My Lotus 7's gestation period

59 images

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  Starting the lower A-arm build

  By notakit
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  tig welds with steel for crucial joints

  By notakit
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  I brazed one continuous tube through both bulkheads to assure the lower a-arm mounts are aligned with each other. The next step will be cutting the mid section out.

  By notakit
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  always checking the frame dimensions after every step in welding.

  By notakit
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  Someone asked me what kind of mill I was using. ha!

  By notakit
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  The beginning of a motor mount.

  By notakit
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  An original 1960 Oregon plate complete with it's metal plate shows how the same 7" center-to-center spare tire mounts double as the license plate mount when I leave the spare at home.

  By notakit
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  The head side of the intake manifolds

  By notakit
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  One half of the dual SU manifolds

  By notakit
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  I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel (or manifold) here, just changing the carbs from 30º to level and adding a half inch to stay as far away from the header as possible.

  By notakit
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  Motor mounts with the required clearance for a narrow steering column.

  By notakit
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  out of boredom I decided to build a grill from aluminum.

  By notakit
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  The horizontal pieces are perfectly level and parallel. The slight asymmetric gap at the top is due to an uneven fiberglass opening. You and I are the only ones that will notice this. On to the three vertical bars!

  By notakit
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  Can anyone tell what this is going to be?

  By notakit
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  Lighter, faster, sexier?

  By notakit
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  Why, its a transmission mount!

  By notakit
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  The numer two reason to install a radiator; so the second bulkhead's diagonal brace doesn't make the 7 look like a volvo!

  By notakit
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  An original OR plate complete with a '60 metal tab will be a nice finishing touch to this project.

  By notakit
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  in the beginning, there were tubes. And the tubes were square.

  By notakit
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  No, this is NOT a dragster wheelchair!

  By notakit
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  A slight variation of the frame where the radius arms will attach.

  By notakit
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  "original curves" except the lower dash crossbar.

  By notakit
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  brackets for the radius arms. These will get a big hole drilled between the smaller mounting holes to lighten up each bracket. This is one of several changes I'm making from the original 7's design.

  By notakit
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  first step in making the axle's radius arm brackets.

  By notakit
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  almost there...

  By notakit
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  Now it should make sense.

  By notakit
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  "close, but no axle"

  By notakit
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  Like the rest of the frame, I'm tig welding with silicon bronze rod. This requires less heat that steel rod, less time than the originally brazed frames and still has that brazed look.

  By notakit
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  5" off the ground and just a few more tubes left.

  By notakit
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  Not a steering wheel but a removable spare tire mount that suspends the tire 1/2" from the body.

  By notakit
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  The spare tire mount uses a front hub so the same hammer that removes the flat, removes the spare.

  By notakit
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  Once the mounting tabs are welded to this frame, the tire nor frame will touch the body panel.

  By notakit
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  The axle side of the panhard rod.

  By notakit
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  Starting the frame side brackets for the panhard rod.

  By notakit
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  Drilled to be a little lighter.

  By notakit
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  welded to the same diagonal tube that will be reinforced with the battery tray.

  By notakit
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  Real knock-offs and the old snow tires off the donor car. Yes, I will get rid of those tires before the car hits the road.

  By notakit
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  A little sub-frame and plate to support the fuel cap and weight of the gas station's pump nozzle.

  By notakit
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  I'm using a Monza style cap so if/when I build a top for this Lotus, I wont have to unsnap the top for every fill up.

  By notakit
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  The beginning of a fuel tank. The design allows me to fill up 10.5 gallons for the long hauls (I live in the middle of nowhere) and the level top of the tank is the right height to support the rear storage area's deck.

  By notakit
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  The battery box to be located behind the passenger's seat. Those two holes are for aluminum nut-serts. That way if a thread gets buggered up I can replace it without damaging the paint.

  By notakit
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  The standard battery developed for the Mazda Miata was the perfect size for this little Lotus.

  By notakit
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  forming the end-caps of the fuel tank.

  By notakit
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  baffle installed

  By notakit
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  A good fit before welding.

  By notakit
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  Starting to look like a Lotus 7 silhouette. funny to think when this car is finished, it will weigh a couple hundred pounds LESS than my flat-table!

  By notakit · 1 comment
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  Steering rack quiz: Which one is a midget LHD and which one is a Morris LHD? Note the identical lengths. (the Morris is on the left)

  By notakit
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  I've decided to put my steering rack behind the front axle like the early 7's which requires cutting the rack and it's housing down by at least 10". The rack is as easy as cutting then machining new threads and the keyway into the non-gear end.

  By notakit
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  This is what my shortened rack should look like when its all done except mine will be LHD. Note the boots stay inside the body on this Lotus eleven.

  By notakit
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  The battery box welded in place.

  By notakit