April 2005 Update - Adjust headlamps, check alignment, and 3075 is Ready to Rumble!

In Februrary 2005, Toby Jarl writes SimpleSevens:

The all black S4 3075GT has turned mellow yellow!

It's funny how quickly your perfect car (at least that is what you think when you buy it), turns half decent in only a couple of weeks time. As soon as you get your darling home you start to discover the defects. (I am still referring to the car)

Missing parts, scratches you didn't see the first time, noises, rattles, squeaks, the generator packs up, the starter motor relay gives up. You find rust where you didn't see it the first time you had a look and so on.

Cracks in the fibreglass, the 3 " widening of the body shell shining through the paint work and lousy repairs, star configurations in the paint job etc. made it very easy to make up ones mid as to where to spend the winter month and the money you don't have. As I don't like black cars, it was equally easy to decide on the new colour. The original colour of the car was yellow when it first got to Sweden. The Lotus colour code G64 seemed to match the original gelcoat found under the black paint on the nose cone and a fender.
So all I had to do was to roll up my sleeves and strip the car.

As the framework and body shell was replaced back in 1986 I didn't have to strip the car completely. The frame turned out to be in excellent condition, as good as new. Engine, gearbox, rear axel, fuel tank the whole lot had to come out though.

The front suspension with Spyder tubular wishbones, which obviously was high fashion in the 70's was dismantled, all the bushings removed and the nickel plating replaced with a more durable chrome plating.
The KONI shock absorbers where taken a part and overhauled and painted. To get rid of the squeak from the shock springs I put some shrink-on tubing on them, just to try. It works, now we will see if it lasts.

I am also modifying the cooling system by moving the temp sender to the thermostat housing (where it should be) and adding a header tank with proper de-aeration hoses, to get a properly working cooling system.

As you can see from the attached photo, my chances are pretty good that I will have it back on the road in May as planned.

The car underwent a major restoration in 1986. A new frame was purchased from Arch Motor in the UK. From available invoices and receipts, not much was spared. The restoration was done by Gunnar Berglind of Gunnar's Garage, the Caterham agent in Sweden.

The engine was completely overhauled in 2003. A rolling road test result showed 123bhp at 5250 rpm.

DETAILS:

Model: Lotus Super Seven Series 4
Chassis #: S43075GT
Year: 1971
Engine: Ford Cross-Flow 1690cc (with 244 Kent cam)
Carbs.: Twin Weber 40DCOEs
Colour: Black
Road reg. #: DXJ 619 (Sweden)

The car has been in Sweden since April 1977. A Mr. Peter A. Wallace imported the car, presumably from the UK. According to the Swedish registration documents, the car has had eight (!) owners before me while in Sweden. The 2nd previous owner had the car for 15 years, previous owner just about 1 year.