SAVE THE ESPRIT VARI MOULDS - HELP REQUIRED!

[Simon350S 192]

Anyone else with ideas or offers?

We'd be a bunch of very stupid people to let this opportunity slip by.... Well us Esprit owners & lovers who don't want/can't afford any of the future Lotus lineup would be!

[andydclements 749]

I would offer except the barn is rather full, actually too full.

[streetz 0]

How about the Austria-option? There is no toll on highways and the distance is only 300km more...

For financing the trip I would suggest, that everyone, who wants to benefit from the moulds donates an amount (e.g. for fuel, ferry, etc.?).

[Tony K 127]

I'll donate $100 USD or thereabouts to come to some round number in GBP or Euro.

I don't have (and refuse to get) PayPal, so if anyone can take a credit card, PM me, or I'll find a friend to PayPal you on my behalf. Will pay as soon as a plan is set.

In a worst case scenario, if you can get them on a boat to New Jersey or Baltimore, I'll pick them up from the port, and will make or find space for them. Then you can all come to visit me while you hand-lay your carbon fiber Esprit bodies!

[Bibs 11,096]

That's very good of you folks. If we can raise the cash required or someone steps up with a lorry, it's a go. We've got about a week I think until they're in a skip otherwise.

[streetz 0]

When there is a plan (who drives it when to whom, and how are the storage conditions there, e.g. is it possible to work with the moudls), I´ll give 50 EUR in the pot.

Edited October 3, 2010 by streetz

[jollyroger 9]

As it has been asked before but not replied: are the moulds only the X180 ones?

[Bibs 11,096]

The moulds are for the top and bottom halves of the car, this didn't change. I'm guessing bumpers/sills/tailgate/bonnet etc have their own moulds.

[streetz 0]

Are there other moulds available? E.g. to built a whole Esprit

[MPx 267]

I've got a C license (the old HGV Class 2) if that's of any use - I've not got a lorry but have hired an 18 tonner from Falcon hire in Bridgewater before now to help with family removals so it can be doen if we want to throw money at it. Generally happy to help out whenever I can. If we've got to hit a very short deadline then the best I can do would be to hitch up the open car trailer to the Rangey and do the pick up with that. As you know Bibs I've got loads of outdoor space for storage (long or short term) but the barn is already full. Happy to do a two stager - get the moulds now and bring them back to Somerset until a plan can be hatched to get them somewhere inside. If it helps, I'm coming up to London anyway on Tuesday (5th) so could carry on up to Norfolk if req'd. Am otherwise occupied towards the end of the week.....

[DanR 69]

Love to have them if everything else fails but getting them to Australia would be a problem. Anybody else in oz want to join up and try to bring them here?

[rogerch 63]

It's a thought but ideally they should go somewhere where there is expertise to turn out finished product, then there are questions about the other panels, doors, hatch, head lights etc.

Partial panels like front quarter, rear panel etc, if someone needs a whole new body there's likely not much left.

Really if you're going to fork out to get them over here, you'd like to recoup some of it back.

[Advantage 910]

The moulds are big and heavy, too big for a trailer and Range Rover - ask me how I know...

As for the other comments, at the moment we are just attempting to save the moulds and jigs. There has been no indication from the factory about aquiring the rights to commercially reproduce the Esprit shape.

[Simon350S 192]

Oh...

Thats a bit shit, didn't think of that! I guess there could be all sorts of legal ramblings stopping us from actually using them to make money...

That could make the difference between someonw wanting to contribute financially or not. I was seeing it as more of an investement..... Hmmmm...

I don't think enough about things clearly, its happened before you know

[MPx 267]

Ahhh hadn't appreciated that they were so big/heavy. Do you know specific numbers on weight and size?

This is what I hired before. I got that size because it was almost exactly the same dimensions inside as a single garage (in fact the lorry was slightly longer) which at the time I had crammed with all of my sister-in-laws worldlies which needed taking from Bromley to Tiverton. They also do a curtain sider about the same size.

A big concern with this will be unloading. I'm guessing there will be fork truck/handling kit at the pick up end. I'm not going to be able to unload at my place (or most others) without some more kit. Depending on its actual size and stacking characteristics, one of these might be more useful so we have use of a crane. I haven't got a HIAB certificate so dont know if they'd hire it to me anyway - but they might.

[Loose Cannon 582]

For ease of transport don't you just need the outer mould? Any future layup will be done by hand so you don't need the inner unless you have a VARI machine.

As regards storage I don't think being outside will harm them if they are protected; when I visited a fibreglass specialists near the factory they had the moulds for the Elan, +2, Eutopa etc all sitting outside uncovered and apparently festering away for the past 30 years. The owner reckoned once you had washed the potatoes out and given them a polish they were quite capable of producing a shell.

[matk 17]

In light of some of the comments I'd like to make it clear I didn't see my financial contribution as an investment. I'm just very aware that Bibs carries the cost for everything, and on this occasion saw an opportunity to put a little back for the greater good of the community. Big thumbs up to Tony K and Streetz for coming up with donations too.

[Simon350S 192]

I too am willing to stick decent £££ in but we need a good few more to get the total to whats needed.

I guess the problem is we could all stick £ into this and then Lotus could say that we couldn't use them to do anything which means we'd be stuck with some rather expensively transported fish ponds.....

Hmmm... Fish pond....

That gives me an idea

Edited October 4, 2010 by Simon350S

[esprit s2 94]

If France is too far then I have a garage in Buckhurst Hill, Essex, that you could store them in. Wouldn't be a long term solution but I could keep them for a year or so.

[Dan 0]

Bibs - I'm happy to chip in to help with transport costs because these look too useful to scrap!

Hmmm... Fish pond....

That gives me an idea

Nah - my gut instinct says we need an awful lot of

[Laura 20]

I've already been told off for such a suggestion Dan

[streetz 0]

I think, we're getting closer to a solution. I'm not really interessted in a commercial use of the mould, but in a Personal use. Is building an Esprit for own use also included in the Not-allowed-terms of Lotus? ;-)

[Günter 28]

I'm owner of the 44t-Euro classification drivers license ..if this is of any help.

And I'm also interested if the molds only work for the early Stevens-car ..or does it match up on every change up to the V8 too ?? As the basic body looks similar -where are all the 'outer sill' and roof line molds located now ?

The mentioned storage/reproduction space I refered to is located south of Berlin -in a friends small 'kit-car' garage.. if that is suitable for the plans. But I would have to ask with explicit informations/plans on what you want to do with it. There are many molds indors and outdors -but not all are used actually.

[Bibs 11,096]

Through public and some private promises we're halfway there on the cash required.

Interesting though that we'll only need one half, makes good sense too and I doubt we'll need the bonding jig if we're only making panels, only the fettling jig for cutting holes which makes me more confident we'll get it all on a 7.5 tonne truck

Any more offers of cash would be very welcome. Rest assured any overage will be returned proportionally, any shortfall I'll probably cover myself.

I will also confirm with Lotus that we can use them too! I doubt they'd be offering them to us with restrictions so this is most likely a moot point.

[andecorp 12]

I have the space here in Australia. Indoors, climate controlled. The container to bring them here will only be about AU$2k (1,300GBP).

I am not looking for an investment but purely to preserve Lotus history. All I would request from you guys is to get them to a sea port.