Domestic # 033
Chassis Number 7812/0587G
Engine Number CC907781215736
72,000 miles (Jan 2002)
This car has been purchased by Brian Hammersley (Dec 2018) who advises he also has a modified Series 3 Esprit.
Rob Tomlinson purchased this car (in partially restored condition) from
Joseph Hobbs, Birmingham, UK. Rob reports that other known keepers were: Mr.
Youd, Sutton in Ashfield, Notts, UK.; and Mr. W Eyre, Chesterfield.?, Yorkshire.
Rob also reports:
The car was originally sold new by a Lotus dealer
(Cathedral Garage) in Bristol, to a company called Topsy Professional Services,
Hill Street, Birmingham. What they did, god only knows... Maybe many a nice
lady has had the pleasure of a ride in my car... :-) Unfortunately, how the car
managed to pass through so many pairs of hands is a mystery... I do know that
it has had several owners in the North of England (Yorkshire area), but still
have many of the pieces of the jigsaw missing. If you know any owners I do not,
please feel free to let me know.
Rob.
Rob has now sold the car to
Graham Capel (Feb 2003), a Lotus enthusiast and Lotus historian.
Since
buying the car from Rob in 2003 we have carried out an extensive restoration and
I am pleased to report that it has just returned to the roads last month! The
body was removed, stripped bare, primed and resprayed. We considered replacing
the chassis, however in the interest of preserving it as a completly original
car with original numbers, we had the existing one repaired and rust proofed for
the future. Mechanically the engine has had a full rebuild and new suspension
and running gear was installed throughout. The interior has seen the seats and
dash recovered and new carpets. Finishing touches and re-stickering in the JPS
colours was done by Steve @ SJ Sports Cars in Devon and the final mechanical set
up was done by Adam @ Cayman Autos in Dorking.
(Graham also owns domestic
#044 which is being restored.)