Pair of Europas(in pieces) for $6k?

Well, I'll be bringing them home soon & the Miata is up for-sale(more than $2012 though).

Maybe you guys can confirm this though: Is the Ford Focus Zetec the same bolt pattern as the Twin Cam?

Let me know if you need any one to come help use drool to clean them. I want to see if I fit to determine how dedicated I need to be to pestering you to break up the set.

Daniel

Well, I haven't tried sitting in one either, but at 5'6"/145lbs, if I don't fit I'd be surprised. From what I've read & how they look, they're apparently relatively roomy inside, once you contort yourself in.

petegossett wrote: Well, I haven't tried sitting in one either, but at 5'6"/145lbs, if I don't fit I'd be surprised. From what I've read & how they look, they're apparently relatively roomy inside, once you contort yourself in.

Everything I have heard about them says that in the stock form they don't have much adjustment in the seating so if you weren't Colin Chapman sized you didn't fit. I imagine moving the seat shouldn't be difficult.

Some notes:

First off, welcome to the insanity.

I'm 6'0". Well, I think I'm about a half inch short of there now, but I was 6' even the last time I had a running Europa TCS. I fit. S2's are tighter. Anything over 5'9", though, in a Lotus and you kinda have to try them on. 5'6", you got no problem. The seats adjust (in S2's, TC/TCS'.) The pedals adjust in S1's, if I recall.

There are some zetec Europas out there. I don't recall if the bolt pattern is exact or not, but I think it is close enough. If I recall, you have to mod the intake to get it to clear the frame, but that's off the top of my head.

Now, you MUST join the yahoo list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lotuseuropa/ Introduce yourself, tell 'em I sent you and any and every question you will ever have can be answered there. Download the KnowledgeBase, shop manuals and parts manuals from http://www.lotus-europa.com/ Also enter your cars in the registry: http://www.lotus-europa.com/registry.html

The KnowledgeBase is the archive of the mailing list. Do a search on zetec and you will find your answer. If you can't find the answer, ask the list.

There have been at least two Europas given away for free on the GRM board. Mine was given away three times before I lost track of it.

I think the the earliest Zetecs (95 or so) in the Mystique/Contour was a perfect match for the Kent/Xflow/TwinCam/CVH. The newer ones have the starter mounted up higher on the bellhousing which effectively removed a bolt hole from the block. This really isn't an issue since the Twink's flywheel (IIRC) should bolt up to the Zetec just fine and therefore you can use the original mounting location for the starter. I'm not sure but there might be two different sizes of dowels for the zetec and the older engines... but a quick use of a lathe and making some stepped dowels should remedy this problem. The pilot bearing is not honed but is present on the Zetec. You will need a 22mm or 21mm hone for finishing it and the standard pilot bearing from pinto engine should fit or it would with a typical rwd gear box. I'm not sure how the transaxle fits into the situation.

Thanks for the advice! I'll add the cars to the registry after I get them home & I'll sign up to the yahoo list ASAP.

Update: Made two 100mi round-trips today and got them both home. The garage is looking a little tight now though. Oh, and no worries, I got them for way less than his asking price.

Those look surprisingly decent! Nice haul.

The yellow car is all original, and I think would run with carb rebuilds and cleaning all the gunk out. Unfortunately, that one has the frame that rusted through and cracked, so swapping it out with the spare frame will probably be step-1.

Realistically though, I probably won't have time to touch them until mid-summer.

I already had 3-people stop and ask about them while it was still on the table. I can only imagine what will happen when I finally get one driving.

Be sure to pull Tim Engel's How To on pulling the body off. And always remember, don't pick the body up further forward or further aft than the wheel arches. I could see swapping a frame out in a week or so. Not too bad, really.

In reply to petegossett:

The yellow one looks awesome. I think you got a decent deal. One day I'll add a europa to the list of cars I've owned. Well done.

In reply to Dr. Hess:

Before I pull the body off I want to paint/POR-15/whatever the new frame, but I want to do some research on what others have been successful with.

FWIW, the PO said he had already pulled all the body bolts, but still couldn't get it freed.

A good quality rust resistant paint would probably be just fine. Smith liked to use zinc primer paint on his chassis. I think I would go that route if I were putting a stock frame back in. Be sure to get the inside of the frame too, as I think that's where it rusts from.

As I said, get Tim's How To. Tim is very thorough. He's an engineer that works as a technical writer, so there you go. Go through the Files section on the yahoo list, as well as all the documentation on lotus-europa.com. If one is not very familiar with the car, it is easy to miss a couple of the little things that the shop manual may or may not cover. Just pulling the body to frame bolts and trying to lift it is not enough. For example, as I have previously mentioned, there is a screw that holds the fuse block on. That screw just happens to go into the chassis, so if you don't pull that screw, body won't come off, or it will come off with a "RIPPPP." The brake pedal to MC rod has to come out, etc.