7 Cockpit Heaters, Why?

[pethier]

On 4/16/2025 at 6:14 PM, 7Westfield said:

Those old gas fired heaters were fabulous. First year Corvairs had them. I put one in my bugeye sprite

The chevy ones (by Southwind I think) actually had a spark plug, with a set of points on the fan motor shaft

Duane Johnson, the one who built a single-seater out of SAAB parts, had a VW gas heater in his Datsun 1600 roadster.

[EdWills]

On 4/25/2025 at 9:34 PM, IamScotticus said:

At some point, Lotus began adding road going automobile accessories to the 7 which had been a minimal race car having only the bare minimum requirements for road driving.

And the transition began.  Dipping spot lamps, large chrome spotlamp bowls, carpet, doors, wipers, center horn button, recoil seat belts, hood, speedo, canceling signal switch,  a petrol level gage (Oh, the blasphemy!),  boot covers, doors, sill protectors, scuttle edge trim, useless wind deflectors, screen washer, padded tunnel, map pockets, floor mats, overstuffed bucket seats with headrests on rails and knee pannels.

All this and I'm just getting close to Dreamer's car.

The Caterhams never got radios  but the German cars had to get sun visors (Ive never seen a German short enough to use sun visors).

I don't know which came first, the heated wind screen or the petrol guage?

Lotus fitted a radio to the one-off 'luxury' Lotus Seven Series 3 'S' model in 1969, and the petrol/fuel gauge and tank sender came with the Series 3 in 1968 (and possibly a bit earlier with the Seven 2-1/2?).  Lotus used a mixture of AC (Delco) for gauges and petrol senders, along with Smiths Instruments for other gauges.  Rear lights for the Series 2 and 3 were from trailer accessory manufacturers.  The one common original accessory to span the production of many Lotus and Caterham Sevens is the handbrake  - which, according to published accounts - no one seems to know what original vehicle this came from. Lotus used Lucas electrics (remakes still available), and the Wipac washer system.  W