TCTCR

Hi, Couple of updates to the Blog here.

Many thanks to a team sparing partner of old for responding to my article in this months LF for help with the remote gearshift. For those who have contacted me with requests for help here's what he said below: "I also run a type 2 gearbox and a trick I picked up from ex-hillclimb champion (in a 7 with this gearbox type) was to: Drill two holes in the flat metal linkages, about equidistantInstall two long bolts (the same size as the existing bolts is ideal) with three nuts - one on the left hand link inner and one each on the right hand link (one inside and one outside)Nylocs are ideal as they don't come undone!You then have a mechanism whereby you can exactly gap the two links and also add rigidity.The links have plastic washers with steel sleeve inners, so replace those at the same time. Also check the rest of the linkage is doing what it should be!Use a rigid gearlever knob (I think the existing one looks OK but ali is better! I used to have one with a rubber insert and the gearchange was awful.Make sure the gearbox mounts are sound. Otherwise you're moving the gearbox rather than the mechanisms.While doing that check the reverse stop hasn't moved. This is on the chassis and stops the lever going over into reverse gear territory accidentally."

Hi, Just to update you all that various parts have been delivered to Florian Schlüter in Germany where he & Andreas Seydell (Pictured) will refurbish all the suspension and various other parts courtesy of the Lotus 7 Club Deutschland. Many thanks guys. As you can see from Florian's workshop, he's already got alot on. And I thought I was busy!

BD owners dream of such numbers!

If he doesn't, it's mine!

Hi all, Finally got around to updating TCTCR Blog. Please see here for a preview of November's Low Flying update. Go well Adrian

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

With Barry's car now living in my garage for so long, I've noticed some changes taking place on my car...

Blogs. Never read any, written any, so give me a while to get the hang of this. OK, summer hols nearly over. Time to get back on track with Barry's car. Just written a piece for Septembers Low Flying. Here's a sneak preview... "As we have previously reported, a group of volunteers have taken it upon themselves to repay in some small way the years of dedication which Barry Sweeney has shown towards the Lotus Seven Club, by working to bring his Seven back to life. The offers of help, of parts and of money so far received have been greatly welcomed, but there is still a long way to go, as project coordinator Adrian Elkin reports: "Progress on Barry's Seven has somewhat slowed this this month, due to the summer holidays and various other goings on. In some ways it's just as well, as now we have the chassis in its fully stripped-down state, it has given Barry the opportunity to have a good think about any fundamental changes he'd like to have made. Our ability to proceed will also depend on available funds; as it currently stands, we could certainly do with a healthier budget to cover the restoration of the chassis and of various other components by Arch, as well as the replacement of other worn out or corroded parts. If you would like to make a contribution to the budget to help thank Barry for his years of unstinting service to the Club, including running its IT systems and web presence for so many years, please see below for the account details. "As for parts donations, big thanks this month go to Ben Girling who has donated an aluminium fuel tank to replace the old stainless steel one. Last month, you will recall that Club member Jeremy Auton donated a set of A021's. Unfortunately, after examination once removed from his own wheels, one tyre was found to have a nail in it, so if anyone has a spare Yoko AO21 185-70R13 going spare, please do get in touch. "Again regarding tyres, we were delighted to receive the offer from a major UK tyre manufacturer of a brand new set of anything from their range that Barry would like – very handy as Barry has a spare set of rims to which they will be able to be fitted. We will provide more details of this very welcome offer in a future update… "So – hopefully, we will soon be getting towards the stage where the chassis is able to go to Arch and will come back “better than new”. However, there are a great many component level tasks which we are looking to have completed in parallel. I would therefore ask for any Areas or individual volunteers with the appropriate skills or connections to come forward and take on the following various parts of the car for refurbishment. Spax competition shock absorbersSeats and various other parts of the trimRebuild of the carburettorsRebuild of the engineCheck & clean of the gearbox (an Escort Sport 4 speed) and Sierra differentialRefurbishment of the wheels prior to tyre fittingCheck & clean of the steering rackRefurbishment of instruments & switchgearI'm sure there'll be more as the project progresses but if you can help, please email me at adrianelkin@yahoo.co.uk with "Barry's Seven" the subject title. "Financial contributions to this worthwhile project would also be very much welcomed "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" I've attached a picture of the chassis as it is at the moment. ATB Go well Adrian