escondidoron

On the Chevy side of things, with the SS package, it was a trim package only, at least on some Chevy IIs and Chevelles. The earliest Chevy II SS models were 6-cyl only as the SS option pre-dated the V8 availability in that chassis. I have seen a couple of documented mid-60s Chevelles with factory 6-cyl engines. Badge marketing at its best! Not to mention the obscure trivia that you can remember from your youth when you get old!

Good to hear. Contact me off list to discuss a drive on Sunday 7 June.

Mmmm. Shiny. Lookin' good.

Pretty slick solution for pre-emission socially conscientious engineering. It just tries to slow down the air flow enough to let the oil collect on the mesh in droplets that then drain back into the sump. Or make a mess on the side of the engine and then on the ground. the constant coating of oil has kept is nice and corrosion free. That's a big plus.

I have used the Cometic gaskets and find them to be the best in my experience. In my case I found it necessary to keep a set of appropriate tools in my travel case as re-torquing those bolts was a fairly regular service item until I switched to the thicker gasket. The black tubes are my homemade crankcase vent ports. I did not want to have a catch can that requires servicing and I did not want to simply vent to the atmosphere. I have attempted to design a system similar to that found on modern cars as opposed to the ancient 'road draught tube' that was originally fitted by Ford and Lotus pre 1963. However some compromises have had to be made since due to the multi-inlet-runner carburetor system it was not reasonable to tap into the intake manifold on each cylinder between the carb and the head as there is no common plenum. As a result I have vented to the air cleaners. Here are some pics of the setup and the individual pieces: For the front carb. Note that the one for the rear carb is similar except that the tube along the bottom is a continuous pass thru so as to be able to provide a path to the front carb.: And the Tee fitting to tie the various ports together: It's a fairly simple approach to crankcase ventilation plumbing. I have connected the port on the distributor side of the block to the right angle port on the bottom of the Tee fitting with a 5/16" I.D. hose. The back of the valve cover is fitted with a 3/8" MNPT x AN10 adapter with a 90Deg AN10 push elbow attached. that elbow is connected to the Tee fitting with 5/8" hose. the other end of the Tee fitting is connected to the plenum / port plates on the faces of the carbs. The black tubes that you noticed go into the foam air filters allowing any pumping vapor to be drawn into the carb inlets. I added a port on the back of the air filter socks by cutting / punching a hole with a sharp (knife edge) 1/2" hollow punch. The tubes are 5/8" O.D. The mis-match, along with the barb on the tubes, provides air / debris seal. The filter socks just stretch around the trumpets for mounting. They also fit nicely within the confines of the little S2 air scoop on the left side of the bonnet. Here is a view with the filter socks installed: After about 150 miles of fairly spirited driving to date the insides of the filter socks are still dry and there is no measurable oil level change in the sump. I am running a semi-dry sump setup. I did make one change to the vent system after I took these pics: I disconnected the 5/16" line that exits below the oil fill cap from the Tee fitting and connected it to a clear plastic fuel filter with a paper element. The other end of the filter is open to the atmosphere. It allows air to pass into the valve cover (or exit as the case may be). So far that appears to be what is happening as there is no discoloration of the paper element. Also, I can detect a slight vacuum on the open filter end if I put my finger over it with the engine running. I have capped off the unused branch on the Tee fitting. I made the parts on my friend's 3-D printer out of ABS. After printing I brushed them with a coat of Acetone to promote external layer bonding. I.e. the Acetone melts the outside of the layup together. So far the parts are are holding up to the environment. I'm concerned about both heat and fluid contact long term. We'll see. The ABS should be OK with the mineral oil that I use for engine lubrication. Serious fuel contact would however be an issue. As a precaution I applied a light coating of Hylomar Blue to the inside of the clamping flanges of the velocity stacks when I put everything together as Webers have been known to drip occasionally around the outside edges of the inlet trumpets. I also put a 1/8" wire diameter x 2" O-Ring over the trumpet flanges, on the outside of the clamp ring flange, to act as a washer for the retaining tabs. I thought this necessary as the flat base of the vent plenums would otherwise restrict the tabs from directly contacting the clamp ring outer faces to secure the trumpets. The Webers on my car came with it at the time of my purchase. Its a Cosworth 109E and according to the Register these are the proper original carbs and manifolds for the engine.

Went out for a Sunday morning drive yesterday with friends. A gorgeous 130 mile springtime experience.

I love watching your progress. You might want to consider getting an extra thick intake/exhaust gasket. I too have a '62 pre X-flow with the same manifolds. I have found that with the stock gasket the manifold mounting screws tend to back out over time. The thick gaskets (approximately 3/16 inch thick) I'm using now have eliminated that issue. I get them from Ivey Engines. I also use a small O.D. washer under the screw heads from ARP. You can just see the top edge of the gasket in this picture. I'm very much interested to see how you handle the crankcase breather system. I've just fabricated a system for my car and installed it this past Saturday. So far it seems to be working properly with no measurable oil consumption after about 140 miles. But the jury is still out....... Please continue to keep us updated.

I went through the Seven spares inventory in the garage today. W/o much difficulty this opened up one whole shelf worth of clear space.

Aren't there both Imperial and Metric S3 chassis'? If so, do you know if it is a Metric or Imperial S3 size?

Thanks for posting. I have many fond memories of Sir Stirling. Reading Jenks' recounting of the MM is an epic 1st person tale recounted here in the Motorsport article, 'With Moss in the Mille Miglia' right after it happened in 1955 is a stand out for me. Lotus got their 1st F1 win at Monaco in 1960 thanks to Moss and privateer Rob Walker. He came from a racing family with both parents and his sister showing considerable talent and results. I remember another interesting tidbit from the 70s when Moss was a TV motoring correspondent covering the F1 circus. An especially enlightening interview with James Hunt comes immediately to mind: I will always cherish the couple of opportunities that I have had to briefly chat with him at the FoS and Revival. He was a very personable and approachable gentleman in my brief encounters.

There is a VW-based dune buggy listed on BAT presently that has been re-wired using an M-Gadget Blu. Some nice pics of the interface can be seen in the BAT listing here.

Hi Tom; I have just completed reassembly of my '62 S2, SB1351. There was a lot of exposed original gray on my chassis once the aluminum skin was removed. I refinished with powder coat that was a very close match. Cardinal was the brand of the powder that most closely matched my original chassis color. Cardinal p/n: RAL 7042 Gray 80 Gloss P008-GR21. http://RAL 7042 GREY 80 GLOSS P008-GR21 My car left Cheshunt in December of '61 with a Kent engine. Here is what the Cardinal gray on my chassis looked like during the re-skin operation:

Need more info on the symptoms. Does the shifter not go into position, i.e. you can't get it into 5th gear? Does the shifter feel like 5th is engaging but there is no driveline connection? 5th gear is entirely in the tailhousing section of the T-9. It's pretty easy to get to with the 'box on the bench. Send me a PM and we can work out a way for me to forward you a copy of the Ford manual. I've recently been through 3 T-9s.

Here's a long shot that might be worth a try. There's a gentleman near me that has a bunch of Cortina parts. He pretty much runs adverts continuously on the local craigslist: https://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/pts/d/vista-cortina-hub-caps/7097798961.html I've purchased a number of items from him over the years for my various Cortina, Lotus and Seven projects. The last item I bought from him was a transmission main case a while back. His name is Phil.

For years I have used small pieces of -6 fuel line, each cut to about 1/4" length, covered by a flat washer and then a lock nut to tighten. Effective, cheap and readily replaceable every few years.

I'm in SoCal. Got some contact info for Mr. DeMuro? Would my '62 Seven S2 Cosworth be OK?

Thank you both, Coffee Break and Jerry, for the kind words. Yes I did make patterns from the original skins. but in the end, a friend of mine had a new chassis shipped over and I was able to take advantage of his shipping container, so while I did fab the floor, footwell, pedal garage and boot interior panels I did not fab the exterior skins, driveshaft tunnel, cowl and bonnets (I have 2 bonnets, one in the original S2 style and a second piece for regular driving that is louvred in the later Caterham style for regular driving and track days). Prior to installation I polished all of the exterior panels. I'm hoping that I don't regret that decision for maintenance reasons in the long term. Here's a pic of the Arch Motors order all laid out on the driveway on the day that I unpacked the shipment: I Installed the side skins on my rotisserie trailer in the driveway at home. I had to remove the chassis from the rotisserie to install the rear wrap around panel. So I did that portion of the re-skin on a workbench for convenience. The side panels went on in a couple of hours for each side. To ease the riveting I used a pneumatic rivet gun wherever space and access permitted. I also applied high strength gray silicone sealant to all of the seams and mating surfaces prior to attachment of all of the skins except for the hand wrapped portions of the cockpit arches and rear panel where heat had to be applied for annealing. I used 0.06" thick 6061 aluminum for the structural pieces, i.e. the floor and torque boxes instead of the original 0.03" material. Everything else is 5051 (or the UK equivalent) for ease of forming. In addition to the polishing I did some engine turning on a few of the pieces (I've always wanted a Bugatti!). As a side note, if you have ever seen the program, "How It's Made, Dream Cars: Caterham", installation of the hand wrapped panels looks simple. In actual practice it takes a fair amount of skill. It took 3 long days to wrap the rear corners and side arches! Also, I paid a visit to Arch Motors a year ago and was given hands on instruction in how to install the rear and side arch panels. It proved to be a wise investment. The car is back on it's wheels as of this past weekend. The engine is in and I have done the new cam break-in run. So far, so good. I still have quite a bit of work to do but I'm optimistic that it might be drivable by the end of the month.

Very cool! I love the steering wheel. Do you know what year it is?

For the restoration of my '62 I picked up a very well used Harbor Freight utility trailer. I welded a steel channel to the middle and then fab'd a couple of vertical posts for each end with pivot tubes at the top. What I ended up with is a portable rotisserie. It is unbelievable convenient to work on the car and also very easy to move around the shop, not to mention tow to remote sites as may sometimes be required. The powder coating folks loved it when they blasted the chassis. It may seem like overkill but it has proven to be extremely user friendly. Today when I was finalizing the wiring harness and plumbing in the aft bay (boot) it was very nice to be able to flip the car on it's side and work on everything right in front of you. I just use jack stands to steady the car when it if right side up. And it only takes up a little more space than the car itself. The height of the end posts are adjustable in 1" increments. for travel I usually lower the chassis to redo on a piece of plywood on the surface of the trailer.

A bunch of us (San Diego Lotus Club) are doing a Star Car event at Chuckwalla over the weekend of 28 December. Come on out. My '62 should be all broken in by then. I just fitted the lap belts and bled the brakes tonight.

Brad's Cat next to my '62 just before heading out for a SoCal morning drive:

Nice looking Seven. Is it a Ford or BMC powered car? There's more room in the A-Series powered car's engine bay than in the Ford engined cars. WRT fitting in an S2 I have found that where there's a will there's a way. At 6'4" now (that's after a couple of recent back surgeries.....I used to be 6'5") and size 13 feet I have had to make more significant modifications to fit comfortably in my Esprits than the ones required in my pre-Xflow '62 S2. A bit of massaging of the pedals, an aluminum spacer for mounting the master cylinders aft 0.75" (this positions the pedals deeper in the foot well), a revised foot box that is 2" deeper and a 10" diameter steering wheel did the trick for me. I can now fully stretch out my legs and drive long distances in relative comfort! The longest single day drive for me has been about 500 miles, San Diego to Monterey. If you're interested I could take some pics.

Hi Bill; I have a couple of suggestions for you: 1) Contact Chris Mintoft at Redline Components in the U.K. He likely has exactly what you need. 2) Consider changing out your 1-piece original steering column (or skewer in the case of a front end collision) for the 2-piece collapsable type used on the S3 and later Caterhams. The 2-piece column is available with the stock spline on the upper section (just like the one that you already have) or with a steering wheel quick-release hub as an integral component. I have recently done this upgrade (including the quick-release) and find that the expense is outweighed by the additional peace of mind vis-a-vis a bit of safety. The built in quick-release further reduced the cost delta of the 2-piece column. These are available from Redline or possibly Rocky Mountain on this side of the pond. 3) Check with Jay or Joe at JAE Parts in Goleta, CA. They're Lotus specialists. They may have an adapter in stock. (805) 967-5767 4) Check with Moss Motors. They may also have an adapter in stock. 5) A quick interweb search for steering wheel hub adapters shows that the Moto Lita hub adapter B20H F has the correct spline interface. You can buy direct from them in the U.K. or from a Stateside source like Mrsteeringwheel.com. Note: I have a MotoLita wheel on my '62 and I love it. Here is Redline's contact info: sales@redlinecomponents.co.uk The website: http://www.redlinecomponents.co.uk And the Faceplant page: https://www.facebook.com/RedlineComponents/ Chris is very responsive and his prices are quite reasonable. He has a considerable inventory on hand, especially for the S2 Good luck.

I'm 6'4" w/ long torso and size 13 feet. I have done a bit of revision to the foot box along with adjustments to the foam in my seats on my '62 Lotus Seven and now I find it quite comfortable. Driving shoes are a necessity for me as well. Note: I think that the S2 Seven is a fair bit smaller cockpit-wise than the Birkins. The windshield height is another matter however. I find that I need to either look over the top or bend my head to one side slightly to look through the glass. I'm in Escondido and will be happy to have you visit to try on my car. But you'll need to wait a couple of weeks until it's again ready for habitation. I'm just finishing up its full restoration. Here's a pic for back in March when I was re-skinning it: Drop me a PM if you'd like to get together.

Here's the old Seven out in the real world: Wynola Road Video