When I (finally) got my car operational a few years back I contacted Andy and got the following back from him, dated 1/23/2020:
Dear Vincent,
Thank you for your enquiry. Being in the UK I don’t have any knowledge on how the US title system works, but many cars I have seen use the short VIN in the windscreen which is normally type number (74) and unit number 2619R. This could be why someone automatically wrote 74 at the start?
The car was made in August 1972 and sold in September 1972 to the US distributor Lotus East. It could have been 1973 by the time the car was passed onto a Lotus dealer and then retailed. Before 1980 Lotus did not use specific model years.
If needed we can offer a certificate service and can provide a second copy to the authorities if they need.
The classic certificate is £44.00 each car which includes postage and contains the certificate and a covering letter which does into more detail such as VIN/Engine number breakdown and these are all manually created from the information contained in the original files. The classic certificate covers;
VIN,
Engine number,
Transmission number,
Model,
Original colour,
Some options,
Date of manufacture,
Date of sale from Lotus,
Original distributor
Or for £55 we can offer the certificate above but include a search where your car comes in the US Europa Twin Cam build sequence and how many were in the same colour
Payment method options are;
Credit/debit card,
Bank transfer (need payment in British Pounds)
I had asked him if he had any insight about an anomaly between the title and the VIN. My car is quite far from original, but I suppose could readily be put back that way. Just seeing how they have been valued and often modified over the years, I don't see much value in a certificate, particularly an expensive one.
YMMV, of course!
-Vince
