502M

[silverfrost]

And padded leather gloves and a large breaker bar 

[Trunnion 74]

I know how much you guys like pictures, so,

The chassis is now back at my place!  For the past week It has had copious amounts of Plusgas sprayed over all nuts and bolts.  I have now set about the task of loosening those nuts and bolts, so far it's all going well, nothing is fighting me, yet!  I'm expecting that to change!

 

Who’s up for a history lesson?

Good,

Then I’ll begin.

You will recall that I sent in a previous keeper request to DVLA, well they very kindly photo-copied all the info they had on the car, all 30 pages of it!!!  Going back to the very first sale.

What can I tell you so far?

  I had thought, having the 502M reg number pointed to it being registered by the first garage it was supplied to, as it fitted so neatly with its model number, well I was wrong!  UEC 502M was not the cars original reg number. 

The car was supplied by Lotus to Mayfield Garage in Liverpool.  Mayfield  sold it to Evans Bros of Southport (on 29^th May 1974) the reg number she was given was PKF 10M.  Interestingly Evans Bros, who are Builders, appear to still be in business. The original sale sheet also shows the engine number as G74015632, (she still has her original engine! )  and the colour as Cirrus White.

  In 1976 a request was put into DVLA for a change of Reg number from PKF 10M to a cherished number, 222 FAF, which came off a Morris (don’t know what type) down in Cornwall.  In 1978 the paperwork shows that 222 FAF was taxed by a Mr Stephen Nulty (Bury).

In 1979 Mr Nulty sold the car to a Mr John Speakman. Late in March 1987 Mr Speakman put in a request to DVLA for Reg number 222 FAF to be transferred from the Elite to a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow I ( reg number RRN 247K)  It was at this point that, either by luck or design, we will never know which, the Elite was given reg number UEC 502M.

On the 2nd of April 1987 DVLA printed a new V5 showing UEC 502M reg number.  On the 30^th of July 1987 Mr Speakman sold the car to a Mr Ian Hathaway.

To be continued

Roland

[mikeeech]

I love finding out this kind of history... Keep up the good work

[silverfrost]

Roland really glad you have got the chassis back home to strip,  fantastic news on the history, and well done the dvla who to be honest are normally a bit of a pain in the bum.    

Very lucky on the nuts and bolts not giving you dramas yet, I hope this continues for you , look forward to future updates, 

[Trunnion 74]

The dvla came up trumps, took a while to come through,  only cost £5 for all previous keeper history. Best £5 I've spent in a while

I have found the gearbox and diff numbers, although the diff number is really dificult to decypher. Pictures have been sent to Lotus for analysis.

[Trunnion 74]

Captains Log:  supplemental.

Wow! Wow! Wow!!!  This just doesn't happen!!!

 

As I have all the previous keeper's details I thought I would start the proccess of trying to contact them.  I started at the begining by checking the very first owners details on the net, Evans Bros, the Builders, Southport, and to my surprise they still exist, still going strong!  A letter was drafted and sent to them, explaining that I was now the current owner etc etc.   And guess what!  tonight I had a phone call from them.  Not only that, but it was from Mr Evans Snr himself, the chap, who actually bought the car way back in 1974! 

He's a really nice chap and was delighted to hear that a "Much loved car" had survived.  He hasn't told me much about the car as he says he wants to put together a pack for me.  He has already contacted some friends to get hold of some photos, and has even suggested there might be some cine film of the car in Spain.

He was very enthusisatic and said he was really looking forward to "Tracking down all he could, about the car".  One thing he did tell me was, he eventually traded it in for an Esprit, in the same spec that "Bond had" ( wish I had that car as well !)  He also said some thing that intrigued me "When you get the pack you'll be surprised by what's in it".

I did say that there was no rush and that he could take his time putting the details together.  For my part I have said I will send him details of the cars history after it left him, and photos of the car as I bought it,  which he was delighted with.

 

So there you have it.  I have spoken to the very person who bought the car all those years ago, and who can fill in all the details about its trim levels when it left the factory.  To say I'm, pleased, excited, ecstatic is an understatement, at this moment in time I am like a dog with two d.cks!

Sooooooo pleased

 

 

[oilmagnet477]

Roland - that's terrific mate - I know how you feel. My car was owned by the same guy since 1979 and sadly he died before I bought the car. I would have really loved the opportunity to talk to him about the car.

Be interesting to hear more when you get it - keep us posted.

[Testdriver]

cool, very cool, keep us updated!

[silverfrost]

Very cool and intresting, look forward to what the chap was on about you will be suprized what was in the pack 

[Trunnion 74]

Result number Two!!

 

I have just spoken to previous owner number 4,  a Mr Hathaway, (who was a time served mechanic) who has very kindly sent me some photos of the car when he had it in the 1987/88.  Apparently Mr Hathaway had two Elites one White and one Red.  He painted them both the same Red/White (as it is now) and trimmed both of them in white leather with red piping. (So that means that the beige interior I have taken out is not the original) In his he put a 2.2 Esprit engine, the other, his wife's car had a standard 2ltr engine.

This is 502M. (which I think was his wifes car, standard 2ltr)

 

 

And this was, I believe, his car, note the diferent wing mirrors.

 

Think this is 676N with the 2.2ltr Can just make out the red drivers door mirror.  Red leather door card too!

Have also heard some details regarding owner number 6, (a key person) Mr Tandy, MIA.  No longers lives at the address I have for him.

The search continues!

Edited February 25, 2017 by Trunnion 74
Duplicated line

[silverfrost]

Very cool,  now that is a man who cant make a choice on what colour to have his cars lol !   The interior colour change would  not be out of the norm with these cars given the reputation for water leaks and interior damage etc, so probably would of been a case of a used interior purchased to freshen up the old one.   

[cbclotus]

Thanks a great read .Really like elites eclat .Every lotus made lol.Nice to have traced the history etc.Good luck with your car ...cool Mike

[Berend72]

Great! So nice to know the history of the car. Like the vintage photos

[oilmagnet477]

Great stuff Roland - keep it up. I love the way these cars turn us into amateur private detectives.

Think we should get the BBC to do a series on all our cars - "Where the hell has your car been"

[silverfrost]

I thinks it great that most of the old lotus cars can have their past checked,  love seeing the old style photos posted also, especially the ones showing other cars in the street,  the lotus always looks like a car from the future has landed in the street compared to the old four door cars in the rest of the street  

[mikeeech]

The white and red is clearly an acquired taste. Seeing the car on the street makes the car look big compared to the cars of the day but is very small these days. Curious to see the Weber sticker under the bonnet when the dellorto carbs fitted were superior!

[Trunnion 74]

Thanks for the comments guys.

Just call me Hurcule!

6 hours ago, oilmagnet477 said:

Think we should get the BBC to do a series on all our cars - "Where the hell has your car been"

Bet that would throw up a few surprises! lol !

At least now I know when it got it's distinctive colour scheme.  

The other car, 676N, was first registered in August '74 and last on the road in '91, wonder if she is still around??

 

[Trunnion 74]

I......think i'm going to start a detective agency. 

Step forward previous owner number 6!  A Mr David Tandy, who has made contact.  Had a very productive chat earlier today.

He described himself as an "Entusiastic amateur".  Suppose that's what we all are really.

Mr Tandy was very surprised to hear that the Elite he once owned still survives.  Really pleased I managed to locate him as he is a key person in the history of the car.  For starters he has sent me four pictures of 502M from when he had it (see below) and has said that he has more photos he can send me, including pics of engine rebuild so something to look forward to.

 

Ok, what do my new found detective skills tell me from the above photos?

Firstly, the steering wheel I have is a replacement, as you can see the original had damage to the wheel and had the original wheel pad.  The radio in the pic is the same as the one which is still in the car.  Shame the speedo is obscured, unable to see the mileage.

Engine pic shows all components present and correct, and the cam cover is on the right way round!  And all the aircon bits were there, apparently not working very efficiently, bit still there.

The picture of the car on the drive shows the interior is now beige.  Mr Tandy has confirmed that when he bought the car there was no white leather interior, so that looks like it may have been taken out by owner number 5?  who I have not, as yet, been able to trace.

The vin plate has more legible writing on it, but nothing I didn't already know. 

What else has Mr Tandy been able to tell me?

Well, he has said that he thought the car had been written off!  He told me he sold the car (to Mr Martin shelly) in 1992.  Sometime after, during a chance meeting, Mr Shelly told him that he had lost control of the car and stuffed the rear quarter into the side of a bridge!  This makes sense, as when I was stripping the car down I found some poorly done repairs in the boot, O/S rear, and why the rear bulkhead bonding seams both have cracks in them (will be interesting to see if any other damage /repairs present when I start sanding back that rear quarter)  He has also said that the chassis was none too healthy when he sold it, showing signs of terminal decline, so wasn't surprised to learn that it now has a galvanised one.  Also that he had a problem with second gear and had to send the box away to get a new cog put in. 

There you have it, another success.  I have been really lucky so for, fully expect that it won't continue though!

What progress have I made with stripping the chassis......absolutely none!!  Unfortunately, a couple of weeks ago I injured my finger (No I wasn't working on the chassis at the time) and have been unable to wield a spanner   Good news is that it's almost better so should be able to start soon!

Now if only I could track down the final key person, owner number 8 Mr Judd.

 

There is one question that someone may be able to answer.  Having spent loads of time looking at Elite engine bay pics I have noticed some vin plates are held in by screws and some by rivets.  Is there any significance to this?

 

Hercule

 

 

Edited March 5, 2017 by Trunnion 74
spelling

[silverfrost]

Awesome news Roland,   Glad they got in touch with you, not great news on the rear bump but hey hoe they all have history and at least it will explain your cracks etc.  Pants news on the finger, i expected you to say it was done stripping the chassis lol,  glad its on the mend.   

As for the chassis number i would of thought they would of all been pop riveted as the chassis number is normally made to be tamper proof/not quickly to be changed etc,   I know pop rivets are not the best for security but cant see lotus fitting screws imo ?

[theelanman]

brilliant story so far......

[mikeeech]

I'm fairly sure that my car body was original - for those that know my cars story, very little of it is now original - and the chassis plate was pop riveted on! Very easy to do (easier than a screw driver in both fitting and removing) and very satisfying. 

[Trunnion 74]

Well I wasn't expecting these so quickly.  Mr David Tandy (owner number 6) has very kindly sent me some more pics of the car when he had it. Including some of the engine rebuild he did.   Enjoy!

 

Appears to have markers on the outside of the bumpers.

 

Nice interior shots, same colour/style as it has now.  Also red markers visible either side of number plate.

 

 

Engine rebuild.

 

 

Good methodical approach.

 

David tells me that he put new liners in the engine, along with other new bits.

 

And he kept the front number plate!!

 

The recent letter I sent to owner number 5 has been returned, undelivered.  So the hunt continues for MR Haynes.  I'm guessing that Mr Haynes (5) is the one who changed the interior from White leather to Beige vinyl, as David (6) tells me it was that colour when he bought it.

 

I do have a request regarding the interior.  When I was stripping it out I noticed that the rear coin tray (sits between seats) does not have its chrome surround. Have tried the usual places but no joy.  So if anyone has a spare I could purchase I would be most grateful.  And I'm also on the look out for the centre 3 piece steering wheel pad.

Roland

[Testdriver]

so cool that you track down all the history! I love it! Thanks for the photos :-)

[Trunnion 74]

Finally! I get to do some more work on the car..I've been busy today

Not a lot of room in my garage for a chassis this width....

But I managed to sqeeze it in so I could remove the engine and gearbox.

 

All looking reasonable, some surface rust but ok.

And back out so I could

strip the rear. One of the radius arms is concave on the underside, so may need to replace, unless I can get it back to how it should be.

This is a pic inside the chassis of the radius arm mount.  On my galv chassis the two bolts go into threaded reinforcing plates, just visible either side of the gusets.

Have had a good look at the final drive mounting bushes and apart from some muck, they look like new!  (pics doesn't do it justice)

 

This is interesting. Haven't seen a propshaft like this before it's quite large as in fat, not very heavy though.

And got my first look at the rear brakes, not looking too bad

So all in all a very productive day!

Next will be stripping down the front the giving the chassis a good clean.

Nothing new to report on the previous owner front.

ttfn

[oilmagnet477]

Awesome stuff Roland - you must be much thinner than me if you can work in such small gaps

Getting that Radius arm bush mounting out must be a breeze with the body off.... Been busy with other things just lately but will be setting to with the body to make access possible - might be worth thinking about that before you put the body back on so you have access to those 2 bolts in future.

Keep it up