Lotus Europa Community

Thanks.  I was wondering if that was it. 😊

The fact that the tire is so close to the body.

I sent PM last week

Below you'll find a picture of the LH seat belt/jacking thing as seen from the engine compartment of my car. The nuts are of course not fixed so you need to get a tool in there to lock them when undoing the bolts. I think Chapman's idea was to get the tool in through the tiny access hole above the seat belt bolt. Again a brilliant solution which is cheap and adds lightness :-)

The plate used on 460324 doesn't looks original to me and I don't think it is even intended as an access cover. Its purpose is most probably to reinforce or fix the rocker sill because someone thought the jacking point may be used to jack the car. In addition a body seam runs through that area which typically is cracked anyway.

On very early cars the seat belt anchor looked completely different and was bonded into the body shell giving much more strength. Unfortunately there was a cheaper solution available which replaced it. Pictures show the parts from an early french car.

Last point is that early cars had a big access hole under the lower seat cushion to access the whole area. That hole disappeared at some point during the production of the first 100 cars or so.

 When I first had it I took it to one of our Specialists for their expert opinion, expecting them to say "it's a load of "You-know-what" " but as he got out and came to me he said "Actually, it's one of the best I've driven" which deflated me quite a bit.
I suppose that I'll have to re-learn double de-clutching all over again and just take things a bit slower and get my down shifts sorted well in advance?

H.

When I first started driving my TSC 5-speed, I found the downshifts 'stiff' relative to the modern transmissions I had been driving, though I eventually found that they are 'slow' rather then 'stiff'. I adjusted my shifting technique accordingly, but with increased sympathy for those old synchros, I started double-clutching my downshifts. What a difference. When I get it right, the stick just falls quickly into the lower gear, completely free of resistance. Very satisfying. Some heel & toe, double-clutch downshifting can be awkward at first, but with practice the technique improves and soon becomes second-nature. It takes most of the load off the synchros, extending the life of the delicate and valuable 365 transmission while at the same time developing a time-honoured element of proper, vintage sports car driving. Plus, it amazes your friends and impresses women.