Anybody know anything about this Lotus?

[NYLIBUD]

So I saw this Lotus at my friends house.Idk she even had it.The car obviously needs a complete resto.But does anybody know what model it is ,or the year?I gotta say one thing,some neighborhood cats have decided to use the inside as a toilet.Its sort of ugly,but very cool at the same time.

[iamsuperdan]

Lotus Europa. Very cool, but very strange! early 70s vintage.

[NYLIBUD]

6 minutes ago, iamsuperdan said:

Lotus Europa. Very cool, but very strange! early 70s vintage.

Cool,thanks.

[Snake45]

Europa. When I was at university, someone had one. He could drive it under the barriers they'd swing across the secondary roads into the campus at night. Saw him do it a couple times. 

[Atmobil]

Yes, it is a Europa. Tamiya made a excelent kit of it.

[Hotrod 97]

3 hours ago, NYLIBUD said:

 

Yep, that is indeed the mid-engine, rear-wheel drive, lightweight European Sports Car known as the Lotus Europa. That looks like the S2 version, which ranges from 1968-70.

[Dave Van]

My brother in law owned a JPS version.    Fun car......but a VERY hand built car. And Lucas Dark Knight electrical. 

The car was a little scary to drive in the US during the 70's and 80's as it wasn't as tall as most other cars fenders.....always worried about not being seen. Add electric windows that didn't work, black thin fiberglass roof and in NC summers you could bake cakes inside. 

When he took the front suspension apart for a rebuild he found that all 8 wishbone parts looked alike, were unmarked but each only fit in one spot. 

Do the math on how long it took him to get it back!!! 

 

[peteski]

My friend owns one of them - cool but quirky car.  IIRC, it has a fiberglass body.

[Thom]

The early ones like this one had a Renault 1470cc engine.

Always wanted one, wish I could come get it.

Edited March 23, 2020 by Thom

[NYLIBUD]

Looks like it would make a great road track car.Buzzing in and out of sharp turns.Well not my friends.I think if you moved the yellow one,it would just fall apart.According to her and her husband,the car has been sitting there for around 15 years.What a shame☹️

[Pete J.]

Tamiya definitely makes a nice model of it. 

[NYLIBUD]

Oh very cool kit.Thanks for the pic.

[Kennyboy]

I built this out of that kit.....

 

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

2 hours ago, NYLIBUD said:

Looks like it would make a great road track car.Buzzing in and out of sharp turns.Well not my friends.I think if you moved the yellow one,it would just fall apart.According to her and her husband,the car has been sitting there for around 15 years.What a shame☹️

I assure you, there's somebody who would gladly pay decent money for it and restore it.

Fiberglass doesn't deteriorate badly if it's painted, and the chassis is simplicity itself. As the chassis is built up of folded sheetmetal primarily, a competent fabricator can put it back to righteous condition with little drama.

These are wonderful cars to drive. You almost literally wear them, and it doesn't take much more than thinking about a turn and you're through it...even on those skinny little tires.

Not the best car for people living in the same environment with smart-phone obsessed soccer moms driving 5000 pound hippo-lookalikes though.

[Dave Van]

The car is pretty scary from a safety standpoint.  The chassis is a single square tube down the center.....not much more than thin fiberglass center out!!!!

[Ace-Garageguy]

13 minutes ago, Kennyboy said:

I built this out of that kit.....

SWEET !!!

[Gramps46]

The Lotus Europa started life as Colin Chapman's proposal to Ford for the Ford GT40.  Lola got the contract though.

[Snake45]

31 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Not the best car for people living in the same environment with smart-phone obsessed soccer moms driving 5000 pound hippo-lookalikes though.

Looking on the bright side, you might be able to simply slip under a certain percentage of them. 

[NYLIBUD]

19 hours ago, Kennyboy said:

I built this out of that kit.....

 

 

Oh wow,the car looks real.Great job.Looks like you mixed the Lotus kit with a little bit of a Pantera kit.

Edited March 24, 2020 by NYLIBUD

[Can-Con]

7 hours ago, NYLIBUD said:

Looks like it would make a great road track car.Buzzing in and out of sharp turns.Well not my friends.I think if you moved the yellow one,it would just fall apart.According to her and her husband,the car has been sitting there for around 15 years.What a shame☹️

Ya never know. My T/A was sitting in similar conditions almost as bad as that for 15 years and we got it back up, running and looking good. It did take quite a bit of work though. 

[Tom Geiger]

There is an Overhaulin’ episode with a Lotus Europa if you want to see one all taken apart.  

This may be one of those cars that are better owned in scale!

Your photo has the making of a great diorama 

Edited March 23, 2020 by Tom Geiger

[DonW]

3 hours ago, Snake45 said:

Looking on the bright side, you might be able to simply slip under a certain percentage of them. 

If you're over 5 foot eight forget it. They were utterly dreadful in every respect. Unless you enjoy driving whilst holding your breath for the next thing to go wrong. And why make a road car so low? 

Well said, Snake.

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, DonW said:

If you're over 5 foot eight forget it. They were utterly dreadful in every respect. Unless you enjoy driving whilst holding your breath for the next thing to go wrong. And why make a road car so low? 

Well said, Snake.

I can imagine. I had an old girlfriend who drove an MG Midget. I could only just barely get in the passenger seat, and I'm 5'10". I had to drive it once and I thought I'd never get into--or out of--it. Once was quite enough. 

Opening the trunk of that thing reminded me of opening my old 1960s lunchbox. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

Hmmmm...I must live on a different planet. I'm 5'10" and love Europas. Probably a little challenging for me to get in or out of one now without looking like a geriatric fool, but when I was young and pretty, no problemo. Yes, there were some fragile and stupid parts on the cars, like the way the door alignment was adjusted, and pretty much guaranteed to self-destruct, but overall they weren't too much worse from a reliability standpoint than other English cars of the period.

I also had an ex with a Midget, and we went on several long trips in the little bugger.

Of course, maybe that's why my back is so bad now...

[Dave Van]

1 hour ago, DonW said:

If you're over 5 foot eight forget it. They were utterly dreadful in every respect. Unless you enjoy driving whilst holding your breath for the next thing to go wrong. And why make a road car so low? 

Well said, Snake.

I'm 6' 1" and I could ride the foot box was to small for my size 13 no matter if I could get behind the wheel!!  To get in I had to sit on the ground, stick my feet in and push myself in....like a glove!!!