TC chassis with S2 style body

[nigelc]

I have purchased a bit of an enigma .  What at face value was an S2 project car with some love it or hate it arch extensions , however it has a TC chassis .  I know the two can be made to fit with some re-work of the tunnel to accommodate the wider Y , but the shell does not appear to have had this change , and indeed the bulkhead seems to be TC not S2 .  So my question, did any of the Early TC's have the S2 Style rear ? , did Lotus maybe have that as an option ? . Puzzling to figure exactly what i have here .  Its an early TC chassis with the 336 box mount .

thanks
Nigel

[jbcollier]

Nope, no TCs had the S2 rear body.  Some S2s have had TC engines fitted.

[nigelc]

Thanks.  so not a factory job then .
Taking the height of the rear sails out of the equation , are there any other distinct differences between the s2 and tc bodyshells ?. 
This one also had the sill covers that i thought were also only on the TC's .   Trying to figure out if someone has done a really nice job of modifying a TC shell to have S2 looks , or a really tidy job of modifying an s2 shell to fit a tc chassis

[Rosco5000]

Interesting car by the sounds of it. The twin cam body had a solid panel in the rear of the engine bay instead of the mesh grill. The twin cam floors were lower to increase head room as well but that might be hard to tell unless you have another car to compare too. The twin cam also had a 1" longer wheel base if I remember correctly but that will have more to do with the chassis than the body.

[4129R]

Nope, no TCs had the S2 rear body.  Some S2s have had TC engines fitted.

Forgive me for being thick, but isn't an S2s body with a Twin Cam engine the same as a TC with the S2 rear body?

Alex in Norfolk.

[jbcollier]

No, I don't think so.  I believe the period conversions modified the stock S2 frame to suit. so no longer wheelbase, lower floor, etc.  The aftermarket folks put TC engines into S2s well before the arrival of the official TC.

[EuropaTC]

What's the registration details Nigel, does the car have a VIN plate in the front and how does that compare with the log book ?

If those details are missing then I'm wondering if you have an ex-race or track day car which has been repaired at some point with whatever panels/parts were around at the time.  It sounds heresy but Europas have been through a period where they really weren't worth very much money as a restoration project so nothing would surprise me there.

Brian

[Steve_Lindford]

Does the angle of the bulkhead or seats give any clue?? S2 seats are more laid back - and I believe the bulkhead also.

Tricky without another car to compare - but you could search for photos...

Steve

[nigelc]

Thanks all .  i dont have a log book for it yet , its an import and i just have the NOVA pack that lists it as a Europa and gives me a chassis number .. sadly no plate with the type XX  designation present , at least not where its supposed to be .

I do have an S2 that is slowly taking shape so will get the tape measure out at the weekend and do some comparisons between the two shells

[Gmg31]

The heritage guy at Hethell should be able to give you some more accurate info if you send him your ViN no

[nigelc]

So i have had a measure up and it is a TC chassis , and i can see that the S2 body has been adapted .  the tunnel is around 2 inches wider at the bulkhead/firewall than on my other S2 . I'll try Lotus Heritage and see if i can find out which bit is correct for the ID , guessing probably the chassis and that, as suggested on here earlier ,  it met with some damage along the line and the S2 shell was available at the time ?

[Lotus 47]

The TC body shell sits about 1" higher on the chassis compared to an S2. This is most obvious in the front storage compartment. See the attached photo. This area looks different on the Type 46/47/54/65. So the floor stayed in the same position relative to the ground, and the whole body was lifted

The raised body helped Lotus achieved the desired headlight height. In my eye the TC always looks like it is standing on tippy toe because the wheel arches are 1"' higher in relation to the tyres.

Some photos of this Franken-ropa would be interesting!