittle and non present at some stages, I decided to order a couple of new one from SJ Sportscars. However I have some trouble in actually mounting them. Along the windscreen, I have no problems at all, but as soon as I'm at the roofline, the slot, which is available at the A pillar, is not present. How did Lotus solve this in the past? I haven't got an original example at hand, as they were originally missing on my car... Did they cut a part of the inner rail of? Did they bend a part of this rail in order to get "past" the front parts of the roof? I seem to have the same problem towards the rear of the vehicle, where the hinges for the tailgate are mounted. How does this silver trimline go pass the hinge? Best regards, Ruud-Peter Lemmens, The Netherlands Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molemot Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 You have to cut away the bit that goes into the windscreen slot from the windscreen back to the end of the silver trim, and tailor it around the hinge mount. Have you removed the capping rail itself? I found it best to pop rivet the silver trim to the roof and slot the capping rail into the trim, then rivet the capping rail to the side of the roof above the door aperture. It's a bit fiddly, but a few tries at fitting without actually fixing it in place should soon make it clear. My silver trim has lasted about 10 years since I replaced it and is going a bit manky now, so I may be facing the whole deal again... Quote Scientists investigate that which already is; Engineers create that which has never been." - Albert Einstein Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSV Posted February 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 Hello, Haven''t removed the capping rail itself yet, but should be the best thing to do I guess.. Thanks for your word of advice, simply wasn't sure whether I'd have to cut into the capping rail trim. Regards, Ruud-Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wern Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 Hi,also dont forget to resilicone it before pop riveting otherwise it will leak. Be careful not to trim the rail too close to the chrome bit or water will get in and discolour it as I found out!I actually slid my rails in the slot by the hinges,front to back,if you see what I mean!Hope this is not too late,only just saw the thread. Cheers Paul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSV Posted February 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 Hello, No, it's not too late yet;-) Stefan invited me to his place last weekend, and showed me his Turbo Esprit, so I was able to see how the trim was attached. As the weather still is pretty rainy here, I wasn't able to start with the procedure yet. I'll be using SIKA 221, rather than silicone, as SIKA is a specialist bonding kit, normally used in boating industry and is fully acid free, which is a bit better for the paintwork. Also had a first drive in an Esprit ever! I've driven mine onto the driveway to start working on it, so only 5 metres.... Stefan took me along in his registered and finished Turbo Esprit. The ride was absolutely beyond my expectations. What a beautiful car, absolute superb handling and simply not comparable to anything I've ever driven. It surely surpasses a Porsche 911 in handling in corners. Didn't expect it to be that fast.... Regards, RP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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