Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Garage => Topic started by: ivygreen on Monday,April 14, 2025, 10:25:35 PM
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Hello - Long time reader, first time poster. I’ve wanted a Europa since I first saw one at Hershey with my Dad in 1972. He didn’t get it at all, but I’ll never forget the car. Navy blue with the driver’s side mirror already hanging from one screw because the other had been pulled through the thin fiberglass. I was smitten.
Fast forward 53 years, my neighbor sends me a picture of the worst looking JPS I’ve ever seen and asks, “Didn’t you say you wanted one of these?” An hour later, I own one. The story is, a guy bought it in 1983 and drove it once. The experience scared the crap out of him, so he parked it in the carport, and never touched it again. After his death, it was moved inside, but there should be no doubt, it is a full-on restoration project at this point.
My first question is this: a black and gold JPS was never my dream. My first love is a Series 2, BUT, this thoroughly complete JPS literally fell into my lap, and I definitely don’t mind it being a big valve Twin Cam. Now that I have it, I’m wondering if it is sacrilege to modify such a car. The vision for “my” Europa has always been, a lower than Fed regulated stance, wide rear (and front) tires like the early track cars, simplified trim, center lock wheel conversion, and (possibly) a 70s-ish high impact color like orange or lime. Would the Lotus Illuminati burn me at the stake for doing something like this to a JPS? Assuming the work is top notch (which it will be), will the value be destroyed? Should I restore this car to stock configuration, build it the way I want to, or pass this one on to another caretaker?
Thanks in advance for your replies
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Ouch !
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My opinion is if you are saving it (a good thing!) build it the way you want!
My project was turbocharged in 1975 and is brown, it won’t be brown when I paint it!
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To get in that rough shape, it must have been stored outside for a long time .All JPS's should have a small black and gold roundel affixed to the lower, middle part of the dash. I see something to the right of the radio that may have been torn off? I agree with TurboFource, do what you want with it tp make it your vision .Just be aware that when you get around to selling the car later on in life, super extreme modifications may make it difficult to sell.
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I would keep it a JPS, it's rare to find one.
Dakazman
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Is it a JPS, or just a black Special? If the latter, do what you want with it, though I would not add wheel well flares. My TCS had really ugly flares, period correct, but ugly. I sold them to a racer making a period correct race car. So we were both happy with the results.
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First, is it actually a JPS? To expand on what Grumblebuns and Kendo said, the only difference between a black with pinstripes Special (with a 5-speed, I can’t remember if all specials had a 5-speed) and a JPS is the little plastic badge that gives it a JPS number. According to Hagerty, that is worth an extra 10%. The area of the dash Grumblebuns mentioned could be damage to where the dashboard lights dimmer goes or it could be related to a JPS badge.
Since it’s your car, I think you should do what you want with it. Personally, I think the reverence for JPSs is a little silly but at the same time I admit that I’m caught up in it a little so if it’s really a JPS, my preference would be for you to restore it pretty faithfully but as I and others have said, it’s your car and it should make you happy. My car is certainly not stock!
Another thing you might consider is that if you’re concerned at all about resale, being closer to stock will very likely make a difference in sale price.
Let us know what you decide and we’d love for you to keep us updated on your progress!
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Ivygreen, if you have had your heart set on an S2, you should hold out for one a little longer and let a JPS fanatic have his dream car by purchasing yours. Clean it up so that it is presentable and you can see what is and what is not actually there and move it on. If you do decide to keep it...if I were you, I would restore it as best you can as a thoroughly original black JSP.
Having said that, I wanted a 1965 Riviera (with concealed headlamps etc.) since I was nine years old. In 1984, a 1964 Riv fell in my lap. I began restoring it back to it's original specs but ended up mildly customizing it. Forty years later I still have that Riv (drove her the other day and fell in love all over again) and I have grown to appreciate the styling features of the '63,'64 more so than those of the '65.
Long story short...don't listen to me. It is your car and your decision.
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First, is it actually a JPS? To expand on what Grumblebuns and Kendo said, the only difference between a black with pinstripes Special (with a 5-speed, I can’t remember if all specials had a 5-speed) and a JPS is the little plastic badge that gives it a JPS number. According to Hagerty, that is worth an extra 10%. The area of the dash Grumblebuns mentioned could be damage to where the dashboard lights dimmer goes or it could be related to a JPS badge.
Looks like someone, based on the damage, pulled off the badge. (photo of mine is below; going on the new dash I bought a few years ago when I get a Round Tuit and take the windshield out so I can replace the crash pad and put it in) It should be noted that for the US, that badge was put on there by the importer as an 'inducement' that the car was one of the special runs. While not necessarily an 'official' JPS tribute, it did add a premium to the sales price. Just the same, if it is indeed one of the Lotus East (the east coast importer, where most of the 'JPS' numbers cars came through) badged JPS tribute cars, it does rate a little consideration, even if the certificate of provenance from the factory did not indicate it was so badged by Hethel.
Since it’s your car, I think you should do what you want with it. Personally, I think the reverence for JPSs is a little silly but at the same time I admit that I’m caught up in it a little so if it’s really a JPS, my preference would be for you to restore it pretty faithfully but as I and others have said, it’s your car and it should make you happy. My car is certainly not stock!
Indeed. At this point though, having been outside for an untold number of years, then being stored inside, depending on the condition of the frame (which are getting dear...I know I'm searching for one 'just in case' to put in the basement in the event my eventual tear down indicates that it needs to be replaced), you will be into it for a not inconsiderable sum of money to even restore to stock condition. Boy racer modifications will, depending on the severity or not, have an additional cost (in time, money, or both) and affect the eventual resale value depending on who's looking at it and has the cash to burn.
Another thing you might consider is that if you’re concerned at all about resale, being closer to stock will very likely make a difference in sale price.
Let us know what you decide and we’d love for you to keep us updated on your progress!
I'm not a purist (my S2 renovation in '07-'09 was an outlier, but even that had some slight tweaks for reliability sake), but a well-presented stock-appearing car in good nick is more than capable of bringing enjoyment to the driver. It's when you get into modifications that you realize how even one change (wide tires and lowered suspension, for example) have follow-on implications to other systems that have to be accounted for if you want a safe and reliable ride. In the end, it IS your ride, but what may be accepted mods to more modern road cars doesn't necessarily translate to a 50-something-year-old hand-built plastic car built from bits out of the Tudor/Unipart/Brit Leyland parts bins by farm hands in East Anglia so the boss could sell them to fund his F1 efforts!
Agree with BDA...whatever you decide, let us know...there is a wealth of knowledge (and not a few strong opinions) here to take advantage of!
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Unless I am mistaken you can confirm JPS by measuring the width of the rear brake drums.
The FIRST thing to do with this car is to get it clean!
Then Carefully check the engine out, TC's are not cheap to rebuild.
DO NOT try to turn it over until you have vacuumed around the spark plugs to prevent crud getting into the engine.
Pull the plugs and squirt a mix of Diesel and Marvel Mystery oil into each cylinder.
Let that sit for at least two days.
You need some cheap roll-around tires put on, just something to make it roll well.
You can get the Toyo R888's later.
Once you have good tires and the oil has had a chance to work you may put it in gear and rock the car forward and back a little at a time to see if the engine turns over at all.
If it does you may fit a good battery and see if it cranks smoothly.
This WORKS!
I freed up a Jaguar that had sat for thirty years this way and got to drive it the next day.
I cannot tell, is the wind$hield good?
Bumpers are not cheap to get chromed, I just did that.
A less expensive option is to buy new stainless bumpers.
From what I am experiencing even the good looking cars usually need a body-off restoration unless that has been done recently.
I have proof of that in my shop.
Ugly paint is nothing, bad repairs and rust are a PITA.
Your biggest advantage with this car is that you already own it. :beerchug:
Custom beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But from what I have observed "Custom" always has more value to the customizer than anyone else.
If resale value is important leave it visually stock, maybe add a little performance.
Several threads on this forum caution that for street use wide tires actually hurt handling.
It is yours so you may do whatever you like, at least you are not asking about an EV conversion. :-X
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It's clear that you're knowledgeable about cars. You should do what you want with it.
our friend BDA said "... the only difference between a black with pinstripes Special (with a 5-speed, I can’t remember if all specials had a 5-speed) and a JPS is the little plastic badge that gives it a JPS number", [and maybe little bit bigger rear brake drums]. But that's about it.
If you spend 2000 hours and $20K, you'll have a car worth about $40K. Don't do the arithmetic! At that level, the pinnacle of Europas, it's hard to measure if you've gotten the extra 10% you're supposed to get or not. Not to insult TCS owners, but I find all the pinstriping and doodads to be "not to my taste". I might be willing to pay more not to have them. Seems kinda nutty to me to pay extra.
These are not Ferrari 250 GTOs. Do as you wish, I say. But it's still great fun to have and especially, to drive.
And.. I've re-sized your photos for you so we can see them readily. Just use a simple photo editing program (I used MS Paint) ,and re-size them to 800 or 900 pixels wide, and we'll all be able to see them fine.
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Richard (and Fotog) is mistaken about the brake drums of the JPS. They are the same as on any Special. I think their confusion lies in the fact that the TC Special has wider drums than the TC (non-special) but the JPS is merely a black 5-speed (I checked the parts manual and Specials could have the 4-speed 352 tranny) TC Special with pinstripes (I'm unaware of any pinstripe color than gold regardless of the body color) and the plastic number badge of which Bryan posted a picture.
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Thank you all for your thoughtful replies. I greatly appreciate you taking the time. Though the responses were about 50/50, I definitely appreciate the inclination to restore the car in stock JPS form - and I do believe it's a JPS. The round adhesive residue on the dash looks to be just about right for a JPS badge. I'm almost certain I'll find it on the floor once I get the car home and get into it.
So, here's where I stand. I currently have a 1965 Mustang fastback on the rotisserie in my shop. It is my first car that I've owned since 1978 and I'm doing an absolute nut and bolt restoration on it - no amount of effort (or money) spared. I have already purchased a '72 F100 pick-up that was slated to be my next project. After years of getting every surface, material, treatment, and finish factory correct for the Mustang, I was planning to build an all-out restomod with the truck. Now, the Europa appears...
Once it's here, I'll clean it up really well and have a good look at it. Then, as they're sitting side-by-side, I'll decide which one gets built and which one gets passed on to a new caretaker. After reading all of your responses, though, if I decide on the Europa, I will restore it to factory spec (mostly) in factory colors, and its original drivetrain. I think the main sticking point for me at the moment is the amount of use (and comfort) I'll get with the truck, as opposed to that of the Europa. But, as my wife just reminded me, I already have a comfortable truck.
Thank you again for providing me some clarity. I'll keep you posted as I progress.
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Since that mark on the dash is goo from something that was stuck on it there, it seems very likely it is a JPS. Know that without that badge, there is no other way to validate the claim that it is a JPS. There are no records at Lotus to say which cars were JPSs or even how many JPSs were built.
Here's a reply from Andy Graham, the Lotus Archivist, when I asked about JPSs:
Unfortunately without documentation, the full truth cannot be provided and this is why there is so much confusion. I have asked two retired colleagues about these badges, one says they were nothing to do with Lotus and another says there were, so as you can see, even ex-employees have mixed memories/knowledge so it is no wonder members of the public have conflicting ideas too.
I have not seen any evidence to support these were fitted by production. Based on numbers provided by customers, the numbers are far too random to be production fitted, and so I personally believe these were supplied by sales and marketing or distributors for the US cars.
Any documentation I have seen shows 100 for USA, so why some US customers have plaques showing 1** numbers again is a mystery.
Remember many people also claim that these were a limited edition, but this is not true, a black Europa Special was available from launch until the end. As stated on there, no difference between a ‘numbered car’ and a standard black car.
I really hope you find that badge.
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Mote about badges...from a long time ago.
https://lotuspals.ning.com/profiles/blog/show?id=4667018%3ABlogPost%3A58526&commentId=4667018%3AComment%3A58611
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Richard (and Fotog) is mistaken about the brake drums of the JPS. They are the same as on any Special. I think their confusion lies in the fact that the TC Special has wider drums than the TC (non-special) but the JPS is merely a black 5-speed.
Yes, you're right about that (my confusion)!
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I'll just weigh in to say you'll probably get a lot more giggles out of driving the Europa than the truck. But it's your call, and have fun no matter what you decide!
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Reading your thoughts as to what to do with your find, I thought I'd give you a couple of points to think about regarding costs
As the owner of a black "JPS" coloured TCS, can I offer a few words from the UK.
Restoring a car over here (by a restorer, if you cannot do the work yourself) is a VERY costly way of achieving your desire, buying the finished article is much more cost effective. You'll never get your money back.
I've had mine for a year or so and as bought it looked great, with great paint, new interior, wiring, ashtray etc. A local guy who has restored a couple of twincams and now does S1 Esprits said "It's about a 95% car, really good". I made a few minor mods to it, got the brakes working to my liking etc, and I'm just about to refit the engine after doing a rebuild at 92k miles, due to it being a bit smelly, not smokey, just smelly with the windows open . (zero/zero on the crank, new valves, guides, a new liner and a 0.010" re-bore to +0.030" pistons etc.). Probably about GBP £2,500
During my investigation into its massive history file it dawned on me that the previous but one owner to me hadn't spent any money at all. After contacting him he said he had indeed spent a fair bit and gave me details of the restoring garage who did the work, starting with a new chassis, etc.
Now to the figures, this guy bought the car for GBP £40,000, and it had already been "restored" by its previous owner with the new paint, wiring etc having been done, and did look great. However, he felt that there was something wrong with how it drove, took it to HIS restoring garage and said "Put it right". They did and gave him a bill for another £45,000!
The car was sold a couple of years later to my seller who I bought it from for £34,000
So, I have a car which has cost me, say £37k but has had over £50k spent on it in the last 10 years apart from purchase costs.
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Thank you for your thoughts, Horace. Believe me, I’m all too aware of restoration costs vs. completed value. Unfortunately for me, I love the process of building them even more than owning/driving them, and I am afflicted with the curse of, “If I don’t save this, who will?”
I’ll include some photos of my current folly for context…
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... I love the process of building them even more than owning/driving them, and I am afflicted with the curse of, “If I don’t save this, who will?”
I'd say, you've got it bad!! And if the latter pictures are "after" pictures, I really hope you do take on this project!
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I'd say, you've got it bad!! And if the latter pictures are "after" pictures, I really hope you do take on this project!
Well, they're the "during" pictures, but thank you.
Miles to go before I sleep....
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Mmmmm! That floor pan!
Impressively tidy workspace. I think it's so that you are familiar with cars.
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I think it's so that you are familiar with cars.
I am. I've done more than my share, but I can't leave well enough alone.
Hey Fotog, I just realized you're in Huntington Valley. I'm in Hilltown Township, Bucks. That Mustang in my pictures was driven to Penn State Ogontz every day from '82 to '84 - with a stop sign as a driver's side floorboard. I was a political prisoner of DC for 35 years, but now I'm back in the Commonwealth, where I belong.
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100% for sure, a real JPS restored to original will be worth more in the long run. If future value is important, then restore it to stock.
That said, two other thoughts:
- It's your car, do what you want, damn the expense and later loss. That's what I did and, 20K kilometres later, I'm very happy. Sound financial investment? Absolutely not.
- This is not the Europa you wanted. Are you are going to sink thousands of $$$ and hundreds of hours into something you didn't really want? S2 Europas are not hard to find. Sell this one and put the money and effort into what you actually want.
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I agree the S2 has the cleaner lines and is more faithful to the original vision.
The Renault Wedge engine is not all that powerful but these are surgical precision cars, not brute force Cobras.
A Renault TS/Cross-Flow can be built to exceed JPS Twin-Cam power levels for MUCH less expense than a TC.
And still keep the all aluminum weight advantage.
No water pump woes or short valve train life as TC's are known for.
Wet sleeve so no concern about oversize bores reaching a limit, just pop in new cylinders.
Parts availability is actually good, just a bit inconvenient with possible language barriers.
To me the lesser resale value is not a problem, the investment is also less.
The time to restore is about the same.
Rough S2's can be had pretty cheap, occasionally for free.
Lots of dreamers offering them too, maybe cash would wake some of them to reality.
Your TC has an advantage in that you already have it, an S2 has the advantages I mention above.
All up to you.
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100% for sure, a real JPS restored to original will be worth more in the long run. If future value is important, then restore it to stock.
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Why should it be worth more? What constitutes a “real JPS” Europa? Something more than a stick on plastic number that would dictate such a higher price? I understand that people ask more and some get more but why? As BDA shows in the info he received from Andy Graham there is no tangible difference between a so called JPS Europa and a standard black TCS.
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+1 to everything Richard has said already, I've been bugging a few twin cam owners that have done full/partial mechanical restorations. Still worth the squeeze to them, but seeing the work they have to do on (and to deal with) the TC engine vs my Renault wedge head build, this definitely feels like a more sustainable option with similarly outlined upgrade paths. TC engine parts will always have a Lotus tax, where the Renaults are just random french family cars with several decades of production.
I can pick up the Renault block with one hand, absolutely not on a twin cam. That's enough of a selling point for me in the garage.
If you want an S2, get the S2. We see enough of these still that I don't think you'd regret passing on it.
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You'd have to ask the appraisers and the buyers. Apparently, the fact that there were a limited number of them makes a difference to some people.
At the time of the announcement for the JPS edition, the base TCS list price was $6200 and the 5-speed tranny was an extra $240. The JPS Europa (which was a black Special with the plastic badge was $6500. If it didn't come with tinted glass, there was only a $60 premium for them. Tinted glass cost an extra $84 (for all glass) or $65 (for windshield only) so if the JPS came with tinted glass, the price actually reflected a discount! Also a jPS came with some nice tchotchkes (a rally jacket, a pair of cuff links, and a key fob). I don't understand the pricing. The expected higher resale price of a JPS was a selling feature. Also interesting is that the list price of a black Europa with pinstripes was a $200 option!
For those interested in the history of prices, availability, dealer issues, options, etc., here are scans of the dealer newsletter (https://www.lotuscorps.org/literature/1971-74_lotus_dealer_news.pdf). I did not realize that they are actually searchable till just now!