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[quote="Concrete-crusher"]Now my engines out I thought I'd hunt for the chassis number , on mine it's stamped on the right hand side under the steering column. Do any of the members have records which could identity this number. It's sort of half way between an S3 and S4. Thanks Steve[/quote]
Steve, despite what the Parts List indicates about the Super Safety (SS) Elans, the records and stories from this forum tell a slightly different story. Your Unit No falls within the 1000 odd car range (Unit Nos 7279-8221) invoiced by Lotus between July 1967 and July 1968. These are the parameters within which the SS Elans were produced. Some records indicate that 445 such cars rolled off the production line. Some mostly Federal cars had all the typical SS features, some had just one or two. The majority of SS Elans were destined for North America, some were sold into the Domestic market. Again, the majority of cars were Series 3 Elans, but a few very early Series 4 cars have SS features. There are no clear hard and fast rules about the designation, in typical Lotus fashion!
Your car was invoiced in January 1968 by Lotus, with an engine originally in the LP8### series. In my collection of cars I have not come across any SS Elans produced in quarter one of 1968. This may just be an aberration, lack of data on my part or it may be indicative of a concentration on producing the Elan for a particular market at that time. We should bear in mind that Lotus moved the factory to Hethel in November 1967 and this caused much turmoil, especially with the record keepers! There are holes in the records that only appear after the move. Not I suspect, due to any underhand dealings; more likely due to inefficiencies as the new systems and operations got under way. Lotus were becoming a public company also at this time, when the demands on effective record keeping would have increased.
The whole bonnet bulge introduction and the SS features have been addressed by me here before. I'm happy to reprise them but feel it may take away from the information you are seeking at the moment.
Tim
Steve, despite what the Parts List indicates about the Super Safety (SS) Elans, the records and stories from this forum tell a slightly different story. Your Unit No falls within the 1000 odd car range (Unit Nos 7279-8221) invoiced by Lotus between July 1967 and July 1968. These are the parameters within which the SS Elans were produced. Some records indicate that 445 such cars rolled off the production line. Some mostly Federal cars had all the typical SS features, some had just one or two. The majority of SS Elans were destined for North America, some were sold into the Domestic market. Again, the majority of cars were Series 3 Elans, but a few very early Series 4 cars have SS features. There are no clear hard and fast rules about the designation, in typical Lotus fashion!
Your car was invoiced in January 1968 by Lotus, with an engine originally in the LP8### series. In my collection of cars I have not come across any SS Elans produced in quarter one of 1968. This may just be an aberration, lack of data on my part or it may be indicative of a concentration on producing the Elan for a particular market at that time. We should bear in mind that Lotus moved the factory to Hethel in November 1967 and this caused much turmoil, especially with the record keepers! There are holes in the records that only appear after the move. Not I suspect, due to any underhand dealings; more likely due to inefficiencies as the new systems and operations got under way. Lotus were becoming a public company also at this time, when the demands on effective record keeping would have increased.
The whole bonnet bulge introduction and the SS features have been addressed by me here before. I'm happy to reprise them but feel it may take away from the information you are seeking at the moment.
Tim
Visit www.lotuselansprint.com
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trw99 - Coveted Fifth Gear
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Thank you Tim , Mark and Sandy for some confusion here
I guess the fact that the chassis number is on the right side of the chassis also indicates it was destined for export but something must have changed.
There is no VIN plate which is a shame , and so far the only engine number I can find is 3020E but once I strip the paint off I might find something else.
The log book states an engine number of 122E55403 and the casting number is 7C13B which I worked out is 13th March 1967
The first recorded keeper was my step father , but he had a lot of cars as a younger guy and has no recollection about this one. it was left in a shed for 20 years or so until I showed an interest in it 1992 , all the rubber was perished away , the exhaust had rusted to dust but amazingly the chassis being covered in oil was very good.
It's really taken me this long to get it almost sorted.
Steve
I guess the fact that the chassis number is on the right side of the chassis also indicates it was destined for export but something must have changed.
There is no VIN plate which is a shame , and so far the only engine number I can find is 3020E but once I strip the paint off I might find something else.
The log book states an engine number of 122E55403 and the casting number is 7C13B which I worked out is 13th March 1967
The first recorded keeper was my step father , but he had a lot of cars as a younger guy and has no recollection about this one. it was left in a shed for 20 years or so until I showed an interest in it 1992 , all the rubber was perished away , the exhaust had rusted to dust but amazingly the chassis being covered in oil was very good.
It's really taken me this long to get it almost sorted.
Steve
- Concrete-crusher
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.............just so i can say: all matching numbers (thats the most important criteria for the loti jugglers!!) - isn't the Hand done Chassis NUMBERS and the original Plaque enough to verify this cars' heritage/authenticity!!!????????
PLEASE help someone! sandy - winters' getting closer and closer !!
PLEASE help someone! sandy - winters' getting closer and closer !!
- el-saturn
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Sandy, I am slightly confused by your use of the term 'matching numbers' here.
To be clear, matching numbers as far as Elans are concerned require that the Unit No (on the VIN plate, and on the UK off-side chassis rail on post-unit no 3600 cars) and the Engine No (on the UK off-side engine mount top horizontal surface and sometimes on the rear face of the cylinder head) match the records held by Lotus.
Elan body numbers are something of a nightmare and often duplicated, probably due to the use of different moulds during production. However, where they are known by Lotus they too can help verify identity. They are most usually found crayoned into the gelcoat on the underside of parts, such as headlight buckets, boot lids and so on. The dyno-tape tags in the engine compartment have usually fallen off, rotted away or been peeled off.
Steve, you wrote "... the chassis number is on the right side of the chassis also indicates it was destined for export ...".This was not the case. All Elans always had the unit no on the UK off-side chassis rail. The only time I am aware that the UK near-side rail was used was for Lotus Replacement chassis, when the number is prefixed by LR and is a sequential number for the LR chassis, with no relevance to the original car's unit no.
Tim
To be clear, matching numbers as far as Elans are concerned require that the Unit No (on the VIN plate, and on the UK off-side chassis rail on post-unit no 3600 cars) and the Engine No (on the UK off-side engine mount top horizontal surface and sometimes on the rear face of the cylinder head) match the records held by Lotus.
Elan body numbers are something of a nightmare and often duplicated, probably due to the use of different moulds during production. However, where they are known by Lotus they too can help verify identity. They are most usually found crayoned into the gelcoat on the underside of parts, such as headlight buckets, boot lids and so on. The dyno-tape tags in the engine compartment have usually fallen off, rotted away or been peeled off.
Steve, you wrote "... the chassis number is on the right side of the chassis also indicates it was destined for export ...".This was not the case. All Elans always had the unit no on the UK off-side chassis rail. The only time I am aware that the UK near-side rail was used was for Lotus Replacement chassis, when the number is prefixed by LR and is a sequential number for the LR chassis, with no relevance to the original car's unit no.
Tim
Visit www.lotuselansprint.com
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trw99 - Coveted Fifth Gear
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I think I'm getting my near side and offside mixed up , it's on the drivers side under the steering column. See picture. From other posted pictures I could never see the steering column.
On a different subject the heads gone to the engine workshop to have new guides and seats fitted , I am hoping that works out , they said it will take about two weeks , very busy it seems.
Steve
On a different subject the heads gone to the engine workshop to have new guides and seats fitted , I am hoping that works out , they said it will take about two weeks , very busy it seems.
Steve
- Concrete-crusher
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................... i don't really understand this either: in any case my chassis number is right next to the oil pump: thats the same position for all elans AND may car never had a VIN number PLUS i bought a new body at lotus (norfolk) in 1981 --- these two identical 36/4982 numberings must be sufficient to identify this car, dont you think fellas???? (plus of course a modified 701 block: new numbers, which is wrong obviously) PLEASE HELP ME CLARIFY THIS!!! sandy
- el-saturn
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Sandy why do persist on blighting Steve CCs thread with stuff about your car? I'm not sure posting in the evenings is such a good idea.
CC I think it might pay you to have a good look over your car to see whether you can find any consistent evidence of the body/ unit no. As has been mentioned earlier places like inside door cards, rear of glovebox, is the demo tape still on the bulkhead or even cast in etc etc. You may be able to cast a little more light on the issue.
CC I think it might pay you to have a good look over your car to see whether you can find any consistent evidence of the body/ unit no. As has been mentioned earlier places like inside door cards, rear of glovebox, is the demo tape still on the bulkhead or even cast in etc etc. You may be able to cast a little more light on the issue.
Steve
Silence is Golden; Duct Tape is Silver
Silence is Golden; Duct Tape is Silver
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elanfan1 - Coveted Fifth Gear
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