My Lotus 7 replica

[JZ]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to make a post to show off my latest acquisition.

I've always liked the idea of a simple, lightweight no-frills car that can be driven legally on streets but be a monster on the track. The Ariel Atom is awesome but it traces its inspiration back all the way to the original Lotus 7, designed by Colin Chapman on a piece of scrap paper in under an hour.

I picked this up a month ago with the help of GTRC mafia officer Justin (Canadian GTR) who did the PPI for me as well as handled the transaction and delivery. Thanks man!

It's titled as a 1982 Toyota, powered by a Toyota 1.6L 3TC with a single weber downdraft carb and makes 105 hp. Car weighs only 1000 lbs...muahaha!


next to my other toys (note GTRC banner in garage lol):






brought it to buddy's house last weekend and pulled off the hideous clamshell fenders:


replaced it with cycle wings:

Goal is to make it look like this:

[Shadao]

pretty cool score

[RABBIT]

i was about to say that i usually love these cars ( caterham super 7 is my favorite car of all time) but theres soothing off about yours.
it was those damn winged fenders gross.
glad you removed them,
love the subtle green accents , what are your over all plans with it?

[greddytrustGTR]

needs a 20B like the Re-Amemiya one!!!

[Joker]

Nice ride! I was considering a Lotus Super 7 for quite a while but decided a bike and a car was better than two cars, takes up less space. How is the acceleration, braking and cornering when compairing to your old R32?

[JZ]

Right now it brakes and handles alright. Everything is unassisted, everything feels really RAW. You feel like you're in a motorized bicycle. Handling is phenomenal. You can drive and steer with the throttle alone. I can't wait to use it on the track at the end of the month. Power is adequate. Its got ~100 hp in a 1000 lb car. If you scale it up, its like a 300hp/3000lb car, or a stock NSX. :P My plan is to free up as much hp now as it is. I've got a set of very light RS Watanabe for less unsprung weight. If by winter 2011 I'm not happy (and if I don't get bored and sell it) I'll drop in either an SR or F20C. I prefer NA power in this kind of car.

BTW I hate the green accents. --I'm disassembling the entire front suspension today and sending it off to the powercoater to redo it in black this week. I'd also like to replace the schrome headlights with black ones. 8)

[GTS-James]

must say man, your garage is my heaven lol

[Oakville]

Good choice on the watanabes John!

[Snake556]

Hot damn, JZ! That's a sexy piece of car right there

[RBdreamer]

Sexy, but I like the old fenders better. They simply needed to be lowered over the wheel a bit and re-contoured for a better/sleeker fit.

Nice rig none the less.

[Joker]

Naw, new fenders are WAY better, I like the rounded ones you have better then the 1/2 round in the other model. Black on the back of the headlight is good too. Yellow and black are an awesome combo. Rear fenders need to get black also.

[NerdJuice]

Kinda off topic, but you did point it out. Where did you get that GTRC banner? I want one!

[flipridah17]

Nice Ride.. I like it..

More pictures please?

[JZ]

The rear fender will get a flat black guard (I threw the silver on cuz I had the vinyl handy and the rear fenders were getting scuffed from debris). I prefer the cycle fenders compared to the clamshells for two reasons: less lift at speed (its really noticeable with the new fenders) and now my car looks less like a dune buggy lol.

If I keep the car longterm it will get a better, blacked out rollcage, and everything chrome will be blacked out.

[collector240sx]

You lucky (i won't say what ), congrats on your new purchase.

I'm sure you going to enjoy it.

Personally, I would go with a SR20DET or hayabusa engine.
And I would get every little accent in satin black.

I'm sure you won't want to get ride of it, once you it the track with it

Have Fun