Well, the missus and I decided to pass on the Lotus without further
investigation into the details of its VIN, etc. I took her over to the
dealer to see it and her first words were - "hmmm, looks like one of those
cheap kit cars." (truth from the mouth of babes.......?) Followed by "You
think I'm going to drive that? What if it rains?" (sigh)
If anyone is interested, the dealer is the Car Gallery on Harbor Boulevard
at Merimac Street, in Costa Mesa, CA, about one hour south of Los Angeles.
Just south of Adams Boulevard by about one and a half blocks, on the east
side of the street, next to an Ace Hardware Store. Dealer says the owner
wants $9,000 for it. It is white and yellow. Approx. 28,000 miles.
I have no interest in the car or dealer, no knowledge if reputable, etc.
etc., yada, yada, yada.
Ross D. Vincenti
Asst. General Counsel/Asst. Sec'ty.
Transamerica Home Loan - Legal Dept.
Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 742-4756 phone
(213) 741-7231 or 741-6945 fax
ross.vincenti@transamerica.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Susan Hensley [SMTP:susan@grotecon.com]
Sent: Monday, July 21, 1997 12:17 PM
To: Vincenti, Ross
Subject: Re: Value of a (real) Lotus 7?
Well, Ross, if the info you have given is correct, the car *may* be
worth $5,000 to 6,000. What you are describing is a Series 4 car with a
Series 3 engine in it -- the Series 4's all had twin cams. The guy who
knows (Jeff Sloan at British Auto in Fort Worth, and a big Lotus guy --
has a GORGEOUS Caterham) says that the Series 4 with the engine swap to
the Series 3 engine lowers the price a lot (when I read him the details
you had sent he said, "THAT's why it is so cheap!" -- apparently the
Series 4's go for a good bit more than that). I asked if the Series 4
body could have been swapped with the 3, and he said no. He says the
Series 4 looks a little like the fiberglass dune buggies of the 60's,
and looks different from the Series 1,2, and 3 cars. He also recommends
going to Barnes and Noble or other large bookstore -- they have good
books on Lotus 7's there, if you are interested. I think he also said
the Series 3's had Cortina and/or Croswell 1600 engines in them.
I hope this helps! Let me know if I can do anything else!
Keep Triumphing,
Susan %)
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