Darcy

Thanks. A local Seven owner loaned me his copy of the book and it fell into my scanner. Oops. I found an interesting link today to a repair manual for ancient triumph heralds and spitfires. You need an ad blocker because the site is terrible but you can read the document without signing up for anything. Some of it looks applicable: https://www.scribd.com/document/48540023/Group-4-Suspension-Steering

I did get some A frame bushings from caterhamparts.co.uk Shipping prices were nuts. I don't think I can afford to buy more from them. 6 pound package was 90 UK pounds. The bushings were an incredibly tight fit.

I had a question from a forum member for a couple of pictures. The fan motor numbers and the scoop on the bonnet. Also, the paint is coming back. I am using a dual action polisher with a fairly aggressive pad for the first pass. I haven't polished the bonnet yet. I think I'm going to keep the paint as is. It's a survivor with original paint. But the lustre is quite impressive on that rear fender. I think after two more levels of polish and it will glow. Darcy

When researching a replacement grease cap, ChatGPT told me that I was supposed to thread in a #10 UNF screw and push them out. That sounds great, but for one of these, I don't think the screw would have survived. The cap was practically welded in.

Time to think about seat restoration. One of the seats will be good for a pattern. The other has disintegrated. ChatGPT suggests using two different types of foam for the seats and gluing it together. The vinyl material is in good shape. I can make up the plywood. Marine grade treated is recommended, but I only need a few square feet. Does anyone know what the black plastic material is that is stapled on the bottom? Here are some pictures of the current state:

Rats, this landed in the wrong place. I didn't realize these Build threads would end up being long rambling, things that had no subject breakdown. Unless I'm missing something. I hit the "New Topic" button at the top of my Build thread and it started a new one.

I thought I should post a picture of my Lotus' current state. I got the JBW wheels. They are great. But the wheel studs are too short, so in this picture you can see that I have new studs installed on the front left, and I'm working on the front right. I have some parts on order from Caterhamparts.co.uk, because I want to get it back on the road. I was shocked at the shipping charge from them. It makes no sense. I can order 5 Pirelli tires from the UK and pay 150 pounds for shipping. To get 3 kgs of parts from Caterham cost 90 pounds? I spoke to Ken at DaveBean.com and he reassured me that most parts for my car are available. I sent 3 different messages to Redline and have had no response yet (Email, WhatsApp, and online form). It was a holiday in the UK yesterday, so he may be a little behind. Does anyone have any idea how to remove these dust caps without causing damage? I have not succeeded in getting them out without making a mess. I suspect I am the first to remove them in 56 years. The grease is not pretty, but the bearings seem Ok.

No, they are tubeless. These wheels are designed for tubeless tires. I put on 165s all around. Hopefully I’ll wear them out and can try 185s.

I am guessing that when you speak of the Registrar, are you referring to John Watson? He did provide the information I have on the car. Ex works date: May 28, 1969. Other information aligned perfectly. Even the key number. But he said that the information from the factory did not include the colour of the car. I have borrowed a copy of the Tony Weale book. It is excellent and I am trying to absorb it as time permits. I'll track down the Auto Electric Supplies catalog.

@EdWills I found the story. That was fantastic. His car is definitely close. It's interesting that his was registered as a '69. It's possible that mine sat on a showroom floor for a little longer and was registered as a '70. I am so glad I purchased those JBW wheels. He was running them. I see the same Dunlop centre cap logo that the wheels came with. I'm searching for a Lotus Yellow/Green centre cap as I think it would be nice on a factory built car. No one knows what these cars are, so it needs a few badges for car shows. I haven't taken you up on your offer for the bushings yet, because I'm hoping to speak to someone tomorrow morning in the UK about parts. I need more than the bushings so it would be good to get a little shipment. If I can find a complete replacement set for the front and rear, I'll buy them from the UK. Unfortunately, my car will never look as good as David's because there are a lot of chips in the paint. The 40 years it spent unlicensed in a garage was not kind to it. I am kind of excited about having a classic car that I don't have to worry about parking. I have another, American "sports" car, that I restored and it is far too pretty to park and walk away. Hopefully it won't upset too many people in this forum , but here it is:

I have the JBW wheels on new Pirellis, and they look great. New wheel studs coming tomorrow. I was only getting 3 turns of the wheel nuts on the front wheels, so they needed to be replaced with 1 1/2" studs. I have been searching for high quality yellow/green Lotus wheel centre caps, but have not had any success. Does anyone know who stocks them? I think I need 50mm diameter caps to fit the wheels.

So, I have been pondering where I should go with this car, and my inclination is to leave it essentially stock, with hidden safety/running improvements. I have to fix the rusty bits. The exhaust system is particularly ugly. I will probably install an electronic points replacement with a more powerful coil to match. A dual master cylinder update of some type is another update I would be happy to install if it could be done cleanly. I am considering taking the car back to how it might have been originally delivered to Lotus Canada with bare aluminum hood and body. It was definitely painted after assembly, because I am finding yellow paint on suspension parts, wheel drums, and more. How difficult is it to strip the paint off the aluminum?

I have been gradually working through the car checking and learning. I purchased on Bring A Trailer. The owner would not allow an inspection of the car and the driving videos were suspiciously short. I knew all was not going to be good. In my only short road test I noticed a nasty clunk under the rear end. I pulled off the A frame and these are probably as bad as you can get without falling off. Searching for parts now... I called Dave Bean, and received a message that they are only open on Mondays and Tuesdays. Are they still supplying bits for Sevens? Their web site is a return to the '90s. I sent a message to Redline, but have had no response. It appears that Caterhamparts.co.uk has some of the parts, but not the bushings at the forward two A frame mounts. Any other suggestions? Any help greatly appreciated.

I realized I had no choice but to take off the front disc and rear drum to get a closer look, so I pressed out a couple. Both studs have 0.51 knurled diameter. The front studs are 1 1/8" long and the rear studs are 1 1/4" long. So I ordered a couple of packages of Dorman 1 1/2" studs.

So, I bought the JBW D1 wheels from the UK, plus a set of Pirelli Cinturatos from Longstone Tyres. Both JBW and Longstone were fast and competitively priced. Ordered tires Monday and delivery in BC Canada on Thursday via DHL. Impressive. New problem: It appears the thickness of the mounting area is slightly thicker than the steel wheels, probably because they are aluminum, so the stock studs are a little too short. Of course they are 7/16-20 tpi studs, and they appear to be about 1 1/8" from the base of the head to the end of the stud. I think 1 1/2" studs would fit under the original wheel covers on the steel wheels and also inside the new domed nuts that came with the alloy wheels. Does anyone know the size of the knurled diameter? I checked around, but have not had any luck yet.

Unfortunately, I don't think it is working correctly. So, I think the suggestion Girling AND Clutch AND Cylinder is not working as expected. However, I do see the check box on the second image and after testing, it has the filter I need:. This reduced the search and returned 14 results. Thank you!

Hi, Darcy again, I am a little frustrated with the forum and I wonder if anyone could help. I know there is a massive amount of useful information in all the posts, but I can't figure out how to narrow a search down to a specific topic. It's a waste to ask the same question over and over, and I don't want to do that. For example, entering "Girling Clutch cylinder" would be a great search, but trying that returns anything containing "Girling", "Clutch", or "cylinder". It's too broad. Some forums allow for Girling+Clutch+Cylinder and they will only return a post with all three words. I searched the Help section, but couldn't find any help on searching. Some forums narrow the search if you put quotes around a phrase. This one does not seem to do that. I have also seen Girling AND Clutch AND cylinder in some forums to narrow a search. I have a software background, so I went to the Invision Community site and did a quick search there. I found that the administrators can set the Default Operator to Either or Both. This would only return posts that contain both words. For example, in the Invision docs, it said if you enter Apples Bananas as a search, the Either setting would return posts with Apples OR Bananas, whereas the Both setting would only return posts that contain Apples AND Bananas. Thoughts?

Darcy here again, I got the battery hooked up yesterday and heard the car run for the first time. So far so good. It starts well. Seems cold blooded, and likes some choke to keep running for the first 5-7 minutes. After that it idles Ok. It is about 1200 feet higher where I live compared to where it was for the last 55 years, so I might need to tweak the carb a bit. A couple of things I noticed: 1. The clutch has a heavy spring, which is manageable, but the engagement is like a light switch. I have never used a clutch that was so difficult to modulate. Gear changes from 2->3->4 and down are Ok. Pulling away in 1st is brutal. It can't be right. 2. There is a loud clunk coming from the rear end when the car leaps away. I'm not sure, but sounds like something is loose. There is no sound from the diff that I can hear. it is only when it fully engages in a microsecond. 3. While trying to pull away from a stop and being ultra careful with the clutch, the car shudders quite badly This aggravates item 2. 4. It was only after I put it in reverse did I realize this car has no mirrors. ? I guess I need to find some small British mirrors that will go well on the car. 5. The 55 year old tires felt like wooden blocks. Pirellis are on order. 6. Car needs some kind of wind deflectors. Who makes the best ones you can buy? 7. Oh dear, when I got home I noticed a trail of drips into my garage. It seems the oil filter is leaking. Thankfully I only drove a few kms. Engine revs freely, shifts nice. Brakes are smooth. Steers quick. This is going to be an interesting adventure.

@theDreamer - yes, I sent a message to Lotus7. he's going to pop by tomorrow.

Definitely will fixing all rust, so paint matches for body, frame, engine etc would be great.

You have to imagine the accent... Oy mate! You stamped the wrong bloody number on that bloody frame. Bloody 'ell! Put the right bloody number on the bloody car for xxxxx sake!

Hi, Darcy again. I just picked up my 1970 S3 yesterday and I'm learning slowly. I see this number on the brace in front of the brake and clutch master cylinders. It looks like someone stamped a number, changed their mind, and stamped a new number. BL2170. I found a mention that Universal Radiators stamped with a B, but I did not see mention of a BL. Thoughts? Is this typical of Universal Radiators? I

Thanks to you all for such great information. During the auction I had a lot of questions, because I didn't have time to thoroughly research Sevens. I knew I was going to get one, but when this one popped up a few hours away, with this history, I decided it was the one. I think I am going to put aside the wheels and original (!) tires for a special day, when it is time to show the car as it was originally sold. The John Brown D1 replicas are very attractive and a very reasonable price. I think we have a winner. I am picking up the car on Saturday. After I get it home I will be taking many more photos of it to document the condition as purchased. The auction pictures were nice, but not nearly detailed enough for my records. Since the car was not plated for 40 years, it will take some time to understand what it needs. I have the time to make it right and it is not going to be a trailer queen.

Hi, I'm a new S3 owner and I want to replace the steel wheels with some aftermarket rims. Can someone tell me the offset on the stock steel wheels from 1970? Ground clearance under the oil pan seems really minimal, but I don't want to change the handling, so I think I will stick with stock 13" diameter rims. Thanks