New guy with new questions (re: early series)

[IronYuppy]

Hello there.

 

I've begun planning a wintertime build of a Caterham Classic, which I want to make resemble a 1965 S2 in every possible way except under the hood.

 

Is there an on-line directory with information on the 1965 tire/wheel combinations, decent interior photos, etc?

 

I'd also like to do a bit of clarifying the tail-light options of the '65s. I have seen original mid-60s Sevens with different types of brake-lights, and I imagine this is a result of Lotus supplying the cars with whatever lights were available from their suppliers. Is there a good year-by-year account of lighting/trim variables?

 

Thanks! Hope this hasn't already been asked a million times on this forum...

 

on edit: I meant "S2"... not "S1"

 

Edited by - ironYuppy on 8 Mar 2005 23:43:30

[martyn_heesom]

There is the Lotus seven register (http://www.lotus7register.co.uk/), and there are also a lot of early sevens illustrated on simplesevens (http://www.simplesevens.org). It would also be worth getting hold of some of the compilations of contemporary road tests, etc., such as those from Brooklands Books, and the Lotus Seven books by Dennis Ortenburger (Legend of the Lotus Seven) and Jeremy Coulter (Lotus Seven: A Collector's Guide). The Lotus Seven workshop manual (from Caterham/Redline) is mainly about the s1 and s2, and has various illustrations of the lighting setup.

[manningpaul]

My first seven was a 1966 series 2 and had steel wheels with triangular shaped cut outs as the elan had. Not quite sure on rim widths but ran 165`s on the front and 185`s on the rear. Interior panels e.g. dash and inner side skins were sheet metal covered in maroon fabric. Rear lights were very similar to todays but were oval, I am sure they used to be trailer lights. Series 2`s also had the narrower and curved rear wings, the current shape evolved with the introduction of the series 3. Hope this might be of help but would agree that the books are probably your best route.

Regards Paul

[Sheds Moderator]

I have seen S2s with Mini or Land Rover round rear lights, IIRC.

[SLR No.77]

IY - have you looked into the cost of buying (and obviously importing) an original Series 2, then doing a rebuild? It may not cost you a great deal more to go the original route than to build a "replica".

 

Stu.

[IronYuppy]

Thanks all for the resources...

 

Stu... I had looked into buying a domestic S2 and importing it, but it is a rather expensive proposition once it's all said and done, and it would be buying any number of unknown quantities (I have a terrible, and justifiable, fear of receiving a frame with more cracks than a comedy marathon). Plus there's still the issue of adapting a modern drivetrain, etc... for a what works out to a few extra dollars, I'd rather begin with a "new" car, even though it won't be a bona fide Lotus.

[Bare]

Series 2's Had a lot of issues.. errr.. built in.

I owned one of those in the Late 60's :-)

A colleague just recently bought a 'Pristine' (looks/drives like it's about 1 year old) 1 owner series 3 ,

.. for about half the price of a Cat kit :-)

Rear axles DO crack as result of the Idiotic A frame Axle locator, and don't even have the Benefit of the Massive piece of Boiler Plate reinforcement the geniuses at Cat came up with as a "Fix".

Series 2 and 3 Frames do Flex.. a lot actually.

But to yr question: rear Tailights were from a Morris Minor. yup :-)

[IronYuppy]

Thanks, Bare...

 

 

that 'simplesevens.org' is a great resource; I can't believe I hadn't found it on one of my many "Googles".

 

Of course, there's a beautiful S2 for sale, exactly as I'd like to build mine... but by the time I bought it and imported it into Canada, I'd be looking at nearly $50,000!

 

There are a few other advantages to buying the Caterham, beyond the technological improvements they've made in the last 40 years... a major one being the import tax. The way the Canadian tax is set-up, the tax on the vehicle would only be applied to the shipment which included the VIN and major components... it's complicated, but the bottom line is that the way Caterham ships to Canada, the tax is only applicable to about $10,000 of the total purchase price, whereas importing a complete vehicle would subject the buyer to tax on the entire cost of the vehicle. It's an odd but welcome loophole.