Photos of classic racing Europas?

[Lespaul166]

Hey all! Another non technical post here.

So I posted a while back regarding picking up a 5k mile 73 Europa TC Special. Well Ive settled into my new mechanic job, gotten everything else in line, and Im about ready to start work on this car.

I am facing a bit of a dillemma tho.

It was originally my intention to restore the car in Brit Racing Green or Lotus Yellow. I had a few ideas since, but more on that later.

The man who sold it to me has been telling me that the best idea (It being a rust free, crack free 5k mile california original owner car) is to make it run mechanically, and not touch the body at all. Says that a 5k mile Europa will never be found again and that I would be missing a serious opportunity to leave it as a "barn find".

Problem is, I had this big idea in my head. Painting this car and making it run was all fine and good, but I got the idea to make this thing a period correct race car. Racing stripes, offset number on the hood, some period correct performance parts under the hood...similar to what I was going to do with my LeMans a few years back.

So as for the dillema, any input on whether or not the car should be left alone or restored would be great.

As for the racing restoration, I would really appreciate some pics of classic racing Europas. Im really trying to get a feel for what to do and not to do. Also any input on boosting the performance w/ period correct parts (What those parts would be, part numbers, manufacturers, etc).

And as a final question, I recall seeing at least 2 photos floating around of old(ish) Europas with spoilers on the back. The LOOKED to be original, but I could be wrong. Did Lotus ever outfit the Europa with a spoiler?

Apologize for the wordiness, long week. Guess thats what you get as a mechanic!

Ill be posting another list of "I dont know jack about Lotus" questions tomorrow.

Thanks!

[EuropaTC]

In one sense the guy is right, there aren't many low mileage cars around and if you want to retain value then the best thing is to leave it as original as possible. But....    it all depends on just how good that originality is. If, once you start looking hard you see cracks, past repairs or faded paint, well that's what the classic car boys call "patina" but I'm afraid I call "knackered", followed closely by "needs fixing".

But, if the car really is perfect then leave it alone, a car is only original once.

Should you decided on the period racer thing then probably the most successful TC Europa driver was a guy called Chris Meek in the UK who dominated production sports at the time in a green & yellow Europa. Not BRG, a lighter shade which looked better IMO.  There's a guy on the forum who is restoring one of Chris's old cars so he may be able to help with historical photos but in the meantime a quick google with "Chris Meek" and "Europa" will bring you up a decent selection.

My favourite was this one, which I had as a poster in the 80s but somehow lost in house moving.....

Brian

Edit to add - if you really want the period racer car then you should buy an S1 or S2 and make a 47 replica. That's the real racing Europa although the Lotus 62 with much modified bodywork came along later. Richard at Banks Engineering also makes a tidy racing replica....

[StephenH]

I'm not a 'has to be original' car person normally, but a low mileage Europa I would leave alone.
If you can only have one and it must be 'a racer', sell the original one on to someone that will keep it that way and buy yourself something less pristine to start your project.

[Lespaul166]

Its definitely not a shockingly good condition car. It sat outside for years so the paint is all faded and cracked from the sun, the leather dashboard melted and is severely sagging all around, the wood is really cracked. The interior looks very nice but it is swollen and bubbled in quite a few places due to this. The only reason I call it a solid car is that the Elan I traded for this had a chunk missing from the body and the frame had 2 rust holes. This is a solid body with no rust on the frame. Pretty toasty otherwise.

That said the car is all there. Not missing anything as far as I can tell.

As to what ETC said, that car is almost exactly the type of photo i was looking for. thanks.

[EuropaTC]

If it needs repainting then that's just too much "patina" for me, I consider it knackered and in need of fixing. I really don't get the attraction of driving round in 40-50-60yr old paint jobs with scratches and chips all over; it may be original and fine on a tractor or Land Rover, but not on a proper car.

Most of the factory stuff (and Chris Meek's cars) looked standard bodywork at first glance, the wide arches are later things so it should be fairly straightforward to get the "racer look". If you go for a solid paint finish and then add the stripes, roundels & sign writing using vinyl wrap you'll be able to return to standard very easily should you decide to sell at a later date. The new owner can either keep the racer look or just peel it off, polish and have a normal car.

Brian

[Lou Drozdowski]

Green is nice...red is also. Either flavor will do, the wing setup on type 74 below looks quite functional.ld