http://www.exit109.com/~mfennell/lotus/chassis/

I can't remember if mine had cracks like this lat time I looked or not...

But it would be nice to have this.

I can really feel the chassis flex in the Esprit.

 

Just looking at picture #2 it doesn't seem like the reinforcing plate would be hard to fabricate. Is it just bolted to the chassis spine?

 

The owner who had that done, had a reinforcing box welded into the chassis recess and the plate bolts to that. Kind of a big deal on a galvanized chassis, and one that might distort with welding.

 

Supposedly they fixed or made the area stronger in 93 maybe 94???

Is that plate enough to do it? If so that would not seem to be that bad. I though maybe I had to tack it. My welding skill is not all that great and I'm more like a novice.

 

Here is a V8 shifter box with the bolt holes for a plate.

Plate attached.

 

FYI:
More pics of the reinforcement mod.

 

Calvin,

The machinist who welded the attachment points for the s300 engine bay brace and the did the shifter reinforcement for Mike lives just down the street from me. Stop by sometime and we can run over there for an introduction.

Unfortunately, the work is much easier to do with the body off the chassis.

Regards,
Tim Engel

 

Calvin

Unfortunately, the work is much easier to do with the body off the chassis.

Regards,
Tim Engel

I take my earlier statement back about running out things to take apart. The body is the just about the only thing left I have not considered taking apart LOL.

I've started chatting to JW off line about the car as he seems to know details of the car. Nothing special just what is expected out of an Esprit. I have a good feeling about this car. Once it is done I think it will be as trouble free as my old 90. We'll talk at breakfast and I'll fill you in about LOG 34 and about how many LOON's are going to LOG 35 in Colorado.

 

curious,

is there an easily noticed difference in feel when shifting with that done?

 

It's not for shifting feel. It's to reduce chassis twist.

 

If you drive the Esprit as a sporty street car/ cruiser, then it's unlikely that you'll ever notice the improved handling that comes with the extra chassis stiffness this modification provides. However, if you often track the car, or like to push the car's handling limits on back country roads, then you may notice the difference. It's real.

The modification also addresses the structural problem of cracks occurring in the chassis, so it's worth doing the mod whether you're likely to feel the difference or not.

Chassis stiffness is essential to good handling, and the Esprit's skinny backbone chassis is only marginal as a street car and not really adequate as a trackday/ race car. The X180R added a roll cage option that tied into the chassis near the upper spring perches at all four corners. That really stiffened the overall chassis (!), and made an in-your-face difference in handling. Compared to that, the shifter hole reinforcement mod is a baby step, but it's a step none the less. Do it more to improve the chassis' structure than to improve the handling.

Regards,
Tim Engel

 

Roll cage, see below.

Since robustness of the point E joint contributes significantly to the overall vehicle stiffness, with roll cage or without, I would use 3/8" bolts at this location.

On later cars, Lotus added special anchor plates w/sleeves, but kept M8 bolts.