DaveStruve Build Log

[StruveD]

Completed Car:
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/DSC_0210_zps4778ecb4.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/DSC_0210_zps4778ecb4.jpg.html)

Build Log:
Kind of getting a late start to this build thread, so I'm going to back date it a bit to show whats been done.

Project Outline:
Start Date: May 7, 2013

Build Plan: Haynes Roadster with Saturn Modifications

Donor: Mazda MX5/Miata (on this side of the pond)
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/60cdf630a8db9dd7f48d81cea6f6cf0d_zps22895ac8.jpg

Slideshow: http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/slideshow/Lotus%207

Engine: Cleaned up, painted and supercharged 1.6
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/89b6830e0eaa87ad3244c64536891ebf_zps158b367c.jpg

Seats: Lotus Exige
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/a50e924d6adc1fae311c3b0760786854_zps406fce1a.jpg

Rear End:
Torsen Limited Slip Diff

[StruveD]

Ok and now on to where we are at today. As of yesterday I had a rolling chassis. Ride height is a inch to high at 6.5"/165mm. I'm debating whether I should lower it.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_0978_zps4753e68c.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_0978_zps4753e68c.jpg.html)
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_0971_zps5c5a6c46.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_0971_zps5c5a6c46.jpg.html)
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_0972_zps707cb237.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_0972_zps707cb237.jpg.html)
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_0973_zpsefaa32ee.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_0973_zpsefaa32ee.jpg.html)

[K4KEV]

lookin swell there Dave and love the rims....engine looks mint

[twinturbo]

that's going to be an interesting fitting job on that power plant..

Welcome

TT

[StruveD]

that's going to be an interesting fitting job on that power plant..

Welcome

TT

Biggest concern is clearing the supercharger. But I'll either make a custom hood, or fabricate a new bracket for the supercharger so that it sits a bit lower.

[Dualist]

Quality stuff so far mate, love the seats and the engine :)

[vmax1974]

Looks very nice indeed

Was about to say about the steering column being on the wrong side but its been said to death and its only the japanese and australians that listen

All seriousness very good work in such a short space of time look forward to seeing your progress

[Talonmotorsport]

The ride height will change when you swap those box section shocks for some thing with a little more give to them. The lower wishbone bolts and the ball joint bolt should be more or less horizontal to each other the bend in the lower wishbones is to clear the rack arms.

[StruveD]

The ride height will change when you swap those box section shocks for some thing with a little more give to them. The lower wishbone bolts and the ball joint bolt should be more or less horizontal to each other the bend in the lower wishbones is to clear the rack arms.

I was just looking at that, so I should base it off the bolts being horizontal and not the wishbones? It threw me off a bit because the 2 plates that clamp the upright are even with the bottom of the frame.

[Johno]

Looks absolutely stunning there matey..:cool: :cool:
Very envious of your engine setup but the only problem I can see is it's not mine....;)
Cracking build throughout so far, so please keep the photos coming.

[TheArf]

Loving the build so far, so who is going to run a book on how long it will take for the arse end to be going around the corner before the front on completion.

Arfon

[jason 82]

I wouldn't worry about the ride height too much at the moment, as soon as you get the engine, diff, gearbox, brakes & wiring e.t.c, it will lower the car anyway. I love the paint job on the chassis, you should be well chuffed !

[StruveD]

Thanks for the kind words. The main reason im concerned about ride height is that i need to have the steering rack cut down. So i want to make sure that i am removing the correct amount based on ride height/steering rack position.

The chassis is painted with VHT satin black chassis and roll bar paint. Very nice stuff, very durable and the finish is beautiful. The floor and the entire undercarrage is painted with herculiner truck bed liner. Which give it a grippy ultra durable rubber finish.

[AshG]

hey dave, looking like a good build those mx5 engines are good fun with a supercharger on them. what ecu are you going to run it with? diy autotune are in suwannee and do full megasquirt kits, matt and the guys there are really helpful. I'm over in atlanta for work fairly often there are some good roads to have fun on when you get away from the city. Do you know what to do to get the car registered in GA? my roadster has been on the road for nearly 4 years in the uk i was considering moving to GA last year and was wondering if i would be able to import my car and get it registered.

[StruveD]

The supercharger kit came with a megasquirt, and yeah the diyautotune guys are walking distance from my home. So im hoping to get there assistance when time comes to tune this. As for registration, im honestly not completly sure yet. As it stands you'd have to get it inspected again to register it and depending on where you end up in georgia you may need emissions testing done. Upside is testing doesnt sound anywhere near as stringent as the uk. My problem now is that the laws can change between now and when i finish, im just hoping they change for the better. There has been some push to adopt SEMA's laws for registering custom car, which would simplify the process alot.

Here's the info i got from the guys that build the exocet kit car here.

Georgia has a couple ways you can go about it. We issue a Certificate of Origin with each kit and that basically functions as a "pre-title" - similar to what you get if you bought a new trailer. This document can be submitted to the state along with all your receipts and a few other forms for registration. The SEMA Action Network has done a great job of getting all the pertinent laws and forms together in a single PDF document for each state and you can download Georgia's here: http://www.bipac.net/page.asp?content=tag_title_toolbox&g=SEMAGA

Georgia also has a Dune Buggy method, where you cut out the VIN plate from the donor Miata and submit it to the state along with all the other paperwork - that is actually how I registered the all black Exocet you saw at C&O since it was registered before we began issuing COOs.

Some are running their Exocets as the original Miata, but if you choose that route, make sure you are aware of all the laws/insurance. Some have their cars insured as "heavily modified Miatas" through companies like Classic Collectors by Infinity. The way I see it is that this may be skirting around the law a bit since you are technically replacing the frame of the vehicle. While some may argue that the Mazda PPF is part of the "frame" and since it is retained it is still a Miata, but I could see the authorities not liking that explanation.

Since you are titling it as a new vehicle, there are no emissions requirements for the first three years. After that, you can apply for an exemption through the Clean Air Force assuming you've retained all the emissions equipment on the Exocet. We are in the process of trying to push SEMA's custom vehicle legislation through - we've got about 23 states done so far and I hope to have GA on board soon. That would eliminate any emissions checks for custom vehicles/kits moving forward.

[StruveD]

So I readjusted the ride height this past week and got the motor in place. This weeks goal is to get the motor mounts made and get the steering rack shortened. As you can see below, I'm going to more than likely have to make a custom hood to clear the supercharger.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_0994_zpsaf917d65.jpg
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_0993_zps1f5c9152.jpg
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_0992_zps6055971c.jpg
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_0990_zps94986f1e.jpg

[ayjay]

You'll need booster seats (and brown trousers ):D :D :D

[TheArf]

Incontinence pads more like

Arfon

p.s. is adrenaline brown and smelly

[StruveD]

September 27 Update:

Fairly Productive 2 weeks:
•*Fabricated engine and transmission mounts
• Finished Painting Chassis - used truck bed liner that I used on the floors to coat the entire undercarriage in a nice thick rubberized coating. This should help with vibration noise, and give me a nice durable rust proof finish. I figure this is more or less what they use on regular cars, so it should work well here too.
• Reassembled chassis
• Received delivery from kitcardirect.co.uk Neil is a top notch guy, I originally contacted him wanting to order carbon fiber caterham csr fenders, CF naca ducts, and CF winglets. I mentioned that I was having trouble sourcing haynes body work from the UK fiberglass companies, and he was nice enough to order them from equinox for me and ship them my way. I ordered a nose to begin with to verify it wouldn't get destroyed in the process. And am now ordering the the scuttle and rear wings. Not the cheapest or easiest way of doing this, but really no more expensive than ordering from the only company here in the states. This way I get exactly what I want.
• Trimmed nose for openings and suspension bolts. Next will be trimming for duct work.
• Good News clearance of supercharger is better than expected and may only require minor hood modifications to fit.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1021_zps7e86511d.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1021_zps7e86511d.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1019_zps07281b7f.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1019_zps07281b7f.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1017_zps5997469a.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1017_zps5997469a.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1015_zps2aaa376d.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1015_zps2aaa376d.jpg.html)

[StruveD]

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1013_zpsa3c3dfa5.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1013_zpsa3c3dfa5.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1011_zps9c2aebb2.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1011_zps9c2aebb2.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1009_zps000e00d1.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1009_zps000e00d1.jpg.html)

[AshG]

hey dave i am flying out to ga friday did you want me to bring you a copy of my magazine articles?

http://www.completekitcar.co.uk/Resources/Haynes%20cover_SIZED.png

[StruveD]

Yeah if you've got the time and be around Atlanta, your welcome to come on by. Shoot me a PM on what your schedule looks like and we can set something up.

[StruveD]

Good progress this week.

Got the drive shaft shortened, balanced, installed.

Started and finished the fuel system.

Used a walbro 255 fuel pump, made a bunch of AN lines and fittings and adapters to connect it all together. Ran a pair of 3/8" aluminum racing hard lines to the front and connected them via some fuel injection line. My only concern at this point is the fuel filter, I'm currently using a small russell filter. I'll probably use another in front of the pump to filter the initial garbage from the fuel cell. But that can be dealt with later, as I'm tired of spending money on AN fittings, That stuff really added up quickly, but I'm very happy with how professional looking it all turned out.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1029_zpsadc9c9a5.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1029_zpsadc9c9a5.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1031_zps8af77219.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1031_zps8af77219.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1033_zpsa3a78b95.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1033_zpsa3a78b95.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1025_zpscf8cc6a8.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1025_zpscf8cc6a8.jpg.html)

[TheArf]

Cracking progress really tidy looking build

Arfon

[AshG]

I'm over in Atlanta for work so went to see Dave today, what a nice guy. Had a good long chat about building cars and the differences between the UK and US he then drove me to his favourite burger bar where he insisted on buying me lunch. This forum really has no boundaries, im thousads of miles from home and stunned by the hospitality and friendlyness of fellow builders.

Oh and the most important bit! His build is absolutly stunning. The attention to detail is fantastic, even better than the pictures hes put on the forum. His car is going to be very special when its finished, the bar has officially been raised! time to step it up a notch guys!

[StruveD]

Week of October 11 Update

This week I finished assembling the pedal box with the appropriate fittings, and hydraulic brake light switch.

I ran the hard lines for the front brakes and fabricated the bracket and clevis to allow me to connect the mx5 throttle cable to the wilwood pedal box. When all said and done I'm very happy with how it turned out. It was a little tricky figuring out how the throttle cable needed to be routed in order to work with the wilwood throttle bracket (there are not many examples online of one of these pedal boxes installed and certainly nothing specific to the mx5). In the end I came from above, so that when the pedal is pressed its pulling the cable towards the floor.

Finally I placed a few orders for bodywork and brakes. On the bodywork side, I 've got my scuttle and rear fenders from equinox via kitcardirect.co.uk. I've also got a 7 style front grill and a westfield carbon fiber dash that should be shipping out soon. I stumbled upon a company in the states here that sells a set of carbon fiber sport bike mirrors for $80US. Quality is pretty good, although I'm going to 3d print out a set of trim rings to obscure the poor cut of the mirror itself. I'll post some before and after shots when I get that done.

On the braking side my original plan was to get a set of wilwood 4 piston calipers for the front and stick with the mx5 calipers in the rear. Well after needing a new set of rear rotors, rear pads and a replacement caliper, I came to the conclusion that I was approaching the price territory of a 4 wheel brake kit. So with that said, I now have a package on the way containing wilwood calipers for front and rear with slotted rotors, pads and just about everything else.

Here's this weeks pictures, sorry about the quality, shooting black on black at night isnt the best way to reveal whats going on.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1043_zps74a124ca.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1043_zps74a124ca.jpg.html)
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1042_zps9fc5f7d9.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1042_zps9fc5f7d9.jpg.html)
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1040_zps2182b99f.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1040_zps2182b99f.jpg.html)
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1044_zps31c9ebcf.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1044_zps31c9ebcf.jpg.html)

[twinturbo]

Good work going on, whish it would spur me on a bit..

TT

[AshG]

I had three of those in line pressure brake switches fail on my car before I gave up and fitted a micro switch on the pedal. Has been flawless ever since.

[alga]

Ash, are you sure the pressure switch was plumbed into the rear brake circuit? Initially I had it on one of the front lines, and it was wonky, it would not switch off immediately after the pedal was released. But when I moved it to the rear line, all problems disappeared. The book also mentions in passing that the pressure switch should be on the rear line.

[StruveD]

I had three of those in line pressure brake switches fail on my car before I gave up and fitted a micro switch on the pedal. Has been flawless ever since.

Yeah this is more of a short term solution. Its by far the easiest option off the bat especially with these pedals. I'd rather build the brake system to allow for this versus having to modify it later. Now its just a matter of plugging off the tee or adding a brake pressure sensor that feeds data to the dash. In the mean time I can try and think up a solution to a micro switch without being held back by the brakes.

Did you pick up a set of the pedals?

[AshG]

I didn't have time in the end. I did look on their website and suprisingly I can buy them for almost the same price in the UK. Its actually a good thing I didn't buy them as my bags were right on the weight limit, had I gone over the limit my savings would have been wiped out by excess baggage charges :-)

What I will say is that pedal box is firmly on my winter upgrade list.

[StruveD]

Brakes arrived today. Flyin Miata Lil Big Brake Kit - Wilwood 4 piston front and rear, 10" slotted rotors, and the ebrake version for the rear caliper. It's nice to have something that just bolts together. Just need to get some longer steel braided line up front and bleed the system and brakes are complete.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1047_zpse7e49e51.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1047_zpse7e49e51.jpg.html)
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1049_zpsa9a95751.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1049_zpsa9a95751.jpg.html)
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1050_zps7ac9e225.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1050_zps7ac9e225.jpg.html)
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1052_zps284bbdee.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1052_zps284bbdee.jpg.html)

[AshG]

What pads did you go for? I tried the Wildwood smart pads and didn't like them I'm now using mintex 1144's and they are much better

[StruveD]

The kit came with a set of wilwood polymatrix e compound pads. Dont know much about them, we'll see.

[StruveD]

Ok where to begin...It's been a busy few weeks here.

To start I did my second running of the 24hrs of America Kart Race, we finished 12th overall and first in class. Did 1456 laps and roughly 960 miles.
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/919319_10100205468407067_1285859157_o_zps83f58b0c. jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/919319_10100205468407067_1285859157_o_zps83f58b0c. jpg.html)

Once I got back and rested a few day, I got back into the car and started back at it. This led to to the first few mistakes I've had as well as some good progress.

Mistake 1: After installing the brake kit I needed to order a set of braided lines for the front. So after measuring and re-measuring I ordered a set of braided lines to fit the front brakes. Well wouldn't you know it, but I never thought to take the steering into account and ended up with a $90 set of lines that were 4 inches to short.

Mistake 2: Assuming that I would somehow be the lucky one that made the $35 brake flaring tool actually work without leaking. Needless to say my front lines which were the first I made leaked like crazy. Thankfully the long line from the pedals to the rear was good as well as the secondary rear line. The upside was I had a set of lines cut and shaped to size, so it was just a matter of having the company that made my braided lines flare me a set of straight lines at the length I needed and then shape them myself. This was another $90, but I was able to return the junk tool as well as a number of other bits and pieces I didn't need and recouped a good chunk of that.

Mistake 3: This less of a mistake and more of a slight hassle. Ordered a aluminum radiator for a 65 ford mustang. I had read that this would fit the nose cone. Well it didn't, and would need to be shortened in order to work. So while looking for someone that could shorten it, I stumbled upon someone on ebay.co.uk that was making and selling a kit car specific aluminum radiator for a reasonable price and was willing to ship to the US. So I returned the mustang radiator, and ordered the kit car one... Which fits beautifully. Cost was about $200.

Mistake 4: This one hurts as the wound is still fresh. On Monday of this week I received a large shipment from kitcardirect containing my scuttle, rear fenders, westfield carbon fiber dash, a 7 grill, and front fenders. Well after mounting the scuttle I proceeded to make a template for the dash, well I made the template set it on the carbon dash and cut the hole for the steering column, not noticing till the hole was done that the template was reversed, and I had just cut a 2.5" hole for a right hand drive car. So now I'm trying to come up with a solid solution on how to hide my mistake without re-ordering one, so suggestions are welcome. So far glove box or some sort of plaque it my pick.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1094_zps2e0c92fe.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1094_zps2e0c92fe.jpg.html)

So with all the mistakes in the open, let talk about what has actually been completed.

Brakes are now totally functional and complete with the exception of the handbrake lever.

Clutch Pedal is hooked up and functioning.

Steering is complete - after waiting a month for my fabricator to shorten it and re-thread, he finally got it to me and everything his hooked up. I lengthened the stock steering shaft and tie rods.

Nose cone and scuttle are now affixed with dzuz fasteners.

Next up is the cooling system and hand brake.

Here's the pictures:
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1086_zps0d1ace4e.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1086_zps0d1ace4e.jpg.html)
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1092_zpsa25a5b09.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1092_zpsa25a5b09.jpg.html)

[StruveD]

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1106_zpsee4acb57.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1106_zpsee4acb57.jpg.html)
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1105_zps59c9ce74.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1105_zps59c9ce74.jpg.html)
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1102_zps1ee50aba.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1102_zps1ee50aba.jpg.html)

[twinturbo]

I can't see your hole you made by mistake, is it neer the one for the passenger side warm air vent ( unfitted as yet )? ;)

TT

[PorkChop]

Ok where to begin...It's been a busy few weeks here.

To start I did my second running of the 24hrs of America Kart Race, we finished 12th overall and first in class. Did 1456 laps and roughly 960 miles.
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/919319_10100205468407067_1285859157_o_zps83f58b0c. jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/919319_10100205468407067_1285859157_o_zps83f58b0c. jpg.html)



You forgot to mention how much fun it is (albeit a little bit painful, I think my best one was the bruising over my hips due to a badly fitting seat a couple of hours into the race). I've done the UK version three times I think, including racing a few of your fellow countrymen ;).

[StruveD]

You forgot to mention how much fun it is (albeit a little bit painful, I think my best one was the bruising over my hips due to a badly fitting seat a couple of hours into the race). I've done the UK version three times I think, including racing a few of your fellow countrymen ;).

Yeah we raced the big boy class, so we used the largest seat possible. Not ideal for me, but not to bad overall. My biggest problem was my ankle which get messed up after standing on the throttle for 45min at a time.

[StruveD]

Here's what I'm thinking for the dash.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/dash_zps3aceccca.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/dash_zps3aceccca.jpg.html)

[SeriesLandy]

I like the dash, the graphics look good and cover up the fuckup. Would it be worth glassing/gluing the hole back in to give it some strength behind the graphics.

[StruveD]

Here's the final design. I dropped the artwork off at a trophy shop today, where they will laser engrave this onto a brushed aluminum looking plastic. Should be less then $50 for the piece. Not ideal, but I think its the best fix, and if it fails I can't switch to the glovebox option.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/ScreenShot2013-11-11at45029PM_zps72274472.png (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/ScreenShot2013-11-11at45029PM_zps72274472.png.html)

[Talonmotorsport]

Might I suggest a matt finish for the trim, I know of a Robin Hood with a stainless dash insert that can't be driven on sunny days unless you like arc eye.

[StruveD]

Might I suggest a matt finish for the trim, I know of a Robin Hood with a stainless dash insert that can't be driven on sunny days unless you like arc eye.

Good point, didn't really think of that. Don't think it will be an issue as its a pretty dull finish.

[StruveD]

Been busy working on the car so sorry for the lack of updates. I've officially reach the tedious stage of a million little things to do with minimal visible results.

So here a list of things I completed in the last 2 weeks.

Hand Brake COMPLETE
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/986ADE01-8F43-4239-953B-78D2E5A6BF16_zpsmm1dsv5f.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/986ADE01-8F43-4239-953B-78D2E5A6BF16_zpsmm1dsv5f.jpg.html)

Radiator Mount COMPLETE
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/7A470CCB-E5F3-44A2-AEBF-B2FA358D11CC_zpszmvswqjq.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/7A470CCB-E5F3-44A2-AEBF-B2FA358D11CC_zpszmvswqjq.jpg.html)

Dash Plate to cover up my massive F'up on the carbon fiber dash COMPLETE
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/22B46985-0020-4C51-84FC-8B99609A34E7_zpsjtl3bmq6.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/22B46985-0020-4C51-84FC-8B99609A34E7_zpsjtl3bmq6.jpg.html)

Finally I have started working on the wiring harness. Probably should have started this sooner as its now getting pretty cold in the garage and a tedious job in the cold kinda sucks. Better get a heater for the garage.

[AshG]

cold! haha you dont know what cold is :D 50f is t-shirt weather

[StruveD]

Its below freezing right now... But yeah not really that cold. Still like to to be comfy while i work.

[loony]

In Poland it's freezing too. But in my steel-made shed there is still electrolysis ;) I wonder when I get ice block in place of my electrolysis bucket ;)

[flyerncle]

Working in garage with two doors wide enough to drive an artic through and no heating,you don't know you are born ! :p

Usually 3 to 4 degrees colder inside than out .

[ayjay]

Working in garage with two doors wide enough to drive an artic through and no heating,you don't know you are born ! :p

Usually 3 to 4 degrees colder inside than out .
Thermal undies-----gotta keep the wedding tackle warm:D :D :D

[flyerncle]

Under Armour cold gear ! dogs bits :cool:

[jps]

Working in garage with two doors wide enough to drive an artic through and no heating,you don't know you are born ! :p

Usually 3 to 4 degrees colder inside than out .

I'm building mine in an old air-raid shelter, half buried in the ground, it's the same temp all year round :-)

[TheArf]

Up where Ayjay lives they don't count daylight hours they have daylight minutes.

Arfon

[ayjay]

Upo where Ayjay lives they don't count daylight hours they have daylight minutes.

Arfon
Hey lowland bog dweller
Hi from a hillbilly mountain man
Whats the weather like down there-done any more welding?

Sorry Dave for side tracking your thread

[flyerncle]

Been to that place near Wrexham that begins with C that I cant pronounce and ROR is there,they make wagon parts.

The sun was shining !

[alga]

In Poland it's freezing too. But in my steel-made shed there is still electrolysis ;) I wonder when I get ice block in place of my electrolysis bucket ;)

As long as there is current, it will not freeze over. You're feeding several dozen watts into that bucket.

[ayjay]

Been to that place near Wrexham that begins with C that I cant pronounce and ROR is there,they make wagon parts.

The sun was shining !

Rubery Owen Rockwell was in LLAY:eek:
I think they have folded:(

[StruveD]

It's officially running!!!

http://youtu.be/BsJ5NiP1bqs

[ayjay]

Harley man is about to be upstaged and blown away:D
Tidy looking build;)
you'll soon be feeling the wind in your hair:o

[TheArf]

All these bikers are the same aren't they Ayjay

Arfon

[flyerncle]

That was the place Ayjay ;)

[StruveD]

It was a locost christmas this year.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/d7a4e34316b60507ffcbd1fe5e36be1e_zps9f38436a.jpg

[Talonmotorsport]

ooh a spool gun, are you planning on doing some ali welding with your MIG? It will be interesting to see how you get on with that, best of luck!

[K4KEV]

well cool Dave ....looks like you are going to have some fun over the coming weeks:D

[StruveD]

ooh a spool gun, are you planning on doing some ali welding with your MIG? It will be interesting to see how you get on with that, best of luck!

Thats the goal. I want to fabricate a proper intake so that I can get the filter to the cool side of the engine.

[AshG]

well done on the first start dave, merry christmas

[StruveD]

Finally after weeks pruning the damn thing the wiring harness is totally complete. Removed a few more things from it and shortened it to a decent length. Still a bit clunkier than I would have liked but it would have been a real splice job to take it further.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1151_zpsdcbeaea0.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1151_zpsdcbeaea0.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1152_zps8727be45.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1152_zps8727be45.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1153_zps99ffded3.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1153_zps99ffded3.jpg.html)

[StruveD]

This weeks task was to create the header. My original plan was a caterham style exhaust with the collector on the outside. However after receiving my tubing kit from columbia mandrel, I realized that I would not have enough tubing to complete it, that it was going to be a pain to run it and clear what needed to be clear, and since I was using stainless it was going to cost me another $100+ for the additional tubing.

So i started looking at the miatas header, and since that is generally considered to be the optimum config for that engine, I went about replicating it with my requirements. The main requirements being that I wanted it to move over the steering shaft, so that I could remove it without taking apart a good chunk of the car. It needed to pass underneath the supercharger with enough clearance, so that I could wrap the header to prevent heat transfer to the supercharger. And that I could get the collector high enough that I could get (2) 2.5" 90 degree mandrel bends out the side of the car without coming in contact with the chassis and without have the side exhaust pipe sitting to far from the chassis.

Here what I made. Cylinders (1 and 4) and (2 and 3) are approx equal length. Which is how mazda did it.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/a575540cd751de6da52c8be57e246dd3_zpsacac051a.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/a575540cd751de6da52c8be57e246dd3_zpsacac051a.jpg.h tml)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/91b40fb10717c4d867663524a2b19100_zpsbb6b9822.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/91b40fb10717c4d867663524a2b19100_zpsbb6b9822.jpg.h tml)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/2077f3f7bf6fff1c37e896a4dad2df38_zps1e20cbcc.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/2077f3f7bf6fff1c37e896a4dad2df38_zps1e20cbcc.jpg.h tml)

What I learned from this adventure:
Stainless Steel is harder to mig weld. Not drastically, but enough to be slightly be off putting with the visual quality of the welds. In hind sight I should have tacked and had someone tig them. But since the header will be wrapped it doesn't really matter.

You really need something to mock these up. The method I used here was to make the center 2 tubes first since they were more or less straight shots. This allowed me to get the collector into its position, then I worked 1 and 4 to clear the supercharger. I used some wire loom to figure out the direction needed on 1 and 4, which helped a little.

In the end I'm happy, mainly that it's done and doesn't look like a disaster, I may still need to take it to someone to weld up the center of the collector as I have some concern that the slip fittings may not have been tight enough, and I can't get the mig in there to do it myself.

[K4KEV]

Thats very nice work Dave and nice to see another 3";) exhaust coming out of the side panels.....looks like you are on schedule for this summer, keep cracking on bud

[StruveD]

Not quite done for the day, with the completion of the header, I went ahead and built the exhaust. Only thing left to do is attach the muffler to the body somehow. Exhaust pipe is actually a 2.5".

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/76340FF7-7FB2-40A6-856E-95D3BA34CB6E_zpsygwgmxre.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/76340FF7-7FB2-40A6-856E-95D3BA34CB6E_zpsygwgmxre.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/f732dd75-ff5f-4325-863e-8f0d75198791_zps6eb2b027.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/f732dd75-ff5f-4325-863e-8f0d75198791_zps6eb2b027.jpg.html)

[StruveD]

Been jumping around on various parts this week due to the cold. Tried to do stuff that I could bring inside and work on.

- Finished the mounting and welding the exhaust...although I'm going to have to add a resonator or another muffler. Its pretty friggin loud.
- Wrapped the header in DEI Titanium header wrap. I think it turned out really nice and did a great job of hiding my terrible looking header welds.
- Installed gauges and the AIM MXL Dash. I ended up going with the MXL Strada as it was $1000 cheaper without the data logging, and since I was using a megasquirt I could grab all the sensor data from the can bus on the megasquirt. So no need for extra sensors. As for my physical gauges, they are auto meter carbons, and I'm using fuel level, oil pressure and boost. Boost is probably not necessary with the supercharger, but between those 3 and the digital dash, I can cover just about everything.
- Vinyl wrapped the scuttle, I'm going with an metallic anthracite colored car, with a gold racing stripe. Vinyl showed up this week, so I decided to give the scuttle a go since it was the hardest part.

Pics:
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1171_zps440e7546.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1171_zps440e7546.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1172_zps949e5cb6.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1172_zps949e5cb6.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1173_zps43ab4d8e.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1173_zps43ab4d8e.jpg.html)

[Oscar]

That Anthracite grey looks great, you going for a stealth roadster?
Also a very nice looking dash, blends nicely with the scuttle.

Got a video of the engine running with the new exhaust in place?

[ayjay]

If you think the scuttle is hard wait til you try the nosecone:eek: :eek: :eek:

[StruveD]

Wrapped up most of the engine, exhaust and intake. Or at least enough to rev it a few times. Enjoy.

http://youtu.be/g3pdb6p3J54

[K4KEV]

DEMONIC:eek: :eek:

[j.brownster79]

What can I say it sounds the TITS!!! And a very tidy build fella

[StruveD]

Here's a shot of the completed engine. As far as I can think, there is nothing left that need to be done on the mechanical side of things.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1178_zpse2c632f4.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1178_zpse2c632f4.jpg.html)

So I moved on and started putting together the roll bar from kinetic. While I will probably never race it, I will be tracking it so I went ahead and gave myself a bit over 2" from top of the bar to the top of my helmet. So this should comply with the majority of rules out there.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1179_zps9b57c8ce.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1179_zps9b57c8ce.jpg.html)

[StruveD]

Heres the final roll bar configuration. The lower stays are 2 brackets with 1/2" bolts run through the tubing.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/3f5d11fd6b514fb79bdb47c46061fe06_zps4a9d9ffa.jpg

[jason 82]

Cracking job ! You must be really pleased with your car. I bet your car is costing a fair few thousand to build isn't it ? I think what you paid for your supercharger, Is my budget for the entire build :eek: misses has told me a grand tops, I said of course babe no problem. In true bloke style we are marching on to the mighty 2k ! Lol;) it will be our little secret. :D

[StruveD]

Cracking job ! You must be really pleased with your car. I bet your car is costing a fair few thousand to build isn't it ? I think what you paid for your supercharger, Is my budget for the entire build :eek: misses has told me a grand tops, I said of course babe no problem. In true bloke style we are marching on to the mighty 2k ! Lol;) it will be our little secret. :D

Yeah I kinda stopped keeping track after buying the supercharger. I believe I told my wife $5000 US when I pitched the idea to her. I think I'm now closer to $8000... not including tools and welding equipment.:( For the most part now I'm done with major purchases. I need a aeroscreen and switches for the lighting. My bigger problem wasn't really the cost, as much as it was the time frame. I was expecting this to take closer to 2 years to finish thus spreading the cost over a longer period, I am on track to finish in the next 2 months which is 12 months total. Anyway, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now, and since we really have no formal inspection I really look forward to the coming months. Should be able to test drive it this week and then move on to skinning the body.

[flyerncle]

Does look good,well done Dave.;)

[StruveD]

Took the first test drive today.

http://youtu.be/QW6wP82s-1w

[TheArf]

Well, that looks to me like someone might be holding the tiger by the tail, grab a hold and see what bites you.

It's awesome

Arfon

[Davidbolam]

Brilliant video.

Can I ask what model and size steering wheel you have chosen

Thanks

David

[SeriesLandy]

Looking fantastic. It's such a great feeling to get it moving.

Your steering wheel seems to be on the wrong side. :D

[StruveD]

Brilliant video.

Can I ask what model and size steering wheel you have chosen

Thanks

David

Believe its this one. http://www.sparcousa.com/product/l360

[StruveD]

Heres this weeks update:

Started the week off by installing the headlights. Thankfully the brackets i made 8 months ago actually worked with the lights i bought last month. As well as being the correct height according to GA law. The lights have the integrated led signals as well as a running light on top. It also has a projector lens in the center. The buckets are made out of stainless, although i may end up painting them to match the car.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/3cd42327c97d327c3645b814a5de5485_zps4392d589.jpg

Next up was the seat belts. This turned to be easier than expected. I'm using Schroth 6 point harnesses combined with my lotus exige seats. Ill give you a run down of how they will be setup. First the shoulder straps loop around the roll bar cross member, then the hip straps bolt directly to the seats seat belt bolts, so that is easy enough. Finally the sub belts would be attached under the seat somehow. However this presented a bit of a problem. First the seat is so low (just a few mm above the floor) that almost anything would interfere with the seat or bracket. Second when the seats are in and body is fully skinned adjusting the sub belt is almost impossible from the main connection point. Third, the available mounting point through the rear seat rail on the chassis. This is a 3/4" square tube that is welded to the chassis as well as the steel floor, this would probably work if I could get the mounting point in without interfering... But that didn't happen.


However there was another option, since i decided to use exige seats and brackets i benefited from a few things. I got some bitchin seats that are comfortable and i got the ability to use Sector 111's sys.6.pack http://www.sector111.com/parts/interior/seats_and_harnesses/sys.cfm . This gives me a low profile option that adds some addition reinforcement. Basically how it works is on the under side of the chassis you have a t shaped plate. On the top of the t you have 2 holes that pick up the seat bolts, on the bottom of the t you have 3 holes that get drilled through the floor and connect to a pinch plate that the sub belts loop through. So thats it a low profile solution that puts the belts in the correct location and was more or less a boltin with exige seat brackets.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/a3fe3638e0e2f8c14560609b0784eb2f_zps7ff9c296.jpg
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/7adbf880080293ac3d6169b43dd172de_zps1135ae19.jpg

Finally my last accomplishment for the week, was sealing op the tunnel. I had been putting this off for a while for a couple reasons. I wanted to make sure all the wiring was run tot he back and the exige seat brackets i was just praising did conflict a bit with the saturn chassis variation. The problem was the tunnel had to get wider at the rear to clear the offset diff. This made the tunnel frame intersect with the seat rails. So i had to recess the skin of the tunnel, which meant doing some cutouts and then boxing it back in. Kinda a pain, and not the prettiest thing, but its obscured by the seats for the most part.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/960a194e294510c8cbdc544765739928_zps4b66a9f1.jpg

Anyway sides are now done and the top is next up. The final plan for the tunnel is to skin the top, then make a matching cut out in mdf. I will then round the edge of the mdf add some padding and wrap in alcantara, to create a decent arm rest, similar to what you see in caterhams.

[StruveD]

Here's a couple pics with the seats back in and the tunnel closed off. Ran into a few issues with the tunnel. On the driver side the seat slider was such a tight fit after skinning the tunnel that it can no longer slide. Not really a hug deal as its in my seating position which is pretty much all the way back. And if I really wanted to I could probably fix it with a hammer. But right now I don't care. Second issue was that I forgot to install the brake balance bar adjuster knob before riveting everything shut. Again not a hug deal but something I had wanted to do to simplify the brake adjustments. I may come back for this later.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1201_zps025a885b.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1201_zps025a885b.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1200_zps20c7c33c.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1200_zps20c7c33c.jpg.html)

[K4KEV]

That's all coming together rather nicely ....those harness's look pretty mean.
I had a similar problem with my seat so I put them on their side and knelt a little bit on their sides until they gave 1/4" or so which was just enough to stop them sticking on the tunnel and outer cockpit frame, looks like yours might give a little in the same place.

[StruveD]

That's all coming together rather nicely ....those harness's look pretty mean.
I had a similar problem with my seat so I put them on their side and knelt a little bit on their sides until they gave 1/4" or so which was just enough to stop them sticking on the tunnel and outer cockpit frame, looks like yours might give a little in the same place.

The slider seat bracket was really the only issue. The seats cleared fine. but the bracket had 0 tolerance. Had to go back and drill out a number of rivets on the tunnel and replace with flush mount rivets. Once I did that I could just fit them.

[AshG]

looks like your getting there. the first drive video was excellent, what do you think the local police reaction would have been if they had seen it unregistered on the street? in the uk it would equate to a lot of trouble.

i wish i could bring my car out next time im over in Atlanta, there are some excellent roads that need to be driven in a fun car not too far away from your place.

[StruveD]

looks like your getting there. the first drive video was excellent, what do you think the local police reaction would have been if they had seen it unregistered on the street? in the uk it would equate to a lot of trouble.

i wish i could bring my car out next time im over in Atlanta, there are some excellent roads that need to be driven in a fun car not too far away from your place.

Within my neighborhood it would an awkward conversation, but that would probably be all. Since there is no real inspection, how else are you supposed to make sure everything is working correctly. :)

Worse case I would be ticketed. I'd have to really piss off the cop to get any worse than that.

Don't know if I told you about this. But there is the Tail of the Dragon a few hours from here, which is pretty amazing.

http://www.tailofthedragon.com/pdf/Brochure.pdf

Next time your in town, it might be worth a road trip.

[StruveD]

Welp missed a week of building last week. The time finally came to pay up my end of the car bargain to my wife. This meant it was time to remodel our kitchen. I put it off as long as possible, but as soon as the tax refund hit the account my wife made me move.

Anyways back to the car. After putting the belts in I realized, if I was going to do a arm rest I would have to do it prior to skinning the sides of the car. So that is where I started this week. While I had the tools out for the kitchen I cut the center console in mdf. Once the pice was cut I router a .5" radius on the edge to match the thickness of the wood. This again was done for comfort and the fact the seats wouldn't fit otherwise.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1212_zps5dcf30f3.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1212_zps5dcf30f3.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1215_zps45a8f412.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1215_zps45a8f412.jpg.html)

I had to do it in 3 pieces due to the tight fit and the change in angle of the tunnel. The rear piece had to be totally separate because of the seats fit, otherwise there would be no way of installing it. The middle and front portions were fiberglassed back together so that it held the correct angle and could be one piece. Once that was done I found a Tandy leather store and picked up a hide of black suede.

Here's the final product:

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1216_zps6b86788b.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1216_zps6b86788b.jpg.html)

Last thing left is put a shift boot on it. I ordered one off of ebay and if it matches color wise I'll use it. Other wise I'll have to make my own.

[TheArf]

That is looking well tidy, had a look at the link too and the devils triangle looks a lot of fun

Arfon

[flyerncle]

Looks a bit like the road up Palomar Mountain in So Cal.

[TheArf]

Or the horseshoe pass and LLanberis pass in gods chosen land.

Arfon

[flyerncle]

Warmer on Palomar Mountain.:p

God only chose it to use as a military training ground !

[StruveD]

Update: 2

So after wrapping the center console this week, I moved on to skinning the car. I began with the passenger side since it was the easier to do.

Everything was pretty straight forward, just wish I had a better way of bending the lips. But some clamps, square tubing, and a hammer did a decent job. Anyway I'll be covering any exposed lips with some edging so the hammer look shouldn't be noticeable. Finally once I finished skinning and riveting, I went ahead and wrapped the side in the vinyl I'm using.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1230_zps121a8b13.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1230_zps121a8b13.jpg.html)
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1229_zpsb9cef881.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1229_zpsb9cef881.jpg.html)

So on to the drivers side next week.

[StruveD]

Update 2:

This one has been mentally in the works for a while, but I had been waiting on the resin I needed to arrive. So my problem arose when I used a Miata/MX-5 steering shaft combines with the sparco hub and wheel. The problem being that since I wasn't going to use any of the steering column controls, I would have any exposed steering column as well as no way of running a connection for the horn to the hub. The hub has a brass ring that creates a ground when the horn button is pushed. But the ring is moving with the wheel and there for has to have some sort of contact. So with the aid of one of my 3d printers and a bunch of black resin I designed and printed this out yesterday.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1227_zpsc4e004c0.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1227_zpsc4e004c0.jpg.html)
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1226_zps21c5113c.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1226_zps21c5113c.jpg.html)
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1225_zpse4f7d9ca.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1225_zpse4f7d9ca.jpg.html)

So 16hrs of print time later and $15 worth of resin, I've got something that fits perfectly and can house the wiring.

[csherwood]

Very nice, I knew 3D printers would be useful for something...

[StruveD]

Just wrapped up this weeks work. Got the drivers side skinned and wrapped. Prior to riveting in the drivers panel, I went ahead and added the brake bias adjuster I forgot to install weeks back. Thankfully this task was much easier than expected.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/09A7BEE2-1633-472D-A5D2-0DE2BBB1637D_zpsrxsiqdwe.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/09A7BEE2-1633-472D-A5D2-0DE2BBB1637D_zpsrxsiqdwe.jpg.html)

Once that was done, I decided to finish up trimming the interior. I had already wrapped the center with suede, so to finish off the look on the outside I got some trim from mcmaster http://www.mcmaster.com/#8124a37/=r7leks then wrapped that in suede and riveted it to the frame rails. This gives me a armrest on the outside of the frame as well as concealing the cut edge of the metal. I am super pleased with how this turned out. I'm going to need to get some suede water protector, in the off chance I even get caught in the rain.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/C8BB085C-8267-40ED-8360-BFC344EA950B_zpsny0sjm6r.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/C8BB085C-8267-40ED-8360-BFC344EA950B_zpsny0sjm6r.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/8987E437-6764-4126-9FD3-56D1776B6405_zpsjktpnby5.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/8987E437-6764-4126-9FD3-56D1776B6405_zpsjktpnby5.jpg.html)

On a down note, I think my injectors are gummed up. Engine appears to only be running on 2 or 3 cylinders. Thought the fuel filter had gotten clogged after test driving it last week, but it must have been the injectors as the car will not run without the throttle opened.

[StruveD]

Another saturday and another update. I can clearly see the light at the end of the tunnel now, and think I may actually have this road ready by the 1 year mark... which is insane when I think about it.

So this week, I wrapped both the fenders in the anthracite vinyl, skinned and wrapped the rear panel, installed the rear fenders, and properly riveted the outer arm rests.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1270_zps67f5eb32.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1270_zps67f5eb32.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1267_zps3b1f587c.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1267_zps3b1f587c.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1266_zpsfa50ec3d.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1266_zpsfa50ec3d.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1265_zpsfb1be456.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1265_zpsfb1be456.jpg.html)

Next weeks task is the hood.

[K4KEV]

Can I have a couple of pints of what your'e on :D bluddy good progress mate keep it going.

[StruveD]

Friday Progress Report. Been super busy with work this week so its taken longer than I would have wanted. But I chipped away at it and the hood is almost done. Made it out of .060 aluminum, which was thinker than I was expecting. Bought/Borrowed a 6" pvc pipe from Lowes. Which did a very good job of matching the curves. The scuttle has a ledge for the hood so that was easy enough, and the nose has a catch molded into it, which will come in handy for leveling the front of the hood, which is about 3/16" high. So I'm going to 3d print the male end for the catch and be done with it. Only issue I've run into is the supercharger clearance. for the most part I clear with a 1/4" but the bypass valve really gets in the way. So I'm going to have to make my opening a bit wider then let the engine shape it the rest of the way.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1273_zpsc91e66ab.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1273_zpsc91e66ab.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1274_zps45caa743.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1274_zps45caa743.jpg.html)

[StruveD]

Getting very close now.

Checklist for the week:
- got necessary paperwork for vin request filled out and notarized by country tax official, then submitted to state. If a VIN number comes back, then the car will have cleared the major hurdle.
- Finished hood install and cutout. Think I'm going to just leave it as is for now and paint the supercharger top in wrinkle black. It kinda looks cool like that. Also it makes for a nice heat vent.
- So I don't know if I mentioned in a previous post but I began experiencing engine issues after a second test drive. Engine effectively cut out over 2000rpm and then the follow week wouldn't fire up without the throttle open. Turns out it was only running on 2 cylinders. So this led me to replace the fuel filter figuring it was clogged... which it wasn't. Replacing plugs and wire, plugs are cheap and wires were questionable... no dice. Pulling the injectors and sending them out to be cleaned... not the issue, but they did need it. Swapping out the ignition control module and coils... not the problem so I returned them. At this point I was at a loss, that covered nearly even piece of the fuel injection system. What I didn't bother to check was whether the vacuum line that runs to the megasquirt ecu was still attached. The same vacuum line that is teed into the fuel pressure regulator, and the one line that if were to disconnect from the overly small fitting would result in the engine getting very little gas. Sure enough it was off and the engine fired back up... but wait there's more. Thought I had resolved this until I test drove it and realized it was running like sh!t. Upon further investigation injector 1 and 3 were not working. Which thankfully since those were on the same wire led me to the ecu where my wire loom must have been pulling on that pin a bit much and causing the disconnect. Thankfully I found that one pretty quick and everything is working swimmingly again. Although I'm out about $200, $100 of which was unnecessary.
- While researching the engine issues I realized my blowoff valve was not hooked up correctly... I kinda wish I hadn't. The friggin thing is really loud... and awesome.
Finally I finished up the main body work. Had to do some bond repairs on my nose cone from when it was shipped. Then I had to make a decision on whether to cut openings for a pair on carbon fiber naca ducts I had bought with my nose cone and fenders. The problem being, I wasn't sure exactly what to use them for. The original plan was to have them feed a intercooler or to feed air back to the intake filter. Well I pulled the trigger, and while I still don't have an exact answer, I can say without a doubt they are visually worth it.

So here it is. Only body work left at this point are the fenders.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1290_zpsed055f05.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1290_zpsed055f05.jpg.html)
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1291_zps3591b668.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1291_zps3591b668.jpg.html)
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1292_zpsa0f7799f.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1292_zpsa0f7799f.jpg.html)

I wish I had done some sort of drawing before I started this because this has completely met my original vision of the car.

[StruveD]

Mid week update. This weeks goal is to get the fenders installed. Just finished welding up the first bracket. It is somewhat over built, I borrowed various design elements and think I have a fender bracket that should withstand the vibration and avoid the usual weak spot. I'll take some further pictures when I take it back off. I used 3 pickup points, lower, upper and upper brake bolt.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1300_zps8bdb4165.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1300_zps8bdb4165.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1303_zps8d92a4bc.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1303_zps8d92a4bc.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1305_zps91b5c2eb.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1305_zps91b5c2eb.jpg.html)

[StruveD]

For anyone thet may be looking for fender bracket stay ideas that work with the miata mx5 spindles here's some detail shots.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1310_zps6d4fb2c8.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1310_zps6d4fb2c8.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1309_zpsa88a80d7.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1309_zpsa88a80d7.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1308_zps9d678161.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1308_zps9d678161.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1307_zpse6608693.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1307_zpse6608693.jpg.html)

[StruveD]

I accomplished this weeks goal of completing the fenders. Got word back from the aeroscreen company that my wind deflector is complete and will ship next week. So while I wait on that I start working on the lighting wiring, hopefully this goes smoothly.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/65A642CD-110F-4757-BA9B-B90F0396BD37_zps1gswgdyu.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/65A642CD-110F-4757-BA9B-B90F0396BD37_zps1gswgdyu.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/2785157D-C6A6-4E06-A18D-F1122762EBB1_zpsvprfxkkw.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/2785157D-C6A6-4E06-A18D-F1122762EBB1_zpsvprfxkkw.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/6B1F5623-6762-4511-B60D-6EF6C6A19A7C_zps8cieegqo.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/6B1F5623-6762-4511-B60D-6EF6C6A19A7C_zps8cieegqo.jpg.html)

[SeriesLandy]

Your car is looking smart. I wish I had got too your point as quickly.

[StruveD]

Monday - Brake Lights - Complete

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1327_zpsd2adc1a7.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1327_zpsd2adc1a7.jpg.html)

May have over done it with the 3rd brake light. At least there is no excuse for someone not to see me braking.

[TalonMotorFabrication]

Don't knock the overkill of the brake lights with all those tall SUV's and mini vans trying to keep up with you, I think Dad had his Locost on the road 1-2 days when an ice cream van run in to the back of it.

just to let you know that....

I AM BRAKING!

[flyerncle]

Looks like the "Force "is with you !


Nice build :cool:

[StruveD]

Tuesday: Backup lights

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1329_zps001a2da8.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1329_zps001a2da8.jpg.html)

I finding that I conveniently left enough lighting wiring in place that its making some of this very easy.

[twinturbo]

Good progress , like the bonnet vents.

TT

[StruveD]

Finished up the electrical for the car last night, so everything is now functional. Just waiting on the aeroscreen and my vin number.

Anyways, went for a test drive today and actually remembered the gopro.

http://youtu.be/y7nWnLJ88bw

[StruveD]

Been quiet on this end for the last week, as the car is pretty much done with the exception of tuning and alignment. I just waiting on the VIN at this point, so I can complete the registration process. Don't know know if I posted this or not, but my initial application bounced back because the state wanted photos and a bill of sale. So I made one up and sent it back week before last, so no new is good news at this point. Just hoping it doesn't take to long for a Vin to be issued. So I wrapped up everything possible this week.

I built a under tray for the rear compartment out of some leftover aluminum. This put a floor under the diff as well as some wings in the back of the wheel well to hopefully direct air coming under the car out the back versus into the trunk.

Next I took some more bed liner and did a undercoat under all the fenders, to hopefully add some protection from tires flinging rocks.

And the last thing on my punch list was getting some decent tires. Which turned out to be a slight pain in the butt. I bought a set of Toyo R1R from tirerack.com. Anyways, I took the wheels and tires to my local tire place to have them mounted and balanced. However what I got back was a bit disappointing. All 4 wheels had been damaged. One wheel had a pretty badly bent lip and all 4 had gouging on the back side where the mounting machine clamped on. Finally the person who balanced them did a horrible job, one wheel had a strip of wheel weights about 14" long. Nothing like adding a half pound of lead to a set of light weight wheels. So I brought them back and bitched to the manager, who was very understanding. So he took them and sent them off to a wheel repair shop, which fixed everything up, re-powder coated the wheels (not the worst thing since the existing powder coating from konig was pretty thin) and rebalanced the tires (without a ton of dead weight).

So other than that I'm just waiting on the wind deflector, which is somewhere in atlanta and will hopefully be delivered in the next day or 2. I also mocked up the stripes in photoshop to get a idea of what design I'm doing. I settled on the caterham 650r stripes in copper to match the wheels. Here are the photoshop mockups.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/bronze_front_zpsa4a0efd6.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/bronze_front_zpsa4a0efd6.jpg.html)
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/bronze_passenger_zpsb7d1c3c4.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/bronze_passenger_zpsb7d1c3c4.jpg.html)


The end result should be a bit brighter and stand out more.

[StruveD]

The wind deflector showed up this morning, so i got right to installing it and the mirrors i had.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/6ebe2f84c0e466df135e661cf97a7bcf_zps14efdba7.jpg
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/d8a4c3282887872e18b73fdbcb775db8_zps07d869c8.jpg
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/be4067e0065662120bce5370133c1438_zpsc060b5e5.jpg

[j.brownster79]

Good job well done there it's an awesome looking car and build just a shame your on the other side of the pond or I will be looking to take a closer look and a drive lol

[StruveD]

Another week and no VIN. Spoke to my contact this week and asked for info on time frame and was told its usually 2-4 weeks. So hopefully I will see it soon. In the mean time I've been trying to find things to do on the car. Started by taking some leftover carbon fiber vinyl from another project and made rock chip guards for the rear fenders. We'll see how well it works, It's pretty durable stuff. Then I got my bronze vinyl and had my racing stripes cut. Nothing like putting some straight lines down the center of the car to see how off center other things are. I had to do the striping twice down the hood, as either the windscreen or rear view mirror cutout on the windscreen is a little off center. So when I centered my stripes off the windscreen, it was visibly moving off center to the drivers side. I also did the stripes down the side of the car, but after living with it for a day, I decided I didn't like it very much so off it came. The goal was to match the wheels color, and when on the same plain as the wheels it does, but when on the body under different lighting the color difference was enough that it was distracting to me.

I also installed a rear view mirror from race mirrors. It was by far the cheapest of the carbon fiber rear view mirrors available, but still way more that what I would have liked to spend. The upside is they will custom make the stem for you, so you can get it in whatever height you need. He also helped verify that it would fit perfectly prior to ordering so that was very helpful.

Finally I installed a halon fire extinguisher for the car.

As you can see I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel here for things to do while I wait.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1351_zps84b6e29f.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1351_zps84b6e29f.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1357_zpsc049f285.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1357_zpsc049f285.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1359_zps0093b00f.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1359_zps0093b00f.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1360_zps85121466.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1360_zps85121466.jpg.html)

[StruveD]

Well after 2 months of battling with the state to trying and get antique replica status on the car, having them lose my paperwork, then deny me because the car looks to much like a kit car, I finally gave up on that approach and just registered it as a miata. So as of ten minutes ago I have done my first full on-road test drive. So thats it I'm calling it, this thing is done. Now on to tuning and a proper alignment.

[SeriesLandy]

Well done on finishing. You've completed your car a lot quicker than I done.

[StruveD]

Well you guys have the IVA to deal with. I just said screw it, and put it on the road.

Just took it and weighed it. With a full tank it was 1390lbs or 630 kilos

[SeriesLandy]

Light weight. Mine was 740kg with a full tank fuel and me in it.

[StruveD]

Took the car down the road to Balanced Performance today to get an alignment and tune. Everything went well, the alignment went perfect and actually resolved an issue I was concerned about with one of my rear uprights. So that was good. As for the tune that went great as well and I got the expected numbers... sort off. Peak was 152hp 128lb, but the air temps were pretty high, so they dialed it back to 143hp 124lb. The takeaway was that I could run these number pretty safely but I really need to add an intercooler and cowl off the front radiator. Then we can look at pushing further if this resolves the air temp readings. But I'm fine with this for now and can look into that later.

Here's one of the dyne pulls. Turn up the volume.

http://youtu.be/e7DbKyHTQDg

[StruveD]

Did bit of work this week. While researching the issue of why the gas cap was difficult to remove on my JAZ fuel cell. I realized that my fuel line plumbing was not exactly correct. I never thought to leave any sort of vent on the fuel cell. The cell would puff up with the added gases during a hot day, thus creating the potential for an epic fireball. So I made a trip to Summit Racing on the way back from a trip to Savannah with my wife, to pick up the needed fittings. First I disconnected the return line I had installed on the fitting on top of the tank. Then I added was a anti-spill fitting to the top vent fitting (prevents fuel from spilling in a roll over. Next I stuck the return line into a gas can and turned on the engine till it pumped all the gas from the tank to the gas can. This made life a million times easier when it came time to remove the cap I had installed on the second fitting on the sump. Once that was done I made up another steel braided fuel line attached it to the existing return so that it could reach the correct fitting. Thankfully I mentally worked through this process while on vacation and it was much easier than I had feared when I first realized my mistake. Finally after filling up the tank and driving it around, I realized that the new vent was now letting a bit of gas out under heavy braking, so for a short term I attached a silicone line to it so fuel won't make its way onto me.

Another fun fact I learned while draining the fuel, If you are using a 8 gallon jaz drag cell, and in my case a 6" long sender then a 1/4 tick on the fuel gauge will equal round about 1 gallon of fuel. This means that when my gauge reads empty, there is still almost a 4 gallon reserve. Not really ideal, and may be something I go back and correct later on by finding a 7-8" sender... if they exist.

Lastly, this morning I took the car to the monthly Caffeine and Octane car show hear in Atlanta. Had a great time and got a very positive response. Seemed to always be a crowd checking out the car, and that was pretty impressive when you consider there were probably 500+ cars of packed tight over a 1/4 mile worth of parking lot. Also saw a Westfield and a "Real 7" in the mix.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/10474447_10154351354545724_8486182856776901972_n_z psafe834ea.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/10474447_10154351354545724_8486182856776901972_n_z psafe834ea.jpg.html)
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/candojuly2014_zps23f947c7.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/candojuly2014_zps23f947c7.jpg.html)

Check this out some guy did a 360 degree shot of the car when I was out looking around. Pretty cool.
http://100digitalcreativity.com/360dc/CandO20140706/?s=pano1160&h=-106&v=45&f=90

[StruveD]

On to the final stage of the build. The rear cover. I had been working on a variety of options for the riser decks. after failing with a set of foam boards, I decided to go with wood.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/736d4b6e-6276-464d-a29a-d6b911283fc0_zps6903bd3b.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/736d4b6e-6276-464d-a29a-d6b911283fc0_zps6903bd3b.jpg.html)

Basically the goal here was to get the vinyl cover high enough to clear the sender, bolts and fittings on the fuel cell and roll bar. So these boards raise the cover 5/8" and provide a flat surface.

Next I made a paper pattern for the top portion of the cover and took it to a upholstery place near by. Having the cover made out of a carbon fiber textured vinyl. Which the seats have a bit of already, and should tie in nicely with the other bits. He's also sewing in a zipper for a flap in the center so I can easily access the fuel cell during refilling. Should be ready on friday or early next week.

[StruveD]

Ok well now I'm just getting fancy.

After a few longer drives, I realized that having gps as well as a way to know if someone is calling me would be really nice. If you have ever driven in the Atlanta area you know its a must have. I once was heading north on a road only to find a few miles later I was block south of where I started without ever turning and without noticing any major change in direction... apparently there are a few worm holes in the atlanta area. Ideally I would have just used my phone, but trying to fish it out of my pocket with the 6 point harness was damn near impossible and keeping it balanced on the tunnel wasn't happening. So I went to best buy and took a look at navigation units and found exactly what i was looking for. Here's a few of the key features:

- Voice Guided Nav
- Bluetooth (will be able to see if someone is calling versus wondering if that vibration in my pocket is vehicle related or phone. Doubt talking to someone will actually work.
- Realtime traffic updates
- Weather (oh yeah this feature pretty much sold me)

Brought it home, and saw the it fit perfectly between the dash and tunnel. I just need to find a method for mounting it. So I fired up the 3d printer and after a few revisions, I had a good solution.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1441_zps89e75c69.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1441_zps89e75c69.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1440_zps661a18cb.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1440_zps661a18cb.jpg.html)

[StruveD]

Another shot of the nav.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1446_zps5a6168be.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1446_zps5a6168be.jpg.html)

Finished up the rear panels in preparations for the vinyl cover. I covered the particle board with a healthy coat of resin which gave me a nice smooth finish, then gave it a coat of gloss black spray paint. This should do a decent job of sealing out moisture.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1444_zps01255f23.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1444_zps01255f23.jpg.html)

Finally I decided I need a keychain to match. So I took the seven logo and 3d printed out a key ring, then gave it a nice coat of gold paint.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1452_zpsd5eca6cc.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1452_zpsd5eca6cc.jpg.html)

[StruveD]

Just got back from the upholsterer getting the cover fitted. Here it is, still hasn't settled, but you'll get the point.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1458_zpsbad69cec.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1458_zpsbad69cec.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1457_zpsbe593af6.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1457_zpsbe593af6.jpg.html)

[StruveD]

Been making some tweaks to the car. If you have checked out the build log, you would have seen my engine looked like this.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1178_zpse2c632f4.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1178_zpse2c632f4.jpg.html)

Well I had done this pretty early on before I knew what the color scheme would be for the car. So last week i decided I wanted to do something a little more fitting for the car. So I tracked done a valve cover for a early 90's Mercury Capri, with a bit of work these can give it a nice vintage look and since the used the motor from the miata they are almost a direct bolt on. I then proceeded to strip, clean, paint, and modify it to work with the miata.

So here it is, its not perfect but pretty darn good.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1501_zps60e3090d.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1501_zps60e3090d.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1505_zps6515e602.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1505_zps6515e602.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1507_zps81d02f31.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1507_zps81d02f31.jpg.html)

[StruveD]

Been slacking on keeping this build log sync with my other build logs. So here it goes.

Sept. 2 2014

It never ends.

After months of searching I finally tracked down an off the shelf intercooler that would actually fit the 7. Its a tiny but thick thing from a Toyota MR2, but it fits. I totally lucked out and found an ebay store the same day from a guy that was unloading a bunch of lightly used carbon fiber oil cooler ducts. One of which fits nearly perfectly and has duel inlets. I did some initial recon and it will fit once I assemble some new piping. But since I'm intending to use the car for the next few weekends,I'll wait to install till I'm clear of everything.

You can start to see how this will be configured, I think it will get enough air flow from the NACA ducts to work. At least shouldn't get worse.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/F0AE5BCB-1F5A-420C-810F-99D1B22C9896_zpscjaujfo3.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/F0AE5BCB-1F5A-420C-810F-99D1B22C9896_zpscjaujfo3.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/30B595B7-DD0C-4EB7-8DEC-42438C4A1DE1_zpsv0sf73or.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/30B595B7-DD0C-4EB7-8DEC-42438C4A1DE1_zpsv0sf73or.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/DBFD343C-DF4E-412F-8119-AC53D1CBDDF5_zpswoioffyd.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/DBFD343C-DF4E-412F-8119-AC53D1CBDDF5_zpswoioffyd.jpg.html)

[StruveD]

Sept. 19th 2014

Finished up the intercooler setup today. This thing just fit, and really is a cool setup. Now I just hope it works the way it was intended. Did a long drive this past weekend of about 200 miles and managed to cook the teflon coating off the supercharger. So it was time to do this install.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1519_zps06281427.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1519_zps06281427.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1527_zpsf3eeb5fb.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1527_zpsf3eeb5fb.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/IMG_1525_zps24626bb1.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/IMG_1525_zps24626bb1.jpg.html)

[StruveD]

Oct. 6th 2014

Just got back from the second dyno tune to adjust for the intercooler and it was a great success. Air temps were 100 degrees cooler that the previous tune. And because of that and finding a few areas that were leaking boost, I am now making 25 more hp and 10 torques to the wheels. Final numbers were 167hp 136ftlbs, there is still room to hit the 170's but the injectors are maxed out at this point. Blue lines are from a few months back.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/lotus7_zps7abf4cb9.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/lotus7_zps7abf4cb9.jpg.html)

Shot taken at a recent car show.
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/6c60b9846a1c1362f5e3ebeb9af84699_zps6ac43e5c.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/6c60b9846a1c1362f5e3ebeb9af84699_zps6ac43e5c.jpg.h tml)

[StruveD]

So I completed my first track day in the car and did more or less a shakedown of it. Everything held up extremely well other than the cooling system. During my second session the engine started getting super hot... I mean really hot. I was seeing temps over 260 degrees, so at that point I shut it down and brought it in. Thankfully doesn't appear to be any head gasket damage, so I think I got lucky.

So I have now been addressing that issue. I have ducted the radiator, will be switching to a water/ water wetter mix, and performing a coolant reroute on the miata motor. I regret not doing the coolant reroute before, because I did not leave myself much room to pull it off.

With all that said, the car is very fast. So I'm happy.

Video: This was from the very first session, so disregard the terrible driving. https://youtu.be/-ymMPKPA4HU

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/amp_8_15_2_zpsc2i90mdt.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/amp_8_15_2_zpsc2i90mdt.jpg.html)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p74/xcritic/Lotus%207/amp_8_15_zpscrnun8ho.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/user/xcritic/media/Lotus%207/amp_8_15_zpscrnun8ho.jpg.html)