The Lotus Europa was introduced in 1966 with the end goal to make a cheap, simple, and relatively reliable mid-engined sports car for the masses. At the time, this was a wild and unrealistic goal, as most cars that fit those requirements were expensive Grand Prix racers. Lotus achieved this by Colin Chapman’s famous mantra: “simplify, then add lightness.” Truly, the Europa was an exercise in engineering minimalism, featuring a simple fiberglass body, box-beam frame, and the early models’ seats and windows were fixed in place. You can find this 1973 Lotus Big Valve here on eBay.
Yes, you read that right. Under the hood, this has the desirable double overhead cam, twin carb, 1.6L Ford/Lotus “Big Valve” inline four-cylinder engine, and Renault five-speed manual gearbox. It doesn’t run, and the seller says as much, but it’s bound to be a rewarding project. When new, the 126 horsepower engine could push the 1,631-pound car to 60 MPH in just 6.6 seconds. This is still a respectable number today. Interestingly, the accessories are run by the main pulley coming off one of the camshafts on the transmission side of the engine. The plus side of this unusual arrangement is that repairs are made easier.
Inside, there is no carpet, the seats will need reupholstering, and if I were taking this on as a project, I would assume that none of the gauges or switchgear worked. The seller is upfront about this car’s status as “project,” and says that you should just assume every part will need to be repaired or replaced before you take it on and bid accordingly. Having said that, it looks complete, and even comes with a Crown Royal shift boot for that touch of festive purple.
Underneath, this benefits from being a California car. There’s minimal surface rust on the frame, and it looks mostly clean and straight. The seller needs to be credited with providing some of the best frame pictures I’ve ever seen on a car – they went to the effort of taking the entire body off the thing to showcase the frame, and it looks really good. This car’s small size and simplicity mean a body-off restoration would be relatively easy to do compared to an American muscle car of the same vintage. The mid-engine layout and lightweight mean it would be more fun to drive, too.
It’s located in Folsom,California.
Just like the eBay says. Apropos of nothing but as a comment: There are a lot of nice cars in the vicinity of Sacramento, California these days (Folsom fits that description). My personal theory is that, because Sacramento is the State capital, there are a lot of well-compensated government employees with plenty of disposable income who have accumulated an abundance of vintage iron (or fiberglass, in the case of this offering) and, as they prepare their exit to Idaho upon retirement, are off-loading. There’s a prison in Folsom (ask Johnny Cash). It wouldn’t surprise me if this is owned by a (notoriously overpaid) prison guard getting ready to head for Oregon.
Wonder if special John played with it?…that makes it worth double in the lotus world…
The mirror on the dash must be for checking if you have any food stuck in your teeth after stopping for a bite to eat…
If i remember right that is where the mirror mounts, not on the windshield. This needs a lot of work!!
Big valve twink. Yum yum…
That Crown Royal bag is awesome….
I’ve always liked these cars, but never actually seen one running despite several car buddies having them. They seem to dwell in garages, broken with stories of when it once ran…
Own a 71 S2 for a couple of years back in 74 and drove it daily. Clutch cable broke once but other than that always started and always got me home.
The Lotus is a cool machine. I didn’t notice any price…..
If this were back in the UK, it would be gone in 60 seconds. BIG valve and fairly rare.
Of note it has the very desirable option of dual fuel tanks on either side of the rear window. The original tank size is only 7 gallons so a 14 gallon set up will give you a very nice traveling distance. As for the mirror it should be mounted on the windshield glass but I have seen many of them fall off over the years. This is an excellent start for a restoration. I have a 1969 that I am restoring now or I would be talking to the owner and writing a cheque.
As for being broken down so many were purchased by those that did not either understand that these were more like race cars for the street. They treated them as regular passenger cars. They are not. These are extremely light and in some cases highly stressed pieces of equipment. If not cared for properly they will break. I have put over 200K miles on mine and it only broke down once in 20 years and that was only to a defective bolt.
Does a Big Valve model use Rotoflex couplings, or something more robust?
U-joints are visible in the pictures, at least at the inner end. Looks like swing axles to me.
Europas use the rear axle as a suspension member, so no rubber donuts there.
I thought of getting one of these till I saw one that was T-boned and nearly cut in half.
Now having seen the frame I can see what prevented it from being cut in two.
Stay safe.
Not for the faint of heart, but truly a bargain for the unobtanium motor alone
LD71😄
Item location:
Folsom, California
If these were actually “race cars for the street”, why can’t they be driven like race cars? I’m sure that’s what owners did, back in the day, and the result on the street was the same as on the track: they broke. Racers that died in Lotus cars on the track are on the record; it would be interesting to know how many drivers were killed in road cars because of breakage. I have no respect for Chapman, because he didn’t back up the proper amount, when something broke, and good people died. “highly stressed”? You bet!
In my opinion, it looks to me to be a candidate for conversion to a vintage racecar. They are a hoot to drive. That would require the addition of an extensive cage. As with the Elan, you are sitting in a “plastic” car, outside of the sheet metal frame.
Had the opportunity to buy one of these back in the 80’s for an excellent price. I always liked that the profile reminded me of a Ranchero style pickup. But I’ve always held to the opinion that any sports car I owned had to be a convertible. MGB, Triumph TR7, Miata. Currently have a Mustang. Not a sports car per se but a convertible.none the less.
Ended: May 30, 2021 , 3:44PM
Winning bid:US $5,500.00
[ 17 bids ]