[a_CQ]

Hey Andy, so how is the car and you doing? You should update us once in a while!

 

[psychorallyfreak]

:stupid: :stupid: :stupid: :stupid: :stupid: :stupid: :stupid: :stupid: :stupid: :stupid: :stupid: :stupid:

 

[Drift Mc]

How about an update the last one was back in April.

 

[hilly]

Well the update is that there is no update............

I just drive it about when I feel like it and it has yet to let me down, hmmmmmmm I have probably jinxed it now.

I have been a bit quiet with this as I spent a fair bit of time moving house last year.
However, the new house has got a double garage so no more working on the car outside in the wet and cold, happy days.

I need to crack on with a few DIY jobs in the new house (new bathrooms, general decorating and a heap of landscaping), so when these are half way sorted I have a bunch of projects lined up.

So look out for more rambling and random photos in the future.

Hilly

 

[cyprusesprit]

bin looking kit cars!!they show conversion of Sierra front uprights using ball joints top and bot looking into it for my esprit,the roads here are bad,trunnions don t have very long life!! any thoughts?also due to old leg injury and wanting to keep Esprit trying to find auto transmission to fit the rover engine again any thoughts? my wife says get rid of the car!! no chance! d one many conversions myself over the years must admit you have done ex job

 

[fivecylindersoffury]

Incredible build. As an esprit fanatic, im so impressed by this. Excellent, I mean EXCELLENT work. You're one of the best fabbers I've seen!

 

[rathergoodaudis]

Hey Hilly, what's your current email? I would like to see your VEMS files for the ABZ.
PM me if you can.

Cheers!

 

[Bertholy]

Hi I hope someone help, Hilly can search in the forum, or his e mail. Re. Schaltungselemnte from Audi for Lotus

 

[lantanatx]

Hello Hilly,

I have read through your whole Lotus conversion thread and am very motivated to do something similar. I have done many engine swaps in the past. My current daily driver is a 2004 Crossfire that I swapped a 5.5L Mercedes V8 into. I am thinking about finding a 89 or newer Lotus and swapping in the new 412hp Ford coyote V8. I would be using the Renault transaxle as many Ford GT40 kit cars do. I was wondering if you knew if this engine will fit? it is 27.5 inches wide, 26 inches tall and 28 inches long. How does this compare to the Audi 4.2? Any chance of making it work? Thank you for any help you can give.

 

[hilly]

So, it has been 10 years to the day (yes, 10 YEARS !!!!) since there was a post to this thread, so about time for an update.

The short update is that I still have the car, I still use it and there have been no major issues.
I have made another one though, well sort of, I managed to find some 1:18 scale AZEV Type A wheels, so acquired a couple of 1:18 scale AutoArt Esprit models and set about modifying and painting one to look like mine:

Fairly happy with how that turned out.

As for the real one, this is it if you have forgotten what it looks like:

Mechanically I haven’t done anything to it, it just works.
I do need to pull the engine at some point and fit the front snubber mount (and make a bracket on the chassis for it) as it can get a bit jerky in first gear if you get the throttle/clutch bite wrong when in traffic.
Other than that, it is all good.

Different story for the interior...........................

When I got the car 20 years ago the interior was trashed, so when I got it back on the road I ended up fitting some aftermarket seats.
They were never the comfiest of things to sit in, so I have been keeping an eye out for some better alternatives.
Well, during the COVID pandemic in 2020 a pair of Recaro CS seats from a Lotus Evora (so have the fancy Lotus badge on the head rest) came up on eBay, so I bagged those:

Ripped out the old ones and then noticed that the carpets were still grotty, so ordered a new custom-made carpet set.
Now while the seats were out, I figured it was a good time to adjust the electric power steering column as at the time I fitted it the only one I could get hold of was a fixed unit which made the steering wheel a bit low.
Bought an adjustable angle column and ripped out the dash to fit it:

It was then that I though “hmmmmm, this wring loom has had 40 years of bodgery, I should look at that” so set about tidying up this which resulted in me re-doing the whole car wiring loom.
Well in that case I may as well fit a new double DIN touch screen head unit with Apple CarPlay and other fancy good stuffs

This simple seat swap is getting out of hand………………………….

The wiring loom tidy also resulted in sorting out the main fuse box(s) and relays which are in the glovebox, well the Lotus original glovebox lining is made from carboard as was looking somewhat worse for wear, so made a new one from sheet alloy:

Now fitting the new seats was not straightforward as they are a fair bit wider than the originals and hence some fabrication work was needed to the inner sills to get them to fit.
This involved making new handbrake and cable mounts as well and modifying the fiberglass inner sills to gain enough clearance:

Once that was done it was now just a case of fitting the carpets, steering column and dash back in:

Finally, in with the new seats, head unit, detachable sterring wheel to make access a bit easier (well I am getting on a bit now) and all done, much better:

There was a whole bunch of other stuff going along with the above, but this post is probably already too long.

So now I just need to sort out the bodywork with a repaint, but that is for the next decade.
See you in another 10 years !!!!!!

Hilly

 

[Peter L]

First sorry for my English.
I've been following this thread for a while because I'm also doing an ESPRIT + ABZ+01E DQS swap. I would like to thank Hilly very much because he saved me a lot of time and especially nerves.
Now to the topic of cooling. I am thinking about the possibility of turning both original cooling pipes (in the front, behind the radiator) to the same side, connecting them to a larger one and thus leading to the radiator, and inserting a d50mm pipe into the large hole in the middle of the beam (if I can't bend it, I will try a hose) for the return flow. I haven't yet measured whether I will be able to bypass the shift mechanism in that beam. Please write what you think, if it could work.
Thanks again hilly for the great help.
Peter.

 

[GTRClive]

Well read your build a long time ago. But recently I have had to read it again as I got offered a 88 X180 at a price I could not refuse... Citroen gearbox had gone but engine was good. The easy cheaper gearbox to fit being the 01E, has now lead me down the path of selling the lotus 910 engine and going to a Audi lump. For my sins I've bought a running 30 Valve 2.7 BiTurbo unit that bolts straight up to it. Got a friend whos running silly HP with his 2.7, but was told 4-500 HP is easy with them and a safe upper limit for that box.... So thanks for your thread as I'm sue it will come in handy.... Clive