By Various

My (not my parents) first car in '71 was a '64 TR-4. I got hooked on British Sports Cars. In '72, my brother-in-law, Gary, and I visited the local Jag/Lotus/MG/whatever else... dealer. While Gary was talking prices on the Jag he wanted, I "layed down" in a new Europa Twin Cam. Fell in love. Wanted one. Didn't even have to drive one, you could just tell. Two years later, after I graduated college, I bought my Lotus. An Elan. Decided that I wanted a convertible and it was a Lotus. I've never regreted it; actually prefer it to a Europa.

When buying a used car, I always take an objective (no make it a critical) friend with me to prevent from making a mistake. You know finding the flaws that my glazed over eyes might miss. So when I went to check out the Elan, I took a friend that liked big Detroit iron ("I don't like no "little foreign sports cars") with me. After we took it for a test drive, he didn't find a single flaw (even I found some), and I couldn't get him to stop smiling for days...

I was 19 at the time (in 1972), just turned 23 when I bought the Elan in March 1975. Still have the car now, and I'm 43. People look at me like I'm going through a mid life crisis... I want to tell them I'm not trying to act like I'm 23,I had it since then...

I trace my fascination with Lotus to a road test in Road & Track, years ago, of the Elan+2S 130. I was spellbound by the description of how this tiny car embarrassed a Chevelle SS (or some such lump) on a twisty road somewhere between LA and Vegas. I flew down to San Francisco a few years ago and bought a +2S (1972, white) and drove it back up the California and Oregon coasts and finally to Seattle. I prepared for possible breakdowns by carrying my cell phone. Good thing I had none, since there was no cellular reception. Not even broadcast radio was in evidence!

That was my first Lotus. I have since bought a 1974 Elite (silver respray over the original yellow) at an auction, and a 1990 Esprit SE (green) by phone from Deal Lotus in Asheville NC. It was traded in by Bill Bartels, a collector of some note, who lives in Ohio. The car was two years old with 1600 miles on it! Bill traded in the Esprit (and his BMW or Audi - I forget) on an X-180R and a red M100 (he already had a yellow M100).

I took the Esprit to Monterey in August 95, and had super time!

From before I was born my father had a subscription to Motor Sport, and Denis Jenkinson the editor's right-hand-man was involved with Lotus from the beginning. So there were regular reports on what was happening at Hornsey and eventually Cheshunt, and lots of pictures & reports on the prettiest car ever made - the Elite. So by the age of 10 or 11 I was thoroughly in love with the car from reading the magazine.

Also by that time Jim Clark was starting to win Grands Prix, Lotus were on a roll, and I was hooked on them. The first Elite I saw with my own eyes was on the way to Mallory Park for a Boxing Day race meeting, probably '61 or '62, I could still find the spot today. We followed in my father's Standard Ensign with dad chuntering about how fragile Lotuses were. True, the car was going crab-wise down the road, but then the passenger's door popped open and the tyres front & rear were examined, followed by the driver's door luckily they were stationary in the queue by then. Lotus were vindicted, it did have a puncture.

Through the production years of the Elan I stayed true to my first love, but from a distance, insurance was too great a burden. Until at 25 with a Mini-Cooper towcar and a bent Lola racer I realised that the cost of an Elite would be no more than I could get by selling almost everything I owned, and that the insurance would be affordable due to my advanced years (!). Bought the first one I saw......

Since then I've had no other make of road-car in this country, and only one other make of racer -- and that was a direct spin-off from Lotus with a Twink in the back.

If pushed on the subject I'll explain about light weight, efficiency, engineering, lack of excess gizmos, aerodynamics, etc etc. But still it's just love, everything else is simply trying to justify it.

In 1959, I fell in love with the newly imported Elite here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Unfortunately, it was out of my price range at $4000. So I bought a Sunbeam Alpine instead. Four years later, I bought a brand new Elan through a friend who was racing a 23 but had a 30 on order. He had it shipped and delivered to me within ten days of my decision. I paid him $3900 in April 1964 upon delivery for it. As my young family grew, I moved to Lotus Cortina. Even gave one to my daughter when she turned 17 in 1976. So I've owned Lotuses, street versions, ever since!

Well, part one of my downfall came when I first encountered an early Esprit in Norfolk. The driver must have been coasting because although he left my mini way behind on the straight I was gaining on him round the curves! That really gave me the lust for an Esprit. The final nail came when I was with a friend in his RS Escort and we encountered another Esprit in the lake district. Knew I had to have one but could never afford it.

Several years later I found myself in the US with enough money to actually buy a used Esprit. And the rest, as they say, is money down the tailpipe.

Since then I wish I'd bought the restored Gold Leaf Elan that I saw at Daytune a few years back. Would be a great car to use when I get trips back home.

Oh boy, I feel I'm making a debute at an AA meeting. Let me introduce my self. My name is Paul and I own a Lotus....

It all began for practical reasons. Yep. In 1975 lotsa cars were for sale on the cheap in the UK. I was a college student, studying in Luxembourg. I saved about $2,000, earned at two part-time jobs back home in Ohio. By end of my year abroad, I was bound to buy SOMETHING pre '67 to bring back stateside to resell at a profit so that I wouldn't have to work ANY jobs during my last year of college.

I had a Mark II Jag in mind but I couldn't find one in clean shape. Rust was the major problem; there was little market in rusty Jags back home. I thought I'd return empty handed.

Then in the pub somewhere, Ruislip I think, someone recommended a glassfibre car. No rust. But what marque?

Here's the part of my testimony where I admit, surrounded by my peers, that I bought a '65 Elan S-2 without knowing anything about the car other than the body doesn't rust. Nary a thought about potential rust in the front shock towers, an achilles heel of a water pump or other worries. I simply drove the car once, white knuckled at that, through London traffic, and then slapped down my 800 pounds sterling. That was about US$1,400 then. Took the Elan back to Luxembourg and had many trouble-free adventures enjoying it on the Continent.

Once in Ohio with my Elan, I never thought about selling it. I gladly took the third part-time job in order to keep me in school and my Elan in my car park.

Back in 1972, I had a 1969 Alfa and had just moved to Los Angeles and was interested in a new car. My brother had a 1965 Elan back in Little Rock where he was the SCCA RE so I was sell exposed. A friend in the SCCA was the Lotus Dealer in Little Rock and sold me his 73 TC demonstrator as a much cheaper price than I get from Chalman's in Manhatten Beach. The rest is history!!!

I first saw a Lotus in the film "The Spy Who Loved Me." Of course, I wanted one, even without the submarine feature. I always wanted an exoticar but could never quite get the gusto to buy one, partially due to lack of funds. That is, I figured a new one was out of my range and a used one was probably too high on the insurance and/or parts and/or fixer-upper meter.

Eventually, the '90 Elan SE came out and there was a former Pontiac dealer a block away from my parents house that became a Lotus/Lambo/Bitter/Avanti dealer. Now they have most of those in addition to their mainstay, Dodge. Needless to say, every time I would pass by the place, I would go in and chat with the sales dweebs and drool. I finally ended up buying a Dodge Stealth (non-turbo) because the Elan price kept creeping up and they kept delaying the import date and I couldn't wait (my previous Celica was not certified for CA where I was moving). Anyway, after having the Stealth for 5 years, I saw an M100 driving back from Vegas to LA and it resurrected old thoughts. I decided to see if they were any more affordable. It seemed that used ones were in the $22K - $28K price range which seemed alot better than the original $40K. Granted, between the price of what I paid for the Stealth and what I got back for it plus what I got a loan for the M100 it seems like I could have bought one in the first place. But, I got 83K miles on the Stealth and enjoyed it for what it was, a great cruiser with ample pickup and decent handling. The handling on that car was somewhat hampered by its excessive weight. The M100 is exactly the opposite - great handling, light, manueverable, and still decent pickup. I have to say, the Stealth doesn't require as much maintenance nor are parts as hard to find nor is it as quirky. The exception being taking out the spark plugs which involves taking off the entire intake plenum! But, I guess that is the feature of British cars - their quirkiness.

I guess I look at it this way, the M100 has the great looks, great handling, and decent speed of a more expensive car and over time I think it will be a much more interesting car to own. It is sort of a cheap Ferrari. I still like the Esprit but its extra cost seems not quite as justified to me at the moment. By the time they get it right, hopefully it will have most of the problems fixed and I'll have won the lottery and can afford one. My wife is Italian and I really only need one of those in the family.

I bought my first Lotus from an ad in the Auto Trader. It showed the Europa and the leading line said "If you like Hondas and Toyotas don't even call me. You'll hate this car"

I love that kind of stuff. He had the Europa as an only car for many years, then bought a Pantera and went to it instead of the Europa. I bought and loved the Europa but found it didn't get much respect from the Lotus community. Even from the factory, which I visited a couple times. But I drove it a lot (relatively speaking, about 30-40k miles I think). I went to club meetings, some track drives and Skip Barber Driving School.

But I always wanted a roadster. And it kept getting harder for me to squeeze into the Europa. So after 7 years I got the Elan S4. Then the new Elan came along and I couldn't resist forever. So after a year in England lusting after them I came home to the States and found a M100. It's lower emotional content but plenty reliable. The older Elan provides the emotion and unreliability.

I've avoided Eclats, Espirits and all that lot -- dunno why. I guess the wretched interior trim and exciting electrics always put me off.

I'm about to be 45 in a few weeks, so I suppose I've been lusting after Lotuses for about 25-30 years.

But it was a yellow one that captivated me. I notice a number of other people have said the same thing.

I too was taken by the James Bond movies, especially the diving sub car. I met a fellow about 10 years ago who claimed to have helped build the car. He had some company that did underwater exploration vehicles for North Atlantic drilling or fijord diving or something. He gave me 3-4 framed prints of the car with him standing alongside, and one of it diving.

One of the proudest thoughts I had of my first Lotus was that the original owner had paid $7000 for it when an MG or similar was going for only $4000. What fine technology and high quality must be distilled into this car for it to command such a premium.

After taking it apart a few times, I can't remember now why I thought that...

Well, I am probably an exception to the rule. I bought my 73 Europa when I was 20 (six months ago). Like a lot of others though it started when I was very young. One of my dads college buddies had two and I was quit interested in them. I was pulled into sports cars by the Sunbeam Alpine in the garage that was covered by boxes. That car has been restored and my dads friend wanted to get rid of one of his cars so I jumped at the chance to own what I consider to be a little piece of automotive history, something so simple but yet can't be touched by the competition, I love my Lotus.

When I was 16 and learning to drive in a car I had rebuilt (Renault 4!!) my father who had been a rev-head in his youth became re-infected with enthusiasm and I suspect because he had helped to race a seven in the late fifties or early sixties went and purchased a Plus2. After much trauma caused by a son with more enthusiasm than sense he gave the repaired car to me on my 21st birthday. The car was sprinted and hillclimbed and used for road use for quite a few years.

20 years later it sits in the back of my garage. It ocaisonally goes out to beat the Elans at local sprints but most of the time it's Queen of the collection and the last one I'd ever sell.

I suppose answering the question of when the Lotus bug bit me is rather difficult. My father, who owned/assembled both his S2 Seven and his S4 Elan, is largely reponsible for this little problem. You see, the problem is that I can not remember a time when I did not want a Lotus. Thinking back as far as I can, the car that I wanted above and beyond all others has always been one of the wonderful creations from Hethel. It would be fair to say that lusting after Lotuses has been one of the things I was raised on. Therefore, at only age 22, it is almost impossible to express in words my feelings of joy and satisfaction of finally owning a Lotus, the realization of what is essentially a life long dream. Indeed, after six months of ownership, I still find myself checking that it is still in the garage each night.

Perhaps the favorite of my father's stories about his Lotuses pertains to his Elan. It seems that little has changed in many respects at Lotus over the years, for when my Dad went to collect the white S/E Elan S4 he had ordered, amazingly, no such car existed. All that was on offer was a Wedgewood blue, non S/E spec car with slight body damage, albeit at a much reduced price. As my father was due to set off to Italy in a week's time and urgently required transportation, he had little choice but to take it. The parts were dilivered and he duly assembled the car, however, upon its completion, he decided that the condition of the body was entirely unsatisfactory. Being close to the factory, he drove the car round and demanded to speak to the service manager. After explaining that he worked for Lucas and was due to drive the Elan to Italy in a week to pay a visit to Lamborgihni, he simply asked the manager if he really wanted his Lotus looking like that fresh off the line. The manager, without hesitation, asked if it would be ok for my father to come back and pick up the car in a few days time, whereupon everything should be rectified. When my father went back for the car, he was utterly amazed at the difference. Rather than simply fixing the pertinent areas, the whole car had been resprayed to what he still says is the most immaculate level he has ever seen any car painted. The funniest part of the story, however, is that, though he was going to Lamborgihni, he was actually going to the Lamborgihni tractor factory to work on deisel systems, not the car factory.

It is a shame that that Lotus is not still around today. It seems, as everyone on this list is well aware, that the caring, almost personal company of old is fast becoming the stuff of stories. Indeed, it is that caring that was best displayed by Mr. Peal, and look where he is now. Still, it is that company that created the dreams that I have sought to fulfill and, thought I may not agree with their current business pactises, it is still that company's bug that has bitten me from day one.

Well as coincidence has it I was 22 back in 1970, when my second Cooper S got stolen and I was looking for another car. A friend of mine and his brother both had yellow Elan S4s and I thought it would be cool for our working class western Sydney suburb (closest thing to a ghetto in Sydney) to have 3 Lotus Elans. So I got into debt and here it is 26 years later and I still have mine on the road. My friend's brother sold his soon after I got mine and his has been in pieces in his garage for the last 10 years.

My first exposure to Lotus was in the early 60s when one of the rich kids in the neighborhood had an S1 (no he did not do drugs, as this suburb was not really a ghetto) in fact it was Homebush were the 2000 Olympics is to be held. Another fact that may be of interest to car freaks is that this very same site (for the Olympics) was Sydney's illegal (but well patronised) drag strip every weekend in the 60s and 70s. No gold, but plenty of competition.

I just thought it would be cool to have a sportscar, something British, like a Healy or an MG. And while I was looking, there it was, 1962 Lotus 7, for 7000 dollars. Whoa, let's check it out. Went for a drive, that little wheel kicking in my hands, but TOO much money! I offered $5000 and it was sold the next week. That was 10 years ago and I see the car and its owner a couple of times a year.

I bought a Westfield kit for about $4000, and later a junk 65 Super 7 for $3000 and these cars are part of my existance. So okay, the're often disabled, and it's embarrassing how few miles I seem to get on 'em. But when they work, the world is transformed. Engine's rev, steering wheel kicking, front wheels grabbing while the rears always seem to slip a bit 8->.

Okay Patrick here goes...

Being 55 years old now, in my mid teens, I was right in the middle of the US sports car steep growth pattern in the fifties. Also, I grew up in one of the sports car activity centers, Connecticut... at the time, the home of the SCCA. From even before I had a driver's license, I read Road and Track, subscribed to The Autocar, became a rabid Fangio fan, etc. I was able to convince my dad that he *needed* an MG-TD so that we wouldn't have to go the races at Thompson (later also Lime Rock, when it opened) in family Mercury. The best word to describe the prevailing feeling about sports cars (among owners and us wannabes) then was "romance".

The first Lotuses I had seen were the beautiful Climax-engined Mark Nines being raced. Back then, I had read an article in Sports Cars Illustrated (now Car and Driver) and another in The Autocar about Nines being driven on the road.... hmmmmm! A little seed was planted.

Before twenty, I moved to another hotbed of sports car activity... southern California. After a few (affordable) hot rod Fords and such, I was able to buy my own TD and started the climb toward a Ferrari (my conception of the ultimate) through a TR2, a couple of Porsche 356s (incl. a Speedster), Spitfires and so on.

With a warm spot in my heart for Lotuses but still with no reason to be truly smitten, I continued my tour through ownership of various sports cars until, in 1968 (27 years old), I tripped on the great sell-off of unsold Lotus Cortinas by US Ford dealers. A Fiat/English Ford dealer in Long Beach (Calif.) had *several* in a row at greatly reduced prices. I bought one and found the joy of killing giants. :-)

I had been active in sports car clubs right along but only then discovered, through slaloming.... driving as a personal, expressive art. Pretty soon, I reasoned that a car which was 400 pounds lighter that my Cortina and which used the same engine, would be faster still, so I bought my first, of several, Type 26 Elans.... a 1964 S1. With that, I discovered *balance* and the perfect tool for my driving passion. My 1450 pound, low polar moment rocket ship was IT.... and those Ferraris, etc, just seemed like so many trucks in comparison (yes I did get the chance to find out for myself).

I cannot imagine ever being without an Elan; to me, the very definition of the "driver's car".

Okay, thinking back aways I remember how the bug got me. In 1968, when I was 13, I was riding with my parents and a yellow Europa went by and somehow I knew exactly what it was even though I don't recall ever having seen a picture of one previously (obviously I did somewhere along the line though... maybe I'm just psycho, oops, psychic!).

I always dreamed of having one after that but never had enough money. Hell, just paying for college tuition was tough enough.

When I was 20, I went down to the Lotus dealer (in Livonia, Michigan) and drooled over the Europas they had on the lot and sat in one for the first time.

About 5 years ago I was at an auto show and there was a woman there with a red Europa S2. I spoke with her for about 30 minutes and she seemed surprised that I knew what it was (I guess out of several hundred people I was the only one who knew what it was, most of the cars here were roadsters, muscle cars and the like).

Well, about 6 months ago I bought a Hemmings to look for a Europa. I always expected the prices to be around 30K!!! I was a "little" shocked when I saw how inexpensive they were!

I spoke with a gentleman who lives nearby who owns a Europa and an Esprit. He took me for a ride in his Europa, the first time I had ever ridden in a Europa after having dreamed of them for 28 years.

A friend, Larry Argenian found one for me in California. Two months ago we went down there and bought it! After 28 years of waiting I now own my Europa!

I was 23 in 1976 when I bought my '68 S3 Super Safety FHC as the second owner. I had been driving a '69 Triumph GT6+, my first car, and loved the small size, performance and handling of the GT6 compared to the large US station wagon with automatic transmission that I had learned to pilot. However, a friend who taught me to drive a stick shift told me about his brother's Elan, which piqued my interest. He no longer owned it, so I had to go hunting. Along the way, I test drove every sports car that a dealer would let me drive (the Ferrari dealer told me I could test it *after* I paid for it).

At my friend's suggestion, I went to have a chat with Don Tingle, whose shop was in a nearby town to mine in Massachusetts. I saw my first Lotuses in the flesh, and was smitten. As those were his customer's cars, I was unable to drive them, so I went next to the Lotus dealer and test drove a Europa -WOW! I felt very ham-fisted in such a light and responsive car, since I was accustomed to the much stiffer and sloppier steering of the Triumph, but I realized that I would need to find a way to buy a Lotus soon!

Tingle eventually found an Elan for me, which happened to be a coupe. In retrospect, I am very glad I bought this model and not the DHC. I much prefer the quieter operation, the lack of hood maintenance, and the beauty of this design. I gradually learned to drive it pretty well, with the help of many parking-lot autocrosses and Solo-II driving schools and races at the Briar track in Loudon, NH.

I drove the car every day for three years, a year of which included an hour-long work commute. I also learned how to do almost all of the maintenance on it. The Snap-On man and I were on a first-name basis! Then, a valve burned, just as I had decided to replace the Stromberg head with a Weber one. It took me a while to hunt up the parts, used, and at this point I had just moved to rural Vermont, a long way from Tingle's aid. Money became tighter and I started a family. (Or was it the other way around?) So, I sidelined my beloved car ("just temporarily," I said to myself). Eight years slipped by before I rebuilt the transmission and engine, now with a Weber head and 45DCOEs that used to belong to the comedian Dick Smothers, for his Brabham. But the frame, having sat in fields for eight years, needed some welding by an expert. Seven more years went by...and I finally had the car towed back to Tingle's for a replacement frame and a few million odds and ends that turned up during the process.

Finally, three years ago, the job was done, and I was once again driving my Elan! I was now 40... Two month and 2000 miles (on my old engine/tranny rebuild) later, I encountered transmission problems that led me to pull the engine again. I easly fixed the trans, but the engine needed more work and money, so it has sat in my garage (finally - a garage!) since then. It's almost done. ;-)

In a word, about 10 years old. The reason: Jimmy Clark. Ever since ABC's Wide World of Sports brought coverage of the Monaco GP and of course Clark/Lotus at the Indy 500. There has always been something "David vs Goliath" around Lotus and I loved it when they captured the 500. I've been a fan ever since, watching the exploits of the Type 72 (buying the 1/12 scale model about '76 and not building it till around '81!

Around '74 I really dug the Europa TC but was put off by the local dealer at the auto show in Boston who escorted people who appeared to have $$ behind the ropes for a custom seating, but the rest of us riff-raff (just out of college with no $$) were asked to keep our distance. It didn't stop me from liking it, even though I could actually touch a Maserati Bora at the same show. (I started having a fetish for mid-engined cars back about '63 with the Ferrari 250P(?) then the Ford GT40). In the early-mid '70s I was seeing Europas eveywhere (lust building) mostly at auto-Xs, but a local friendly stereo shop owner let me check out his TC outside his shop one afternoon (I fit nicely, only further building a want, but still no money though). Of course I was also a fan of the Prisoner, not realizing when I caught some of the shows (around '67?) that the car was a Lotus, but being jubilant when I picked up on the fact in re-runs.

Of course I followed the Type 79/Andretti closely and the emergence of the Esprit. I didn't actually attend my first F1 race till either '80 or '81 (Canadian GP with Andretti in Essex livery) and continued to go each year (welcomed the return to JPS colors). Despite the fact that the team was sliding downhill, there were moments to cheer for (Senna got the most out of what he had).

After refinancing my first house in the fall of '86 I had some free cash and finally went on a casual pursuit of an Esprit, buying my '79 S2 JPS in May '87. (At the time I really lusted for a turbo, but they were out of reach. Who knew how affordable they would become a few years later!) :-( Even though I know the current turbo is much more car in all respects, I really enjoy my S2 and have not regetted buying it (still faithful after 9 years! :-)

I was eight (1970) when I first know I fell for the Europa. I'd been into cars since I was a wee one. Nothing technical like knowing marques and such. Just liked car toys and pretending driving. I didn't know what the Europa was. Never heard of Lotus. But it was the neatest looking car I'd ever seen (still one of the top five) and the first one to really catch my attention. I'd seen a few around the area and one where my parents worked (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA). My parents would oblige me when I asked, though neither was into cars, and drive by the houses where a Lotus resided if they were sort of on the way.

A year or so later, I saw one with a British flag badge on the back. My first clue. Somehow in the following year or so, I found out about Lotus vaguely - that they made racing cars and sports cars and that they were very good.

I was fourteen when I discovered car zines. Started a scrap book on with every Lotus article I could find. Got neighbors old car zines for articles from earlier.

The year before coming out of college, got a family hand me down, which happened to die the week before I was to start my first job. Had also liked TVRs (though never like Lotus), so my goal was the first decent Lotus or TVR I could find. It was to be a TVR.

Got my Europa when I was 25 ('87). Still had the TVR (my daily driver). Sold the TVR in '88, but they'll bury me in my Europa. Considered selling it once when we really needed some money, but my wife wouldn't let me. She figured that I'd regret it too much later.

I would have to blame movies, and James Bond movies in particular, for my bug. I can't remember how old I was (I'm 31 now), but I do remember the time perfectly. It was when "The Spy Who Loved Me" first came out. I saw that beautiful white car (I could care less if it was amphibuous) and I new I had to have one some day. Seeing the next generation car in "For Your Eyes Only" further re-affirmed my desire. Then I went to college and saw my first issue of Dupont Registry and I realized that used Esprits would someday be within my financial grasp. Then came "Pretty Woman" with that gorgeous silver SE. I was hooked. Years later, here we are.

BTW: My story seems to validate the fact that promoting the Lotus marque by providing cars for movies and other products does have its payoffs in future sales. If Lotus would learn from this, maybe I'd be able to buy a 1/18 scale model of my SE from Burrago, Maisto, or Kyoshi.

My father bought his Lotus Europa TC in 1974, new off the showroom floor. I had never seen one, but feel in love with it on site, I was 14 at the time. He was a traveling factory representative for furniture factories and wanted something he could drive that would be exciting for the long hours on the road. Unfortunatly, he was not mechanically inclined, and as in all beautiful things a certain amount of attention is required to keep them running well. He finally garaged it in 1984. This pleased my mother to know end, as she was convinced it was a death trap, and forbid him to let me, his only son have access to it.

Finally, 3 years ago, my mother succumbed to her staunch position on the car and let me at least move it to my garage. There is sat until just recently. My son who is now 14, and I spend our weekends slowly trying to bring this beauty back to life, fortunately, I did not inheriet my fathers lack of mechanical adeptness, so we are making positive strides each week. The paint is badly spidered and most all the hoses have long decayed but we continue to slowly make advances to our goal. We actually are at a point where it will start, however, it won't idle.

I have know idea if I ever will get that car on the road again, but it is nice, to have something my son and I can share and work on together and I'm sure, if it ever does get to a point where it will actually back out of the garage and take it's second maiden drive, my mother will be standing on the corner, shaking her finger at me...saying "You gonna get killed in that thing!"...

I remember when I first saw the '85 Esprit. It was at a new dealership that had taken over the Alfa dealership in Austin. Yes , it was an Alfa and Lotus dealership. No other cars.

I was in for service and decided on the spot w/o so much as a test drive that someday I would own that car. Several months went by and a factory $5k rebate along w/ dealer discounting gave me my new '85 Esprit. ( Jupiter/Tan )

It also was very conveinient since I lived about 100 miles from the dealership. You see , each car would need some service or another about every two to three weeks. So I would leave one car for service and pick it up again when the other one broke.

With a brief period of Lotuslessness to get married and have a child , I've had one Esprit or another ever since. I have to confess that I have much more knowledge of Alfas in general than I do non-Esprit Loti. This list is helping to put an end to that situation though.

I grew up not five miles from Hethel, and remember being taken to Snetterton (converted airfield race-track near Lotus on the way to London) to watch a non-championship F1 race. It was bitterly cold (it always is at Snetterton), Clark was driving the 25 I think (1963? I was 9..) so in one day I discovered whisky and Clark's brilliance....

In 1966, just after Lotus had moved in at Hethel, I remember seeing three funny squashed tiny little things painted in primer whizzing in convoy past the end of our road - they looked incredible. It took me a while to discover they were Europas, as they hadn't been released at that point!

In 1975 or so, I met one of Colin Chapman's daughters, Jane, and took a shine to her...we started going out together.....I got to drove an early Lotus Elite 501 and was completely overwhelmed by the looks, the handling, the performance (the CAR dammit!), and the whole Lotus ethic.

In 1976, I managed to get a summer holiday job at the Lotus factory, thinking I was going to be a civil engineer (after all, that was what my degree said). By Spring 1977, I was disillusioned with civil engineering, got an interview with Mike Kimberley (the then CEO), and began working as a Continuous Engineer (problem fixer). Not long after that, I bought several packing cases and a steamer trunk containing the remnants of an Elan S3 FHC, which had been dreadfully modified with horrid tin wheelarches and tons of P38 (good thing I was wearing Doc Martins when I wrenched the first wheelarch off...). I spent a while restoring that, and then what with one thing and another in my personal life I ended up selling the Elan (by now in royal blue over white with the gold tape) to a guy in Japan..

What I ultimately hanker after is either a Lotus 11, 23 (have to be LHD cos of the bracing tube trying to go through my knee on a RHD), an early Elite 501 (still stunning) or an Elise...but *every* Lotus I've driven or ridden in has given me real pleasure and a sense of privilege....

When did I first fall for Lotus?

I was in grade school, in Monterey, CA. I had to walk by the local British/exotic car dealership every day. The had Jags, MG's, Triumph, Lotus, and also a lot of Italian exotics. I remember the Lotus', lots of Elans, +2's, 7's nothing really caught my eye. One day, it must have been around '72 or '73 I remember there was a metalic blue Europa parked out front. I was facinated by the car. I remember every detail of it as if were yesterday. Must have stared at it for hours. I was bit, HARD...... I started following Lotus' Grand Prix doings, spent my allowance for a small model of a Europa, looked every day I went to school for another one to be parked at the dealership, and of course spent a lot of time staring at them when they were there. I remember there were not many.

Later, much later, I was engaged to be married to a lovely woman who happened to drive and race Europas. They were pretty rough (the Europas) as a result and we always wanted one really nice 74 JPS for the road. Tragically, she was killed in a car accident (so was the Europa), and so was my love for Lotus, or so I thought.

After much time had passed, I started to notice them again. Kept track of where they were parked. Stole long glances at them in trafic. Noticed them for sale in Hemmings. Watched them in the movies (James Bond, et. al.) I was still hooked.....I knew it. Finally, last year I bought a 74 JPS Europa for restoration. I guess it was (is) part of the healing process, but I now have the really nice one we always wanted.

No regrets. None.

I saw my first Lotus Elite back in the late '60s, when I was at an autocross (gymkhana, auto test, trial...) I had a 544 Volvo then, and was (is) an avid car nut, especially sports cars, probably because my dad had a couple of Volvos, and was a member of the Sports Car Club of America. In 1981, (I was 33) after a divorce, I moved into a friends vacant house, where he also happened to be storing his 1960 Elite, which he'd found in Oklahoma a couple of years earlier. I started working on it with the agreement being that I get to vintage race it the summer of '81. I went thru the brakes and little else, borrowed a driving suit, a trailer, a truck (had my own helmet) and took the borrowed car to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, for the first Chicago Historic Races. Blew a head gasket between 2 and 3, the car was dog slow, but I was hooked. That autumn I traded my 1973 2002 (with 120,000 miles) for his Elite and $500. Over the next couple of years I put about another $7000 into the Lotus and continued to vintage race it...Atlanta, Mid-Ohio, Columbus, Laguna Seca.

In 1987, I drove a friends 7, and was absolutely hooked on that car. I finagled a commercial loan from a banker friend, and bought the 7. In 1988, I sold the Elite to Japan, as I found I couldn't properly maintain both cars, and I figured it was time for someone else to have fun with the Elite. I have since vintage raced the 7, and taken it to Lotus conventions in Ohio and at Sears Point in California.

One thing that traveling with a Lotus does is allow you to meet all kinds of very nice, interesting people, and for that I wouldn't give it up. I've met Patrick at a Lotus Owners Gathering (LOG X, I think, in Akron). I've also met Graham Arnold, Hazel and Clive, Duncan Lee (of Phillip Morris F-1 sponsorship), Ian Scott-Watson, John Wagstaff, Barry Carter, Ron Hickman,Innes Ireland, Stirling Moss, David Hobbs, ACBC himself, Joe Dyer, Rod Bean, Steve Shipley (almost), Foster Cooperstein, Mark Winston, Marc Nichols, Scott Bickford, and a whole bunch of other folks. Thanks all.

This is not the typical "bug" story. In 1979, at the age of 23, I had already owned an assortment of Camaros, Trans Ams etc. and had just finished redoing a 1968 Corvette (427 tri-power). The Vette was off a bit, timing wise, so, a friend (a Mini owner) suggested that we go see John Kalcevic, who had a timing light that we might borrow. I did not know much about Lotus, except that Europas were neat looking, and Mario drove one. So naturally, I was unimpressed with the little roadster in 6 million pieces in John's garage. (Was it a Fiat 850 ? Oh no, not another bog slow, bad handling MG!) Anyway, John was tolerant of me, and casually asked if I had ever ridden in an Elan. I had never even seen one let alone ride in one.

John called me one day to ask me some questions about bodywork (my profession), and asked could I come over. When I arrived, John had his neighbors' BRG S2 Elan sitting in the drive' running. It was a pretty, original car, save the Stebro muffler with an outlet the size of a sewer pipe. He grinned and said, " Let's go!", and proceeded to scare the living s#%& out of me on our local twisties. After he pulled over and let me drive, I realized how well within the limits he was. My God what handling and power! And that glorious, deafening exhaust! And so I was smitten, and set the Vette packing shortly thereafter. I saw 66 Elan coupe in the NY times a couple months later, so I flew to Newark to have a look. Yes, it had the prerequisite Webers, the interior was good, and RHD to boot. So, I did what most novice Lotus buyers do, I paid too much money for a car that needed a lot of work. On the way home it stalled exiting the NJ turnpike, and backed up traffic for a quarter mile. Only one headlight raised and it killed every mosquito within two blocks. My parents thought I'd lost my mind for selling the Vette and buying this smoking and p#$&ing little car. And why did I saw off the stock muffler, and put that noisy Stebro on?

Anyway, 17 years later, Its still a blast to drive, and I have no regrets. (Well, I wish I could afford an early Elite, but that's another story...) Now it has all the goodies (1700 power, ultra close trans, cv's , adjustable suspension, etc.) but the thrill is the same. Now if only I could get my neighbor with the street rod to go for a ride.......

I was about 8 or 9. My father bought a Lotus 17 in poor condition. Since he was a professor at Penn State we had summers to go racing. Many of my early memories are from race tracks and of that Lotus. I was really quite taken with Austin Minis at the time. The lotus ended life in a big way at Nelson Ledges. I often wonder where that car is now.

In 1975 or so my dad decided a '74 JPS was just the car for him. We were in California now. It was only just recently sold.

My first car was of course a Mini. I now own a Europa, Elan and a 51FF. Someday I will have an Elise.

My bug story....(I know we've had enough of these but just one more!): Its difficult to pinpoint where in my history I was smitten but I know who did it and the circumstances. A friend (Danny) I had when I was in grade school was becoming a car buff (we were about 12-13 and like most males discovering the pleasures of manhood: nice bodies...cars and women! Pardon the pun!) and he was getting me interested. We went to a few car shows (mostly run of the mill domestic types) when on the way to one he said they might have a Lamborghini at this one.* "A what???" I ignorantly inquired. "A Countach, its the greatest fastest car in the world!" (A twelve year old will believe any sales litriture! ;-) ) So off we went but the Lambo wasn't there. I finally saw a poster of one he showed me months later.....those budding hormones raged!!! And so for the next I don't know how many years I eyed the various cars one the road hoping I would one day see ome. The years go by and I start to read the car mags and I learn the names..Farrari, Porche, Maserati...Lotus. The quest for ever more power and those outlandish bodies (the main reason Porche does nothing for me..sorry to Porchephiles but it still looks to me like a $90,000 Volkswagon Beetle or a kit car built on same!). Somewhere along the line I am sure the appeal of such an expensive car appealed to my humbled soul...I grew up in a distinctly lower class home. One day I wanted to be the guy behind the wheel of such an automobile...the world would know I made it..I made something of myself. My first attempt in this direction when I got out into the working world and had a very good starting salary and few expenses was my purchase of an 87 Chrysler Lebaron Convertible Turbo..loaded to the hilt ($30,000 Cdn). I wanted that one mainly because of the little know fact that the body (and the car originally before the deal fell through) was designed by Maserati, and there weren't many of them around (untill everybody caught on and made them the biggest selling convertable around-so much for exclusivity!). Not on the order of a Lotus but a pretty fancy car for a twenty year old fresh out of college!

Somewhere during this time when I was a heavy reader (of cars and other subjects) I learned of the background of my two favorite cars. That great gift from God to cars admirers the world over: Bertone Design House with Ghandini, Guigiaro et al...made cars that were definately noticed. Noticed? I saw traffic come to a halt once in rush hour when a Countach stopped at a light downtown (one of only eight sightings in my pre Lotus ownership days..I see lots around the dealership where I go for service now so the shock is wearing off!). I then learned of Colin Chapman and the great racing history behind the marques..Lotus, Ferrari, etc. So after all those years it became my goal (the investment experts say you should pick a goal and write it down so you have something to work for) when I learned about investing that I would aquire enough funds to retire early (so far were on track) and to afford my dream: a red on tan exotic that would really be an exclusive and noticable auto. The Esprit, the Countach... I couldn't decide... I read the Dupont Registry for years just to see pictures of them. I would drive round about ways just to go by the dealership to look in the window at them. I told everyone that one day I would have one. I became fixated on the idea...they told me I was dreaming. This either hurt (because I thought maybe they are right and I'm fooling myself) or made me want to do it even more. I continued in my quest, saving investing learning about the markets and business. The worst comment came from an old girlfriend many years ago who said (when I came to a stop in the middle of a lefthand turn to admire an Esprit at the light) "Come on and quit dreaming, your never going to drive one of them anyway so give it up!!" Boy did that comment ever stick in my craw!!!! The interesting side note here is that by a huge coincidence I will be seeing this person for the first time in 7 years on Friday. Go ahead guess what car I'm driving on Friday! Two guesses!

Anyway when the time came last year to sell the Lebaron (it was dying a slow death..still was a great looker but mechanically..AGGHHH!) I realised that I had just enough cash with a little juggling that the day was about here. I was bit by an ad that was for an 85 Esprit...the price was much cheaper than I expected...for good reason I was to find out. But that was it...with a mortgage and other life commitments I had to say that it was now or never for my dream. I still couldn't decide which I wanted by the research gave me my answer: better gas milage, slightly better manueverability in city traffic, and a little cheaper (leaving more money for a few other goals) and that was it...the Esprit was it. Now I just had to find one....

The rest, as they say, ...was in all my other posts earlier this year and last. May 2nd 1996....I made it in the world. I got my lifelong dream.

A Canadian boy was bitten.

PS: an interesting side note: at one of those car shows I wnet to about five years ago here in Toronto, they had as the centre pieces of the show a Red/tan Countach and a Red/tan Esprit in the centere of the hall (Imagine how long I stood there!). The Esprit custom license plate said INVEZT (only 6 letters allowed in Ontario). I had to chuckle considering what I was doing (investing for a car like this). I always remembered that plate. When I was cleaning out the Lotus after I got her home a few months back I find one of those keyring tags that the garages use buried in the trunk...It said: 89 Esprit; Lic: INVEZT Somewhere Rod Serling was smiling!

Well, there I was; in between summer and skiing in October '93. Home for a change, bored, reading the rarely read Saturday newspaper. There it was, an Europa for sale. I went, I saw and, in hindsight, I should have left it alone. It had every thing wrong that could be wrong with an Europa, but all that has been fixed now.

The reason for this purchase was that I have been, and always will be, a gear-head. I always wondered if I had made the wrong choice twenty years earlier. When scouting around for a car back in '73, I wanted an affordable mid engined car. I ended up buying a 914 2.0l. because I didn't like the absence of sail planes on the twink and its reputation for longevity and the dealer. This was to be my only transportation, you see, but I really lusted in my heart after KAR 120. I had to be practical and I wouldn't survive the bitter cold and snow drifts in a Seven.

Well just after my 45th birthday this year, the opportunity presented itself and I have finally added a Seven to my garage. Both Lotus fit in what used to be a single car garage. I admire and respect them equally. I enjoy working on them because they are simple and straight forward. Each one is a hoot to drive and present their own individual charm. I wouldn't have it any other way. :)

Okay, I guess it's time to breakdown and tell my tale of woe.

Let's see I remember big lizards... no, too early... How about freshman in high school, that would have been age 14. I recall picking up a Road & Track and a Sports Car Illustrated and reading about how this tiny British car beat the good ol' boys at Indy. The name Jim Clark stuck in my head and the photo of the clean lines of the cigar shaped open wheel car crossing the finish line. How could something so danty looking be so incredibly fast???

Then this fabulous film hit the theaters, "Grand Prix" and there were these "heroes" that I had read about in R&T and SCI. Gorgeous tiny fast cars whizzing at incredible speeds not just down the straights, but through the corners! The marques were now becoming distinct for me, Brabham, Ferrari, Lotus, BRM, March, Cooper, etc...

Fast forward to 1967... R&T and a report on the Belgium GP at Spa and the introduction of what was the sleekest Formula 1 car ever built, the Lotus 49, powered by the Ford DFV and piloted by Jim Clark and Graham Hill. They blew the competition away and Jim went on to victory!

A few months later while thumbing through SCI I happened upon a road test review on the S2 Europa. I remember reading, "the nearest thing to driving a Formula Ford on the street." That was THE moment, I had to have a Lotus. The sheer idea of a "race car" on the street, that could for moment do what those F1 cars did on public roads (I lived near a whole bunch of twisty roads and was used wearing out tires on my mom's Ford LTD) got my attention!

As the years passed I followed the Lotus Team, learned more about Chapman and the cars. There was Rindt, Fittipaldi, then Mario, always winning, always innovating, always cementing my desire to drive and own a Lotus.

Car ownership had reached my pocket book. There were Fiats, Spitfires, more Fiats, and finally after getting out of college, finding my first job and getting a raise and recently married... I remember driving past this lot in Hayward CA and seeing this red S2 Europa sitting there with a "For Sale" sign. That was it! I had to have it. And within an hour I was the proud owner. Let's see that was late 1977, over 10 years after that bug had bit... Having now purchased this beast, I sought out help for my acute mental condition. That's how I got to the Golden Gate Lotus Club. My first meeting is a vivid memory... here was a room full of the afflicted, total gear heads and talking and acting like me! It was heaven. My wife was dumbfounded...

The rest as they say is history.... After the Europa, there came an Elan FHC, a S1 Esprit, a Seven, then a year working with LCU (the perk was having a company demo car... they wanted me to drive an M100, but there weren't enough around at the time, so I had to make due with an X180R for a couple of months... I know you're all thinking, "What a tough job", but somebody had to do it?!?), and now I've come full circle, driving what is as close to that BRG Lotus 49 of Spa '67 and the form of a Lotus 41C (Formula B / Formula 2) and then there's that 8 year project S2 Elan still being restored.

There you have it... The bug has yet to leave...

Kiyoshi-san, are we to infer that the demise of the F1 team can be attributed to your transition into Lotus ownership? ;->

Steve,

Hmmm... point well taken... but, there was a couple of years of good stuff there in the late 70's & 80's... There was a Championship with Andretti, and then Mansell, & Senna... So, I'm not sure I'm totally to blame... but what the 'ell folks have accused me of worse....

But, ya know no sooner had I bought that Europa that the 007 flick hit and I had to have a white, tartan plaid S1 Esprit. In fact I was so foolish as have the Europa as my ONLY car and then we had our first kid... Try finding a car seat for a Europa?!?! I ended up fabricating one out of 5054 AL and strapping it on the center console between the seats... It worked until she was about a year old and out grew it! I think it was '81 when I bought the Esprit (yeah, white with tartan...). It was only $8500!!! Lots of miles and needed lots of work. The Seven came into my life about that time as well, and my wife peeked into the garage as I was unloading it and it was all she could do to roll her eyes and duck back into the house --- It was a literal basket case... completely apart.

I was heavy into autocrossing at the time and the Europa was used as a daily driver plus Sunday parking lot battles. Good fun....

But, the best thing about getting the bug has been all the incredibly terrific people I've able to meet. The cars, it turns out has only been an excuse to meet them, make some great friendships, and enjoy the cars and people.

As has started to appear in this conversation, the greatest part of my Lotus life is the friendships I have made with people around the world. I don't know how I caught it, I just did. The best I can figure is that I starte dreading Road & Track and Car & Driver in the early 60's when i was in junior high. No one in my family was into cars, nor was there anyone that I knew. It just happened. Of course this was th etime when Lotus was conquering the world. both with the ELan and F1, Indy and sports car racing. I can only assume that these evil magazines had subliminal messages in them.

Anyhow, my first car, when I was a sophmore in college was a '59 MGA which wouldn't start the moment the temperature dropped a bllionth of a degree below freezing. I went through a few cars, as well as a few schools and lives before going back to school for a law degree. About a year and a half later I decided I wanted to buy a Lotus. From the Avengers, it was to be an ELan. However I had the opportunity to buy a JPS Europa and I figured that it was better investment and I bougt it. There is a wierd story to that but that's for another time. I then became aware of the Elite and began to lust for one. Well, I now have 2, the 2nd bought in parts to become a racer (well someday). In the meantime, I began to grab everything Lotus I could get my hands on: Books, models (now have more than 550), photos, memorabilia, clothing, you name it. Even have my cats Elan & Esprit. My house, my life, is overwhelmed with Lotus stuff.

But it all comes down to the people. It has been a real treat to meet a number of the people who created the history that allows us to enjoy their by products today. Probably my biggest thrill was taking Ian Scott Watson for some laps around Lime Rock at LOG 14. Jim Clark I ain't!! This was the first time Ian had been to the US. At the same event, Peter Cambridge, who styled the inside of the Elite, drove an Elite for the first time and his wife had her first ride in one. When we brought Jay Chamberlain to LOG XI, it ws the first Lotus related event he participated in since his bitter split with Lotus/Chapman in the 60's. To be at the same table as Jay and Hazel at Monterey, people who were quite friendly 30+ years earlier, and who hadn't seen each other for that many years, was a great experience. David Hobbs and Doc Wyllie, who were part of the Team Elite LeMans team in 196?, who hadn't seen each other since, was tremendous. A number of the folks we have brought back into the Lotus family fold have become very active, which is great.

I was 34 when I bought the Europa.

Foster,

I know you don't remember but, I met you at the TVR meeting at Round Valley last year. You were working (Sunday) at a table selling stuff for whomever it was who was taking a break or whatever. There were two Loti at the meet. One was yours and one was the Caterham from Canada.

Here I was at a TVR meet with my 2500M looking for Lotus stuff on the table. Guess what? I found some Lotus goodies! That's what I was looking for and there it was. When I approached to pay you said: "LOTUS"? ... You should have been at the Lotus Club meeting this weekend"! "What are you doing here buying Lotus stuff"? You introduced yourself and I told you that I had planned to but, didn't attend the Lotus event, as it was much farther away, and since the weather was (torrentially) rainy, had decided to abbreviate our trip and simply go to the TVR meet. I knew your name from being a member of the Lotus Club for the past few years and knew that you were into Lotus at a level equal to mine (yes, both you and Mark Winston, whom I've yet to meet, are true Lotus people).

Your above writing hits home! It is very similar to my story. It had to be those damn magazines. I remember reading Hot Rod Magazine. Somehow, it was good but, then ... then I read Road and Track! Then, then ... it was (I think??) Competition Press That was it. British car and Lotus fever!

It started with Austin Healey's with me. Yep! Then the 1961 356B Super! Then some more Healey's. A Triumph here and a MG there. The Lotus was always out of reach, however. Out of reach but, always in mind. Finally, I got one. A dream come true. For some reason that I cannot fully explain, Lotus is part of me. It was the Europa. The GD Europa! Always wanted that! The Avengers! It's all a blurr. It's been there for a long, long time. Lotus was the epitomy of it all! Aston Martins too! Same stuff to me. Marcos, Morgan, TVR, Mini! Lotus, of the lot, was the one I always wanted the most.

My wife and I travelled to England in 1994 and went to Norwich. We went to see Team Lotus. We went to see the Lotus factory. You know what? That Monday, as we were travelling back to London, I was reading the newspaper. There was an article concerning Team Lotus that said that they were going into administration!!! It was most depressing! Really! Truly! It really sucked!

Now, it's Aritoli!

Well, what else can I say. Great story Foster! You brought back some memories. It's good to see others have the same sentiments.

In response to "how the bug" got us, I remember the first Lotus at the University of Washington campus. The British Motor Cars Distributor bought a handful of English cars for display. At that time being into "real" cars, I scoffed at the then $3900 price.

Fast forward a few years after the move to Silicon Valley. I brought down from Seattle a '65 High Performance Mustang convertible, paid all of $2300 for it. By the way, the same car is still in San Diego, owned by Chris Mott, a Mustang club past president and used in many local ads and benefits (at one time his asking price was $35K, during the hay day of prices). It was in SV that I meet a Bob, who finally got his 65 Lotus Elan. I forgot Bob's last name (long time no see), but Bob had worked for Ford Motor and was knowledgeable and interested in mechanical things. After I rode in his Elan, I wanted one. Forward to '68, after seeing many ads in Autoweek, there was one ad that kept reappearing; seemed to good to be true. A '67 Elan with 7K miles for $3.2k in Dallas. At Christmas time, I visited the gent, he lowered the price to $3K on the phone and $2850 in person and guaranteed the car to the Texas border; anything goes wrong call him. He was selling the car because there was no room for air and he had just bought a new "68 Mustang convertible with air to drive to his ranch. The Elan was immaculate needing only one snap on the top. At the upholstery shop on a rainy day, the battery died. The gent sent a mechanic with a new battery to the upholstery shop; he kept his word. I still had fears of driving this car from Dallas to San Jose with only a few Lotus dealers in between. My mother, being the good sport, cancelled her plane reservations and drove back with me. In Pacos, a Texas cowboy said something to the fact that his 5 gallon cowboy hat was bigger than that car. No trouble on the drive home, getting 28 mpg and enjoying the ride. Drove the Elan for a couple of years until the Draft called; sold the car with 26K miles for $2500. Car was almost always reliable (wire fell off of ignition switch once), just had to check and tighten some of the bolts. I remember hitting a fence, 4x4 posts with 2x6 slats or something like that, when I come upon sand on the road. Ended up jumping the curb, hitting the fence and breaking the fence. Upon getting out of the car, I was afraid that the whole side would be gone and I would have a big $$$. If it not for a NAIL that stood out, there would have been no damage after the paint was compounded, can you believe that.

After the move the San Diego, I got a fast Tiger and slalomed it. At the Golden State Grand Prix, I meet Wally and Fran Sinclair from N. Cal and got a ride in this one of the original S3 TC. I couldn't believe that this little car could be so fast. Sold the Tiger, not enough garage space, and bought a "62 Super 7 with 1340 Cosworth. I made the first of many purchases from Dave Bean, a set of Speedline modular wheels which I still use. Rebuilt that engine, drove it a while and then went to a 1500 single port face setup. About this time I meet Rod Bean, Jim Gallagher and others of Lotus West. I slalomed the 7 for many years, trying to maintain its originality and also drove it on the street. In 88, I retired the car and disassembled it for easier storage; at that time still has and still has the original skin and instruments. I had substituted a Datsun 1200 rear end (similar in size to TR10, only 1/2" wider track). I removed the separate A-arm and swaybar, bolt on front end that I designed and transferred it to the new chassis which I bought used; it is a Caterham chassis, LHD, long cockpit, set up for belt drive. I modified, built, messaged the rear axle to obtain a Torsen diff and disc brakes with parking brake if desired. I also bought 4 cardboard boxes, a steel block and crank for a Vegantune BA030. This turned out to be a rebadged BDA. Assembled the motor, dynoed and enjoy the frustration and pleasure of this motor. I installed the Rocket box into this chassis without modifying the chassis; tight fit. I tried a aluminum block until the liner cracked, tough to keep this thing cooled enough. The power of 2 liter made the car shake on acceleration. The overall gear set was 4.88 in the rear x 2.54 first in the box with 20" tall slicks. I have since rebuilt the cast iron block to 1610cc and will fit it into the car. I will miss the 2 liter power but not the cost and reliability problems. Another consideration is the noise requirement here in San Diego, 93db at 50'. I am hoping that the cast iron most will not be quite as noisy and the smaller displacement, combined with my intake noise reduction blanket and Walker Turbo muffler will get me by the noise meter. If not, I suppose there is always the "muffler in the trunk" approach as some have done. I make my living as a Network Engineer, am 52 years young, speak some Unix and got married 6 years ago. Marriage does change the lifestyle and priorities (time, $$$, etc.). I also have a Jensen GT, which is 1 of 512 ever built. I hope to have the car ready for the 97 season running either DMod or our street tire class. I may see some on you at the San Diego and Cal events.