Widebody S4 Lotus Seven

[Paul Wilkinson]

.

[Steve Holmes]

Hi there Paul, yes this is definitely the right place to post your request. I'm sure someone on here will be able to help. Good luck with your search.

[105angria]

does Bob sell these 25 bhp stickers ? like to see a pic of this car

[aussiemonza]

Hi Paul,

I also have a wide body S4, the ex- Murray Bryden car that ran in the Australian Sports Car Championships (when it was for Production Sports Cars) in 1980 - 81. A mate has just finished a wide body conversion on a Norwich S4 and there is also the ex- Dick Smith S4 still running around out of Canberra.

My car ran 1840cc TC, injected and 5 speed Hollinger though laterly it ran with a Pinto 2 Litre and 4 speed. I will be putting it back to TC as time and funds allow.

Do you know if Steele Bros actually produced a wide body version or did Charlie produce a one-off?

I would be interesting to compare notes. I will scan some photo's.

CCR

[Paul Wilkinson]

As soon as it's home and presentable I'll take some pictures and figure out how to post them...

[Paul Wilkinson]

Hi Paul,

I also have a wide body S4, the ex- Murray Bryden car that ran in the Australian Sports Car Championships (when it was for Production Sports Cars) in 1980 - 81. A mate has just finished a wide body conversion on a Norwich S4 and there is also the ex- Dick Smith S4 still running around out of Canberra.

My car ran 1840cc TC, injected and 5 speed Hollinger though laterly it ran with a Pinto 2 Litre and 4 speed. I will be putting it back to TC as time and funds allow.

Do you know if Steele Bros actually produced a wide body version or did Charlie produce a one-off?

I would be interesting to compare notes. I will scan some photo's.

CCR

Wow, thanks for your reply - I look forward to the photos!

I have been told that Steel Brothers made 3 widebody cars from the factory, ie normal cars with wider guards. Of course no one seems 100% sure on numbers of anything from Steel Brothers... They then, of course, made the larger 907 engined cars but again only a few. Once the car's home I look forward to checking out the full spec and comparing notes.

Cheers!

[jim short]

Hi sounds like the rex nalder car he lives in tauranga ,,spent $$$ to make it fly;; jaimie worked on it in rotorua i have vidio competing against paton ,early 80s rex sold me his E type roadster in 81 for $20,000 then missed the fun and bought this strange 7 he raced at wigram83?? it blew up if i remember would rev to9000??

[Paul Wilkinson]

I'd love to see any photos you have!

[jim short]

prety shure rex got it of steel bros, but looking back whaat seemed ages wasent that long maybe he only had it a yr.???

[Paul Wilkinson]

We're trying to locate the original paperwork - no luck so far. If it surfaces I'll be able to check who owned it when. I have names of a couple of previous owners who I will contact for info....

[S4seven]

PAul
The Black car was built as you have it at Steels. IF I can figure out how I'll post a picture of it at the factory then later.
Steels built 3 wide body cars with lotus twin cams, 1 red, 1 white and the black car. They also built a number of 907 powered cars that had wide bodies as well. The most well know is the Red car that appears in a number of Lotus 7 book. This car is now with a new owner who is to rebuild it in the US. There are a couple in Australia and the remains of 1 here. There is also at least 1 Escape with the second romored to be some where in the Wellington area

[bry3500]

S4 - to post a pic scroll down to the Go Advanced tab then click on the manage attachments

[Paul Wilkinson]

Thanks S4! So it was built with the different rear suspension then? I would love to get some pictures and some more info on it. If you can't be bothered figuring out how to post images, send them to mailto:?subject=&body= (had the address since my first S4 - this one will be number 3!) and I will work out how to do it. When the car is home and cleaned up I'll post some new pictures. She's a pretty tired looking old girl these days. I'm actually thinking of just getting her going nicely but leaving the body with it's battle wounds... Maybe when you see the pictures you'll be able to give me some guidance on whether things are as they were when it was made?
Cheers and thanks again.

Paul.

[S4seven]

I'll look the pictures out in the morning and post them. They arn't the best but maybe of some interest. I still have my first Seven which I've had since '77 and the remain of an others that we are in the process of rebuilding. All the sevens from Steels had L block motors, so I would think that it was swapped outat some stage at a rebuild? but apparently the black car had some head work done by PDL, before leaving the factory.
THe last time I saw your car the body was looking a bit tired and that was before Charlie put it away. It's been a long while since it was last running, possablily at the meeting at whenuapi

[Paul Wilkinson]

Thanks heaps, anything is greatly appeciated. I have some specific questions that are probably best left until I can post supporting pictures. It's great to have found someone who knows all about S4s!
You are right, the body is very tired but I'll get it going before even thinking about the body. We are also trying to hunt down evidence of previous road registration to try and get it back on the road. It has a couple of old reg stickers on it but we probably need to find the old papers or at least what the reg number was. It would be a real bugger to have to go through the cert process!

[jim short]

at one stage rex had the carbs on the exhaust side if my memory is workingan old trick

[Trevor Sheffield]

Attention S4seven,

Having owned an S4 Lotus Seven and after modifying it, I have always wondered how Chapman let the thing live with its frankly ridiculous rear suspension. First thing I modified for good reason. On top of that the steering rack mount was stupid having no lateral stiffness, and the pedal arrangement!

After attending to numerous cracks in the frame I became very apprehensive as to how well the thing would hold together and for this reason it was the only car I have owned which had me scared stiff when at its maximum straight line speed. However once I had it somewhat sorted, it was from a strictly tactile point of view, very enjoyable to drive. I went for it because I could not get a decent straight arm driving position in any other clubman type car. Even then, drastic mods were called for within the driving space.

Your comments would be appreciated.

Cheers, Trevor.

[S4seven]

Hi
I would be best to replace the missing cross member as the whole front tends to flex. These were usually removed to allow easy access to the the sump to check bearing. The sump can't be removed with this cross member in place. To have the carbs on the same side as the exhaust a pre cross flow engine (1500cc) would have had to be fitted. I can't ever remember seeing that done.

[Paul Wilkinson]

Hi
I would be best to replace the missing cross member as the whole front tends to flex. These were usually removed to allow easy access to the the sump to check bearing. The sump can't be removed with this cross member in place. To have the carbs on the same side as the exhaust a pre cross flow engine (1500cc) would have had to be fitted. I can't ever remember seeing that done.

Hi, My thoughts were to either replace the missing crossmember with a curved piece that clears the drysump or to fabricate a removable brace if it would make engine removal/refitting easier. Either way, that strength has to be replaced!

[Paul Wilkinson]

Attention S4seven,

Having owned an S4 Lotus Seven and after modifying it, I have always wondered how Chapman let the thing live with its frankly ridiculous rear suspension. First thing I modified for good reason. On top of that the steering rack mount was stupid having no lateral stiffness, and the pedal arrangement!

After attending to numerous cracks in the frame I became very apprehensive as to how well the thing would hold together and for this reason it was the only car I have owned which had me scared stiff when at its maximum straight line speed. However once I had it somewhat sorted, it was from a strictly tactile point of view, very enjoyable to drive. I went for it because I could not get a decent straight arm driving position in any other clubman type car. Even then, drastic mods were called for within the driving space.

Your comments would be appreciated.

Cheers, Trevor.

A lot of bracing was aparently removed before production, eg the second diagonal behind the seats that would have made a cruciform and the tie between the rear suspension pickups (kind of replaced by Steel Brothers in the later cars), also the strut between the front 'towers', to name a few. I think that nearly all racers have had these missing bits 'replaced' as and when it was possible to do so. I think there was a resignation to the fact that you finished the development yourself with the sevens and that wasn't just the S4....