Realising your dream car // SOUP Classic Motoring E.39 Production Line 

Haha really? That made me smile 🤘🏼

multiple email addresses, aliases and passports ;)

Did some of that myself while working aboard a yacht for a while. Not going to cut any holes in the bulkhead but am toying with hitting it with epoxy resin to seal and strengthen it. Would be a no brainer except for the weight consideration.

....and the guns of a python 😁Do python's have guns? Thanks man

Thanks Megan :)

"Theatrical chapeau" - lmao. Thanks a mill Paul 🍻

I've thought of him as the Bob Ross of auto restoration. That's a good thing!

@@bruceschneider4928 If I only had the hair 😄

Wow! 14 likes on something I only really meant for the creator of these videos. People seem to agree. So, you're doing something right, I guess.

I was wondering would the compliment work the same if it was Harry Potter Reading Stephen Fry?

Cheers Andy

Was a far cry from easy 😅But glad there's a vicarious payoff Mike, thanks man

amazing car, thanks Douglas

Quiet time ;)

Appreciate the kind words Dave, and chuffed to know it's inspiring you, that's a big pay back. Thanks for sharing mate.

Coming from a man who knows what it takes ;) Cheers Harry, hope you're doin' great.

@@soupclassicmotoring still haunted by it 😀 all good here thanks, hope you're well!

@@hproctor2008 Haha no way, you breezed through it. You'll be grand come Spring ;)

If I'd noticed I could have made it 13:14. You're f%&king with my zen here dude 😄

Pleasure mate, it's a light episode, but then it's that time of year when everything's out the window ;)

Cheers Ricky :)

Just want to do it right, could have just spruced the car up and ran it as it was, but don't want to be the guy with the crappy model.

I'm all in, got to keep it growing. Thanks a mill fella.

Cheers Craig

Appreciate it mate !

Gotta stick with it, there's a big pay off coming one of these days

Taking a little down time [no such thing] to produce a slightly different video but will be back on it with the Esprit and Vogue in a couple of weeks. Glad you got caught up and have a good one ;)

​@@soupclassicmotoring You certainly deserve a little downtime! It's been a solid amount of work across all your motors along the way. Look forward to the next instalment - superb!

Cheers mate, have been working away in the background and there's an episode imminent.

@@soupclassicmotoring I have signed up to your patreon George. I just had to. :)

Legend Simone! Thanks a mill ✌🏼

Tough this time of year to keep motivated, the Vogue is proof of that but I'm not letting December slip by without some sort of progress. Good luck with the LPG ;)

thanks Robert :)

There's a trim panel that covers the whole bulkhead and glass surround, it's a cool thing, lightweight as you'd imagine. Would def be held by velcro, good idea, can't for the life of me remember how it's secured from factory.

Might hit it with epoxy resin, the only drawback being potential weight.

You're going to recover it with thick sound proofing and then the interior I assume?

I think that'd look really really special if done right. A really great idea.

Hadn't considered leaving it visible once the car is complete, I don't think it'll go that way but an interesting thought. The plan is whichever sound proofing material treads the best line between weight, thickness and effectiveness, with the factory trim over the top. I just don't want to slop a lot of fresh glue back over the markings.

@@soupclassicmotoring tricky. Sound deadening or dampening relies upon adhering to the surface to increase its mass. I retained the original rubber matting bolted onto the bulkhead, but added self-adhesive backed butyl soundproofing to the whole cabin. Rather than using the old skool jute material which is past it. You'll have to decide if you want a cafe racer, or a comfortable car. Like with the sound proofing on the inside of the central tunnel, the cabin can suffer from resonation which the soundproofing is there to reduce.

Yeah powering through now Tom, will be a bit of an unavoidable pause over the next couple of weeks... but hey, who'll notice, it's that time of year ;)

class!

Thought this might be a satisfying one to watch... get your resto fix from the couch 😆

SOUP Classic Motoring My butt was on a damn cold garage floor last night painting a brake caliper. No time for couch sitting in life! You are an inspiration my friend!!

@@84GordonShumway haha touché, I never doubted you Edd ;)

Wood, nature's carbon fibre. 😀

@@MrGrentch Love that ☝🏼

Porsche used wood in the 928 too.

Yes mate not a job I was expecting to do so soon, or looking forward to. So very relieved it's done. Doesn't make me feel any better about sanding the outside of the shell!

Viva la completion ;) Thanks a mill Steven

Haha you're talking to the screen? amazing ;) Thanks mate, appreciate it

Nice idea! I need a new lens and in the meantime a little tape on the focus ring leaves the whole setup a little more adaptable in a hurry. I'm always in a hurry ;)

Something's going back in there, not sure exactly what yet, whether it's the original butyl or something modern. Just don't want to plough a load of glue over the markings again so may have to get a little creative there. Do three days a week at the unit and go into a hardcore two days of production to try and produce an episode within a five day week... in it for the big pay off mate. Thanks a mill

🍻

back on it, check episode 49, more soon

Where zen ends, ass kicking begins fella... ;) 🤘🏼

The more I work on it the more I appreciate it, it's just slick

Haa, you do it to yourself you do ;)

I've a feeling this stuff was mainly Toluene too, I recognised the smell and the lads downstairs assumed it was plain panel wipe.

got to keep the head down ;)

ha the creature from the black lagoon, it's like that alright. I've been using a bit of tape on the focus ring, it leave the whole rig easier to move and frame shots. New lens is the answer long term hopefully.

SOUP Classic Motoring . A gimbal rig like they used to use on microphones to isolate them would work or a camera with dynamometer stabilisation, cameras don’t like a lot of vibration makes the images blurry and bits fall off. The sandbags and plate with rubber feet trick works and you can knock it up with some old rubber mounts and a bit of scrap timber. It’s mostly the sandbags though they dampen the vibrations by being soft and heavy.

@@anomamos9095 👍🏼

Lucky find! I couldn't see what the '26' was until I uncovered it and was quietly hoping it was something a little more telling. Still, nice things to have in a build. Belated congrats on the Turbo Jonathan :)

Thank you so much :)

2023 came back for another look

Made up Patrick, glad it hit the spot. Thanks a mill pal

Thanks Eddie

Cheers Peter!

Had a boss who had a very well kept 2.0 coupe E.36 and he used to lend me it. It always got compliments from passers by even though it was ten years old. I loved it, had that perfect blend of reserved grace, good looks and just enough power. What colour is yours?

Have you ever seen one in Greece man? I've been wondering is there even an Esprit there?

Keep it Dave, you'll enjoy putting it back together and even if you decide to sell it then, you'll have upped the money one way or another. Just don't f&^k it up. Thanks a mill mate, and try not to hate me ;)

@@soupclassicmotoring I'm sorry if my first message to you sounded a bit off lol , I've just spent the last year trying to convince myself that letting my lotus go to a new home was for the best and then i saw your channel and now I don't think she will be going anywhere lol . You maybe don't have the subscribers yet that you deserve but i really hope you understand how good your channel and video's are .

@@sonicdave946 Didn't at all, I'd [playfully] hate me if I didn't have an Esprit. Way back I had a chance to buy a S2.2 for small money when I first realised I had to have an Esprit. I didn't know it should have been a no brainer and let it go, so yeah mate I'd be hanging on. I mean if it brings you joy when you drive it that is, if there's something else that'd make you happier then... ;) I really appreciate the kind words, the way YT works it's difficult to grow a channel with niche appeal but it's about half way to being able to sustain me so I'm happy :) Have a good one Dave.

First or last baby, shake'n'bake!

What you got Umar? Esprit? Thanks mate

Pleasure mate, thanks for the shout

think you're doing great man, just watched the hub conversion. No messing or fuss. I think the best advice I can give is just be yourself no matter what, you can see all the biggest YT'ers are. Outside of that I'm not the guy to ask about building a big sub base 😄If you want any production advice though hit me up.

SOUP Classic Motoring thanks for the kind words. I’m not in it for views or subs. My main take away from making videos is the support of and motivation from the rest of the RU-vid mini community!

😂Funny the further I get into the car the more I love the engineering, it challenges your perceptions, but ultimately it's genius. Thanks fella

Cheers Stuart. Did I reweigh the bowl? I know better

@@soupclassicmotoring I think you did or appeared to. I May be mistaken. Still, I have a small 2kg electronic scale and calibrating with the bowl stops aload of faffing calculating weights etc. Thanks for the reply.

@@stuartd9741 no worries man, I appreciate the input

It is a big bolt isn't it. Wondering whether I should go with what would have been more readily achievable in '78 and lighten it, or go for a remake in titanium ;)

@@soupclassicmotoring Personally I'dforget the lightening aspect in this instance, as you're talking about "nanograms", but anything which makes it least look nice will benefit. As long as it doesn't react with the aluminium bit that it screws into. It's steel presently, so not ideal on both accounts. If you get any made let me know. Mine were unpainted, as I put them in after the body shell came back. Similarly the top two. Though they are stainless steel, so presentable.

Almost there! been a while I know but had to take a bit of down time, been hard at it in the background since '19 ;)

boom boom 👏🏼😄

Cool. Do you remember the year of the car?

@@soupclassicmotoring I think it was from the early 80s. We are waiting for the episode 40!!!

Nearly there Teli ;)

Deadly idea, will bring that in my next patron update. If you're on there hit me up with [episode number] and time code of frame and I'll get it over to you.

just enough to make it sing ;)

Well... if you want it to sing, a 5 or 6 cyl. swap is in order. My car. Engine is a Mazda KLZE V6 NA 200hp 170tq NA. Engine weighs just over 400lbs. So around what an old 4 cyl. weighs. Sound on the freeway... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-aauXMeITcdM.html

I'm no engineer but I doubt even bead rolled alu would have the same compressive strength. It's a question I'd love to bring to someone in the know, watch this space ;)

@@soupclassicmotoring I too am no engineer, which is probably why i suggested it. Would be great to know the answer!

@@battyboomfatty Standby ;)

@joe jitsu Thank you for that comprehensive reply! Very interesting and informative.

I worked on a yacht that was fibreglass composite using balsa wood in the laminate, 2" thick in most places. It's a fantastic setup. There's no reason to play with the bulkhead in the Esprit, it's too fundamental to the original car, and in such good condition. The body shell does form a layer of the bulkhead, it's not just the plywood between the engine and cockpit. Actually it reminds me of a well told tale about Colin Chapman using corn flakes boxes to make a bulkhead to get one of the racing cars past scrutineering in a pinch. Anyway thanks for taking the time Joe :)

Thanks for the tips Paul and I'm off to research, but it's not a boat. Doesn't have waves slamming against the side, it's designed to absorb a crash impact one time. The bulkhead is tied to the shell from the factory, but it's not a bulkhead in the same sense as a boat has bulkheads. The shell has it's own integral fibreglass bulkhead behind the wood. Chapman was involved in boat building with composites too, so it's not like they didn't have experience, however dotted it might have been. I have spoken to Lotus engineers about it and reportedly the wood was chosen for its compressive strength laterally. The piece I'm talking about replacing is barely a 2" diameter anyway so won't have a big impact on the overall structure. Thanks again :)

Thanks a mill Adrian, regardless of what you decide. www.patreon.com/gtkar is just a safe way to set up a standing order for an amount you decide to pledge per episode. That's how I have it set up anyway. You sign up, pledge an amount at your discretion, and on the first of each month that amount is collected automatically from you. I've been trying to produce four episodes a month but charge only for two because that was the premise many patrons originally signed up under.

Cheers George , ill get on it straight away ,thanx for the prompt reply.

Episode 49 see the return of the Esprit project. What's up with the Elite. I can help by making it disappear ;)

@@soupclassicmotoring Ive had the Elite S2.2 sitting in my garage for over twenty years. I need to get her on the road. Shes too rare to part with. Its a dream I need to realise before its too late for either of us.

​@@davidclowsley8081 It's a beautiful and Unique car Dave, I'd love one. You can do it so easily you'll wish you didn't start years ago. Just make a plan and use the old one bite at a time mantra.

@@soupclassicmotoring Need to see your Esprit on the road too. Please keep her as original as possible. You are so calm in your presentation. This should be a television series. We need car programmes where we can see sportscars maintained and restored. Too many tv car shows have the same format. Cars are not just about speed and engine power. Good luck with the Esprit. Please come and visit in the Esprit !

@@davidclowsley8081 amen to that David, it was a large part of my motivation to detail my restorations. Good luck yourself

I'm at home now waiting for the weather to break [we've storms] so I can hit it hard on the RR and try get it done. Either way it's coming back asap!

I will never be without the Lotus. Makes a return in e.49 ;)

😄

ah now...

Actually he's Irish, but thanks for the Aussie guess. We'll take that as a compliment.

@Anthony 😄and I'll take that as a compliment in turn. @Plan Thanks for the advice :)