Rooster18221 Posted February 25, 2023 Share Posted February 25, 2023 Hello Fellow SS owners, I own a 1983/4 S7S model which was assembled in late 1983. I am looking to get in touch with a few owners who own any of these various years of Sevens as they are very likely to be constructed much the same as mine. I am having some brake issues and would like to discuss this in more detail by telephone rather than here in writing. Anyone who owns such a Seven and would be open to speaking to me, please respond here on this site and I will reply for arrangements to call. Thanks in advance to those who will offer some guidance and direction to my issues. Respectfully, Rooster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoBoost Posted February 26, 2023 Share Posted February 26, 2023 Hi! My car is a 1985 live axle, so likely not much different than yours. Picture below shows the brake master cylinder. Is that like yours? I would be glad to talk, FaceTime or Zoom to try and help better understand what your problem is. Send me a PM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster18221 Posted February 26, 2023 Author Share Posted February 26, 2023 (edited) Hey Jon, Thanks for reaching back out to me. Yes, your Seven resembles mine in many ways and not many ways. My Seven is LHD and is powered by the Sprint version of the Cross Flow 1600, unlike your twin cam. I took my Seven to a shop here fairly locally, and they removed the brake master cylinder and installed the current UK replacement, which unfortunately, was equipped with only two brake line ports. As a result, They had to fabricate a different brake line set up to me to the front calipers. I kept the old brake master cylinder as they can be rebuilt here in the US. There is a specialty shop, White Post Restorations, located in White Post, VA. However, in the mean time I have very little braking ability in my system. My brake master cylinder was exactly like yours, but now different. It is possible for you could follow your brake line individual routing to each caliper/drum, and tell me where each one terminates and from which brake master cylinder port While I have the door open, do you run 13 inch tires or otherwise. I'm having some real difficulty finding quality 13 inch tires for my car; not racing tires as I do not race this ride. It appears Avon tires, when available are good for the racers. I was looking at the BF Goodrich TA line and they do have a lower profile tire that might work lowering the car about 1/2 inch when space on this ride is at a premium. My original tires are 185/70/13. Is your car set up with Girling calipers in front and Ital or Ford drum brakes in the rear? How long have you owned your Seven? Where do you source your wearable parts; brake pads, shoes, other parts? And, do you have legacy part numbers for the parts? My seven is a long cockpit version, which came with the Morris Marina/Ital live rear axle. Although, I should know, as a previous multiple British car owner in the past, I do not know where the front calipers were sourced; which car, which model years? I have owned my Seven for almost 40 years. It is close to being road worthy again, excepting the brakes and tires. Hope to solve that as soon as I can. It has been sitting in my hanger for about 5-6 years. Still needs much TLC in the form of wash, wax, and some re-chroming but it will work for me until I can get that done. Just itching to get back out on the road. I'm located in North Florida; what about you? Are you a member of the Caterham/Lotus 7 Club in the UK? I was for about 10 years, then life got in the way, and I simply dropped my membership. Plan to open it back up again. He, Jon, thanks again for reaching out. If you shoot me your phone number and give me a time, we can talk more about this on the phone. I'll be glad to make the call. Cheers. Ron. Thanks for your Edited February 27, 2023 by Rooster18221 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MV8 Posted February 26, 2023 Share Posted February 26, 2023 Ron, you may want to remove your personal information from the previous post by selecting the three dots next to "author" in the upper right corner of your post in order to "edit". If you place your cursor on Moboost's picture, a small window will open where you can select "message" to send a PM to Moboost. FWIW, I believe the aft port (installed) of the master cylinder goes to the tee with the brake switch. You might also show the modification tee made to your car and check the bore size of each master cylinder to ensure they are the same. If the new master has a larger bore, effort will increase. If smaller, the pedal will travel more to stop the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster18221 Posted February 27, 2023 Author Share Posted February 27, 2023 MV8, Sorry I thought this was private messaging, but I stand to be corrected. When a private message string is initiated through the picture, will the subsequent messages be private or does any reply each time need to be re-initiated through the picture? Or, how do you know when it is not a PM? Thank you for the details on the brake situation. At this point, I do not have a brake light switch attached to a line tee like I have noticed on others. I've been looking for the switch the past couple of days haven't located it. I thought it might be attached to the brake pedal arm, but haven't found it there either. Obviously, there is an electrical switch at the top of the master cylinder so I am looking into that as well. The brake master cylinder was a Lockheed replacement unit from Caterham. My previous three port Lockheed master cylinder was apparently discontinued. Still working on this issue. And, I will make all attempts to stay within the rules, going forward. R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCh Posted February 27, 2023 Share Posted February 27, 2023 @Rooster18221 please see the following Help Guides on posting and private messaging. They should clarify how to do both, but if not send me a PM and I'll try to clarify. Posting Help Guide Private Messaging Help Guide -John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MV8 Posted February 27, 2023 Share Posted February 27, 2023 Ron, thank you, but there is nothing to apologize for. If it has been sitting for 5-6 years since the brake modification, the first thing would be a fluid change and a complete bleeding, first at the rear, then the passenger's front, then the driver's front. To bleed without a helper to work the pedal, I use a jar and hand vacuum pump. The electrical switch on top of the master is a float for a low brake fluid level warning and not needed. I don't see any brake lines routed differently from other cats I've seen but I don't know what is going on below the carbs. I think I see the brake switch, located on the original tee to the rear brake circuit, connected to the line going into the tunnel to connect the rear brakes. If the master cylinder linkage is adjusted too long, the master piston can be partially pushed into the master without applying pressure to the pedal. This may block the compensation port in the master that allows the system to bleed air from the calipers to the master reservoir and collect air in the high mounted lines. To check, open the master reservoir and apply the pedal, looking for a vertical squirt of fluid. No squirt requires shortening of the master push rod length between the master and the pedal end to create some free play. I don't know if the pedal relies entirely on the master internal piston or an external spring to fully bring the pedal back up after applying the brakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MV8 Posted February 27, 2023 Share Posted February 27, 2023 (edited) I was looking at your brake pedal. It looks like when they replaced the master cylinder, instead of adjusting the push rod length, they made it as short as possible. This would place the pedal low in the footwell and reduce pedal travel so you may hit the floor with the pedal before fully applying the brakes. I would rotate the nut behind the clevis (ccw as viewed from the rear) to unjamb the rod adjustment, then unscrew the push rod from the clevis to raise the pedal but leave at least two threads protruding through the nut in the clevis. If the pedal can't go any higher, rotate the push rod cw into the clevis a 1/2 turn to create some free play/looseness in the linkage and rejamb the nut to hold the setting while keeping the push from rotating in the clevis. It doesn't take very much pressure to jamb the nut. You mentioned tires: Edited February 27, 2023 by MV8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toldfield Posted February 27, 2023 Share Posted February 27, 2023 My car is similar to yours, '82 S-3 live axle. I source parts from Dave Bean, RD Enterprises, and Moss Motors. Front brakes on my car are Girling, from a Spitfire. I sourced rear brake shoes from Porterfield. Here is a pdf of parts sources from the Lotus Elan Net forum. Chris at Sevens and Elans is also an excellent source. Lotus 7 Part Comparison List.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoBoost Posted February 27, 2023 Share Posted February 27, 2023 @toldfield Thanks for posting that list, I didn’t have that. I use the same sources for parts. Chris at Sevens & Elans knows these cars very well! @Rooster18221 Photos of the brake lines are below. MV8 gave some good suggestions. I have 14” wheels on my car and fitted Falken Azenis RT660 in 195/60R14. Good grip. Take care to keep the circumference of your tire about the same so as to not affect the speedometer or gearing. Plus, there’s the ground clearance issue mentioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster18221 Posted February 28, 2023 Author Share Posted February 28, 2023 Your brake master cylinder is the original for your year model and many others. Chris switched mine out recently for a new one. Yes, Chris grew up working on "Sevens and Elans". Unfortunately, the new master cylinder only comes equipped with two ports, not three as in the original. After all, this car is 40 years old, however, I am aware of a company that restores old classic brake master cylinders and warrants them for life; White Post Restorations in White Post, VA. As of now, one port/line goes to my two front disc brakes and the other line goes to the rear brakes. When I have my master cylinder rebuilt, I will use your diagram to reinstall mine correctly as intended. So, thanks very much for posting your photo. It is exactly what I was hoping to locate. Now, if someone can tell me how to save these photos to my computer, I will indeed be a happy camper. Copy and paste doesn't seem to work for me. Thank you again, Jon, for posting these photos. R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCh Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 13 minutes ago, Rooster18221 said: Now, if someone can tell me how to save these photos to my computer, I will indeed be a happy camper. Copy and paste doesn't seem to work for me. If you have a Windows machine, right-click on the photo, then select "save image as" then select you preferred location from the next window, rename the file to something more intuitive (the default will be a long string of random numbers and letters), and click save. -John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster18221 Posted February 28, 2023 Author Share Posted February 28, 2023 Thanks for the hint. R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoBoost Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 Hi Ron, I sent you a PM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now