TheDingo8MyBaby

In the Golden Gate Lotus Club's chapman report: For Sale: 1970 Lotus 7 S4. This is the last genuine (made by Lotus) generation of the iconic 7. This example came with, and retains, a Lotus Twin-Cam engine. The VIN is LS42946TC--chassis numbers reportedly started at LS42650, which would make this the 296th car produced of about 700 made. While not as rare as the Series 1 or maybe the Series 3, the Series 4 is a very rare compared to the series 2 and more real and rare than a Caterham or any of the other pseudo-sevens. The S4 is longer and wider than its predecessors. I am 6'1" and do not fit in the S2/S3 cars, but I don’t have a problem in the S4. There is more leg and foot room too! This car is ready for café runs or to go to Peet's for coffee, as well as for Laguna Seca, or any other track. I did a body-off reconditioning using many new and re-built parts. Many additions for the track, such as driver safety equipment, and a fuel cell and a dry-sump oil system. All track additions are wrench removable and the factory stock items are included in the sale. This carhas wear and tear for sure, but also many improvements, especially for track use. Looking for offers no less than $16K. Many photos available. Con- tact: Stawsh at "Stawsh–at– Corsiglia.net" or (408) 264-6812.

on a kent, the starter is not near the exhaust, so not likely heat related. It would be helpful to know what starter you have fitted to help diagnose. The old Lucas units are unreliable, but the denso based super-starters are actually pretty reliable, so long as a rebuilder hasn't fitted rubbish parts during a rebuild.

Assuming this is a pre-crossflow since you have a series 2, getting the headers to seal is not an easy task. Keep in mind, it is just as important that the flange thickness of the exhaust manifold and intake manifold match since they are both held by the same fastenener and you want an even an even load across them. I've sometimes added shims to either the exhaust or intake side depending on what was leaking to get it to seal properly. It's also important to retorque regularly with the pre-crossflow. -Geoff

The only viable solution I have found with the webers is to dismantle and clean. It's a tedious, but rewarding task. For best results I use an ultrasonic bath. It's becoming about time to clean them again.

The episode is available on youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V34SmthqYFo

Glad to hear things are sorted! Now that you've finished with that, you may want to take a look at the date code of those tires. I think they are Yokohama AVS based on the tread pattern and would have been discontinued a number of years ago, making them very hard and due for replacement.

Someone got a pretty good deal (imo) at $15K for this Series 2 in scottsdale through Russo and Steele. The color scheme isn't my favorite and there are other cosmetic things to fix, but it should be worth at least low to mid 20's I think. One could argue it was not the right venue to sell a Seven - especially a S2 that is far from original. https://russoandsteele.com/vehicle-details/?show_vehicle=139112&current_index=1&total_results=4&auction_pk=162&=&caryear=&caryearto=&search_text=&page=&showpage=1

Just picked them up from Bruce yesterday and I'm quite pleased. Great communication/transaction and the wheels are better than described/pictured. Always a pleasure doing business with you Bruce!

The event was called the Anti-Football Run and is organized by the same organizers of the California Mille (which is probably why it draws high-end cars). I am a member of the GGLC too, but also predominantly inactive. I threw a few of the photos into a flikr gallery (completely unedited - straight from my iphone) here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/28175103@N08/albums/72157663265830996/with/24151280602/

Sean, That was a great episode! There were probably about 100 cars over all - and none of them were anything ordinary. I have a lot more photos, but didn't want to pull this thread off on a tangent. Will try to give you a call for a blat soon.

Hi Rod, I don't have any superfluous to my needs, but I can list a few vendors I'm aware of: Arches (fenders) can be procured from: http://caterhamparts.co.uk/category.php?id_category=361 http://caterhamparts.co.uk/category.php?id_category=362 http://www.kineticvehicles.com/fenders.html The standard caterham sizes may be close with the width of tires you intend to run. I'm sure there are other options, birkin, westfield, etc. You may have better luck at locostusa.com as well. As far as lights, I'm not sure that the brake and light inspection in California requires a DOT stamp. I don't think my caterham had DOT stamped lamps. You can find lights a lot of places, but I suppose it depends on the quality of lights you require. Here are some options: http://www.holden.co.uk/displayAgroups.asp?sg=1&pgcode=010&sgName=Electrical&pgName=Lighting http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Shop/Street-Rod-Headlights/15.html (they have some with integral turn signals) http://www.carbuildersolutions.com/uk/headlamps You can find all sorts of headlights through a google search and most are pretty inexpensive. -Geoff

They are made by Minator.

It's a Lotus - 1963 series 2.

few more: http://i.imgur.com/VwKC1Fa.jpg http://i.imgur.com/NeMcvRp.jpg

I did the anti-football run up in Marin this morning. It was as low as 26F in some areas, but still great fun. http://i.imgur.com/WTmP3Q2.jpg http://i.imgur.com/k1HoSg4.jpg http://i.imgur.com/Bb9wxvu.jpg http://i.imgur.com/tdQysuA.jpg

According to the caterham manual: Battery charging – RED The light illuminates as a bulb check when the ignition switch is turned to position ‘II’ and extinguishes as soon as the engine is running. If it remains on, or illuminates whilst driving, a fault with the battery charging system is indicated. Seek qualified assistance. A few things to check: -grounds/connections to the alternator -belt tightness -voltage regulator on your alternator As long as the light is off most of the time, it may not be an issue, though it could mean you're due for an alternator soon. -Geoff

Yikes! Yes - steel retainers are the way to go. As it looks like you're running dual springs, I suggest also looking at upgrading your rocker hardware. The crossflow was supplied in the Series 3 sevens. Pre-crossflows were Series 2. Other lotuses that used the crossflows were the Lotus 51, 61 and 69 Formula Fords.

This one's interesting. It looks like a Lotus Cortina was pillaged for parts. You could sell off the twin cam motor, rare cortina steering wheel and rare cortina wheels to recoup some of the cost and build it back to an original pre-crossflow, but it looks like it will require a lot of additional work. At $30k and RHD, I'll bet it gets snatched up by someone in the UK.

I use this as a reference for all Kent pushrod camshafts: http://freespace.virgin.net/tommy.sandham/cams.htm

All I see is a rubber gasket that's been squished (likely from too much torque on the valve cover screws). I don't see any RTV. Its hard to tell from the photos, but looks like you have dual valve springs. If you have a dial indicator, you may want to see how much valve lift you have to ensure you have the right valve clearances set. Upgraded rocker posts and solid spacers are wise choices from the previous owner. I need to do them myself.

Dan, Is that a crossle FF next to your 7?

Wish I could make the 7th at Sonoma - we have some vacation planned that day and I still need to upgrade the rocker hardware before getting on the track. Have fun!

It's typical with webers that a few pumps of the throttle pedal is all that's needed. Weber chokes always tend to flood the engine. That's a very nice car you have there. With that configuration crossflow, it's very similar to a Lotus Series 3 seven. The front suspension has a lot of the right caterham/lotus bits, even if the fiberglass isn't quite right.

Looks very nice! I laser rastered a horn push delete plate, but I had to make my own logo to get the original lotus font. http://i.imgur.com/byxwNQO.jpg

W Have you considered having it tuned by someone who is familiar with crossflows and weber dcoes ? Ignition curve could also be the culprit.