Hello i am a new europa owner

[4129R]

Make sure you keep it in a garage. When it rains, they leak water into the footwell and onto the seat.

When you need help with "how do I.......?", this is the best place to ask for heaps of replies.

[BDA]

It looks great and I know it feels good to finally get it home! Now the fun begins! Let us know if we can help!
 

[Jesspo]

Thanks, and i am sure i Need a lot of help.

[EuropaTC]

Hi again,

Apart from the obvious windscreen problem, the rest of the body looks in very reasonable condition, door fit good, etc.  I think if I were you I'd take this summer as an opportunity to get it up and running which will give you a good idea of what needs doing mechanically.  If the car has been standing for a while then I'd be tempted to overhaul the brakes/steering/tyres and then get some miles in to see how the rest of the mechanicals look and feel.

Because you've not had one before the driving experience, even though the car might not be 100%, will be a novelty. You get to drive it in the summer weather plus it gives you the chance to make lists and decide the order of restoration in terms of your budget. And of course the benefit of the repairs you do will be immediately noticeable and probably give more job satisfaction.

That car looks a very good start to me though, you've done well.

Brian

[Grumblebuns]

I really have to agree with Brian on getting the car running first. Drive it, get use to the car , then decide if you really want to change anything. So many projects have started with owners having grandiose plans for their car, getting in over their heads, eventually losing interest and finally passing the car on to some one else.

[Jesspo]

Mh, normaly i agree with you, but on my car the following must be done to drive

complete break System overhauling, with new tubes
windshield glued in
fuel cells cleaning because of some rust in it
water System cleaning
i do not know the conditions of all waterlines and tubes
new tires
electric on the Dashboard is complete disambled
carburates cleaning
left lower Suspension arm must be replaced
and some other things

so the most importent is the break System i will not drive with any old parts there. The car stands for more then 7 years. Overall  also on the second careful look it is not bad, but to get it to concurs Status it is a Long way.

greetings Frank

 iam not sure what i will do

[BDA]

That's a good list. Of course most of them are what you would expect to have to take care of for any car that's been standing for so long.

The fuel tanks were designed poorly. It would be best to get a pair of aluminum tanks but at the very least, you might consider adding something to keep water from from collecting on the top of the tank. The worst part is that you have to jack the car about three feet (one meter) off the floor to get them out (unless you have access to a pit.

Another thing you'll really enjoy is working behind the dash! 

If you take the motor out, you might consider getting a 'cassette' water pump. The stock water pump is part of the front engine cover but the cassette pump system is a pump with a modified cover. The pump bolts on to the cover so if you have to change the pump, it's cheaper and easier. Taking off the front cover requires taking the head off. I'm pretty sure they are available on your side of the pond, but I know you can get them from Dave Bean in the US http://www.davebean.com (209-754-5802).

Good luck and keep those updates coming!

[4129R]

You may find that everything made of rubber has perished. Engine mountings, heater hose under the dashboard, radiator hoses, rubber on suspension joints.

All worth checking.

[Jesspo]

 I decide to made the car complete. But before i will begin to disamble the car i have a closer look on the cracks in the paint. There are many cracks in the paint over the complete car and i hope they are only in the new paint. So i take of some part of the black stripes on the Roof and the paint under them, but i am disapointed to see that the cracks are going under the paint in the Body structure. I am afraid now that there are so many of them around the complete car, is this normal? I have no experience in reparing gfk so this is a great challenge for me and i can not evalued how much this will made on more costs. In the Moment i am thinking of selling this car and looking for a better one. Otherwise i get him cheap 8 in my opinion) and there is nothing to nearly this price i paid for it. All other cars which are offered much more expensive and not in better condition. And all the cars for much more Money are not even much better and they need also a lot of work.

So the question is , are this many cracks a great Problem? and do you think it is unusal and is it better to look for an other car ?

greetings Frank

[blasterdad]

Stress cracks are common on these cars, it is not unusual, (mine has them too).
I wouldn't go looking for another car because of them, they can be fixed relatively easy, all part of the fun of any fiberglass car...
Actually, your car is in great shape compared to some of the cars members have started with!!!
I would keep it, don't let those spider cracks discourage you.

[BDA]

I second blaster's comments. They are part of the fun of a Europa. Fiberglass is really easy to work with. It's very forgivable  - mistakes are never catastrophic. Find a supplier for cheap paint brushes, polyester resin, mat, and veil or gauze (very light weight mat). Don't bother with cloth - especially anywhere that will show.

The idea is to either sand out the cracks (grind them out if they are deep). Fill them in with a mixture of chopped up mat and resin and cover the whole area with gauze. You can also get micro balloons to mix with resin to make a filler.

A random orbital sander is a must.

Good luck!

[Jesspo]

Hi,

thanks for your comments, i am a bit anxious with this cracks. When this is not an unusual thing, i agree to you it will be not easy to find a better base then this car. Most of them are expensive and the work to do is near the same.

So i will roll up my sleeves and will begin with the work. I calculate 2-3years till it is ready. But i have time, i have two other fun cars for driving.

greetings Frank

[Grumblebuns]

Hi Frank, you should see the body and paint on my S2. It may be even worse than what yours looks like. Stress cracks take a lot of work to repair but they are repairable. Personally, on a project car, body work would be the last item that I would tackle.
 
On my project S2, it took me several years,  but the mechanical work is complete enough that I've driven it several hundred miles. I'm at the point now where I have to decide what to do about the body and paint. With a car in road worthy condition, I've broadened my options on  where to go with this car. I can start on the body restoration myself or sell it as a running Europa and let some one else finish up the restoration. My point is not to be concerned about the paint at this time.

Your car, from what I can tell, appears to a good one for restoration. Get it up and running first. I've attached a picture of what my S2 looks like now. The picture does not show how bad the paint is.

[4129R]

The paint on my brown TCS looks like a giraffes skin.

I think that cracked paint is a lot easier to repair than metal-worm (rust).

[3929R]

Fine stress cracks are type of patina. They are desirable and beautiful and can only be achieved with age and use, just like the patina on an antique piece of fine furniture! At least that is what I tell myself about the cracks on my car with its original paint. (I hope that didn't get lost in the translation!)

Here is a picture of your Europa's younger sister Elise, (same past owner, same paint and graphics)