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Learning how to build Lotus Seven replicas...together!
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PostPosted: December 1, 2009, 9:39 pm 
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Lumbering Giant
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Very nice!

I'm reminded of an ad I saw on eBay a while ago, for a Series I Lotus Seven that had been in storage since 1957. Though it had a 39hp engine, the original buyer was afraid to drive it because it "went like a scalded cat".

I'll bet that TR engine sounds great and that car is a blast to toss around on those skinny tires. There's a lot to be said for the original formula from a sensory standpoint.

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PostPosted: December 2, 2009, 12:18 am 
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Tailwind wrote:
I thought I would post some photos of my recently completed Locost.

It's not truly completed yet. I still need fenders on the front wheels, and need to do something for passenger comfort, like a foot rest.

I have a lockable storage box/foot rest that might give you some ideas at:

http://dmr-architect.com/~locouki/footlocker.html


It has been a really interesting project that has kept me occupied for the last couple of years.

Bill
Very nice! I like the way you did the bonnet opening. It's a pain to take the one piece unit off to show people what's underneath.

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PostPosted: December 2, 2009, 9:09 am 
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I like the white walls and small tires. Looks a lot like an Series 2 except for the crossflow head.

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PostPosted: December 2, 2009, 5:15 pm 
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Joined: January 14, 2006, 1:06 pm
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Location: Vista (north of San Diego CA)
Wow, that is a nice clean looking build! Even has the wipers installed (and it looks like you needed them.)

Enjoy it!

John


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PostPosted: December 2, 2009, 6:43 pm 
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Location: The Humid State of North Carolina
Tailwind wrote:
I thought I would post some photos of my recently completed Locost.
The car was scratch built.
Bill
Beautiful Car! Striking Color coupled with the nostalgic flavor!

Do you have some more pics of the hood and the fit & finish for the engine bay? I love the ideas and am curious about your techniques!

Thanks,

KS

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PostPosted: December 5, 2009, 5:03 pm 
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Location: Springfield, Illinois
carguy123 wrote:
How comfy are the seats and what would you have done differently to them?


I think I would like to have upholstery springs under the bottoms, rather than plywood. The wood was easy, but it makes for a rather hard seat. The passenger seat is not too bad, but it has an extra inch of foam. The driver seat has less so I can get my legs under the steering wheel. Also, the adjustment mechanism for the driver's seat adds a bit to the height of the seat as well.

The biggest 'do over' would be to make the frame a +4 to allow more room in the cockpit.

Bill


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PostPosted: December 5, 2009, 5:13 pm 
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Location: Springfield, Illinois
baldguy8 wrote:
I'd be interested to see the chassis stripped down without bodywork. I see a bunch of bracing tubes that don't appear in the book design, or any upgraded cad design for that matter.


There wasn't really any cad design on my part. I just saw some reinforcements on various builds and incorporated them. Some were at Ron Champion's suggestion. The R brace was redone based on a suggestion I read somewhere on this forum. I tried to incorporate some of the 'Aussie' mods to increase the torsional resistance. The only thing I added on my own (not copied from someone else) was two diagonals in the cockpit area, under the scuttle.

Bill


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PostPosted: December 5, 2009, 5:28 pm 
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Location: Springfield, Illinois
Do you have some more pics of the hood and the fit & finish for the engine bay? I love the ideas and am curious about your techniques!

Thanks for the complements on the car. Actually, I am not real proud of the fit of the hood. I built that last, after the nose and scuttle were painted and the fit is not all that good. There is a large gap on the right rear that is really distressing to me. The fix would be to build the scuttle profile out to match the hood, but that would require a lot of work including taking the scuttle apart so I don't want to contemplate that at least until spring.

The body and hood are made using prepainted aluminum sheets. They are about 0.040 thick and I believe 3003-H14 alloy. Using this, I got a high visibility car and none of the mess of painting the body panels. I was lucky enough to happen on the DuPont Centari code for the color yellow (43464-AH) and so was able to obtain a pretty good match on the plastic parts.

The hood was built in sections and riveted together with solid aluminum rivets. I incorporated a flange on each edge and a bent up former to stiffen it crossways. It also was built in sections to hinge up to simplify the task of checking the oil and such. The fit is pretty much like the original lotus - lousy. At least it is bolted down well. I used a 1/4 x 28 threaded stud at each corner. This was at the suggestion of Martin Kellner on the North America Locost list.

The Louvers were sent to me by a friend and I just incorporated them into the hood. They are functional, but I don't know if they are actually necessary. It's been pretty cool and overheating has not been a problem. I'll know more this coming summer.

Bill


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PostPosted: December 5, 2009, 9:39 pm 
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Bill

That is a very nice car, I really like how you angle the trailing edge of the scuttle and the rear of the car's lower trunk area, I assume the tubes run parallel to the ground that are under the rear axle. What did you use for front spindles to match the Toyota rear axle bolt pattern.

Great job, well done, Dave W.


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PostPosted: December 12, 2009, 5:54 pm 
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davew wrote:
the tubes run parallel to the ground that are under the rear axle. What did you use for front spindles to match the Toyota rear axle bolt pattern.


The tubes at the back of the frame do run parallel to the ground. I needed to do this because the shocks in the back are so long. I used shocks for a street rod that I found (relatively) cheap on eBay. They put the axle pretty low and so the frame needed to be lowered as well.

The front hubs are from a Miata. The AWD Tercel that provided the rear axle has the same bolt pattern as the Miata. The earlier Corolla hub has a different pattern.

At least I now have the option to carry a spare tire if I ever get around to building the mount for it.

Bill


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PostPosted: December 21, 2009, 11:44 pm 
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Joined: December 8, 2009, 11:40 pm
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Location: Mostly near Stokesdale, NC
Great looking build. Would brag on it even more with more pics :D

*side note* Lived in Rantoul for about 6 months, gosh that weather looks familiar.

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PostPosted: December 28, 2009, 2:10 pm 
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Location: Indiana
Very Nice! Classy looking. Your neatness gains big points with me. :cheers:

...Mark (1 1/2 years into my build and nowhere close to yours)

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PostPosted: December 27, 2011, 10:26 am 
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Just for the sake of completeness, I thought I'd post a couple of links to what I have done on the car in the past year. I've moved the windshield back by building a new scuttle. Here's the link to that thread:

viewtopic.php?f=23&t=11473

And I've added a bikini top. That thread is discussed here:

viewtopic.php?f=23&t=12170

The car now also has a 5-speed transmission, but I don't have any photos of that and even if I did, the car looks the same, except that the gearshift is different. The transmission is a Ford T-9, used in the European Fords. The installation was pretty much as is done in Triumph Spitfires, GT6's and later MG Midgets. Parts are off the shelf, more or less, but of course, a standard "Kit" was not particularly useful.

It all has worked out well and I kind of wish I had done this all from the beginning.


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PostPosted: April 3, 2014, 6:04 pm 
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Joined: November 21, 2009, 5:56 pm
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Location: Springfield, Illinois
I thought I'd add a couple photos of the car in its latest configuration. This is approximately a "Mark 3+" or "Mark 4" configuration. Since the car was first on the road, I've added fuel injection (megasquirt), moved the windshield back about 6" added a "bikini" top, a wind blocker, and most recently, half doors. The car has also been upgraded with a 5 speed transmission and new seats.


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PostPosted: April 3, 2014, 8:13 pm 
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OK Bill, now you are just making me look bad. I've got to take a closer look at your doors at The Gathering. Nice work!

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