catch-the-bug

[khamai]

No, this isn't a Virus alert...

It's an old question, but it's fun to ask from time to time.

How did you "catch-the-Lotus-bug"?

Call it virus research!! Some of got it when we were kids reading a
magazine, or from seeing their first Esprit at a car show, or seeing
films of Senna or Clark... So, share your story!

Kiyoshi

[Fred Talmadge]

My first sport car was a AH Sprite, as I tried lots of other sport cars I
kept trying to find the perfect, small, 4 cylinder car. At one time I test
drove an Elan with 3 cylinders working and it still ran better than my
current MGB. I was hooked.

Fred T

-----Original Message-----
From: hkhamai [mailto:***@***.***
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2003 8:19 AM
To: ***@***.***
Subject: [LotusElan.net] catch-the-bug


No, this isn't a Virus alert...

It's an old question, but it's fun to ask from time to time.

How did you "catch-the-Lotus-bug"?

Call it virus research!! Some of got it when we were kids reading a
magazine, or from seeing their first Esprit at a car show, or seeing
films of Senna or Clark... So, share your story!

Kiyoshi

[Unibrain]

hkhamai wrote:

On the weekend trips between San Diego and Los Angeles, my dad would
stop by a Lotus dealer to look at the Elans, Europas and the occasional
Seven. We would look ,and sometimes sit in the cars but I don't
remember a drive. This would have been around 1970 when I was a very
impressionable six. I really don't remember where the dealer was except
it was on I-5 or I-405 on the east side of the freeway. It might have
been around El Torro.

20 years later at an autocross in the Bay Area, I watched John Kelly in
his Lotus Seven and someone else in a Westfield Seven dominate their
group and decided I needed a Seven. 7 years latter(!) I had a Seven, 4
years after that an Elan Coupe and now have an Elise on order.

There seems to be no sign of a cure for this bug.

--
Jim
www.unibrain.org/motorsports
'97 Caterham Seven
'66 Lotus Elan
'05 Lotus Elise - on order

[richboyd]

Kiyoshi,

I was infected in La Canada in 1965. I was riding a bicycle (slightly too
young to drive, but old enough for car viruses) past the dealership window,
saw an Elan, and went inside. Before the salesman could stop me, I was
sitting behind the wheel. The massive infection had begun!

In 1972, my college job was selling car parts (G&H Imports, Alhambra). A
customer was selling his Elan, which soon replaced my Sunbeam Alpine. I've
had the car ever since. Its now undergoing a total restoration (about time!).

Lotus West, a So. Cal. car club, had a tremendous impact on my infection.
This group was so active and enthusiastic that the entire '70s was
dominated by things Lotus. I still refer to their tech articles for guidance.

Infected in Seattle,
Rich Boyd


At 06:19 AM 11/18/2003, you wrote:

[EMA7K]

mine was actually a europa fetish in the late 70's........
however I was only 8 at the time......but I spent most of my teens
promising myself a lotus by the time I was 30.....as I grew so did my
desire for a lotus....at the age of 15 saw my first +2 and fell in love with
the shape and it was a lotus too......I got one at the age of 30 and drive
it
whenever possible....I grew out of the europa ...litterally....my feet are
too big
as is my posterior....I have my +2 and love it...although am contemplating
an
M100 or an esprit to use every day......
we mentioned the lotus bug at the show on stoneleigh and yes I reckon we've
all got it quite seriously.....
cheers
G

[Jon Eckman]

Emma Peel started it for me back in the mid-60's - I lusted after both and
ended up with one.

Jon Eckman
66 S3 S/E

----- Original Message -----
From: "hkhamai" <***@***.***>

Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2003 9:19 AM
Subject: [LotusElan.net] catch-the-bug

[summerinmaine]

I grew up in a car-guy family, and started saving my money for an
eventual car purchase when I was 12. Though my family was more into
street rods, the roads between Palo Alto and the coast made me yearn
for sports cars.

Just before I turned 16, I had enough for an A-H 100/6, to start high
school out right. Within a year, I was into a Morgan Plus 4, but
spotted an Elan (probably an S3 DHC) on a dealer lot and was
gobsmacked by the sheer beauty of the lines (little did I know that
was not even its best feature). College was a lull (still had the
Morgan though), while I explored the joys of 4WD manly-man vehicles
(the desert east of San Diego was a great place to take dates and do
campouts), but a number of mentions in R&T and other car mags kept
the embers warm. Once out of college, I found a 65 S2 RHD (which I
still own), and never looked back. Got my 66 S2 S/E over a year ago,
so along with a 73 BMW 2002Tii and 5 vintage motorcycles, I'm pretty
well set for projects.

Jim

--- In ***@***.***, "hkhamai" <khamai@t...> wrote:

[ddddumas]

--- In ***@***.***, "hkhamai" <khamai@t...> wrote:
"How did you "catch-the-Lotus-bug"?... So, share your story!"

1950s...when I first saw the Sebring magazine race reports with the
photos of those sleek and radical polished aluminum Lotus IXs; I was
too young to drive. The fatal blow was later, with the magazine
cover photos of the Elite at Earls Court in 1957.
Paul Garrett

[type36lotus]

I caught the bug while reading an issue of Forbes magazine. There
was an advert for the Lotus Esprit, actually it was for Lotus
Stock. It was the Buy some stock (number of shares I cannot
remember) and get a Lotus Esprit! I said to my wife "I will have
one someday". Bought my '78 Esprit in '85 from a seller in Oklahoma
sight unseen and drove it back to Florida over 2 days.

Mike Geiger... Esprit-less but enjoying his Elan Coupe'

[tvacc]

I caught the Lotus bug back in 1969...when as a teenager my brother gave me
his 1963 Corvette Convertible in trade for my 64 Ford Falcon. He had just
finished College....had got married...had a child on the way..and needed a
larger car. Being 15 and about to turn 16 in 2 months...I had just fixed up
theFord Falcon that my Dad had given me. So we traded.....

About 6 months later...I am driving on the local
interstate...exiting....tight left hander...and a Green Lotus Elan passes me
on the outside...shoulder. Like I was standing still. I asked the guy with
me (that was a "foreign" car nut)...What kind of car was that? He said
Lotus......

I knew I had to have one of those.... Later the next summer, I sat in
one...belonged to a local guy named Bill Lane...After sitting in one...I
knew the car was just ME......and then in 1972....Corvette gone...driving a
Sunbean Tiger....got into an accident with the Tiger...totaled...replaced it
with a $750 Red Lotus Elan. Had a Lotus ever since.

Years later...Will Burnham (with me along) bought that BRG Elan that passed
me on the interstate. Will has passed away...but the car is now in the hands
of his nephew...

And this summer at LOG 23...I met Bill Lane again ...who still has the Elan
I sat in back in 1970

It truly is a small Lotus world


Tony Vaccaro
http://www.lotusowners.com
http://www.drivingclothes.com

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[Fred Talmadge]

Ahh Lotus financing as creative as it's engineering. Wonder if that deal
would pass current Sarbanes-Oxley (sp?) Anyway, are those Esprits more
valuable than the standard? Just curious.

Fred T

-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Geiger [mailto:***@***.***
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2003 2:49 PM
To: ***@***.***
Subject: Re: [LotusElan.net] catch-the-bug


I caught the bug while reading an issue of Forbes magazine. There
was an advert for the Lotus Esprit, actually it was for Lotus
Stock. It was the Buy some stock (number of shares I cannot
remember) and get a Lotus Esprit! I said to my wife "I will have
one someday". Bought my '78 Esprit in '85 from a seller in Oklahoma
sight unseen and drove it back to Florida over 2 days.

Mike Geiger... Esprit-less but enjoying his Elan Coupe'

[LotuSport]

--- In ***@***.***, "fischelproperties"
<fischelproperties@f...> wrote:

Which? <eg>

-and-
--- In ***@***.***, Fred Talmadge <ftalmadge@f...>
wrote:

Yes...to the right buyer. Some equipment is unique (OH console,
etc.) and ought to bring a fair premium -- but nothing as
expensive as just _owning_ a Lotus!

Best regards,
Bob
_________________________
***@***.***

[DABARTH]

I've been addicted to cars for as long as I can remember. I'm told by
my Mother that my Dad was a car nut and always wanted a Porsche... He
just never got the opportunity to drive a LOTUS!

My first sports car was a '74 Spitfire. I learned a lot from that car.
I had no choice - with no money to spend, I had to keep it running on my
own. I went through it, a Mach 1 Mustang, a '63 T-Bird, finally another
"sports" car in a '78 280Z 2+2. Then when I was 19 the man who would go
on to be my uncle showed up in one of (what I thought at the time) the
most UGLY kit cars I'd ever seen. It was all cracked in the paint,
rusty bumpers, ugly little wheels held on by single flakey chromed nuts,
and a color that can only be described as "Nasty Kit Car Orange". The
only thing cool about it was the sound, and the interior (I had yet to
SEE the engine).

I watched him drive this thing HARD. WOW! I had to admit it could go -
especially around turns. He'd owned it for 5 or 6 years, had rebuilt
the engine. He was now going to sell it because it was not a
convertible. He half heartedly tried to sell it for a couple of years
and each month I slowly fell in love with it. More and more I could see
it for the beauty it was - waiting to come out of its tattered skin. I
finally convinced him to sell it to me and he let me have it for a song.
Over the next 10-12 years I slowly nursed it back to health... Body,
Paint, Electrics, Clutch, Brakes, Lights, Wheels, Tires, Fuel System,
Ignition, and so on until it rose from the ashes like a Phoenix! Now
painted a Gun Metal Grey Metalic (which it was screaming to be from the
day it was designed) with NOS GKN rims the +2 went on to win awards at
LOG and many local shows. And my GOD how it would go!, especially
in the turns where I would give my local club's Esprit owners a hell of
a rabbit to chase. Unfortunately the one "system" I had not had a
chance to replace was the suspension. A lower A-arm mounting stud
sheared at speed this summer sending me into an earthen embankment. I
was unharmed, but the little car that could suffered a tweak to the
frame that I just could not endure. Thankfully I found a new caretaker
in Peter Steilberg in Seattle who is in the process of restoring it once
again - to which I must thank him!

Now I'm in a '79 Esprit S2 needing just enough work to keep me
interested and learning... after all - the work is part of the fun.

The adventure continues!

Respectfully,

Aaron J. Courteau
St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
'79 Esprit S2
(formerly #660 '68 +2)



-----Original Message-----
From: hkhamai [mailto:***@***.***
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2003 8:19 AM
To: ***@***.***
Subject: [LotusElan.net] catch-the-bug

No, this isn't a Virus alert...

It's an old question, but it's fun to ask from time to time.

How did you "catch-the-Lotus-bug"?

Call it virus research!! Some of got it when we were kids reading a
magazine, or from seeing their first Esprit at a car show, or seeing
films of Senna or Clark... So, share your story!

Kiyoshi

[LotuSport]

Oh.

Just occurred to me that I should answer for myself, too. I started
following F1 and Lotus at about the same time (late '60s). Still,
didn't know much about 'em till a customer came into my shop in '71
with a '69 Euro-spec Europa S.2. He wanted to buy tires so he could
sell the car. I bought the car for his price less the cost of the
tires. It's the car (in many small pieces) that was on the cover of
LLtd's reMarque in about '82 on the subject of buying a Lotus used...

Since, I've had two more Europas (one a Twink), a '66 Elan S.2 made
into a B/SR with a Hart-Vegantune BDA and F/Atlantic front tires
all 'round (still the quickest Lotus I've owned), later an S.2
Esprit -- that's five...

Till now, I've never been crazy enough to have more than one at a
time. Presently have numbers six and seven: my '89 Esprit Turbo
(named "S-PRIX") and my '70 Elan S.4 SE (named "Baby" -- sometimes
called the Yellow Peril"). Like the rest of you, I'm certain it's
incurable. (So, how many of you name your cars?)

Best regards,
Bob
_________________________
***@***.***

[Evan Carpenter-Crawford]

on 11/18/03 9:19 AM, hkhamai at ***@***.***e:

No, this isn't a Virus alert...

It's an old question, but it's fun to ask from time to time.

How did you "catch-the-Lotus-bug"?


GREAT QUESTION!
The very first car I saw and heard at my very first vintage race was none
other than an authentic 26R. In fact, I heard it well before I actually saw
it, as we were walking up a hill to get trackside. It was a practice
session and the car probably went around 2 or 3 times before I got to where
I could see it. It sounded recognizably different than any of the other
cars on the track (TR3s, MGs, bugeyes, 356, and even a 23B) The scream gave
me goosebumps! Watching it dissect a much newer 911 later that day was
something that changed my whole idea of what makes a really great sportscar.
I was just out of college at the time (1993) and couldn't swing much more
than basic transportation, so I waited... and waited. Then one sunny day
in 2000 I took a trip to San Diego and bought my car. Later that same month
I found out my wife was pregnant (BIG MONTH!!!) and so now I have my car,
but am still waiting... happily. : >


Evan Carpenter-Crawford
1969 FHC - stripping paint and collecting parts (still)