ianashdown

I finally received the bog-stock 120E engine that came with 7 today. It has this sticker on the rocker cover. It seems this was Don Roberts RacEngineering. Don is/was a highly successful Cobra racer. The 105E engine appears to be tuned, I wonder if Don may have done the work or perhaps the rocker covers were swapped at some time. Still having the hardest time finding the steel tube for the frame repairs! Ian

Could you mount that as a 3rd brake light on the Roll Cage? Ian

This lever came with my 7 project; it’s not Lotus 7, probably not MG TD of which there were many parts, but if someone would like to use it as a starting point for modification, I’ll be happy to send it for the cost of postage only. It even has a bend in it . . Although probably in the wrong direction! Ian

A loud exhaust does the job too! Thats what all the Harley riders rely on here to be ‘noticed’ on the road! Ian

Mike’s price is not unreasonable at £390 especially considering the work that it takes. I do think some low volume stamping tools could be made, the ‘gears’ could cut by laser or EDM so that wouldn’t be too bad, but with the number of likely sales, ROI is unlikely. Id be happy to assist if anyone really want to take this on. Ian

I also am in need of a handbrake lever assembly and have seen all the suggestions as alternatives, but none quite come up to the level of originality that I’m hoping for. However, Mike Brotherwood in the UK apparently has a sporadic and dwindling source of levers that he modifies to be a close replica of the original. They are understandably quite expensive, but as I said to him, “what other choice do I have?” If this is anything like Mikes usual quality/standard I’m sure I will be very happy! I believe he is working on a small ‘batch’ currently, so you might reach out to him. Good Luck, Ian

Having just purchased some original doors from Chris at Sevens and Elans, I will of course need hinges to mount them to the screen. Does anyone have a set that they would be willing to sell? Thank you! Ian

We have an IMS locally in Irvine. I’ll call them today. thank you, Ian

I’m ready to place an order for the steel tubing to repair the chassis and it seems CDS (Cold Drawn Seamless) is not so easy to find. Does anyone know of a supplier in the LA or San Diego area? I don’t think CDS exists for square or rectangular tubing, what is the best choice to use, DOM? Thanks, Ian

I’m wondering if I’m too old or just too stupid!

I agree with your father! This is not a car for LA Freeways. I’m in south Orange County and PCH or some mountain roads will be more my style! The frame is a bit of a mess, some of the aluminum panels are too rough to think about re-using, but some will be re-used and will add a look of period authenticity. Most of the mechanical parts seem to be in good shape, so they will be refreshed and rebuilt, but as many of the original parts as possible will be used. It’ll be fun for sure! Ian

Life, work etc has prevented much progress recently, but I was able to get the frame out to be sandblasted, just to reveal all the damage and corruption! I have a little work to do!! Here is a Dropbox link to some photos. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/5fbxp9y40ukjkayj2pfzt/h?rlkey=onfns980zq7ivg173lpv5hti3&dl=0 Please let me know if the link doesn't work. All thoughts, suggestions, sympathies or donations are welcome!! Ian SoCal

Is it not mandatory to share pictures?! Eagerly awaiting Ian

I tried recently too and didn’t receive a reply. Ian

I’ve declined to move ahead with this car, despite it being a great project with a one owner history etc. If I were able to be in France to load it on a truck and drive it to Arch for repairs, re-skin etc it would be a no- brained, but trying to do this from CA by remote, not understanding the French export requirements to the UK, they don’t like the UK so much anymore, and so on, it’s just too much hassle. I need to focus on my two projects and not bring home any more strays . . .!! Ian

Hi, Thanks for your response. The car is in pieces as was disassembled 20-30 years ago. It has an old style buff UK log book, but not the current style document. It was never registered in France I believe. Here’s the real surprise . . It’s is a confirmed one owner car! It’s a project to be sure, and a big one given some of the modifications. Its value as it sits is not great and I think the degree of difficulty and potentially cost to import it probably makes it a non-economic project for me, not like that should be the only criteria, but there will be others who could take this on without the additional burden. I love projects like this, but one 7 is more than enough! Ian

What is the consensus on how difficult it could be to import a 1966 Lotus 7 UK car, not licensed for 20-30 years, and now resident in France, in pieces, to California? It seems like it would not have the paperwork to export from France but it could possibly be taken back to the UK and exported from there. With Brexit even that may be a PITA! Ship it in several shipments as ‘parts’? Seems like this could be tough, long winded and expensive! Thoughts, comments? Mockery?! Ian

This will be for the repair of an original chassis undergoing significant repair including some tube replacements and some additions. The 3M product I think I’ll use has long spray tubes which sprays radially, not just straight out of the end. I’ll be using any available rivet hole or other access point. There will be some that I will not be able to access, but this car was stored in AZ and will be in CA for the foreseeable future, I’m not going to loose sleep. Ian

Looking ahead, as I'm prone to doing, it seems inevitable that I'm going to need to replace much of the Aluminium skinning on the car. The Scuttle and maybe the Hood could be reused, which would be nice as it'll keep some of the patina of the car. It doesn't seem to make sense to get them from the UK because of the difficulties shipping them to California. so is there anyone in the US who is selling S2 Seven panels? I don't have the equipment or skill to attempt this myself. Ian SoCal

This is what I was thinking of using. It seems to come with all the right accessories needed to coat the inside of long-ish tubes. I generally like 3M products. I don't imagine this would 'fix' the rivet tails that rattle around inside the tubes, still need to find some way to deal with that. I was thinking about injecting a little resin when they are all tipped in to a tube end. I'm going to try and and get out what I can with a vacuum cleaner first.

Yes I plan to. Also there is some kind of foam made by 3M I believe that stop everything rattling around in the tubes. I don’t think rust will be a big problem here as is dry, but for the next owner, in many, many years . . . I’m also trying to come up with a good plan for a flat base for a chassis fixture and welcome any suggestions. Ian

I think that powder coating may fall in to the category of over-restoring for this car, and I don’t think I’ll be going that route. I have spray equipment and will probably buy a cheap 10’ x 20’ easy-up to use as a temporary spray booth. I’m not very good at spraying so my finish should be in line with factory original. Ian

My approach with color matching is, if I’m powder-coating, is to find one that is close to the desired color, then get paint matched to the powder-coat. For a race car I choose the racers-tape first, then match the paint. In this case I’m not sure powder-coat will be appropriate, so I appreciate the lead for the correct colors. Ian

Thank you for the lead. I’ll be needing all new seat upholstery, but I want to do all the frame work first as I think the tube that I’ll be adding across the rear of the floor might necessitate trimming an inch or so from the sear base. I think I’m also going to add some 1” x 1/2” triangulation under the seats and I’ll need to check the fit of the base. I’m OK with raising the seat up 1/2” for the additional strength. Do XtraSpecialSevens also make hoods, tonneau’s and trunk covers? Thank you, Ian

There are a couple of answers to this I guess. One is that I have the Nickel-Bronze Brazing setup, many years ago I put a complete new front end on my Formula Ford, so I figure the learning curve will not be too steep or long. The other reason is the low temp nature of brazing. I think this must be a plus for a repair to an existing frame. I imagine if I were to send this to Arch Motors they would use brazing for the repair. TIG would be my next choice, again because I used to be quite good at it, but also because it is so controllable it should allow for the least heat. The problem is the cost. I’ve had quotes of $2800-$5000 to upgrade the power, add $2500-$3500 for a semi decent welder, another grand for additional supplies etc., it adds up to quite a sum. I’ve never used or liked MIG so I’m not going to start now. In all likelihood this is my second to last restoration so it doesn’t seem like a smart spend. I have all the death-wheels, grinders etc that I need, it’s just a decent fixture and a delivery of steel tubing and off to the races! Not literally. Ian