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Learning how to build Lotus Seven replicas...together!
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PostPosted: October 23, 2016, 11:55 pm 
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Location: Seattle area
Rod,

That color is great! Looking really good.

Cheers

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PostPosted: October 24, 2016, 1:31 pm 
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Joined: October 24, 2008, 2:13 pm
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Location: Carlsbad, California, USA
Pretty!

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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886


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PostPosted: October 24, 2016, 5:11 pm 
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Joined: May 27, 2006, 9:46 pm
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Location: BC, Canada. eh?
Lonnie-S wrote:
Pretty!


No, it isn't. It's freakin' GORGEOUS!! I've always loved the Europa, ever since I drove a brand-new S2 back in 1971 (hmmm...kinda dating myself, aren't I?). I think the Zetec engine is an ideal power plant (I am, as you can see from my sig line, a little biased on that) for the Europa, and it should go like a scalded cat...

NICE WORK, cs3tcr!!

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Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit.

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PostPosted: October 27, 2016, 2:45 pm 
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Joined: March 28, 2012, 5:29 pm
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Location: East Lansing, MI
That colour + silver minilites = perfection!


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PostPosted: January 17, 2017, 11:04 pm 
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Joined: November 7, 2008, 4:48 am
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Location: snow city - it's wet!
Love the build! Great work (as always) and I can't wait to see what happens this spring!

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PostPosted: January 18, 2017, 3:36 am 
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Joined: January 10, 2008, 4:47 pm
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Location: Massachusetts
:cheers:
Sorry I missed the congrats the a few months ago. I assume you're still resting your sore muscles!
:cheers:

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SketchUp collection for LocostUSA: "Dream it, Build it, Drive it!"
Car9 Roadster information - models, drawings, resources etc.


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PostPosted: January 18, 2017, 11:48 am 
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Joined: December 29, 2007, 10:41 pm
Posts: 1004
Location: Vancouver, BC
Marcus, Erioshi et al,
Thanks for the compliments! I haven't posted much on the build since painting, as there hasn't been a ton of physical work done since then. I did remove, repaint and replace all the suspension along with installing new springs. But I'll have to order another set of rears as the 10" long springs just aren't long enough (I sent Jack an email a while ago about springs, but never heard back). Other than that, I've been ordering bits and pieces from various suppliers, and have been brainstorming solutions for the various things that I'll need to do in order to get it a) running and b) finished. The unusually cold and snowy winter has prevented me from getting more done (I'll admit it didn't get that cold, but the snow accumulation meant that I couldn't access the garage).

Once I get more done, I'll post some pics.


Rod


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PostPosted: April 9, 2017, 9:22 pm 
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Joined: December 29, 2007, 10:41 pm
Posts: 1004
Location: Vancouver, BC
It's been a while, time to update the build log.... In mid February I decided to get my finger out and take a stab at fabricating the seat frames in hopes of having a pair of seats ready to go when the body was firmly attached to the chassis. Fabricating the seat frames has happened but making seat covers hasn't quite happened:

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I'm currently trying to find a cheap source for foam as the actual foam shops here in town (or at least the one's I've found) seem to price there foam as if it were made of some exotic rare mineral.

Next up was fabricating sway bars and sway bar mounts. I picked up some 5/16" rod ends (RH and LH threads), fabricated some drop links and made the mounts. The bars themselves are 5/8" DOM (.120" wall), I chose DOM as after reading various threads on this forum and some others on the net, mild steel appears to be a suitable material for the mileage this car will endure in my ownership.

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I've also been looking at clutches and how to intercourse a Ford Zetec with a Renault gearbox. Bolting the two together is easy, but making them transmit power is another story. The largest clutch disc I could find on this side of the Altantic was 220mm, there is no way it would work with the stock Ford Focus flywheel. I talked to a clutch guru in town and he gave me the bad news that the Renault disc couldn't be mated with the Focus disc. So, what to do next, well it turns out the Escort ZX2 used an 8 1/2" clutch which should work with the 220mm Renault disc. A flywheel was obtained and things look promising. It was, though, at this point I was told that a Peugeot 2.5l V6 disc matches the Renault input shaft spline and will work with the Focus clutch. Finding one turned out to be near impossible. I could only find clutch kits and there only available in Europe. So, back to the ZX2 flywheel.... a clutch kit was ordered and when it arrived things really looked like they would work.

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The release bearing required a spacer to fit it to the Renault bearing carrier, so one was turned on the lathe. That one was too short, so a larger piece of aluminium was acquired and was duly turned into a spacer:

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Turns out that it was too long. Next weekend, fingers crossed, I'll get the clutch fully sorted. Moving on to the oiling system, the stock Zetec oil filter didn't want to play nicely with the chassis I built, so a remote filter set up was ordered. Things looked great until I went to install them. The adaptor and hoses at the block still interfered with the chassis. This was solved by carving up the nice new adaptor and welding on some tapped bungs (1/2" NPT). This looks like it will work once I trim the threaded connector at the block as the new outlets are pointing in the wrong direction. This was found out today when I went to the garage to look at the clutch and install the sway bars (the photo shows them in the correct orientation, but the adaptor is loose on the block) :

Image

Other than that, I have now started on covering the dash board, and my helper will be putting together the door panels sometime in the next few weeks. I might get this thing done by the fall this year.

Rod


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PostPosted: April 9, 2017, 9:49 pm 
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Location: Carlsbad, California, USA
Everything you did, Rod, sure looks nice.

Cheers,

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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886


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PostPosted: April 11, 2017, 11:38 am 
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Joined: April 12, 2012, 11:56 am
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Location: Pemberton, BC
Great work, as always, Rod. :cheers:
Love the sway bars and mounts. Exactly how they were on my Crossle 32F. However, they were about 1/2 in solid, and appeared to be made from either spring steel, or maybe cold rolled. How did you go about sizing them? Is there a way to calculate the spring rate (for a better word)?

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My build log:
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=14520&start=0
My build video:
https://vimeo.com/143524140 password "matovid"


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PostPosted: April 11, 2017, 11:49 am 
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Joined: December 29, 2007, 10:41 pm
Posts: 1004
Location: Vancouver, BC
Martin,
Thanks for the compliments. The sizes I chose to start with are roughly the same size as what Lotus had originally used on the 47s. I ran the numbers through some calculations that are shown in the Staniforth books and this online one http://www.gtsparkplugs.com/Sway-Bar-Calculator.html which gave me the "spring rate". They seem fairly soft, but when you add the rate to the wheel rate things look good. But time will tell if I have chosen the right sizes. I currently only have $70 USD invested in the sway bars, mounts and drop links, so I'm sure I can find some room in the budget to make up another set that's either larger or smaller.

Also, hopefuly you received the email I sent in regards to the TIG torch. If not, I'm still using tape to keep the argon in, one of these days I'll get around to ordering a new torch from usaweld.com

Rod


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PostPosted: April 11, 2017, 12:34 pm 
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Location: Pemberton, BC
Thanks Rod, I did. Haven't had a chance to reply, however, I did order a replacement hose directly from China. I will send you a picture and link, once I had a chance to look it over. It is only about $ 40, but appears to be a bit sturdier than the original one.
I'll have a look at the calculations. I'm not planning on adding a sway bar to the 7, but interestingly, it is a viable addition to the sidecar. Who knew. :shock:

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My build log:
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=14520&start=0
My build video:
https://vimeo.com/143524140 password "matovid"


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PostPosted: May 10, 2017, 7:52 pm 
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Joined: December 14, 2015, 11:22 pm
Posts: 18
Location: Martinez, CA
Hi Rod, are you having trouble making the upholstery panels for the Europa seats?
I can send you mine to use as patterns. I can't help with the foam because I reused what was there.

My mom is a pretty good upholsterer and tonight I'll show her my old upholstery and see if she thinks it can be used to make paper patterns. Shipping paper patterns to Canada can't be much.


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PostPosted: May 11, 2017, 10:42 am 
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Joined: December 29, 2007, 10:41 pm
Posts: 1004
Location: Vancouver, BC
Skip,
I mentioned your offer to my helper (she works in a printing shop) and she's said that she will put your name down in the book she's printing about the car as a contributor.

I guess I should update this thread....

Over the last few weekends I've managed to get the exhaust system finalized:

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I'm not a fan of how cherry bombs look, so I cut the tapered portions off the outer case and welded on some flat plates. I know for certain that this set up is going to be too loud, I'll be building a quieter exhaust once the car is sorted and on the road.

I have managed to get the clutch sorted. The bearing carrier required shortening about 5/8", and now everything plays nicely together. It took some time to get the gearbox in the car though. While testing the clutch with just the bellhousing and input shaft, the disc slipped slightly making it impossible to shove the gearbox on. The clutch kit I bought came with an alignment tool, but it required some massaging to get it to work with the Renault disc. Short story long, the gearbox install now takes me less than 5 minutes.

Once the clutch throw was measured, I used some maths and figured out the slave cylinder I needed. Turns out a mid 80s Toyota Corolla cylinder fit the bill and cost $6. I've made up a mount for it and have temporarily installed it:

Image

The clutch lever requires the bend to clear the upper rear chassis crossmember (not installed in the pic).

I've also temporarily installed the pedal box with the new hoses. I need to make up a reinforcing plate for where the hoses pass through the fiberglass, but at least I can now finally sort the brake pipe routing.

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That brings this thread up to date, this upcoming weekend I hope to be able to finalize the Mk2 version of the gearbox mount, and spend some time routing the shift cables. Then it's on to finalizing the coolant pipes and maybe by the end of the month have the motor make some smoke.


Rod


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PostPosted: May 11, 2017, 11:35 am 
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Joined: April 18, 2017, 12:15 pm
Posts: 40
I think I would have ditched the trans long ago & gone with a different one. One that you can get parts for VW, Porsche etc.


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