The Lotus chassis it took four years to fix | Classic car restoration timelapse

Рет қаралды 103,285

Жыл бұрын

After four years of repair work I compare the weight of a classic Lotus chassis before and after, and it gets a final coat of paint. Then I get some help making some custom stainless steel rear radius arms to carry the hubs on my 70's Esprit
For behind the scenes content, and support options visit www.georgekarellas.com

Пікірлер: 194

@mediocrefunkybeat Жыл бұрын

Come for the cars, stay for the videography.

@KarriKoivusalo Жыл бұрын

Funny how it originally looked as if made in a shed, and now as it's actually made in a shed it looks as if it's made in a factory.

@FridgeProductionsLtd Жыл бұрын

Funny, but true!

@iainbagnall4825 Жыл бұрын

It was made in a shed originally too.

@TimMcgimpsey Жыл бұрын

This is a criminally underrated youtube channel. Fantastic cinematography and an amazing project

@rolandlumby5999 Жыл бұрын

51kg. Well done George, you've added lightness to the chassis! Mr chapman would be proud of you.

@Mike_Costello Жыл бұрын

Has a more beautiful and satisfying Lotus chassis ever been reborn into existence? I think not.

@colinsmith6340 Жыл бұрын

Does anyone else get extreme satisfaction of the music timing with the cuts and welds? It scratches an important itch in my brain. Once again, a fantastic video. Would give more updates if i could.

@caspar2937 Жыл бұрын

Yes very much so!

@andersjjensen Жыл бұрын

Holy heck you're killing it these days George! We're spoiled with content and I can tell by your voice that you're happy as a drunk sailor on land leave with the progress you're making.

@NathanielSalzman Жыл бұрын

Thanks for being one of those people who does the whole job. So many fall into the trap of laziness masquerading as efficiency. The time and effort put in are never "worth it" on paper but the satisfaction of having done the hard work is worth more than the finished result alone. Maybe it's just one of those things that if we have to explain it to you, you're just not going to understand.

@iainbagnall4825 Жыл бұрын

conversely, my first thought was just "surprised you didn't just acid dip the whole thing then powder coat it, its not very big"

@yohkodevilhunter8292 Жыл бұрын

@@iainbagnall4825 That's' what I thought.

@halfcrazedrob Жыл бұрын

Great to see a fabricator confident to show the evolution of their skills rather than just focusing on the creation.

@htownblue11 Жыл бұрын

Soup, as craftsman we often reject or neglect to seek help out of pride towards our work. Kudos for allowing some chaps to lend a hand, bet it made their day to be a part of this epic build. Thank you for such a great adventure in this story.

@fransb8543 Жыл бұрын

Those trailing arms look like a gateway drug to more stainless shenanigans. Great vid as usual, cheers George!

@wesleycardinal8869 Жыл бұрын

This channel sets the bar for restoration channels. Deserves way more attention!

@hippynurd Жыл бұрын

OMG Ive been waiting years for this! How many of you started watching this back when he was only working on this car?

@tednruth453 Жыл бұрын

Mick Dundee would be proud of you 🤠

@stephenbroaders Жыл бұрын

Great videotography and wonderful presentation style, thanks again George for including us Stephen B , Delvo

@soupclassicmotoring Жыл бұрын

T'was you who included me, pleasure was all mine [especially when it looked like I'd never leave] 🤘🏼

@yukiotakata Жыл бұрын

I miss the surferMerc...4 years of SOUP ...still remember watching the RangeRover medley 3 years ago and thinking :"whoever this bloke is ,goddamn he have a lot of spare time....and A LOT OF TALENT". The Esprit will be something special, if nothing else we can see the amount of care put into it, it shows on every single video .

@ToolsnTrack Жыл бұрын

When the man who inspires you to make youtube videos gives you a shout out... thats a fuzzy warm feeling. Thank you dude!! That chassis has come out stunning. Looking forward to the bling!!

@danbrown4517 Жыл бұрын

Wow George! The paint on your chassis looks better than the paint on my Elan's bodywork!

@larrysorenson4789 Жыл бұрын

The format shows the work with minimal dialog as necessary to describe what is going on. Absolutely perfect.

@cesarmagdaleno6009 Жыл бұрын

You said there and square with that beautiful accent. I’m enjoying you build and videos.

@konstantin88181 Жыл бұрын

Process of bending that didn't go as planned at first attempt makes me smile, as a person with eight years of steel metal constructions designing and sheet metal bending expertese=) Been there, done that...

@mlmotorsusedcarsales3395 Жыл бұрын

Great work all round but shock horror leaving the chuck key in the 3 jaw no matter how briefly. My apprentice master would have kicked me up and down dale for that 😄

@tinman7551 Жыл бұрын

Of all of your amazing and incredible videos, this amazing and incredible video is my favorite so far 🥰 Such wonderful precision and craftsmanship on display from people who really know their stuff. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing a job being done properly. Be still my poor wee Irish heart. Until next time George, Slan agus beannocht.

@erichenao6537 Жыл бұрын

You work with some fucking craftsman. Such good content and a joy seeing you learn. Great camera work too.

@syncrosimon Жыл бұрын

Just fantastic, well done👍👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

@simong2007simong Жыл бұрын

Was there anyone under 50 in this video? I do hope these skills don’t retire from our world.

@soupclassicmotoring Жыл бұрын

Bastard! 🤣

@simong2007simong Жыл бұрын

Hey I had an S1 Esprit- they age you prematurely

@soupclassicmotoring Жыл бұрын

🤣 you redeemed yourself, but only partially

@AlienLivesMatter Жыл бұрын

I think you have created future demand from customers wanting complete chassis remanufactured from stainless. Soup classic customs has a ring to it.

@soupclassicmotoring Жыл бұрын

So it does, but the skills, tools and workspace required are ringing alarm bells lol

@EVguru Жыл бұрын

Nice work George, but you're a bit confused about the principals of lathes. Chuck runout won't make the drill cut any more oversize than a twist drill is likely to cut anyway, it only means that the hole will not be prefectly concentric with the outside diameter. In any case, you need a 7/16" clearance hole, which would be 29/64ths or 11.5mm. I've got some lathe work to do myself. I'm using Elite lower links to replace the butchered ones on my S3 Esprit. The anti-roll bar bush arrangement doesn't hold up well, particularly with modern bush materials (rubber or polyurethane). I'm making weld in housings to use a NMB spherical bearing.

@rivenmotors7981 Жыл бұрын

Your getting to be a superb all rounder car cobbler!

@soupclassicmotoring Жыл бұрын

That'd be nice, thanks man :)

@kelboization Жыл бұрын

It's just plain 'ol good filmmaking.

@Andrew-jh5uv Жыл бұрын

George awesome. Delta guys wow where are tradies like these guys in oz!!

@davideyres955 Жыл бұрын

When I built my 7 the stainless exhaust was dull. So found a polisher and went down there. Found this little old chap about my dads age in his workshop and left it with him. Came back next weekend and picked up my mirror polished exhaust. Beautiful job which he kept apologising it wasn’t perfect. Well it was in my eyes. He did a fantastic job and it still cleans up perfect 20+ years later. If they are going to be seen I can recommend getting those arms polished.

@eeblatter Жыл бұрын

Looking so good! I can really appreciate the simplicity and spartan design of the Lotus chassis. This has been a good refresher course on lean design. Can't wait for the next installment.

@Rehnqvist76 Жыл бұрын

Ah the music starting at 19:10 is so soothing. Love it! Could be on a “deep sleep, relaxing” type of playlist.

@Legweak Жыл бұрын

It's nice to watch professionals that take pride in their work do a job

@fw1421 Жыл бұрын

Having worked in structures at the American Airlines Alliance Maintenance Base working on airliners I have much respect for sheet metal guys with that level of expertise. Great job on your restoration.

@yohkodevilhunter8292 Жыл бұрын

RIP, American Airlines Alliance Maintenance Base.

@richardhasler6718 Жыл бұрын

Ah George, thanks for the film and movie references. If I may, 'You have big dreams and right here is where you start paying, in sweat.'

@808v1 Жыл бұрын

yeah! Been sub'd from right after the stop-motion full resto of the Rover went viral...been patiently waiting/watching on the Lotus!

@soupclassicmotoring Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the sub!

@crherniman Жыл бұрын

So glad I found this channel. Love this content!

@manfredschmalbach9023 Жыл бұрын

Removing net 2 kilos of protective dirt'n goop does honor Colin's main idea of added lightness properly I reckon 😁 Thanks for sharing!

@jezbon4717 Жыл бұрын

Great story as always George!

@richwhittaker1857 Жыл бұрын

Rest assured it is now way better than factory probably best in class!

@davidstuart4915 6 ай бұрын

..looking forward to next instalment :)

@TheCeebmoj 9 ай бұрын

Love the channel and approach. I have rushed to many things this is a joy to watch

@ClaudeSac Жыл бұрын

I have no words, other than meaningless superlatives. Awesome!! Shite, still did a meaningless superlative. 🤣 Thanks for all the beautiful videos!

@tobymcnicol922 Жыл бұрын

Dare I say.... better than it left the factory? Yeah, go on! Great episode as ever.

@weeman2727 Жыл бұрын

Amazing attention to detail……inspiring…..this is how I would want to restore a car 👏👏

@WORDFLESHGOD Жыл бұрын

I really do enjoy your videos; I love how you use so many camera angles and I can’t begin to imagine how much time you must put into editing to create such high standard production. Truly unique and beautiful on the eyes. God bless you in Jesus Christ 😎👍

@jasonshull3106 Жыл бұрын

Thanks again, for your great work.

@montypythonish Жыл бұрын

Fantastic attention to detail, even if that is with help. The right people to do the job right. Amazing finish on that chassis. I'm not jealous, honest. 👍

@johanvantongeren82 Жыл бұрын

Awesome progress and love the stainless upgrades. Please do this to more parts!

@peterwarner8541 Жыл бұрын

Stunning paint on the chassis, seems too good to put the body on now! Btw stainless steel doesn’t have the same tensile strength as regular steel so check it out before putting it all back together. Keep up the great work.

@skybirdprojects5489 Жыл бұрын

They are generally comparable, stainless is generally a little less ductile. This also means that stainless generally has a higher tensile strength. It's unlikely that the trailing arms were made of high carbon steel seeing as they are bent sheet metal.

@georgebettiol8338 Жыл бұрын

@Skybird Projects: It's highly likely that the trailing arms in question are manufactured using mild steel - as ease of manufacture, cost and fatigue strength are the important factors for such components - i.e. it's not a 'money no object' car destined for the race track. Without getting into detailed specifics, mild steel has a yield strength of 240-250MPa. Grade 316 Stainless Steel has a similar yield strength, so it would be my choice if I was replacing the trailing arms in question without any accompanying engineering analysis. Grade 304 Stainless Steel has a yield strength of circa 205MPa - so if used to create an exact dimensional copy of the mild steel version, the trailing arm would be "weaker". However, if the appropriate 'engineering analysis' is conducted - then SS 304 could be adopted by using a modest increase in material thickness or a change to the trailing arm's shape or construction. Needless to say, an engineering analysis would be expensive to perform and would be overkill for 'this Lotus project'.

@kieransammon666 Жыл бұрын

Bling bling, I’m getting excited for you now, so close to the end, but still far away

@Texburrito03 Жыл бұрын

She's a beaut. You should be really proud of that outcome... Metal work, primer, paint... Cheers!

@cambo1200 Жыл бұрын

Can’t wait for my great grandchildren to see the finished product. 😂

@1BCamden Жыл бұрын

Wow, what a fantastic episode, how fortunate to have such supportive and generous crafts people around your build. Looking good, but would ACBC approve/endorse SS over CS for suspension arms, just a thought on the relative properties. Gotta say the SS will look very smart though. Again with thanks for sharing

@hydorah Жыл бұрын

Great folks there at Delta Autobody. That's one classy chassis 🙂

@hydorah Жыл бұрын

Now Another business added to the hero list Delvo Engineering. Very cool

@ernied3123 Жыл бұрын

Thanks George for a mega episode. Painting and metal folding tips and tricks and a nice side order of philosophy. Awesome.

@soupclassicmotoring Жыл бұрын

🍻🤓

@surfsearcher Жыл бұрын

Fabulous spraying tips and technique, cheers Georgie

@soupclassicmotoring Жыл бұрын

Good to see you dude. You’ll be advising on body repairs soon 🤓🤞🏼

@surfsearcher Жыл бұрын

@@soupclassicmotoring btw ur only a gimp

@fxeditor1138 Жыл бұрын

Congrats on achieving such a milestone! Fantastic work!!

@cephalotus59 Жыл бұрын

I look forward to you finishing this project…….in about 2055, if you continue at this pace of fastidiousness😊 Get on with it man, I’ll be dead before you get to drive it.

@nbdcbn Жыл бұрын

Your videos are never long enough. I want moreee. I neeeed more!

@yukiotakata Жыл бұрын

Also to the blokes at Delta Auto Body , WHAZZZAAAAAHHH!!!!

@user-qn6yt3zx3w Жыл бұрын

Bloody marvellous. The videography, the music and the commentary are all first class. The fact that George does most of it himself (with help and training) just brings a different level of wonder.

@larrysorenson4789 Жыл бұрын

Glad you are painting instead of powder coating. Delorian powder coated his. Over time it developed fine cracks where occasional water penetrated causing hidden rust.

@scottcates Жыл бұрын

Nice video, mate. It's good to have an expert painter showing us the ropes with you. The dedication to his craft just makes me appreciate the quality of the results that much more. Utterly relatable, these learning curves of yours. My armchair warrior factor has improved tenfold since I started watching your videos. Trailing arms: Glitz, be-damned, that stainless steel was a superb rework; a proper reimagining of old Lotus tech with improved materials for future enjoyment. And, once again, I appreciate you showing us a true master on the sheet metal brake. Impressive and satisfying.

@simpsontheo Жыл бұрын

I dare say, better than factory - amazing patience, skills and determination. Well impressed

@AntBangBang Жыл бұрын

Enjoyed this so much. That chassis all shiny in black is like a spaceship! Joined Patreon tonight after years of enjoying your content. Only a couple of bucks but if we all did that…

@timklein-hitpass Жыл бұрын

Someone: Thats not a knife - this is a knife! Soup: Thats not a video - THIS is a video!

@susanhenderson2322 Жыл бұрын

Amazing how light Chapman's frames/ chassis were, I put the last ( at the time , maybe they produced more) factory built Europa chassis on a twin cam model in early1983, right after he died, wrote inside it a rip message, car was in Vancouver canada.

@lozl Жыл бұрын

Awesome! What a fantastic result. You must be over the moon with this chassis. And the stainless arms are going to be awesome. This is really a very special car you're putting together.

@mattconnor6779 Жыл бұрын

Even without the filler, the thorough primer/sealer/paint application will do loads to protect the metal from tinworm.

@thayat Жыл бұрын

Amazing work George. Great to see the progress.

@omerduzyol8741 Жыл бұрын

Great content, and top notch humor to go with it. Miagi and knife jokes really cracked me up :0)

@jeep10921092 Жыл бұрын

Great video as usual! Am I the only one that thinks your painter bears a striking resemblance to Colin McRae? Keep the great videos coming!

@wimtillaart8671 Жыл бұрын

Your work on the cars and videos is outstanding! Keep up the good work!

@garethgrundy8087 Жыл бұрын

Lovely chassis finish, JPS pinstriping now...

@JohnHonda101 Жыл бұрын

Great progress.

@mikeburton7077 Жыл бұрын

Wonderful stainless fabrication work ,chassis looks gorgeous,well done!

@kevinwright3141 Жыл бұрын

Glad to see you have your Mojo back... 👌

@SlippingTime Жыл бұрын

Does stainless mean it’s now part DeLorean? 😀. I love the patience and detail in your restoration. I really need to get moving faster on mine. Keep it going and thanks for sharing the “fun” with all of us.

@paulblandy987 Жыл бұрын

Just brilliant 👍👍

@Rich_Lambert Жыл бұрын

Nice work!

@stefanmaddock5516 Жыл бұрын

I thought in was doing well swapping fasteners for stainless steel! You've out done expectations as always.

@stevewoodw Жыл бұрын

Great to see another video, and a very well made one too. I was thinking about home made powder coating ovens - if you ever see someone is ripping out some old storage heaters and you can pick them up for scrap value, you could make a huge one. Not that you'll need to powdercoat something the size of the chassis of the Lotus...

@MrFatalZero Жыл бұрын

Weekend has started. Lovely!

@kjeldlarsen912 Жыл бұрын

Great great video of work thank you

@TheLadeef Жыл бұрын

It's just the frame! No worries

@onepairofhands Жыл бұрын

Great work sir

@bluetitan20 Жыл бұрын

Brilliant job George. Once this restoration is finished you will be so glad at how much you did yourself, you will have those skills for the next one 😉 I think you will be surprised how quickly it will come together once you have the chassis done and get the body on top. Looking forward to the next episode now.

@aaronwolk998 Жыл бұрын

Your videos always make me feel like they are being narrated by Dara O Briain.

@oliverclothier5677 Жыл бұрын

Been waiting for this !!!!

@gilberesrepairs Жыл бұрын

Some skills on display this week 😎

@justinjonbaugh Жыл бұрын

Dude, you got my last name right! 🎯 Loving the network you're getting involved. Keep em' coming! Cheers! 🥃

@soupclassicmotoring Жыл бұрын

We Irish know how to pronounce ‘-gh’ ☘️ 💪🏼

@simonhodgetts6530 Жыл бұрын

Wowsers! It’s almost criminal to cover that up with an Esprit body shell……..👍👍👍👍

@TheLRider Жыл бұрын

Amazing job on the whole enterprise, but love the stainless trailing arms. So impressed with the sheet bending press both the man driving it and never forgetting the people who design and make such presses. Tool makers are another breed. A quick question, what will you use to treat the inside of the chasis box sections? Be very very proud of what your doing. I love the Esprit and anything Lotus tbh.

@patfilice Жыл бұрын

Absolutely gorgeous

@zg8626 Жыл бұрын

Looking fab! It did seem a bit like you were trying to measure centre to centre on the holes at the end by guessing where the middles were in empty space. You can of course measure edge to edge and subtract the 2 radii (or a diameter if the holes are the same), all of which is a bit easier to measure. Can't wait for the next episode.