straightcut

I just saw the video above this morning. It’s only $80 if you go the pay as you go route plus $.99/use.

This tool might be just what you're looking for to simplify wheel alignments: https://gyraline.com/

Lotus also used the torpedo style Lucas L516 (mentioned above by toldfield). If you're patient, you can find them on eBay, but you'll always find them on eBayUK - there are several pair listed there now. Try searching both Lucas 516 and L516. Also listed are reproduction rubber plinths (the rubber base) which you'll probably need. Original plinths by now have typically become rock hard and deeply cracked. The L516 originally came with a glass lens, though reproductions now are plastic, so you may want to clarify lens material and if the plinths are reproductions before clicking the buy-it-now. Mark

I’ll be interested to hear if Mick is around as I was hoping to place an order fairly soon. Thanks for any updates to this thread especially from those with recent experience.

I looked at a large Ace Hardware at their selection - one was too light and the other too dark. Also, there's an Ace brand dark grey that's a little too light. I'm happy I found a match with Superflite SF2100-A.

As a follow-up, I did pick up the three cans of Superflite SF2100-A Lycoming Grey ($14.95/can) from Aero Performance Southwest (Owned by Aircraft Spruce). I sprayed a piece of carboard and held it up to the dark grey on my '62 Super Seven and it appears to be a match! I had to strip down several layers to get to what I believe is the original chassis paint. After many calls and e-mails over the past month, I'm excited to have finally found pre-mixed paint - avoiding the need to tow my chassis to a paint shop for a color match. I hope this is a help to others!

A good member here, Stevensonjr posted a write-up on his Series II restoration and reported he found a good match to the original Lotus chassis dark grey. He said Tempo Aviation A219 - Lycoming Engine Gray was about as close to perfect as a paint match would achieve. Unfortunately, I've found Tempo has ceased production of their spray paints. My research has revealed Superflite has begun to offer a replacement to the Tempo paint under part #SF2100-A, Lycoming Gray. I'll be picking up three cans tomorrow from Aero Performance Southwest in Chandler, AZ ph. 800/966-6936 - it's around $16/can. Also, I haven't checked, but exact replica red seat covers with cream piping may be available from Xtra Special Sevens. Also, they should carry the cream piping to purchase by the foot. http://www.xtraspecialsevens.co.uk/body.html I'm about to place an order for a seat kit and piping myself for a white (factory original color) '60 SII America.

"Lightweight", but what does it weigh?

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/d/spokane-1962-lotus-super/7635267413.html I have no knowledge of this car or the seller. I just happened to spot it by **accident** ;-)

Found this home built Seven with 4AGE Toyota engine, unknown transmission, not titled/licensed: https://sacramento.craigslist.org/pts/d/grass-valley-scca-nasa-autocross-race/7633059119.html

You may want to resist the temptation to use stainless steel hardware for this application. Stainless steel and aluminum don't play well together due to galvanic corrosion. I mounted an aluminum tool box in my pickup bed using stainless fasteners. In Phoenix with little moisture and no salt (road salt or sea salt/moisture), the fasteners were seized in about two weeks and snapped when I tried to remove them. Lesson learned!

Excellent information, most appreciated! I was trying to look at old Lotus paint codes and found nothing older than 1967 which was Cirrus White (a bluish white) and much brighter than OEW. I have always liked OEW, but haven't seen any color pictures of a Series 2 Seven in OEW. I'll be looking carefully when I strip the paint from mine in hopes of finding remnants of white to better tell if it was in fact, OEW.

Ian, when you say, "It" are you referring to the black and white photo posted above or to the white on your body panels? I'm asking because I have a 1960 Series 2 America that was "White" according to the build records (from John Watson, Lotus Seven Register). I asked if he might know the specific white Lotus used at the time, but he didn't have an answer. I want to bring mine back to original (now burgundy), so am looking to determine which white Lotus was using on Sevens back in the day. Mark

The early tachs were cable driven from the generator, so that could be an option to explore. The Smiths tach isn't difficult to find on eBayUK - search: Smiths Mini Cooper rev counter square number. You'll immediately get some hits, but I'm sure additional digging will provide more results. I did see one NOS tach! You'll probably need to rebuild the tach if only to switch it from positive ground to negative ground. I purchased from Spiyda: https://spiyda.com/smiths-rvi-rvc-conversion-board.html They also have a YouTube channel outlining the conversion. Finding the AC temperature gauge was a real win - those are hens teeth. Regarding gauge rebuilding, you could check Mo-Ma Mfg in Albuquerque, NM https://momamanufacturing.com/ They recently sold to new owners, so I don't know how they're getting along now. They had a good reputation prior to the sale. Regarding the dash Lamiplate, Tony Ingram http://www.lotus7.com/Home.html said in the past that he carried the red vinyl material for the upholstery that could be used to cover a dash that was generally the correct texture and color as the Lamiplate. You can also check with Xtra Special Sevens to see if they have any options for you: http://www.lotus7.com/Home.html AC gauges - it was just my assumption that the AC gauges used by Lotus were an AC - England affiliate of AC in the US, much like Ford and EnFo. I never researched it or learned the official history, so just a guess on my part. Mark

I don't know of Stewart Warner being a factory supplied gauge - not to my knowledge. The pictures above are what I believe to be the correct gauges - now there's a caveat - I could easily be incorrect. If you want to preserve originality, you may want to try to retain the original red Lamiplate of the dash. I have some red Lamiplate side panels that were painted black that I'm going to try to strip the black spray paint from. I'm sure there will be plenty of patina if they're save-able at all.