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Learning how to build Lotus Seven replicas...together!
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PostPosted: June 14, 2019, 1:22 pm 
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Joined: January 1, 2015, 1:55 pm
Posts: 327
BobbyB wrote:
Awesome. I hope all goes well with registering it.

Did you build the body? Want to sell me one?


Thank you for the kind comments.

Since I have the molds and I have a fiberglass company that will make bodies for me I am going to offer them for sale.

The 2 piece body is $3900.00


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PostPosted: June 14, 2019, 2:15 pm 
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Joined: April 22, 2010, 4:43 pm
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Location: Livermore, Calif.
Before the question comes up - do you plan to sell drawings for the chassis? Or as you said in an earlier post, do you plan to sell the chassis itself?

Good luck with the registration.

Roy

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PostPosted: June 14, 2019, 3:32 pm 
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RoyzMG wrote:
Before the question comes up - do you plan to sell drawings for the chassis? Or as you said in an earlier post, do you plan to sell the chassis itself?

Good luck with the registration.

Roy


I'm in discussions with a local professional fabricator/welder about building frames. I know that I'm not able to build them anymore. Health issues, wanting to go away for winters and spend more time with family are my reasons. If I get the frames built I think that I'm looking at selling them for $3900. The same as the body.

I don't think that it makes sense to try and "sell" drawings of the frame. They would only end up on the internet for free. It makes sense to me to provide drawings for the frame with the purchase of the body. Hopefully I've priced the body low enough to discourage copies.


I know, I'm naive about that. :)


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PostPosted: June 14, 2019, 4:31 pm 
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Joined: April 22, 2010, 4:43 pm
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Location: Livermore, Calif.
John-
I saw your posts over on the Cheetahcars Discussion forum.

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/cheetahcars/starting-a-cheetah-tribute-build-t319.html

Glad to see you're almost at the finish line but sorry to hear about your health issues. Keep us posted on your progress and your final decision about the sales potential.

By the way where are you located?

Cheers,
Roy

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PostPosted: June 16, 2019, 7:04 am 
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I'm in Elizabethtown, NY. This is a small town in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate NY. Close to the Olympic Village of Lake Placid.

The bodies are being made near Providence, RI.


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PostPosted: July 27, 2019, 7:39 pm 
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Hello everyone, It's been awhile since I've posted.

I sent my application package for a VIN and registration to the NY DMV. They accepted it and have scheduled my inspection for August 6. That's my birthday. I'm hoping for passing the inspection as my present. It think that it will.

I had someone order a body in Red Gel Coat. My fiberglass guy has laid the body up and is taking care of the seams, then spraying them with gel coat, sanding and buffing. I'm hoping that the result is decent enough that painting wouldn't be required. I realize that the gel coat finish will not be as good as a good paint job. I'm going to check out the body this week before it's shipped.

I had a piece of steel penetrate my shoe at a beach on July 4th. I don't have feeling in my feet. I walked around with the steel tearing a hole in a toe. The result is that I've been in a cast and a boot since then. It's special wound treatment to try and prevent infection that would require the amputation of my toe or foot. It's always something. Fortunately I am healing and hope to be out of the cast in a few weeks.

While waiting for the DMV visit I've been taking care of little things on the car. One of them is that NY requires DOT labeling on all light lenses. The LUCAS lights I'm using don't have the labeling. I found legal OPTRONICS LED lights where the lenses are the same 2.5 inch diameter. I purchased those, used a zip saw to cut out the LED lamps and siliconed the lenses to the LUCAS housings.

I've been driving the car around a dirt road loop at me shop. I can tell that it's going to be a great driving car. The suspension is compliant, steering light, throttle response good, and seating position and leg room great. I'm anxious to get it on the road!

A couple of days I was playing around with some stripe ideas. Using duct tape, this is the one I like the best. I'm thinking of painting the car Viper Stryker Red with a silver stripe. Still thinking about that though.

I think that I'm going to take the car to the Corvette's at Carlisle, PA show this August 22-25. I want to see what people think of it.

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PostPosted: July 28, 2019, 12:48 am 
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Joined: November 11, 2013, 4:47 am
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Location: No. Nevada
Visit Daniel Stern Lighting.
He will have DOT legal halogen lights for you.

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PostPosted: August 1, 2019, 3:12 pm 
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Location: Glendale AZ
Looks great !

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PostPosted: August 21, 2019, 7:38 pm 
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Joined: May 29, 2015, 6:09 pm
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Location: Charlotte
Very nice job on the custom body :cheers:


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PostPosted: September 15, 2019, 11:00 am 
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My car was finished to the point of being able to drive it in early June. It took 3 months to get through the NY registration process. The reality is that I had a foot injury this summer and was in a cast for most of it. I wouldn't have been able to drive it anyway.

Last week I got plates on the car and went for about 100 mile drive. No problems. The car drives and handles very well. I'm happy.
Now I'm away for business until Oct 1. When I get home I plan to drive it until the snow flies!. The body is not finished I'm going to replace it with one that is being laid up now. It will be finished in Red Gel Coat. I'll have the stripe done in vinyl.

I live in the Adirondack Mountains of NY. Very pretty driving.

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PostPosted: September 20, 2019, 10:46 pm 
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Really good stuff, oh piggy-bank king. It's really an attractive car. Interestingly, the two inset headlights don't bother me, despite not being period correct.


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PostPosted: March 30, 2020, 9:17 pm 
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So how is this going now?

feeBay work out or no?

Probably going to be hard going for a while as folk have to recover from the Kung Flu panic.

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PostPosted: March 31, 2020, 1:23 am 
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Hello Richard, I've been following your posts. Good luck with your build.

I sold one body outside of ebay. The gentleman that purchased it is building his own frame. I posted a couple of ads on ebay last fall. One for a body only and one for a body with frame. I had a lot of watchers and several people emailed me and expressed interest. I had bids for a body that were over my reserve. But, I canceled the ads shortly after I posted them. There were a few reasons for cancelling the ads.
1-I'm not a professional welder. I decided that if I sell a frame that I wanted it to be welded by a professional.
2-I've discovered a flaw in my body. I made one of the rear wheel well openings shorter than the other side. (by about an inch. I cut it out on my bodies but I wanted to fix the plug and make a new mold section before selling more.)
3-I was hoping to be able to get a usable body in colored gel coat. One that would have the seams taken care of and have it buffed out. The idea was to eliminate the need for expensive body work and paint. I did get a couple of decent bodies in Red but not to the level that I could claim that paint wouldn't be needed.
4- I'm going to be 64 and have been dealing with serious health issues for a number of years. I'm trying to decide if I really want to take on selling kits. The problem is that I do love the car. I think it looks cool, it drives great and it's different. I think there could be a SMALL market for it. But, I'm not sure that many people are building kits anymore.
5-There is the liability factor if I'm selling frames as well.

I took my wife and mother on a 2.5 month winter trip to my old stomping grounds in AZ and then to my brothers home in Rancho Sante Fe, CA. We drove back to NY about 10 days ago. My mother suffers from Dementia. In addition, she fell on the trip and broke her arm. My Mother in Law lives in FL. She fell and suffered serious injuries. My wife had to fly to Florida to be with her. She's still there.

Before I left on the trip I finished another frame. I have a body in Red Gel Coat in the shop. I took the white body off of my running car and I'm in the process of putting the Red Body on. I've just started to get back into the shop to finish it up.

I have some deciding to do. In the mean time I plan to drive my car as much as possible and enjoy it.
(The body is a brighter red than what it shows in the pictures)

Just before leaving on my trip I got a phone call from a friend in NH. His dad had purchased one of the first cars that I built. Unfortunately he has health issues now and can't drive it. I ended up buying it back. It's in my garage now. She turns heads. :)

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PostPosted: March 31, 2020, 9:33 am 
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Joined: June 5, 2016, 7:03 am
Posts: 235
Location: ontario
[quote="stinger"]

Certainly one of the most impressive projects I have seen in my 15 year membership on this forum. Thanks for sharing your experience and good luck in your future endeavor.
Philippe :cheers:


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