Greetings All,
John D. wrote:
> Well, John Watson got a little gift from me recently
> in the form of a chassis number for a car he'd had on
> file in the "chassis # unknown" batch for some 4 years
>
I am certain that JWW (John Watson) had the correct chassis number
for SB1135 all along, as did I, courtesy of Mike Ostrov, who is the
former Lotus Seven historian, and close (next-door neighbor!) friend.
What JWW needed, was for a current owner (you, in this case), to supply
this information, to be checked against the factory records.
You supplied the first three digits of the frame number, and JWW, very
generously, completed the number by supplying the fourth digit from the
factory records, based on your descriptions and photographs.
I am sure that JWW has had many requests from owners of frames with missing
registration/VIN plates, for a matching SB number, or for a correct frame
number for a given SB number.
Some registration plates may have been removed from the original frame,
either
to a replacement frame, or to a brand new Caterham (Gasp!), to allow it to
qualify for vintage racing.
John D. also wrote:
> And if you thought *your* Seven is small, I've added a
> beautiful new S4... Matchbox sized! Probably the
> cheapest Seven you'll ever find!
>
About twenty years ago, my son and I visited my parents in Denmark, and
during
a walk through Kalundborg, he spotted a Matchbox Lotus Seven in the window
of a
five-and-dime variety type store, and he absolutely had to have it!
Unfortunately, the store was closed, but with the help of some neighbors and
friends, and a lot of telephone calls, we learned that the owner of the
store, an
elderly lady, was in the hospital, and somehow persuaded the daughter of the
owner
to make a two-hour drive to open the store, just so my son could buy the
Lotus.
All of that trouble, for a Matchbox car which probably had been in that
store
window for ten years, with the original price sticker of probably less than
the
equivalent of a buck (1 buck = 1.00 US$), in Danish Kroner.
But, you should have seen the smile on his face ... !
-- Flemming Larsen, SB1825, Somewhere in sunny California, USA
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