1965 Seven S2

[Elan45]

Henry,

Very neat car. I agree about leaving it w/ a patina. Both of my Lotus Eleven and 20/22, which I've restored and raced are developing a patina and I'm enjoying them that way. I have a good source for replacement stainless steel brake pistons. I've used them on both front and rear of my Elan restoration

I noticed you had a name for the dash material, lamiplate dash, and I need some more of this product for my Lotus 20 restoration. Does anyone have a source for this material?

Roger

[SENC]

Well, while waiting on the engine boring, I changed my mind about patina and am planning a good clean and polish on the aluminum. I don't intend on getting and maintaining a mirror finish, but I think I'll regret a good clean-up so will make an effort then will likely let it patina with time. One day, I'll have it repainted its original colors and get rid of the aluminum maintenance, but why not get it spiffy one good time. Plus, removing the fiberglass made getting the rear suspension back in easier and will keep me from damaging it when putting the engine back in. Just hope I don't find another slippery slope!

[SENC]

Firsts efforts on the rear of the car - I figured if I didn't like the look it wouldn't be too visible with the spare in place.

In sequence are the before, after compounding with a 7.5" wool wheel and Nuvite IIF7, after polishing with the Cyclo and Nuvite IIF7, and after polishing with the Cyclos and Nuvite IIS. As mentioned previously, this car was originally painted all over and scraped by a prior owner around 2008. Deep scratches from the scraping along with other dings and imperfections from 55+ years of life won't be removable without major sanding (even if then), so I knew the result would be far from perfection - and debated a long time whether polishing would be an improvement over oxidized state or just highlight the flaws. In the end, I'm pleased with the result and will continue on - though it is a laborious and dirty job!

This post-polish picture gives a sense of the dents, dings, and scratches.

[The Veg]

¡Wow!

[Mazzini]

Well done!!!!!

[baileyman]

Thinking about your effort, happy mine is green! John

[SENC]

Thanks, but I'd hold the applause until I can get more than just the back of the boot done.

John, I agree with you and wish it was painted (even though I really do like the alu look), it would be so much easier to maintain. I had a very brief, fleeting thought about whether to take the time now to paint it (as it was originally), but I really want to get it back together and on the road and enjoy it for a while. I'm hopeful, though not overly optimistic, that a good clean and polish and modern sealant can keep exterior maintenance efforts low on a car that shouldn't see much inclement weather or every day mileage.

[SENC]

A dirty and sweaty Father's Day weekend, but satisfying nonetheless. Polishing took a full 12 hours. Still far from perfect, and the areas exposed to road rash are rougher than the rear, but fun to see it shine without the oxidization. I still need to put the sealant on it, in hopes it will preserve the finish a little longer, but needed a break from wiping so finished the day by replacing the propshaft u-joints instead. Progress.

[SENC]

Still awaiting the block, but picked up the head since it was done so I can prep and paint it.

[SENC]

These are the main caps from my Seven's 1500 Cosworth engine. Does anyone recognize the "pe" and seal markings? Would these have been original as part of the Cosworth build, or later modifications?

[vstibbard]

Potentially Paul England, he was a builder of race engines in the 60’s in Australia. I have a 1750 Lotus Twin cam that was the original engine in my Elfin 300’ it was built by Paul England. From memory your car came from Melbourne, was it raced there in period?Ill check with interest when we pull my engine down, it’s sitting exactly as it came out of the car in 1970,
Vaughan

[SENC]

Potentially Paul England, he was a builder of race engines in the 60’s in Australia. I have a 1750 Lotus Twin cam that was the original engine in my Elfin 300’ it was built by Paul England. From memory your car came from Melbourne, was it raced there in period?Ill check with interest when we pull my engine down, it’s sitting exactly as it came out of the car in 1970,
Vaughan

DING! DING! DING! We have a winner! Thanks, Vaughan, you were right on target - found a Paul England Engineering website with the matching pe and seal.

Just got my block back from boring, will grab some pictures for posterity, but opening it up has confirmed a few things and lines up with the general history I've built up on it. Yes, it was in Melbourne from late 1966 to 2017, and wasn't raced except, apparently for 2 events - a club racing event at Sandown (probably in 70s) and a hillclimb at Lakeland some years later. At Sandown the car threw a rod - we discovered that was #3 on teardown when we found the repair to the block. So it makes sense that these would have been replaced at that time.

[vstibbard]

Pleased to have solved it. Love the way the cars coming together.

I'm now looking forward to examining the Elfin LTC when it eventually gets stripped. At moment we've stripped the Martin 3 valve 1860 it all raced with in Asia, its lovely piece of work, massively over engineered crank and rods, front mounted integral oil pump and alloy dry sump system, gear driven camshafts and CDI ignition and 48mm Webers.

I have a couple of TC heads prepared by Paul England, all nicely done and flow well, one is very similar to Big Valve Brian Hart head I've got. I've also got an extremely rare England magnesium LTC dry sump cam cover.

Cheers

Vaughan

[SENC]

Getting paint on things and hoping to find time in the next few weeks to begin re-assembly.

[Mazzini]

Love the Cosworth red.