Thanks everyone for the comments above and for sharing your own stories.
So I come from a family of car nuts. It all started with my grandfather, Harold Lance, who got his sons into cars and racing -- my uncle, Clark Lance, being our most prolific racer in the family. My Dad did his fair share of racing in the 60s too. Even my Grandfather and Uncle on my mother's side of the family -- the Carlsons -- got affected by the Lance obsession. My other grandfather, Hugo Carlson, raced 17 years at Waterford Hills in Michigan in a Midget, with my uncle Kirk Carlson.
So I never got into racing, though I'd love to, but I've always loved cars. So back to the lotus.
We took the body off after realizing the frame had a severe crack near the motor mount that was getting worse. I probably made it worse by trying to slide it sideways around empty parking lots. And to be honest, the frame was already 'knackered' when it was shipped out in '77.
So in the fall of 2014 I stripped the interior out with my trusty 6 year old daughter -- who helped me bag and tag all the parts.
Photos courtesy of Jerry Bassler, who some of you may know, and who was introduced to me by my uncle, Clark Lance. I've made alot of knew friends because of this project!