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Learning how to build Lotus Seven replicas...together!
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PostPosted: February 13, 2011, 8:42 pm 
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Location: Murfreesboro TN
Ron. How are you off for elbow room? My 7 is original size that is why I bowed out the rear of the doors to allow for that. The Caterham's are bowed out also. Your's look good though. What size is your car?
:cheers:


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PostPosted: February 14, 2011, 9:23 pm 
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Location: North Van., BC
Samson, we have compulsory government insurance here. If you're dumb enough to have several vehicles :oops: and even if you're the only driver, you pay the full premium for each one. No discounts for several vehicles with a single driver. Gets expensive. So lots of people insure a daily driver full time and fun vehicles seasonally.

Graham, your side curtains set the bar for everyone. Fortunately I'm on the slim side and the lack of a bulge doesn't seem to be a problem. We'll see when I get to actually drive with them on.

Thought my winter list was finished but just remembered that I want to make and install a filtered catch tank to stop the oil blow-by from going into the manifold. I guess I could just stick the hose into a pop can as some have done (no names mentioned :D ) But I'm hoping for a little classier solution without going too far overboard on the design and fabrication. Also discovered some air horns that I meant to install. I think I'll put them on a second button so I have the option of a friendly toot or a blast from hell.

Ron

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PostPosted: March 14, 2011, 10:36 pm 
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Joined: December 30, 2007, 1:21 am
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Location: North Van., BC
Not much work done on the car for the last month for two reasons:

One, I sold my big bike because it costs too much to insure it and the 7 as well as daily drivers. The plan last year was to insure the 7 for 3 months, then insure the bike for 3 months. Well the 7 was so much fun that the bike never got insured :( . So I bought an old Yamaha Virago and I've spent the last couple of weeks getting it cleaned up enough to qualify for collector plates. Insurance is only $168/yr. so it can stay insured all year and I won't have to choose between my toys. :D

I installed my air horns as planned and when I went to test them they didn't work. Fuses etc. are OK. Found the likely problem, a short wire that connects to the spring loaded sliding horn contact isn't attached. Can't see where it should go. Tried several things but can't figure out where to connect it.

Anyone have a turn signal/headlight assembly loose and can tell me what terminal the short wire attaches to? :BH:

Ron


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PostPosted: March 15, 2011, 7:33 am 
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Joined: September 22, 2005, 8:12 am
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Location: 4AGE in S.E. Michigan
Ron
All of the column wires connect at a gray multi pin junction on the bottom side of the steering column about 16" down from the steering wheel. Drop the connection. [ 2 screws] Then trace the red - green wire back up to the switch. Or add or slice in the missing red-green wire from the junction back to up the switch. By the way the junction connection can be mounted 180* on the column bracket which gives you a little more clearance under the column.
Dave W


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PostPosted: March 15, 2011, 1:39 pm 
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Location: North Van., BC
Dave,

I was going to say "a million thanks for the suggestion" but I think because of all your previous helpful comments it probably should be " a four millionth thanks for your helpful comments" :D

I broke my long standing trouble shooting rule "never presume anything" and paid the price: two weeks of muttering and cursing. I presumed, incorrectly, that the green/red wire connected to one of the terminals that the other green wires connected to. There was a bundle of unused blue wires taped up that I ignored. They were surplus after I eliminated the dash mounted headlight and wiper switches and went with stalk controled ones.

So I shone a light up under the dash, looked up with a mirror, and could just see a green/red wire disappearing into the taped up bundle of blue wires! I peeled back the taped up accessible end at the hub, there was the G/R wire, stripped it, grounded it and beep, beep :D So my mistake was presuming the green/red wire attached to a terminal when in fact it was supposed to be a continuous wire unrelated to the hub terminals.

Glad that's solved and I can put the steering back together. The continuous rains have to end soon and I don't want to be caught with sunny weather and a car in pieces. It's been a long winter and I can't wait to get back on the road.

Ron


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PostPosted: April 8, 2011, 6:36 am 
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Location: San tan Valley Az
Ron

What rear diff you got in there? And do you know the gearing in it?

Wiz

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PostPosted: April 10, 2011, 5:44 pm 
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Location: North Van., BC
Wiz,

I got such a mis-mash of parts that I don't know for sure. There's a lot to be said for buying an intact donor. The whole rear end was on a stripped GTS rolling shell that I bought as a donor. The rear looks like it's orginal GTS because of the disk brakes but the tranny loose in the trunk had a SR5 bellhousing on the T50. So it's likely that I have a little taller gearer. I wasn't all that concerned with the ratios. After working on the car for a couple of years, all the while not knowing if the rear end and tranny were just junk, it was a huge relief to go for the first spin and find they were in good shape. :D

Ron

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PostPosted: April 10, 2011, 7:23 pm 
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Cool, I was wondeing, After reading the whole thread It was never really said how the rear diff was hooked up. Or if any mods had to happen. Thanks for explanation.

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PostPosted: April 10, 2011, 8:11 pm 
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Location: North Van., BC
Wiz,

The only mod that has to happen, aside from the usual cutting and welding on mounting points for the shocks and trailing arms, is finding a way to let the GTS handbrake mechanism work with a book frame. Part of it protrudes and would hit the frame. Different builders have made it work in different ways. I put a 1" jog in the frame and that worked fine without any other modifications.

Ron

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PostPosted: April 10, 2011, 9:26 pm 
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Location: Murfreesboro TN
Hi Ron. If it has the disc brakes on it then it is a GTS as they were the only model with them. It will be a 4.3 ratio and a 6.7 inch ring gear. I take it the slave cylinder was on the left side of the bell housing as the SR5's have and the GTS was on the right side.
:cheers:

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PostPosted: May 17, 2011, 9:57 pm 
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Location: North Van., BC
After 7 months of cold and rain finally a sunny day. Got insurance and tried out my new side curtains. Fantastic :D They work even better than I hoped for. My wife's happy with them and says she doesn't think the situation now is much different than her Miata with the windows up. I'm happy she's happy because she said no longer trips unless I could tone down the wind buffeting.

The extra work of doing up the harness etc. is minor compared to the improved comfort level and the bonus is that I don't have to worry about losing my cap. For the amount of work and cost of materials they're definitly worth having. Since they go on and off in seconds it's no big deal installing them.

Cars running great :D and it's back to making people smile and wave. Loving it.

Ron

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PostPosted: August 12, 2011, 6:27 pm 
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I've used the car a lot but havn't gone on any open road trips :( so I havn't had the need to use the side curtains. But a constant problem has been keeping my cap on with the wind buffeting. And on a car without sun visors, a cap is pretty useful.

So I whipped together some crude wind deflectors, size determined by acrylic bits on hand, total project time just over an hour. I was curious to see what they'd do in the way of smoothing out the air flow as they can be left on all the time.

I developed and calibrated a sophisticated instrument to measure their effectiveness. I call it a Captrometer. It's calibrated like this: 0, cap flies off and is lost; 1, have to remove the cap because there's no way to keep it on; 2, have to keep grabbing the cap; 3, feel like you're about to loose it sometimes so you grab it to make sure it doesn't fly off; 4, wind effects are diminished to the point you don't feel the cap will fly off unless you unload the suspension at high speed and gravity wants to help the cap fly off :oops: ; 5, cap stays firmly on head.

I'm really happy with the diminished buffeting. I'm giving them a 4. The materials pretty thin but it was free. Now that I know they work so well I'll probably make some with a little thicker lexan.

Great day for testing the deflectors, Molly Maid girls asking to switch cars with me, flag girls giving me the thumbs up and the usual "love your car" as you drive by. Ah, life is good, wind deflectors are good :D

Ron


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PostPosted: August 12, 2011, 6:51 pm 
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Boy oh boy have I discovered what you are talking about, at exactly 50 miles an hour I have to grab my hat and shove it under my leg.
I cant even quickly throw it into the passenger seat or it is good bye hat.
My Cobra buddies have side wind deflectors and they having been pushing me big time to make some.
But really, who wants to believe those guys :P , but now you Ron; have confirmed it through scientific testing.
The results of your anaylitical findings will indeed have me looking into making my own :cheers:

Al

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PostPosted: August 12, 2011, 9:04 pm 
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Great progress keep up the good work, maybe it's time to make a softtop for the car


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PostPosted: August 12, 2011, 11:40 pm 
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Location: Western Australia
Love it, your car looks great!

But this makes me realise how much trouble I'm going to have if I don't have a windscreen. Sigh, more work...

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