Help with questions for potential new owner
Discussion
Just sold my Lotus Esprit V8 and got a bit of dosh burning a hole in my pocket. Ever since seeing the Ultimas up at Stoneleigh this year, I fell in love, as I expect all of you did. I am ex-mechanic, but not been for the last 20 odd years, so the Chevy engine appeals to me as quite basic and looking at the Ultimas at Stoneleigh, they appear to be very easy to work on if need be. I am hoping to go up to the factory on the 4th to meet Ted e.t.c., but would very much like some info beforehand and I apologise in advance for the length of this message, but I do like to research fully before committing.
Questions as follows:-
1) Looking at the various build sites, especially CJ`s, it would appear that the initial set up doing the ally panelling takes quite a long time. Is this something the factory will do, so the chassis comes already allyed up, hence saving quite a bit of time?
I appreciate it will cost more, but as this shows in the car, I would want it to be right.
2) What are the servicing costs roughly and how often and do they have to be returned to the factory for this?
3)What is the best engine for fast road use, so it gives good grunt, good roadholding and high speed cornering without any rear end input with the pendulum effect if too heavy, ala 911 Porsche.
I prefer more low down grunt and topping out around 140-150mph ish, with good times around the lanes and fast A+B roads. I like the idea of the 600bhp supercharged engine as it has massive torque and is cheaper than the equivalent 600bhp engine non-supercharged, which has less torque or am I better going for a 400-450bhp engine to keep weight and costs down?
If I take the supercharged engine, does this fit under the rear panels of the standard body or are there any mods that need doing.
4)The Porsche G50 box is stated by the factory as good for up to 600bhp, will the box last if I take a 600bhp engine and is there any feedback from you guys who have engines around this bhp? This was the problem with the Esprit, as the stock engine is 350bhp, but the engine can easily be taken up to 500-600bhp with a bit of fiddling and ECU resetting, but the gearbox is only a beefed up Renault 25 box, of which I had three in the 4 years of ownership!! hence my concerns for the max 600bhp on the Porsche G50 box.
5)What is the most time consuming thing other than the ally work at the start, as I am ok mechanically, but bodywork, I am not that hot on?
6) This is one of the most important questions. I am partially disabled after a bad motorbike accident some 20 years ago where I broke my back, pelvis, legs, arms, feet e.t.c. well pretty much everything, so the problem I have is my left ankle is really locked at a 90 degree angle due to arthritis where the ankle joint came out the back of my foot and I am still fully paralysed from my right knee down and wear a caliper.
I owned a Lotus Esprit V8 before and Lotus H/O made me a special pedal box where they removed the footrest and widened the pedals, as I have to wear wider shoes to accomodate my caliper and I was hitting the throttle everytime I went to brake, which is bloody dangerous in a Supercar.
They also fitted an offet extended steering wheel boss and a flat bottomed Momo wheel, which raised the wheel higher to give more leg and knee room. This is because the way I drive is I use my right heel as a pivot for the throttle and just use my thigh muscle to push on my heel which makes my foot go down. Luckily my caliper is sprung loaded and I fit a stronger throttle spring as well, as I rest on the throttle to drive.
To brake, I have to lift my whole leg up and then use the brake with the middle of my right foot. Also I have to do the same for the clutch with my left foot, as this foot is locked at 90 degrees due to the arthritis and again I have to lift my whole leg up to change gear, hence needing the leg room below the steering wheel.
Don`t worry, I have done the Advanced Driving with Coppers and they say my reactions are as good as a normally abled person, if not better. I have also done Rally days and come 2nd out of 28 before, so it seems to work for me.
My question is----Can the pedals be made to pivot down, rather than up, or are they only floor pivoted, ala the new TVR`s?
7) Would you recommend the AP set up and if so, 12.7 inch or 14 inch or is the standard set up ok.
I think CJ`s states the standard set up looks pretty naff with the new 18 inch wheels, please advise. If I go for the AP`s, which I did upgrade to on my Esprit and I was very happy with them as they stop on a sixpence, is it really worth the extra money to go for the 14 inchers rather than the 12.7`s, or are the 14 inch ones more for track use.
8) Would you recommend the Getrag or the Porsche box. The Getrag is 6 speed, has anyone got this box or the G60 Porsche one and how does this drive. I see the linkages are rod, rather than cable, which the Esprit was and the gearshift was a bit remote with cable. Do the boxes work fine and if so, can you make full use of the power low down in the 30-100mph range without having to double de-clutch e.t.c.
9) Are all the engines carbed with Holleys or can you get injection. If carbed, do these go out of zinc quite often and if so, how often.
10) If you go for the bigger bhp engines, i.e. over 400bhp, do you need to uprate the cooling and rad system to avoid overheating in stop/start traffic.
11)How well do these cars handle, they look great, but do they handle as well. The Tiff Needell Top Gear article states that it would not turn in in the wet, is this common in the wet and just corrects itself in the dry? It is not too much of a concern to me in the wet, as I pussyfoot around in it anyway, but I like to put full trust into my cars in the dry and if I am to do this, I want to know it will stick and actally go round the corner, please advise.
The car will not be my everyday car, so will hopefully only be used on dry days. If all days could be like the one at Stoneleigh this year, it would great.
I live in Bracknell, Berks, are any of you local to me. Guy Thompson has already replied and offered me to look at his car, which I am grateful to him for, but I would like to see as many as possible.
Lastly, I am a member still of the Lotus Esprit e-group and they are a great bunch of lads, very down to earth and very keen to help anyone with a problem. I hope that I can become a member of your group and do you have many meets a year, as with the Esprit, we used to have a hardened bunch of about 20-30 of us and we would organise a meet up at least once a month for a spirited drive and then a pub lunch and then just talk cars. It was very sociable and other halves could come, is this the same as for you guys and if so, how often do you meet? and where in the Bucks, Berks, Oxon, Surrey or Hants areas do you meet.
I could even organise a meet up with the Esprit guys, who love anything mechanically and as you know, with Lotus, it is very hands on!!
Sorry for the length of this message, but really want to get answers to all before next Saturday.
Any help you can give is gratefully appreciated.
Questions as follows:-
1) Looking at the various build sites, especially CJ`s, it would appear that the initial set up doing the ally panelling takes quite a long time. Is this something the factory will do, so the chassis comes already allyed up, hence saving quite a bit of time?
I appreciate it will cost more, but as this shows in the car, I would want it to be right.
2) What are the servicing costs roughly and how often and do they have to be returned to the factory for this?
3)What is the best engine for fast road use, so it gives good grunt, good roadholding and high speed cornering without any rear end input with the pendulum effect if too heavy, ala 911 Porsche.
I prefer more low down grunt and topping out around 140-150mph ish, with good times around the lanes and fast A+B roads. I like the idea of the 600bhp supercharged engine as it has massive torque and is cheaper than the equivalent 600bhp engine non-supercharged, which has less torque or am I better going for a 400-450bhp engine to keep weight and costs down?
If I take the supercharged engine, does this fit under the rear panels of the standard body or are there any mods that need doing.
4)The Porsche G50 box is stated by the factory as good for up to 600bhp, will the box last if I take a 600bhp engine and is there any feedback from you guys who have engines around this bhp? This was the problem with the Esprit, as the stock engine is 350bhp, but the engine can easily be taken up to 500-600bhp with a bit of fiddling and ECU resetting, but the gearbox is only a beefed up Renault 25 box, of which I had three in the 4 years of ownership!! hence my concerns for the max 600bhp on the Porsche G50 box.
5)What is the most time consuming thing other than the ally work at the start, as I am ok mechanically, but bodywork, I am not that hot on?
6) This is one of the most important questions. I am partially disabled after a bad motorbike accident some 20 years ago where I broke my back, pelvis, legs, arms, feet e.t.c. well pretty much everything, so the problem I have is my left ankle is really locked at a 90 degree angle due to arthritis where the ankle joint came out the back of my foot and I am still fully paralysed from my right knee down and wear a caliper.
I owned a Lotus Esprit V8 before and Lotus H/O made me a special pedal box where they removed the footrest and widened the pedals, as I have to wear wider shoes to accomodate my caliper and I was hitting the throttle everytime I went to brake, which is bloody dangerous in a Supercar.
They also fitted an offet extended steering wheel boss and a flat bottomed Momo wheel, which raised the wheel higher to give more leg and knee room. This is because the way I drive is I use my right heel as a pivot for the throttle and just use my thigh muscle to push on my heel which makes my foot go down. Luckily my caliper is sprung loaded and I fit a stronger throttle spring as well, as I rest on the throttle to drive.
To brake, I have to lift my whole leg up and then use the brake with the middle of my right foot. Also I have to do the same for the clutch with my left foot, as this foot is locked at 90 degrees due to the arthritis and again I have to lift my whole leg up to change gear, hence needing the leg room below the steering wheel.
Don`t worry, I have done the Advanced Driving with Coppers and they say my reactions are as good as a normally abled person, if not better. I have also done Rally days and come 2nd out of 28 before, so it seems to work for me.
My question is----Can the pedals be made to pivot down, rather than up, or are they only floor pivoted, ala the new TVR`s?
7) Would you recommend the AP set up and if so, 12.7 inch or 14 inch or is the standard set up ok.
I think CJ`s states the standard set up looks pretty naff with the new 18 inch wheels, please advise. If I go for the AP`s, which I did upgrade to on my Esprit and I was very happy with them as they stop on a sixpence, is it really worth the extra money to go for the 14 inchers rather than the 12.7`s, or are the 14 inch ones more for track use.
8) Would you recommend the Getrag or the Porsche box. The Getrag is 6 speed, has anyone got this box or the G60 Porsche one and how does this drive. I see the linkages are rod, rather than cable, which the Esprit was and the gearshift was a bit remote with cable. Do the boxes work fine and if so, can you make full use of the power low down in the 30-100mph range without having to double de-clutch e.t.c.
9) Are all the engines carbed with Holleys or can you get injection. If carbed, do these go out of zinc quite often and if so, how often.
10) If you go for the bigger bhp engines, i.e. over 400bhp, do you need to uprate the cooling and rad system to avoid overheating in stop/start traffic.
11)How well do these cars handle, they look great, but do they handle as well. The Tiff Needell Top Gear article states that it would not turn in in the wet, is this common in the wet and just corrects itself in the dry? It is not too much of a concern to me in the wet, as I pussyfoot around in it anyway, but I like to put full trust into my cars in the dry and if I am to do this, I want to know it will stick and actally go round the corner, please advise.
The car will not be my everyday car, so will hopefully only be used on dry days. If all days could be like the one at Stoneleigh this year, it would great.
I live in Bracknell, Berks, are any of you local to me. Guy Thompson has already replied and offered me to look at his car, which I am grateful to him for, but I would like to see as many as possible.
Lastly, I am a member still of the Lotus Esprit e-group and they are a great bunch of lads, very down to earth and very keen to help anyone with a problem. I hope that I can become a member of your group and do you have many meets a year, as with the Esprit, we used to have a hardened bunch of about 20-30 of us and we would organise a meet up at least once a month for a spirited drive and then a pub lunch and then just talk cars. It was very sociable and other halves could come, is this the same as for you guys and if so, how often do you meet? and where in the Bucks, Berks, Oxon, Surrey or Hants areas do you meet.
I could even organise a meet up with the Esprit guys, who love anything mechanically and as you know, with Lotus, it is very hands on!!
Sorry for the length of this message, but really want to get answers to all before next Saturday.
Any help you can give is gratefully appreciated.
Bubbles
Answers
1) I expect they will panel the chassis for you but this is one of the really hands on parts of the build and is very satisfying. You may also want to consider insulating the bulkheads for both sound and heat.
2) Service it yourself. As you stated everything is quite basic and user friendly
3) The basic engine is the Chevy 350ci. Even if you go up to a 427ci it is still the same size block so the weight is about the same. It will only increase if you stick on extras like turbos or chargers. The charger engines supplied by Amerspeed are designed to fit, mind you I’m not so sure they would fit a Can-Am.
4) Don’t know.
5) The body fit will take time but can be done by the factory. Most builders stick with the gel coat finish as it is very good. This is possible because the body is very well finished and therefore does not require modifying or fettling so ‘bodywork’ type skills are not necessary. You will just need a lot of patience to line it all up.
6) I see no reason why a top hung pedal arrangement could not be produced. After market suppliers like Europa supply complete pedal boxes that can be wound back and forth for kit cars with no seat adjustment so one of those may fit. You will need to investigate the clutch as it is very heavy (like trying to push over a fence post!).
7) The 14” are track use only. The 260mm Ford Granada brakes look rather lost in the 18” rims. (See the build in Which Kit?)
8) Don’t know.
9) Engines in the list are carbed with Holley or Edelbrock. They may do injection if you ask.
10) Don’t know.
11) Don’t know yet but look at the skidpan video on the factory site.
I’m in Waterlooville just north of Portsmouth if you want to see a chassis and ali panelling in progress you are welcome to join me for a chat and a coffee.
I don’t go back to work until 2nd Jan.
Steve
Answers
1) I expect they will panel the chassis for you but this is one of the really hands on parts of the build and is very satisfying. You may also want to consider insulating the bulkheads for both sound and heat.
2) Service it yourself. As you stated everything is quite basic and user friendly
3) The basic engine is the Chevy 350ci. Even if you go up to a 427ci it is still the same size block so the weight is about the same. It will only increase if you stick on extras like turbos or chargers. The charger engines supplied by Amerspeed are designed to fit, mind you I’m not so sure they would fit a Can-Am.
4) Don’t know.
5) The body fit will take time but can be done by the factory. Most builders stick with the gel coat finish as it is very good. This is possible because the body is very well finished and therefore does not require modifying or fettling so ‘bodywork’ type skills are not necessary. You will just need a lot of patience to line it all up.
6) I see no reason why a top hung pedal arrangement could not be produced. After market suppliers like Europa supply complete pedal boxes that can be wound back and forth for kit cars with no seat adjustment so one of those may fit. You will need to investigate the clutch as it is very heavy (like trying to push over a fence post!).
7) The 14” are track use only. The 260mm Ford Granada brakes look rather lost in the 18” rims. (See the build in Which Kit?)
8) Don’t know.
9) Engines in the list are carbed with Holley or Edelbrock. They may do injection if you ask.
10) Don’t know.
11) Don’t know yet but look at the skidpan video on the factory site.
I’m in Waterlooville just north of Portsmouth if you want to see a chassis and ali panelling in progress you are welcome to join me for a chat and a coffee.
I don’t go back to work until 2nd Jan.
Steve
Bubbles you have obviously thought a lot about your post so I have tried to reciprocate this:
1) The factory will do as much or as little of the work you want them to do. The panelling is very simple and easy to do, but very time consuming. In my opinion it is a waste of money to get them to do that part of the build.
2) Servicing is minimal as you can do most of it yourself. AP pads and discs are dear though. Clutch plate is £350, windscreen £550, wing mirrors are couple of hundred.
2) The factory only support small block chevy builds.
3) American speed can supply a 600 BHP supercharged engine that fits with no modification. The superchargers get too big to fit (without modification) above 600 BHP.
4) The G50 is very strong and easy to rebuild. You can use race internals or normal Porsche parts. As with any gearbox standing starts are what mainly stress them.
5) I had the bodywork aligned and prepared for me by the factory as it is the most highly skilled part of the build and visually quite important.
6) It is a kit car and you can make anything fit! I am sure you could even fit your old Esprit pedal box as long as you changed the mastercylinders.
7)AP’s are essential the 14 inch ones don’t have dust seals and consequently are not suitable for road use.
8) Getrags cost £7000 new unless you are luck enough to find one second hand and G50’s (second hand) cost £1500. The engines have so much torque you don’t really need lots of gears. I think the Getrag has a higher top speed final ratio though (my G50 redlines at 150 mph). It really comes down to money with the gearboxes. Remember you can also spend money on a G52 with LSD or fit a Quaif LSD to a G50, or rebuild a G50 with Quaif race internals, or fit gearbox oil cooler + scavenger pump + oil injectors.
9) Ultima has experimented with programmable ECU’s and injectors. They had problems mapping the car for constant throttle / speed as the car would lurch. This was put down to the lightness of the Ultima chassis and even the ECU manufactures were unable to Map the engine. The Engine was blinding on full throttle though. All carb’s suffer with temp / pressure changes but it is very hard to tell when a 550 bhp engine is not quite running optimally!
10) The cooling system is OK for All American speed engines. I was in a Jam for 30 mins round the Paris Periphique in the summer and my 535 bhp engine started to overheat - but generally the cooling is excellent. (definitely get the Oil cooler)
11) The cars can be set up for more overtsteer (if you need it) the factory will advise. An Ultima is LEATHAL in the wet though and will spin its wheels in every gear if it hits a puddle of bump on full throttle.
1) The factory will do as much or as little of the work you want them to do. The panelling is very simple and easy to do, but very time consuming. In my opinion it is a waste of money to get them to do that part of the build.
2) Servicing is minimal as you can do most of it yourself. AP pads and discs are dear though. Clutch plate is £350, windscreen £550, wing mirrors are couple of hundred.
2) The factory only support small block chevy builds.
3) American speed can supply a 600 BHP supercharged engine that fits with no modification. The superchargers get too big to fit (without modification) above 600 BHP.
4) The G50 is very strong and easy to rebuild. You can use race internals or normal Porsche parts. As with any gearbox standing starts are what mainly stress them.
5) I had the bodywork aligned and prepared for me by the factory as it is the most highly skilled part of the build and visually quite important.
6) It is a kit car and you can make anything fit! I am sure you could even fit your old Esprit pedal box as long as you changed the mastercylinders.
7)AP’s are essential the 14 inch ones don’t have dust seals and consequently are not suitable for road use.
8) Getrags cost £7000 new unless you are luck enough to find one second hand and G50’s (second hand) cost £1500. The engines have so much torque you don’t really need lots of gears. I think the Getrag has a higher top speed final ratio though (my G50 redlines at 150 mph). It really comes down to money with the gearboxes. Remember you can also spend money on a G52 with LSD or fit a Quaif LSD to a G50, or rebuild a G50 with Quaif race internals, or fit gearbox oil cooler + scavenger pump + oil injectors.
9) Ultima has experimented with programmable ECU’s and injectors. They had problems mapping the car for constant throttle / speed as the car would lurch. This was put down to the lightness of the Ultima chassis and even the ECU manufactures were unable to Map the engine. The Engine was blinding on full throttle though. All carb’s suffer with temp / pressure changes but it is very hard to tell when a 550 bhp engine is not quite running optimally!
10) The cooling system is OK for All American speed engines. I was in a Jam for 30 mins round the Paris Periphique in the summer and my 535 bhp engine started to overheat - but generally the cooling is excellent. (definitely get the Oil cooler)
11) The cars can be set up for more overtsteer (if you need it) the factory will advise. An Ultima is LEATHAL in the wet though and will spin its wheels in every gear if it hits a puddle of bump on full throttle.
It looks like these boys have taken care of your questions, but I'm sure your wanting the opinions of everyone here. In my opinion. Paneling the chassis was the most labor intensive, time consuming, and least fun, stage of the build. I'd ask the factory what they charge for this service. They do offer it. It is a rewarding task, don't get me wrong, but drilling all those holes will drive you, and your significant other, CRAZY. Your drilling the holes twice, once into the alum. sheet and once into the chassis, and your deburring the holes on the chassis and both sides of the panels. Then....there's the riveting... I'll never use a hand riveter for something like this again. An air powered rivet gun is the only way to go. Also, it helps to use a drill press for the panels. You can purchase a Roper Whitney punch to punch holes into the panels, but the holes don't quite fit the 1/8" rivets. The panels do come precut to a pretty close size, but I had to do a little trimming still. I had a blast installing all the components, radiator, engine/transaxle, seats, suspension, wiring harness, etc... Firing up the motor for the first time, though, was the best part for me! I'm running a F.A.S.T fuel injection unit with speed-density and 02 correction(i.e.closed loop). A friend of mine runs the Edelbrock injection system, but has to run the system open loop b/c of the problems mentioned in the previous post. I've not had that problem, and another friend of mine runs the FAST ECU with twin-turbos and 1000hp and runs his system with 02 correction. He doesn't have these problems either. Don't rule out EFI if you want it.
The clutch pedal is a bit of a workout. I have the KEP pressure plate. I'd consider changing the master cylinder size, and you might inquire about a longer clutch pedal that has greater leverage.
I'm sure the factory can design a custom modified pedal box for you.
Cheers!
-Mack
The clutch pedal is a bit of a workout. I have the KEP pressure plate. I'd consider changing the master cylinder size, and you might inquire about a longer clutch pedal that has greater leverage.
I'm sure the factory can design a custom modified pedal box for you.
Cheers!
-Mack
Bubbles - It looks like all your questions have been answered. If you want to meet up, I run the local branch of the owners club and live near Southampton. I'm normally available most weekends.
Our next club meet will be as soon as the bloody weather clears. We have tagged some meets onto the back of 'Pistonheads' meets. It would be great to tie one in with the Lotus boys.
Paul
Our next club meet will be as soon as the bloody weather clears. We have tagged some meets onto the back of 'Pistonheads' meets. It would be great to tie one in with the Lotus boys.
Paul
I must abmit that I complain about the same understeer in the wet that Tiff was talking about.
However my car is increadable in the dry even with over 500bhp it isn't an oversteer monster and is quite controlable. Very few cars will out handle an Ultima in the dry.
The pendulum effect that you mention (ala 911) doesn't happen on my car at all, I've had a few 4 wheel slides easily corrected with the Throttle but this was only on the track.
The question about gearbox is widly debated, my own car is a 4 speed which I would argue is perfect for my car/engine as it has such a huge power band keeping in it isn't a problem. Its also reputed to be able to take up to 850bhp.
I think you biggest obsticle will be the pedals as they are close together and the clutch and brakes arn't light, this can be overcome by changing the pedal ratio's but you get more pedal travel.
However my car is increadable in the dry even with over 500bhp it isn't an oversteer monster and is quite controlable. Very few cars will out handle an Ultima in the dry.
The pendulum effect that you mention (ala 911) doesn't happen on my car at all, I've had a few 4 wheel slides easily corrected with the Throttle but this was only on the track.
The question about gearbox is widly debated, my own car is a 4 speed which I would argue is perfect for my car/engine as it has such a huge power band keeping in it isn't a problem. Its also reputed to be able to take up to 850bhp.
I think you biggest obsticle will be the pedals as they are close together and the clutch and brakes arn't light, this can be overcome by changing the pedal ratio's but you get more pedal travel.
Thanks for the replies so far, you lot are similiar to the Esprit guys, glad to help and it is recipricol, think that`s how it`s spelt!!
One of the other questions I forgot, is do the G50, G60 and Getrag automatically mate straight up to the Chevy block or are any mods/fabrications required.
You have varied thoughts on the ally panelling. Any idea how long it takes?
Yeah, the Esprit guys would not have a problem with a meet, especially a smaller group of 8-10. We have had meets with the TVR boys before and I am sure they would love to see the Ultimas up close again, as we did at Stoneleigh.
My mate Jeff with the Diablo, for any of you who went to Stoneleigh this year, he had the Yellow Diablo with the bloody loud exhaust, straight throughs at the mo on a V12, awesome sound, but he is now thinking of building an Ultima.
He bought his Diablo, a 1993 for £25,000 as the rear diff had gone, it was originally up for £40k, but the Dealer dropped and dropped and gave it to Jeff for £25k and was told he needed to spend around another 25k to make it right. Well £7k later and chucking the boys some dosh up at AFN Reading, he got his parts, took the engine out and re-furbed with his Dad, even got the car sprayed in the 7k, so now he has a £65k car that stands him in for £32k, not bad eh?
He also has an Esprit, but a 4 pot 1990 with water injection, 2 stage boost giving 2 bar e.t.c., so any answers you guys are giving me, I am passing onto Jeff as well.
Thanks again to all of you so far and I look forward to any further input you can give me.
Hopefully seeing Guy Thompson`s car on Tuesday, as he is fairly local to me, but any of you others, if you fancy a drive out and a pie and a pint, give me a shout.
Cheers,
One of the other questions I forgot, is do the G50, G60 and Getrag automatically mate straight up to the Chevy block or are any mods/fabrications required.
You have varied thoughts on the ally panelling. Any idea how long it takes?
Yeah, the Esprit guys would not have a problem with a meet, especially a smaller group of 8-10. We have had meets with the TVR boys before and I am sure they would love to see the Ultimas up close again, as we did at Stoneleigh.
My mate Jeff with the Diablo, for any of you who went to Stoneleigh this year, he had the Yellow Diablo with the bloody loud exhaust, straight throughs at the mo on a V12, awesome sound, but he is now thinking of building an Ultima.
He bought his Diablo, a 1993 for £25,000 as the rear diff had gone, it was originally up for £40k, but the Dealer dropped and dropped and gave it to Jeff for £25k and was told he needed to spend around another 25k to make it right. Well £7k later and chucking the boys some dosh up at AFN Reading, he got his parts, took the engine out and re-furbed with his Dad, even got the car sprayed in the 7k, so now he has a £65k car that stands him in for £32k, not bad eh?
He also has an Esprit, but a 4 pot 1990 with water injection, 2 stage boost giving 2 bar e.t.c., so any answers you guys are giving me, I am passing onto Jeff as well.
Thanks again to all of you so far and I look forward to any further input you can give me.
Hopefully seeing Guy Thompson`s car on Tuesday, as he is fairly local to me, but any of you others, if you fancy a drive out and a pie and a pint, give me a shout.
Cheers,
The gearbox mates to the engine using an adaptor plate supplied by Ultima. The flywheel is Ultima and takes the Porsche clutch or derivatives thereof.
I have been working on the panels for about 3 weeks but have double skinned the whole of the rear bulkhead where it would normally only be skinned about a foot high.
I have also sound and heat insulated all round. Heat and noise feature in many posts. You will need to think on your own needs, do you want outright speed or a little comfort to go with it. Maybe the extra weight will help in the wet!!!
I have been working on the panels for about 3 weeks but have double skinned the whole of the rear bulkhead where it would normally only be skinned about a foot high.
I have also sound and heat insulated all round. Heat and noise feature in many posts. You will need to think on your own needs, do you want outright speed or a little comfort to go with it. Maybe the extra weight will help in the wet!!!
Hi Clive
Thanks for the info as i will be using a Getrag box
already got it ready to go and cleaned.
dont know yet wich clutch unit to use i got the
Clutch unit from a Porsche 996 GT2 wich normaly run with the Getrag box but due to the Getrag box i have to use the starter from the BMW V12 engine
as with this Box the starter is on the engine side
next week i will recieve the Porsche GT2 brakes
wich are 6 pot Brembo fronts and rear
and 380 MM discs or 15 Inch diameter front and rear
next is the production of the adaptorplate wich hope will be finished in a month.
leaving me with the one next thing is to get started with the build of my dream car "Ultima" have to order it still
i am already very very nice to my wife so do not hope to see much differently
GTRCLIVE said: On the gearbox front some of the 6 Speed G50/52 Gearboxes need a little clearance maching for the ring gear, as we use the early G50 clutch system and the ring gear on the later boxes is nearer the engine.
I did this my self with a angle grinder flap disc. Easy but messy.
Gassing Station | Ultima | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff