History of SB2237
According to a letter from Lotus Cars Ltd., SB2237 was manufactured in December 1967 and delivered to the customer in January 1968.
UK 1968/69
Colours 1968/69
SB2237 was initially registered in Dudley, UK with the license plate PFD 550F (see the BW picture from 1968 and an artist’s impression of the car with its original blue/white colour scheme). The car had new owners in UK in 1969 and 1970 trading through the Caterham dealership. There is no record of SB2237 after 1970 until a garage in Happy Valley, Hong Kong reregistered the car in 1987 and sold it to an English expat. Little is known of the car’s Hong Kong history, but according to the garage it had been raced in Macau (see photo with aeroscreens and Libre wheels). At one occasion the car had an accident and was subsequently stored for some length of time in the 80es. Apparently, the garage aquired and rebuilt the car, partly with local parts, with the purpose to sell it. Any information of SB2237’s Hong Kong history is most welcome.
Hong Kong 1988
Hong Kong 1988
In 1991 the car was shipped to Caterham Cars, UK for a full restoration which was completed in 1993. The careful restoration was supervised by a Lotus specialist with full respect to the car’s heritage as a 1967 Series 2 Lotus Seven. The steering wheel, which was donated by Caterham Cars during restoration, is from a Lotus in the Caterham historic collection. It was custom built for Lotus by Moto-Lita probably in the 50es.
Restoration, UK 1993
Steering wheel
After the restoration SB2237 was in storage until the owner sold it in 2004 with just a few miles on the odometer.
Engine today
SB2237 has had various engines during its life but is now equipped as originally delivered with the pre-crossflow 1500 cc engine with one Weber 40DCOE 2 on the original Lotus alloy inlet manifold. The car has the original braced Standard 10 rear axle (4.11:1) and the standard Ford 4-speed gearbox.
Cockpit today
SB2237 today
This is the best knowledge we have of SB2237’s history. The information has been provided by previous owners, the Lotus Registrar, and contacts to Vehicle Registration offices in the UK and Hong Kong. There are no apparent contradictions in the presented information, but there is missing information, fx. who registered the car in Dudley in 1968 and who brought it to Hong Kong.
