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beautiful day out. A run out to oyster bay Long Island.

You are correct, but I'm not implying poor prep work. Stone chips and cracks can create water ingress. PC has its place. Its a cost saving industrial solution for large production items where hand painting is cost prohibitive. But on a small chassis like this, one can affordably do a high quality coating by hand with rust retardant materials. Regardless, @randomDMZ Look at the 7s that pass through Bring A Trailer to see what they sell for. You will spend that same money refurbishing that car. Or you can buy one ready to go. I say pass on it. If you really want a 7, there are many good ones that go on the block all year. Just watch BAT and the 4 sale thread here. Just trying to save you from eternal project doom.

If you knew anything about powder coating, you would know that if preparation is done correctly it won’t bubble underneath.

Joe. Thanks for all the information. So far I can't claim any racing heritage or pedigree, there are stickers on the trunk but we literally don't know the previous owner. There's a bunch of stuff that went into that. One of the racing enthusiasts told me the bumps were designed to mitigate heat. And that this was something that was done but it violated certain race class rules so very few people did it..... How true that is I don't know but it came from one of the prominent scca guys. Mike Ostrov I believe but don't quote me on that. At this point I'm waiting to hear back from john. I hope all goes well. The biggest issue I have now is that I don't know if there was ever a title. Usually if there's a title Colorado stamps their own number on the car. And we don't see one. So I don't know if there's a title or if there's not. That's the first hurdle. But definitely thank you for the information

And the adventure begins! Yes, John Watson is THE MAN! I'm not sure of the current state of Lotus Archival support and Andy Graham, but John and the Historic Lotus Register should be the starting point (www.historiclotusregister.co.uk). Also check John Donohue SimpleSevens (https://simplesevens.org) site. Lots of good reading and tips on the pre-Caterham 7s 10 years ago I found U1249/SB1478 (through a post in USA7s - Thank You!) in west Texas and drove out from Florida with all the info I could find about Seven verification and hoped for the best! Your target looks good. The Universal Radiator ID tag looks correct. It's welded on the left floor brace and has the correct style stamping... The rear fender looks wide and that front bumper is definitely unique, interesting to see what is under the covers! The bonnet bumps are very odd but given the fog lights and Colorado location, I would guess that they served as defrosters. Never considered the 7 for snow duty, but studded tires and trials heritage... Always be on the alert for fakes, but considering the history, I would seriously question how much effort someone would put into faking a relatively low value 60 year old car. Much easier to claim distinguished ownership or racing provenance! My car had been registered in California and had 2 aluminum Cal DMV assigned VIN tags, one riveted to the lower left frame rail in the engine bay and one glued to the top of the rear axle. For "your" car, the U tag and the Lotus Components plate should be the only IDs from the factory. Take careful note of any others you might find! My car (U-1249) was ex-works (that means sold from the factory) in June 1962 Hopefully, John Watson can determine exactly when your car was ex-works and possibly other unique info. Info is available from several good sources, but John is the Gold Standard. USA cars are easy since back then we changed the body style every year and you could check the date on the taillight lenses, not so with "foreign" cars! In fact, my car was listed as 1967 model instead of 1962 since that was when it was imported. When you are taking pictures, try to find and record date codes. Lucas items usually have month and year. I have found them on generator, starter, wiper motor, voltage regulator, fuse block and even the turn signal flasher! Gauges are also dated, but items under the cowl are not easy to see. Serck made radiators and fuel tanks for the 7, look for their metal tags. SimpleSevens has lots of pictures, so you can quickly see differences over the years and mods people have made. So Good Luck and enjoy your adventure! Joe

Hate powdercoat. It's a cheap way to do it that doesn't allow for blending in later touch-ups. It's a shell that will trap moisture and rust a hole before you see the bubble. POR15, Eastwood frame paint, there are better options. I really like those slot mag wheels. Get this book: https://www.allbookstores.com/Lotus-Seven-Preparation-Restoration-Maintenance/9781855321533 See this FB group. The Lotus archivists hang out there. Best place to get frame answers https://facebook.com/groups/641267452302116/

@gde31ff seriously, in my non appreciated opinion, of which is very biased towards the "classic" Caterham era, I think you have a great car there. It's one of those 7s that, once someone had learned enough about the variations and narrowed down a 7 to the best of the bunch, that's what you got; an imperial DeDion 5 speed crossflow. Not the most wickedly powerful, but then guys are crashing from the car getting away from them. Why people think they need race cars, and Cat is more than happy to sell them, idk. What you have there is a good balance of fast roadster that will go to the ragged edge and stick to the road. And the 13s you want will help that. Fun manageable and serviceable roadster that you can grab the rear wheel from the seat in. Fun fun fun. And you got clams! Well bought. Have ear plugs/muffs for you and passenger. Long hair needs tied back. Always be ready to adjust the clutch cable with two (1/2"?) Spanners. It does stretch out. There's an excellent book to have by Tony Weale: https://www.allbookstores.com/Lotus-Seven-Preparation-Restoration-Maintenance/9781855321533 Another great reason to have the 7 you got, there is a great book like this written for it.

That’s a great photo of two amazing automobiles. My father was a member of the Auburn, Cord, Duesenberg club from the early 1960’s until he sold his Cord in the late 1970’s. We went to many ACD club meets including the BIG one in Auburn Indiana. I saw lots of one off cars over the years there. Now I’ll have to go searching for photos…

Slonie, he posted the car for sale on here at the beginning of the month. He was offering it to USA7’s members first. The shipping, duties and the exchange on his asking price puts it out of my price range. Otherwise, a big transport would have picked it up and brought to Ontario by now. Prisoner Edition Caterham for sale - $39,500

Attention @Vovchandr, a new quote to add to your signature.

No, it's not. I'm just being an azzz.

Prisoner for sale in WA: https://www.craigslist.org/view/d/orondo-caterham-super-prisoner-special/1F9GsATNFCqKw1SLBxGKP3

Thanks I have a few more emails out, including to HMS. Hopefully I can find something. I will update if I figure out what will work.

If so, try to see everything. Check for old stickers. See if they have cleaned out old insurance papers. Old photos - if at a racetrack, we might determine date and location, then SCCA records may help (at Lime Rock). Any old license plate to determine it was licensed, then it was titled. IF you find about licensing, some states will run title history, some won't. I've researched many old, dead race cars and you'd be surprised what a detail can lead to. Look for weld marks from removed rollbar or braces. Take a LOT of photos. We used to say film is cheap. Turns out 1s and 0s are even cheaper.

Here it is again today next to a 1933 Duesenberg, Model J, with a one off body. Previously it was a third place finisher at Pebble Beach. Two weeks ago we had a brand new McLaren Speedster (cost 1.7 million). The owner let every single kid (lots) climb around in it and have their photo taken. I have never seen such a kind and generous car guy, those kids will talk about that photo their entire life!😊

I believe the two on the hood are definitely to clear the carburetors. The two domes on the bonnet I've been told are aftermarket and they were to help mitigate heat. But very few cars had them because they violated whatever the group racing rules that car was classified as. They were definitely added by the owner not factory original. As to the bumper and the mirror I believe they probably were intending it for Street use and that is required in the state of Colorado.

Interesting colour on the Cord. My father had a 1936, 810 Westchester sedan which was faded maroon. He sold it partially restored in the late 1970’s. I understood the buyer had the car finished and enjoyed driving it. I have no idea where it is now. Very neat car for the time and my father’s car had an Ab Jenkins dash plaque stating Ab had driven the car at over 100mph IIRC. Funny, when I did a search just now the only cars with similar plaques are Supercharged Auburns. Also, those only state Ab had driven “an” Auburn Speedster to 100mph. I’d like to take in one of these Hagerty events but the closest one I had heard about was about four hours away. Plus it turned out to be mostly old muscle cars, Ferraris and McLarens.

Oh yeah massive diff between springs, new ones are MUCH lighter it's actually usable now

Today (7/24/26) at Hagerty’s Cars and Caffeine in Traverse City, Michigan. The 1936 Cord parked next to my 7 is my long time favorite, it belongs to my friend, Eric Jensen.

Want to go see the car next week I will take a whole bunch of pictures. The engine in the car is a 1275cc currently. I'm not sure what history the previous owner has? But I'll get a bunch of pictures and try to solve some of these puzzles.

Not certain why you're worried about stepping on toes as I don't think there is necessarily disagreement. Bill's excellent site is a great reference, one that I use often - but if you read further in that section you'll note that he makes special note that his findings are NOT intended to describe how things left the factory, but rather as he found them some time later and perhaps modified. I did state that I had a recollection that the U may have been used for Universal-made replacement frames - I'm unfortunately away from my notes and other non-digital references so can't search to see if I can find such reference - but as I said that is just something in the back of my mind and I certainly wouldn't put money on it. I think the main point of my post was to try to assist the OP, who appeared in early posts to have particular interest in trying to establish whether this is actually a 1965 Lotus Seven (ie., was sold as such at the time). I don't see much in his posts nor the pictures that would make me confident in stating this is likely a 1965 Lotus Seven. A good history of ownership, matching up some numbers with Lotus records, a certificate from Andy at Lotus, or a review from John Watson would, in my opinion, be the only way to establish this isn't a bitsa Seven. As I stated in my original post - there is nothing wrong with a bitsa, unless having an "original, from the factory" car is important to a particular owner. To the OP - these cars have long been challenging to validate as a "real deal" Lotus Seven, for lots of reasons. There were very few to start with, many (most) were sold as "kits" and not necessarily assembled with parts as supplied; many were raced and modified and raced and modified; many were wrecked and rebuilt; Lotus records were not great to start out with and some of what did exist were lost; Lotus itself frequently changed suppliers, pulled from old stock, used stock out of sequence, etc. etc. What I'm getting at is that it isn't easy to validate a particular vehicle even with a lot of good indicators, but with the information you've shared, IMO, it is almost impossible to have a high degree of confidence that what you're looking at is something that Lotus sold in 1965. Could it be? Sure! But I'm seeing more that raise questions for me than I'm seeing evidence of authenticity. To be specific: 1 - the VIN/Chassis plate is incomplete, at best, but perhaps a reproduction- as I stated earlier, if it actually starts with SB11xx, that would most likely be for a car built prior to 65 - if it starts with SB17xx, that would seem more likely around 64/65 2 - lack of a title - certainly there could be lots of explanations, but this one has to raise a question 3 - frame number and stamping - it isn't clear to me from the picture the location where, on the frame, this stamping is found - when Universal stamped the frame near the clutch and slave cylinders, that stamping is directly into the frame and NOT a second piece welded to the frame - If yours is welded to the frame down in the foot well, then it may be OK, but that would suggest to me a car built earlier than 1965. I've not seen anything definitive on when the stamping moved from foot well to near the cylinder mount, but based in the limited sample size I've seen I'd guess that happened pre-64. Could Lotus have used, in 1965, and older frame with a welded on U#, sure, it just raises a question for me. 4 - lack of information on the engine, carbs, etc. - the block should have a number that corresponds with what is on the VIN plate - also engine type and any identifying cast numbers plus carburetor type and numbers MIGHT provide valuable clues (see lotus7register.co.uk for good lists by model and year) 5 - various modifications - later, S3-style rear fenders (likely needed for the larger after-market wheels and tires - given these mods, there is a decent chance you'll find a non-stock or upgraded rear axle and differential underneath); the heavily modified bonnet; the dune buggy bumper and light rack 6 - pictures of the dash, wheel, instruments, foot wells, gas tank, radiator, and suspension could all go a long way to swaying opinion, but given what is obviously modified (#5) it seems likely to me that these things may have been modified as well and wouldn't likely yield conclusive evidence to support originality. So, could this be a 65 S2 originally sold by Lotus but with lots of subsequent mods and maybe a replacement frame? Yes, I think it is conceivable - but without some solid history from the current owner and/or a definitive VIN/Chassis number and an ability to match it to a frame number and/or engine # (via John Watson, Andy Graham, or one of the few others with access to copies of Lotus records), I don't think you could ever be confident of that fact. You more likely could, however, get confident that all the bits and parts were appropriate for a Lotus Seven, were made by Lotus or one of it's suppliers, and that the vehicle is consisten with a 60s Lotus Seven that has been used and raced and updated over its 60 year life.

That is a BMC A series engine number format. I once owned (a very long time ago) a Lotus 7 S2 with an A series engine - it was my first seven. Great little engine.

I have no idea about the 2 domes in front of the windscreen, but I'm assuming the 2 near the carb scoop are for clearance to SU carb dashpots. Since the engine is supposedly a 1.2L it could be an BMC A-series which would typically come with 2 SU's.

Definitely appreciate all the advice. I'm just not willing to invest the little money I have into a clone. That money could be better spent on other projects. That's why I'm trying to make sure all my ducks are a row before I buy it. The owner knows this also.

No idea