Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

I know this has been done before a few times with conflicting views on
the origins of the black badge but I came across something I felt is a
bit significant the other day.

In Autosport there is a road test of Graham Arnold's S3

"Grahams's car is a Special Equipment coupe finished in non-standard
black - even the normally yellow and green Lotus bonnet badge has a
black background"

The date of the magazine?

April 5th 1968 - two days before Jim Clark was killed at Hockenheim

Martin

72/45
--

Which would probably mean that the photos and article were done up at
least a month in advance of the issue date.

--- In ***@***.***, Martin Evans <mcemail@d...> wrote:

--- In ***@***.***, "Michael Geiger" <type36lotus@v...>
wrote:


Gasp! So Clark's death was premeditated murder?

-- Doug Nicholls

I have a 1967 S3 SS made in August of 1967 with the black bonnet ornament.
Mystery continues.
Finn

Not much of a mystery, the black ones were probably cheaper.

Gary
--- In ***@***.***, ***@***.***e:

On Wed, 3 Nov 2004 19:35:05 EST ***@***.***e:


Have you owned it from new?


Mike
--
Mike Causer Email - mailto:***@***.***
GPG KeyID 1C2DDA07 WWW - http://www.mikecauser.com
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Mike,
I am the third owner. Car originally imported and sold in Ohio. I got it
through Bill Colson who runs race_cars.com.
Car is very original, very good body, so I believe the badge is original.
Finn

On Thu, 4 Nov 2004 12:41:20 EST ***@***.***e:


Sadly this still leaves open the possibility that the first owner, being
a true Lotus enthusiast, bought and fitted a black badge in 1968 in
remembrance of Jim Clark. Or maybe even after Jimmy Hendrix (also an
Elan owner) in 1970. Of course if you've got the 1967 photographs that
every new Lotus owner takes when s/he first gets it home....

A few weeks ago I saw a 1990-ish Esprit with a black/gold badge outside
a car sales place. On pointing out that it was the wrong badge for the
year the salesman told me that the original had been nicked and the
black one was cheaper than the current, correct one. So that was what
they'd fitted.



Mike
--
Mike Causer Email - mailto:***@***.***
GPG KeyID 1C2DDA07 WWW - http://www.mikecauser.com
Flood the fen again! - Wicken Fen enlargement - http://www.wicken.org.uk

Finn,

I too have a S3SS, 45-7380 w/ what I believe to be it's original yellow/ green nose badge. Like you, I am the 3rd owner, since 1974. Just celebrated 30 years w/ the same car by taking it to the SCCA runoffs at Mid-Ohio in September. My car was originally from Pittsburgh, went through Lotus Central to Columbus Indiana. I bought it while I lived there for about a year, then moved back to Columbus Ohio, where it remains.

Is your car still in Ohio? Who was the Ohio dealer who sold it new? Is it red or yellow and are the bumbers painted black to match the black badge. Isit possibly a FHC? Some S3SS models were actually sold as '68 models, since they were still on the dealer's floor when "68 models were announced. Your's may have remained unsold until there were black badge cars coming in, and it may have been "upgraded" to help it sell. Just a guess at this point.
Oh, and it's Bill Dolson, not Colson (Colson is the Lotus 15 rep in the Historic Lotus Register). And BTW, Dolson has just recently sold race-cars.com.

Roger


Mike,
I am the third owner. Car originally imported and sold in Ohio. I got it
through Bill Colson who runs race_cars.com.
Car is very original, very good body, so I believe the badge is original.
Finn


























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Hi Roger,
You helped me a lot when I decided to buy the 1967 Elan with some good
information. I even wrote you a thank you letter. That must have been six or seven
years ago.
I am in the San Francisco Bay area and the car is 45/7385 just five after
yours was made. I believe August 1967 was the month in which it was built
according the records I could find. Car is Lotus white with black interior. It is
left hand drive and a DHC matching the 45 prefix.
I am thinking about selling as I need more space in my garage.

Hi Finn
Is the horn push bottom black and silver too or just the front one?

Gary

--- In ***@***.***, ***@***.***e:

Hi Gary,
Yes, the same color on the Colin Chapman signature steering wheel as the
bonnet ornament.
Cheers
Finn

Hi Finn

This has been discussed on this list and other's, some people
think it has meaning others don't. I have 45/7334 in pieces and am I
think it had (mostly came in pieces) green/yellow. I may have used it
on another Elan, or it may still be in the boxes somewhere. Not many
people buying Elan's because they are original (just read the bodges
some folk talk about on this list) but because they are a blast to
drive. Value's in the U.S. seam to be in the mid teens plus or minus
4-5k. I see several advertised in the low to mid 20's but they seem
to be "for sale" a long time. I buy the bottom of the barrel Elan's
$1000 to $4000 and add some more money and sweat. So far I have
bought 9 and sold 1, I am think of moving another along next year to
help fund eating, heat, shelter, and taxes. I sold one (white S4)
last year for $16,500 and delivered 500 miles as part of the deal.
Best running car I ever had but I lost my garage/workshop to progress
last year (commuter rail expansion) and my job the year before that,
some things just had to go. It had no front badge at all because I
never put it back on. I hope that with the Elise introductions the
value's of "classic" lotus cars go up just as the intro of the new
Mini Cooper has sparked the interest and value of the older ones.
Mike and Roger have a lot of involvement in Lotus going back many
years, back to when they were new cars, they were just out of
production when I bought my first in 1975.

Gary E. Anderson

PS big grains of salt must be taken with every thing you read on the
internet.

--- In ***@***.***, ***@***.***e:

Hello Finn,

Yes, I remember helping you on that purchase, I just didn't remember your name. I also now know a little more about the fellow you bought it from, although I have never met him. I believe he is the same person I see selling all sorts of race car parts on Dolson's website. In that capacity, I can imagine him replacing your original yellow/green badge w/ a cheaper black one so that the original could go onto a race car. Also, my thoughts about red or yellow cars w/ black bumpers could also easily be extended to a white car. What I mean is a white car would look good w/ a black badge on it. Of course none of us knows for sure what badge your car left Hethel wearing, butall normal indicators would say it should have been yellow/ green. You might also contact Bob and ask him if he replaced the badge. I know he owned the car for a long time.

My only contact w/ the previous owner of your car was in trying to get a good copy of the manual supplement that you did for me. I never complained about the quality of that document, but I was hoping it would have been better than it was. Any chance I could get you to do a better copy or a scan before you let go of the car. SS models are pretty rare so I don't see a big rush for someone like Dave Bean to reproduce them. If Gary Anderson's 45-73xx is also a SS, I'll bet he'd like a nice copy too.

Roger


Hi Roger,
You helped me a lot when I decided to buy the 1967 Elan with some good
information. I even wrote you a thank you letter. That must have been six or seven
years ago.
I am in the San Francisco Bay area and the car is 45/7385 just five after yours was made. I believe August 1967 was the month in which it was built according the records I could find. Car is Lotus white with black interior. It is
left hand drive and a DHC matching the 45 prefix.
I am thinking about selling as I need more space in my garage.


























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intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they
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Hi Roger,
The horn push is also black and gray matching the bonnet ornament, so go
figure. Please give me your mailing address and I will copy the supplement manual
again. The actual seller was Bob Cavanaugh in PA. Is that the guy your are
speaking about?
Cheers
Finn