[Chapman-era] SimpleSevens Update :-) MK7 #409 and the Gallagher Seven

[John Donohoe]

It's been a while since I 'bombed' my favorite email lists, but I've been
slowly rebuilding SimpleSevens with some new cars, cleaned up pages for
previously shown cars and a few other updates to stories... BUT, the two
things I added today, I feel, justify general announcement:

Remember Jim
Gallagher's seriously modified Lotus Seven SB2325, a car he bought new from
Lotus, converted into 'the Rotary Seven' that appeared in Road & Track,
modified with IRS in the 80's and pushrod inboard front suspension in the
90's, and was finally Pro Solo Championship contender in the early 2000's only
to be unceremoniously sold after 30 years of continual development in 2003?
Well, after passing through a couple of owners, what's left of the car has
finally landed in the hands of a Lotus collector who plans to put it back into
its Pro Solo Championship spec and get the car going again:
http://www.simplesevens.org/gallagher/index.htm Over the next couple of weeks,
SimpleSevens will be adding updates on the Gallagher car including previously
unpublished material from Dennis Ortenburger's Legend of the Lotus Seven, and
photos in 'as delivered condition' from the new owner.

And as if that wasn't
enough, the earliest Lotus Seven that SimpleSevens has ever seen come up for
sale is now up: MK7 #409. Relax, it already sold, BUT, you've got to take a
look at the condition of this car. Definitely not for the faint of heart, this
restoration is about to be taken on by a very enthusiastic and capable new
owner. Oh, the neat thing about the car (Other than the fact that it included
a Coventry Climax engine project) is that it was originally purchased from
Lotus in January, 1958, by non other that Brian Hart (yes, that Hart) and
raced by him for the 1958 Clubmans season. Anyhow, have a look at the project
as it sits here: http://www.simplesevens.org/0409/0409.htm and stay tuned as
the new owner will pipe up in the next few weeks and is dedicated to keeping
SimpleSevens fully up-to-date on research and restoration progress... the
car's documentation is on its way to SimpleSevens right now for analysis and
preparation for presentation
 in the coming weeks.

So there you have it -- Enjoy!

Cheers,
John Donohoe
SimpleSevens.org