c1958/71 Lotus Seven

Lot details
Registration No: AAY329J
Chassis No: JMH71
Mot Expiry: Aug 2008

Like many an old warhorse this Lotus Seven has quite a story to tell. Although, lacking a Lotus chassis plate, the car has the number 'P00018' stamped into one of its chassis members which may have been the work of the Progress Chassis Co (the firm responsible for supplying early Seven chassis). Sadly, any production records that Progress might have kept have disappeared so there is no way of cross-referencing the car's origins. That said, Lotus Seven Historian & Archivist John Watson identified several interesting features from photographs: "The steering arm position behind the centre line of the front wheels and the steering column travelling between the clutch and the brake pedals suggest a Series One car (September 1957 - June 1960). The mounting brackets for the master cylinders being on top of the footbox are a feature of the later Series One cars. However, it does look as though these have been re-welded at a later date". Although, there is no documentary proof that the Lotus began life as a racer, the circumstantial evidence is plentiful. As well as extra cross-bracing, the front end of the chassis sports camber-adjustable double-wishbone suspension, a lower-mounted anti-roll bar and Herald-derived disc brakes. While at the rear, the base chassis rails are angular rather than curved in shape, the Nash Metropolitan back axle (4.55:1) is located via straight-top radius arms and the diagonal link has been substantially straightened / braced. Many of these modifications are similar to those outlined in 'Lotus Seven: A Collector's Guide' by Jeremy Coulter (and practiced by the likes of David Bettison and Reg Price). The fact that the two-seater was road registered as a rebuilt vehicle by the then custodian John Markham Hartill in 1971 (hence the 'JMH 71' chassis number) indicates that it had not long finished competing. According to John Watson, it was not unknown for drivers to keep the chassis plates of their successful Sevens as keepsakes. Purchased by its previous keeper in 1972, the Lotus has been in the current ownership since 1994. The subject of much restoration work over the last thirteen years, it retains an early Series One scuttle but otherwise wears a mixture of battle-scarred or new aluminium panels. Powered by a replacement 948cc A-series four-cylinder engine allied to BMC four-speed manual transmission (it had a pre-crossflow Ford engine and gearbox installed when acquired), the Lotus has also had attention paid to its suspension, brake and steering assemblies. Riding on 13-inch JAP Magna alloys, this intriguing car is offered for sale with V5C Registration Document, daylight use MOT certificate and historic class (free) road tax both valid until August 2008.