Gorgeous TCS listed on Bring a Trailer

[BDA]

Someone is selling a freshly restored white '74 TCS. The engine has headers and webers and an aluminum flywheel. The 365 has been freshly rebuilt. The owner spent over $100K on it in the past three years so obviously, the owner didn't do the work himself. It's among the prettiest Europas I've seen listed on BaT. This may give Certified a clue what he might expect for his car.

Here it is: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1974-lotus-europa-twin-cam-5/

[Arizona]

Wow, but 100k spent on refurbishment? Gonna be hard to make a profit on that. And no reserve, no less!

[BDA]

Obviously, he wont get his money back. So the questions are why is he selling so soon after his restoration and why no reserve? I bet their's a story behind this and if there is, it's likely not a happy one. I hope I'm wrong.

[1970EuropaGuy]

The car is a little ragged on the edges as well. Hairline cracks in the body, door seals not installed well and... should be photographed better if a decent price is expected.

It is a great looking Twin Cam, will be interesting to see where it goes.

[literarymadness]

Gee a White TCS with Gold rims!  Hmm!  Where have I seen a TCS like that before

[BDA]

Ok... so I'm a little prejudiced...   

I forgot to mention something that is a bit strange: he has a toggle switch for the horn. I wonder why he didn't just use the stalk switch...

I might take off a little for using stainless steel braided hose seemingly everywhere but the fuel. The door seals don't bother me and neither do the hairline cracks - they're sort of come with the territory.

[Arizona]

The door seals don't bother me and neither do the hairline cracks - they're sort of come with the territory.

I got a chuckle from that. My door seals looked like that when I got the car and it had only been on the road about 4 years so I assumed that's how it came from the factory. I've since replaced them.

[surfguitar58]

No boosters and a bill for a .875" MC rebuild kit. (Same year, model and color too!) That is going to scare the hell out of someone on a test drive. I know because that is the exact same set-up I have. Fine once you get used to it though. Was not aware of the existence of this car, but this is the 6th Europa I am now aware of in the Boston area, 4 are TCSs, 1 TC and 1 S2.
Tom

[BDA]

As of Christmas morning, the bid is $20,000... and there's still six days to go! This could beat the previous record (at BaT) of $35,973 (https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1973-lotus-europa-special-3/)!

[BDA]

Looking at the invoices, I'm amazed what they charged for some things: $1,300 for a 40DCOE, $1.644 for a "cam shaft kit", $250 for a clutch disc, $117 for a throttle cable! I haven't bought that stuff in a long time but that seems super high to me!

[jbcollier]

That's not installed either.  Parts seemed more than a bit on the high side.

Mind, if they bought new followers from Meca parts, that would be a $US550+ right there.  If the camshaft kit also included timing gears, chain and tensioner, we're getting closer to reasonable.  Add a brand-new camshaft, not reground, we've spent it all and maybe more.

[jlmullen2]

Nice car but I thought something looked "off", especially the side views. The invoice shows the car has (4) 185/40 - 13 Kumho tires. I don't think that is the correct size (40 series), more likely it's the standard 185/70-13 Kumhos. The front end looked too high and the stance doesn't look stock. If the tires are 185 all around, there will likely be rubbing at the front.

[literarymadness]

If you zoom in on the front tires, you will in fact see 185/70 R13s on the front.  I have 185/60 R13 Toyo Proxes on the front and they do not rub.  The other people I know that have them up front don't seem to have a problem either.  Maybe the 70 series rub and the 60 series doesn't.

[Certified Lotus]

Just catching up on this after Christmas. This is a Very nice example of a TC Europa but I have to say my own car is a much better example in so many ways. I will watch the auction closely.

I’m guessing the owner just got fed up pumping $$$$ into it, which is why no reserve. I bought my 64 Elan S1 that way, the PO had huge bills from the shop doing the work and just got tired of all the non-stop expenses. I showed up and made a fair offer and got the car for pennies on the dollar. Then I completely rebuilt it and put even more money into it. It’s just the way it works. I got top dollar for my Elan when I sold it a couple of months ago but still didn’t recoup my “investment” in it. But the 4 years of driving memories were all worth it!

The same will hold true with my TC Europa. I’ll never get the money I’ve “invested” in it (and my 3 years of labor is free) But the journey of the rebuild and the memory of the road trip to LOG39 and back with my Lotus friends make it all worth while.

[surfguitar58]

If you zoom in on the front tires, you will in fact see 185/70 R13s on the front.  I have 185/60 R13 Toyo Proxes on the front and they do not rub.  The other people I know that have them up front don't seem to have a problem either.  Maybe the 70 series rub and the 60 series doesn't.

185/70R13s are supposed to be rear only (175/70R13 up front). Somewhere in the owners manual it says to NEVER use the 185/70 rear tire on the front. (Spare is the front size). The 205/60R13 - 185/60R13 set-up Madness has works well too, I'm told.
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