Stevensonjr

The wiring harness is sold 5-24-23}". Bill Stevenson

I have a complete, Lotus 7 series 2 wiring harness with the alternator mod for sale. It is in new condition, never used, bought from Tony Ingram several years ago for my project. I ended up building my own harness using aircraft grade wire and fittings. I paid $375 for it and will sell it for $275 plus post from Louisiana. Cheers, Bill Stevenson

I bent an aluminum sheet 180 degrees and bolted it to the spare tire tubing, then bolted the license plate to the face. Simple, easy, minimum vibration

Bought this 7 as a derelict race car with a full cage. I stripped it down to the frame and cut the cage off and replaced some of the square tubing. I retained some of the cage tubing to fabricate a street style roll bar. I had the frame sand blasted and powder coated along with the front and rear suspension components. I had a Triumph 7 rear axle and .363 differential shortened and Lotus 7 fittings welded on. I fitted the Triumph 10 rear drum brakes, studs and backing plate to the new axle so all 4 corners had the same bolt pattern and studs. I bought new aluminum body panels from ARCH in the UK, wings from Tony Ingram in the US and fitted them myself. Tough job in the boot top tubing/panel interface. The motor is a pre-crossflow 1500 Ford. Tony Ingram provided the forged parts and cam for the twin DCOE spec fast road version. Dave Hayden built the motor and OH the transmission. I wired the car using the same components I use when wiring aircraft (lots more fuses) I had the car painted by a local restoration shop. My wife insisted on wire wheels and calls the 7 our “ice cream car”. It’s great fun to drive even in cold weather as I found a S2 top and doors on ebay. Cheers, Bill Stevenson

Bruce, thanks for the advice on the seats. I might have to try it. The biplane is a Stearman, WWII training airplane. It is aerobatic and is rated + or - 10 g’s before something breaks. After the war it was a crop duster for years. In 2013 I started with a stripped fuselage, sand blasted it and sprayed epoxy paint on it. I built 4 wings and the center section (wood) covered it all with fabric and painted it in its WWII colors. I had the engine overhauled(Continental 0-670) and installed all new controls and instruments, took me 5 years to build it. I flew it for 5 years then sold it to a new caretaker. It should be flying for many more years. I still fly but not like I used to, age takes a toll.

It was 8 years old when I bought it, the previous owner had tracked it on occasion so he might have changed the spring rates. He did change the exhaust to a non crossover after market set up. I’m too old to start playing with spring rates etc. I’ll just bitch on occasion. After looking at your photo, to answer your “too much of a good thing” question, you would have to let me know what you consider a “good thing”. Wheel spin, breaking loose at 140mph, 150 decibels, screaming passengers, throttle steering, bugs in your teeth, Your body vibrating for 20 minutes after you shut the engine down, etc. In my opinion It’s “almost” too much of a good thing!!!

I’ve had this 2005 Viper for almost 10 years and it’s still a love/hate relationship. The suspension is so hard that even a tar strip is a jarring experience. I recently put new adjustable coilovers on it and a set of Nitto tires that are aimed at mostly street use. It still feels like a no suspension go cart. It does feel better the faster you go, with hard acceleration it sort of squats and everything firms up, steering, tracking and engine response. The car does have a good air conditioner, you need it ALL the time, even with the top down. The V10 puts out so much heat close to your feet that you really can’t drive it in the summer without the dual level air conditioner going full blast. The engine and transmission are first class. 70 mph in 6th gear is 1700 rpm. When doing a pull thru the gears, all the other irritations sort of go away and the acceleration causes tunnel vision similar to my drag cars of years ago. I then remember why I still have it and put up with the quirks. Torque!!!

Croc, my Jeep is a WWII Willys MB, the Jeep at the Birkin shop is a later model, or at least the grille is. It might be one of the first commercial models, a CJ2. The headlights are post WWII. No matter what model it is, the fun factor is there, so are the leaks. If it’s not leaking, you are out of oil, brake fluid or antifreeze etc.

I’ll go to the other end of the performance spectrum with my 1941-42 Jeep. It was restored by a fellow in Kansas who years ago bought up a whole field of surplus MB and Ford jeeps at a Government auction. He would then provide on order a 41-42 Willys or Ford Jeep restored with military parts. I keep mine in a hangar at my ranch and my Grandchildren all learned to drive a standard trans vehicle up and down the airstrip where there is nothing to hit! photo is wife and I surveying hurricane damage at the ranch

I don’t know, my axle builder said to get the rear end used with a 4 speed Triumph 7 transmission, not the 5 speed. I don’t know anything about a model with a V6 engine. My shortened rear end with Lotus 7 brackets welded on works perfectly with the Triumph 3.63 gear. My modified pre-crossflow makes about 125 hp and handles the higher gear quite well.

Don’t know if it was a V6, I do know the axle guru said to get the axle off a 4 speed car to modify so that’s what I got. Did V6’s come with a 4 speed and that axle? anyway I could put the Quaife in if I found the need. The wife calls this our ice cream car, so the need for a LSD is marginal.

In 1984 I saw an ad for a Cobra replica built as a production road car in Brazil. It came with a hard top and a soft top and a 302 Ford V8. A local dealer here started to import them as the “GlasPac Cobra”. I believe He brought in about 9 cars before the DOT said they didn’t meet standards for new cars so he stopped bringing them into the US. I bought one of the 9 and I’ve put 13,000 miles on it in 39 years. It’s one of the best handling and riding street cars I’ve ever owned. When Ford Racing came out with the 302 based, 507 Hp 363 cu in engine about 8 years ago, I installed one and added a Tremec 5 speed trans to go with it. I also added a heavy duty hydraulic clutch. I put a posi in the Dana 44 rear with upgraded Curry axles. The car is 4” longer than most Cobra replicas in the cockpit and wheelbase and weighs 2550 lbs. the acceleration compares favorably with my Viper and managing wheel spin is the main handling chore. Cheers, Bill

Yes, I had to buy adaptors with the wheels, and along with narrowing a Triumph 7 rear end I had the Triumph 10 rear drums/ studs modified to fit that same Triumph 7 rear so the same adaptors could be used on all 4 corners. I think the bolt pattern for the wire wheels is the same as the Spitfire. My wife specified the wire wheels, saying that they looked “proper” for a British road Car. I still have the original wheels and chrome caps for unknown future use.

Might break the mirror and/or the camera. Scott, thanks, the wheels were bought from a site that claims to specialize in British cars. Can’t check who now, I’m recovering from neck surgery, just a bone spur trim. Mirror bracket barely works with top on, great with top off! I copied Tony Ingram’s design.

Thanks to Scott I was able to fabricate my top sticks with the stainless tubing I had on hand. Thanks to eBay I found doors and a top that came off a series 2 Just like mine. They actually cleaned up pretty good! Thanks everybody! Bill

Thanks for all the info on my search for doors. I found a set on ebay that were for a series 2 Lotus, exactly what I need. Bill

I wanted to see how close I could get with my stainless tubing. I filled the tubes with fine blasting media and followed the rear chassis tube to get the right length and shape. I have not put the slight bends in the front tube to lay them flat yet. You can see that in the photos. Thanks for the tubing offer, I think the stainless will work ok..

If you fill the tube with blasting media or sand, then plug the end, it won’t collapse when you use a tube bender. Works well on aviation projects.

Wow, this is more than I expected. Thank you Scott, I should have all the info I need to build my frame. Do you know what the original tubing diameter was? I have a supply of 1/2” stainless tubing that I thought I’d use. Thanks again, Bill

I’m looking for the tubing framework for the top of a Series 2, 1965 7. even a detailed drawing or photos of the full top framework in place would help. something I could borrow and guarantee return would be even better. I’ve got an original top coming that I can use as a pattern but no framework. Thanks, Bill

Ok, I found that pulling the rubber under the front leg of the triangle where the bottom front bolt actually goes thru a hole you punch in the rubber, then tightening the triangle frame bolts, will hold the rubber in place. If the rubber is not firmly by the tightened frame, it will slip out.

How

Leo’s Sabre 7 with photos is a similar model H&S as mine above. He has great photos of his. I have more photos of mine if interested. Leo’s is a finished experienced race car, mine is a project. Bill

This Sabre 7 is an unfinished project that I bought in a 2 car deal to get an Original Series 2 Lotus 7. The body and wings are freshly painted with the bonnet being aluminum. The engine is a OHC Ford 4 cylinder with a 4 speed trans. Most of the wiring is done. It has seats and the instrument panel is in place. It rolls on unknown wheels and it shows signs of never being on the road. The front suspension looks new with the rest of the car looking dusty but unused. It’s stored in my hangar in South Louisiana. Let me know if you are interested. Thanks, Bill

Thanks all, if I can’t find a factory set I’ll reach out for specific dimensions. I’m having trouble reaching Chris at Redline. It takes about a month for him to respond to an email, then if I have a question it takes another month. Hard to order when you can’t talk to him. I’ve called at the right time difference and get a recorded leave a message. Any suggestions on speaking to him, he is supposed to have all the early parts. Thanks, Bill