Running my Esprit S4 down the 1/4 this weekend!

[d didit]

Andy, Centric,

Childs is a pretty good brand. I have heard that they make good alloy rods. Though I am not sure about there I-beam forged rods and pistons. When one is to consider what is going on, the wrist pin of the esprit is 1.000. The rod is around 1.002. The piston diameter from my memory is a standard of the shelf item. Rod length again is standard. All that is needed is the crank dia. and piston crown shape which is concave and the valve recesses. Then get the pushers tungsten bombarded and blam, you have a built motor. Or just simply send it to any company and have them do the work. Heh heh. Andy, call dave bean eng. and ask for tom, he is great in helping me with strange parts. Also, he has knowlege on these cars that boarders on strange or he has a manual that I don't have.

[MikeyRide]

quote:
What I would love to do is get a custom set of pistons, and rods for this motor. My mechanic seems to act like this will be difficult. I dont see how since a piston is a piston.

I think he forsees a major hassle. Not many people fool with these engines so there's not a good database of information and experience. He's imagining long waits, incorrect parts, etc.

[GUY JOHNSON]

My mechanic, made custom forged pistons for my 88. And unless you are going to race this engine stick with the stock rods.
The pistons i am using are "JE". They make a really good product. Even when they were racing The X180-r's They used stock rods.

[lawrence1]

Hey Azz ....
Unless your pistons are broke, dont change them. A change wont give you any more power. The Lotus pistons are of a very low-expansion rate alloy so they can run tight clearances in the bore. Think before you act here.
Same for the rods, if they aint broke, dont fix it. How many people have you heard of throwing a rod in a Lotus engine ?

[AZZKICKER]

Ok once again awesome info.

Thanks a ton for the contact info for the pistons!

O.K. just so everyone knows what I am trying to do here. This might help with the direction of your posts.

I want to get my car running again as quickly and inexpensivly as possible without getting any shoddy parts.

Just so you all know. I am only replacing what needs to be replaced. We have not pulled off the head yet so I am not sure what it looks like in there. The spark plug was beat to shit so I think the valve might have dropped since the engine wont turn over. Also I am sure the keepers fell as well and might have banged things up.

I might just need a new head, valve, spring, keepers, and a retainer. I am not sure yet. Worst case senario would be that the valve might have shot right through the top of the piston and thats why the motor is seized up. If this is the case then things might be really bad.

I am not concerned with the strength of the bottom end of this engine. I am not trying to build a race motor. I am just trying to get the car fixed the best way that I can. In some cases aftermarket rods, and pistons might even be cheaper then the lotus parts thats why I was asking about the forged parts.

Anyways I hope this helps.

Thanks for all of your help I check this site daily to read what everyone contributes. Hopefully it wont need all of this work. But I am just preparing myself for the worst case scenario.

Anyways thanks again fellas,

Andy Wheeler

[GUY JOHNSON]

I would not use the pistons. If your engine was going as you were comming home, most liley rodes and pistons will be damaged. ifthey had anylake of oil they are gone. I would just replace them. Don not take any chances. I have built racing engines in the past and when i lost the engine I found that my psitons suffered with sever micro craks, wich eventualy lead to piston failure.

[MikeyRide]

With apologies to the PistonHeads managers...

Andy, why haven't you joined the yahoo turboesprit list? There are a few people who have been into their engines and many who have pulled them, should you choose to do that for a little labor savings.