Nicholas Rosenlicht's Lotus Seven
SB1760

Update to SB1760 September, 2017
I purchased SB1760 from Dann in December of 2012. As you can see from the pics it was very clean. I did get restless with the stock 1500 GT engine and wide ratio tranny. For his part, it looks like Dann got restless too, and found life without a Seven not worth living (see Lotus Seven SB2073). Since acquiring it I've upgraded the engine to an Elan lower end (1558 L-Block, stronger crank and rods, Carrillos at 10:1, Kent 234 cam) and the pre-crossflow head was reworked by Ivey, including porting and big valves. It breathes through Twin DCOEs on an original Cosworth manifold, helped by David Kizer's unwavering assistance in jetting.

The speedo and tach now work, and are accurate (West Valley Instruments)! I substituted slightly stiffer and shorter springs, along with shocks with adjustable spring perches. Mike Ostrov helped me set up the suspension -- and at many other steps along the way. Other goodies include a magnesium bellhousing, Quaife differential and close-ratio tranny. A true joy to drive now!

from Previous Owner Dann Shively
In 1994 I found a Seven for sale a few towns away. Now I'm pretty practical on most decisions in my life; but when I saw and drove this little car, I bought it on impulse. There was a LOT I didn't know about Lotus 7's. If I had to do it again, I probably would not have made the purchase. Instead I would have learned as much as possible and then found the right Lotus for me. That being said, I loved the car. It left my possession a couple of years later due, in part, to a divorce. No more Lotus 7 for me.

But skip ahead 13 years. My old Lotus was always present in the back of my mind and one day, on a lark, I called the person who bought it. Although he had moved out of state his cell number was still the same. He said he was going to be back in the area that weekend for a wedding. The car was still in Northern California and he was going to make preparations to have it shipped back to the Midwest where he now lived. I arranged to meet him a few days later as he expressed the possibility of selling it.

To make a long story short I bought it back. And, once again, my impulses caused me trouble. Among the many things I've learned since then is that you don't just jump into a car that has not been driven much over the years, and drive 100 miles. But I did! A couple of miles from his mother's house I entered an interstate freeway and headed to Sacramento. I made it a couple of hundred yards before the brakes wouldn't release and I came to stop along side of the busy freeway.....right next to one of those makeshift roadside memorials with flowers and balloons. I called Triple-A and sent my wife on her way. I have extended towing coverage that covers 100 miles. It was 94 miles to my house!

Since my repurchase almost three years ago I've learned much more about Lotus 7's and my car. I was told it had been in a racing accident and was rebuilt in the '80's. That's the good and bad news. The bad news is that the original space frame had been replaced. The good news is that it was replaced, apparently, with a newer Caterham frame that reflected more upgrades of the Series 3 cars. My car was built in July of 1963 and exported to Canada to Autosport in Ontario. I actually tracked down the man who ran Autosport but he didn't remember that particular car as a number of Lotuses passed through his shop. I have confirmed the original frame number with the BL prefix. But I have no history at all.

The car is powered by the Ford 1500 engine. It has a single downdraft Weber on a Cortina GT manifold. I've obtained the original Lotus single Weber intake and will, eventually switch to a DCOE. I have the wider rear fenders as the Triumph rear end was replaced by a braced Ford unit. The dash layout is more of a series 3 as well. When I bought the car it didn't have the correct tail lights or turn signals. Now it does. The car was green but the original color had been yellow so I changed that as well. Besides the incorrect carburetor the battery is mounted low near the starter.

I've replaced a few components that have made the car much more reliable. So far I have a new starter, battery, tires and radiator. I went through three Lucas generators and finally replaced the generator altogether with a modern alternator; problem solved!

I run it with the original windscreen or sometimes just a Brooklands, which I prefer. I don't feel like I'm in a vortex. At least the wind is coming from one direction with the Brooklands. Also, sometimes the roll bar is on and other times not. I really like the look of the Brooklands screen without the roll bar. Another future project is to replace the front hubs with ones with the Ford bolt pattern. I have a spare which will fit both Ford and Triumph.