build diary

July 31, 2004:
Truck bedliner as a fender liner.
entry 533
Fitting the fender welting to the fender curve.
entry 534
The fender welting is made a bit long on purpose.
To finish the ends, snip it and fold it over. Since it will never be seen again I didn't worry too much about my stitching!
entry 535
The only way to get the welting to follow the edge of the fender in this area - there's nothing to hold it against the fender - was to rivet it on.
The fender is a nice curve, the metal arch isnt!
entry 536
The welting in place along with a reverse light.
entry 537
The header pipes get a coat of high-temperature paint.
entry 538

August 1, 2004:
Test drive!
This one was a little more extended than the last one nearly a month ago. The car has all the bodywork installed except for the hood, a full exhaust system and hopefully a fairly functional electrical system. This will be a little jumbled so bear with me.

The exhaust is loud but sounds great. There's no tinniness or rasp at all, just pure sports car sound. Is it too loud? Well, earplugs would be required for long distance travel. But this isn't a long distance kind of car. I think it's fine - it's certainly quieter than any Harley. The suspension is surprisingly soft - the car will roll around a bit if you "slalom" down the street. Not such a bad thing as suspensions are meant to move. I did hit the rear stops at one point when I hit a bump mid-corner so the rear might want a little raising and stiffening. No problem, that's what it's all adjustable. The worst news is that the transmission has no synchro on second gear. I had noticed the crunching on the first test drive but had figured it was the clutch. I only briefly managed to get out of second gear on that first drive, remember. After hitting third and fourth, there's nothing wrong with them. There's also no drag when you're at a stop. That's a bit of a bummer. We have a stack of transmissions at the Flyin' Miata shop but I'm not sure I want to disassemble the car again. I could probably change the transmission in a couple of hours - maybe I'll do that after it's road legal. I'm used to double-clutching my Land Rover so dealing with a lack of synchros isn't too bad for me.

Electrically speaking the car was a bit rough. The engine runs nicely and is strong. The idle's a bit high but that's just tuning. The tachometer and oil pressure gauge don't work but I have an idea about what's wrong there. A bad crimp stopped the Seven on the side of the road until I found it. The alternator wasn't charging so I had a closer look. It appears to be one from a different Miata and does not have an internal regulator. Strange because it has the V-belt pulley that was only used on the 1.6 cars. I swapped in a spare alternator and it works now. That's weird. I also found I need some lights to show that the turn indicators are on. They're not self-cancelling. Maybe I just need to train the driver. Overall, it was a very successful drive.

Stu pointed out that VW Beetles use fender welting. You can pick up extruded rubber welting at JC Whitney for a very low price. I had expected to find this sort of thing locally but ended up getting some sewn up at an upholstery shop. If I'd known about the Beetle I would have stopped by the local aircooled VW shop! And now, the hood. I've cut out the shape, now I just have to bend it. I'm nervous about this as I don't really get a second change and a poor fit will not look good. Wish me luck!
entry 539

The exhaust finally installed.
The oxygen sensor is removeable - I'll simply use it for tuning purposes.
entry 540
It's out! Some photos in the sun.
entry 541
I've never felt this to be the most flattering angle of a Seven.
entry 542
Looks like someone needs to polish those side panels.
entry 543
For two cars that share so many parts, they don't look much alike!
entry 544
The Seven is bigger than a real Lotus but it's still fairly skeletal.
entry 545
After the test drive.
Hopefully it's just a loose hose clamp.
entry 546
Air tools make it much easier to cut the hood.
entry 547

August 2, 2004:
And that's the end of the major work.
The hood is done and the car looks complete. The 0.050" aluminum was a good choice because, while it's a bit difficult to bend by hand, it doesn't kink and it holds a shape well. I was concerned at first that I would never get it to bend but some extra persuasion helped. This means I laid the hood on the grass and got my whole body into the act! It's not quite a perfect fit but it can be made so. Much to my amusement, I found a photo of a Series 2 Lotus 7 in one of my books that shows a hood latch very similar to the ones I've used and with absolutely atrocious hood fitment. So mine isn't so bad then...

More driving yesterday, of course. It's amazing how much the front wheels jitter around when you're driving. The cycle fenders make this very apparent. The car feels quite lusty and makes a great noise as you tear around. The driving position is great, almost as if the car was built for me. Unlike a real Lotus there is lots of room in the footwell for my feet. The brakes are very firm and might need to be changed. I'll have to try to lock the wheels next time although I should bed the pads first. You're quite conscious of sitting near the rear axle but the car feels good - very trustworthy. Of course I haven't pushed it very hard yet. I'll save that for later when I'm more than a block from my house!

So what's next? Well, I have a couple of electrical bugs to chase down such as the tachometer and oil pressure gauge. The transmission may get changed or I might just practice my double-clutching for a while. The headlights will probably move up a little to give the car more of a "face" and also to stop the front fenders from hitting them at moderate lock. But first, the car needs to be registered. Not a whole lot will be done in the next couple of weeks though. I'm off to Denver for a couple of days, some friends are coming to visit and the FM Open House is coming up soon. My goal of having the Seven on the track at the Open House will be realised!
entry 548

Step 1 of making the hood - the aluminum is set on the car and taped down.
Note the tape to protect the paint!
entry 549
Step 2 of making the hood - one side is bent to shape (hard work!) and taped.
entry 550
Step 3 of making the hood - the edges are bent under and trimmed to fit.
entry 551
Step 4 of making the hood - the hood is taped into place before the latches are attached.
entry 552
The finished hood!
entry 553
One of the hood latches in place.
entry 554
Some modifications required to fit the hood were a reshaped throttle wheel (ie, I put it on the ground and whacked it with a hammer) and a repositioned throttle cable bracket.
You can also see the foam strips I've put down to protect the paint and help the hood sit nicely.
entry 555
The hood doesn't fit perfectly at the front but it's better than some of the original Lotus versions!
entry 556
The slip joints in the exhaust are leaking a little - not a surprise.
entry 557
Outside and complete!
The headlights sit much lower on a "Locost" than they do on a proper Caterham. This makes a larger difference than you might expect.
entry 558
The front control arms sit nice and level.
entry 559
Artsy shot!
entry 560
The compleat Seven.
entry 561
Ready to go for a ride!
entry 562
Currently this is the only badging on the car.
There's not even a "Mazda" on the gauges!
entry 563
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