Original owner Dr. Andrew Clymo writes:

"I bought this car as a kit whilst a senior houseman at St. Georges Hospital in London. I was based at the Tooting branch and the car was delivered in and on a Bedford Dormobile. The space frame was on the roof and the rest in three cardboard boxes inside. The total price was 512UKP with 8P-10s extra for flared wings. The was also a delivery charge the amount of which I cannot remember and for which in true Lotus tradition the was no invoice or receipt. 'it woud be appreciated if you would see the driver regarding his charges.'

I assembled the car in the open air under an apple tree behind the Victorian house (Bleak House) in which many of us lived. My hoist was a rope passed one and a half times around a branch of the tree. From memory it took me abotu a week of spare time (of which there wasn't much) to assemble.

The attraction of a kit car in those days was that no purchase tax was payable which made for a cheap motocar. Form memory I think a Triumph TR2 was selling for 900 odd UKP.

Early on I replaced the exhaust manifold with a branched one and the single carburettor with twins. I don't think I fitted air filters. Twin separately switched fuel pumps feeding from different levels in the larger (8 rather than 5 gallons) tank saved the embarassment of running out of fuel. The heater I made and it was a godsend on winters nights. The junction between the exhaust bix and the manifold pipe was a continual source of trouble as was the differential housing which had a habit of splitting. On one occasion this allowed one half-shaft to sieze solid whilst coming back into London on teh M4. I fixed this by brazing a reinforcing web across the back of the housing to limit the fore and aft whip.

At some stage I replaced the engine with a 1098 A Series, I can't remember why, or where the new one came from. It probably seemd like a good idea at the time. I have a vague notion that it was from a scrap yard. I also replaced the gearbox when the original refused to select third. The replacement was a new Spridget unit. By that time I could get the engine and gearbox out of the car in 55 minutes. The failure happened when I was driving up from Dorset (to Wimbledon) on a Friday evening, I managed to find and buy the new one on the Saturday morning and drove back to work in Dorset on the Sunday.

The car took my bother and I camping to Greece (across the channel by Silver City Bristol Freighter at 1,000 ft) and back again with nothing worse than a disintegrated rear suspension A bracket bush.

As the log book will tell you, I ran the car for nearly a decade and regard it as the best car I ever had. That is in comparison to the Lotus Europa which replaced it, a 1936 Rolls Royce, and RMA Riley, a Mini Moke and sundry other family saloons.

I confess to the fibreglass windscreen surround adn Farina A 40 screen. The Latter obviated the need for a hood at more than about 15 mph and allowed smoking whilst mobile. The external mirrors are not mine either nor the red much scarred wings."

SB1269 as found by Brian Johnston:

Under restoration by Brian Johnston:

Current owner Toby Griffiths writes:

I came to the Lotus Seven not through racing or through other Lotus cars as I have read in other peoples' accounts, but through the TV... I have always been a fan of the 7 ever since seeing my first car in The Prisoner TV series. I remember watching late one night on Channel 4, in the late 1980's. I woul dhave been 13 or 14 years old. Asking my dad about this weird programme and car I had seen, I remember him telling me it was a 'Lotus Super Seven' - the greatest car ever, and that he loved them! Plus, he had always wanted one as a lad, but cost to much to insure at the time. I think it was hearing that name 'Super Seven' that made it even more special! This new interest of mine was taken up by my parents: we had a family holiday to Portmeirion (North Wales), where The Prisoner was filmed. A great spot to visit and by the sea.

The car came up after joining the Lotus 7 Club, via an email from Steve Winterberg: 'Brian Johnson is selling a Lotus Seven'. It had been restored and he had done all the work himself. I immediately telephoned Brian and visited him the next day. I took a cash deposit as I knew that I would be leaving as the new owner (from the attached photos in the email I just knew it was to be mine.

There was a feeling of events lining up: I happened to have the right amount of money in the bank, he wanted the car to go to a 'genuine enthusiast', and it was almost my birthday! Visiting Brian was fun. He took me for a spin, my first time in a Lotus 7. It was a magical experience - sublime (helped by the lack of seatbelts which felt pretty odd). I bought the car in June 2007, one week before my 30th birthday (I was born 24th June 1977 - the car left the factory on 22nd June 1961 - so we almost share a birthday).  It felt very strange driving home knowing I owned the car. My drive home was 3 hours of singing songs I was so excited! I took delivery about 3 weeks later - Brian brought the car down in a covered trailer.

I have been recently trying to get some original parts for the car: steering wheel, gauges and windscreen stancheons. Recently through many random emails to people enquiring after parts, I discovered Mike Ostrov. He had a Springhall steering wheel for sale, but I would have to come and get it. So a flight to San Francisco was booked! Visiting Mike was fun - a real Lotus adventure.

I have owned the car since June 2007 and I try to drive it whenever I can. I lack any mechanical knowledge of carburettors, engines, etc... unfortunately I have grown up with newer, modern cars. All the credit for the excellent restoration job goes to Brian for his hard work and enthusiasm. He helps me a great deal via email - I have a lot of questions! And, I would recommend 2 great web sites:

John Watson's: lotus7register.co.uk
John Donohoe's: simplesevens.org

I keep the car in a dehumidified air tent - I wonder how many other Lotus 7 owners do the same? I love my car and there's nothing better than a sunny day and a drive in the Lotus.