Ha ha yes, but I have a lot of memories which I could NEVER publish ! An update on the Elan with the glass top comment - it wasn’t actually glass of course, but some sort of plastic.
Maureen
Yes you could! Perhaps you should!
In fact it is wonderful to have someone on here who was actually there at the time. We have precious few visits from people like yourself who can recall moments from Lotus in the 60s and 70s.
Did you make the move to Hethel or stay in Herts? And as a matter of interest, whereabouts do you live now?
Thanks again.
Tim
Hi Tim - I did not move to Hethel on a permanent basis - I was single at the time and very happy living in my little flat in Harlow. I used to take the train to Cheshunt, just 3 stops up the line. But a permanent move to Hethel was not for me right then, although I have many regrets that I did not do it. I worked in Hethel for about 2 months, travelling up early on Monday morning and coming home on Friday evening (usually a lift with one of the development engineers). There were a lot of Lotus people who were looking round for accommodation, or commuting, and we were all put up (at ACBC’s expense) in local hotels. My boss, Ron Hickman, left about the same time that I did. In fact I remember he drove me home to Harlow that last day. It was all so long ago and yet it seems like yesterday in many ways - certainly the most interesting and exciting job I ever had in my life. Some of the things I know are really personal and definitely not for publishing ! And I know nothing of the technical side of vehicle development so I would have nothing to write about that. I’ve travelled quite a bit since then - my last job was in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but I have now retired back to my adopted home. I live in Johannesburg - the murder capital of the world ! Buy hey, the weather is great 
I am now going to try to upload some more pictures. I also have two more of Lotus staff back in the 60s, both with notes and names by Ron, but I still have to scan those in.
BTW Tim - is the old Lotus factory in Cheshunt empty ? It looks rather empty from the recent photos. I shall be in England next year and I want to visit the factory - if it is empty I’d like to have a potter around
I have been trying to post a picture of the entire knock on wheel hub but unfortunately the site will not accept it since it is larger than 2 mb. However I did manage to post one showing the Indianapolis corner. The whole inscription reads : Lotus World Champions 1963 & 1965 Indianapolis 1965. As I understood it at the time a number of Elan hubs were engraved and presented to senior staff to be used as ash trays ! I was very lucky to receive one since I definitely was not ‘senior staff’. If anyone would like the picture I took of the whole thing, please let me know on my email. Cheers ! BTW I see I am a ‘guest’ on this site. Can I join seeing that I only drive a Hyundai
Interesting; I spoke to him a couple of times a few years ago and he was not giving anything away re a book; however he showed us loads of stuff about the new car. Less said about that the better, unfortunately. Unless a 1980s revival comes along!
When I called round last year there was firm occupying the buildings. They said they often get Lotus enthusiests calling round. I didn’t go inside but thay said it was OK to walk round the outside and take phographs.
Ben
Thanks for the info re the old factory Pete - I will certainly visit. Tim your comment about the book : I have a document apparently issued by Tekron International (which was Ron’s company on Jersey) entitled : Ron Hickmann OBE : A short Biography. (January 2001) I imagine he wrote it himself. Anyway, at the end there are two paragraphs under ‘More Recent Activities’ which read as follows :
Ron is now writing the history of the first twelve years of Lotus road cars, as seen from the inside - also researching his Hickman and Beningfield family history back to the 1600’s. His main current project is the design and prototyping (in Jersey) of a novel small sportscar for the maturer/larger person, who wants his fun motoring combined with utter practicality and all ‘mod cons’ eg for everyday, all-weather, ‘golfing’ or touring use. ‘From wind-in-the-hair to coiffure-friendly’ as he puts it; AND ‘…you carry it all with you, not like with a hard-top’. Hopefully prototypes will be running by the summer of 2001, and work can start on finding someone to make and sell it …
I also have a mass of information about that car - I must say I wasn’t very impressed with the styling, but I didn’t like to say anything.
Could these pictures please be enlarged as per the first, black and white one. Thanks. The first is particularly interesting !
Maureen,
They are plenty big enough if folks “right click” on them and choose “open in new tab” (or window)
One can then zoom in and see them clearly.
Great photos & info again…Lotus Corsair for Harley Copp, eh?
Thanks for your efforts - Richard
Oh sorry Richard, I did not know one could right click on them to enlarge - just tried they, they come out enormous ! But I hope members will save them onto their own PCs. I am thinking seriously about the book and have sent an email to the Lotus Group to see if they have any archived material (no response yet !). If I did write something it would be purely a personal memoire with amusing incidents - I know nothing about car development ! Cheers, M. PS : Just found a Lotus gear knob in a cupboard - don’t quite remember how I came by that
Maureen,
Please, please, write the book…and put me down for a (signed) copy!
“car develoment” ? An insight into the “who” and “how” could be more entertaining than the “what”.
Regards - Richard
+1 ! My sentiments exactly.
Greg Z
About the ‘maybe’ book - as it turns out I am an amateur writer, although all I have to my credit is first prize in 2 short story competitions, and the fact that I wrote (single handed) a monthly company magazine whilst working at Western Deep Levels East Gold Mine during the 90s ! What I have in my head are my personal memories of that time - many of them amusing. Lotus was a wonderful company to work for then - the average age of the staff was something like 32, so we were all young and excited to find ourselves in this amazing environment. It was also a very ‘political’ company - lots of undercurrents of which I knew nothing at the time. I certainly would not want to share some of the things I have since learned - mine would simply be the story of the good times with my colleagues at Lotus Developments. Obviously I know some things about the ‘development’ that was going on with the vehicles at that time, but I’m not an engineer, I can only speak about what I saw and heard and did and all the exciting things that were happening around me - like the day they made the Rollo television commercial in Ron Hickman’s office, or what the lads in the workshop found so amusing about the contents of the glove compartment of Jim Clark’s car (which was in for service). Would anyone really be interested in reading these things ?
Oh, yes please. That’s exactly the sort of thing we want to hear about.
All the best
Adam