Lotus Seven number 449 was one of the first 4 to enter the U.S. The first cars to arrive in the U.S were numbers 446, 447, 448 and 449, per John Watson, historian of the Lotus 7 register, Number 449 originally had a Ford 100E motor. That engine was replaced by Max Balchowski (of Old Yaller fame) and a 1957 Lancia Aurelia V6 (2.5L) was installed with all Nardi mods. It was raced in the SCCA California club for several years. It was reported to be very fast, but had a tendency to overheat. The car was used on the road during the seventies and then set idle during the eighties while a restoration was started. This restoration was completed by the previous owner, Cap Chenoweth, in 1998. It was brought back to original series 1 specs by Cap and he installed a Climax motor.

Below are some early photos, pre-restoration. The top left picture shows #449 with the clamshell fenders installed. The others are with the Series 1 fenders installed (when Cap picked up the car) which I wouldprobably be the original parts. Also pics of the transmission fitted to the car, of unidentifyable type, which may help as to its origin.

Phil Roettjer purchased the car in February 2001 without engine and spent the next year preparing it to race. He installed a freshly rebuilt Climax motor, rebuilt the Sprite rear end to race ready specs, and installed heavy duty rear trailing arms. He started racing the car the summer of 2002. Prior to the first race he took it to two test days at Lime Rock and one test day at NHIS to sort out the car. It's first race was the VARAC vintage festival at Mosport in June.

The car ran surperbly and only missed the 10 minute warm up session on Sunday morning due to a fuse that lost contact. The car ran in the Pittsburg Vintage Grand Prix in July and a picture of its backside is seen in photo 4 on page 42 of the October 2002 issue of Vintage Racecar magazine. It also competed in the VSCCA vintage festival at NHIS in August, the SVRA U.S. Zippo Vintage Grand Prix at Watkins Glen in September and the VSCCA Fall Finale at Lime Rock in October. The car runs and handles wonderfully.

Current Specification:

• 1958 Series 1 Seven, SN449
• One of first five cars imported to U.S.
• Long race history, all known and documented
• Bullet proof, 1220 FWE Climax engine. No expense spared on engine. (Engine built by Sasco Sports)
• New billet crank: nitrited and magafluxed
• Carrillo rods
• J&E pistons
• New stage 3 five bearing cam
• Aluminum flywheel with Tilton racing clutch
• MGA close ratio tranny
• Sprite rear end: bullet proofed with racing axles and double bearing hubs
• 9 inch front Alfin front brakes EGT gauge Stack tach Many spares

Upon purchase of S1 # 449, Craig Bielat writes:

Hello John,
I saw your commentary on the SimpleSevens site about Seven #503. Granted I am a bit new to Seven ownership, but Steve's car sure looks very similar in the frame as in #449. I have attached photos of various areas for comparison with #503.

It is a sad fact that most of these early cars were raced and when this happens they get modified. The biggest areas are the roll bar installation and the engine replacements. There the differences are obvious between the two cars. But if you look at the little items like the Dzus fastner mounts, e-brake mounting, tube type and diameter, and the bracket for the rear brake flex hose. I think you will agree that 503 is very similar. I hope it will help.

In Summer or 2006, SimpleSevens visited Grattan Raceway for the VSCDA's 20th Annual 'Vintage Grand Prix au Grattan' in Belding, Michigan, where we caught up with several Lotus Sevens and their owners. Below are a few photos taken of S1 #449 during the event.