Hello! 47 bodied project.

[StrawberryCheesecake]

Hi All

Thought I'd just say hello. Having wanted a Europa for years (a mate of my dad had one when I was a kid... first car I ever stood next to and was taller than) I've finally bought one.

It's a rebuild project with a new chassis and Type 47 body, and a pile of bits. It's missing quite a few bits that will be needed down the line. 

I'm pretty handy with mechanical stuff, and have painted a few cars as well, but I've got lots to learn on these - my only fibreglass car prior to this was a Mini Marcos that I bought in about 1990 as a student, which was rebuilt and sold long ago!

So the plan is a road legal car, which might get some use in sprints and trackdays, probably with a Zetec engine on twin 45s. I'd love to use an original twin cam but they're neither cheap nor easy to find. The paint job will be Gold Leaf colours - hence the name.

Missing lots of bits including most of the interior, suspension. If anyone in the UK or Europe has a stash of spares, please let me know. I'm half thinking I might be better to buy another car for most of the bits I need. If I end up buying all the little bits one at a time it ends up being very expensive.

If I can't find Europa seats, I was wondering if Elise ones will fit?!

I understand that the Zetec lump has a similar layout to the TC - guessing this might be a fairly common conversion. Are exhaust manifolds/headers available off the shelf?

Looking forward to getting started on it... first job will be to build up the new chassis (think it's a spyder one) and see what's missing in terms of getting it rolling.

[EuropaTC]

Hi and 

I'll bet most of the guys from the other side of the pond have no idea what a Mini Marcos was, or is.....   

That sounds an intriguing project you've got yourself, is it one of the Bank's Europa bodyshells ?  I'm not sure buying a breaker car is worth the effort these days, apart from a few components most of what you get will need a complete overhaul and probably end up costing the same as buying new parts. And of course you have the opportunity to update with more modern parts such as the transaxle & twin link suspension, disc brakes all round, etc.  Personally I'd think Richard at Banks will be your best source of info and parts for such a project.

As far as seats go I'd guess Elise seats would fit, I have an S1 and those seats are narrow.  The subframes are minimal and lower than the Europa, so you might need a booster cushion or mounting on spacers.   If it becomes a serious option I can take pictures/measurements although I'd also think that a properly trimmed seat for something like the modern Caterham/7 replicas would also fit into the Europa and be more comfortable.

A few guys on here have Zetecs, have a browse around and you'll find some photos of the layouts. LotusJoe has posted some of a zetec in his project amongst others.

Brian

[BDA]

 

I second what Brian said. Richard at Banks probably knows more about Europas than anybody on the planet. And how cool is it that he's in your part of the planet?!

I'd also advise you to join the lotuseuropa yahoo group. There is some cross pollination between that group and this one but it also has a great group of very knowledgeable guys and several of them have Zetec conversions.

[4129R]

Whereabouts in the UK are you?

[StrawberryCheesecake]

Thanks for the tips

This is hopefully something like the end result.



My location is Warwickshire during the week, and Windsor at weekends. Aiming to relocate back to the midlands. Work for a large UK based car manufacturer... that narrows it down a bit ;o)

[BDA]

That would be a good example to model your car after! (I love the bubble in the roof! I guess great minds think alike!  )

[StrawberryCheesecake]

Roof bubble only if it's needed

Since it's a 47 body, then it makes sense to paint it in a proper racing colour scheme I think. Looks good too.

[4129R]

Blimey, Windsor at the weekends, we are graced with Royalty.

Why did they build Windsor Castle right on the flight path to Heathrow?

[blasterdad]

 

Can't wait to see some pics! (LOVE 47'S)
And I agree with Brian & BDA, Richard is the man to go to for parts!

[StrawberryCheesecake]

It's not very exciting to look at, at the minute... there's a red chassis and an off-white unpainted body...

It's tucked away in an awkward corner of the barn, so here are a couple of teaser shots for now.

Nostrils!


Side windows are pop-out perspex type. If I wanted conventional up/down windows would I need new doors?


Rear hub upright on wishbones. Is this a later upgraded setup?




If anyone can tell more about what I've got here, please let me know.

[StrawberryCheesecake]

Blimey, Windsor at the weekends, we are graced with Royalty.

Why did they build Windsor Castle right on the flight path to Heathrow?

Royalty? Not me - that's for sure. I was from the posh end of the council estate though Some of us posh ones even had cars that were bought and not stolen...

[blasterdad]

WOW, I'm no expert, but from what I can see from the pics I think you may have stumbled across a REAL type 47! 
That would be beyond cool if you did! 
As for changing the windows, just keep this in mind, If you do, I will fly to England, find out where you live & TP your house!  (Just kidding)
I would keep the pop outs for sure...

[EuropaTC]

I'm not sure about the nostrils, but the rest looks like a great find and perfect for a 47 replica. 

I don't know enough about the rear suspension options that have been around for our cars but my first thoughts on seeing the rear upright was "Spyder Engineering ?". They do (or did) a twin link conversion with a different upright for their own replacement chassis.  If that's what you have, then it's another good find because it will give some flexibility with gearbox/transaxle choices.

Brian

[StrawberryCheesecake]

WOW, I'm no expert, but from what I can see from the pics I think you may have stumbled across a REAL type 47! 
That would be beyond cool if you did! 
As for changing the windows, just keep this in mind, If you do, I will fly to England, find out where you live & TP your house!  (Just kidding)
I would keep the pop outs for sure...

It's definitely not a real 47, or a real anything for that matter. The chassis and body are new. There's a logbook and chassis plate, but the relationship between them.... well, there are celebrities with longer marriages.

[StrawberryCheesecake]

I'm not sure about the nostrils, but the rest looks like a great find and perfect for a 47 replica. 

I don't know enough about the rear suspension options that have been around for our cars but my first thoughts on seeing the rear upright was "Spyder Engineering ?". They do (or did) a twin link conversion with a different upright for their own replacement chassis.  If that's what you have, then it's another good find because it will give some flexibility with gearbox/transaxle choices.

Brian

Yes, I thought it might be something like that, but wasn't sure of the source. I was looking through the ring binder manual for the rear suspension, and noticed the radius arm setup looks very different to what I have.

Thanks Brian