Grrr, waiting on my truck rebuild to be able to go and get the Europa is really frustrating!
Been trying to do some research but am dismayed at how little solid information is on the 'Web.
Europa forums I found are seemingly dead, one has had no updates since 2014.
Located a couple of good sources for mechanical parts, but original bumpers and seat upholstery kits are not so easy. Fortunate that it seems my door panels are good, hope the seats can be repaired.
But what I most want is to get it into my shop and running. Paint after mechanical and test drive.
Looking around it seems a pretty high percentage of the Renault powered cars have the Gordini cross-flow heads and Webers. Enough that I have to wonder if this was factory or dealer installed option? I find no mention of such in my searches, but then 90% of all search results are listings for cars that were sold years ago. From what I am able to discern the Gordini should outperform the twin-cam's as it is lighter, makes more power*, and revs higher*.
With this high-strung engine my Europa will NOT be happy in city traffic. Fortunate that I am in a very rural area but I'm going to need a really good radar detector. I think I may have found a "Loop" for fun driving but will need to add some additional lights for night flying. Hope to be able to add driving lights to the air-dam. The most dangerous road obstacles in Nevada are gawking tourist, drunks, wild horses, cattle, and deer. So lots of light is a must.
*Of course there is always some guy with really deep pockets who spent insane money for bragging rights. But dollar to dollar I'm confident the Gordini is the better engine and it is the one I've always wanted. (Yah, OK, donning a flame suit now).
There are two forums that are very active. There used to be a yahoo group but its now moved to groups.io, the other is lotuseuropa.org.
Nearly everything for the body and trim is available, Banks Europa and SJ Sportscars can supply nearly everything other than unique Renault pieces. Seats can easily be recovered, the covers are very basic.
And, no crossflow Renault engines were ever fitted by the factory. There was a dealer in Switzerland who fitted them but it wasn't a factory set up. Many people want to believe it was done by lotus, but it never was.
My Christmas wish list consist of only one item. A Lotus finned aluminum valve cover to fit my engine. Available but expensive. The existence of those valve covers was one of the factors making me wonder what Lotus was up to, or not, with the large number of cross-flow Gordini heads in use.
Not a bad drive from Reno to Helena. Stepdad grew up mainly there. My Aunt is a retired teacher from Douglas High School just south of Carson City. Was just down there last October early November driving down from Seattle area. Hopefully going to try and get down again sometime in spring. She always has something that needs to be fixed and I like doing it so it's a win-win.
The valve cover wasn't a Lotus part, strictly aftermarket. From what i recall, Alpine was the reason behind Lotus not getting the 807 engines.
There are numerous people in Europe that would love to find evidence that the 807 was fitted so that they can use them in racing, but no such evidence has ever been found.
Also, though the motor was fitted to some Renault cars that had the Gordini moniker, most 807s that have been fitted to Europas came from more mundane sources.
Reading several "Experts" history and pontificating on the Europa is amusing. Most appear utterly ignorant of the cars and seem to take most of their text directly from Wikipedia, then add in random criticism. Until tonight I had never heard the Europa described as ugly!
Styling was truly ground-breaking, different than anything else before it. I always thought it was refreshing and clean. I do prefer the earlier bodies over the Fed. "El Camino" look. 
It's a "Love it or Hate it" design. I've heard it called a bead van.
Nice score. Looking forward to hearing more.
Like the Ferrari Bread Van? A compliment!
Frustration of the night is "Your account is still awaiting admin approval" at the Lotus forum.
I've been studying up on the Europa as best I may while waiting for Lotus Forum admin approval.
Have decided that this one does meet my definition of an "Exotic Car". Fairly limited production, performance outweighs comfort, special specification engine (Gordini cross-flow), parts a PITA to get, and knowledge base limited.
Tires are as new but twenty years old. So the last exotic item will be replacements. Not seeing much in the way of current performance rubber in 175/70-13. Toyo R888 minimum is 185/60. Any suggestions I may have missed?
New rods for my truck are to be here on Thursday. So maybe I will get the 350 engine together over the weekend.
In reply to RichardSIA :
I'm pretty sure those Toyo 185/60's will fit fine, but it bet it's also documented online somewhere.
Welcome to the world of 13" tires. Choices are slim... As the owner of a Triumph Spitfire and a GT6, I know this world well... No manufacturer makes a "good" 175/70-13 tire. I've been hoping BFG would reintroduce the Radial T/A in that size (they did back in the 80's and 90's). While not a "true" performance tire, it was good for the cars of that era.
But I'll probably end up with the Vredestein Quatrac 5 for my two cars. My ex- bought the previous version (Quatrac 4) for her Spitfire and the 175/70-13 seems larger than usual. The current offering is a 165/70-13. And the price is reasonable at $66 ea.
To me, modern grippy tires on these cars is a double-edge sword. Yes, the improved grip is nice. But the downside is the suspension components were not really designed for them, so plan on replacing wear parts more often.
Lotus http://www.lotuseuropa.org/LotusForum still has not "Approved" my membership. Seems a bit slow as we are well into the week. Perhaps someone who is already a member might be able to wake a moderator there?
Been reading a lot of threads at the Europa forum. Still no admin response even after I emailed him. 
Have made a lot of decisions about my build. Either retaining the current light blue (3rd paint on this car) or going with Jaguar Opalescent Silver Blue as used on early XKE. (You cannot imagine how badly I miss my XKE's!)
I see a lot of discussion that infers all Europa owners are pretty wealthy, "Just buy the Spyder chassis and wheels" for one. I see a lot of altered rear suspensions too, is it still a Europa when the modifications go that extreme?
My Europa already has some mods, Gordini head, Webers, front air dam, and parts to add rear disc brakes. But I really want to keep it "Day 2", not radically modified. It is to be the car I was snubbed out of buying back in '72.
It seems I do not see any steel bumpers with the car, so now I have to research putting chrome on fiberglass replacements. Probably via a "Chrome" wrap? There is rumor of a good "Chrome" paint system but I have not found it.
As to tires, it seems some cars tolerate the 185/60's OK and others do not. I absolutely do not want to modify the wheel wells!
Got the block for my truck engine build from the machine shop at last. Organizing to put it back together and test run before install.
Time is running too quickly so I may have to get the Europa shipped to beat the pending snows. I really wanted to meet the seller and maybe his buddy who built the engine.
U-Ship listing posted. I expect the price to be overly high since it is not a "Runner".
Really need to get my truck back together, like YESTERDAY!
Your new car is in Helena? That is where I live. Does the sellers name start with a J? I have met a fellow with a Europa and it would be interesting if it was the same person.
Yes, Jay. Care to come visit Reno/Lake Tahoe area and get paid for it?
Weather is turning cool, I made a trip North a few years ago to pick up a Rover engine. Beautiful country but the snow fencing made an impression on me, outside doors on the second floor were unforgettable!
Where I live one foot of snow is unusual, unlike Tahoe only seventy miles away.
My truck is only a 2WD dually flat-bed. Hope was/is to put the Europa on the bed and avoid using the trailer. My side racks double as ramps. Getting worried that putting the truck back together may take too long. After waiting 48 years to have a Europa I'm getting itchy to have it home.
Gaaaa! Need eye-bleach after seeing this abomination. Really nothing left of the Europa.
Foose ruins a Europa!
I've been a bit concerned that I may have overpaid for my Europa, it's clearly not fully complete. But this feeBay listing makes mine look like a bargain.
Not much left of this one! But asking $4,500!
Didn't some one want a project?
I do see an original bumper I would like to have.
In reply to RichardSIA :
Well it's a Twin Cam, which generally bring a bit more money, but that's absolutely crackhead price.
RichardSIA said:
Gaaaa! Need eye-bleach after seeing this abomination. Really nothing left of the Europa.
Foose ruins a Europa!
Can’t deny that Chip has talent... but I don’t like what he “see’s” when he looks at a car. Totally different then me.
In reply to RichardSIA :
The timing is not ideal for me; I am closing on a house and moving this weekend. Something tells me that the laundry list of house related projects will be my new focus for the near future. Too bad though, I do love an automotive adventure.
I do know the seller and he seems like a good person to buy from. My impression of his work and skill is a positive one. I’m pretty sure that when we first met he showed me pictures of a beautiful, tig welded equal length header he had made for the Europa.
Europa bumpers come from the Ford parts bin. Anglia 105E front on both ends if my memory is right. Find a junk Anglia somewhere and refurbish them.
You would think the EnFo steel bumpers would be easy to find but they are not.
There are new Stainless versions available but the price is high. Fiberglass and a wrap or chrome paint look like my most likely solutions.
It appears shippers have not adjusted their prices to current fuel cost, they are demanding about $2.00 per mile. For their price I would still be ahead to just pay someone to finish my truck for me!
900 miles each way from the Reno area. If I get the truck back together soon I will be looking to transport parts or a light car up to the Helena area on the cheap in an effort to further reduce my cost. I could swing through the SLC area.
Plan is to load onto the truck and avoid using the car trailer, I hate trailers, have had too many "Adventures" with them.
But if someone needed a large load transported requiring truck and trailer I could be per$uaded.
The R16/R17 TS engines are referenced as being "Hemi" heads but unless modified extensively they are not true hemi's.
Not certain if this works better or not on the street, but I do know they are sometimes modified to full hemi for racing. Cutting out that much material would reduce compression substantially so custom pistons would be a must. Really anxious to see what I have, my engine is claimed to be pretty hot.
Almost a hemi.
These are pretty, and cheap compared to similar U.S. made. About $500.00, including the new liners. 
Still hope I only need rings. Glad French is a romance language, with pics I can almost understand the site.
Wow, looked up a replacement engine. They are expensive at around 2,200 Euro. Then add the Weber manifold and carbs plus shipping, I think I made a reasonable deal on my buy unless the engine has some major issue.
