craig chima

Hey John, Thanks for your reply. Car actually sold yesterday. I'll email you directly with medical situation. Thought I already told you. Going to put me on the shelf for the remainder of the Winter. Ugh. Craig

Complete, original S4 Lotus 7 in very nice original unmolested condition. I bought this car for a project for myself a couple of months ago an now due to some unforeseen medical issues am posting it for sale and am looking to re-coup my investment in it. It is a twincam powered car on Webers and has not run in several years but the twincam spins freely and I see no reason why it will not start with some minor fettling. The interior is in decent, presentable condition and the car with some TLC, sweat equity, and nominal investment (battery, rubber items like master cylinders, tires, hoses, etc) should be able to be driven and enjoyed as-is. $12,500.00 and located in Akron, OH. chima97@aol.com or 330 807-0742

Brand New Ford Pre-Crossflow 4 into 2 mild steel header for Lotus 7. Very well made header that would be suitable for street car or race car in a medium state of tune (i.e. not a 9 or 10/10ths race car. I can build you one of those if that is what you are after). Several people have contacted me over the years about just such a header and I have just come across this one so if you are still in need please let me know. $275 plus shipping. Craig Chima, CC Motorsports, Akron, OH (330) 807-0742 or chima97@aol.com

Extremely nice Fluidyne radiator as used in one of my customer's Lotus 7 vintage race cars. 18" wide x 16" tall with 2" wide core so will fit easily in stock Lotus 7 location and this particular radiator was built for a RHD car and the lower right hand side has a "notch" for steering shaft but can easily be used in a left hand drive car as well. If you have a car with nominal radiator cooling capacity this radiator will do the trick as it will cool to 200bhp+ applications without any problems given that it is a dual pass design. 1.375" outlets and guaranteed in perfect shape (no leaks or dents, etc). Cost to build was well over $500 and will sell for $200 which is about 1/3 of what you will pay for a Caterham radiator and considerably less than you will pay for any other aluminum radiator that you will try to source. I will post pictures shortly but in the meantime you can email for photos. Craig Chima. CC Motorsports (330) 807-0742 or chima97@aol.com

Steve, I have several different versions for 1.9" springs. Get me the I.D. of the "cup" where the retainer locates into the steel upper shock mount (or the O.D. of where it needs to locate into). Send to me via email and I'll email you back pix of what I have that might be appropriate. Craig Chima, CC Motorsports, Akron, OH. chima97@aol.com

Complete 3.9 English Ford diff. Will fit any 7 or Caterham with English Ford solid axle. Complete with the housing (i.e. not just the R & P) and in excellent condition with perfect backlash and new pinion seal. Cleaned, painted, and ready to install. Pix available on request. $275. Craig Chima (330) 807-0742 or chima97@aol.com

Depending on what transpires with regards to the sale of the pre-lit Westfield that I have just advertised in the "Cars for Sale" section, I may have the following parts for sale from that car within the next month. In a nutshell, if the car does not sell by Thanksgiving, chances are that I will decide to part it out and convert it to a vintage race car and will need to get moving on that project ASAP in order to have it ready by next Spring and if that happens the following items from that car will be for sale: 1600 Crossflow motor (built on 711M block) with flywheel, clutch, carbs, alternator, etc. As pulled from the car in excellent running condition. $3500 (more info on motor in ad) English Ford 4 Speed Transmission (not currently sure of ratios and whether it is standard or semi-close box, but shifts great, doesn't leak, etc). $500 Complete exhaust system including very nice header, muffler, etc. $500 Front headlights, brackets, and cycle fenders. $250 Windshield and wind wings. $300 Radiator. $50 Spax Shocks and springs. $100 Dash complete with all gauges. $150 Wheels with Pirelli tires $400 I'm sure that there is more but if someone wants the complete motor, trans, and exhaust for say $3500, I could probably do that, but individually they would obviously be a little more. Pictures are available with the ad of the car or I can email you directly. At this time, I would say that if you have an interest in any of the above items please just contact me directly and I will put you on a list, first come, first served and we'll see what transpires with regards to the sale of the car. That's the best I can tell you at the moment. Craig Chima, CC Motorsports, Akron, OH. (330) 807-0742 or chima97@aol.com

Pictures

Have a really nice RHD early Westfield that I am selling that needs only some minor finishing and TLC to be a really great car. For those who don't know, early Westies are virtually identically to S2 and S3 Lotus 7's chassis dimensionally (hence the lawsuit which forced them to change the later cars) and are very hard to tell from original cars. This was going to be a vintage race car project until plans changed and so now the car is for sale. The car has a very strong running Ford crossflow motor built on 711M block and twin Dellortos. The motor starts and idles easily and pulls strong without any smoke and runs cool. It has a standard 4 speed trans with alloy bellhousing and new starter. Also has a nicely done header and exhaust system that runs all the way to the back of the car (minimizes noise). There is a dual-circuit brake system (i.e. separate front and rear master cylinders -- both are new) with bias bar setup and a Fuel Safe Lotus 7 type fuel cell (these are now $2000) and new electric fuel pump so the car could easily do track days. Shocks are adjustable ride height and adjustable rebound Spax, and the front end is all Lotus/Triumph components per original cars (uprights, calipers, rack, hubs, etc) and the rear is all Sprite based (diff, housing, pumpkin, brakes, etc) which makes maintenance and parts-finding a breeze). All lights, signals, and gauges (tach, speedo, water temp, oil temp) work perfectly as does the horn. The interior and rear parcel area is done in a very nice red vinyl with white piping as per an original Lotus with a bench-type seat that will comfortably fit a 6' driver with up to 32" inseam. There is also a very nice Moto-Lita steering wheel and new plexiglass wind wings with the windshield. The chassis is straight and perfect and was recently restored and the car has all new aluminum skins that look excellent with the 13 x 6 Minilite knock-off wheels and Pirelli P400 tires that are in excellent condition. This is easily a $16000-$17000 car when finished and needs only some minor TLC and finishing to get to that point. As mentioned above, I was originally going to make into a vintage race car (with pre-crossflow 1500) and hence there is no cutout in the hood for the air cleaners (air cleaners included) but I can easily do that for a prospective buyer. The rear fenders are not great but are certainly salvageable by good body man, or new fiberglass fenders can be purchased from several sources for under $500/pr including shipping. I will include the front cycle fenders shown in the pictures or if the buyer prefers will include a nice set of clamshells and appropriate brackets but then holes will need drilled in the side skins. But aside from painting the fiberglass ($1000 to $1500 tops) and some TLC, this car is ready to enjoy as it runs and drives great. I have priced it extremely aggressively at $12,600 as-is, and it is located in Akron, OH. I am also happy to finish as specified by prospective buyer, including fenders, paint, potential rollbar installation, etc so please contact me with your interests. Craig Chima, CC Motorsports (330) 807-0742 or chima97@aol.com

sold

Might have what you are looking for. Send me and email and I'll send you pix of the one I have. Craig chima97@aol.com

Have a pair of 13" Wide Caterham rear fenders that are extra to my needs at the moment. Have been used on a vintage race car and are in good condition. British Racing green with Stainless stone guards on the front. One has a minor (2.5" long) crack on the outside edge that is barely noticeable and would be easily repairable with a layer or two of fiberglass underneath. $150 for the pair. Craig Chima, CC Motorsports, Akron, OH. (330) 807-0742 or chima97@aol.com. I'm going to try to post a couple of pix here, but in the interim, please feel free to contact me via email or phone for pix.

Have the nice alloy valve cover shown in the pix that will fit any Kent motor. $75 Also have a nice set of pre crossflow set of intake manifolds for dual Weber DCOE's $100.Also have a complete 1600Cortina GT motor that spins freely (block casting 2737) $200. plus misc other Kent engine parts so email with your needs. Craig Chima CC Motorsports Akron OH 3308070742 or chima97@aol.comhttp://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=13147&stc=1http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php[/email]?attachmentid=13148&stc=1

Meant to add this to the above post but doesn't happen often so I thought I'd post the picture. Shop is basically full of 7 race cars at the moment. All S2 cars with 1500 Pre Crossflow power and all vintage race cars. Just out of view in foreground is 1972 Mallock Mk 11B for those who couldn't guess and further out of view are Lotus 26R and Elva Courier restoration projects. Leaving today for Road America with the Old English White 7 and Red/Silver 7 along with two other cars (MG Midget and Ginetta G4) so if anyone happens to be heading there this weekend feel free to stop by and say hello. Craig

http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=12971&stc=1

If you are asking about VTO wheels, 16 x 8 is the largest wheel they manufacture in the "Classic 8" spoke version. Craig

Kurt, Not sure if you are going to stick with 16" wheels or go with a different size but as an FYI you might consider VTO wheels instead of Panasports, and likely save yourself at least $150-$200 for the set. I am a VTO distributor and have used them on all my "7" street cars and race cars for 10+ years without any issues and they are equal to Panasports in every respect in my estimation (I've raced for 35+ years and had numerous sets of Panasport race wheels and street wheels). Here is a link to a 15" VTO wheel and as you can see the look is almost identical to a Panasport or Minilite. If you let me know the actual size and backspace (distance from hub face to inner wheel lip) you are looking for I will be happy to get you pricing for exactly what you need. Craig Chima, CC Motorsports, Akron, OH, chima97@aol.com or (330)807-0742 (you can email me directly, or PM me through this website) http://vtowheels-com.3dcartstores.com/Classic-8-Wheel-15-x-7-Silver-With-Machined-Lip-4-x108mm-12mm_p_366.html

Selling a very nice 1600 Ford Kent wet sump oil pan. I believe that someone on the forum was looking for one of these awhile back and know that these are getting a bit scarce since most of the original ones have been converted to dry sump pans over the years. $100 and will include shipping to anywhere in the Continental U.S. for that price. Craig Chima, CC Motorsports (330) 807-0742 or chima97@aol.com call or email for pix if interested. Thanks, Craig

Looking for a core Ford crossflow cylinder head. Need the version with the small combustion chamber in it (i.e. not where the valves are flush with the bottom of the head). Looking for a stock, unmodified head. Craig Chima, CC Motorsports, Akron, OH (330) 807-0742 or chima97@aol.com

Guys, got it done using a large pallet as a base and then built a box around the pallet. Needed to buy some aluminum sheeting for a couple of projects currently in the shop and the aluminum came on a 4' x 8' pallet and that ended up being sufficient to use as the base (with some extra reinforcement). The box ended up being 30" high x 48" wide x 120" long and weighed just over 350# including the chassis and was just over $650 to ship to California from Ohio which I thought fairly reasonable. Should be there mid-week next week. And yes, it's the chassis that will replace the one that got written off during the F Production race at the Runoffs this year. Craig

Does anyone have any ideas on how best to go about shipping a complete, but otherwise bare Lotus 7 chassis (i.e. skinned, but nothing else on it -- just the chassis) from Ohio to California? Probably weighs 175# (some strengthening mods done to it). I could potentially build a crate and stick it inside but trying to avoid that option. Only other thing I can think of is to center it on a pallet and then bolt it down and maybe shrink wrap the whole thing…. Other thoughts or ideas greatly appreciated. Craig

Correct, James. Caterham technically not a Lotus 7 but Kim did win back in '05 in a crash filled EP race as he did a good job avoiding the last lap carnage. I was correct in saying only two wins for Lotus 7 in SCCA Runoffs history. Mike, SCCA never homologated the Ginetta G4 for club racing but it is a popular vintage race car here in the US (and Europe), for the most part using the same running gear as the pre-crossflow Lotus 7 (although some run 1 liter Kent motors, and some run twincams). I won FP in a Midget and EP in an Elva Courier. Craig

Couple thoughts/corrections to add to this thread. Mike, Mid Ohio is certainly not a course that favors aero. Mid Ohio is a classic handling track where if there was ever a chance for a car like a Lotus 7 to win, this was it. Top speeds at Mid Ohio in F Production are in the neighborhood of 128 mph in the front-running SCCA Lotus 7's, from pre-crossflow 1500cc Kent motors, so not a big "aero" influence at those speeds, and besides the back straight, Mid Ohio is all about handling and "transitions" where the Lotus 7 excels. This was why you saw 3 Lotus 7's qualify in the top 7, and none even bother to go to Daytona last year, and likely none will be able to qualify in the top 10 at Indy next year. If there was ever a year for a Lotus 7 to win the Runoffs, this was it and John Walker took advantage of it and congrats to him. He drove a car that his dad has been racing for probably 20 years and I actually did the setup on it on Monday morning before first qualifying. The Steve Hussey car that qualified 2nd may be a total write-off is a chassis that I built from scratch about 10 years ago and is a super-strong car that did it's job in a 120mph impact, and the Peter Morton car that ended up 5th is actually my old SCCA car that I raced in the late 90's and finished 2nd in. Eric Prill raced his dad's (Paul) Lotus for many years and qualified it on pole at the Runoffs in Topeka 7 or 8 years ago but has never won the Runoffs in a Lotus, or in his current Miata. A Lotus 7 had only once-previously won the Runoffs, back in 1978 I believe with Tom Robertson winning in CP, and that car can now be seen at the Barber Museum.

P.S. Need to clarify on the above because had a brief brain fart when doing my prior post. My adjustable arms for stock type suspension have adjustment on the inboard side just like in the picture I referenced above and meant to say that I can provide with or without rod ends, and not the outer ball joints. Further clarifying, the outboard side of my adjustable arm is completely stock, including the outer ball joint. Craig

The adjustable upper arm in the picture that Mike (Kitcat) posted is obviously on a car with a separate upper anti roll bar. I also have a set of very similar upper arms that are "done" and in stock that are very much like the arms in the picture in the post by "TheDingo8MyBaby" and are designed for a stock type suspension. Those arms are fully chrome plated just like the arms in the picture that Mike posted of my car, and I can provide complete with outer ball joints or not. Can send pictures if you like. Thanks, Craig Chima, CC Motorsports