This 1974 Lotus Europa is a desirable twin-cam car, and wears an excellent shade of Kermit green paint (not the official name) that blends nicely with the original Lotus badge on the nose. The seller says it is officially called “Renault Mid-Green” over a black interior and needs full restoration, but that it is a worthy candidate with only moderate body damage to contend with. These twin-cam models feature a tasty “Lotus-Ford” twin-cam which significantly livens up performance in the light-weight coupe. Find it here on eBay with a $7,950 Buy-It-Now.
The later twin-cam cars sport a slightly different body design than the earlier cars, with lower sail panels going along the engine lid that don’t actually do anything to make rearward visibility out of the gunslot window any better. This particular car has some damage to the fiberglass panels, with the seller noting that the doors don’t currently open and the rear engine lid should be replaced instead of repaired. The Lotus has been sitting for many years, and while largely complete, the interior is in need of total restoration.
I could live with the faded paint, personally – actually like it better that way – but the interior does need complete resurrection. The wood dash is fairly well destroyed, and the dash pad is completely shot. Door panels are gone and someone has been exploring wiring looms without any actual goals other than “remove and inspect.” The seller does include a picture of bucket seats, one of which is so thoroughly destroyed that I wonder if a contortionist bear used the Lotus as a roost before moving onto better accommodations.
The engine is described as being original to the car, but that’s where any sort of attempt at a description ends. The seller notes: “There is an assortment of pictured rare items that are included such as the air-box and air cleaner set up, and original set of (4) twin cam wheels.” This is true – these are good parts to have, and hard to find. Replacement mechanical bits for the twin-cam motors are also in demand and quite pricey when you do find them, so while the added performance of the twin-cam is to be desired, a complete engine rebuild may not be as straight forward as a Renault-powered example.
Trying to sell this car (with photos showing better cars in the surround) compares to attempting to convince a friend to date your sister when the hotter friend is standing just a few feet away.
Frame (always a weak point) and suspension members are shot and look flood damaged. Run, do not walk, away.
When new these were pretty crappy, nearly 50 years of neglect have done it no favors. I worked for a Lotus dealer when these were new – the bulkheads between the engine compartment and passenger compartment were fiberglass encased corrugated cardboard! I saw a mechanic one time trying to enter the car – he pulled as much up as out on the door handle as he opened it and TORE THE DOOR IN HALF! I remember another customer who scraped a curb while parking and tore the front wheel and front suspension off. And those are the good things I remember . . .
Have owned two of these in the past 10 years. Bought both at one tenth the price of this one and they both were five times the car. This is junk through and through,
Sink 50k in it and u might have the nicest, ugliest lotus around….
Having owned and restored a few Europas and Elans, both twincam and the eariler cars, I would say this one is toast (at least at any reasonable cost). I am currently neck-deep in a 69 S2 rebuild. The author is pretty optimistic about this car overall and is a bit misguided about which engine is cheaper to rebuild at this point in time. Twincam parts are readily available (even brand new Ford blocks) from many resources while the Renault 807 and 821 motor parts are very scarce and pricey due to that scarcity (not to say you can rebuild a twincam for chump change by any means). The Renault engine were much cheaper when parts were plentiful, but no more. I just sourced 4 intake valves from Australia and 4 exhaust valve from the UK, pistons and liners from France (although the pistons are the wrong ones from a stock Renault R16. The real killers are the special Lotus pistons (I’ll have to have them custom made), Lotus-only cams. The gent talking about the bulkhead in the comments is correct, they are sort of reinforced cardboard and nearly always bad. Just built a foam cored fiberglass one for the current project (not too hard actually and pretty satisfying). Outside of the engine, parts are extremely reasonable and available. The Lotus cars of this era are parts bins cars and if you know what the parts came from, you can keep prices quite reasonable (lots of bits from Spitfires/GT6 and even a few from MGB, etc). SJ Sportscars, Dave Bean, Ray Dent, Spyder are the usual suspects for parts.
Having said all that, the cars are a real hoot and provide quite a lot of performance in the context of their time. They are thin skinned racy cars and the best pure handling car in stock form I have driven from that era (slightly better than the Elan in stock form, but the Elan is still my favorite car by a good bit).
For project comparison, I bought the current Europa S2 project for $6500 (a very good buy) complete with no rust at all. It has a near perfect interior and good exterior beyond paint (needs stripping and paint). Needs an engine rebuild and general going through from long term parking. Badges chrome and glass all good.
These cars are very simple and satisfying, just realize they were built as fragile sporty cars by design. They are climbing in value (I’d rather they stay cheap and fun….),
Well said, Sir. They are wonderful cars to drive. They are not daily driver soccer-Mom vans. But for the people who will actually consider this offering it will be a labor of love and will be well rewarded when complete. But it’ll be expensive
Thanks John, seems we have both “run the gauntlet” of owning Europas and decided it was worthwhile for us. Motor on!
This may be the ugliest 4 wheeled vehicle in existence.
The engine is worth $5000 as is. Gearbox $1000. We’re getting there quite quickly….
Those parts are only worth those numbers IF you can find someone who needs them! I used to part out Bentleys and Rolls-Royces and when I had to move cross country I found myself with a whole shed full of sheet metal, doors, bonnets etc I couldn’t even give away – seriously, I put them on eBay for ONE CENT with the proviso that the new owner pick them up quickly. After a couple of weeks they all went to the scrap metal buyer.
it seems to be slumping in the middle
Just talked to the seller, They typically sell these cars to Europe and they tend to get more than their sell by price and I have seen that confirmed by a couple of those in the suppliers for these cars.
First the frame should be thrown away as it is a highly stressed member but totally new frames are available and they are much stronger and some are galvanized. The dash board is also easily replaceable and you can do it yourself with out much problem. Mine had some Rolls Royce Maple Burl veneer on it and it looks amazing. It was very easy to do.
Lotus are some of the most simple cars to restore. Parts are very available and there is a big following among present and past owners. This car has the very desirable dual fuel tanks as you can see on the back. That give the car excellent range. As for the rusted seats, they are surprisingly simple bent sheet metal and spot welded parts. I believe I have the factory drawings as to how they are made but they are very easy to make new.
The critical items is the cockpit rear bulkhead. That is both a firewall and structural member for the body. If that is damaged walk away. I have heard of a few that have been damaged by both accident and environmental conditions and it is almost impossible to get right. I am not certain of the thickness but I believe it is 3/4″ Marine Plywood. Stiff as all get out but break it and you have real problems.
This looks like a two year project, the body is excellent and except for the frame and seat panels is solid. Wiring harness are available and these were some of the last English cars to use natural rubber insulation for wiring and should be replaced anyway.
I put over 150K miles on mine before I started to restore it. Drive it right and you can get milage up to 40 MPG. Last thing. Go as fast as you wish in the dry and for the most part the car has more ability then you have nerve but in the wet. BE CAREFUL. The front end is light and can hydroplane easily. This is especially true if you do not have the front spoiler installed. It helps a lot but it can still happen.
Last comment these cars weight less than some Harley Davidson motorcycles EVERYTHING is bigger than you are, Stronger and can Kill you if you do not pay attention. You are hard to see in these as the top is lower than most Corvette windshields so BE AWARE of what is around you and do not get hurt while you are having a blast doing what this car can do.
You would be amazed at how easy it is to restore a Lotus. They were only ever half completed in the first place. You would also be amazed at how expensive it is unless you are into fabrication. Replacing the mostly sheet-metal frame is a must, as is replacing the water pump (which requires engine removal). If you must have a Europa, then the T/C Ford is the only one to consider. I believe all of the Ford motored cars had the five speed gear boxes. The gear box is bullet proof. The shift linkage was invented in an insane asylum and must be returned there for “adjustment” (read, buy hundreds of little sheer pins for the u-joints by the exhaust pipe. They will break there every 4000 miles on the dot, if not before. They are cunningly programmed to break in rush-hour traffic or on deserted mountain roads at night in the winter. They are easily replaced with a pair of needle nosed pliers and a small hammer — once the exhaust has cooled sufficiently to allow you to get near the repair site. Cooling takes 30-90 minutes depending on how critical it is that you be somewhere on time. They all have power windows which are totally reliable except in the summer when its 106 degrees. Then they stick in the “Up” position and allow you to reach het exhaustion in 30-90 minutes, depending on whether you have fresh deodorant. The are amazing cars to drive when and if they are running. When they are not running, i.e., most of the time, they are hard to push because the plastic body “gives” with every step. Tow trucks are not useful. There is no place to hook onto the car. You must use a roll-back, but that’s also hard for the same reason. Do not hook onto the plastic body. Low-mileage Europas are the norm. None have been have been running long enough to accumulate high mileage. The reference to the Harley Davidson above brings back memories of an old saying — 90% of all Harleys are still on the road, the others made it home safely. 90% of all Europas are still on the SIDE of the road. The other 10% are missing. I had two Twin cams and a Renault model. I bought the second T/C as a parts car for the first. I quickly discovered that the same parts were broken on both cars. I also discovered that virtually no parts are common to any two Lotii. But they are fun to drive when they are running. You just have to keep reminding yourself of that fact as you hammer in yet another roll-pin outside of Twenty-Nine Palms on a Sunday afternoon in July.
This is super lengthy, but hopefully informative….
Europas are thin-skinned, light weight high performing machines. They are hot and noisy as well, but I don’t think I’ve driven a lighter and more neutral handling car from that era. They are not very powerful, but a true “momentum” car. No one will follow you through the twisty bits unless they have something very special! I think they are a great, fairly affordable “exotic” that many people could repair and afford. They will go up in value. They can be maddening. There is no middle ground on how they look, you like it or hate it. They are lousy transportation in my experience, but who thinks a Lotus is transportation to start with? Anything high performance has maintenance concerns. They are fiddly. I’ll say that again later.
This particular car is no bargain unless you want to part it out as mentioned by others. If you love the car and are willing to part with substantial money (15-20K), it could be rebuilt nicely.
For comparison – I am currently doing an S2 restoration that was purchased for $6500 (excellent price) 3 months ago. That car is much nicer than this car in every way (frame solid, interior very nice, exterior needs stripping and repainting, all electrical accessories work). The project car was equipped with the desirable Cosmic mags and Hermes performance kit. All trim is complete and serviceable. So better candidates are still out there (even twincams) at a reasonable price if you look hard.
If you are really interested in Europas and bored, keep reading……. I’ve had several Europas (and Elans). Twincams engine parts are readily available and the engine is well known and dead simple. They are a bit pricey. The waterpump concerns can be eliminated by installing the aftermarket cassette front cover that lets the water pump be replaced without removing the head and pan required for the original twincam configuration. Still a major undertaking to get to it.. The twincam used in the Europa cars use Stromberg CD carbs (not the best for power generation) with a specific cylinder head. This came about due to emissions issues. The heads cannot accept other carbs readily (you can have the cast on intake runners machined off and then fit Webers/Dellortos (pricey and with decent power increases) or source a used or new Weber head casting (really pricey). Engine parts available from Burton Power, QED, Kelvedon, Tony Thompson, Tony Ingram, Dave Bean, Ray Dent (RDEnterprises) and many others. All twincams have dual saddle gas tanks (S1 and S2 cars are originally equipped with one tank). Nearly all gas tanks are rusted out, so add another 700-800 dollars for those (best case). Suspension bits and some brake bits are mostly Spitfire/GT6 some interior and gauges are from MG. Rear hubs/stub shaft are pure Lotus and usually need new bearings due to the peculiar bearing/crush spacer setup going loose over time. It is a fairly involved job. Stub shafts can break and lose a wheel if the hubs are left loose (due to unaddressed wheel bearing wear). Poor adjustment of driveshaft thrust shims at the transaxle will cause broken roll pins. You have to remember that the halfshafts are part of the suspension in this car as there is no equivalent of upper wishbone in the rear suspension. Pretty innovative even if not too practical. Twincams Europas came with Renault transaxles. The earlier ones had a 4-speed (type 352 I think) and 5-speed (type 365 I think). S2 cars used the 336 4-speed (I think).
Replacement/upgraded chassis is available from Spyder Motorcars (used their chassis before with good success in Elan). You can get a chassis that accepts a ZETEC if you want to update powerplants. They have other rear suspension configurations as well. None of it is cheap. Galvanized chassis and stock are available (as mentioned in other comments) from other sources as well.
Most Europa parts (body, trim, dash, wiring, etc) are available from SJ Sportscars in the UK or Banks Europa in the UK. Stateside Dave Bean and Ray Dent are the main guys I have used (for many years), but their stock is dwindling.
Repairing the firewall is not that difficult if required (common). Use Foam core (common in boat building) and laminate both sides, then fiberglass entire assembly in place (just completed this). Make sure the body is square on the frame and that the doors fit correctly prior to installing firewall.
The author is a bit off in that the Renault powered cars are much more difficult to find engine parts for now and the parts have become expensive due to scarcity. If you have deep pockets, most Renault engine bits are available from one source in France and one in Germany, but not the Lotus specific Renault bits (pistons and Cam). I recently sourced 4 intake valves and a head set from Australia, 4 exhaust valves in England, pistons and liners in Italy (although that was for the R16 piston which is not correct for the Lotus). These parts were cheap, but I invested time looking for them (it is a hobby afterall). The Lotus design piston can be (and will be) custom ordered for the project, I don’t think anyone has seen a new stock set for a long time.
Comments concerning body flexing and towing etc. ignore that the beauty of this car which was the minimalist weight and superb handling. Its a small-bore sports racer from the 60s. BTW Lotus won the World Car Construction Championship several times during the 60s and 70s.
This may all sound off-putting, but the cars are fantastic if 1) you know what they are (not a corvette, cobra, or mustang), 2) understand them in context of the 60s, and 3) you like fiddling with things. If you are really a hands-on sports car guy, a Europa is doable and the result is outstanding… fin…..