Father / son project

[blasterdad]

Tried to say hello earlier but it didn't work out so well so I'll try again without pics.... ( as suggested )
My stepfather bought a 71 Europa S2 in 1985, ( thanks to the add I tore out of a local car trader mag & forgot about for a year ) drove it home, then stored it in his parents pole barn covered up on jack stands. Due to record snowfall in these parts last winter many roofs collapsed, and his parents barn was no exception. So the Lotus was brought back to my parents garage. Fearing a now damaged Lotus would sit in her garage for another 29 years, my mother put her foot down & said it had to go!
When my son, ( Whom has had his learners permit for about three weeks  ) learned of this, he expressed interest. With visions of her only grandson in a mangled pile yellow fiberglass that used to be a Lotus, she promptly told him NO, not for any price!
Well, thanks to my amazing charismatic influence over my mothers protective instincts, ( had to promise her he wouldn't even sit in it until he's 25, and paint her barn next summer, lol ) the Lotus is now in my garage. Will try to post pics again in a separate post.

This is where she was ( first garage door on the left )


This is her now...








   

[EuropaTC]

Hi, and  from a sunny Lincolnshire in the UK.

That's a fascinating history and although no doubt there's a lot of work ahead it's a great project to do with your son. On the plus side, the car should be very original as it wasn't that old when it was laid up.

Good to see you back anyway. As for posting pictures (which we all like    ) what I tend to do is to resize them to something like 800 or 1024 pixels wide which cuts down the size quite well and should fit on most folks' monitor/laptop screens. Joe has a limit on file size but it's quite generous and once you get the knack this is one of the easiest sites I use to attach photos.   

Looking forward to photos of how you're both getting on with the project.

Brian

[BDA]

 
Glad to see you were finally able to post and tell your story. Hopefully we'll be able to help you get your S2 back on the road. If you haven't joined already, another good source of information is the lotuseuropa yahoo group. Let us know if you need any help.

I can't wait to see your pictures. I don't know what you tried but I can try to walk you through the process of posting pictures:

Click on "Attachments and other options" below the text box for your post.
Click on "Choose File" under the word "Attach:". That will bring up a Windows Explorer window that you can navigate in and choose a file to attach. The allowable file types are listed below.
Double click on the file that is the picture you want to post (or click on the file and then click on the "Open" button on the Explorer window. Your file name will be now be next to the "Choose File" button you clicked.
To attach or post another picture, click on "(more attachments)" and you'll get another "Choose File" button. Rinse and repeat... [I just chose a picture of the side view of my car to post]
Keep in mind there are size restrictions on individual files. You can make your file size smaller by using a photo editor like the paint program or if you're on Windows 7, you can display the photo and then use the Snipping Tool to crop the picture or copy it (the result of "snipping" your photo should be a smaller file even if the view of the picture is the same). Save your new picture to a file and Choose that file to attach.

Hope that helps! If you have any problems, let us know!

Good luck!

[blasterdad]

Thank you ! Was about to give up & ask 

[blasterdad]

Just uploaded pics in my first post, thanks BDA. 

[TheKid#9]

Congratulations!!    The car looks very good for sitting for all those years. I thought I'd give you some inspiration. I'm 19 years old and bought my Europa when I was 16. Here is my build log on LotusTalk. http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f120/16-years-old-europa-100761/ 
(If you'd like to see the end result and not read all of it go to page 15). I hope your son will be a big Lotus fan just like me.

[BDA]

Just uploaded pics in my first post, thanks BDA. 

Glad I could help and the car looks great!! The engine compartment needs some TLC but the rest of the car looks really good!

You should take The Kid up on his thread. It was a great father-son project. I have no doubt that yours will be too!

[blasterdad]

Thanks guys, and thank you Chris, your europa looks amazing! Nice job!!!! My problem is not inspiration though it's too many projects already, the Mrs. says no working on the Lotus until her new kitchen is done, ( it's gutted ) ! So the Lotus will not receive my full attention for a while... But in the mean time I'm willing to take a few verbal spankings to sneak some time in on her, lol....

[EuropaTC]

Wow, for a car that's been standing for so long, that's in amazing condition.  Sure there's some TLC needed but it still looks a whole lot better condition than some of cars that members here have taken on as projects. Heck, it's even got an interior !!!!

More pictures as you get along with it please. (no, not the kitchen, I can pass on kitchens.....)

Brian

[3929R]

  She looks great, especially considering she survived a barn collapse. I see the windshield is done for, was that from the barn collapse? Is there fiberglass damage along with the window damage?

[blasterdad]

  I see the windshield is done for, was that from the barn collapse? Is there fiberglass damage along with the window damage?

Thank you for the welcome, & yes the collapse broke the windshield, it also cracked the fiberglass on the roof about 6 inches back from the corner of the windshield on both sides, (if you look close you can see it in the pics). There is a little spot on the passenger door too. As far as I can tell it looks like the Lotus was centered in between the trusses & one of the rat runs came down on it. The weight of the impact also bent both rear trailing arms as this is where the jack stands supporting it were placed.
Just found a pair of trailing arms today    but am still looking for a windshield.... 

[blasterdad]

Finally got a chance to work on the Lotus last night with my son, ( Mom wasn't home  ).
Had some Marvel Mystery Oil soaking in the cylinders for a couple weeks in preparation for trying to start her for the first time in almost 30 years. Had a hunch that the clutch and bell housing was packed full of mouse nests, ( clutch petal wont return ) so I slowly turned over the engine with a breaker bar while my son looked in the hole at the top of the bell housing with a flashlight. After a couple of minutes of slight back and forth pressure I was able to turn the engine over enough to reveal a clutch housing packed full of chewed up firewall felt. I had my son start pulling it out with needle nose pliers while I turned the engine over an inch at a time. The more he pulled out the easier the engine turned over until I could tell it was turning freely. Removed the flywheel cover, scraped out what I could get at, then blasted out the rest with compressed air  from the top down. Persistence payed off in removing most of vermonville, and eventually could turn over the engine by hand, ( spark plugs out ). On to step two, install battery, cross fingers, turn key.... Click, nothing.
Noticed starter had a solenoid with the end open, ( new to me ) so lets try this, WD 40, push in, Repeat, WD 40, push in, CRANK! What a great sound! Told my son to try the key now, CRANK CRANK CRANK! Step three, check for spark. Key on, test light says power to coil, CRANK CRANK CRANK, no spark. Remove distributor cap, survey says.... corroded points! ( no surprise there ), probably having an affair with a shot condenser too. Coil ohms out ok, but have a new one coming with the points & condenser in a couple of days anyway. All in all, happy with getting as far as we did. 

[EuropaTC]

 

A good tale,  I'm definitely smiling at the mouse house !   Strangely enough, I also find it simpler to work on cars when the missus is out shopping, jobs seem to get done so much faster....

New ignition, a squirt of easy-start in the carburetor and it sounds like you'll be good to go.  The car looks in good shape, perhaps the usual change of oils & brake fluid will see you out for the first test run ?

Brian

[blasterdad]

 perhaps the usual change of oils & brake fluid will see you out for the first test run ?

Brian

I wish she was in good enough shape for it to be that easy, but she's not. PO has all 4 brakes disassembled, had my glass guy remove the broken windshield, and both radius arms are bent, the driver's side pretty seriously, (passenger side for you Brian, lol). I am also 99.999% sure that the clutch will have to be replaced. The suspension will have to come apart to replace the radius arms anyways, so from there the clutch will be replaced too. Pretty much just trying to start her up to see if she will run good enough to not add the engine to the list... With only 55000 miles I am hoping this will be the case, but come what may, the more things wrong, the more my son (and me) will  learn. Anyways, at this point, the suspense is kind of fun.   

[BDA]

That's a great father/son project and as you say, having more things to fix is a positive - it makes the journey that much longer and more interesting! Please keep us informed of your progress and if you have any questions!