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Gents ,
In regard to frame numbers ,
I owned / rescued 20-J-965 some 30 years ago , that was a very strange item, the car was sold new to Geoghegan's in Sydney as Lotus agents having just taken over from Derek Jolly of South Australia .
20-J-965 , agent Geoghegan , eng. no. 762301 , gearbox , H 3868092 , Weber 40DCOE2 numbers 10988 and 11081 , colour black , ex works 9-3-1962
I spoke to Leo Geoghegan about the car which he well remembered due to the fact he was already running his 22-J-49 and in to the car yard came a Yank and wished to purchase a Lotus 20 not even a 22 , Leo told me this was pennies from heaven as '' they were dying in the bum '' with this last unsold Lotus 20 , the purchaser was Ken Milburn , an American , that was his assumed name as his correct name was Kent Price and his father was very big in the USA political system and so as to be able to race he came to Australia and ran under the assumed name as racing was apparently a no no
in the family.
When I rescued the car circa 1978 and stripped it down I found the following
stamped into the flat vertical plate [ engine side] that connects horizontal and diagonal tubes behind the seat back XX LC 1 .
I suspect this car is either the jig car or prototype and in the best tradition of Lotus , March etc. probably lay around after doing it's original job at Lotus Components and late in the piece when an order came in was given a quick refresh and sold to poor old unsuspecting Aussie Agents as a brand new car.
I have looked at other Lotus 20s and have never sighted any frame numbers.
Duncan and I appear to be the only people with the records , I have records of 119 Lotus 20 s , which more accords with Doug Nye's Lotus book which calls out 118 off than the suggested 180 off earlier in this thread.
Bryan Miller.
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