Christopher smith

My mysterious clutch issues continue but have changed so I would like to put in some new parts. I have a 1500 early Cortina GT based motor hooked up to a Pinto 4 speed. The clutch set-up was apparently discontinued so am trying to source parts in the USA instead of trying to source from the UK. Not sure what the clutch parts were original to however. I have a 190 mm (7.5 inch) diameter clutch disc, the kind with the little coil springs locked in place. It has a 1 inch 23 spline configuration to fit the Pinto input shaft. The pressure plate fits the Cortina flywheel (223 mm bolt circle and is the flat finger (12 fingers) type. Although my old parts seem to look ok, I certainly am not a clutch expert and doi not know how to test anyway.I and wonder if I damaged them by overextending with the Saab type concentric slave cylinder/ throw out bearing and maybe had set the pedal stop wrong. I think I am on track with a Tilton slave cylinder with the 0400 series T.O. bearing but would like other new parts since pulling the engine just to test is no fun. Any ideas where to source a pressure plate much appreciated.

We used to spray a shot of ether into the carb in winter and hope there was no backfire. Now, I just wait until warmer weather.

FYI-Not sure of the exact figures on range of flammability but I remember a few workers in the nitrocellulose unit at Naval Ordnance Station, Indian Head died when the ether /alcohol mixture lit up back in 1968. Ether has a pretty wide range of mixes with oxygen/nitrogen where it is going to light from a small spark. That is why starter fluid spray works so much better than gasoline, particularly in cold weather. Not sure if anyone has been talking about hydrogen powered cars being dangerous but they better be extra careful.

I worried about not being noticed by stupid SUV drivers so I fly a rather large Union Jack from the top rear of my roll cage. I know they should hear me coming with the ineffective muffler and high revs.

Actually I use RT422 only to go to the Oaks, PA race car show in the dead of winter ( not in my series 1 Lotus 7 which has a salt and water phobia). It is a really nice nostalgic look at their race car technology which is approximately 80 % short oval, paved and dirt, 15 % drag racing oriented and maybe 1-2% sports cars. I certainly admire how some of the cars have coupled 1950s sort of thinking with cutting edge stuff, depending on their rules. Kind of like some of our 7s. Great fun to watch racing although not in January. Surprising to see the hot set-up for dirt oval cars includes tires that look like a perfect match for the 1960 or so Dunlop R5 formula 1 tyre.

Let's all remember these SUV guys are the same ones that think, because their all wheel drive has traction to start moving on ice/snow, that it can stop and corner just fine also. Keep your seat belts tight!

Sure is nice that special techniques/advice flows for us. Fancy bolt applications seem to be the trick on a number of automotive applications. Finding the easiest way to attach the intake/exhaust to the head on a 1500 pre-crossflow is a great example.

Wow-very impressive work! Some years ago when I finally got back to assembling my 1959 series 1, I had a 1500 GT Cortina motor but both Cortina gearboxes I had accumulated had serious issues. So I found an early Pinto 4 speed. I do not recall if the bellhousing was from the Cortina or a Pinto, but it bolted up. I needed a 1 inch 23 spline 7 1/4 disc to get it to work. Apparently they are not made any more. A Saab concentric clutch release ( T/O) system worked for a few years of occasional outings just fine but finally I got black color in the Tilton master cylinder reservoir. So replaced the master and slave and TO bearing. Never got it to work again however. I am part way toward trying a Tilton concentric system which I hope has the correct dimensions.

Would others like to contribute their experience and expertise? What has left you stranded or you spotted it about to fail? Some parts fail with age, some with road miles, some with track stresses ( not just crash related) , some with a combination and some with just poor application/design. I would be interested to hear everyone's experiences with Lotus and newer 7 versions, including model specific items, with details/opinions if you wish. Perhaps if there are a few frequent failures, we can then discuss better materials/designs for reliability.

I usually do not take the bonnet off as the reinstall with the 2x40DCOE velocity stacks is tricky. I encourage kids to get in the driver's (right) side-----a bit confusing for some---- "this car is just your size" but keep a careful watch for anyone who thinks the wings are seating They just grab the roll cage and swing in after I remove the steering wheel, then reinstall for parent's happy photo session. "this is not a show car" but I got a prize anyway. Great fun!

Apparently my 1959 Lotus 7 series 1 had a twin cam Alfa engine for quite some time in England before it was refitted for a Ford motor and I bought it . Strange choice I guess.

I like the five and six point for all uses. It just gives me a much more secure feeling

Being involved in racing for decades I got the impression that 5 point and 6 point harnesses were the way to go even before they were required since they keep the belt from riding up and also prevent "submarining" in a serious shunt if the seating position is laid back. Driving our small cars on the street may be less dangerous than on the track but competing with trucks and giant SUVs with stupid drivers doesn't seem all that safe either. Maybe keep that anti-submarine belt buckled. Also, I thought the early nylon webbing was more of a problem with UV degradation. Maybe not now so much? A street driven car that is usually in a garage may not get that much UV?

That is what I use

For even more info , If you have not already, you might want to check with Bean Engineering about sourcing all sorts of info and parts. The catalogs are great.

For sure we had some great times at the old Marlboro track. I attended various SCCA races, some drivers schools and pit crewed a couple of times. I also ran autocross there in my outrageous full sized Ford wagon with a 406 engine I installed plus suspension tweaks. I think the guys in the Corvettes were very shocked when they compared times with me. I did not beat them all however.

Lots of interest and input since I started this about a Lotus exhibit-thanks. Has anyone been to the Barber Museum, I think near Birmigham AL? It apparently has lots of Lotus cars along with motorcycles. I don't think it has anything to do with Skip Barber. I visited his garage in Philadelphia with a mutual friend after he acquired a new, really fast 23 around 1964. That would have been a start of a great Lotus collection of course but I think Skip went another route forming a race training school. Another great museum is the Revs Institute in Florida that I can recommend. Loads of famous and rare road race examples.

I guess that Mk1 GT running gear has a lot in common with some of the Series 2 Super 7s like the 1500 pre-crossflow (minus 2x40 DCOE and Cosworth cam originally anyway) 4 into 2 into 1 exhaust and same gearbox. Is yours an early one with the early rope seal rear crankshaft set-up?

I sure remember the early days when the team was racing lotus cortina. Jim Clark of course was driving one but there was another fellow I saw I think it Watkins Glen that was really impressive. They certainly lifted a wheel very high going through the corners. But they somehow kept the cars upright at least most of the time. I think that driver was Sir John whitmore. Lots of great memories with the early lotus cars and now having a seven helps relive some of that although not on the track as I'm getting a bit old for that sort of thing

The 30 certainly was a great looking car. I don't think it had a great deal of success in Can-Am since it was up against McLaren and the Lola t70s but I still like it. The lotus 19 was in on the ground floor before Can-Am when it was called us rrc and people started putting V8 engines in the back instead of the Coventry climax. The lotus 23 at the exhibit was a tremendous success and lots of people tried to copy it.

Nice exhibit .They have examples of 6,7,9,11,23 Elan ,Elite , Europa and all sorts of more recent Lotus varieties and a couple of formula cars ( F5000 looked great) Plus in the permanent collection real treasures from Maserati, Ferrari, Alfa, Ford GT, Daytona coup, 917, lightweight Corvette, Cunningham, Jaguar 120, C and D type etc, etc. Definitely go if you can.

I hope the weather guys are correct that the snow will hold off until very late in the afternoon but who knows. I live close enough so I'm not too worried. Hope to see everybody there who can make it

Looks like the Simeone Museum will be having a pretty big Lotus event this Saturday. It is very near PHL airport. and worth going at any time but this Saturday may be special with a number of 7s and lots of other Lotus models along with a great bunch of historic race cars you might want to see. Worth the trip if you can make it.

It is the rectangular 8 gallon ATL sports cell like we always used for SCCA in other cars. But it is too big to fit in usual 7 place so we mounted it above the axle. Higher center of gravity of course. I think the custom ones can go behind axle but they are even more pricey. I was setting up to go D production racing but it took so long I felt too old for serious racing. Almost 80 now.

That is why I have an ATL fuel cell with internal bladder and foam.