Keys

[4173R]

Greetings.

Newbie here. Just purchased a 74 Europa Twin Cam Special.

I have a few pictures attached.

The PO did not have keys for me. LOL

Any suggestions how to get ignition, door, and trunk keys?

Thanks.

[BDA]

 , 4173R! She looks very nice! When you get a chance, we'd like to know more about your baby.

Key blanks are available at r.d. enterprises (rdent.com) but you may have to go to a dealer to cut them given your VIN. While you're talking with r.d., you might ask them about that. Dave Bean is another place to inquire. He was approached to be a dealer back in the day and might be set up to make your keys.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

[4173R]

Thanks BDA! Very helpful!

Here's more info on the car.

Black with tan interior
Twin Strombergs
Been kept in storage for the past 3 years
Carbs have been refurbished

Not sure if it runs yet.
Planning a tech day with some friends to build a job list.

[surfguitar58]

  4173R!

Sounds like you are going to need new lock barrels for the ignition, door, boot and bonnet. RDEnt.com has them also. Curious how the PO did not have keys? Looks like you are going to need an alternator before you try starting her up. You will find this forum very helpful, and WE LOVE PICTURES!

Tom (a.k.a Surfguitar58)

PS - Funny how there seem to be clusters of Europas in certain geographic areas. We have at least 3 in N. Carolina. Western Canada also seems to be a hotbed of Europa activity.

[lotusfanatic]

Hello 4173R

 

Good luck with the key issue, I can't see that being too difficult to fix....

Mark

[RoddyMac]

If you can find an old locksmith who stocks FS key blanks, they might be able to cut the door and trunk locks using the codes on the locks themselves.  Have a close look and you might be able to see a number, something like FS935.  The numbers are the key code.  If you can't find a locksmith who has the codes, you might get lucky by finding a shop that services British cars that has old keys.   At the shop I used to work at, we had a key ring with roughly 20 FS keys on it just for trying to sort out locks without keys.

As far as the ignition key, that might be a "remove from car and give to locksmith" job. 

[Bainford]

Welcome to the forum 4173R, and congrats on the purchase of your Europa. Good luck with sorting your key issue. Cheers.

[jbcollier]

Either remove all the locks and bring them to a locksmith, or buy new ones.  They are not expensive.

If the car hasn't run in a long time then you will have to give it a complete recommissioning service:

- change all fluids (and oil filter)

- flush cooling system

- remove the plugs and spin the engine over until it has oil pressure.  Crank in 10 second bursts.  After 40 seconds, stop.  You need to remove the oil pump and pack it with petroleum jelly.

- check the tires production dates.  Really old but not all cracked up?  It's ok to go for a bit of easy driving.  Cracked up?  Replace.  No heroics on old tires.

- check the tightness of every nut and bolt in the entire car

- clean and tighten all electrical connections around the engine, starter, battery and fuse box

- do all the usual checks for wear and tear.

[andy harwood]

#4173? Congratulations!! Great looking car!
And in NC too? Cool! Welcome!! What part of NC? I live north of Greensboro.
I've got #4397, and had to do a double take looking at your photos - as looked like the storage unit I retrieved my car from, lol.
You'll enjoy this!

[4173R]

Thank you everyone!

I'm excited to finally own a Lotus!

The key situation seems to be fluid at the moment. I am being led to believe that originally the door, boot, and ignition keys are all different.  The bonnet on this car is not keyed. If that is the case, the only key I am concerned with at the moment is the ignition key. I have contacted a Lotus dealer and they are investigating if they can cut new keys for me. The person seemed quite perplexed when I informed them the car was a 74. LOL They said that they would need to discuss with their Lotus rep and get back with me. Bean doesn't currently cut keys. George at RD was very helpful. And talking with a locksmith is challenging as the car is in MD and I'm currently in NC. So keys will likely take a back seat to building the job list and prepping the car for operation. I don't see it being a big issue, just time consuming as the time/distance equation complicates things. Besides, there's lots to do before turning the key to run the engine.

Andy - I live in Dunn. It's about 15 miles south of the intersection of 40 and 95.

JB - thank you for the list of items to review and helpful hints for recommissioning. I've got some current Lotus friends who are going to help build a job list during an upcoming tech day. This is very helpful and will be used to guide me!

SurfGuitar58: Interesting you talk about clusters. The car was purchased from the PO who lived in MD. As I understand it, there are quite a few cars in the MD area. I went to a LotusPals event this past Saturday. That was quite interesting.  And the number of Lotus's was quite impressive.

The previous pictures in this thread were from the PO ad.

I'm going to shift threads and create a 4173R recommissioning thread and post pictures I took when I received the car and hold further discussions regarding the recommissioning of the car.

Please join me there.

Thanks.

[dakazman]

 

Welcome to the Lotus world .
 Nice choice of color. Lol.
Can’t wait to see more pics and some stories if driving a Europa.
Dakazman

[BDA]

Yes, there are three keys - the ignition, the doors, and the boot and bonnet. The boot and bonnet locks are easily changed and the door locks are less easily changed. I think you're right to concentrate on the ignition key.