Kev's Seven

Modification History

	April 2005 Replaced 7" headlamps with 5 3/4" ones. Replaced plastic indicators pods with C/F ones courtest of MOG/Fluke Motorsport Added accessory socket for battery conditioner etc.
	January/February 2005 Rear-End Refurb, all suspension bits shot blast & powder coated. Spare wheel carrier stubs & bolt hole gone, rear panel repainted (more photos in New Pictures)
	September 2004 MOG Racing Carbon Fibre Race Seat
	June 2004 7" Rear Wheels & 205/60 A021Rs (switch to 185/60 A021Rs on the front)
	April 2004 EBC TurboGroove Disks Mintex 1144 Pads (New Wheel Bearings too)
	July 2003 Microdynamics RL3 Rev Limiter installed
	March 2003 Cooltek Exhaust Wrap added
	January 2003 Engine Rebuild - Roger King Supersprint+ Specification, inc. Forged Pistons (more photos in New Pictures section)
	May 2002 MAJOR Upgrade - become a Dad for the first time JPE Style Half-Doors Added! (Last upgrade for a while)
	April 2002 Carbon Fibre R500 Aeroscreen replaces JPE screen, new black headlamps and clear indicators
	February/March 2002 Cycle Wing conversion - aluminium plates have been bonded behind old holes, which, once filled remove all trace of the original wings. Same procedure applied to scuttle to remove stantion/wiper holes
	September 2001 The old rear exit exhaust system has been replaced with 4:1 primaries and a 6" Techcraft repackable silencer
	August 2001 Being a very early de-dion car the front suspension was still of the variety fitted to the original Lotus Sevens (see below for a picture of the old setup). With a huge amount of help from a couple of friends (cheers to Robert & Chris) I've finally got round to converting the front-end to a proper double wishbone setup. Aero Style Filler Cap completes the rear-end cosmetic changes
	July 2001 More cosmetic changes, MOMO 260mm wheel, also removed original reversing lamps (LH fog lamp converted to reversing lamp) and spare wheel carrier (which can be refitted at will), much neater IMO.
	May 2001 Big Red Starter Button. Fitting couldn't be easier, see how I did it by clicking here.
	April 2001 New alloy radiator with improved header tank and fan assemblies. Silicon hoses complete the picture SPA Design Sports Car mirror with 30mm stem complete the windscreen replacement project
	December 2000 FIA Bar, Willans 6x6 Harnesses, Leda Adjustable Dampers & Leda Springs (300 lb front, 170lb rear)
	October 2000 New 13x6J Black/Alloy Minilite style wheels courtesy of the sterling efforts of Rob Morris, coupled with 185/70x13 A021Rs. The original KN wheels, after having been reconditioned, may see service again with lower profile rubber for track days.
	August 2000 Carbon Fibre Stone Guards & Filter Covers. A tad OTT but in both cases the old ones had seen better days and were in need of replacement anyway.
	June/July 2000 First major alteration, dump the screen and switch to the JPE style aeroscreen. Further details here. JPE grille, painted black/yellow. New reg to go with the new look.

Aeroscreen Conversion

Windscreen or Aeroscreen, a decision many seven owners contemplate. For me it started out as a desire to lose the sidescreens, unfortunately this has the rather nasty effect of creating a vacuum behind the screen making breathing difficult at speed. I tried running with no screen for a couple of days and thus I was decided, an aeroscreen it was. Then came my second decision, which style, Brooklands, JPE or even the CarbonFurious option. After much consideration, I plumped for the JPE screen.

Originally, I wanted to be able to refit the screen and do so in a way that left little or no evidence of the aeroscreen. Thanks go to Paul Dallas for his detailed instructions, upon which the following are largely based, with a number of additions based on my own experiences.

Draw a marker pen round the windscreen rubber on both sides and remove the screen. (My 7 doesn't have the luxury of a heated screen, but you need to disconnect this as well, see later also).
Offer up the JPE screen and place centrally between the lines (allowing you to cover the holes by refitting the windscreen rubber over the top of them). Mark the position of the 3 central fixings, use masking tape over the paintwork to allow an accurate position to be marked.
Mark the position for the holes, if you've marked the position of the blocks accurately this will be 12mm in from either side and 6mm in from the end.
Centre dot the positions and get ready to drill, use a depth gauge on the drill to stop you drilling through anything important. I used a 4.8mm bit, originally to allow me to rivet the holes shut if I ever sold the car, but as I later found out this also allows the M5 screws to tap their way through, stopping them from falling out when you're trying to fix the screen. You do need to be 100% accurate in your positioning though.
Now time for the tricky bit, fix the screen by screwing the M5 bolts from underneath, avoiding wiper motors, steering columns etc. This is fiddily but as long as you have a good collection of different length phillips screwdrivers you'll manage it eventually. It was here I found out the added benefit of using a 4.8mm bit to make the hole.
Apply some padding (such as bonnet tape) under the two remaining fixings to prevent them from scratching. Cover the windscreen wiper holders with a SVA type of bolt cover and silicon these on, they look much neater and protects the ends (Demon Tweeks sell them in packs of 6). Replace 4 dome headed bolts that hold the screen in place, they fill the holes, look pretty tidy and most importantly you won't loose them.
Rear view mirror, remove the standard rear-view mirror from the windscreen and separate the mirror from the mounting bracket. Carefully file a groove in the bottom edge of the socket joint, this will allow the mirror to tilt down sufficiently. Reassmeble the mirror and attach to the scuttle using a mirror pad (or equivalent). Alternatively, you could opt for one of the SPA Design or Racetech sportscar style mirrors, but the above option means everything can stay in place if the windscreen is replaced.
Finally, for those of you with heated screens (what...more luxuries!). The way that the screen is fitted the wiring is done afterwards which means that you cannot remove the windscreen without cutting off the connectors as they will not fit through the bulkhead. You will find a rubber grommet under the screen that the wire goes through. In order to make life easy when refitting the window, slide the rubber grommet, one either side onto the wire and rebuild the connector making sure that it will fit through the hole back to its connector. This hole maybe seen after you fit the screen, if so stick a piece of rubber over it.

Update: A few weeks with just the screen has convinced me that there's no going back. Side mirrors have been added (SPA single seater design)
Update 2: After speaking to SPA at the Autosport show they have now suplied me with some custom arms for the mirrors to riase them a tad higher.

Big Red Starter Button

Fitting the Big Red Starter Button couldn't be easier, this was how I did it:

1) Disconnect the battery.

2) The hard bit, work out where you want the button to go, and cut a suitable sized hole, being careful not to catch any wires behind the dash. I used a drill to make a series of holes to get a rough hole and then finished it off with a Dremel.

3) Measure the distance between the button and the ignition and cut two lengths of appropriate ampage auto electrical wire (allowing for cable routing). Cut a third length of wire about 6 inches long.

4) Take one of the long lengths and the short length and twist the ends together and attach a female spade connector. Attach a male spade connector to the other end of the short cable and a suitably sized female connector (for connection to the button) to the other end of the long wire. This is wire A.

5) Attach a male spade connector to one end of the other wire, and again, a suitably sized female connector to the other end for attachment to the button. This is wire B.

6) Remove the black shroud from the rear of the ignition barrel, it should just slide off. Feed the new wires you have assembled through this shroud.

7) Locate the connector on the ignition barrel with two brown wires attached, remove this connector and taking wire A, attach the female spade connector to the ignition barrel where you have just removed the brown wires. Connect the male spade connector to the brown wires you have just removed. Run the remaining long end to one terminal on the button.

8) Locate the connector on the ignition barrel with the red & white wire attached, remove this connector and taking wire B, attach the male spade connector to the red & white wire. Run the other end of the wire to the other terminal on the button.

9) Reconnect the battery, turn on the ignition using the key and press the button. Simple really!