S2 left or Right? Which side is carb facing??

[iluvlotus]

Looking to purchase a original S2 1964 lotus 7- it is right hand drive- carbs are facing the right side but hood intake is on left- which is correct? big red flag?

[iluvlotus]

Sorry i should add it is a 1600 Ford cross-flow with twin carbs

[coffee break]

I have a Caterham RHD with a crossflow and the twin side draft Webers poke out the right hand side. I'm guessing something is not original. Some where along the way, someone may have changed a non-crossflow head or something.

As old as the car is, there could have been many alteration to the original configuration.

Are there any pictures available?

[sagamore]

The pre-crossflow Ford Kent engine had both the intake and exhaust on the same (left) side.

[escondidoron]

The 1600 Crossflow engine was not introduced by Ford until sometime in 1967. The S2-1/2, introduced in '68 with a single downdraught Weber 2-bbl carb, was the first time the 2255E X-flow 1600cc engine was offered by Lotus in the Seven. So if the car in question is truly a '64 S2 it would have been equipped with a pre-crossflow engine, assuming that it was originally equipped with a Ford and not a BMC A-Series. IIRC, the A-series engine was available thru about the end of '63 or into early '64. So depending on the date of manufacture that may be a possibility for the car in question. The pre-Crossflow engine would have had both the intake and exhaust manifolds on the left hand side of the engine. I.e. the intake and exhaust would be on the passenger side for a pre-Crossflow engined RHD car. Further, if the original engine was a Ford, it could have been a 105E (997cc), 109E (1340cc), or a 116E (1498cc). If it was a 105E it would have most likely have had twin 1-1/4" SUs carburetors. If it was a 109E it most likely would have had a dual Weber 40mm DCOE2 side draught setup. If it was a 116E originally, it could have had either a single or dual 40mm DCOE2 setup. Originally the car would have had a rear axle from a Standard 10. The wheel bolt circle, front and rear would have been the same as on a Triumph Herald / Spitfire at 3.75" x 4. A common upgrade is to install a rear axle from a Ford Cortina as on the S3 with a 4.25" x 4 bolt circle. Another common retrofit axle comes from the Sprite/Midget with a 4.00" x 4 bolt circle.

 

105E engine w/ dual 1-1/4" SU carbs:

 

Mostly original Seven w/ Cosworth 109E and dual 40DCOE2 carbs on handmade Bosworth intake manifold:

 

 

 

105E and A-Seires engined cars came equipped with a 100MPH speedometer while 109E and 116E cars had 120MPH Smiths units. A '64 should have had Winguard tail lights I think. The dash panel and interior side panels should have been red textured (to look like leather) metal. The simple foam on plywood seat bases and back rest would be red vinyl with white piping. The fender welt should be white as well. On a '64 there should be a piece of red carpet covering the driveshaft tunnel between the seats bottoms. I'm not sure when cockpit heaters became available, as an option, but I think that may have been somewhere around '62. Other options around the '64 date would have included a tach (BMC A-Series and 105E engined cars), tonneau cover, side curtains, sealed beam headlights, wings or cycle fenders and wood rim steering wheel. A '64 car should have had an 8 gallon fuel tank. But no gas gauge. Close ratio transmission gears were also optional.

 

I would recommend that you check out the following web sites as a start to learning more about Lotus Sevens in general and the S2 in particular.

 

1) http://simplesevens.org

Simple Sevens is a US based site that is quite helpful and interesting. John Donohoe is the owner of the site. He is very knowledgeable regarding the Seven.

 

2) http://www.lotus7register.co.uk/ser2page.htm

The registry site is very helpful with lots of info regarding original equipment, pictures, and general Lotus Seven background. If you have a serial number for the car, John Watson, the Registrar, may be able to provide a build record for the car. However you will need to be able to authenticate the car for him to do so. That will require that you have both the serial number (from the car's data plate, and the chassis number. If the car is a genuine S2 it will not be too difficult to locate the chassis number. Contact John and he can point you to where to look.

 

3) http://www.burtonpower.com/tuning-guides/tuning-guide-pages/ford-kent-crossflow-tuning-guide.html

The Burton Power site is a very good place to start to learn about the Kent engine in both pre-Crossflow and X-flow configurations.

 

I hope that this helps and good luck with your search / future purchase.

Edited February 11, 2016 by escondidoron

[iluvlotus]

Thank you sooo much for taking the timne out-this is so informative!!