'73 TCS Stromberg 4spd on BaT - Some Odd Things About This One I Think

[Vegantune]

Seems clean, but a few odd things. Some peculiar color and trim choices - I'll leave it at that. Odo may say 10K, but a lot of do-over work says plenty more. Sitting at $10K as of noontime 4/11/23. Ccross-ref to 09/06 registry for exact same 73043403R says "Original color: L11 - Regency Red, Current color: Faded, Under restoration, Zetec engine, NG3 transmission". Auction says "Replacement 1.6-Liter Inline-Four". Barely a glimpse of tranny, but looks 352 to me including rear mounting plate and lockout cover placement.

Some other odd things here. Door plate sn+date seem a bit off (both of my Fed TCs have a slash in date, not a dot), and attached with some fresh pop rivets. I think plain aluminum windshield VIN plate is homemade. Front compartment plate looks like it has been through the ringer more than twice, and not attached with original pop rivets. Is this a "borrowed" VIN from another car? Or two cars turned into one? You can buy repro plates if you check around. Anyone care to comment?

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1973-lotus-europa-twin-cam-special-8/

[BDA]

It looks very clean and very nice. It needs a tune up as it took way too long to start but that was noted in the description. There was a strange sound coming from somewhere after reving the motor in the "Instruments" video at about 52 seconds which could be nothing. The rattle in the "Driving" video, the seller explains comes from the antenna (maybe Oklahoma doesn't have any more interesting roads and that's why he's selling it  ).

Vegantune, I think you meant a 352 tranny. That's the 4 speed in the Special and it has similar linkage to the 365. I see what you mean about the identity plate under the windshield. It is way nicer than it should be. Mine has "VEH. IDNT. NO." raised on a black background and the serial number stamped (indented) on a bare background. I'd say they made a new tag when they did the restoration.

I'm not crazy about the gold wheels (which is odd to say because my wheels are gold but they aren't the Brand Lotus wheels) or the gold trim panels but were I interested in buying a Europa, that would not dissuade me. The plaid seat inserts might take some getting used to.

I didn't see any serious flaws and as I said, it is very clean. I expect the restoration was recently finished.

It does seem to have a strange history given the notes about it in the registry. Maybe the original plan was to do a Zetec/NG3 swap and he changed his mind. The seller claims not to be happy with the door adjustments. I envy them though!

[gideon]

Well I like the tartan.  And the gold wheels.

[Bainford]

Nice car, though some of the aesthetics are not to my taste, especially all of the bronze colour in the engine compartment. The various tags are a bit of a red flag, though the auction and seller seem quite legit. I'm surprised no one asked about the body tags on BAT. Don't mind the plaid, actually. Overall seems a nice car, though I would have to get my paint brush out and get rid of some of that gold.

[Richard48Y]

USD $23,924 (Reserve Not Met)

[BDA]

That was a much nicer car than the bid indicated. Pretty disappointing...

[Richard48Y]

I think the "Personalization" whittled down the bidding.
Too many(?) gold accents and Tartan seat centers.
Some have commented on the oddities RE Vin number and tag too.
From my observations performance mods such as rear disc brakes or Weber heads are much more accepted than cosmetic changes.

[BDA]

You and JB may well be right. I am not a fan of the gold body moldings but if I wanted that car, it would be pretty simple to have them repainted in the color I would like (silver). The seats are a different issue. I wasn't repulsed by them and again, if I wanted that char, that would be a minor issue. In spite of the many positive comments about the seats and interior, the serious buyers may have been turned off. I have cloth seats and I can tell you that even on a hot day in North Carolina, my un-airconditioned car is not that uncomfortable (I'm glad I don't live in Phoenix or the Nevada or Utah deserts!). A black vinyl interior, while durable, can be seriously uncomfortable in the summer in some places so I would think a nicely done cloth interior would be a plus.

You make a good point about the VIN tags, Richard. I didn't quite understand all of that story.

Deleting the boosters, adding headers, taking off the crossover tubes, etc. do not constitute a real change from stock to me. Since I'm not one who values originality over competently done worthwhile mods, I can't say that the mods on the seller's car didn't dissuade those originalists from bidding but they might have.

One guy commented that not having a 5-speed was a problem. Could be. It was not fully sorted. Maybe that was a problem. And maybe it was a combination of a bunch of "small" things that buyers didn't want to have to fool with. In any case, I think someone missed out on a very nice car.

[Richard48Y]

Since I am in the Nevada desert I will be putting cloth centers in my seats.
Trying to find a nice material to match the intended blue body color.
But I know that some day I will no longer be able to drive it and will then need to sell.
So I intend to have at least the material on hand to go back to original.
One reason I am holding onto a set of Cosmic wheels, not "Original" but at least period correct as are most of the rest of my mods.
I know and accept that when I sell I will probably get dinged for not keeping the original color, but despite my best efforts I just cannot learn to love Bahama Yellow.
Guess it is just too close to Safety Orange for me. 

There is some possibility that one of the high bidders may strike a deal on "Lily" but I expect the reserve is significantly over $30K.

[BDA]

Yeah, where the line between detrimentally and acceptably modified is drawn is personal. I would not consider Cosmic wheels to be a mod, but that’s me. Why someone would want to suffer with black vinyl seats in a hot, sunny climate in order to maintain “originality” rather than have a tasteful improvement is beyond me but those people probably exist.

I also see mechanical mods much differently than cosmetic ones. If someone alters the suspension, for example, the buyer has to trust the design and quality of the work. I suppose it could go further, for example is this something the DPO developed or a kit from Europa Engineering (formerly known as Banks)?

I certainly expected the price to go above $30,000 too. With the exception of deleting the boosters, all the mods were pretty cosmetic.

[kiwiokie]

I am the seller of this TCS.  Thanks for the positive support provided in BaT.  I used to be on this site pretty regularly but just got snowed under with the restoration of a Dino 308GT4 that has just consumed all my car time.  I cut my teeth on Fiat 124 Sport Coupes so that experience translates well to the Dino LOL.  With the TCS I have to spend too much time researching how to do things and where to get parts that I just run out of motivation to even get started.  Pretty pathetic, I know.  The reserve was set at $30k which I thought was reasonable looking at recent sales of cars that were restored to a pretty decent condition.  I still have the original unused black vinyl seat covers from the Banks Europa kit if anyone really couldn't live with the tartan/plaid. A friend with many years of SU/Stromberg experience is going to help me tune the engine and then I will likely put it up on eBay and see how it goes.  Keep the shiny side up guys :-)

[Bryan Boyle]

I am the seller of this TCS.  Thanks for the positive support provided in BaT.  I used to be on this site pretty regularly but just got snowed under with the restoration of a Dino 308GT4 that has just consumed all my car time.  I cut my teeth on Fiat 124 Sport Coupes so that experience translates well to the Dino LOL.  With the TCS I have to spend too much time researching how to do things and where to get parts that I just run out of motivation to even get started.  Pretty pathetic, I know.  The reserve was set at $30k which I thought was reasonable looking at recent sales of cars that were restored to a pretty decent condition.  I still have the original unused black vinyl seat covers from the Banks Europa kit if anyone really couldn't live with the tartan/plaid. A friend with many years of SU/Stromberg experience is going to help me tune the engine and then I will likely put it up on eBay and see how it goes.  Keep the shiny side up guys :-)

IMHO, the livery is fine; and cloth centers on the seats makes a lot of sense (I made the mistake, yet again, of leaving the car out while I did some shopping...and was greeted by a toasty butt when I got back in the car.  And this in MA this last week!)  Some subtle touches that work on this car.  Bravo!

Sorry you didn't make the reserve; it's a tasty and quite subtle job and certainly not over the top.  Having done a couple of these along the way...nice to see one presented so well.