#460002 - Restoration

[Nockenwelle]

I can confirm that the 'Europe' badge has been mounted to German Europas. A friend of mine owned a very original yellow S2 and it had worn this badge.

I tried to recognize the VIN on the picture above and it looks like *541007* to me but it's really difficult to read.
An early type 54 VIN would match the appearance of the car. Looks like it has proper seats -> S2.

I've never seen any badges on the rear of an S1.

Klaus

[jbcollier]

The yellow Europa looks like an S2 to me but the photo is too small to be sure.  An S1a/b has rubber surrounding the opening door window while the S2 has a chrome surround.

[literarymadness]

This particular Europa was used in multiple articles dated from Dec 66 to Feb 67 (including several that JBCollier have already generously posted).  if you look at the caption, it doesn't seem like anyone is sure of the name LOL. I was always under the impression that the prototype S1 001 was the car that John Miles raced at Brands Hat in 1966 as a backup car to Jackie Oliver's production Type 47.  John Miles' prototype served as the basis for both the Type 46 and the Type 47. Of course which would make yours the first Type 46 sold to the public.  Who knows, that photo might even be of your car.  All those promo photos were taken before your car was shipped in 1967.

[Bodzer]

Doesn’t Richard Winter own SAR 857D?

[Serge]

The prototypes did not have a #4600XX serial number, they were called P5’s. Most of them were converted to 47’s. Some information in the article below.

http://www.lotus-europa.com/mann/mann.pdf

Serge

[literarymadness]

Thanks Serge!  Great information. Answers a lot of my questions.

Wesley

[Serge]

Just to quickly add to the debate on the 'EUROPA' badge on my S1.

The mounting holes are in the correct location for the badge. I have also looked in my collection of Europa S1 articles and flyers and I have found the original promotional material for the S1, from the actual dealership my S1 was sold from in 1967, and they mention the EUROPA name from the outset with the SAR prototype shown on the photographs in the flyer. So there is really no doubt in my mind that this badge would have come on this S1. It isn't common to see the badge on S1s, but all these cars are different from each other. Especially in the beginning of the production, they would have changed some things while building them.

Serge

[jbcollier]

Sorry Serge, I beg to differ.  Yes, the Europa name was used right from the beginning.  Well not quite, they had a few names kicking around at first.  One of which was the "Concorde".  No rear badging though until the S2:  no L-O-T-U-S letters, no Europa/Europe badge.  The only thing at the back was that the very early cars had "Odi" fasteners -- a good idea that shouldn't have been dropped.  Perhaps a few people added emblems after getting tired of being asked what the heck their car was.  It's also not uncommon to find S2 doors and windows put on as they are a lot more functional than what any S1 had.

So find me a period photo with the emblem in place and I will believe (hallelujah), but not until then.

[jbcollier]

PS: Most of the photos I posted of early cars can be blown up quite large so it is easy to see the lack of anything at the rear.

[Serge]

New video online!

https://youtu.be/fSnQlnpYpQg


I'll be trying to get back up to speed with the videos. A lot of loose ends need tidying up and a whole lot of fiberglass work!


Serge

[BDA]

Yet another great video, Serge! Those filler necks are really nice! Are you sure you can get a fuel spout into them? It looks like you may have to turn them around so the flip up toward the rear window.

[Serge]

I’m hoping the car is low enough so it won’t be a problem, otherwise I need to flip it around like you suggest. I couldn’t see where the rear window sits in this bare state, once it’s in I might change the orientation.

Serge

[jbcollier]

No worries, it will be low enough.  Having the pump nozzle handle towards the centre of the car works very well.

[JR73]

Doesn’t Richard Winter own SAR 857D?

Richard did indeed own SAR 857D, not 100% sure that he still does though as i've not called in for some time.

He had rebuilt it to race in the HSCC many years ago now - and it was a very bright yellow that he used to call 'Banks Racing Yellow' which obviously wasn't the original colour as seen in the press pics from when it was new (Red from memory?).

[Serge]

Another short fiberglass repair video!

https://youtu.be/Kbr92fi6ozo

Enjoy!

PS: I have edited a few more video's, so hopefully the next few will come in short order.

Serge