turbo!
It seems there are a lot of Europas in your general area so hopefully you'll be able to find a nice example you can drive or restore and enjoy!
There are a few here who have and are restoring Renault powered Europas so it seems finding the parts for them is not a problem but from my reading, there are "idiosyncrasies" with them that require particular focus and techniques that are not common to more "conventional" engines. I speak not from personal knowledge but from what I've read. Hopefully those with more experience and knowledge will chime in. The Renault motors are certainly worthy power plants for a Europa. Modifications can can make them very potent machines.
The worst parts availability issues that I'm aware of is the fifth gear on the 365 tranny (supplied on some Twin Cams). In general, most Europas are pretty low mileage and manual trannies that are treated reasonably generally last many miles. To get a better idea of the availablity parts for a particular tranny, give Michel at Alpine-America (
http://www.alpine-america.qc.ca/). He would have a good handle on that. Put your French hat on as his accent is very thick. He can also give you information on the Renault motors. Another thing to think about is that there are more modern Renault trannies available. The NG3 is one common tranny swap. Usually alternate trannies require alternate shift linkage and sometimes other modifications but they aren't that drastic and shouldn't scare you away.
A well sorted Europa will be a driving experience unlike any other. The long-time owners on this forum would be excused for being biased but I think this is quote on a Europa auction on bringatrailer.com
says it all:
I have no connection to this car or seller, NMNA etc, but I just want to say that, as some of you know from my online pieces for Hagerty, I just resurrected a ’74 Europa Twin Cam Special that hadn’t run in 40 years, and drove it last weekend to the Lotus Owners Group (LOG) event. I’m a vintage BMW guy used to 2002s, Bavarias, and my 3.0CSi, but I’m here to tell you, driving the Europa, even the ratty heavily patina’d one that I own, is the most fun I’ve had fully-clothed in decades, though I DO have to drive it with my right shoe off due to the pedals being so close together. Anyone who talks about the polarizing styling or throws around that “bread van” label probably hasn’t actually driven one of these. It is a total and completely addictive hoot. Most of the top-end parts are unique to the twin-cam head, but a lot of the bottom end is standard Ford 1600 block stuff, and much of the front end—brakes, tie rods, etc—cross-references to a Spitfire. And between the two major US parts suppliers (RD Enterprises and Dave Bean Engineering), most parts are a phone call away.
To all the people who say that they’ve always wanted one of these, trust me. You won’t be disappointed.
