1970 Sprint Garage find.

[collins_dan]

For what it is worth, I have two sets of original wheels. One set is silver with embellisers, the other is powder coated graphite to match the graphite color I painted the bumpers. I much prefer the graphite. I don't think its because it matches the bumpers, I think it just suits the car better. Maybe one of the photoshop whizzes on the forum could change the color of your wheels to gold, black, or darker silver... to give you some idea of what might satisfy you more. The white with gold bumpers looks great! Cheers, Dan

[Grizzly]

Hows this for a trick, i've just cleaned up the best one of my corroded Embellisher's and now the Silver looks dark??

[Grizzly]

For what it is worth, I have two sets of original wheels. One set is silver with embellisers, the other is powder coated graphite to match the graphite color I painted the bumpers. I much prefer the graphite. I don't think its because it matches the bumpers, I think it just suits the car better. Maybe one of the photoshop whizzes on the forum could change the color of your wheels to gold, black, or darker silver... to give you some idea of what might satisfy you more. The white with gold bumpers looks great! Cheers, Dan

I hadn't thought of going Graphite, it may well look better if the colour is further from the chrome silver. I've just had a chat with our next door and he thinks the Gold doesn't look right (might be better when the stripes are on)

I actually painted the wheels all black at one point as the barrel of the wheel was black and i actually thought it would look good on a white Elan but i work with a real Purist who persuaded me that the silver quest was worth while..........

[collins_dan]

Here's another non-pure solution that could help, paint the inside of the wheel wells satin black. It will increase the contrast between the body, tire and wheel, which may accomplish the same thing without changing the wheel color. Just another unpure thought. Dan

[gjz30075]

Agree with Dan. But use an undercoating or 'rough surface' type of spray to keep stone chips to a minimum.

The sill should also be a flat black.

Greg Z

[Grizzly]

Here's another non-pure solution that could help, paint the inside of the wheel wells satin black. It will increase the contrast between the body, tire and wheel, which may accomplish the same thing without changing the wheel color. Just another unpure thought. Dan

After two weeks of stripping the floor, priming and painting upside down i'm not sure i could bring myself to stone chipping the wheel wells i wouldn't be able to see where i was spraying it through the tears

[Grizzly]

The sill should also be a flat black.

Greg Z

On an S4 yes it should but on a Sprint the sills are white (probably because they couldn't be bothered to paint them black) i know a bit ott on the Purist thing but if you look at the early pics of how i got the shell at that point it had only seen paint at the Factory and they where white.

[trw99]

[quote="Grizzly"][quote="gjz30075"]
The sill should also be a flat black.

Greg Z[/quote]
On an S4 yes it should but on a Sprint the sills are white (probably because they couldn't be bothered to paint them black) i know a bit ott on the Purist thing but if you look at the early pics of how i got the shell at that point it had only seen paint at the Factory and they where white.[/quote]

Sorry, that's just not true. The sills were not white or body colour, they were black from the factory. I have a number of period photos that will prove the point. Also, look at any of the road tests at the time, the sill is always black.

Anorak anal retentive Tim

[Spyder fan]

I concur, sill bottoms were always black and are just plain wrong if they are left white after a repaint.

Regards

Alan ( not a purist, I just like originality with a twist of modern)

[collins_dan]

I don't want to make you cry, but you could try taping up some black clothe behind the wheel to mimic the treatment to determine if its worth the tears. Just a thought. Dan

[Grizzly]

Sorry, that's just not true. The sills were not white or body colour, they were black from the factory. I have a number of period photos that will prove the point. Also, look at any of the road tests at the time, the sill is always black.

Anorak anal retentive Tim

I'm not going to argue because Sprints that didn't have the bodys reworked may well have had the sills blacked but lets put it this way My s4-sprint was 100% defiantly not black sills. I can tell you this for a fact as i did strip all the paint off my car and i can tell you it had primer-white-black-white so they didn't bother repainting the black after the S4 trim holes where filled.

This picture is the cars Original paint as left the factory and that's how i've redone it. I'm not a purist either but if its one of the things that make it a S4-Sprint and not an Sprint i will keep it just like the Silver wheels Even though it would probably look better with a Flat bonnet,Black wheels and sills blacked it just isn't how it was when it left the factory and i don't want anyone saying i'm trying to make it look like a "Proper" Sprint

[trw99]

Chris, given your car's history, which you have kindly shared with me in the past, it is entirely likely that it came from Hethel without having had it's sill blacked, probably for no other reason than it was missed out in the paint shop.

We also know that there are many exceptions that prove the rule with regard to Lotus at that time in it's existence. All Sprints had Chapman signed steering wheels? Yep - but I know of at least one that did not, straight from Hethel. However, it was certainly meant to and the fact it didn't has no significance that I or anyone else to my knowledge can unearth.

What I did wish to do was to ensure that historical accuracy was ensured (as much as it can be with our cars) by stating that S4s and Sprints did come from the factory with black sills. The S4/Sprints did too - though yours is clearly an exception. I have attached a colour photo of the Sprint brochure with the well known press car. I know a great deal about this press car, having been contacted by the person responsible for it's preparation several years ago, including it's build dates. It is, of course, a S4/Sprint!

By the way Chris, I'm enjoying your blog about the rebuild.

Tim

[Grizzly]

To be quite honest i think black sills look better its just as the previous owner lives so close to me i wanted to do the rebuild justice so he recognises the car with all its little differences.

The picture you added above, is that a S4-Sprint? if its an early picture it has the wrong exhaust?? i thought they all had the S4 twin tail, As the Demonstrator car do you think they used allot more of the finished Sprint bits? (bit odd it looks like it has a flat bonnet etc but no Sun visors? wipers on the wrong side??). The thing that made me think it was a S4-Sprint thing with the sill was white in every picture i have of original paint confirmed S4-Sprints. I do find it quite awkward finding pictures of S4-Sprints for the simple reason there was 70 or so as opposed to 1400 ish "Proper" Sprints and most have had some work in the past 40 odd years on top of that Lotus seemed to do what ever they felt like as long as it had a Big Valve Motor and the White lower section.

Note the original stripes with the white stripes over the rear bumper, i think that's also an S4-Sprint thing as all the sprints i've seen have been Solid gold but that could also mean they have had paint?? (wish i could get a set of those ) you can't see them on mine as they where badly faded but mine had lines too. All that said they have flat bonnets so you can't win (but even from the pic of the red elan i can see the colour difference in the bonnet) you do know you have created a monster

[Elanconvert]

[
Even though it would probably look better with a Flat bonnet,Black wheels and sills blacked it just isn't how it was when it left the factory and i don't want anyone saying i'm trying to make it look like a "Proper" Sprint
][/url]

Well I' m going down that route.....I like the gold leaf colours, flat bonnet and black wheels, and as jim says;
'I like it and that's that'.....if the purists disapprove then tough! It won't have the word 'sprint' anywhere on the car though, so everyone will know it's not a pretender........

fred

[Grizzly]

[
Even though it would probably look better with a Flat bonnet,Black wheels and sills blacked it just isn't how it was when it left the factory and i don't want anyone saying i'm trying to make it look like a "Proper" Sprint
][/url]

Well I' m going down that route.....I like the gold leaf colours, flat bonnet and black wheels, and as jim says;
'I like it and that's that'.....if the purists disapprove then tough! It won't have the word 'sprint' anywhere on the car though, so everyone will know it's not a pretender........

fred

I don't have a problem with people doing what ever they want to there's but i'd like to keep the little differences, i've been down the Retro mod restoration route and have got it out of my system now

TBH i'm a little surprised no one has commented that it still has the full set of original tyres it left the factory still on (for the time being ) when i asked the previous owner he said he had never had a puncture and only once in a while checked the pressures... How times have changed......there a bit hard now like, it took some real effort to take them off and refit after paint.