Lotus Archivist - Update
Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2011 4:39 pm
Hi all:
Thought I'd post an update as I've been in touch with Andy Graham at Lotus Cars. Short story is that I'm working to get my car back on the road after 24 years, and don't have a lick of paperwork for it. It was last registered in Calif., but calls to the DMV have not turned up any records based on license plate or VIN, though I've put in a request for a micro-fiche search.
I've sent Andy photos of my ID plate, plus stamps on the frame and engine. Luckily, all the numbers match, and while I hope for a file folder of documentation about the manufacture and sale of my car , I'll hope for a letter confirming that 26/4378 is, indeed, the true and correct VIN. I anticipate a Washington state bureaucrat choking on their coffee when I present such an abbreviated VIN, hence the extra legwork.
Here's where I need help.....Andy is a bit confused about how a RHD car would end up being sold new in Southern California. Perhaps I've got the legend wrong, but that's how I currently understand it. Is there any database in the UK to search that might show if the car started it's road career on that side of the pond before being brought to the US? I have no information about a UK license number, so it would have to be a VIN search.
Thanks for any help or suggestions.
Dave
Thought I'd post an update as I've been in touch with Andy Graham at Lotus Cars. Short story is that I'm working to get my car back on the road after 24 years, and don't have a lick of paperwork for it. It was last registered in Calif., but calls to the DMV have not turned up any records based on license plate or VIN, though I've put in a request for a micro-fiche search.
I've sent Andy photos of my ID plate, plus stamps on the frame and engine. Luckily, all the numbers match, and while I hope for a file folder of documentation about the manufacture and sale of my car , I'll hope for a letter confirming that 26/4378 is, indeed, the true and correct VIN. I anticipate a Washington state bureaucrat choking on their coffee when I present such an abbreviated VIN, hence the extra legwork.
Here's where I need help.....Andy is a bit confused about how a RHD car would end up being sold new in Southern California. Perhaps I've got the legend wrong, but that's how I currently understand it. Is there any database in the UK to search that might show if the car started it's road career on that side of the pond before being brought to the US? I have no information about a UK license number, so it would have to be a VIN search.
Thanks for any help or suggestions.
Dave