LHD Seven

This was a factory built Caterham model from Tamiya I bought in 2002 so I could display it next to the Red Super Seven I built and heavily modified/detailed to show the difference between what the kit builds straight from the box and the changes I did.
I took it apart and I am going to make it Left Hand Drive along with some other upgrades. I had already begun tinkering with it when I took this picture of it looking like a pile of junk.
If you want to "read ahead" you can see more of this in the June 2017 issue of Scale Auto in the article titled From Right to Left.
http://i.imgur.com/Y3Ny2Mx.jpg (http://imgur.com/Y3Ny2Mx)

I usually start with the wheels and brakes on these reworked or fabricated Sevens, this one is no exception.
I milled these cross-drilled directional carbon rotors from raw stock I cast out of aluminum impregnated resin.
http://i.imgur.com/Z4pNQGD.jpg

Good to see you back. Watching this one with interest, as with all your builds.

I milled a set of aluminum hubs for the front brakes. The parts at the bottom of the photo have been acid dipped to create the finish.
http://i.imgur.com/lXq5cM5.jpg

The front hubs are assembled. Again acid was used to make the final finish.
http://i.imgur.com/ETCxtn2.jpg
The studs are the only thing I used from the kit and are a press in fit.
http://i.imgur.com/lRV9Fzm.jpg

These are the assembled front rotors/hubs.
http://i.imgur.com/31pX0g6.jpg

And the finished assembled rear hubs, studs and rotors. No paint, just treated/raw materials.
http://i.imgur.com/m1rWH5K.jpg

And the finished assembled rear hubs, studs and rotors.
http://i.imgur.com/m1rWH5K.jpg

These four corners are ready to be bagged until final assembly of the car.
http://i.imgur.com/qqJIERA.jpg

I masked off the FORD lettering and filed off the "bolt detail" and drilled for the new hardware then textured the cam cover.
http://i.imgur.com/bebEzmE.jpg

The lettering was repainted after the final dark metallic gray color was applied.
(The texture looks a lot coarser in the photos than it actually is.)
http://i.imgur.com/zA96GW8.jpg

I machined the bolts, washers and fittings and installed them by press fit. (Some of them may have to come out later to mount some brackets.)
http://i.imgur.com/25yEbEg.jpg

I milled the oil cap for it from aluminum; I'll make the decals for that later. This subassembly will be bagged until needed.
http://i.imgur.com/pnZJ9PD.jpg

This is the steering rack from brass tube and sheet stock. The inner workings of it are made of rod and tubing.
http://i.imgur.com/xAqnPwB.jpg
Painted and assembled. The tie rod halves are pinned so the ends can pivot when the rack is slid side to side. I made the bellows by machining a master and casting them with rubber-like resin that was dyed black.
http://i.imgur.com/prLyibA.jpg

The front control arms are cast in Zamac as the exact same parts for both sides so the sway bar receiver (on the upper arm) ends up being different from side to side instead of mirror imaged. So I filled them in and reshaped and drilled them to accept the sway bar.
Also the shocks snap onto the lower arms leaving the bottom of the shock eye open, not realistic but easy to assemble. To make it so I can install closed loop shock eyes I cut out the mount from the A-arm and drilled a hole to use hardware like the real cars. I added a brass section to beef up the parts before cut out the shock mount, and to make it look like the beefier optional part.
Before:
http://i.imgur.com/KokFY5g.jpg
After:
http://i.imgur.com/Sd18jhB.jpg

One of the fenders was slightly damaged during the tear down. (In fact I found several pieces that were broken or cracked at the screw-together points when they were taken apart; probably due to the tightness of the original assembling.)
I also thought they would look more accurate if all the mounting holes were the same. Straight from the kit two "holes" on each fender are actually slots for ease of assembly. I filled them in and redrilled them while fixing the broken piece. I also filled in the holes for the side marker lights and the rather obstinate ejection marks on the underside.
I added seven evenly spaced but different sized holes (larger to smaller front to rear) for letting air out at higher speeds.
http://i.imgur.com/AHlbB56.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/gVAVu0K.jpg

To limit the size and therefore amount of debris that could get through those holes I made rock screens from some fine steel hydraulic filter material. Holes were drilled through the screens and then correlating ones into the fenders.
Small clamps to spread the load were made from 0.004 thick sheet plastic.
The screen assemblies are just sitting loose next to their final placement. Mounting hardware will be made later…
http://i.imgur.com/pfCcT39.jpg

Dipstick. All brass.
http://i.imgur.com/hMuGOJS.jpg

The stripped down engine block. Since I relocated the alternator to the other side I'll have to address the area it used to mount to.
http://i.imgur.com/2yf8tha.jpg

Painted dipstick, dry fitted to partially reworked and repainted engine block.
http://i.imgur.com/x7DJfCd.jpg

stunning!!

Thanks R8!

The timing belt had rotted and disintegrated (not that I was going to use it…) so I milled a new one from a black zip-tie. Learning from the last time I was able to make this one even thinner so it will wrap around the cogs easier.
http://i.imgur.com/aVCToBE.jpg
I made this jig for the last Super Seven I built to preload a memory into the belt. It will stay in it for a few days in direct sunlight when possible, (instead of a week like last time). It isn't critical for the belt to hug the jig; the teeth will engage the cogs and lock it in place on the model.
http://i.imgur.com/LmFSrBO.jpg

The cam cogs were milled to fit the teeth on the belt. Fresh off the mill.
http://i.imgur.com/Om500CN.jpg
After acid etching.
http://i.imgur.com/tCO0miD.jpg

I machined the bolts and washers and installed them. They spin free so I can index them when the belt is installed. I also made the idler pulley and some other hardware. Still more to add…
http://i.imgur.com/w7WU8Ve.jpg

Oil pump cog… It was also treated to acid etching.
http://i.imgur.com/cHfebKb.jpg

Really nice work. What sort of machines do you use to make the parts? With limited space in the future I can see me going down the route of 3d printing rather than a small and probably poor quality mill and lathe combo. Unless that's all that's required for model making.

I use a Sherline mill and a lathe. I do 3D design as well but have not found an affordable printer that provides the level of quality I want and outsourcing it is cost prohibitive too.

Crank drive cog…
http://i.imgur.com/a3fuPjZ.jpg

The water pump pulley was made last year during the initial conversion to left hand drive for an article in Scale Auto magazine. I milled the mounting bolt for that pulley today and assembled all the pulleys. The belt will go on after this assembly is mounted to the block.
http://i.imgur.com/oFEiWv9.jpg

I forgot to take pictures when I scratch-built the alternator last year. I just got around to painting and assembling it. Still a few details to add and paint…
Mostly aluminum with some brass and a little styrene.
http://i.imgur.com/7ERyRqJ.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ieEbbGo.jpg

Got the belts and alternator installed.
http://i.imgur.com/72TdoeK.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/dqeDXPU.jpg

Damn, that's gorgeous!

Thanks Kjenjak!

The distributor cap was milled from white resin I dyed gray and poured as a blank. After milling it was polished so it looks like the raw plastic of a real one.
The boots are made of brass.
http://i.imgur.com/YoxSBco.jpg
The base and vacuum advance canister are aluminum. The bracket is repurposed photo-etch material and the actuating rod is steel. The cap is just loosely sitting on the base.
http://i.imgur.com/g3mgEBN.jpg

Distributor installed with I.D. plate. The reworked and detailed oil pump is also installed.
http://i.imgur.com/7qMZDbx.jpg

What better to replicate silicone plug wire boots than… brass?
http://i.imgur.com/VMc2iMq.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Kp6kWfi.jpg

Oil pan is ready for installation. If the molded in bolt detail was done as hex heads I might have just painted them. But they were round so I shaved them off and made new bolts and washers and some fittings.
http://i.imgur.com/EoOjpxS.jpg

After a complete tear down and clean up and some modifications, the frame was built up then given a base of Navy Blue.
http://i.imgur.com/vc6S4AN.jpg

Oil filter installed and custom made decals applied to it, the belts and the oil cap…
http://i.imgur.com/8cgoGvZ.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/6VfRHTC.jpg

I cut vents into the nose and added a beak reminiscent of a Ferrari or Gurney Eagle.
http://i.imgur.com/fhTHjtY.jpg
Rounded corners were added to the scoops.
http://i.imgur.com/7otIjv4.jpg
A coat of primer before hopefully a final sanding.
http://i.imgur.com/H5RgjUf.jpg

The front shocks needed to be reworked because the open snap-fit lower eyes didn't look real. This one came off the factory built car I've disassembled.
http://i.imgur.com/V7rwhoQ.jpg
I had a fresh set of shocks left over from another kit. I cut off those lower eyes and replaced them with brass ones. Then I cut the pistons off all four top pieces and replaced them with aluminum rod. The holes that hold the set pins were filled and sanded smooth. The springs were painted with R/C car body paint to flex and I made Koni decals. The snubbers were made from silicone and BMF was used for the spring tensioners. (The rears will be compressed when they are installed.)
http://i.imgur.com/Ha0zvNM.jpg

The front spoiler is scratch-built from styrene and pinned to the nose.
http://i.imgur.com/3n4fRt2.jpg
Fiber texture has been added to the underside.
http://i.imgur.com/9a5GMVz.jpg

I got around to finishing the front spoiler. SMS HiDef C/F decals sealed with clear lacquer and then sanded & buffed out.
http://i.imgur.com/yNMTytI.jpg
The underside will be left raw. I started fiber-glassing the inside of the nose too.
http://i.imgur.com/vXvfvAw.jpg

The inside of the nose has been fiber-glassed…
http://i.imgur.com/afPDocq.jpg

The aluminum body side panels have to be installed very early on in the construction of the car. The ones from the factory built car were somewhat bent and dented so they have been straightened out.
Primed in white and a base coat of TS-26 Gloss White applied where the Gulf logos will go.
http://i.imgur.com/D6RTpvx.jpg
The blue and white areas were masked off and the TS-12 Orange was applied.
http://i.imgur.com/TGRPBY7.jpg
Then the orange was masked and TS-23 Light Blue was applied.
http://i.imgur.com/uo2Zl1U.jpg
And all the masking was removed…
http://i.imgur.com/zBwN9Kf.jpg
I didn't like the way the logo came out so I remasked and reshot the orange.
http://i.imgur.com/nl48oCX.jpg
That's better…
http://i.imgur.com/qhZsNN9.jpg
Next up the blue and black decals I made for it were applied.
http://i.imgur.com/ibYF4Lp.jpg
And then sealed with a clear coat.
http://i.imgur.com/WYCCwn2.jpg

Looks Great!

Trevor

Thanks Trevor!

The aluminum floor panels are made with holes in them for them to be screwed on to the frame. I didn't want to have those screws showing so I filled in the ½ dozen holes. I had to make some new rivets to replace to ones that got lost during the filling. I dirtied them up following the bottom of my car since it has similar panels.
http://i.imgur.com/0Z41ubO.jpg
Cut and buffed the clear on the side panels and installed them too.
http://i.imgur.com/sDfZoVU.jpg

Superb. Your skills are amazing.

The (reworked) front suspension arms and shocks have been installed and uses the new hardware I machined to hold it all together.
http://i.imgur.com/FJD8UYf.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/8YYUscx.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/k55cjjK.jpg

The front calipers have been detailed with fittings and hard lines and mated to the scratch-built rotors/hubs and those assemblies installed. The ball joints/Zerk fittings were installed too.
http://i.imgur.com/9zoNOVh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/24c3yrz.jpg

I fabricated the tie-rod ends from brass and the mounting hardware/fittings from aluminum.
https://i.imgur.com/lnyYEVh.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/16jCRLF.jpg

The sway bar comes anodized and I wanted it to be a lighter shade.
https://i.imgur.com/nPGZ8As.jpg
I stripped the anodizing off and polished it.
https://i.imgur.com/doz6Kbu.jpg
And then acid treated it for the final finish.
https://i.imgur.com/GjKt1KV.jpg
Here it is installed with silicone insulation for the bushings and vinyl tubing for the stays at the modified upper control arms.
https://i.imgur.com/weosefs.jpg

The rear frame section that is the spare tire holder and license plate mount will be removable (for weekend racing). After repairing the damage to the main section from it being a disassembled factory built, I cut the tire/license section off and retrofitted brass stubs and sleeves then drilled them for lock bolts.
https://i.imgur.com/VBt7xE9.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/e3LQU7N.jpg

Out of this world craftsmanship as usual, superb! Looking forward to see more. Thanks for sharing!

Rick

Hey Mark...here we go again with another monster build, as usual...Hope to see it and enjoy it at GSL 2019!

You bet. I had some of the parts for this one on display at the last GSL. Plan to have this done in time for the next.

I was able to get the half shaft stubs out of the rear end, but the differential cover and drive shaft would not come off without serious damage, so I had to work with them as one piece.
I hand milled (my fingers turning an end mill) the U-joint bearing caps to make the recesses then made retaining clips for them from wire. The dampener flange was cleaned up and drilled for the bolts I milled. Balancing weights were also added.
The differential was textured to look like a cast unit then detailed with more machined hardware including an acid treated fill plug. A custom decal was made for the plug tag and a vent line was added along with a guide and clamp.
https://i.imgur.com/2zhZasM.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/VaOSVi3.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/kKUPHAD.jpg

The transmission is done and ready to be attached to the engine. Sand cast texture was added. The bellhousing was given a powder coated finish. At least 40 added machined aluminum pieces, (some of them will be installed after mounting to the engine), and another fill tag.
https://i.imgur.com/zEVcD8T.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/GrWvkpE.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/fYbTm6l.jpg

It took a little more fine tuning than I expected to get the trans and engine mated properly, but worth the effort.
https://i.imgur.com/StpwKXM.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/N08VVW0.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/rmQxhpt.jpg

Primary fuel filter. Aluminum with brass bracket and steel spring lock. Grungied up a bit before installation. (Big Ruler back by popular demand.)
https://i.imgur.com/OWlbcNf.jpg

The fuel tank and filler pipe, both kit parts just painted up with added decals and wiring for the fuel gauge and a machined fitting for the fuel line. A little staining and grime was added too.
https://i.imgur.com/10dszdi.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/xq8L9m9.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/8eTnttP.jpg

The kit provides the floor of the "trunk" as a nice sheet aluminum piece.
https://i.imgur.com/nlqK3Ks.jpg
A friend of mine has a plywood part for that piece in his Seven. So I cemented some thin sheets of birch wood together, stained them with some dark brown acrylic and sealed the bottom with resin and fiberglass for strength.
https://i.imgur.com/zt4B2fJ.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/x9shWBk.jpg

Borrowing styling cues from the Lotus S4 and SS TwinCam rear fenders I modified the somewhat boring stock ones to hide the blocky tail light set up to a degree.
I filled in the holes for the back-up lights first.
https://i.imgur.com/Spwnmnb.jpg
Then I built boxes around the mounting area of each light and added more sheet styrene to make the fairings.
https://i.imgur.com/nTslPJe.jpg
A little rough sanding to shape…
https://i.imgur.com/1LB39gp.jpg
Primed and ready for paint.
https://i.imgur.com/UcS08hM.jpg

The nose was primed in white and what will be the blue areas were masked off before shooting the orange; much like the sides were done.
https://i.imgur.com/FvFO5km.jpg
Then the orange was masked and the blue applied.
https://i.imgur.com/j9hVeaR.jpg
The black pinstripes were added. When they fully dry I'll clear coat.
https://i.imgur.com/K6ye6Rj.jpg

Was able to shoot the clear last night…
https://i.imgur.com/E1kL2r3.jpg