A Parts Suppliers Section?

[MV8]

It might help to have a supplier section to reduce repeat questions. Broken down by area would be nice too (i.e., electrical, fuel, brakes, suspension, body, drivetrain, etc).  Maybe they will look if it is there? Just a suggestion.

[Croc]

 

You mean like the one I started here?  I was planning to separate to parts only once I had enough links.

 

Your idea is where I was going from when I originally created the page.  Given everything else I have going on, I just have not been trawling every post in this site to find suppliers. 

 

What would be good is if people want to add their favorite or well-regarded parts supplier recommendations then please just post them onto this thread and then either @JohnCh or I can add them to the article. 

 

[IamScotticus]

Home>Articles>Useful Resource Links>

Ted Bundys bodies aren't buried this deep

 

[Croc]

4 hours ago, IamScotticus said:

Home>Articles>Useful Resource Links>

Ted Bundys bodies aren't buried this deep

 

Who pissed on your cornflakes this morning?  
 

It’s the same level as the other two posts you made the same time as this one.  

 

But I suppose they were not deep?
 

 

[MV8]

Whoa... differences. Not all humor has an emoji!

 

See? No emoji!

 

It's was just a recommendation.

[JohnCh]

16 hours ago, Croc said:

Your idea is where I was going from when I originally created the page.  Given everything else I have going on, I just have not been trawling every post in this site to find suppliers. 

 

What would be good is if people want to add their favorite or well-regarded parts supplier recommendations then please just post them onto this thread and then either @JohnCh or I can add them to the article. 

 

@Croc made a great start but it currently isn't prominently displayed because it is a work in progress.  As he mentions, if you have a supplier recommendation, let us know.  Contribute!

 

 

12 hours ago, IamScotticus said:

Home>Articles>Useful Resource Links>

Ted Bundys bodies aren't buried this deep

 

Actually, from a laptop or desktop, it's Home>Browse>Articles>Looking for a Se7en?>Useful Resource Links Found on the Internet for Se7ens.  When you are going to be sarcastic to make a point, don't undersell it.    Also, when you are going to make a point, please take a minute to think about how it will be perceived.  I receive random PMs from people with ideas, or complaints about how things work.  Most of are respectful and polite.  However, there are a few who come across as the petulant customer dealing with a business; "I'm going to be the squeaky wheel and get what I want!"  Those people lose sight of the fact that neither Croc nor I have a financial interest in USA7s.  We volunteer our time because we are both passionate about the space and want to enrich the ownership experience and get more people behind the wheel of a Se7en.  We aren't asking for thanks or praise, just be cognizant that we both have real jobs and other things vying for our time.  Squeaky wheels are typically ignored. 

 

In life, we all have a choice to be part of the problem or part of the solution.  Throwing ideas over the wall, then expecting someone else to do the work, is not the solution -- and no, I'm not referring to MV8's post; this is a general rant.  Do you have an idea for an article you wish to write?  Then follow the steps on that page and contact us to discuss.  We'd love more community involvement in that part of the site.  It benefits all of us.

 

Lastly, there are some potential navigation changes that might be coming that are similar in nature to the change made to Downloads.  Stay tuned!

[theDreamer]

I learned a long time ago that if a person makes a suggestion they’d better be ready to volunteer to carry it through. If a person makes an observation of something that they feel needs to be addressed or fixed then they had better be ready with a solution. AND… They must not take it personally if their suggestion is not the one chosen.

Yours Respectfully theDreamer

Past president of a profession race series, past executive member/vice president of a national club for a famous marque. One time “Clerk of the Course” for an FIM sanctioned international race.

Edited July 29 by theDreamer

[Vovchandr]

6 minutes ago, theDreamer said:

I learned a long time ago that if a person makes a suggestion they’d better be ready to volunteer to carry it through. If a person makes an observation of something that they feel needs to be addressed or fixed then they had better be ready with a solution. AND… They must not take it personally if their suggestion is not the one chosen.

Yours Respectfully theDreamer

Past president of a profession race series, past executive member/vice president of a national club for a famous marque. One time “Clerk of the Course” for an FIM sanctioned international race.

 

100% spot on. Nail on the head.

 

Anybody in charge has a million things to do in their queue. Nobody likes a person adding another thing even if it's a good idea. Pointing things out that are wrong or bad just makes you another liability bullet point on the to do list instead of being an asset.

 

However if somebody comes up with a good idea and is willing to put it through and it just needs a stamp of approval from people in charge, it makes it a lot easier to say yes to and sign off on.

 

Learned this a long time ago.

[JohnCh]

Firstly, things aren't always as simple as they seem on the surface.  Without unlimited resources, all work must be prioritized from the standpoint of the business needs, or in this case the forum.  From my perspective, the time I spend dealing with scammers and spammers, is more important than time making the UI better; i-e. I need to optimize for fixing things that are broken not to improving things that, while not optimal, are good enough.  As time frees up, those less important items can be addressed provided they meet the objectives of the site.  Case in point, it was suggested that we make this a paid-only forum as a means of deflecting the scumbags who register.  Would that barrier help with the sleaze who don't also steal credit cards?  Sure.  Would it be pretty low effort to implement?  Yes.  But closing down the forum to only those willing to pay $20 is 100% counter to the mission I mentioned earlier.  Therefore, although it's a good idea under some circumstances, it's not for this forum.

 

Secondly, this is our community.  The easy way people help make a great place is through their posts.  Staying on topic, providing insight to questions, and some banter to create connections between us, builds that community spirit and creates value for members.  But the other way is through the articles and Library.  Although we receive a lot of submissions from the community for the latter, there has not been a single one for articles since the forum redesign launched nearly 3-1/2 years ago.  Not one.  Do you have a long thread that you've looked at and thought to yourself "if we had a club magazine, I'd turn that into an article and submit it for publication."?  Then do it.  That's the point of the articles.  They are a place where interesting stories can be shared without the back and forth that comes with a thread.  We do really well with threads, but we could do a lot better with articles.  So how about thinking through where you can add value to that section, and start with something simple like providing some vendor links and descriptions to @Croc?  

[IamScotticus]

Ok, I know I lack tact and empathy.  I'm a jerk on a keyboard.  Ignore me.  Apologies.  But strip away all the hurt feelings (I know there aren't any) and I still make a valid point.  So here's something I'll say about the UI (User Interface for the personal check writers).  I will admit I am memory loss sufferer.  But I am still capable, with difficulty, of navigating multiple open apps and UIs all day at work.  I get a mental work out every day.  And although I've found the uploaded documents here before,  it's still very difficult to locate every time I try.  I know probably most Gen Xers are more competent than I, but I can certainly believe the navigation here can be clearer (General Discussion forum?). Others more senior, The "Quiet" generation, I'm sure it's more difficult for them.  They're not going to complain about anything.  They're much too polite.  But they could still run a system well without all this computer and software stuff.  They put men on the moon with slide rules.

Ok, UI is a low priority.  I get it.

Too bad.  It's still not as bad as FB (Face Book for the personal check writers).  The good info is hidden in replies, not discoverable, and gone in days.

I just want the good information about these cars to be easily accessible,  for me, for everyone.  And hopefully here for a long time.  Thats all I wish for this forum.

Edited July 29 by IamScotticus

[JohnCh]

34 minutes ago, IamScotticus said:

And although I've found the uploaded documents here before,  it's still very difficult to locate every time I try.  I know probably most Gen Xers are more competent than I, but I can certainly believe the navigation here can be clearer (General Discussion forum?).

 

Let me help you with those two items.  Based on feedback provided in this thread, the Downloads section was renamed to the more intuitive term, Library, and it was elevated to the top-level navigation to make it easier to access.  See red box in screenshot below:

 

 

There is no General Discussion forum.  There are several forums bucketed under the heading General on the Forum home page, and there is a General Sevens Discussion forum.  As per that page, it is defined as being "For general Se7en-related topics that don't fit elsewhere in the forum."  Keep in mind that this forum heading layout has been in use since Mazda (aka Slngsht) launched the forum almost 20 years ago.  It is a convention similar to many other forums.  That doesn't mean it couldn't be clearer, but changing all the navigation and associated terminology of a site with this much data and this many users can have significant, negative implications for the community at large. If creating a general "How to navigate the forum" Help Guide is of value, I'm happy to throw that together.

 

 

 

[IamScotticus]

https://www.holden.co.uk/

[JohnCh]

Thanks.  Keep in mind, for this to be useful, it can't simply be a list of links, and we can't expect @Croc to do all the work to figure out the specifics and why a link was suggested.  As a user of the resource, which can quickly grow to 20-30 links or more, think of the information you would want to understand for that link to be useful.  Croc may request additional information to aid the creation and management of this resource, but at a minimum, I imagine it's Name, location when not in the US or Canada, brief description of what they do or why the business is relevant to a se7en owner, and the link.  In this instance, providing something like the following is helpful. 

 

Holden Vintage and Classic

UK-based specialist manufacturers and suppliers of classic automotive parts, accessories and apparel.

https://www.holden.co.uk/

 

To put together the description, I simply went to their About Us page and copied and pasted the relevant information.  

[SENC]

The revised Library is much easier to find and remember - at least for me - thanks!  Perhaps once this supplier list is more complete, it could reside there as well.

 

Re the supplier/vendor list, it's been my observation that vendors tend to focus on particular "eras" of Sevens with some, but very limited, overlap (Redline, for example).  Organizing the list by major car groupings might be a way to make a long list easier to use.

 

Parts suppliers for pre-70s Sevens

 

Dave Bean Engineering (DBE) - Primary West Coast USA supplier of vintage Lotus parts (focused on Seven, Elite, Elan, Europa, Cortina) - https://www.davebean.com/

 

RD Enterprises - Primary East Coast USA supplier of vintage Lotus parts (focused on Elan, Europa, Elite, Eclat, Esprit) - https://www.rdent.com/

 

Tony Ingram Historic Racing (CA) - Restorations, engine rebuild, and parts for racing and street Sevens (and a few other cars) - https://lotus7.com/Home.html

 

Lee Chapman Racing (CT) - Parts for Sevens and other period Racers, primarily suspension - http://www.leechapmanracing.com/index.html

 

Sevens & Elans (MA) - Rebuilder, sells cars and used parts - http://www.sevenselans.com/carsforsale.htm

 

Redline Components (UK) - Top UK supplier specific to Sevens, with Lotus and Caterham - https://redlinecomponents.co.uk/

 

Tony Thomson Racing (UK) - supplier of bits for racing Elans - https://www.tonythompsonracing.co.uk/

 

Kelvedon Lotus (UK) - supplier of parts for Elites, Elans, Europa, Cortinas - https://kelvedonlotus.co.uk/

 

SJ Sportscars (UK) - parts supplier of vintage and newer Lotus cars - https://www.sjsportscars.com/home.htm

 

Mick Miller Lotus (UK) - parts for classic Lotus cars - http://www.mickmillerlotus.com/lotus-parts.html

 

British Classic Spare Parts (UK) - parts for classic British cars - 

https://britishclassicspareparts.com

 

Classic Team Lotus Parts (UK) - bought out Paul Matty, supplier of classic Lotus parts - https://www.parts.classicteamlotus.co.uk/

 

MEV Spares (UK) - parts for classic British cars - https://www.mevspares.co.uk/home.php

 

Small Ford Spares (UK) - English Ford parts, incl Anglia 105E parts - https://www.smallfordspares.co.uk/vehicles/ford-anglia-saloon-105e-106e-1959-to-1967

 

Ford Anglia 105E Owners Club (UK) - parts forb105Es - https://105eoc.com/spares/

 

Standard 8 & 10 Spares (UK) - parts for Standard 8s and 10s (S2 Sevens used Std 10 axle) - https://standard8n10spares.co.uk/

 

Standard Motor Club (UK) - parts for Standard cars - https://www.standardmotor.club/standard-8-10-etc

 

 

Will look forward to what others might add to this list.

[JohnCh]

32 minutes ago, SENC said:

The revised Library is much easier to find and remember - at least for me - thanks!  Perhaps once this supplier list is more complete, it could reside there as well.

 

 

Thanks for the full list you provided!  As for using the Library for this, unfortunately that software feature, which we cannot change, is designed to only work with downloads.  That means any time someone wants to look for a vendor, they need to download the document.  I can insert a text block on that page that contains a link to wherever the list resides to help with discoverability, but keeping the list there as a download is suboptimal.  One thing we're kicking around is changing the name of Articles to Articles & Resources for clarity, then placing that link at the top next to Library.  There are a lot of considerations I won't go into here that don't make that a great solution.  Also, there is a massive software update coming from Invision in the next few months with a lot of new functionality and some deprecation.  One of the new features may offer the perfect solution.  TBD.

[anduril3019]

Here are a few more. (mostly pre 1970s)

 

Stafford Vehicle Components (UK)

https://www.s-v-c.co.uk/

Components for classic and vintage cars. Lights, switches, mirrors, wiring accessories and washer and wiper systems. New and replica lights.

 

Mike Brotherwood (UK)

http://www.mikebrotherwood.com/Parts.html

Mechanical, electrical, suspension bits, etc. for 7s and other Lotus sports racers and formula cars. Also, parts made to order.

 

Retroford (UK)

https://www.retroford.co.uk/

Cortina and Escort focused, but lots of applicable bits. Drivetrain, axles, Duratec and Zetec components.

 

Autosparks (UK)

https://www.autosparks.co.uk/

Wiring harnesses, electrical components.

 

AES, Auto Electric Supplies (UK)

https://www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk/

The name pretty much says it.

 

Batho Sports Cars (UK)

https://www.batho-sports-cars.com/caterham_lotus_seven.html

Aluminum (aluminium?) body panels. I think Batho may have been related to Xtra Special Sevens somehow, not sure, though.

 

Axminster Specialist Panels (UK)

https://axminsterspecialistpanels.com/home/

Axminster Specialist Panels produce high quality panel work in alloy, steel and other metals, using the traditional craftsmans’ panel beating methods.

 

MDR, Mark Davies Racing (UK)

https://jacobengineering.co.uk/index.php/steering-wheels-2/

Reproduction Springall steering wheels, Lotus steering wheel badges, Coventry Climax parts, misc. parts.

 

Lotus-Mistry (Canada)

https://www.lotus-mistry.com/

Lotus Twincam, Kent, Cosworth, engine parts. Other random parts. Funky website.

 

Nisonger Instruments (US)

https://www.nisonger.com/smiths-parts.htm

Smiths instruments

 

Melvyn Rutter Limited (UK)

https://mogparts.net/

Morgan parts. Lucas, Kent engine, and other crossover stuff.

 

Woolies (UK)

https://www.woolies-trim.co.uk/

Trim, upholstery, fittings, etc.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 1 by anduril3019

[EdWills]

Hi All.

 

If it helps, I can have the list of parts suppliers updated and placed on anglocanadianlotus7.ca.  Senc and Anduril have posted a few of the companies that I have previously listed on the site, and more are always welcome when it comes to reliable parts suppliers.  Unfortunately, I had to (hopefully temporarily) remove one excellent supplier as he had to close his business due to illness.  All of the suppliers I listed have been very helpful to me.  I noticed that Senc has not included Arch Motors, but this company is now willing to sell direct when before you had to go through Redline.  I recently checked the Caterham Cars website for parts, and there are not many items that would suit an original Lotus Seven of either Series 1, 2, 3, or 4.  

 

The Caterham and Lotus Seven Club U.K. now caters almost entirely to those cars produced by Caterham with not much original Lotus Seven info on their site anymore (their older back issues however, contained a lot of valuable Lotus Seven information if you can find them (ebay?)). This club site is another excellent resource for information on the Caterham built cars, but for some questions, membership to the club is required in order to check the site.

 

Like JohnCh, Croc, John Donohoe of Simple Sevens, John Watson of the Lotus Seven Register, The Se7ens Mailing list, and many other sites, I do not get any financial benefit from my site.  I pay a very knowledgeable young lad in the U.K. (an ex neighbour from Canada) to do the heavy lifting for me, and he is very amenable to my additions and alterations as necessary.  In my 70s, I can just about handle my Mac computer, but trying to reload Britbox last night on my t.v. (where previously it had worked fine), it led to a frustrating late night trying to sort it all out (and yes, my subscription is fully up-to-date).  

 

I am very grateful to John Donohoe of Simple Sevens - a site that I really enjoy checking every day - as he allowed me to be added to his site.  John originally published all of the information that I sent to him, set up the photos and script, and placed it on his site.  Various people involved with the 'original' Seven car had provided so much information that I was interested in, that it seemed only fair that I should be responsible for the work to add to the site.  He was working, I was retired, so it was a no brainer for me to take care of my own info.  

 

I truly appreciate the technical information supplied on this site by forum members such as MV8 and others.  I am not an engineer just a hobby mechanic (the newer 'technician' job title definitely does not apply. Analog rules!).  I learn a lot about these fascinating little cars from the various sources noted above.

 

I have attempted previously to just 'set the record straight' with some information that is placed on this forum (e.g. in the 'library').  If it's not wanted, I get it, but surely the quote above "Pointing things out that are wrong or bad just makes you another liability bullet point on the to do list instead of being an asset" misses the entire reason for a forum such as this.  Shouldn't the aim be to provide as much accurate information as possible, hopefully with the information confirmed by a reliable source?  

Cheers all.  WF

[JohnCh]

1 hour ago, EdWills said:

I have attempted previously to just 'set the record straight' with some information that is placed on this forum (e.g. in the 'library').  If it's not wanted, I get it, but surely the quote above "Pointing things out that are wrong or bad just makes you another liability bullet point on the to do list instead of being an asset" misses the entire reason for a forum such as this.  Shouldn't the aim be to provide as much accurate information as possible, hopefully with the information confirmed by a reliable source?  

 

I don't want us to go too far off topic on this thread, but happy to chime in on a new thread if people want to delve into this.  I took @Vovchandr's comment as a reference to forum features or processes, not correcting a false statement of fact contained within threads, library downloads, or articles.  I think it was also intended as a broader statement that applies to business and was likely in support of my earlier statement about squeaky wheels being ignored.  One of the things I've learned in business is that the people who are most valuable aren't those who point out a problem, it's the ones who also identity the solution and then dig in to implement it.  The term backseat driver is considered a negative for a reason.  Vlad, I don't want to speak for you, so please correct me if I have this wrong. 

[Vovchandr]

18 hours ago, JohnCh said:

 

I don't want us to go too far off topic on this thread, but happy to chime in on a new thread if people want to delve into this.  I took @Vovchandr's comment as a reference to forum features or processes, not correcting a false statement of fact contained within threads, library downloads, or articles.  I think it was also intended as a broader statement that applies to business and was likely in support of my earlier statement about squeaky wheels being ignored.  One of the things I've learned in business is that the people who are most valuable aren't those who point out a problem, it's the ones who also identity the solution and then dig in to implement it.  The term backseat driver is considered a negative for a reason.  Vlad, I don't want to speak for you, so please correct me if I have this wrong. 

 

@JohnCh yes your latter interpretation is what I was eluding to. I actually struggle to follow the earlier point and that possible interpretation. 

 

I support what's being done here and tried to shine the light as to why even good ideas don't always get implemented when suggested. 

 

I recently had a great idea of having an internal cars and coffee for our work campus and partners (we have 3000 people). I knew nobody would sign off on it as just an idea. I had to do all the leg work and then let people in charge fine tune it. I came up with name, secured location, picked a date, described the rules and the mission purpose and benefits to the company as well as volunteered to be in drive or marketing event and helping set it up. 

 

Even after all of this it was a battle to get it signed off..

 

If I just threw the idea into the ether, it certainly wouldn't be happening. 

[EdWills]

My friend added the extra parts suppliers from @anduril3019 and @SENC to the list of parts supply businesses that I had previously listed on anglocanadianlotus7.ca.

A couple of them I had not heard of before, but their parts for sale for a Seven are very interesting and worth me taking a look. Thank you both for the lists, and I'll add more if you can think of other companies who have been helpful. Cheers W.