Progress slowed somewhat over the last couple of months, mainly because Barry and I were tied up with other things. However, that's all set to change now, particularly through a kind offer of help from our Lotus 7 Club Germany friends.  I’ll be able to tell you more next month, but suffice it to say for now that I’ll be heading over to the Continent with a car full of components which they are going to help to bring back to life. Having previously stripped the car down to a bare chassis, you might find it curious that I've now reinstalled the engine and gearbox.  This was no folly on my behalf but rather the realisation that now would be the perfect opportunity to analyse one of the shortcomings of the original car, namely the quality of the gear change.

The gearbox used in Barry’s car (I believe it is from a Ford Escort, a Type 2?) is a fairly short design, a rather rudimentary extension had been incorporated to allow the gearstick to fall to hand in the Seven application.  This involves the original (master) gear selector being shortened, then topped by a square steel block through which a horizontal retaining bolt is mounted. This retaining bolt attaches two steel bars either side of the block which reach rearwards and upwards to the input gear selector which is attached to the chassis. The extension bars are then attached to the input gear selector by means of another horizontal bolt. Barry's criticism was that the whole assembly lacks feel, with the change from 2nd to 3rd being particularly "vague".  Under normal circumstances with the engine and gearbox in the car, it had been difficult to analyse where the problem lay, but with the aluminium panels removed it became much easier to understand.

The first thing that I noticed was that there was quite a bit of slack in the master gear selector, perhaps down to excessive wear and slack in the fork? However, after operating the change for a while it became apparent that the extension bars were also flexing, especially when trying to change between second and third gears. The first job will therefore be to tack weld some links to try prevent the flexing.  During reassembly, I will also carefully add washers to shim any gaps so as to prevent longitudinal movement along the bolts during a gear change. We’ll see how much that improves matters, but is anyone has already successfully tackled this problem previously, do please get in touch with your thoughts!

Lastly, there have been some strange transformations occurring in my garage. For some unknown reason, the offside rear wheel arch of my own car has changed colour. It would appear that Barry's unique colour scheme must be contagious…  Best we get a move on with the project before my car’s nose turns blue.

As for this month's cry for help, do we have any auto electricians amongst our ranks who would be prepared to help with an overhaul of the wiring loom?

If you can help with any aspect of this most worthwhile project, please email me at adrianelkin@yahoo.co.uk with "Barry's Seven" as the subject title.

Financial contributions would also be very much welcomed to:
Bank: Lloyds
Sort Code: 30-91-72
Account no: 02122679
A/c name: Lotus 7 Club North Kent Area
IBAN: GB53LOYD30917202122679
BIC: LOYDGB21151
Please use the reference: PBS – followed by your name/area