Possibly the world's worst Europa

[Morris12s3]

Just about to embark on what (I think anyway!) should be an interesting project.
About 18 months ago I took pity on this horrifically rotten, damaged and incomplete '70 S2 Europa.
It's a fed car that's been converted to rhd sometime in it's dim, distant and dubious past.
Along with the remains of the chassis and body came a fed spec engine and an incorrect r12 gearbox.
I've been mulling over what to do with this thing for some time now and it looks like the decision has been made for me as I've now purchased a class 9 special with a dry sump race twin cam and mk9 hewland box. This engine has always been a race one and in it's day it was extremely successful.
So, the plan is to build a 47'esque car for circuit and rally fun.
This isn't going to be a project for the purists but the intention is to have the car built to the highest standard possible for me.
[url]

|https://thumbsnap.com/XdCoRQNs[/url]

[Morris12s3]

[Lotobear]

That's a brave move, best of luck with it.

Will you go with a Spyder chassis?

[p4cks]

Sadly, I don't think you'll ever get the chance to sit in it with balls as big as yours.

[Morris12s3]

Thanks both, and nah .... it's just gluttony for punishment!
I'm going to have a bespoke chassis built, that way we'll be able to incorporate proper cage mounts and the like.
This will be a pretty long term project, the specialist I'm using is always busy so it'll be a fit in as and when.

[aeropilot]

Wow.........that's a man that has stocked up on brave pills.

[rallycross]

Crikey that’s quite a job , I was going to say at least there will be no rust until I looked at the pics - good luck will be a nice thing once done.

[threespires]

Congrats.
Sadly mine suffered under the hands of a TV company.
The car leaked like a sieve. Using it anywhere near water might seem unwise.
It was a wonderful car to drive, I loved it.

[Jaz2000]

This is going to be interesting, keep us updated

[xyyman]

I echo the comments already made and you're a braver man than I.

I do hope you keep us updated as to build progress, I love to see how these projects progress. I identify with your long term situation as I'm just, hopefully, completing a four year restoration myself.

[Morris12s3]

Thank you all for your kind words and encouragement. I'll certainly keep posting pics and progress although it might be sporadic.
So it's now apart, yes I did suspect it was this bad!

[Gareth9702]

Nothing there that a roll of CSM and a tub of resin won't fix. Slap it on, and bury it under a good layer of underseal.😀

Looking forward to seeing updates.

[moffspeed]

Yes, looking forward to this.

Is that a Gilbern in the background of the final photo ??

[Morris12s3]

Don't think for a second I haven't considered that
Yes, it's the business owner's Genie rally car.

[GitsNovelties]

This looks pretty standard for a classic TVR/Gilbern/Lotus type resoration!

-Remove body that needs a lot of glassfibre work
-Discover chassis that is way worst that it looked when the body was on
-Spend ALOT on bodywork
-Start putting it all back together and discover that is about 95% of the work and the body and chassis was actually easy in comparison

[KP328]

Always had a soft spot for the Europa after the bloke across the road got one.

Good luck to you OP in the restoration

[moffspeed]

threespires said:

Congrats.
Sadly mine suffered under the hands of a TV company.
The car leaked like a sieve. Using it anywhere near water might seem unwise.
It was a wonderful car to drive, I loved it.

Aha, the Europa hovercraft featured on C4's "Monster Garage" circa 2004 - the week after they had converted a Supra into a lawnmower. Upset a lot of enthusiasts at that time, perhaps rightly so.

Threespires - what sort of condition was the Europa in before it was chopped ? I once sold an unusual piece of furniture to the production team from "Coronation Street" but it never got to feature on TV as they broke it in transit - a bit annoying but wasting a classic Lotus takes things to another level...

[61GT]

Good Luck with the build.

I owned a Type 65 a few years ago, red as well. It had also been fitted with a Lotus Twin Cam and 5-speed box. Regrettably I sold it around 9 years ago, unfortunately went to a dealer.

Will try and dig out some pictures in the next couple of weeks or so.

George

[threespires]

moffspeed said:

threespires said:

Congrats.
Sadly mine suffered under the hands of a TV company.
The car leaked like a sieve. Using it anywhere near water might seem unwise.
It was a wonderful car to drive, I loved it.

Aha, the Europa hovercraft featured on C4's "Monster Garage" circa 2004 - the week after they had converted a Supra into a lawnmower. Upset a lot of enthusiasts at that time, perhaps rightly so.

Threespires - what sort of condition was the Europa in before it was chopped ? I once sold an unusual piece of furniture to the production team from "Coronation Street" but it never got to feature on TV as they broke it in transit - a bit annoying but wasting a classic Lotus takes things to another level...

Thanks for info. I'd love to have seen your furnature on Corrie. Was it a commode for Ena?

I sold the car in 1976 so am unsure what hapened to it afterwards. I found it through a link on these pages. 'Find My Car' - Perhaps.

I really enjoyed the Europa. Superb handling, corners became straight lines. It wasn't fast but the handling made up for that. I had a Tiger before the Lotus. Later on I had a JPS Esprit which has a thread on here being restored and an Eclat.

At Curborough [ I was a Hamilton fan before he was born]

[piper]

Morris12s3 said:

Thank you all for your kind words and encouragement. I'll certainly keep posting pics and progress although it might be sporadic.
So it's now apart, yes I did suspect it was this bad!

Looks like a Gilbern Invader tucked away in the corner!