ianashdown

An original Tank? Clean inside too! The gree nose is unused, albeit with a little damage. The Yellow one might make a good buck for a mold . . Engine definitely seems to have some tuning improvements. Never seen this mod on a 7 radiator before. Serck radiator. Original - maybe.

I have taken, and will continue to take load of pictures. The question is should I post them on here or put them in DropBox and supply the link? Ian SoCal

My problem in this case is I received about 3 cars worth of parts. Some I know was MG TD, the rest I don’t know but it’s clearly not Lotus. I’m sorting everything in to three categories: definitely Lotus 7, might be Lotus 7 and definitely NOT Lotus 7. Some of this is quite modern so no doubts there! Ian

My 1961 Lotus 7 S2 basket case project arrived today! It’s been since early February we’ve been trying to purchase the car and arrange getting it from AZ to me in SoCal! It a Unirads built chassis that was taken apart in ‘69 and stored in an attic in Phoenix. There are 1969 Phoenix newspapers used to pack some parts! There are enough parts to build at least one other car included in the pile of ‘stuff’! I’m not sure what most of the other parts are from, all kinds of different things! Some junk, some look quite decent quality. But I do think that most of the important parts are present, rough as guts in some cases, but somewhere to start. Some parts seem to be in decent shape, some quite original, and some may not make the Final Cut. It does look like this car was raced or auto-crossed at some point as there are signs of ‘performance’ modifications, a very rough roll hoop, some chassis gusseting etc. but most significantly the head has clearly been worked, the ports seem nicely re-shaped, and there are a pair (I think) of Webers. Everything was thrown in the garage a quickly as possible this morning, but I’ll get out in the garage later to start sorting out which parts are 7 and which are from something other than a 7. I’ll take take pictures as I go and post a few here. My goal, at present, is to restore the car to near original but we’ll see if that remains a viable objective as I get into the project. Im sure I’ll have all kinds of questions for the collective wisdom here! Fun times! Ian SoCal

This is now in the Downloads section and available for everyone who wants it. Ian

I think I followed the process above, but received the message that .xlsx file we’re not an acceptable format. Anyhoo, Croc seems to have imported it and it is now available for all. Ian

Trying to place it in the Downloads section. Hopefully it is being taken care of. Ian

Hi, I haven't been able to find anything online but does a Lotus Workshop Manual Exist for the Series 2 Sevens (1961 in my case)? Also, I have run the Master Parts List through and OCR, then edited it and put it in to an Excel Spreadsheet. With this you can use the spreadsheet to add notes, track progress, parts missing, in progress. ready to assemble etc, etc as you choose. .xlsx file are not permitted to be uploaded, so if anyone would like a copy please send me a note with an email address and I will send a copy. Ian

I hope you’re right about San Clemente! I live in San Clemente and have registered a few salvage motorcycles there without any problem, but in a year or two I will be trying to get my ‘61 Lotus Seven, from AZ and without a title, ( I do have a photo of the AZ title) registered in CA. I’m hoping with its age etc it won’t be as challenging as some others have found with their Caterhams. If anyone has any guidance or suggestions I’ll be very happy to take it all on board. Thank you, Ian San Clemente, CA

That must be the information I had stuck in my mind somewhere! I’m trying to figure out the best repair method. Tig absolutely cannot be used where it has previously been brazed, but I think it should be OK if it has been gas fusion welded. I have a Gasfluxer and the correct rod as used by the English race car builders, and it should work with fusion/gas welding too. I’ll do some tests before going ahead with the chassis repairs. Should be interesting! Ian

Does anyone have knowledge of the welding method used on the Universal built early Lotus 7 chassis. I know Arch used, and still use, Nickel-Bronze Brazing using a Gas Fluxer, but I read the Universal didn’t. So what method did they use? I will be replacing a few tubes and making other repairs to my ‘61 S2 soon and would like to be consistent with the original build. Thanks, Ian SoCal

While being so far out in front of reality I thought I’d ask if anyone knows if Lotus re-painted the block and head of the Ford 105E engines in S2 cars as they did with the Elan Twin Cam block and head. If they did, was it the same grey as used on the Elan? Thanks, Ian

I’m getting so far ahead of myself thinking about vinyl and how that relates to the car color etc, but it fun to think about it. On the off-chance that the seats clean up OK and aren’t torn etc I’d be tempted to keep them for originality, patina etc. I’d have new foams made most likely, but I don’t want a green car. Not that there’s anything wrong with green, he says ducking for cover! I’ll probably replace it all and then I’ll have free choice of car color. The dilemma is, as a ‘61 car should I pick a color that is period appropriate or a brighter modern color? Ian

Thank you! Good suggestion. Ian

I’ve seen black and a lot of red seat and dash vinyl, but is anyone aware of green seats being offered by the factory in 1961? Did they do special orders? Just curios. Ian

Hi, I wonder if anyone knows the inset/offset dimensions for the Caterham 420 13” diameter, 6” and 8” wheels. Also, what do we believe are the lightest 13 x 6” & 8” wheels available in the US? Thanks, Ian

Many years ago I was introduced to a guy who had two P51 Mustangs. One was flying the other being rebuilt. Frame 30 feet away flyable plane looked like polished Aluminium, with black and white checkered nose. As I got closer I realized that it was actually painted in just the right shade of silver! I’ve thought this might be a good practical solution for a 7. Ian

Hi, I’m modeling every tube in SolidWorks so I can send a package out for CNC tube bending and possibly laser cutting all the tubes, straight and bent. I can put together a fairly decent fixture, break out the gas-fluxer (its been a while), and put a chassis together. I’d replace all the aluminum panels with carbon - that’s my business - so could end up with a decent chassis, I think, for not too many $. I’m going for independent rear suspension using the Sierra Diff unit, and I’m going to look at inboard rear brakes. The brakes are easy, but the parking brake is a bit of a challenge. I may go for an electronic brake, which is quite simple and has the advantage of no lever in the cockpit. This could be a fun project! Ian

I just can’t get the looks. Everything KTM does is well engineered, so I’m sure this is too, but the question I have to ask is what does losing one rear wheel solve? What was the motivating factor that drove the decision chain to this result? Just sayin! ian

I’ve never seen, or looked for, a video of a Slingshot being cornered hard. Because of this I find I difficult to take three wheelers seriously. Sorry. Not sorry! ian

Not so good at fabricating, but I can Tig and Nickel-Bronze Braze with a gas fluxer. I can use a lathe and can mill in 3 or 5-axis. I can also do hi-level composites, either prepreg or infusion. I’m very familiar with the suspension Analysis software and all the other functions that are available in CAD these days. So I feel I have the skills to do something like this. I think the smart thing to do is send the tubes out for laser cutting and CNC bending, the sheet metal, probably not metal in this case, is mostly flat or single curvatures. The Miata/MX5 gearbox looks like it could be good, but it needs the front of the main housing reworking somehow and new Bellhousing. The T9 is well supported in the UK and I believe we could offer new transmissions with alloy housings and ratios to suit the performance and use profile. There will be lots to figure out and the supply chain will be a challenge, but I think we could put together a very cool car. Ian

Riley? As in English car from the ‘30’s etc? Ian

The car you mentioned was the one I was going for. It had almost all the parts but no V5. The lack of paperwork would not have been a problem for me in CA. New thoughts are hatching . . . ian

I have been looking at various scenarios to acquire a project 7. Either an original Lotus or a Replica. These would, however, be different projects, the Lotus would be more authentic focused and the Caterham, or whatever, more performance oriented. Somebody also suggested building my own, which I quickly dismissed as the cost of building a well engineered one-off is always going to be high. More on this later . . . Looking at the Kit manufacturers it’s clear that most are in the UK, very few in the US, although it seems it’s a tough business to be in whichever side of the pond. So, here’s the question. Is there a case for another manufacturer of quality 7 replicas in the US? The cost of shipping from the UK seems to have exploded in the last few years, so that at least gives some small advantage to Made in the USA. With the germ of an idea planted, and rejected at the time, I started to layout a 7 concept in CAD. Being a design engineer with a background in F1, ChampCar etc., I couldn’t just replicate a 7, I’d want to make logical improvements, but all the while maintaining the purity of appearance and philosophy of original concept but evolved in a way CABC might have done himself. So, more added lightness with strategic use of Carbon Fiber. Improved Rear Suspension, Improved brake manners, etc, but still basic, simple, light and pure 7+. The price to be competitive with the best kits available currently. Powerplants are TBD, but I’m leaning towards alloy block Ford Crossflow, Twin Cam, BDA or BDG with fully managed fuel injection and ignition. Connect this to an Alloy B/H and Alloy Case Type 9, you see where this is going. Pure to the origins of the 7, but a wolf in sheep’s clothing. I, and several of my friends are engineers, refugees from Formula One, IndyCar, Sports Car Racing, some from the Auto Industry most either still in those businesses or now working in the US Aerospace industry, so collectively we have the skills and experience to take on a project like this, and understanding that the expectation is not to get rich, but to build a quality, well engineered car, mostly for the fun and satisfaction of doing it, not just for ourselves but also for a few customers who align with our vision. Collectively we have 100+ years experience and networks of resources that stretch around the world. So is it worth doing or is the market already flooded? Ian

I can not see any way that it could be cheaper. The cost of getting any kind of low volume manufacturing done in SoCal is super high, I wouldn’t be surprised if the chassis ended up costing $10K. Then there is molds for the bodywork etc. No thank you, Ian