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Learning how to build Lotus Seven replicas...together!
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PostPosted: November 12, 2012, 10:56 pm 
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Location: Winter Park / Orlando
Well, Jack (Kinetic Vehicles) has mentioned a few times that I need to begin a build page, so this is my first attempt...please bear with me!

I met Tom, a 30 year-old mechanical wizard, earlier this year who lives a few miles away from me (Winter Park/Orlando) and he was building a Super 7 from scratch in hi garage. (I've always loved British sports cars and since the early 1970s, I have owned numerous MGAs, Triumphs, Healeys and a classic Mini.) About 6 weeks ago, a mutual friend asked me if I wanted to buy a frame that Tom had welded together for a friend. Tom's friend had the frame for several years and had purchased a "donor" Miata, but decided did not really have time to build it, so I bought the frame along with a Miata 1.6 motor, tranny, rear suspension, front spindles, wiring harness, etc.

Tom is not only a mechanical wiz, he's an outstanding welder (along with his dad, Bob, who recently finished his GSXR1000 powered Super 7!) Fortunately for me, Tom has agreed to help me throughout the build!

I named the Super 7 project "Kate" after Kate Middleton because of her British heritage, she's cute, sexy and fun! My wife makes jokes about me having an affair with Kate...and she's OK with it.

At 6'5" tall, I was initially worried about being able to fit in the car. For years I've squeezed into my 3 Bugeye Sprites and my Mini Cooper, but I'm not as spry as I was 30 years ago, so we began by cutting the "book" frame and added 6" to the cockpit area, so I guess it's now a book + 6?
Attachment:
MyFrameExtension.jpg


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Last edited by thegarman on April 12, 2017, 7:59 am, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: November 12, 2012, 11:12 pm 
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Location: Oregon, usually
My name is Jack McCornack and I approve this message. Because I'm a moderator, and I can. :D

Welcome aboard, and you got a screamin' deal on chassis and donor!


PS: There's a bear with you? That happens in Oregon now and then, but I figured folks were pretty safe in Winter Haven.

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PostPosted: November 13, 2012, 12:20 am 
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You're funny, Jack...and damn helpful as well!!

While Tom is unbelievable at welding and figuring the complicated things out, I'm best at tearing things apart, cleaning, painting, putting things back together, installing and sourcing all the parts. I really want everything to look as good as possible, especially when using parts from a 19 year-old donor car, so I spend time on many simple chores. Here's a before & after example of the front spindles:
Attachment:
SpindleBefore.jpg

Attachment:
SpindleAfter.jpg

I decided I didn't need drilled & slotted rotors, so I stuck with a new set a stock rotors from Auto Zone and added some EBC "Greenstuff" brake pads all around. I also replaced all the numerous cracked dust boots on the front suspension tie rod ends.

While beginning to work on the front suspension, we also hung the motor and tranny to locate the position for the motor mounts.
Attachment:
LocatingEngine&Tranny.jpg

With the extra 6" in the cockpit, we decided to cut an upper cross-member to bring everything as far back as practical so it will be possible to reach the gearshift while strapped into the Spec Miata seats (by UltraShield) with a safety harness on!
Attachment:
MovingEverythingBack.jpg


We're beginning to add some metal to strengthen the 1x1 we cut out. (After this photo, Tom welded in cross-bracing to the motor mounts.)
Attachment:
StrenghtingCrossMember.jpg



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PostPosted: November 13, 2012, 9:50 am 
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thegarman wrote:
I named the Super 7 project "Kate" after Kate Middleton because of her British heritage, she's cute, sexy and fun! My wife makes jokes about me having an affair with Kate...and she's OK with it.


My G/F is joking about my car too. "I bet you're gonna go spend time with Lola (under breath) that b****h!" and "Yeah, what Lola wants, Lola really does get!".

And I'm referring to the rear fenders on my Lola-style car as "Kardashians" although they just as easily could be called "Pippas". Just saying.

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PostPosted: November 13, 2012, 10:15 am 
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geek49203 wrote:
thegarman wrote:
And I'm referring to the rear fenders on my Lola-style car as "Kardashians" although they just as easily could be called "Pippas". Just saying.



Careful, a "Kardashian" is also used to refer to a unit of time consisting of 72 days.

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PostPosted: November 13, 2012, 10:33 am 
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Yo, Garman!
Welcome to the asylum! Good to see another Florida builder on here... Although, being in Tallahassee, I think I'm actually a part of "LA". (As in "Lower Alabama" :roll: )

The frame looks good, as does the "clean up" work on the used parts. That's a great start to a build, and will help out later in ease of assembly and the good looks of the finished car. Good on ya!

Keep us posted on your progress, and keep the pictures coming! Oh, about that one pic- Are you building a right-hand drive car? That's cool on the "authenticity" scale, but I'd think it would be tough to make left turns in ORL traffic... :wink:

Take Care, and Good Luck!
JD Kemp

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PostPosted: November 13, 2012, 12:55 pm 
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Location: meadview arizona
a cautionary note about the 6" longer cockpit, if you put the windsheld at the stock location you will find that the wind buffeting will make the car undrivable over 50mph.

it would be less if you didn't have a windshield at all,

36" rule rules o.k. ( 36" from top of the windshield to your head with a 20 deg. rake on the windshield)
Attachment:
locost 1.jpg


this car was built as a book dimention car and a driver maximum hight of 6ft. 6ins. with size 16 boots, by moving the pedal box forward.

and yes, it's right hand drive


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PostPosted: November 13, 2012, 8:20 pm 
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Thanks JD! Yep...it's going to be RHD. I rebuilt a Bugeye Sprite in 1980 and converted it from LHD to RHD (an easy job), then drove it for 10 years. I loved the quirkiness of RHD and know of ALL the pitfalls (drive thru windows, throwing change on toll roads, etc.) The most fun is when people pull up beside you and say, "Hey Buddy...you're on the wrong side!" The perfect answer is, "No. I'm on the right side!"

The 36" rule is new to me, John, but duly noted! Dang...just another thing to sort out. I figured there'd be at least a few guys 6'4" or taller that has figured out how to be comfortable in the 7! A size 16 shoe?!?! Wow...

Today I put a new input shaft cover seal and gasket on and made a mistake I haven't made in years...I used a large torque wrench set for #15 of torque and busted off a grade 8 bolt. Fortunately, I took of the cover and used vise grips to get the broken end out! I installed all new grade 8 bolts and re-sealed the gasket, lubed the clutch fork & throw-out bearing points and bada bing, the tranny is back on the engine!

Here's the front suspension components I bought from Jack McCornack (plus a front shock):
Attachment:
'sFrontSuspensionComponets.jpg

Tom's dad, Bob, carefully measuring everything:
Attachment:
BobMeasuring.jpg

Mock-up:
Attachment:
MockUp.jpg

Tom did a beautiful job tig welding:
Attachment:
TigWelds.jpg

Attachment:
TomIsAPerfectionist.jpg


So now we need to refit everything, locate and weld on the shock brackets, install the GSXR1000 shocks and we'll finally be on four wheels. (It's downhill from there, right guys??

On deck: Weld in the motor mount supports and re-hang the motor/tranny, build the transmission/driveshaft tunnel, install the new "Sand Rail" steering rack and locate the steering column & steering wheel.

I had a panic attack today! I took my new 17" Ultrashield "Spec Miata" seats to the shop and see that there is almost NO space build the driveshaft tunnel. I mistakenly used the 17" measurment as the OD, but it's actually the ID!!
Attachment:
Seats.jpg

Attachment:
LHDseat.jpg

Attachment:
RHDseat.jpg


Tom said we'd make it work, but I'm bummed that I missed the old carpenter's rule of "Measure Twice, Cut Once." In this case, measure once and buy the right size seats. More on that coming up...



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PostPosted: November 14, 2012, 6:32 am 
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Well, I can't feel your pain in the height department, as I'm (tall for a 7) 5' 11''. I also came accross my chasiss already made, (for $250) and it was a 442, which seemed perfect from what I've read, but its too much! I found its my driving style that's the issue. I didn't notice it till being in one of these cars, but I don't use my ankles when using the pedals I use my knees for all the movement, and keep my ankles fixed.

After placing my seat in the comfortable position I found I have, what seems to be about a foot behind my seat!

I guess what I'm getting at is don't listen to any "standards" about length/width, and factor in your driving style to the mix. Maybe "adding 6" may not have been the definitive cure. Maybe it was. Not saying you didn't factor in all this, but sometimes sitting in the frame making "vroom vroom" noises does have its advantages! :mrgreen:


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PostPosted: November 14, 2012, 3:22 pm 
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toyotus wrote:
Well, I can't feel your pain in the height department, as I'm (tall for a 7) 5' 11''. I also came accross my chasiss already made, (for $250) and it was a 442, which seemed perfect from what I've read, but its too much! I found its my driving style that's the issue. I didn't notice it till being in one of these cars, but I don't use my ankles when using the pedals I use my knees for all the movement, and keep my ankles fixed.

After placing my seat in the comfortable position I found I have, what seems to be about a foot behind my seat!

I guess what I'm getting at is don't listen to any "standards" about length/width, and factor in your driving style to the mix. Maybe "adding 6" may not have been the definitive cure. Maybe it was. Not saying you didn't factor in all this, but sometimes sitting in the frame making "vroom vroom" noises does have its advantages! :mrgreen:



Sounds like you need to relocate your pedals or make them adjustable.

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PostPosted: November 14, 2012, 4:10 pm 
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I'm just gonna need a seat slider, and possibly telescoping column? Lol


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PostPosted: November 14, 2012, 7:04 pm 
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thegarman wrote:

I had a panic attack today! I took my new 17" Ultrashield "Spec Miata" seats to the shop and see that there is almost NO space build the driveshaft tunnel.


I think the easiest/best solution would be to take the seats back and get new ones. Keep in mind for the tunnel you'll need about 3.5" for the driveshaft, about 1.5", .75" on either side for movement/engine mount flex (assuming soft mounts are being used), of clear space, and 2" for structural components, assuming your tunnel is made out of 1"x1" tube. This equates to a total space of 7". Pretty tough to get 7", from "almost no space", without some serious creative thinking or surgery to your frame. If "almost no space" means you only have 5" to work with, yea, you can probably find a way, none will likely be as easy as just taking the seats back though.

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PostPosted: November 14, 2012, 8:53 pm 
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you could make the tunnel from steel sheet with no frame inside.

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PostPosted: November 14, 2012, 10:18 pm 
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john hennessy wrote:
you could make the tunnel from steel sheet with no frame inside.


Or at least no tubes on the side, and a tube or two on top connected w/ "thick" sheet metal or something?

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PostPosted: November 14, 2012, 11:39 pm 
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I'm pretty close to positive a couple of fellows have used 17" OD Kirkey seats successfully. If that's you in the photo up above pretending to hold a steering wheel, you look like a slender fellow and not "laterally challenged" like most of us. You should be able to fit, and 17" is just about the minimum accepted (438mm) width at the hips in the auto industry. You can always measure yourself, add 1/2" for clothing and seat belts and make you seats that wide. It might be as little as 400mm (~15-3/4")? One caveat: women have wider hips in case there is a Mrs. or SO involved.

Here are a couple of other ideas that may help some assuming if you go to smaller 17" OD seats:

1) Do a custom driveshaft with a smaller diameter than stock, and make the tunnel just big enough to slide the U-joints through;

2) Build the tunnel out of thinner materials with greater wall thickness and rectangular shape, not square.

With the seat change, drive shaft change and the smaller tunnel materials you might get an additional 6" (2x2" + 1" + 1") to work with, which probably is enough. Also, if your seats don't have sides (i.e. bench style), you may be able to take out an additional 3/8-1/2" for each seat versus the ones you have, so maybe even pick up 7" overall.

Cheers,

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