S1 rolling restoration

[LotusEuropa]

Hi together, I am working on a rolling restoration, bringing back a car to 'as original as possible' condition. This means the plan is not to disassemble the whole car but to do what's needed whilst trying to get it back to the road asap. The car is an early S1.

Current condition:
The car basically works, the engine, transmission, brakes, chassis and suspension are generally in good condition. The body needs some attention, but I'm not going to completely repaint it. Most attention is needed to the interior, the electrics and the rear end (body). Apart from this, some parts (mirrors, indicators, interior parts etc.) need to get changed or undone (e.g. replace cosmic wheels to original steel wheels)

I will need to ask some detail questions which I will do here to not open a new topic every time. Hope you will help me with your expertise. I will post pictures at a later stage.

[TurboFource]

Looking forward to pics as you fix things!

[jbcollier]

Welcome!!  Photos please !!  Always excited to see another S1.  How is the chassis?  Have you poked around inside the chassis with an ice pick?

[BDA]

 

[My S1]

Welcome. This is the best place for Europa information and advice.  What is the chassis number of you S1?  Pictures woukld be most welcome.

[LotusEuropa]

Thank you all.

Welcome!!  Photos please !!  Always excited to see another S1.  How is the chassis?  Have you poked around inside the chassis with an ice pick?

I tried my best searching for any weaknesses, especially on the chassis. I haven't found the front section to be rotten or any other highly concerning faults apart from the obvious and hope I am right with this. My conclusion was it is to good for a full restoration and so it will be a running restoration.

Welcome. This is the best place for Europa information and advice.  What is the chassis number of you S1?  Pictures woukld be most welcome.

The car is known in the community, it's 460008, there was a post from a previous owner in September last year. https://www.lotuseuropa.org/LotusForum/index.php?topic=6188.msg66796#msg66796

[jbcollier]

Says the chassis was replaced.  Probably rear-ended judging by current rear body and rear fittings.  That serial number plate has me a bit jumpy.  Never seen one like that before.

[EuropaTC]

That serial number plate has me a bit jumpy.  Never seen one like that before.

I think that's something added by a previous owner for a couple of reasons. Firstly, even though the initial production run was exported to Europe, I'd have expected the chassis plate to have been in English. Using German doesn't sound as likely as English or even French  but of course with Lotus you never know for sure.

But even if Lotus had decided to stamp chassis plates in the country of export, I very much doubt they would have spelled "Norwich" like that.....

Of course the plate doesn't detract from the car, it's still a usable S1. But whoever fitted that plate would have been better to have contacted Lotus and obtained a genuine replacement considering the historic importance of the S1's. There's every chance the true history is even more interesting, a rebuilt racer for example ?

[LotusEuropa]

Concerning the VIN plate I also believe the current one isn't the original one. I think it was added sometime later, probably during the repaint some 20 years ago. I will reverse it to the original plate as soon as I have found a correct one for sale.
Unfortunately some information, e.g. if it really got rear ended, is missing as the car stood for several years now and most of the work was performed before. I cannot find anyone who did repairs or respray and therefore I cannot say what exactly happened in the past 57 year.

[EuropaTC]

If you haven't already done so, it would be worth contacting Andy Graham at Lotus to see if he's got anything to add. An early chassis such as that might have ended up either as a demonstrator for car magazines or as a racer. 

My first view of a Europa was around that time when someone came in a yellow one to the school I was attending and gave a talk to the 6th form students. I remember them saying it had been racing the previous weekend at Oulton Park (local circuit) even though it looked like a space-age road car to us !

[LotusEuropa]

If you haven't already done so, it would be worth contacting Andy Graham at Lotus to see if he's got anything to add. An early chassis such as that might have ended up either as a demonstrator for car magazines or as a racer. 

The previous owner, a young man who had gotten it from his neighbour, was in contact with him. Andy was unfortunately only able to give the basic information as usual (I think there was this fire in the archives or something like that). Given what you've said, it might be worth digging a little deeper. It would be great to find this in an article.

[LotusEuropa]

I want to add the first questions:

• Washing the car, I experienced loads of water collecting in the spare wheel compartment. I assume somewhere must be a drain hole or even a drain valve, but it is missing on my car (no spare wheel, holes are shut). Can you give me the position and a suitable solution? Do you have some further recommendations to keep the water out of the car as good as possible?
• There is no seatbelt installed to the car, is it possible that there was none for some of the S1s? For example in Germany there was no obligation to install them to new cars until 1974.

[jbcollier]

There should be drain holes just in front of the chassis.  Mine had three but I can't say if this was original or not as my car had been mildly molested during some chassis repair bodging (subsequently replaced).

The car had/has seatbelt anchors stock.
- upper anchor is just above your outside shoulder between the seat back and the head rest.  it is a metal tube in the fibreglass and uses a brace in the engine compartment from the chassis to the same point.
- lower outer anchor is part of the jacking point.  Unlike in later cars, it is a massive fabrication.  You access it by removing the seat base and the access hole cover against the sill.
- lower inner anchor point is opposite this and goes into a captive nut in the chassis itself.

[Hachille]

That serial number plate has me a bit jumpy.  Never seen one like that before.

I think that's something added by a previous owner for a couple of reasons. Firstly, even though the initial production run was exported to Europe, I'd have expected the chassis plate to have been in English. Using German doesn't sound as likely as English or even French  but of course with Lotus you never know for sure.

But even if Lotus had decided to stamp chassis plates in the country of export, I very much doubt they would have spelled "Norwich" like that.....

Of course the plate doesn't detract from the car, it's still a usable S1. But whoever fitted that plate would have been better to have contacted Lotus and obtained a genuine replacement considering the historic importance of the S1's. There's every chance the true history is even more interesting, a rebuilt racer for example ?

Good morning,
The car that followed on the assembly line was delivered to France.
The original plates are different

[LotusEuropa]

There should be drain holes just in front of the chassis.  Mine had three but I can't say if this was original or not as my car had been mildly molested during some chassis repair bodging (subsequently replaced).

The car had/has seatbelt anchors stock.
- upper anchor is just above your outside shoulder between the seat back and the head rest.  it is a metal tube in the fibreglass and uses a brace in the engine compartment from the chassis to the same point.
- lower outer anchor is part of the jacking point.  Unlike in later cars, it is a massive fabrication.  You access it by removing the seat base and the access hole cover against the sill.
- lower inner anchor point is opposite this and goes into a captive nut in the chassis itself.

Thank you, will check this on my car. The mentioned tube is definitely missing at the moment, so I have to reinstall them.

That serial number plate has me a bit jumpy.  Never seen one like that before.

I think that's something added by a previous owner for a couple of reasons. Firstly, even though the initial production run was exported to Europe, I'd have expected the chassis plate to have been in English. Using German doesn't sound as likely as English or even French  but of course with Lotus you never know for sure.

But even if Lotus had decided to stamp chassis plates in the country of export, I very much doubt they would have spelled "Norwich" like that.....

Of course the plate doesn't detract from the car, it's still a usable S1. But whoever fitted that plate would have been better to have contacted Lotus and obtained a genuine replacement considering the historic importance of the S1's. There's every chance the true history is even more interesting, a rebuilt racer for example ?

Good morning,
The car that followed on the assembly line was delivered to France.
The original plates are different

Your VIN plate is stating 'Cheshunt', is this because of the old stock of plates or might there be a transition phase? I assume the pre production cars were assembled in Cheshunt, but did Hethel start with chassis # 1?