In a message dated 8/7/00 9:22:24 PM Pacific Daylight Time, shiples@home.com
writes:
<< Okay, Lotus Engineering plates must be the very earliest right?
I think I've seen old ads where Chapman was selling a used
MarkVIII and the company was Lotus Engineering. This is
Hornsey?
So then they move to Cheshunt and we have Lotus Cars and Lotus
Components.
I'll just take a wild guess (and hope to be corrected) that
Lotus Racing shows up a bit earlier, around the 12 or 16
when Chapman began to race outside England?
And you've stumped me again. What vintage would a plain Lotus be?
>>
Hi Steve --
Lotus Engineering Co., Ltd was founded in 1953. At some time thereafter
Lotus started using ID plates to identify cars. For purposes of clarity, I
am going to call the rectangular embossed metal plate used by Lotus to
identify their cars by chassis and engine number a "VIN Plate." The first
VIN Plate was a 2.5" x 3.5" (approx.) aluminum plate with a black background
and raised aluminum print which said:
Lotus Engineering Co. Ltd
7, Tottenham Lane
Hornsey, London N8
Below this were two spaces where the chassis and engine number could
inscribed. I have seen the numbers punched in using a punch set and
hand-engraved (scratched might be a better term). Lotus moved from Hornsey
to Cheshunt in 1959, so that ought to set the chronological limit on Lotus
Engineering VIN Plates. The earliest plate I have seen was on a Lotus IX.
They seem to be most common on Series One Elevens. Has anyone seen a two
digit chassis with a Lotus Engineering VIN Plate?
Prior to the Lotus Engineering VIN Plates, Lotus simply stamped the frame
with the "chassis" number. Ken Laverton tells the story of picking up his VI
kit at the factory and being handed a punch and hammer by Chapman who told
him to inscribe chassis number 13 on his frame. Three of the first Xs (Lotus
Bristol) had chassis numbers 88, 90 and 92, but none of them had a VIN Plate.
Each had the chassis number stamped on the swing axle bracket, so that may
set the time when a VIN Plate came into being, since most of the IXs were in
the low 100s. My guess is that the Lotus Engineering VIN Plates started
appearing after the first 100 cars were built.
Before Lotus moved to Cheshunt, they built some of the Elites at Edmonton. I
don't know how or if Lotus identified these cars.
When Lotus moved to Cheshunt in 1959, they created two new entities.
According to Crombec: "Lotus Components Ltd (was) formed to look after the
manufacture and sales of the Seven and the racing cars bought by private
customers." Lotus Cars Ltd was the new name for Lotus Engineering. So upon
moving to Cheshunt, there were two VIN Plates, Lotus Components and Lotus
Cars. That does not explain why two "sister" Sevens with serial numbers one
apart would have different VIN Plates. It does not explain why my Elite has
a Lotus Components VIN Plate when the car was delivered to Challman as a road
car, not a kit. It does indicate things weren't as organized as they should
have been. I have seen two types of Lotus Components VIN Plates. One has a
lubrication chart on the bottom and is about 4"x 6" (approx.) and the other
is a long narrow 4" x 2" (approx.) rectangle used on the dash of formula cars.
There were also Team Lotus VIN Plates and Lotus Racing VIN Plates. I believe
that the Lotus Racing VIN Plates were for semi-works cars such as those run
by Ron Harris and Alan Mann. Obviously the Team Lotus VIN Plates were for the
Team cars.
Finally there are the "just plain Lotus" VIN Plates. Marc Nichols reminded me
of them in a message when he said "How about this, my SB1780 plate simply
says LOTUS with production attributed to Cheshunt. No mention of components
or cars. The plate is embossed. The car has a traceable history from new and
one carb serial
matches the build sheet." That reminded me of the "timecapsule" Lotus 30 I
once had (now in the Barber Museum). It too had a just "LOTUS" VIN Plate
with a Cheshunt address. It was unpainted aluminum with black embossed
lettering, about 6" long and 3" tall (approx.). It is a mirror image of the
rest of the plates.
Does anyone else know of any other VIN plates before Lotus moved to Hethel?
David Whiteside
Disclaimer -- Except for the quote from Crombec, all this is from memory
(hence the approx. dimensions) and I am getting older everyday ;-) so I
might be off on the wording of the Lotus Engineering badge. I'm pretty
confortable with the rest.
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