Lotus Europa Community

Lotus Europa Forums => Members Cars => Topic started by: 4129R on Monday,June 27, 2016, 12:54:32 PM

Title: 4688R
Post by: 4129R on Monday,June 27, 2016, 12:54:32 PM
My latest project, 4688R starts to take shape.

I think it was heavily crashed in the Chicago area many years ago, and has sat around in pieces ever since.

The front fibreglass has a lot of damage and needs a lot of repair. The chassis was badly bent to the RH front, and the right hand rear needs a new corner grafted on.

It came in the 40ft container from Louisiana with 4259R, with lots of bits spare and lots missing, so the treasure hunt for missing parts continues as I go along.

Here I have painted the new chassis with 3 coats Hammerite paint, including the front wishbones. It has new rear trailing arm bushes, new engine mountings, new front suspension joints, new hand brake cable (very easy to fit to a bare chassis), and new rubber hoses everywhere.

Next I start to fit the suspension and strip down the body for repair and painting in Lagoon Blue. Moving the body into position will be a challenge. 

Alex in Norfolk
Title: Re: 4688R
Post by: BDA on Monday,June 27, 2016, 01:13:55 PM
That's looking great, Alex!  :beerchug:
Title: Re: 4688R
Post by: blasterdad on Tuesday,June 28, 2016, 03:52:19 PM
 :I-agree: Where did you get the new chassis?
Title: Re: 4688R
Post by: 4129R on Tuesday,June 28, 2016, 11:43:20 PM
:I-agree: Where did you get the new chassis?

It seems the  PPO, a Lotus dealer in the Chicago area, had collected and stripped several crashed Europas and had started repairing 4688R before he died. He had bought a new chassis, new front suspension arms, 4 new Spax shoxs, and had taken the fibreglass body off the chassis. The chassis was bent on the right front corner where the car was most badly damaged. The shell has been half stripped, so I got a whole collection of parts from a selection of crashed or scrapped TCS.

There are several missing bits such as the brake master cylinder, the brake pedal extension bar, and the aluminium cast spacer, the bracket which holds the rose joint on the gear change to the block/gearbox, those horrible O ring nut things on the gearbox holding the output shaft oil seals, the 5" bolt holding the alternator to the gearbox, lots of large suspension bolts, the 4 (?) nuts and bolts holding the body to the chassis, and no doubt more small items which I have yet to discover are not there.

So, in short, the new chassis came with the whole job lot in the 40ft container from Louisiana. It seems the widow of the PPO Lotus dealer moved to Houston, had all this stuff sitting in her garden, she sold the lot to a man in Louisiana before the local  Houston Council scrapped the whole lot, the man in Louisiana didn't have the time or the resources to find the missing bits, clean up all the existing bits, and bolt it all together, so he sold the whole lot to me.

I am spending heaps of time with a rotary wire brush, a bench wire brush, a compressor, and heaps of primer and paint cleaning up every component, and screwing it all back together. Luckily I have 5 other cars so I know where everything should be, and what it should look like.

The mud dawbers in Louisiana had laid their eggs in all sorts of strange places. I have found two lumps of mud in the new chassis, 1 in the central black hole (when the chassis is separate from the shell, you can easily see into the hole and assemble the hand brake cables), and 1 in the rear box section to the right of the gearbox. The eggs seem to have hatched, so I should not suffer from wasps from Louisiana attacking me, with only a rotary wire brush to defend myself. 

Next on the list is to assemble the front and rear suspension, and then move the shell about 50 yards, and put it on the newly painted and assembled chassis.

Then I cut the door hinge bars (about 1 hour for each of two ends, to two separate bars) and strip the shell for much fibreglass repair and painting.

Alex in Norfolk.

 
Title: Re: 4688R
Post by: buzzer on Wednesday,June 29, 2016, 12:38:50 AM
Alex,

Another major project then ! fantastic progress already by the sound of it. Puts my 3 years into the shade. It must be coming second nature knowing all those little tricks on getting things done. I am getting faster and faster on mine as it gets closer to completion.
good luck with it.

Dave
Title: Re: 4688R
Post by: BDA on Wednesday,June 29, 2016, 05:42:43 AM
Yes! Good luck! I'm sure the Louisiana humidity played hell with everything!
Keep up the good work!
Title: Re: 4688R
Post by: 4129R on Thursday,June 30, 2016, 12:18:17 PM
I was wondering why there were so few TCS in the UK,and apparently quite a few in the USA.

It seems that from January 1974, around 500 TCS were sold in the USA until July 1974 when exports of the car stopped, presumably because of new rules on new cars.

It also seems that 60 cars were sold in the UK in 1974, and only 27 cars in 1975 when production stopped. The last ones has Federal bodyshells with the large side repeater lights.

I believe many RHD late cars were then sold second hand to Japan, as they drive on the same side of the road as the UK, and they seem to like Europas.

This would appear to explain the difference in numbers on each side of the pond.

Alex in Norfolk.
Title: Re: 4688R
Post by: BDA on Thursday,June 30, 2016, 12:52:54 PM
Quote
I believe many RHD late cars were then sold second hand to Japan, as they drive on the same side of the road as the UK, and they seem to like Europas.

My understanding is that the Japanese were always nuts about Europas. Maybe they fit in them better than most!  :)
Title: Re: 4688R
Post by: jbcollier on Thursday,June 30, 2016, 01:57:30 PM
Google "circuit wolf manga" and you'll understand why.  The main character drives a TCS with a spoiler.
Title: Re: 4688R
Post by: 3929R on Thursday,June 30, 2016, 06:31:25 PM
It sure would be neat to someday see a picture of your fleet lined up and looking pretty.
Title: Re: 4688R
Post by: 4129R on Thursday,June 30, 2016, 10:21:35 PM
It sure would be neat to someday see a picture of your fleet lined up and looking pretty.

That is my intention. I have the space in a paddock at the back of my property. I am just trying to work out the best colours to paint them. As the most popular colours are Black 161, Lagoon Blue 80, Regency Red 76, Ford Tawny 49, Lotus Yellow 46 and Cirrus White 41, do I stick with traditional popular colours, or go for the rare colours like Glacier Blue?

There must be a reason why those 6 colours were popular, or was it the Ford T approach, any colour you want as long as we have it in stock, and Chunky got a good deal on paint in those colours. The Ford Tawny is the odd one out in my mind. I can understand the others, but that one is not a "normal" popular colour, unless you are a chocoholic.
Title: Re: 4688R
Post by: 4129R on Thursday,September 22, 2016, 11:00:58 AM
Diary of progress on 4688R.

Currently it is in the bodyshop about 5 miles South West of Hethel, owned by two ex-Lotus employees.

It had a crunch front and rear right side after only about 15,000 miles. As you can see the paintwork is "cooked". Quite how the paintwork got so bad, we have no idea. It started in the Chicago area, then went to Houston in bits, then Louisiana, then on to me back in Norfolk.

I have painted the new replacement chassis with 3 coats of Hammerite. When the bodyshell comes back in about 3 months, the hard work starts.

This one gets all the new bits, and is a "keeper". I still need new seats as the two very rusted seats that came out of the brown TCS were rusted beyond repair.

Alex in Norfolk.   
Title: Re: 4688R
Post by: BDA on Thursday,September 22, 2016, 11:12:33 AM
I can see why it's going to take 3 months at the body shop! I know it will look great when you get back and that it will definitely be a keeper when you're done!

Keep us informed!

 :lotus:
Title: Re: 4688R
Post by: 4129R on Thursday,September 22, 2016, 11:27:46 AM
It gets new ally petrol tanks, new ally radiator, new engine, new windscreen, new rubber everything, vented discs front, discs rear, 6 x 13" Minilites with Yokohama sticky 185s, new starter, alternator and wiring loom, new exhaust manifold and system in S/S, new brake lines and master cylinder, and everything else reconditioned.

Front and rear floor damage. Old bent rusty chassis in the background:-
Title: Re: 4688R
Post by: BDA on Thursday,September 22, 2016, 11:45:40 AM
She'll love you for that!
Title: Re: 4688R
Post by: buzzer on Thursday,September 29, 2016, 03:39:31 AM
Oh, That looks challenging, loads of messy fibreglass work. Its the grinding off I hate!

On another note, as you are moving a lot of Europa bodies and chassis around, I have a Europa body stand on wheels  and a  chassis stand on wheels too, which I don't really need any more. If you or anyone else is  interested PM me, not after too much for them.
Title: Re: 4688R
Post by: 4129R on Wednesday,May 03, 2017, 10:30:11 AM
Not long before the engine can go back in now.

I am having custom made S/S complete exhaust systems made up, including 4:2:1 manifolds, and that is not cheap.

I bought 3 fans from Maplin, and have screwed them direct to the two vents, and the heater matrix, in the plenum chamber. That way you can blast hot or cold air where you want at the flick of one of 3 switches, and you can put luggage in the hole without affecting the airflow too much.

When putting luggage in the front, don't make it too heavy, or it can jam the throttle open. That happened to me in 1978 in 75032529P, my original car. I am lining the front with 9mm MDF and a black carpet. 
Title: Re: 4688R
Post by: BDA on Wednesday,May 03, 2017, 10:36:36 AM
It looks like she's coming together!
Title: Re: 4688R
Post by: 4129R on Tuesday,August 29, 2017, 01:35:32 PM
4688R moved under its own power yesterday for the first time since around 1978.

I have ordered a windscreen to be fitted, then I just need to take the car to the local garage to get the brake fluid system pressure bled as I just cannot get the air out of somewhere.

Then I just have to make the fine adjustments.

It took me from about March to build the shell from bare painted fibreglass up to a complete car.

Alex in Norfolk.
Title: Re: 4688R
Post by: BDA on Tuesday,August 29, 2017, 02:56:53 PM
Congratulations!  :beerchug:
That has to feel good!
Title: Re: 4688R
Post by: Certified Lotus on Tuesday,August 29, 2017, 03:43:44 PM
Nothing better than the first run in the car your have been rebuilding. Congrats Alex!