Greg, welcome aboard. Looks like an excellent example of a really fun classic. As Ross mentioned I am located in Calgary Alberta about three hours south of your new car. As I noted on BaT I have never seen the car or met the seller; it looks like a great find. I think you benefited a bit by the auction being over the Thanksgiving period.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1970- ... -plus-2-3/I have never shipped a car south, but several of our local club members have. My understanding is the process is pretty straight forward.
Because the car is over twenty five years old you should have no issues with various US safety and emissions standards. Although there are some features of your car that are different from the Federal models sold into the US market (Weber head, knock ons, replacement brake boosters, etc.) this should not be an issue. I believe you will be charged a 2.5% duty by the US as the Lotus was manufactured outside North America.
https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail ... rsonal-useI am assuming at this point you are considering a full service hauler to take care of loading, shipping, border brokerage, and eventual delivery. The broker should take care of the details for you if you go full service.
As you are presumably new to the Plus 2, a word of caution selecting a cartage company. The front of the car is very low, so the approach angle to get the car on a standard flat deck recovery vehicle or auto hauler needs attention. All doable, but really helps if you have the seller on board to assist with loading.
One option is to drive the car to a broker in Sweet Grass MT (about six hours from Edmonton), get the US importation processed, and store the car in the broker?s secure yard. This opens up more transport companies for you as it provides a US business address for pickup. I see the current Alberta plates are good until May 2019. Same as down south, the seller will retain the plates though.
I found this thread on BaT that looks like a pretty good resource on the details. Although I have not been through the process, a few things you may want to get from the seller. We usually sell vintage cars here by getting the seller to sign a very simple Bill of Sale with the vehicle described and identified. Might also get a copy of the Provincial Registration. A few photos of the Vehicle ID Plate under the hood and the VIN tag on the lower driver?s side of the windshield would be good.
https://bringatrailer.com/2011/02/13/ba ... xperience/If you do decide to come to Alberta to pick the car up feel free to get in touch by PM
Congratulations and welcome to Lotus!
Stu