DeanG

Odd no replays. If you don't get a positive response try the folks at www.lotuscorps.org

11Budlite's picture is dead on for my (our) S1. It has all new bushings; front and rear, even new engine and transmission mounts. Some of the rear suspension work involved welding up old elongated holes or welding washers over the holes to stop some of the suspension movement. Our current thinking (me and the guy doing the machining and welding) is that as the rear springs compress too much. The flange contacts the tubes at the rear of the saddle that holds the back of transmission tunnel. The seat is not perpendicular to the floor it leans back. So, as the spring compress the flange moves up and gets closer to the tubes. We hope that spacers between the spring and spring perch will help out. Ground clearance measured just in front of the rear wheel fenders is as follows: 6 1/4 light fuel load, nobody in the car, pull up on the back of the car and release 5 1/2 light fuel load, nobody in the car after a bit of a drive 4 1/4 light fuel load, mechanic and myself in the car Our aim is to get it to have 5 1/2 inches of ground clearance with us in the car. The old springs were a bit long (approximately 2" longer than the known specs) and had a stiffness of 55 lbs/in. The new springs are the standard length have a rate of 75 lbs/in.

My wife gave me something quite like this for Christmas. I'm looking forward to giving it a try.

We will be towing our 7 to LOG 29. With a bit of luck we can participate in all the driving events. Certainly in the autocross and the driving clinic. If the car is up to it I would like to take a few laps at Talladega and the go on some of the back road drives. The big question is if it can generate enough speed to stay in the group. I don't think the car would be allowed in the driver education track event at Barber. No doors, no rollba and no head brace make it a bit too risky. Time and warmer weather will tell. A bit of an update. Since its last outing at the LOG 28 autocross it has received some work. - The leak in the brake line running down the tunnel was found and a new brake line installed. - New fuel line was installed - New fuel pump installed This makes it drivable. The problem I'm chasing is that on hard turns the drive shaft coupling to the differential rubs on the frame. In trying to fix this problem the following has been done: - Shim the A-arm to center the differential - Switch to high strength fastners so the washers don't stick out past the flanges - Turn down the flanges of the drive shaft and differential - New rear springs Its better but still not good enough. The next job is to machine and fit longer shims for the rear springs.

Tom; Such detail! I was thinking of going out rt58 through the speed trap town of Emporia to I-81 then I-40... This bypasses much city traffic in crazy places like Atlanta. Only 900 miles for you. We can share cell phone numbers and chose a FSR radio channel when things firm up. If anyone has time I recommend taking the parkway (skyline drive) which is what we did in 2004. It has few visitors on weekdays. Be warned, Park Rangers take a very dim view of speeding. We have only missed one LOG since LOG 11 (1991) so I want to be able to visit with some of our friends. LOG seems to unofficial start earlier each year with people arriving a day or two before the formal activities begin. I always feel rushed at LOG since there is always so much to do, even when I don't have to make repairs! I'm looking forward to a nice leisurely visit at the Barber Museum. My wife will meet up with some of Women of Lotus. My term for an unorganized group of women who terrorize the local shops and tourist sites often carpooling in huge tow vehicles. Two of the regulars are associated with Se7ens, one of whom owns her own S3. As an aside, any couple flying in from overseas will probably have their wife corrupted by American style consumerism running the gamete from high end boutiques to the joys of dollar stores. The hotel was nice when we last visited (LOG 24 in 2004) and has been remodeled since then. Anyone not familiar with LOGs shuld take at the LOG Survival Guide www.lotuscarclub.org/gatherings.htm It needs a bit of updating, which I'll get to in the new year. But I digress.

I'm interested in joining up with a group for a slow tow. It usually doesn't work out for us since we are coming from the end of the earth (tidewater Virginia). We are going and we will be towing the 7. The big questions for us are what day and what route. I want to arrive on Thursday evening at the latest and will leave on Tuesday at the earliest.

Once you get an autoCAD file I sure there will be a bunch of people interested in getting copies.

Be assured that S1s, Caterhams, Birkins, Westfields, homebuilts and ... are welcome at Lotus Owners Gatherings (LOG). There is a long tradition of accepting any and all Se7ens. Several manufacturers’ representatives have been sponsors of LOG over the years (and there are sponsorship opportunities still available) There will be many activities with quite a few driving based. From the Event Schedule posted on the web site www.log29.org Autocross Car Control Clinic Mountain Drive Talladega Speedway Laps Vintage Race-Lotus Feature Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Ah, someone who likes long distance touring in a Se7en. You should head out to LOG 29 in Birmingham, Alabama (May 28 - June 1, 2009) http://www.log29.org/ There are also a couple of Se7en only events that are in the planning stages Branson, Missouri (see the 2009 National Meet-Announcement in this forum) and Texas event by the famous (infamous? :jester: ) Dick Brink

It is typical, actually expected, that the chassis number and the ID plate don't match. A secret of the Lotus Seven community is that you keep your chassis number secret! Sevens are easily forged. Forgeries are made in order to get around vintage racing rules. Please contact John D at simple sevens www.simplesevens.org and John W the Lotus Seven registrar at www.lotus7register.co.uk Preserve history, register your 7!

Lotus Owners Gathering (LOG 28) autocross. It was only the third time (second run) I had driven the car in a non-shakedown mode. On a sweeping (for a 7) left hand turn the rear end started a controlled drift. It felt great. It was the oldest (1958) car running with the smallest engine (948cc nominal) and the narowest tires (135x15's I think).

It shows not sold at $25K. I don't think of this car as an original car as much as a developed car. At LOG I didn't get the impression that it was for sale.

Yum. It seemed like a good price. Maybe in a few years I can find one.

A tassel on the nose is standard practice on sailplanes. It provides out side the cockpit indication of a coordinated turn, lack of slip.

This is an awesome car. Lots of us were drooling over it at the Lotus Owners Gathering (LOG 28) this year. I just goes to show what you can do with money, taste and a full professional race shop.

The last VW harlequin that I saw was parked at a rectory some place in Virginia. The few that I have seen had great paint quality, much better quality than that of normal VW paint. The Se7en with its mostly easily separated panels is a natural for this. Especially since for not that much money you could have a spare set and paint them however you wanted, easily going from one paint scheme to another (traditional to wild in an afternoon perhaps). I’m not a fan of the car in the PistonHeads photos although I like the painted parts that clash in both color and pattern. I am mooved by the cow-7. At one point I had thought of getting some of the camo vinal and putting it on our M100 as a joke. If it was white, green or black rather than red I might have gone through with it. Are there any other wildly painted Se7ens out there?

Call me sick but I have thought that a harlequin Seven (remember the VW golf harlequin) would look great.

In reference to the blatchat post by AdamHay 1. Longer nose with smaller air intake 2. Faired in skinny front wheels with integrated fenders 3. No screen/mirrors/lights, a rigid driver's half door and a hard passenger tonneau 4. No cage, just a small hoop behind the driver's head 5. Skinnyish rear wheels and spats with bolt on side pods to cleave the air past the rear wings (which would have holes or louvres in the back of them). 6. Rigid boot cover with a spoiler extending over the rear to reduce turbulence 7. A rear diffuser to aid air flow under the car (works with the extended boot cover) 8. Fully panelled underbelly 9. Inboard front suspension (not much gain) 10. Aero wishbones (even less gain) I had expected to see a diffuser or two at the 50th anniversary at the dragon. It seems like a natural to me given that the Lotus Seven series 1 had a full belly pan and how some Se7en owners like to experiment.

Check the dip stick weight, some are massive. Put it in the tool box at home and use a plastic plug.

Can we get a picture of a Smart car with a Se7en body kit? And no, I don't meen stretching out the Smart car. A few years ago we spent a couple of weeks in London. I was suprised to see that the high end neighborhoods had clasic mini's and very few smart cars. On thinking about it I was able to figure out why. A mini: seats 4, fits just about any place a smart car will fit, has good milage much more sporting can be restored to like new condition for the price of of Smart car and Its British!

What was the serial number of the S2? If you know the serial number you should send that and any pictures you have to http://www.simplesevens.org/ It is my opinion that we should preserve the history of these cars. All the Se7en style cars are worthy of having their history preserverd. Unfortunately I only know of people and sites who are preserving the history of Lotus built Sevens.

My main problem is getting the swirls and cloudyness out of the finish. Does anyone have any words of wisdom? How do: Mothers Mag Alloy polish Autosol from Germany Nuvite Rolite compare? For the final polish I like Mothers better than the finest grade of Nuvite I have used both a Porter Cable random orbatal buffer and a Black & Decker polisher. Both are a bit big for working on the 7. That is the primary reason I haven't tried a Cyclo Orbital Polisher. It seems too big to get into many of the places you need to get to on a 7. Does anyone have any experience with the Cyclo Orbital Polisher? I have used both the Porter Cable and B&D machines with synthetic, foam and wool pads. Does anyone know where to find coton pads for either machine. If I could find a cotton pad for the B&D polisher I think I that might be the best option other than a Cyclo Orbital Polisher.

Try the NELLI folks http://www.nelli.org/ There are a fair amount of Se7en & Lotus activity in CT Interesting 1977 Ferrari Dino 308GT-4 for sale. I like the the somwhat similar thought of having a Ferrari Mondial convertable but I keep getting SCARED off when I see the maintanece costs.

I have the same issue with our car. Why did a prior owner take it down to a bare frame and then paint it black? Lack of thought? Care?

Both are dirt bags. The only difference, one was president, the other wants to be president.