Took the plunge - gulp

[Midnight]

Hi, new member here and have recently bought a restoration project in the form of a 1970 S2 type 65 0154R. It's not actually turned up yet so plenty of surprises in store for me I'm sure. Picture of it being collected by the shipper.

So until she turns up I've been busying myself with research. I've been swinging from planning a standard restore, right up to a full modern tech project. I think I'm leaning more towards a zetec conversion, I just love what HealeyBN7, Lotus Joe and others have done with their cars. Whatever happens, truly been bitten by the bug and can't wait to get started

[BDA]

  , Midnight!
This should be a fun project for you. I've been amazed at the creativity people have shown when restoring/resto-moding their Europas. They are a great platform for car nuts to let their imagination run wild!

I think the Zetec is the best bang for the buck in engine swaps. You'll have to source a TC bell housing and you'll probably want to use an NG3 tranny. There are several other upgrade routes - better brakes, better rear suspension, etc. All you need to do is figure out what you want!

I look forward to seeing your progress!

[jbcollier]

Looks to be a LH drive car.  With that stripe, I wonder if it was originally a Canadian car.  Period Canadian ads show the S2s withat stripe added.

Enjoy!

[HealeyBN7]

Hi, new member here .... I just love what HealeyBN7, Lotus Joe and others have done with their cars. Whatever happens, truly been bitten by the bug and can't wait to get started

Welcome to the madness. Thank you for the kind words.  I think you will be happy with the Zetec.  The real trick is to get the car fully sorted and reliable regardless of the engine choice.  Enjoyment comes from spirited round trips that don't include a list when you get back in the garage.  Took me forever. 

I remember the first time I turned to my wife and said... "Wow that was fun.  I'll just cover it and come in." 

I walked away and thought "Well, what do I do now?"

Dean

[BDA]

I can relate! At one point, I seemed to spend so much more time working on the car than driving it, I had to ask myself if I would really rather work on it than drive it. There's always something to do on it, but I drive it a lot more than work on it. It's a much better balance! 

[Certified Lotus]

I've been rebuilding English sports car for almost 50 years. It took me 45 years to realize that in order to be able to drive the car without concern, you need to do frame off rebuilds.......otherwise your chasing every issue that appears forever.

Never the less, welcome to the club and most of all enjoy your adventure!

[Midnight]

Thanks for the replies, no doubt this is going to be quite a project. First step is going to get her running for her first MOT and registration, hasn't been running since 1994!  Fortunately my local garage specialises in getting US spec cars through MOTs. Then it's going to be a full strip down to the chassis and rebuild job, at least it'll keep me out of trouble for a couple of years. Goal is to have her ready for her 50th birthday

While I'm still in research phase, does anyone know if it's been documented how the S2 chassis needs to be modified for a Zetec? I know that the Y section is narrower than the TC, looks like I am going to need to learn a few new skills 

Also I'm not sure if I understand correctly what sort of bell housing to mate the renault gearbox I would need. I'm sure I've seen that a member on here has used an Espace gearbox which are easier to find at the moment, need to do lots of digging 

[andy harwood]

 
Welcome to the Club!
Appears you've a good project going. Seems there is a lot of Zetec support on your side of the pond, which is good.
The bell housing is one which mates to the Twin Cam engine, which uses a ford block, and most of the holes line up with the Zetec.
RaceTech makes a "inline" cast oil pan, which may help with starter mounting, although it's a little pricey.
Dean & LotusJoe have mounted the starter at different bell housing locations, something you'll probably look at in the future
(that's where I'm at now)
As far as the S2 frame/Zetec fit, maybe scour the Yahoo Europa group knowledge base and photos - a lot of info there!
Enjoy

[EuropatcSPECIAL]

   Welcome midnight  Its not so much a plunge more a leap inro the unknown  It will be worth every minute you put into the project  Regular updates please with pictures
happy motoring
Stuart

[jbcollier]

http://lotus-europa.com/manuals/index.htm

http://lotus-europa.com/ekb.html

[Bainford]

Welcome to the forum. That looks like a nice project. Cheers 

[Michael_PE2003]

Nice project!

Our cars aren't so distantly related, mine is 65 0149R only five cars down the line.

[Bodzer]

Hi and welcome,

I'm pretty new here myself and my Europa isn't far off yours either.  I must say after struggling with a body on running rebuild of a +2, the bare chassis/body off method with the Europa is just bliss! You need three other willing helpers to lift the body off but it can be done singlehanded. I took inspiration for Joji (grumblebuns) and did it myself. A Lidl hydraulic jack and a Halfords scissor jack did the trick but it did take three days!

Good luck with the project.

Regards,

Pete

[Midnight]

Thanks for the great advice. seems I've accidentally made a eBay purchase while just window shopping. Apparently the Ford Focus ST170 is a highly modified zetec engine dressed as a duratec http://www.zetecinside.com/xr2/zetectune.shtml so this could be a really good starting point or a really bad mistake. For the ECU I'm thinking Speeduino, I'm not half bad with electronics and have been using arduino and my own custom boards for a few years I think this will make for a very interesting package.

[andy harwood]

"Accidentally"? Ok, I believe you.
Actually a improvement over a Zetec, as the ST has beefed up internals and more HP.
Think the junkyard ST's (here)go for about 3-4 times more than a blacktop Zetec.
  Congratulations!