Data plate decoder?

[TurboFource]

Most cars seem to have a way to decode the data plate and VIN number.
Is there such for an Europa? Dose it give paint color, tranny type etc.?

[jbcollier]

That data is not in the Lotus Europa VIN.  You can get most of that data from the Lotus archives for the later cars.  Paint colour was not recorded for the early cars.

[literarymadness]

On the S1s, the only information available was the type (46 for S1) and the series build number: 46/0001-46/0299
S1a: 46/300-46/0541
S1b: 46/042-46/0644
Beginning with the S2 (Type 54), a little more information was given: 54/0645, just like above. But on a separate tag, the colour code was also given; such as L07 (Lotus Yellow).  If there was a "+" or an asterisks, it meant it was a Federal spec Type 54: for example, +54/1846+.  Somewhere early in the series, paint codes began appearing on the same tag as the vin rather than on a separate one. Beginning in late 1969, Federal Europas were now called Type 65, but followed the same system: +65/2475+.

Beginning in 1970, a new vin system was implemented.  yr/mo/2 digit batch number/nnnn/destination. for example 7002112370P
The car as built in 1970, Batch 11, vin #2370 and "P" meaning: domestic RHD; R for Fed  spec; Q for ROW, and PR for Fed spec Type 65 converted to RHD.

Beginning with the Type 74 (both TC and TCS), the system was slightly shortened, leaving out the day of the month.
yr/mo/nnnn/destination.  For example, 73043856R.  The car was built in 1973, April, vin #3856, Fed spec. With the exception of S1, S1a, and S1bs, paint code information is listed on the vin tag or on the early S2s a separate tag.

[BDA]

Thanks for the VIN lession, 'madness! That was very interesting!

In spite of the fact that I've had my car since new, I wasn't aware of the complete VIN till long after I got my car back on the road in the late '90s. When I had my car re-titled (I had lost the original) I gave my VIN as simply 3635R which matches what is on the plate under my windshield. I think that will probably cause the least confusion with the constabulary but it looks kind of funny to be so short and, of course, it's not really accurate. It should include the year and month of manufacture, i.e. 73063635R.

[literarymadness]

BDA: My Vin number that came on the title had everything.  7472102758R  I guess in California where the car first titled, they liked long vin numbers, so they included the Type (74) in front of the vin from the tag.  Is yours titled as a 1974?  Most of the ones made from mid-1973 were titled as a 74 MY.

[BDA]

I bought mine in New Orleans from the Lotus Distributor in 1975. I'm almost positive that it was originally titled as a '74. At least, that is what I've always said it was. I still have the bill of sale so I'll check. I titled it in NC as a '74.

[literarymadness]

Turboforce: here is the link to the Europa colour paint codes. http://www.lotus-europa.com/colors.html
All Type 46 (S1) and Type 54 (S2) have the 1470 cc Renault 16 engine--the exception being, the Fed spec Type 54 which has the "+" sign before and after the vin.  They have a 1565 cc Renault 16TS engine, as do all Type 65 (Fed spec S2s).  The Fed spec Type 54s are desirable because they have the bigger engine of the Type 65 and the lower ride height of the Type 54.

When it comes to transmissions, all Type 46, Type 54, Type 65 have the 336 Renault 4 speed.  It is a little more confusing when it comes to Type 74s (Twin Cams and Specials).  The first 250 Fed spec Twin Cams beginning with vin #2000R have the Renault 336 but after that, the Fed TC now came with the 352 (4 speed). Maybe someone on the other side of the pond can answer when UK Twin Cams switched to the 352 tranny.

The first Fed Special was built the end of August '72 beginning with vin #2684 (anything below that number is a regular TC).  All early Specials came with the 352 tranny until Dec, '72 when the first type 365 (5 speeds) were offered as an option.  All badged JPS cars came with the the 365 transmission.  "pfreen" on this forum has one of the earliest stateside Specials with a 365 tranny.  His car is also one the earliest to have A/C.  His TCS was built Dec, '72 .

All Fed spec TC and TCS have the Big Valve engine with Stromberg carbs and the same horsepower.  P series Twin Cams (UK) and Q series (ROW) do not have the Big Valve engine and have Dellorto carbs.  All P and Q Twin Cam Specials have the Big Valve engine and Dellorto carbs.  Hope that isn't information overload. So yes, a vin number and a date can answer a lot of your questions.

[Bodzer]

Hi everyone,

I think that there was no build day in the VIN.  The VIN from January 1970 went yy/mm/batch number/unit number/destination. At some stage they drop the batch number. Here’s an excerpt from my letter of provenance from Andy Graham at the Lotus archives.

The VIN supplied for your Lotus Europa was 701026274PR which can be broken down into the build date (7010=1970, October), the production batch number (26), the serial number (274) and the model and market the car was made for (PR=Europa Type 65 (Federal) specification car for the UK, so effectively a UK/Federal hybrid). The original engine number was 1622 and this was a type 821 engine with the larger 1565cc engine. The transmission number was 1896.

Andy is very approachable and wants to here from owners. I believe he’s trying to fill in the gaps in production history as alot of the build sheets were destroyed in a fire (or a flood!).

Regards,

[literarymadness]

Bodzer:  I got my information from looking at the lotus-europa.com registry. Almost everybody in the registry lists those 2 digits as the build day of the month. But of course, I would take Andy Graham's word over that site.  I made the correction in my post to reflect the batch number.  The odd thing about your PR vin is that it has one less number than the P, Q, and R vins.  All the PR series all have one less number on the registry.  I am guessing it is because The PR vin has an extra letter.  And on quite a few it lists that batch number spot in the vin as "dd."  Check out the other vins. http://www.lotus-europa.com/regs2.html

PS Lotus did not drop those two digits till the Type 74.  It appears as it it followed that system till the end of the S2 run.

[jbcollier]

Just to clarify, the 1565 has a longer stroke crank but a lower state of tune over the 1470.  Both put out similar hp but the 1470 does so at higher revs.  The 1470 is “sweeter” (likes to rev) but has less bottom end torque.

[literarymadness]

I went back on the registry and nearly everyone believed that the 5th and 6th digit on the '70-71 S2 meant "dd". I went back and cross-referenced all P, PR, Q, and R series with their batch numbers.  The first batch number was 01 in Jan, 1970 through batch 28 which ended Dec, 1970.  In Jan, 1971, they went back to batch 01 through batch 24 which  ended Dec, 1971 with the last of the final S2 production run. The batch numbers continued sequentially with the early P (UK) numbered Twin Cams until the end of 1971. No Fed spec Twin Cams were built until Jan, 1972.  Late 71 Type 65 S2s were consider MY 1972.  That is why stateside, there are both MY 1972 S2s and Twin Cams.  In Jan, 1972, the batch number was deleted from the ID number for all markets: 721010001P(UK) or Q(ROW) or R(Fed).

[BobW]

Turboforce: here is the link to the Europa colour paint codes. http://www.lotus-europa.com/colors.html
All Type 46 (S1) and Type 54 (S2) have the 1470 cc Renault 16 engine--the exception being, the Fed spec Type 54 which has the "+" sign before and after the vin.  They have a 1565 cc Renault 16TS engine, as do all Type 65 (Fed spec S2s).  The Fed spec Type 54s are desirable because they have the bigger engine of the Type 65 and the lower ride height of the Type 54.
car is also one the earliest to have A/C.  His TCS was built Dec, '72 .

I love threads like this. 54/2885 was sent to Canada. It has the '+' on either side of the serial number, so is Fed spec per above. However, the engine (matches the data plate) is a 697.04, so 1470 cc and not a 1565, with no emission control beyond PCV. It does have the lower ride height.

[LotusJoe]

I used these three letters from Lotus when I registered my car.

[literarymadness]

Joe:  Thanks for verifying everything! I went back to the S2 Registry and found something interesting.  Fed Type 54s continued to ship to Canada through the end of 1969. Where in the US,
Fed Type 65s were beginning to ship towards the the latter part of '69. It appears that no Type 65 built before 1970 was shipped to Canada. My guess would be it was because of the US front ride height restrictions--that Type 54 front suspension and height was still legal in Canada but not the US.

[TurboFource]

Well this cleared things up