lotsats

There is a typo in my original posting. As series one car was manufactured in May, 1960, not in 1969.

I’m in North Carolina and recently added a third 1966 Lotus 7 S2 restoration project to my collection. This joins a 1984 Caterham, and 1969 Lotus 7 Series1 vintage racer. This will be a full restoration including re-skin, and, fortunately came with almost all the new aluminum parts for this. Some items are missing, so I need: Right motor mount for a twincam engine. This should be the same as for the Ford Kent pushrod motors. Fuel tank Alternator Original type steering wheel Under the dash hand brake mechanism and cable (or please tell me the vehicle for these) Linkages to connect handbrake cable at the rear axle to the brake mechanisms. The car has been converted to a Ford rear axle so parts from a solid axle Caterham might work. Other items will, of course, be need, so I will likely make other requests down the road. Thanks!!!!! Joel

I need these mounts too, and look up the part numbers on the web sites for various auto parts stores in my area. O’Reilly Auto parts shows them as an item they can order at a cost of less than $10 each.

Thanks Steve!!!!! Thanks Anker!!!!!

Thanks Steve!!!!!

My parked 1984 Caterham was backed into today. I need: Bonnet/hood Left front clamshell wing/fender I would consider converting the car to front cycle fenders if someone has the fenders and brackets. Thanks!!!!!

My Series 1 Lotus 7 vintage racer has the BMC 948cc motor, so it’s different from your Crossflow. In the assortment of parts that came with the car was an oil pan with a flat metal panel/plate welded to it’s bottom. There were scrapes on the panel from hitting things, but the pan itself wasn’t damaged. The car, in race from, sits closer to the ground than my Caterham. I assume the plate was added for protection during off track excursions. Just an idea ——————-

I’m a few days late to this party, but want to suggest that you check the contact in the turn signal bulb socket to see if it has electricity and socket itself is making connection to ground. The ground connection to the chassis often is slightly corroded.

When I painted my Caterham a while back, I replaced the scratched up metal rear fender protector plates with new ones. Wanting to protect more of the fender I had a shop that installs clear vinyl, or whatever they use, front end protection film add this to what the plates don’t cover and continue it higher up the fender. I also had them put film on the top edges of the door openings or sills, or whatever you want to call them. To save money, you could probably do this yourself, and not have the shiny plates to look at. Just sayin’ ———————

Where are you in NC? I’m in the Raleigh area. Joel

Ah! That forward pipe isn’t welded into the collector, right.

So —————— can they be removed without taking out the steering column?

I really like the uniform bends! Giggle!!!!!

I’d appreciate your sending me a copy to: joelhoffman11@gmail.com i have a 1984 Caterham, and a 1960 Lotus 7 vintage racer. Thanks!!!!! Joel

I’m in North Carolina and have have 3 or 4 Spridget differentials. Call me at: 919-649-5635. The price will be very reasonable. Joel

So—————-in 1969, I bought a used Formula Vee and went SCCA racing. After my first driver school, I removed the rollbar to add a taller one with better reinforcements. Upon inspection, the old bar was made out of electrical conduit. I don’t thank that even Colin Chapman would have done something that reckless during his quest for lightness.

Does anyone know if, besides the x bracing and additional drilled holes, these bars are different from the standard bars. In other words, will welding the x bracing into the standard bar, using the same size DOM tubing, be the same strength as the FIA/track day bar?

I’m interested in both seats. Please call me: 919-649-5635. Thanks!!!!! Joel

Skinny tires!!!!! I ain’t gonna’ use no stinkin’ SKINNY TIRES!!!!! Hmmmmm————- unless I want to relive my lost youth and turn it into a DRIFT CAR????????? Actually, I’m not sure I can actually buy skinny tires.

I found this picture while looking at some SCCA race results from 1962. Do you think I can use an “authentic” roll bar like this on my Lotus 7 vintage racer?

This is a couple of months old, but I thought I would add my two cents anyway. The fuel gauge on my Caterham is very inaccurate so I would not assume that because the gauge moved to the halfway point, you actually used half a tank of gas. It is also very difficult to fill the tank, and I believe this is a common problem. The 90° elbow on the filler neck just doesn’t seem to let gas and air pass in opposite directions readily. My car often regurgitates gas while filling it and I question whether I actually get it full. What is “full” at one stop may not be ”full” the next time. For some reason, I have found an individual pump at one station which seems to work most of the time. I finally eliminated the elbow leaving the original gas cap in place for appearance and added a straight filler tube inside the boot with its own cap. If you really want to check the fuel mileage, and don’t have a working odometer in the car, you may be able to record the distance on a GPS. I suggest driving a considerable distance, maybe a couple hundred miles. Try to get the tank absolutely full before doing this, record any fuel added during this period, and then make sure you get it absolutely full at the end. This will give you a lot better idea of what your fuel mileage actually is.

It’s probably not the case with your car, but do you have a limited slip rear end, or possibly worse, a welded differential? In tight turns, these could cause the front to push out during acceleration.

I’m in the Raleigh, NC area and have a 20 foot enclosed Wells Cargo brand trailer I’ve been planning on selling. You can call me at: 919-649-5635. Joel

I am not sure where my first reply sequenced in on this post, but here are the rest of my thoughts. I will explain this in relation to my personal trailer. It has a 22 foot long tilt bed. I have some low front clearance vehicles, and also small vehicles that are short enough to allow me to put two cars on the trailer at the same time. Using a couple of removable ramps as mentioned in my first reply allows me to take care of the low front clearance issue by lengthening the approach bath and jacking up the rear of the trailer a few inches to get it off the ground. When I load my WWII Jeep with its military trailer attached, or the Jeep without trailer with my Lotus 7 behind it, the extension ramps also assist. My tilt bed automatically tips back down to towing position when the car being loaded gets far enough on to move the center of gravity forward. If the Jeep trailer wheels are on the ramps, this weight keeps the trailer tipped up long enough to get everything on. Loading the Jeep and Lotus is a little more complicated. First, I drive the Jeep onto the trailer, but not far enough forward to tip the front back down. Then, I drive the front wheels of the Lotus over the ramps, putting the car part way onto the trailer. That holds the back end down while the Jeep gets moved the rest of the way forward. The Lotus is then moved forward, and the trailer bed pivots into towing position. Hopefully, this makes sense.

I am going to comment on this post and also the next one. It sounds as if this is a tilt bed trailer. If you have a clearance issue with the nose, a solution is to add some ramps to the back of the trailer to modify the car’s angle of approach. You can put either a floor jack or a block of some sort under the back edge of the trailer so that it won’t drop all the way to the ground. With the ramps lengthening the path onto the trailer, your car will go on at a more shallow angle and not have a problem.