In the end, this is the bit of paper which carried the most weight. This receipt clearly indicates that the car sold to Blair Barnett by Jason Len, and subsequently to Ed McCarroll, was in fact chassis SB2411.

Apparently the 'original' chassis plate indicated as delivered with the car on the previous page (#6) disappeared at some point (will it surface on another Seven?) and when the frame was reskinned, a new plate was ordered from Dave Bean (previous page #5) and the number 2116 was mistakenly copied from the frame and stamped into the chassis plate.

It's also highly possible that the car 'accidentally' became registered as a 1967 instead of a 1969 Seven to skirt tough California emissions regulations.

Mr McCarroll had attempted to register the car with the Lotus Seven Register in the past, but was disheartened by the fact that the engine and chassis numbers he provided did not seem to match up according to Lotus records. Had Ed's paperwork been reviewed at that point, the correct number would have come to light and this issue would not have arisen! When the number SB2411 is checked against factory records, frame number B2116 comes up as a probable counterpart, and the engine number is of the correct period as well, indicating Mr McCarroll's car is very probably the 1969 Lotus Seven, SB 2411.

Meanwhile, John Waltermire's chassis plate and title for SB2116, as well as his verbal history of the car though not conclusive in themselves, suggest that he owns SB2116. The upgrading of the chassis frame, engine, etcetera may lead one to suggest that the car is no longer an 'original' Seven regardless of its numbers, but then that's a different issue altogether!

There is a lesson here for all interested Lotus Seven owners and buyers:

Verify any Lotus Seven that is offered as 'authentic' with the Lotus Seven Register. Any one who has an original Lotus Seven will be delighted to hear the information John Watson may have to share on a specific car. In fact, the only reason NOT to register your Lotus Seven with Mr. Watson is if its authenticity is suspect.

The happy ending? This story proves that even if a Seven ends up with a duplicate number, that does not mean it is not an authentic Seven -it merely takes some research to determine the fact of its authenticity!

Woof!
John Donohoe
June, 2002

Comments? Please email me: johnd@simplesevens.com