Would anyone possibly be interested in "trading" project cars?

[Tom999w]

I've wanted a Europa project for alot of years, and finally got one last year (white 1971 S2 Federal). The problem is that this car is a little beyond my capabilities at this point in my life. I was wondering if someone with alot of project Europa's laying around might like to trade their lesser project (plus $$ from me) for my heavier project. The nice thing about my car is that it's all complete and original, except for the paint, exhaust pipe, and intake manifold (last on the road in 1979). The un-nice thing is that it needs everything (frame has rust-through at front suspension, engine is seized, interior is deteriorated, body is worn).
  I know it's a long shot but it's worth a try. I don't really want to sell it because then it may be years before another one pops up for sale. And I'm not new to projects, just this car needs more work than I've anticipated.

[Tom999w]

Ok, the lack of replies said alot! It looks like it will either go into long term storage or go up on the sale chopping block!

[Grumblebuns]

I'd wait a few more days for more views. Question is why hang onto it if you don't plan on restoring it. Best cut your loses now and wait for a better car.

[Richard48Y]

I bought a "Better car" on feeBay.
Of course there were undisclosed issues.
I got down to the bare frame, repaired it, and am now heading toward reassembly.
If your frame can be repaired and the body is not trashed these are actually simple cars to work on.
With the body off the mechanicals become very accessible and are light.
Two guys can lift an engine out.
Fiberglass is very forgiving and not difficult to work with.
Since you are East coast shipping is cheaper for you, even a new chassis is fairly priced.
Get a workspace and dive in!

Looking at your pics it seems you have a pretty good car to start with.
Much more original, complete, and strait than mine.
Shiny paint does not necessarily point to a "Better" car, it is often used to hide bad repairs.
Even if the engine were not stuck you would probably want to rebuild it.
Stuck is less of an issue with these "Wet sleeve" engines.

[Sparkrite]

What's the story on the fiat Dino behind the Europa.

[S2Zetec54]

Hi Tom

I can vouch for the comments about how simply the cars are constructed. Much depends on your budget…we are very lucky that most parts are available…..ash trays aside!

Buying a new frame and swapping everything over is very satisfying. The interior is very simple with carpets and seats available

I didn’t have any idea what I was doing but a friend and I lifted the body off and most things were then very obvious…..anyway good luck with whatever you do.

[BDA]

I’ll reiterate what has already been said, that Europas are very simple. There is a huge amount of information about them online (eg. Here: http://lotus-europa.com/manuals/index.htm), original or reproduced parts are generally easy to find, and there is a wealth of experience and technical expertise on this forum that can make a restoration much easier than it might ordinarily be. Doing a body off restoration seems daunting now but if you have any mechanical aptitude or even curiosity, you should be able to build your own car and drive it. There’s a pride that comes from that that most people will never experience. It’s a matter of motivation, money, and time.

[Bryan Boyle]

I’ll reiterate what has already been said, that Europas are very simple. There is a huge amount of information about them online (eg. Here: http://lotus-europa.com/manuals/index.htm), original or reproduced parts are generally easy to find, and there is a wealth of experience and technical expertise on this forum that can make a restoration much easier than it might ordinarily be. Doing a body off restoration seems daunting now but if you have any mechanical aptitude or even curiosity, you should be able to build your own car and drive it. There’s a pride that comes from that that most people will never experience. It’s a matter of motivation, money, and time.

I'll echo Jim's comments, as well as those of other members.  There is little that can't be fixed, repaired, or refurbished on these cars.  They CAN be a lot of work, a lot of 'fettling', a lot of tweaking on an ongoing basis to keep them going (or getting them going in the first place).  It just depends on what your final or intermediate goals are for owning a car like the Europa.

That being said...there is a lot of information, as many have mentioned, about these cars online.  The lotus-europa.com above site is one...if you want to read a story about how a car (693R) was renovated, I offer my own humble journal at http://www.lotuseuropa.us/0693r/journal/index.php as a story about a 9 month turn around from basket case to rolling down the road, and there is certainly a lot of information out there on whether to build, buy, or refinish.  There is also the Lotus Europa group on groups.io, which is the latest incantation of the lotuseuropa mailing list that started on onelist back in the late 90s, migrated to yahoogroups until yahoo moved in another direction to end up on groups.io.  Lots of great insight there, as well as a searchable knowledgebase at https://www.prevanders.net/kb2.html which has (i believe) indexed and made searchable every message on the mailing list back to message #1.

So, unlike a lot of special interest hobbies, in the Europa world, you are NOT alone.

In the end, though...all will tell you...these aren't 'investment' grade vehicles.  Join the club because you love the car...it won't love you back or finance your retirement...but it will be a fun journey along the way.

[Tom999w]

Ok, thanks everyone for the excellent replies. I also talked to a local welder friend and he said the body should come off to fix the frame anyway. So it looks like I'll move it to the paved part of the driveway and see if I can't get the body lifted off to get the frame repaired. It's going to be a long, multi-year project that I'll be working on as I get a little extra money here and there. Then work on the rest after. Thanks very much for the replies.

[Tom999w]

What's the story on the fiat Dino behind the Europa.

I'm a car collector, and the Fiat Dino was another project that I went as far as I can go on it. It currently needs a full restoration and is for sale. These cars are rare, and most are in museums or private collections. Years ago these were cheap cars, but selling prices have climbed up dramatically in the past five years. I'm thinking it will eventually end up on a rotisserie in Italy, where they are very popular.