I have been investigating lotus 7 style cars recently. I love the classic styling and simplicity of the original series 2 and 3 lotus cars with their
older style rear lights and sparse dashboard. I notice the kits I have seen recently either look more modern, or in the case of the Caterham, have the
classic shape , but are very expensive and still use more modern looking light and dash components . Is there a cheaper modern kit, or older kit that
closely resembles the original Lotus cars, and has its simplicity . I am not so interested in state of the art performance, but rather something that
is just fast enough to enjoy the car rather than being a racer, does good MPG and has the classic looks I like so much.
Any help very much appreciated.
[Edited on 1/4/13 by bluegrass]
[Edited on 1/4/13 by bluegrass]
The rear lights are simple trailer lights on an angled plinth
Getting a car through IVA with swept wings is difficult now unless you put cycle wings under the swept
You may be better looking for an older kit the rest of the look is just detail and your interpretation
My Robin Hood S3 was never going to look racey so I went for the traditional look with carpets, comfy seats, and full wet weather gear
If you want to go second hand, you could look for a GTS ( don't try to buy new ).
Mine is pretty much old school apart from the headlights which should be round. As said - rear lights etc don't need to be expensive - mine are
trailer lights from Halfords.
What I would like to do s put on thinner tyres as the Sierra ones look too wide. Be grateful if anyone could sugest a slim 14x tyre that would go on a
5.5J rim or aternatively a ( cheap ) source of narrower rims that would fit the Sierra hubs.
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detling red
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The slimmest 14" in current use (and therefor easy availability) is the Aygo/107/C1 which is 165 65 14.
I'm coming from the same classic car angle as you.
Choices seem to be buying a 12K 2001 ish Caterham or a 25K kit one. Once the it has got through IVA as long as you have a ahem... reasonable MOT guy
you could probably get away with whatever wings you like. You may have to put temporary indicators, reversing light, fog lights etc on but I got away
with it on by Nostalgia Jag.
I'm not in a position to buy at the moment but there was a very nice 2001 Beaulie limited addition Caterham at Shere 4x4, one owner, mint, 4300
miles 
Earlier Lotus
1969 Lotus
Jag XK120 Nostalgia 4.2CC, used to go through MOT OK without side indicators, I put union jack badges over the holes which you can see just down the
sides - looked much better. Hate the silly little indicators trhat have to go on Catermas front wings.
I think there used to be or still is a Locust kit that is very similar to a Lotus not sure if it is still available i'll try and find a link.
[Edited on 1/4/13 by Zagato]
[Edited on 1/4/13 by Zagato]
[Edited on 1/4/13 by Zagato]
I'm afraid I cannot find the link. There was a book written about building your own Lotus for 250$ and the kit was to do with the book. Somebody
on here will know of it I'm sure or come up with a good suggestion - good luck. Keep us posted, I will be going for a Caterham SV so I'm
out of original style kits having sat in a Series 3 Caterham!! Pedals too close together for me.
[Edited on 1/4/13 by Zagato]
Hi Thanks for the replies. The Robin hoods look ok, I am a little worried about what people say about the quality of them, and that they are quite
heavy . I do like simplicity, but quality too.
Here are some lovely looking cars with some of the classic styling I am talking about.
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[Edited on 1/4/13 by bluegrass]
[Edited on 1/4/13 by bluegrass]
[Edited on 1/4/13 by bluegrass]
Hi Zagato,
I am very interested in the Kit you mention, I have that book and think it looks much like the original lotus. I just don't have all the skills
needed, so a kit would be great...or even better , an older completed one. If you remember the company, let me know!!
Thanks
Have you seen the Tiger HS6? http://www.tigerracing.com/hs6_more.php
[Have you seen the Tiger HS6?]
Hi, yes its a nice car, but I do prefer the design of the lotus.
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What about an early pre lit westfield?
something like this (NTDWM)
So, what you really want is a chassis from this chap (Andy @ Axmister).
Beware of proportion, "real" 7's are small and narrow anything with a sierra base will be much too big or have a fat arse which
doesn't look right.
This would be my personal recipe for a classic look.
Live axle based car for proportion, say an older Caterham, pre-lit westfield, Ron Champion Locost (procomp locost, or aries still make these, maybe
others).
13" wheels with narrow tyres 70 or 80 ratio tyres say 165 on the front 185 on the rear (max) painted steel wheels.
Swept wings were on the original, but cycle wings were also used in the early days - not sure why swept wings are harder for IVA, though they need to
cover the wheel according to the rules. If you can get a decent one for reasonable money a crossflow looks right.
Plenty of choice for lights in the classic car market which is where the originals were pinched from s-v-c sell ones that might suit. Gauges from a
spitfire or similar would be suitable I think.
iank, Thanks, Yes, it looks like an early pre lit westfield is one car that fits the bill quite nicely. Are they fairly easy to source and what kind
of money are we talking? Also, whats the difference between the 'Seven' model and the 'Seven se' ?
Thanks...
Some info here
ETA;
Info from the Robinshaw & Bouckley Westfield book:
There were two 'generations' of Pre-lit Westfield Sevens.
The Westfield Seven followed on from the Westfield Eleven, and was an accurate replica of the early Lotus Seven, with all-alloy bodywork (except for
GRP wings and nosecone), Triumph front uprights and Spridget or Ford engine/gearbox/axle. Total production 132.
The pre-lit Westfield SE was a cheaper update with more GRP (all-in-one GRP rear bodywork and wings, for example)and all-Ford running gear. Robinshaw
and Bouckley reckon '605 Seven SE kits were sold from Spring '86 until production was brought to a premature halt in early 1988 as a result
of the litigation with Caterham Cars.'
The car was relaunched in 1988 as the plain SE (no 'Seven' moniker), with the familiar current body style with 'swage lines' on
the bodywork to differentiate it sufficiently from the Caterham product to avoid further litigation.
[Edited on 1/4/13 by tul214]
The GBS Zero is a very nicely proportioned car IMO. With modestly sized wheels, tyres and wheelarches, and preferably alloy bonnet, sides and rear panels it could certainly be given a period look.
Heres me in my MNR, Caterham behind me and a 69 Lotus at the rear...
Nearest you will find is pre-lit Westie there is at least one on eBay at what looks to me like a fair price.
If you want 1960s seven looks you need either 13" 5.5j steel wheels or Minilites
The rear wings on 1960s Lotus Sevens had gentler curves than 1970s on Caterhams with early 1960s Morris Minor tailights
Thanks for all the posts. There is a lot to ponder!
It seems to me, that I have a couple of options.
The first is to find an older car such as an early pre lit Westfield....those seem to be close to the lotus original looks wise.
The second is to build a locost car such as that from Ron Champions book.
I was sent a link from 'Rod Ends' in this series of posts, to a site by David and Peter Dunn. I think their cars look great. I am not sure
what they are up to now, the site seems to have stopped being updated around 2000. They did have a CD rom for sale detailing aspects of the build.
If anyone has more information on that It would be much appreciated.
There is also a link from 'Tim C' for a chassis/panel builder http://www.andywiltshire.com/Web%20site%20for_sale.htm
Again, it looks like top work, so could be an option. I'm a full time musician who has not had much practical experience with working on cars, so
don't know if I could cope with a full build.
[Edited on 2/4/13 by bluegrass]
Hi 'BritishTrident' I think you may be right about the Westfield, but it needs to be an early one with the metal bodywork.
[Edited on 2/4/13 by bluegrass]
quote:
Originally posted by bluegrass
Hi 'BritishTrident' I think you may be right about the Westfield, but it needs to be an early one with the metal bodywork.
[Edited on 2/4/13 by bluegrass]
Hi again. Is'nt the whole rear section including the wings a one piece fibreglass mould? So i would replace that with metal?
[Edited on 2/4/13 by bluegrass]
Just to tempt you down the easier, less hassle route, an early Caterham is also worth thinking about and maybe the same or less money than in the long
run compared to paying someone to fabricate rear ends etc. The other thing is that it will always be trying to be a replica, you may not be bothered
but it does get tiring at shows recieving snide comments!! Also consider as said trying to get it through an IVA test!
A Caterham is a copy but I think it stands on it's own nowadays (as do others). Many others I don't think are really trying to be exact
copies or replicas of a Lotus at all they have all developed so far. Similarly there were many similar cars to the Lotus 7, it's just that the
Lotus was the one that became successful.....eventually!
If you are into fabricating you could always make a racer out of an old MG t series, or an Austin 7 hill climber type, they come up quite cheaply and
would be genuine! Just giving suggestions to avoid a lot of hassle!
I have got accustomed to the plasticy back lights etc on the Caterham, but the cheap nasty rocker switches will have to go.
You should be able to pick up something like this for around 11K privately...
[Edited on 2/4/13 by Zagato]
Fair point on the Caterham, and it may be possible I expect to change the rear lights and dash for something more retro.
It does seem to be down to cost...as you say a second hand Caterham may come in around 11k whereas a Westfield pre lit seems to be more in the £5000
range.
At 5K a pre lit Westfield does sound good value - good luck with your hunt 
Am I being over optimistic?
As others have said most of the various types and makes of 7s can be given traditional styling with very little work. Keep looking at what's
out there and keep looking beyond skin deep. It is entirely practical to recapture the classic 7 look with only a few minor changes.
At one time I was determined to try and find a classic series 2 or series 3 Lotus 7 but soon realised this would mean borrowing a pile of money i
hadn't got in order to buy something that has actually been done quite a lot better by others since.
After a lot of thought I worked out that what i really waned was the essence of an early Super 7: the driving experience of roaring around inches
above the road surface, cornering on rails, making enough noise to wake the dead, immediate reactions to brakes throttle and steering, mechanical
simplicity and the classic look and styling. It didn't really matter whose name was on the chassis so long as it fulfilled these criteria.
When i started to look around at the current market, what was out there to be built and bought now I thought I'd walked into a different world at
first. There seemed a huge emphasis on racing, lots of cars seemed to be built with high revving bike engines, massively complex roll cages,
electronic instruments and bucket seats all of which seemed quite alien to the original concept.
Looking beyond this though what i saw was a true on-going development of the same concept, a faithfully continuance of the thread that Colin Chapman
and Graham Nearn pursued in the 1960s. The really important stuff is that some excellent chassis and suspension development work has been done in the
intervening years and of course the practicality of building with parts from currently available donor cars is completely in line with the original
concept. Beyond that- well it is really only the clothes that have changed.
