New member trying to trace Dad's car!

[TimH]

Hi there, I wonder if anyone on here knows the whereabouts of a red Europa s2, registered as GVX 15H?
My Dad bought it new and ready built from Grange Motors in Brentwood, Essex, back in the day!
My Dad had a fall nearly a year ago and suffered a brain injury which has left huge gaps in his memory, and talking and seeing pictures of his old cars stimulates him somewhat.
So if any of you know the whereabouts of the car or any previous owners, I would dearly love some photos if anyone has any? I fondly remember being taken to school in the Europa and laughing at Dad's method of entry, as at the time, He wasn't the smallest of people!
Tim
 

[EuropatcSPECIAL]

Sorry to hear about your dad Tim. Have you checked with the DVLA site that it is still on the road. Good luck. Im sure if its about someone will know of it
all the best
Stuart

[BDA]

 

Sorry to hear about your dad.

Do you know the VIN or part of the serial number. There is  a registry that might be helpful here: http://lotus-europa.com/registry.html

Good luck!

[EuropaTC]

It's not showing up in the DVLA database so presumably it's not on the road. It could be sitting in a barn somewhere from pre-SORN days, in which case it might not be in the DVLA on-line database or it could have been scrapped, exported or converted to a race/track car which would explain it's absence. Although the race car conversion might still leave it registered as a road car depending on the current owner.

It's not currently insured either, so unless you strike lucky with a previous owner then it's going to be a tough call to trace it. You might do better with somewhere like Club Lotus http://www.clublotus.co.uk/  who will probably have membership records going back years and no doubt get this sort of request quite often. Plus of course the classic car magazines often have "can you tell me where it is now ? " columns now and then.

On a more positive note, you could try editing a photo of a red S2 to make it look like your dad's old one. It's amazing what you can do these days with Photoshop ! I can lend a hand there if you don't use Photoshop yourself.

There's also some literature, scanned articles and brochures on Jerry's site which might be enough to stir old memories. http://lotus-europa.com/literature.html

Brian
 

[TimH]

It's not showing up in the DVLA database so presumably it's not on the road. It could be sitting in a barn somewhere from pre-SORN days, in which case it might not be in the DVLA on-line database or it could have been scrapped, exported or converted to a race/track car which would explain it's absence. Although the race car conversion might still leave it registered as a road car depending on the current owner.

It's not currently insured either, so unless you strike lucky with a previous owner then it's going to be a tough call to trace it. You might do better with somewhere like Club Lotus http://www.clublotus.co.uk/  who will probably have membership records going back years and no doubt get this sort of request quite often. Plus of course the classic car magazines often have "can you tell me where it is now ? " columns now and then.

On a more positive note, you could try editing a photo of a red S2 to make it look like your dad's old one. It's amazing what you can do these days with Photoshop ! I can lend a hand there if you don't use Photoshop yourself.

There's also some literature, scanned articles and brochures on Jerry's site which might be enough to stir old memories. http://lotus-europa.com/literature.html

Brian

Hi Brian, Thanks for your reply. I will have a look at the Club Lotus site this week, and the idea of using photoshop sound great although I doubt if I am capable of doing it. I will see what I can find in the way of pictures of a similar car on the net and report back and probably ask you a favour!
Thanks again
Tim