Darcy

I need to find replacements for the bushings at the bottom shock mounts. Are these available?

I did see the plates to prevent oil sloshing into the tubes. The bearings appear to be sealed, so I don’t think I will be drilling holes in them. Too risky. This thing is not going to be raced at Goodwood. I just need it to be oil tight and safe.

Making progress. I found a company in the UK that makes braces for Ford rear ends. Someone posted a picture of their products on the Lotus 7 Facebook page and I found the company: www.retroford.co.uk I cleaned up the rear end and welded them on. I did it slowly with small tacks, then larger welds spread all over the axle. Air cooled with compressed air after each weld to get the temperature down. I'm an amateur welder but I think they will hold. The car only has 22,000 miles so I was expecting the gears to be in good shape. Everything looked good. I noticed some interesting marks on the gears in the differential. Anyone know what they mean?

@EdWills Thanks for doing that. I'll aim for 1/4". Chris has made a number of great comments in the FB thread. I think it would be prohibitively expensive to send it down to the US, so I think I will do my best to add the 1/4" plate - very slowly with minimum heat. I will probably make up some kind of measuring method so I can see if the axle is deflecting at all during the tacking process. I have no intention of driving this like a modern Caterham, so I think if I can stabilize it, it will be ok. If I want a thrill I will jump on my KTM 1290 Superduke. It has 173HP and weighs about 425lbs. That bike makes your eyes go wide in a hurry.

@EdWills I noticed you said 1/4" plate. I have read from other sources that 1/8" is recommended. It seems like 1/4" would be really heavy?

Thanks a bunch! This will definitely help.

I have looked online for this catalogue and I can't find it. Was it digital or paper?

That's good information. I never thought about pulling the axles out before removing the full assembly, but that would make it lighter, and easier to work on while removing the brakes etc. I'm having trouble finding good information on the Escort axle - how to disassemble, check, and reassemble correctly.

Yes, it's coming out tomorrow.

Ok kids, time to get serious. Unfortunately, as I bring the car back to life, more "issues" are appearing. I might have just found the real reason the car was parked in 1974. As I fix and improve, my driving speed is increasing. Two days ago I noticed a tiny leak in the differential. Maybe a drop a day coming out. I thought that was weird. I cleaned up the surface, roughed it up a bit. Put a few drops of JB weld on it. Seemed to fix the problem. Investigate later I said. So, I went for another drive yesterday. A little faster. Goes around traffic circles at speeds that don't seem natural, but I was expecting that. Now I see a bigger leak and with some cleaning and close examination I see there is a larger crack on the back plate of the differential above the centre. I posted this question on a Facebook group, so some may have seen it. I got some good advice there, but I'm hoping for more suggestions here. I am a decent welder, so I am thinking of adding the flat horizontal plate that crosses the back side of the axle and differential. What I am wondering about is distortion. For those who have done this or had it done, how much will the axle distort with the welding? I'm assuming that it needs to be done in sections after tacking the plate on at a few spots. This the picture I took of the leak below the centre before adding the JB weld to the leak. It was practically invisible to the eye.

No, they are JBW wheels and balance was easy for the tire shop.

It's coming together.

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.