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Renegade Hybrids LS V8 Esprit Conversion Kit/Pricing Info!

41K views 178 replies 23 participants last post by  Scaldcat 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi All!
Just heard from Scott of Renegrade Hybrids.

Renegade Hybrids

They are the ones that did the G-body Esprit LS V8 conversion a while ago and since last year, have been talking to them about specs and pricing for a kit that the Esprit community can use to convert an Esprit to an LS V8 or a kit to do the Porsche Boxter S transaxle conversion that they use in their conversions.

Sadly, things were delayed due to a tragic accident last year, where they lost one of their own, but now they have pricing and info for those who prefer to do the conversions on their own. As always, they are still offering full conversions at their facilities in Las Vegas. Be sure to check out that Esprit LS V8 youtube link below as well.

Here's is the announcement and pricing, as well as contact info, that I received from him below:



Renegade LS-V8 Lotus!

Thank you for your interest in our new Lotus Esprit LS-V8 conversion kit. As of Spring 2017, we completed the engineering, construction, testing, and the first small production run of Lotus Esprit conversion kits. The test car you saw in the video used our production parts with obvious success. We are so pleased with the outcome to say the least!

Then came a very unfortunate and tragic delay...

The development team at Renegade Hybrids has consisted of a pool of engineers in Vegas at the shop, as well as two brilliant engineers/machinists/fabricator/consultants that have been contributors to our 30+ years of success from the beginning. Shortly after the first Lotus production parts were completed, we lost one of extended family in a tragic accident. It took us a 'second' to find our collective way back to this project with good reason. Thank you for your patience and your hundreds of emails.

Now, let's have some fun!


Here are all the parts we offer:


$3895 - Adapter Kit (Flywheel, Clutch Disc, Pressure Plate and Hardware)

- Rear Custom Lotus to Boxster S six speed Transmission Mount

- Front Custom Engine Mount uprights and rubber isolators


***REQUIRES*** Bolt-on outboard brake system from later Esprit


$995 - Custom Axle Kit

$995 - Electric Water Pump Kit


This kit requires the six speed Porsche Boxster S transaxle, shifter and stock cables, and may require an outboard brake conversion kit. The Boxster six speeds are readily available for roughly $2000 on Ebay or through your local salvage yards, and outboard conversion kits can be sourced for as little as $1200.

We use a front accessory kit to put the AC and Alternator up high from Dirty Dingo Motorsports GM LS Gen 3 LS1 Gen 4 Conversion Swap Engine Mounts and Accessory Brackets who specialize in front belt-drive serpentine systems. Some modifications will be necessary to make it shallow enough to clear the Lotus fire-wall.

If a reliable Lotus Esprit with loads of cheap power is in your dreams, let a Renegade conversion kit wake you up to reality:




Thank you for your continued interest, your patience, and your persistence. It's time to for Renegade to go British!

Sincerely,
Scott >>> Renegade Hybrids
Renegade Hybrids
702-739-8011
 
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#101 ·
Still waiting for the back-ordered crate motor and Holley LS3 harness. Currently reassembling the steering rack with the Lotus Marques rebuild kit. Its innards appear identical to stock except for tapered roller bearings in place of stock ball bearings, and a bronze bush in place of stock nylon. The tighter tolerances and smoother action of the new bearings is noticeable.

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#134 ·
It not just the bearing, its that the rack wears in the center more than the ends. Either its fine in the steering wheel's neutral position and tight when you turn the wheel to the right or left limits or vice versa. I bought a new rack from SJ, to give me piece of mind ($455), but they also have rebuild units for $308. When I started on this project the Esprit only had 25,000 miles.
 
#106 ·
So, um, I have a friend that is considering this Renegade swap as well.
Had a bunch of questions if you don't mind:

Porsche 986S rebuilt transaxle with Wavetrack LSD
Who is the vendor for this unit?
Or did you buy a core and have someone rebuild it?

Boyd aluminum fuel tanks
Do you have a picture of the fuel tanks?

Holley 12.3" digital dash
Why did you select this unit? Easier integration with the LS wiring harness?

The LS3 backorder - are you buying a new crate engine from GM with hardness?
Or another source?

My friend is looking really seriously into this conversion - looking for information from a trailblazer as yourself ;-)

Eddie
 
#107 ·
So, um, I have a friend that is considering this Renegade swap as well.
Had a bunch of questions if you don't mind:


Who is the vendor for this unit?
Or did you buy a core and have someone rebuild it?

Scott at Renegade has a local source for used 986S transaxles from which to choose good examples and return problematic ones. He subcontracts the rebuilds to a local race shop. It is not cheap. The Wavetrack LSD was his recommendation.

A stock Boxter 6-speed cable shifter can be fitted to the top of the tunnel or nested into the tunnel similar to the stock Lotus arrangement. Renegade offers a bespoke cable shifter, or one can go with a Numeric 986S shifter. I'm still deciding that.

Do you have a picture of the fuel tanks?


Why did you select this unit? Easier integration with the LS wiring harness?

Most Renegade projects mate the GM harness and GM LS3 ECU to the stock Lotus harness. I would probably have taken that approach, had not my '85 required a full tear down. The Holley dash and Dominator EFI CPU use a simplified canbus-style harness, and (unlike the GM ECU) are fully programmable. The dash display of "instruments" is of course also programmable. It should be possible to program its touch screen switches to operate and display ancillary circuits such as blinkers & hazard lights and headlamps.

The LS3 backorder - are you buying a new crate engine from GM with hardness?
Or another source?

I ordered the LS3/495 crate engine from Renegade-- who is a GM Performance dealer. Unfortunately it is still on back-order!

I liked the idea of purchasing as much kit as possible from one supplier. So far so good. However, it has become clear that th e complete Renegade kit is not yet fully "productized." I'm waiting for them to finish prototyping the accessories frame that mounts the AC compressor and alternator to the front of the engine. The water pump will be electric, and I'm looking at the possibility of an electric AC compressor.

My friend is looking really seriously into this conversion - looking for information from a trailblazer as yourself ;-)

Eddie
Thanks! Answers embedded in above quotation.

Dave
 
#112 ·
Cool. Looking forward to updates, and pics if possible.
 
#114 ·
In process of replacing the stock HVAC evaporator and heater block with a Classic Auto Air Cooler IV. The stock vacuum lines and flaps are eliminated; all Cooler IV servos are electric motors with digital controls via ECU. Air intake is recirculated cabin air via Spal blower... I replaced the stock air intake plenum and GRP shroud in the bonnet with a flat aluminum panel. The opening allows removal of the Cooler IV through the bonnet for service. With that my low back already feels better. The car's relay and fuse panels and probably the Holley Dominator ECU will mount to the bonnet side of the alum panel.
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#116 ·
They are Hillman stainless steel T-nuts, each secured by two small SS rivets. I looked at Rivnuts and may use some in other aspects of the project, but after the mediocrity of spinning OEM lead bobbins and rusted out panel clips, am determined to use well-fixed fasteners that won't rot or loosen through use. BTW I like to think that the alum firewall adds a bit of stiffness to the GRP body.
 
#117 ·
Speedway/ABS Power Brake, Inc. master cylinder and 14A electric pump in situ with copronickel lines and Wilwood proportioning valve. Wilwood makes a cable extender for brake bar setups that can likely be adapted to bring remote control of their hydraulic proportioning valve into the cabin. The electric pump mounts below level of the master cyl. for gravity return of fluid from master cyl. to pump.

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#118 ·
Interesting - did you consider just installing non power brakes with correct size MCyl?

I did not even realize this was on the market. Very curious to get your report of pedal feel. Have you used one of these before?
 
#120 ·
Interesting - did you consider just installing non power brakes with correct size MCyl?

I did not even realize this was on the market. Very curious to get your report of pedal feel. Have you used one of these before?
I can see wheels turning in Erik's head about a kit to replace the Esprit ABS systems with an aftermarket system (vs. Delco delete).
 
#121 ·
A diversion. I removed the headlight pods to start in on conversion to LED lamps and linear actuators. Removal was a good idea, as the outer pivot bush in both pods had self-destructed with rust. Lotus should have used an eyelit bearing in the outer location(as used in the inner side pivot) but there is insufficient clearance on the outer side for the riveted-in eyelit mounting plate. So now the outer bearing pivot is machined alloy. I see from the parts manual that all of this was redesigned after 1987.

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#123 · (Edited)
Test fitting of front left suspension: SJS upper wishbones adjustable camber kit, PUK poly bushings, Nitron shock, modified 5 x 108 hub from a late model Esprit, and Wilwood 6-puck caliper with 12" disk as supplied by Claudius with his S4S mounting bracket. Oddly, the securing bolts for the mounting bracket are inserted from the outboard side between the brake disk and the caliper(a very cramped space!), rather than from the inboard side of the upper link as per stock Esprit. The easiest approach is to remove the caliper from its mounting bracket, mount the bracket by itself, then bolt the caliper onto the bracket. Much frustration trying to mount the two as a single assembly.

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#124 ·
The back end is where it gets interesting. If you are doing the outboard conversion (you need the Stevens hubs), let me know and I'll give you the Wilwood part numbers for the rear brake set up.

I believe I had to have Custom Rotor Hats built...

I worked with the Wilwood engineers in Camarillo, CA and they put together what they described as an "Excellent Brake Package" based upon the set up sold by Lotus by Cladius and SJ.

The Nitrons are the best of the best, although I would have liked some adjusters on the front shocks.

SJ has the springs to match, although you will need a booster spring from Eibach to keep the rear spring in place when the car is lifted, because the shock length is slightly long.

Just an FYI...the Nitrons and Spring combination will allow the car to be lowered to Euro Specs...unless you like it riding as high as a Camaro.
 
#125 ·
Thanks. I acquired a Stevens rear end salvaged from an '89 as well as Claudius's matching rear brackets for Wilwood.
The Nitron V8 kit came with helper springs. I had Nitron lower their stock front and rear spring rates to 375. Hopefully that won't be too stiff. Toward the tail of the project the frame will be stiffened at the shifter cavity, at the interior face of the bulkhead, and in the engine bay from the bulkhead to the rear shock towers-- so I'm fairly confident that moderately stiffer springs rates are the right thing to do, or at least to begin with.

Turned out that Claudius's Wilwood front brake kit was shipped to me with brackets on backwards-- which accounts for earlier remarked aigues during installation...
 
#128 ·
Thanks. I acquired a Stevens rear end salvaged from an '89 as well as Claudius's matching rear brackets for Wilwood.
The Nitron V8 kit came with helper springs. I had Nitron lower their stock front and rear spring rates to 375. Hopefully that won't be too stiff. Toward the tail of the project the frame will be stiffened at the shifter cavity, at the interior face of the bulkhead, and in the engine bay from the bulkhead to the rear shock towers-- so I'm fairly confident that moderately stiffer springs rates are the right thing to do, or at least to begin with.

Turned out that Claudius's Wilwood front brake kit was shipped to me with brackets on backwards-- which accounts for earlier remarked aigues during installation...
I don't know if it needs all that. The X180R only had a top cage that was bolted in, and that was left off the race car after it became a pain to remove it every time the car was serviced.

You don't want to create rigid points on the frame because, like a weld, the weakest area will be next to it.

Looking at the frame, I would only add an additional diagonal brace, that replicates the existing lower right side diagonal brace on the lower frame area...if that.
 
#126 ·
While fitting the sway bar, I noticed that the gating factor on front suspension sag is the body of the Nitron shock in slight contact with the lower pivot arm. This degree of sag is probably rarely encountered in driving, but should I grind a slightly larger arc in the arm so there in NO contact at full sag?

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#129 · (Edited)
While fitting the sway bar, I noticed that the gating factor on front suspension sag is the body of the Nitron shock in slight contact with the lower pivot arm. This degree of sag is probably rarely encountered in driving, but should I grind a slightly larger arc in the arm so there in NO contact at full sag?

View attachment 1346399 View attachment 1346400
?????
 
#131 ·
Front and rear Nitrons that I ordered in late 2021 have the same design features--each with adjustable springs and a combined damping/rebound adjustment at the top of the stem. Pictured is the rear shock, with an asymmetrical boss at the pivot. The front shock's pivot is symmetrical and precisely fits the front suspension pivot. Pictured here with a DIY adapter for the '85 rear tower.

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#132 · (Edited)
My mistake.
I had Spax, trashed them because the length was ridiculous, considered Nitron, but went with AVO. I was warned about the issue that you are dealing with while I was researching, so AVO was the choice. I bought the shocks and springs from PNM. The "Adapter" that you made (made exactly the same) was not required and was trashed with the install of the new springs. The shocker was that the Esprit can now be lowered to Euro specs.
 
#133 ·
Have you tried to lower the alternator to where the vacuum pump would be located? I'm yanking my alternator this afternoon, seeing if there is space (and if there is) having a custom bracket water jetted this week. Don't like the Alternator so close to the coil and side panel. The AC compressor and Alternator need to be made more compact or need to be relocated. I'm trying to clear space possibly for 180 degree headers...If Duke would ever return my calls.
 
#135 ·
In the next few days I'll have the rebuilt steering rack in place and see how it feels. All with fresh U joints and ball joints.

The Sanden AC compressor, Powermaster 200A alternator, and Moroso electric water pump in the Renegade LS3 conversion are fairly compact pieces and positioned differently than a 910. I'm still a ways off from the engine bay.

After widening the hole in the pivot arm to increase clearance, the Nitron shock now clears the pivot arm across the full range of suspension travel. Thank you Dr. Hess. The welded seams along the edge of the arm hole that contribute to its strength remain intact. The shock could not have been even one mm wider for this application.

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#136 ·
In the next few days I'll have the rebuilt steering rack in place and see how it feels. All with fresh U joints and ball joints.

The Sanden AC compressor, Powermaster 200A alternator, and Moroso electric water pump in the Renegade LS3 conversion are fairly compact pieces and positioned differently than a 910. I'm still a ways off from the engine bay.

After widening the hole in the pivot arm to increase clearance, the Nitron shock now clears the pivot arm across the full range of suspension travel. Thank you Dr. Hess. The welded seams along the edge of the arm hole that contribute to its strength remain intact. The shock could not have been even one mm wider for this application.

View attachment 1346462 View attachment 1346463 View attachment 1346465
The unevenness may not be the rack, but rather the column. There is a diamond cut section for crash impact absorbtion that gets easily bent and ends up rubbing the inside the column outer tube.

Renegade's water pump is a Meziere, not a Moroso. Scott at Renegade and Dave Meziere are buddies.
 
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