F1 lighting upgrade.....

24530 Views 24 Replies 8 Participants Last post by Peloton25, Apr 15, 2013

wolfie308

Discussion Starter · Nov 18, 2011

Evening all,

First post by way of introduction,for the past 6 years or so, I have been hand crafting a range of clear lenses unavailable elsewhere.

Recently, I received a repeat order from McLaren for front indicator/sidelight lenses for the F1.

As you probably know, they were original fitment to the Elan M100 and Esprit S.4. However, they are no longer available from Lotus, so I was very pleased to be able to offer these..

Seen here on the Elan..

Look forward to seeing my creations on an F1

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Peloton25

· #2 · Nov 19, 2011

Here's the first car to wear them - chassis #040 in the UK fresh from a recent refit completed just a couple of months ago.

The side markers were also replaced with clear lenses as well. I am not certain what the original source on those was or whether you had any involvement?

Glad to have you here!

>8^)
ER

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6th element

· #3 · Nov 19, 2011

Peloton25 said:
Here's the first car to wear them - chassis #040 in the UK fresh from a recent refit completed just a couple of months ago.

The side markers were also replaced with clear lenses as well. I am not certain what the original source on those was or whether you had any involvement?

Glad to have you here!

>8^)
ER

Amazing F1. Almost looks like the Sapphire Black that is available on the 12C.

Peloton25

· #4 · Nov 19, 2011

It's actually Dark Blue - here's some words on the paint from the owner:

flemke on PH.com said:
I've instructed them to paint it "Blu Alfa", which is a very dark, solid blue, on the reddish side of blue. It was, supposedly, available on some Alfas in approx 1987-91.

To give you an idea, the blue is the cleanest very dark solid blue that I could find, amongst everything that's been on a production car in last 25+ yrs

When he first announced he had chosen a color he mentioned that it was quite similar to 'Rob Walker Blue' seen here on this 250 GTB:

<-- Click these to enlarge

Another person suggested it should be the same as Fiat's "Blue Lord" seen here on this Integrale:

And again here:

>8^)
ER

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SSO

· #5 · Nov 19, 2011

Has Flemke been invited to McLarenLife?

Would be great to have him on here.

Peloton25

· #6 · Nov 19, 2011

I don't mind inviting him - not sure he'll have the time but it does not hurt to extend the invitation.

>8^)
ER

SSO

· #7 · Nov 19, 2011

Peloton25 said:
I don't mind inviting him - not sure he'll have the time but it does not hurt to extend the invitation.

>8^)
ER

Cool, it would be great to get a few F1 owners here. Andy74b would be another good addition.

wolfie308

Discussion Starter · #8 · Nov 19, 2011

Many, many thanks Peloton25 for those photos, I'm blown away! You don't know who the owner is by any chance?

I'm so chuffed to have been able to make a small contribution to the styling of such an iconic piece of automotive history.

No idea about the side indicators, but they look fairly generic and could have come from a number of sources.

Don't know why I didn't think of it before, but maybe there would be interest in an amber delete option for the rear lights? Hmm.....wonder if I could get hold of a set to reproduce in clear

Peloton25

· #9 · Nov 19, 2011 (Edited)

You are quite welcome.

I do know the owner though we have not yet met. He posts somewhat frequently on a popular UK message forum called PistonHeads under the screen name 'flemke' as you may have picked up on. Over the years we have become online acquaintances.

While he cares a lot about his personal privacy, there is a long running thread started in 2007 that now numbers nearly 400 pages discussing all the details of his McLaren F1 which he has owned for about 10 years and he has spent much of that time developing mostly functional enhancements for in all sorts of ways. In fact, just today the thread was revived for more discussion as he has finally fitted a set of carbon brakes to the car - the very first F1 road car to wear them - an upgrade that has been in the works for the car for quite some time now.

The rear lights for the F1 were sourced from a BOVA Coach - yes, a popular tour bus - and are (I believe) identical to the lights used on some or all versions of the Lamborghini Diablo. I am not certain if flemke would be interested in having clear versions of the rear turn signals for his car but since I plan to email him and alert him to the presence of this thread I'm sure he will see it is being discussed and may choose to comment.

Incidentally, those images I shared of the F1 are credited to joe911 on PistonHeads and in case you were considering using them for any kind of marketing (not sure how you operate?) you should definitely seek his permission first.

>8^)
ER

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6th element

· #10 · Nov 19, 2011

Any close-up pics of the new carbon stoppers?

Peloton25

· #11 · Nov 19, 2011

These are the first so far - click to enlarge each one of them.

>8^)
ER

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Peloton25

· #12 · Nov 19, 2011

Earlier he shared this shot of the bare rotor:

Again some quotes from flemke:

"In round numbers, savings versus iron is about 5.5kg/corner front, 4.2kg/corner rear."

"This is carbon/carbon, which weighs half as much as carbon-ceramic, and does not have the heat-spike vulnerability (well, it does, but at a much higher threshold). Also, with carbon-ceramic, you have got to have a servo, but not with this."

Someone else asked: "As I understood it, the heat required to make carbon-carbon brakes work effectively means they were a non-starter for roads use?"

In response: "You are quite correct. Like many problems, however, this one can be solved (not by me, but by a friend who sprinkles his proprietary magic dust on carbon/carbon discs, and has done so on more than one winning car in F1 this year)."

Few owner's would consider tinkering with their F1s like this - even fewer would go to the trouble of learning all he has about the engineering and technologies that have gone into developing his upgrades and enhancements.

>8^)
ER

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6th element

· #13 · Nov 19, 2011

Peloton25 said:
Earlier he shared this shot of the bare rotor:

Again some quotes from flemke:

"In round numbers, savings versus iron is about 5.5kg/corner front, 4.2kg/corner rear."

"This is carbon/carbon, which weighs half as much as carbon-ceramic, and does not have the heat-spike vulnerability (well, it does, but at a much higher threshold). Also, with carbon-ceramic, you have got to have a servo, but not with this."

Someone else asked: "As I understood it, the heat required to make carbon-carbon brakes work effectively means they were a non-starter for roads use?"

In response: "You are quite correct. Like many problems, however, this one can be solved (not by me, but by a friend who sprinkles his proprietary magic dust on carbon/carbon discs, and has done so on more than one winning car in F1 this year)."

Few owner's would consider tinkering with their F1s like this - even fewer would go to the trouble of learning all he has about the engineering and technologies that have gone into developing his upgrades and enhancements.

>8^)
ER

I think I just wet myself.

wolfie308

Discussion Starter · #14 · Nov 20, 2011

Peloton25, I am again indebted to you. I've had a browse through some of the thread on PH to get a bit of background. Fully understand flemke's desire for privacy and will indeed make contact with joe911 regarding useage of his photos - they'd be ideal images for the homepage of my website

I can't be sure, but it looks as if the feeble standard filament side light bulbs may have been uprated to LED as fitted to this Esprit. I did suggest this to McLaren.

http://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/501-Long-LED-Extreme-Power-2W-360-degree.html

and they're available in 4,5 or 6K colour temp.

The rear lights....from a BOVA coach....I didn't know that! Did a quick search and came up with this...

http://www.moseleycoachsales.co.uk/parts_bova.php?cid=30

Would these be the ones - the first item top of page? If so, I wouldn't mind doing them if there was a whiff of interest. In the meantime, I'll investigate the Lamborghini application.

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Peloton25

· #15 · Nov 20, 2011 (Edited)

wolfie308 said:
Peloton25, I am again indebted to you.

No worries. I am always pleased to be able to help someone when it comes the information about these wonderful cars.

The rear lights....from a BOVA coach....I didn't know that! Did a quick search and came up with this...

http://www.moseleycoachsales.co.uk/parts_bova.php?cid=30

Would these be the ones - the first item top of page? If so, I wouldn't mind doing them if there was a whiff of interest. In the meantime, I'll investigate the Lamborghini application.

I'd say they certainly look the part, but I could not make any guarantees. What I can do is share some photos of what is on the F1 that might provide more detail. In this first one you can read nearly everything that is written on the brake lamp lens - click to enlarge the image.

Off the top of my head, these are some of the better shots I'd have of the pair together - again clickable.

After looking at these more closely and comparing them to the ones on your link it appears the stamped markings are different. Maybe with what you can read on the lenses in my images you can find the proper part?

>8^)
ER

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Peloton25

· #16 · Nov 20, 2011

Actually, with a tiny bit of research on my own I believe I have found the source:

http://www.cobospa.it/catalogo/zz_ing/02/08/02.01.htm

They seem to already offer a clear version of this lens so making one on your own might be a waste of time and resources.

At the bottom of that page are red lenses with a band of amber bisecting them - those are what appeared on the earliest styling model of the F1, seen here at the cars first public unveiling in Monaco:

There was also a point during the car's development where some of the prototypes featured just a single rear lens of that type on each side:

>8^)
ER

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Dr Paul Gibson

· #17 · Sep 8, 2012

Esprit s4 sidelight indicator lenses

Hi there

Do u have any of these available for sale?

Kind regards

Paul Gibson

GeorgeSSS

· #18 · Sep 10, 2012

Peloton25 said:
These are the first so far - click to enlarge each one of them.

http://joe911.com/mclaren-f1/2011-18/DSC_1529.JPG

>8^)
ER

Apologies for taking a short stroll off topic. With that color and the complimentary wheels, this is no longer an automobile. It an objet d'art. It reflects the attention the owner took to execution in understated good taste.

wolfie308

Discussion Starter · #19 · Sep 10, 2012

Dr Paul Gibson said:
Hi there

Do u have any of these available for sale?

Kind regards

Paul Gibson

Hello Paul,

Yes, I make them to order, lead time 3-4 days. If you'd like to mail me at [email protected], I'll send you further details.

Best Regards

Richard Marsden

Sfakianakis

· #20 · Dec 13, 2012

Im pretty sure but I stand to be corrected that these rear lamps are also used on the Lambo Diablo application

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