escondidoron

Well not exactly. While your heart is in the right place, your numbers for the original Seven's weight are off a bit: The original Lotus Seven Series 1 from 1957-1960 was equipped with an 1172cc 4-cyl 100e Ford flathead that produced a claimed 36BHp @4500 RPM and 53 lbs-ft torque @ 2500 RPM. Lotus' published curb weight for the S1 was 950 Lbs. The S1, when equipped with the 1098cc OHC Coventry Climax FWE engines, were the original Super Seven. In 1960 Lotus introduced the Series 2. In an effort to reduce production costs structural components that were deemed unnecessary were removed from the relatively reinforced S1 chassis. The engine choices at this time were 948cc BMC A-series engines producing 43BHp @ 5200RPM and 52.8 lbs-ft Torque @ 3000 RPM or the then new 997cc Ford 105e with 3-main bearings and dual 1-1/4" SU carbs producing 39BHp @ 5000 RPM and 52.5 lbs-ft torque @ 2700 RPM. Published weights for the BMC engined cars was 960Lbs and 957Lbs for the Ford powered cars. In late '61 the first S2s with the 1340cc Ford 109e, still 3-main bearing, were produced with Cosworth modifications to the head. These pre-crossflow engines were equipped with either single or dual side draft Weber DCOE40 carbs. The Lotus claimed output for either variant was 85BHp @ 5800 RPM and 80-85 lbs-ft torque @ 4000 RPM. Weight was unchanged from the 105e equipped model. The cost of the car, in kit form in the UK, was 499GBP for the 105e, 511GBP for a BMC A-series engined car and 599GBP for the 109e Super Seven. Somewhere around '65 or '66 S2s got the pre-crossflow head 5-main bearing 1498cc Cortina engine as the high output engine. Weight was up to 1064Lbs by this time. Next up was the Series 3 car introduced in '68. By this time the S3 used the crosflow headed 1498cc Ford engine as standard equipment. The base 1500 engine had a single Weber carb producing 66BHp @ 4600 RPM and 78.5 lbs-ft torque @ 2300 RPM. The big kahuna 1500 sported dual side draft DCOE40s producing a claimed 95BHp @ 6000 RPM and 95 lbs-ft torque @ 4500 RPM. The S3 cars tipped the scales at a published 1204Lbs. The weight increase was incremental over the years, due mainly to the incorporation of continuous upgrades like the reintroduction of chassis stiffening tubes in several locations, increasing the fuel tank from 5.5 gallons to 8 gallons as well as replacing the exhausted supply of the Standard 10 rear axles with the upgrade to the more robust Ford rear axle originally sourced from the Cortina. All cars equipped with the 1340cc 109e or larger engines were referred to as Super Sevens. S1s and early S2s had rarely used designations for their engines; "A" for A-series BMC engines, "F" for Ford and "C" for Coventry Climax. Additionally S1 and early S2 cars built for export to the U.S. were designated as "America" models. When Caterham reintroduced their version of the S3 in '74 the standard engine was the 1600cc crosflow Ford engine. It produced 84BHp @ 5500 RPM and 91 lbs-ft torque @ 3500 RPM when equipped with a single Weber 32DGAV downdraft carb. The optional dual sidedraft Weber 40DCOE equipped 1600 Sprint engine gave 110BHp @ 6000 RPM and 105.5 lbs-ft torque @ 4800 RPM. The weight ranged from 1106Lbs to 1275Lbs depending on options. Concur. :iagree: My '62 S2 is a Cosworth 109e with the very light weight Standard 10 rear axle. It weighs in at a svelte 960Lbs with a full tank of 5.5 gallons fuel. It's been dyno'd at ~74BHp at the rear wheels. So this equates to ~85BHp at the crank assuming 15% driveline losses. http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6075/6042544340_4bba67e17d_b.jpg And it's able to keep up with the larger engined Cat's out in the real world on weekend drives as long as there aren't any long straights involved. Once a straightaway is longer than about 150 yards the old girl can't keep up. :rofl: So I'm guessing that the performance of the new 160R, with its claimed weight of 1080Lbs and power of 80BHp, is pretty much similar to my old 1962 S2!

Understood X. And you are correct. There are a very great number of Porsches on scene there. In the world of sporting 2-seaters at the 'Ring (and on the road in Europe as a whole) your observation is absolutely correct. My intention was simply to attempt to illustrate how diverse the scene is there (as does the video). You just never know what you might see there. Cars like Porsche Carerra GTs, mundane mini-vans, Weissmanns, Gumperts, Lancia Delta Integrales, Aston Martins, Vipers, TVRs…..You name it and likely it will appear at one time or another. Just be patient and it will show up. In the car park and on the track it's like a movable feast of interesting cars on Touristenfahrten days.

There are a lot of very cool cars to see at the 'Ring including Porsches. And while there certainly a lot of Porsches about, especially at the 'Ring, as you can see from these pics overlooking the parking / staging area / entrance to the 'Ring, there is a lot of variety besides Porsches and exotics. But by far the most common brands of cars at the 'Ring are BMWs, Audis, VWs, Fords, Renaults & Opels (in no particular order): http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2292/2219409709_b20526af61_b.jpg http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2339/2220203448_7717612989_b.jpg http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7831839752_1e3e84803e_b.jpg

Yes, please.

Besides being an excellent writer he's a very down to earth and personable fellow. Here he is enjoying a chat with Emmo: http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1154/5116954216_a78d637ca0_b.jpg

Very nice write up.

Is yours a U2? Anything like my friend's? http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6114/6339134728_8837d32bb2_b.jpg

I weighed my '62 S2 a couple of years back. Corner weights and gross weight include a full tank of gas and driver: Left Front: 309lbs Right Front: 308lbs Left Rear: 290lbs Right Rear: 341lbs Gross Weight: 1248lbs Driver Weight: 217lbs Fuel Weight: 42lbs Net Weight: 989lbs I think that I could easily drop another 20 lbs by going to a light weight battery, mini starter and small frame alternator.

Concur. We were at the Spa 6Hr Historics a while back watching from a spectator position behind an 8 foot chain link fence that was a long way behind an Armco barrier along the uphill just past au Rouge. It's pretty much the fastest section of the circuit. A big engined car traveling ~150 mph lost a front wheel just past the exit of the turn. The wheel/tire went waaaay up in the air, probably 100 feet or so. All of us in the area scrambled to get out of the way. It likely would have been fatal if it had hit someone. Maybe the organizers should ban spectators?

Likewise. LOL

I don't know about the black / aluminum Seven, but I think that the 850 Spyder is being driven by a lovely and recently wed young lady named Andrea.

I have a pair of BRG / yellow leather seats out of a mid-80s Caterham. Out of a crashed car. Upholstery condition is decent. Can supply pictures after I get home this weekend. Send me a PM if interested to discuss further. Located in Escondido.

LOL. Now this stuff comes along. It seems like I'm almost always just a bit off on timing. I just did the front of my recently repainted pickup and Esprit in the last three weeks. I picked the Xpel Ultimate over the 3M material as it seemed to be quite a bit tougher.

The D-type is a beautiful machine: http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1228/1474766494_80d1476f0f_b.jpg http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1207/1474769456_582c5a2c11_b.jpg http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3146/2295798292_6f80bbae09_b.jpg

Part 3, my personal favorite of the W196 pictures I've taken: http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2306/2219399435_0daa36f249_b.jpg

Part 2, a few more W196 pictures I've taken: http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6172/6163805119_45916dc3c0_b.jpg http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2705/4137882894_fa84f5c659_b.jpg http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2494/4137352071_cff93e1b4b_b.jpg http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2709/4137354587_12150dd8b3_b.jpg

Part 1 of a few W196 pictures I have taken over the years, offered up for your enjoyment: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8006/7535811694_edd297ff8e_b.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7108/7536070704_c347606c7f_b.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7258/7536065754_c837c786ab_b.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7254/7536066726_c1245897ac_b.jpg

She's a beauty. Congratulations!

Thanks. I like them too. They're a joint effort home made project. I got them third hand from fellow lister Slomove, who kindly donated them to my project. Similarly he was given them by another California Caterham Club member, Doug. If you look closely, you can see them on Slomove's car in his avatar. Here is a pic of them from his installation: Slomove made a new set of tripod stalks when he inherited them. The mirrors themselves are simple chrome bullet mirrors with convex glass. Like Slomove, I also made new tripod stalks to better fit my taste in height / extension distance when I got the mirrors from him. The tripod stalks are 3/8" O.D. aluminum tubing that was sourced from our local hobby shop. The soft tubing is pretty easily bent with a brake line bending tool. After bending, the ends of the tubes are tapped to accept stainless threaded studs, 5/16"-18 at the scuttle and 10-32 at the mirror. Here is a pic of Slomove's original tripod tubes: http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2530/5778066827_1098cbc87c_b.jpg After bending and fitting the studs (installed with Loctite 242) it is a simple matter to polish the tubes, initially with Scotchbrite and then followed up with Simichrome polish. And here is a pic of them on my car before I polished the tubes: http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3241/5778616052_a2378a8423_b.jpg

My '62 Super Seven has a pair of "baby" leather hood straps: http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6153/6142568074_2b49277805_b.jpg

One of the cooler homes that I have visited had two three-car sized garages. One of them was the standard fare. But the other was the really cool one. The owner has an Espada and a 246 Dino. This 2nd garage has a pair of glass windowed roll-up garage doors on either side of the front door to the home. So this 2nd "garage" is really the entry to the home. It's sort of a den for the cars.

Not my wife. Last year I had pretty significant a case of the flu and dropped 12 pounds over the course of a week. I was whining about it after I was on the mend and she pointed out that it was likely the most cost-effective performance improvement that I would ever make to my cars! So I've managed to keep the weight off through the past year and am going to try to drop another 10 lbs this year. All in the name of adding lightness.

For the hydraulics I'd recommend JAE. Located in Goleta, California, just north of Santa Barbara. They typically ship the same day if they have the parts in stock. (805) 967-5767. Speak with Jay or Jeff. Very reasonably priced. Both the clutch and brake master cylinders p/n is Girling 64067651 (for single circuit brakes) Early Series IV cars were fitted with integral resevoir master cylinders. At some time later they were fitted with a shared remote resevoir, mounted to the top of the bulkhead with flexible hoses to the cylinders. Both the brake and clutch cylinders were prone to leakage from their rear ends when worn. While rebuild kits are available it is generally a better practice to replace them as their is usually some internal corrosion or pitting which can't be easily eliminated. In some export markets (like the USA) a dual circuit master cylinder was fitted. The dual circuit cylinder was common with the Lotus Elan. Sorry, but I don't have the p/n for this unit. It was mounted on an adapter bracket and had a connecting linkage that allows it to clear the diagonal brace in the engine bay. Jeff or Jay will probably be able to help you out in either case. For the sway bar I'd contact Redline Components in the U.K. they're the "oficial" Lotus Seven parts source. They're also generally pretty reasonably priced. Try dropping them an email. They usually respond in a day or so. While you're into the front end take car to inspect and rebuild or replace the trunions. They must be kept lubricated. It's a bad day if they fail at speed. The recommended lubricant is SAE 90 Wt oil. Not grease. Be sure to take care that whatever lubricant you use is compatible with the brass from which the trunions are made. It's also a good idea to replace the Metalastic bushings in both the front and rear suspension if there is any question about their condition. All of them. JAE was able to provide the trunions (common to most Lotus up through S3 Esprits until '85) and all of the Metalastic bushings from stock for my S2. I'd replace the upper ball joints as well. For the throttle cable try a local motorcycle shop. Any good motorcycle repair facility (likely not a dealership) should be able to make up a custom cable to your exact length and end fitting style. If not, Redline Components is also a good source for this as well.

Seems like it would be much cheaper to lower the road…..And install warning signs further up the road. If the warning lights only go off for a tall vehicle, why not just install a stop light?

Yes, and I made some notes so that I would be able to remember for confirmation of the layout in my own car. The gauges on this car are, in order left to right, ammeter, speedo, oil pressure, tachometer and coolant temperature. No fuel gauge on the early cars. The small 2" dia gauges are AC Delco and the larger 3-1/4" gauges (speedo and tach) are Smiths. Based on this configuration the car has some optional equipment. Obviously, due to the "custom built", or should I say, customer built, nature of the cars, there are likely some cars out there that were built in-period in different configurations. So a regular production gauge layout does not really exist. However Series 1 & 2 cars were equipped with only a single 3-1/4" gauge in the standard kit equipment lists, this being the buyers choice of either a speedo or tachometer. The three smaller gauges were all "standard". If a second 3-1/4" gauge was ordered it was fitted to the instrument panel in front of the passenger. Fuel gauges didn't join the regular production equipment lists on Lotus Sevens until the Series 3 cars, starting in '68, at which time there was a significant re-design of the gauge layout with speedo and tach both placed in front of the driver. Also, on Series 3 cars, the oil pressure and coolant temperature gauge were combined into a single housing with two dials, one on top and one below. So they still had two large dials and three smaller ones, albeit with more information displayed.