New UK Member living in the US.

[Paul_71]

Hello everyone,
Let me introduce myself. I am Paul, from the Uk and working in Chicago for a couple of years on an assignment. I've recently committed the deadly sin of buying a vehicle without seeing it and trusting the sellers description and pictures. It was a deal I could not turn down and the vehicle is being shipped later this week. It is a 1971 in original condition and has been stored for a number of years. No rust, engine turns over, etc...
I've been over in the US a year and spent the evenings restoring a 66 Mustang convertible and used the extensive supplier base over here to achieve a lovely looking and driving motor. The next challenge I wanted is for a British car without that vast network of suppliers and to rely more on my engineering skills to achieve the restoration.
I hope everyone doesn't mind, but I'm sure you'll be hearing from me in the near future if I am unable to find the answers to my questions on the net and to share my experiences.
Regards,
Paul

[EuropaTC]

Hi Paul,

Welcome to the forum, that sounds an interesting career move and I bet it's a great experience.  As you'll no doubt have seen there's a lot of guys over in the US with these cars and some well respected US suppliers coming along these days.  Ok, not as good as for a Mustang, but not bad for a dinky car made by a cottage industry in another country and never sold in great numbers to start with !

There's some impressive "can do" guys on this forum with great examples of their work, so you'll not go short of encouragement. When the car arrives don't forget to post up some photos and restoration plans......

Brian

[BDA]

  Paul_71!

Good luck with the sale!

I echo what Brian said. I would also advise you to join the lotuseuropa yahoo group. There are lots of talented and inventive people both places.

Parts shouldn't be a real problem unless yup are trying to keep it original. Some parts are no longer available but there is almost always a good replacement.

Please post pictures and tell us.what your plans are.

[EuropatcSPECIAL]

    Welcome Paul     

[Paul_71]

Thanks for the feedback. The car arrives on Saturday and I will make sure I get some pictures uploaded.

In the meantime, plenty of research to do and Yahoo group to join!!

[BDA]

Here's a link that might be useful: http://www.lotus-europa.com/manuals/index.htm

[Bainford]

Welcome to the forum, Paul. There is much advice and information available here. Many knowledgable owners willing to help. I hope the car is as you expect it to be when it arrives. I also bought mine sight unseen (a 73 Special), which I knew to be a risky move, but when it arrived in my yard it was exactly as described, so it can happen. Good luck, and post up a couple of pics when you can. Cheers 

[gjz30075]

If you're interested in some comradery, look up the folks at Lotus Corp
http://www.lotuscorps.org/index.php

Plenty of old school guys there to help you out.

[BDA]

I looked through almost 150 pictures of their holiday party but didn't see a single car 

The did look like a good group that has a lot of fun! And it seemed like a really nice party! 

There isn't a local Lotus club here so I joined the MG club (they'll let ANYBODY in!  ) They're a lot of fun. I recommend joining a local club!

[Paul_71]

So… The car arrived today. Was feeling apprehensive as I wasn’t sure of what to expect. But it actually turned out OK in the end.

In summary I would describe the car as original and tired. The original colour of the car was red (L05) and have been told that it took on the JPS colours earlier in its life. The paint is looking tired and will need a refresh, together with some small localized body work. Overall, it is not too bad.
The engine turns over by hand with easy and I have dropped some oil into the chambers to get it all lubed up. It has 35k on the clock. Dip stick is clean of water and looks ok. I drained the petrol tank and got shot of that stinking gunk which was in there!
I plan to take the body off the car and send it away for some TLC (body work and spray). As for the mechanicals, I will start work on the rest of the car to get it back on the road. Not looking to do anything over the top, just want it looking and driving nice, enjoy it and generally have a driver car, rather than a show car. Frame looks just to have surface rust, pretty much all the bushings are shot and all hydraulics need rebuilding.
I took some shots of the car and would appreciate any feedback or advice.

[EuropaTC]

Hi Paul,

Now that looks like a good project car, one that's been used and then just forgotten about. IMO the best sort of project to get, rather than one which has been hacked around.  Some period or original fittings as well which are now hard to come by - the Cosmic wheels, the steering wheel, The Lotus Mk1 Rear Deck Prop (    ), so yep, a good project. 

I've always bought running cars before and my usual approach has been to look over the brakes & steering to get the car mobile and then start making lists. I usually sort out brakes/steering and unless they are obviously new I replace the suspension/bushes as my first jobs because Lotus cars are all about ride & handling.   Engine/gearbox comes next and finally interior trim and bodywork.  If you're planning to get someone else to do the bodywork then you'll have two streams in parallel and get a faster result - cashflow permitting !

I don't know your background so at the risk of "teaching granny to suck eggs", I'd go cautiously on the bodywork for now. Polish might just get it "good enough" until it's mobile and if the car has sat for a while then the mechanicals might take up an unexpectedly large portion of the budget.  A proper respray on a fibreglass car tends to be very expensive in the UK and I expect it's the same over there.  For example people are paying £8k for good jobs on Elans and I've heard of £10k from some places.  I would expect a Europa to be similar, and that's a big chunk of the finished car's value.

But again, a great project and I'm looking forward to the updates !

Brian

[4129R]

I would definitely fit the Banks engine cover gas struts to hold the cover open properly. Using 1 metal bar to prop the cover open stresses the fibre glass, and is a problem on a windy day.

[Grumblebuns]

Overall, not a bad looking car. I wouldn't even worry about the body and paint initially. My first priority would be to get the motor running.
1. drain and clean out the gas tank, add fresh fuel
2. rebuild the carbs,  if the butterfly shafts are frozen, consider swapping to 32/36 Webers
3. flush the cooling system, pressure test and back flush the radiator
4. change the oil, prime the oil pump
5. check the distributor, new points and condenser
6. new battery
7. see if it'll start
8. once running, see what is not working electrically
9. work on the suspension.

[BDA]

Everybody has, as usual, provided great feedback. I think it would be good to get it on the road and drive it a little even if you intend to do a body off restoration. Then you'll have something to motivate you!

The nice thing is that you shouldn't have any problems with parts and in fact, it's likely that the parts you get will be better than the originals! Of course a lot depends on how much you are willing to spend and how long it will be before you go back to Britain - I expect it would be cheaper and easier to ship a completed car or roller than a bunch of parts.

I wasn't aware that paining fiberglass was a big deal, but then I didn't paint my car. It cost somewhere in the $6000 range for my car back in the late '90s and it took something like six weeks IIRC. It came out beautifully. $8000+ might not be out of the question now and the Chicago area may be more expensive. Everybody's right - you may be able to get a reasonable finish with some elbow grease.

We're all ready to provide whatever info we can once you start turning wrenches. Good luck!

[rascott]

this looks like a fine project!
not only has the big bits, but looks pretty complete overall.
thanks for the preview, let the 'store commence!
richard