I was at our annual British car show yesterday when I was approached by a fellow who told me he had some Lotus parts, and inquired if I may be interested. He claimed he had a complete Twin Cam engine and a spare cylinder head, and showed me some pictures on his phone. The first picture was of a weber head with a red cam cover that had the word HART cast into it. The second picture was of a complete used Twin Cam engine with a weber head. Apparently they were part of a large parts lot that he bought years ago. He didn't know what the Lotus stuff was until a friend identified it sometime later, but being a die hard enthusiast of Japanese stuff, he has no interest in it.
I told him I was certainly interested, but money is tight and likely couldn't make a decent offer right now. He said he needs it gone, and it would be going cheap. I have been wanting a weber headed Twin Cam to build as a modified engine for my Europa, so clearly I would be remiss if I didn't at least go and see what he had to offer.
It is likely the engine is from a front engine chassis. What changes are required to use such an engine in a Europa? Of course the head needs machining to accommodate the extended camshaft for the alternator drive, but it would seem a reasonable job for a competent machine shop. Has anyone done this? Are there any other elements that need to be considered for a Europa installation?
It is likely that the history is unknown and the parts, especially the heads may be junk if they have cracks, but it is surely worth a look.
