Lotus Esprit S2 - Chassis Walkaround
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ก.ค. 2024
- A long overdue look at my Lotus Esprit S2 chassis after I've lifted the body off. It doesn't look to be in too bad condition in terms of any actual damage to it but there is a lot of surface rust, hopefully that's all it is but once I have it stripped back and blasted the full extent of the rust I'm sure will reveal itself!
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I can't wait to be a part of your journey restoring this beautiful Lotus! Thank you for giving us a window into the project.
Thanks! 🙌
Thanks for an interesting & useful video. I have a non- runner S2 Esprit that I'm planning a body off restoration on.
More close up video of the chassis & components please! 👍
Ah cool! Yes I’ll be doing lots more as I start unbolting things!
Great information. Totally agree, that’s what court my eye, the engine and transmission layout. Inherently superb handling, even by modern day supercar standards
Keep the wheels on for as long as possible. Any parts that were sourced from other cars and are still available it’s worth getting new old stock and packing the original parts away for the next guy. It will save you time and money and grief. Great progress.
Great to see you back Mark. What a superb project it is. So cool the way you can take the body off and actually get to everything, so much easier. Looking foward to the bike vid next, looks a lot of fun. Regards Andrew
Thanks Andrew! 🙌
Good to see you back. Looking forward to seeing more.
Thanks Matt!
you got yourself a Triumph? congrats to that, even if finding time for all is always a challenge ;)
that chassis doesn't look as bad as one might have expected. seems to be holding up quite well.... best of luck getting all the heavy stuff off!
Ha I wish it was a Triumph! It’s actually a learner-legal Chinese bike that I’ve got to practice on before I do my bike test at some point, it’s styled to look like an old British bike but it’s a modern 125cc!
@@granblogismo goes to show those Chinese have figured out how to make a pretty bike! have fun with it!
I owned a Lotus Esprit S2 many years ago. Registration was EBO 307V. Not sure if it’s still around. It was an amazing car to drive.
Cool! A white one? Seems it’s on a SORN, last MOT 2009 and last V5 issued 2012, hopefully getting restored 🤞
@@granblogismo Yes a white one. It’s on the cover of Lotus Esprit The Complete Story by Jeremy Walton. The owner after be did a restoration to mint condition I believe.
It's not a strut suspension, let alone a Chapman strut!. A strut is rigidly attached to the upright and the Esprit dampers have a conventional rubber bush at the bottom.
BTW, I've been looking at a possible alternative to the marginal and increasingly expensive Austim Maxi rear wheel bearings.
Whoops! My bad 🤣 I’m sure I’d read/heard it was called that but I suppose what I should have said was that the driveshaft is used as a link in the suspension (like a Chapman strut) rather than it being that design, looking at pictures of the Elan chassis I can see the difference!
@@granblogismo I'm sure you did read that online, I've read it myself and seen many people quote it.
A Chapman strut used to be a very specific arrangement of parts. The driveshaft forms the ONLY transverse link, with a radius arm and strut rigidly attached to the bearing carrier/hub. An absolutely minimal and typically Chapman solution. Like the MacPherson strut, the term has become a generic and is now applied to any strut used on the rear of a vehicle. The Elan doesn't have a Chapman strut, since the driveshaft isn't a locating link.
The original MacPherson strut has a transverse lower link, braced by an anti-roll bar (like the bottom link on the front of your S2). That arrangement is a specific feature of the original Patent.
Thanks for the information! I’ve definitely learnt something 😂
If you still have the red plastic clutch pipe throw it away and buy a braided one from PNM
Yep it’s on the list of things to upgrade/change, the existing one got damaged anyway when taking it off the master cylinder 🤣 by damaged I mean I cut it off in frustration!
You’ve got to get the chassis dipped. Do restorers of the S2’s generally galvanise the chassis? Interesting to know if you’re going to tune the engine, as I’ve heard the early cars are a bit down on power?
Yeah I was planning on looking into it, I don’t think it’s that common for people to do it but could just be because the car itself isn’t that common plus if you dip sometimes it can be tricky to get to all the nooks and crannies within boxed-in bits so might end up missing sections but I guess that’s true of blasting too. Yeah planning on ‘spicing’ up the engine a bit with head work mainly and better manifolds/exhaust maybe cam but want to keep it drivable at normal speeds. 160hp standard from the 2 litre which isn’t actually bad for the time but I think people expected more from the looks/price
@@granblogismo When I had mine I lived in Marlow Buckinghamshire and took a friend to Henley on Thames. I remember the XR3i had just been released and one of them came up behind me fast. So as was the norm back then I thought I would see how fast the Ford Escort was. I shot off and he followed. The Lotus handling was far too good for the Ford and I arrived in Henley and was queuing in traffic at the bridge when the Escort arrived a few minutes later. I read his lips that said f-ing hell that’s quick.
I remember when my friend got out his legs were like jelly 😂 The Esprit might not have had the ultimate performance to match its looks but it had ultimate handling for its time.