1 more member for usa7s, four more tires for the twisties!

[notakit]

Greetings 7's people! "75TwinCam" suggested I share what I'm building with USA7s so I just signed up and thought I'd leave a post.

My project started a year ago while I while looking for a Bug-eye Sprite. Even the worst rust-buckets were out of my budget so I picked up Ron Champion's "How to Build a Sports Car" book.

At first I was inspired to build a "Locost 7" but the more I researched the original Lotus 7 the more I realized the Locosts and the "kits" have eliminated the original 7's curves. I felt the straight lines make them look well, low cost so I gave up on the whole Locost idea and decided to build something closer to Colin Chapman's original design.

I found several sets of old "blue prints" floating around the internet and after entering them into my cad program came up with what I consider a frame that is 95% of a 1960 series II frame. No two Lotus' I've ever seen are the same so I'm not too concerned about the few changes on my car. The bottom line is I'm keeping it simple; no macho engine, no big tires. I don't even plan on installing a heater, wipers or fuel gauge although they could be added later.

What I'm hoping to complete by this July 4th ( I cut the first five tubes last July 4th) is basically a 1960 Lotus 7, Series 2A. My "donor" car was a wrecked 1971 MG Midget which came with the later, larger 1275 BMC A motor. That motor was first produced in 1964 but wasn't used in any Lotus until 1966. Although I am using an original front anti-roll bar I will build my upper arms to accommodate the MG's front hubs to minimize the "frankencar" factor.

Other than that, My car is very close to 1960 specs; 13" wheels, 5 link rear suspension fiberglass nose. I plan on "skinning" the entire underside of the car like the Series 1 unless there is an overheating issue around the engine compartment. If my transmission tunnel acts like a radiant heater I'll remove the skin under the engine compartment.

Other 'Minor" changes include a removable spare tire mount, stronger mounting points for the rear radius arms and a slight radius in the dashboard's lower crossbar. I thought this looked nice and tied the 1" crossbar into the stronger 1" risers on each side. The gearshift clearance remains the same as original.

My current challenge is the rear fenders. The series 2 came with fiberglass rear fenders with a flat profile. I really like the round profile from the series 1 fenders but at $1200 each in aluminum, I am going to build my own from modified steel motorcycle rear fenders or use said motorcycle fenders to build fiberglass bucks, and build my own series 1 fenders out of fiberglass. I just prefer the humble look and classic curves of the '57-59 Lotus 7.

The only thing that resembles a seven here in Central Oregon is a 240hp supercharged Brunton that in my opinion, resembles a squashed T-bucket more than a Lotus 7 and the competitive part of me is hoping my project will be on the road before his!

I'd like to keep in touch and compare notes with more 7's people! I'll post some progress pictures once I figure out how.

Thanks again 75TwinCam for contacting me and passing along the usa7's link!
-Mike

[Kitcat]

Great project, great concept!

Any photos of progress to date?

Your tranny tunnel probably will act as a heat radiator. It did in my '67 Sprite and does in my '97 Caterham. Heat is one of the 7's nemeses. With or without the fully skinned body, heat will find its way into the cockpit.

Since you are building from scratch, you have a chance add insulation in the engine compartment/tranny tunnel as you go, if you want. Do a search here for various solutions tried, none of wh/have solved this problem 100%.

Mike

[notakit]

Thanks for the advice Mike! I looked over my frame thinking where all that engine heat was going to go and as you already know, the answer is the rear wheel wells via the trans tunnel. We have more cold weather in central Oregon than warm, much less hot so other than wrapping the header I'm planing on using the heat source to my advantage. This may change. I DO like your idea of insulating the tunnel!

At the risk of sounding vain, the main reason I want to skin the underside is not as much for aerodynamics but because it looks sexy! Especially below the fuel tank. The early series have an upward curvature behind the rear axle and when left unskinned, exposes the tank.

I'll post some pictures soon.
Mike

[notakit]

Ok, I put up a bunch of progress photos on my album "one year gestation period"

[rnr]

Best of luck with the build!


The only thing that resembles a seven here in Central Oregon is a 240hp supercharged Brunton that in my opinion, resembles a squashed T-bucket more than a Lotus 7 and the competitive part of me is hoping my project will be on the road before his!


There are at least 2 Locosts owners from OR that are on this board: randy g (http://usa7s.com/vb/member.php?u=1183) with a Zetec powered seven while homebrew (http://usa7s.com/vb/member.php?u=478) built the one below.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3201/2915071415_4ac3f6f323.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rnair/2915071415/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rnair/2915071415/) by rnair (http://www.flickr.com/people/rnair/), on Flickr

[Jim F.]

Randy G's is a Birkin and nicely modified for the track. End of season in White City saw Randy walk away with autocross TTDs each day. Fantastic car and driver. Well sorted out Webered Dunnell Zetec. BTW, he and I both live here in Grants Pass. I have an '03 Caterham DeDion Roadsport, LSD, wide track, TWM/Pectel ITBs, cycle fenders, etc. There's also Dave Nichols( Editor of Easyriders, V-Twin, and Rebel Rodz magazines) from Ashland on the CCC site w/a '78 Caterham/Lotus Twin Cam. I'm not sure if Dave's info is current and correct but will try to contact him in the near future. Feel free to contact me if you'd care to.....

[MHKflyer52]

Ok, I put up a bunch of progress photos on my album "one year gestation period"

notakit,

I just looked at your album of your build.
Very Very nice.
I built my replica 7 while living in Newberg, OR. but now live in Southern California for the past five years.
I also used an MG as a donor vehicle except I used an MGB 1800cc engine, trans, front kingpins, disk brakes and rear axle assembly after cleaning all the mounts from it.
I have to say that your fab skills are very very good from your photos.
I also made all of my fenders and dash and shuttle out of steel. Outer skin is all aluminum and I also sheeted the bottom of my car and then removed some of the skin from under the engine area for better cooling. My last project was adding a skid plate to protect the oil pan and trans but still let the air flow out.
Here is an early photo of my car while still in Newberg, OR.

[75TwinCam]

Hi Mike, glad to see you found your way in! After looking through the pics of your build so far, I have to say your Seven is going to be a work of art. Almost seems a shame to skin over such a beautiful frame! I am looking forward to watching your project move off of the welding table and become a proper Seven!

Cheers!

Derek

[notakit]

Thanks again for the invite to USA7s Derek!

Martin, I wish you were still in Oregon! It would be fun to compare notes AND roads on the weekends! I'd like to hear how your kingpin adaptation went. I've got my designed but if there's a better idea out there, I'm not too proud to copy it! Feel free to call me any time if you're available.

Also, where in Southern California are you living? I grew up there myself "canyon racing" a number of motorcycles before finally "legitimately racing" at Willow Springs. The only things I miss about So. Cal is that track, the San Gabriel Mountains and most of all, In n Out Burger!

One of my first planned drives in the Lotus will be connecting all the twisty roads in Oregon to Redding California; the Northern-most In n Out!
-Mike
(541) 419-8022

[DeanD3W]

Hello Notakit,
Your build sounds very interesting. I must be missing something... Is there a link to your photo album provided somewhere?

Dean

[MHKflyer52]

Martin, I wish you were still in Oregon! It would be fun to compare notes AND roads on the weekends! I'd like to hear how your kingpin adaptation went. I've got my designed but if there's a better idea out there, I'm not too proud to copy it! Feel free to call me any time if you're available.

Also, where in Southern California are you living? I grew up there myself "canyon racing" a number of motorcycles before finally "legitimately racing" at Willow Springs. The only things I miss about So. Cal is that track, the San Gabriel Mountains and most of all, In n Out Burger!

One of my first planned drives in the Lotus will be connecting all the twisty roads in Oregon to Redding California; the Northern-most In n Out!
-Mike

Hi Mike,

I now live in Ventura, CA. and have had a home here since 1973 when things were much more affordable and a lot less people. Sounds like we have had a lot in common over the years.
Here is a link to some photos you might find interesting if not funny.
http://picasaweb.google.com/MHKflyer52/ALotus7Replica (http://picasaweb.google.com/MHKflyer52/ALotus7Replica)#
Photos 338 thru 345 show how I used the front kingpins out of the MGB and should be the same for a Midget. If I were to do it all over again I would just buy a set of Spitfire spindles and hubs as that is what I have found to be as close to the transit van spindles that were originally used on the later Lotus 7 and the Cat's to my limited knowledge.
Here is my E-mail address MHKflyer52 at g-mail dot com if you send me a reply I will then send you my phone number so if you have any questions you can then call or just e-mail me.

[bball7754]

Hello Notakit,
Your build sounds very interesting. I must be missing something... Is there a link to your photo album provided somewhere?

Dean

Dean - If you login there will be a "Pictures and Albums" option under the "Community" heading. I was also puzzled at first - this may be the first use of that option. :)

Steve

[scannon]

Here's a direct link to his album.

http://www.usa7s.com/vb/album.php?albumid=25

[Kitcat]

Thx Skip, finally got to see what everyone was talking abt.

Notakit: Your album says you are ditching the snow tires. What abt the wire wheels? They are very authentic but are probably 2x as heavy, or more, than a stock Caterham Prisoner wheel and the other modern lite wheels out there.

Unsprung weight is never good, and esp so on out little lightweight flyers.

Mike

[notakit]

I know the wire wheels are a bit heavy, thats the look I'm going for. I road raced a Ducati 916 back in the 90's and now I enjoy riding vintage Vespa scooters. I have just as much fun riding a scooter at 100% and I'm not as far into the "death zone" as I would be riding my old 916 at 100%. My Lotus project is along the same philosophy, bigger is not better.

We all know how much fun a 1700lb Bugeye Sprite is to drive although its not the fastest nor the greatest handling car out there. Essentially I'm putting that same Bugeye drive train into a 900lb car. It is what it is; its an 54 year old sports car.

-Mike

[notakit]

Martin, thanks for sharing your photos! It is so inspiring to see step-by-step progress and completion when one is building a seven! I have a slightly different approach to the upper arm/kingpin design that uses an adjustable rod end bearing directly onto the upper kingpin. I'll share photos a soon as I'm done welding the arm.
-Mike


P.S. Sorry everyone about posting my photos in the wrong spot. I'm new to the forum and haven't taken the time to figure things out yet. -Mike

[scannon]

P.S. Sorry everyone about posting my photos in the wrong spot. I'm new to the forum and haven't taken the time to figure things out yet. -Mike

Mike,

I think that is actually the correct spot for an album. We're just not used to looking there. A reference to the album location would help a lot.

[Kitcat]

Mike:

As a former Sprite owner (bought it new in '67) I agree that fun and aesthetics are separate from speed. My base Sprite lacked the coveted wire wheels and just ran on 4 little boat anchor steel wheels and it was a total blast to drive. It cranked out 55hp as I recall and did 0-60 in abt 16 seconds. I think it had a 1100 cc engine. It mite have been an earlier year model as the dealer was unable to sell it. Its all a bit foggy.

Mike M

[notakit]

Mike M, I can only imagine how much fun it would have been to drive a NEW Bugeye off the lot! A used one is fun enough! I believe your Bugeye used the same rear end as the early Lotus 7's.

While researching my car I read that the 7 used a rear end from the Nash Metropolitan (I never knew Metro's were built in England!) which is the same spec as the disc wheel'd Sprites and Midgets. Sprites and Midgets that came with wire wheels had a 1" shorter rear axle housing to retain the same track as the disc wheel's models. Splined hubs for wire wheels require a longer hubs that would place the wheel 1/2" further from the car.

When I started entering all these dimensions into my CAD drawing I learned there was no way I could build my Lotus with the Sprite rear end because I would have only 1/4" per side between the tire and body. This lead me to believe the original '57 Lotus 7's 15" wheels must have had zero or a negative offset. Sprite/MG wheels typically have 20mm of positive offset so what I've done to keep my 7 close to spec as reasonable is install the Sprite's wider disc wheel housing with the wider wire wheel hubs. This required making a pair of rear axles 1/2" longer. If I use 155 tires I'll have about 7/8" per side between the tire and body and even more room if I use 145 tires.

Worse case scenario I will have a little tire rub but again, thats with no tire slip, one shock completely compressed while the other completely extended. Not bloody likely with such a light car, proper springs and 145 tires.

-Mike

[notakit]

Hey! I must have figured out how to include my album's link in my signature!

[scannon]

It worked but it opened a new tab and made me log in again even though I am logged in already.

[notakit]

Let me try it this way;

[Sean]

Once logged in, just view notakit's user profile, and the album is accessible from there (on the right side of the page).

[notakit]

I'd like to thank everyone who has complimented my 7 project, especially Martin Keller (MHKflyer52) for Oregon's registration advise! He probably save me 24 hours of headache!

As soon as I shovel the snow from my driveway I'll role the operating table out and take a few more progress photos. Its a good thing these are such tiny cars because I'm building this in a tiny, condo sized garage! Technically I'm not allowed to "work" on any car according to my rental agreement. My translation its not technically a car until its been officially registered as a car, right?

[wemtd]

correct: Just a pile of auto parts, but not a car.

cheers
paul


<< not technically a car until its been officially registered as a car, right?>>

[notakit]

Nope. No cars here Mr. Landlord. wink wink

[notakit]

I've decided to build my 7 with its steering rack behind the front axle for three reasons; 1. because it cleans up the look of the car by eliminating rubber boots sticking out of the body and the tie-rods up front 2. it shifts that weight to behind the front contact patch 3. it shaves a little more weight off the car because said rack and its housing must be shortened at least 10". (This is the same way early 7's were built.)

I picked up a Morris 1000 steering rack yesterday which is a mirror image to the late year MG Midgets, identical in length and travel. The only difference is the pinion is located below the rack when the rack is behind the axle i.e. Morris and the pinion is located above the rack when the rack is in front of the axle like Midgets. Disassembling the steering rack shows the shortening process won't be too difficult. These racks have a threaded hole at each end where the tie-rod attaches. Simply cut, thread and machine the keyway slots for the original lock-ring on the non-drive side. I'm unsure if the housing is a press fit or threaded into the cast ends. Either way it shouldn't be too hard to disassemble it.

The next challenge will be designing the steering assembly NOT to have any bumpsteer. I'll work that out tomorrow.

I added a few more picts on my album pertaining to this steering rack.

[notakit]

My album has a few more picts showing the battery and fuel tank mounts. I'm still researching front steering geometry so no progress yet towards the front of the car.

[Mondo]

Nice work. I know your keeping it old school, are you going to have a rollbar?

[notakit]

No, why would I want to roll my Lotus?

[Mondo]

Guess you won't need a rearview mirror either... who cares what's behind you;)

[Jawfish]

Nice build.

keep us posted on your progress. I really dig these little engined cars for the street.

Cheers,

Fred

[notakit]

I love that philosophy Mondo! I remember a scene from the old movie Gumball Rally where a guy with an Italian accent rips the rear view mirror from the windshield, tosses it over his shoulder and calmly says "whats behind me doesn't matter". If thats where you're getting it from we're both officially old!

In all seriousness, I don't have any plans to put a rollbar in the car but I can always bolt one in latter.

[Mondo]

Yep, old enough to remember that movie... just figured with your two-wheeled experience it would be difficult to not push a car this fun once in a while.

Keep up the good work, anticipating a very nice 7

[notakit]

You're right Mondo. I'm wise enough to know my personality when it comes to anything with wheels. A really good friend I grew up with said it best "you still have a competitive hatred towards anyone in front of you." This started with road racing bicycles in the early 80's and continued through several sportbikes. The superbike era ended in the late 90's then I returned to bicycles. I raced single speed mountain bikes in Oregon 2002 before learning how to ski and play rugby. Several broken bones wiser, I've decide to take it easy with a humble Lotus 7. How much trouble can I get in with such a little car? (I'm thinking about potential mounting locations for a roll bar.)

[KYO]

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