Author Topic: #460002 - Restoration  (Read 64026 times)

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Offline Serge

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#460002 - Restoration
« on: Thursday,November 29, 2012, 02:58:36 PM »
Hello everyone,


I'm Serge and I live in Belgium. I've acquired #460002 in October of 2011 and I've been restoring the car slowly. This being the oldest Europa that's known in the registry and by Lotus themselves, I want to restore the car to it's original appearance. But the car isn't a matching number car, because the original engine has been replaced in the past. I'm also preparing the car for FIA Appendix K Historic Racing (Period G2) and therefor all the modifications that I'm making to the car, that aren't original, will be reversible in the future. So I can use the car for Historic Rallies, hill-climbs and races and I can undo all of the modifications in the future so it will retain most of it's value.

I've set up a blog on http://Sleurs-Motorsport.com - here I post all of the progress that make on the restoration. I'll post the small updates on here, so you can click through to my website if you'd like. This are the posts of the past year in chronological order, so it's easier for you to read.

Lotus Europa S1: Barnfind



I always wanted a car restoration project. I was always researching what car I wanted to restore. First I wanted a mini, then a Karmann Ghia, after this I wanted an MGB, but then I found something that would be a perfect candidate.

http://sleurs-motorsport.com/?p=172


Lotus Europa S1: What’s underneath the dust



After getting the car home, I wanted to see what’s underneath the layers of dust the car gathered by standing in a dusty barn for 19 years.

http://sleurs-motorsport.com/?p=188


Lotus Europa S1: A place to work



To be able to restore a car, you need a workshop, preferable a large garage where you have all the room and tools in the world. I had neither.

http://sleurs-motorsport.com/?p=196


Lotus Europa S1: Bloody Knuckles and Broken Dreams, Part 1



I started disassembly a couple of weekends ago and I had some things to show for it. I had bloody knuckles from parts that didn’t want to come loose, and after the first day of stripping the car down, I knew this project was going to take a lot longer than I first anticipated. But there’s also some good news!

http://sleurs-motorsport.com/?p=204


Lotus Europa S1: Moving the 821



This post is all about getting my 821 engine down a flight of stairs.

http://sleurs-motorsport.com/?p=219


Lotus Europa S1: Bloody Knuckles and Broken Dreams, Part 2



The Lotus is disassembled!

http://sleurs-motorsport.com/?p=226


Lotus Europa S1: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly



It has been a while since the last update, but I haven’t been sitting still. When I last updated the blog, I just had disassembled everything, and the next step was cutting the chassis out of the body. So I’ll talk you through the past couple of months.

http://sleurs-motorsport.com/?p=233


Lotus Europa S1: Sometimes It’s Not as Bad as It Looks



I got lucky with the chassis! Once all the surface rust was removed, it appeared to be in better shape than I expected!

http://sleurs-motorsport.com/?p=358


Lotus Europa S1: So Many Jobs, So Little Time



It's been a while since my last update, I had a very busy summer, but I did manage to get some work done on the Europa.

http://sleurs-motorsport.com/?p=374


Chassis repairs, Part 1



So I have started with the chassis repairs, work is going slow, but I’d rather do it slow and correct than have to clean up after myself a couple of years from now.

http://sleurs-motorsport.com/?p=419


The compete URL of my website is http://Sleurs-Motorsport.com So you can follow some more of my progress on there. There's also a subscription function on there now, that way you can get my posts via email instead of having to visit my site know and again. There's a new blog-post coming with a new update, but I haven't had the chance to upload the pictures, but I'll put them online before the end of the weekend, promise!

I've also been working on a Video web series about my restoration, because I like to watch these sorts of video's on the internet, and now I thought it was my turn to make one, so other can enjoy. Please check them out and tell me what you do (and don't) like about them. These are just the first two video's. I have a third one lined up to edit, but they take quite a lot of time to make, so I have to find a couple of hours in my schedule to edit them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-J0mdApcQY


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgZSySqUrjc


Kind regards,


Serge

 
« Last Edit: Thursday,November 29, 2012, 03:17:41 PM by Serge »

Offline andy harwood

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Re: #460002 - Restoration
« Reply #1 on: Thursday,November 29, 2012, 04:47:43 PM »
Serge,
Thanks for posting about your restoration.
I have been to you web site a couple of times checking out your progress. Watched your videos also, they were very good.
I'm looking forward to seeing your progress on the frame.
andyh

Offline Bainford

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Re: #460002 - Restoration
« Reply #2 on: Friday,November 30, 2012, 02:22:45 PM »
Welcome to the forum, Serge. That's quite a project you have there. I'm looking forward to the updates as they come. Best of luck.
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Offline cal44

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Re: #460002 - Restoration
« Reply #3 on: Friday,November 30, 2012, 03:53:35 PM »
Hey Serge,

good thing the engine is near the washing machine..........that baby will clean right up............

A 46.............you lucky man. 

Mike
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Offline TheKid#9

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Re: #460002 - Restoration
« Reply #4 on: Friday,November 30, 2012, 10:11:03 PM »
Wow a S1 restoration! Hope to see pictures of the progress you make on it. Good Luck!

Offline Lotus46

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Re: #460002 - Restoration
« Reply #5 on: Sunday,December 02, 2012, 09:05:42 AM »
Hi serge :welder:

Long but very interresting job

I've done a same job after a road crash :confused:

well i'm living not so far from your country, if you need some help

I m waiting for your progressive pics restauration

bon courage
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L46
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Offline Serge

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Re: #460002 - Restoration
« Reply #6 on: Tuesday,December 04, 2012, 08:50:29 AM »

Thank you all for your kind comments!


This is a small update! I've removed the strengthening plates for the engine mounts on the chassis, removed the rust and put new plates on.



The complete update, with a lot of pictures and a bit more explanation is on my blog here: http://sleurs-motorsport.com/?p=471


Kind regards,

Serge

Offline Serge

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Re: #460002 - Restoration
« Reply #7 on: Tuesday,January 08, 2013, 01:32:06 AM »


Hello everyone,


I had some spare time to edit another video segment. This is the video update about the replacement of the strengthening plates that I showed you in the post above.

I hope you'll enjoy it!

This is the video URL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9SZGp3_FZ8


Kind regards,

Serge
#460002
http://sleurs-motorsport.com/


Offline cal44

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Re: #460002 - Restoration
« Reply #8 on: Friday,January 25, 2013, 08:47:01 AM »
That a boy Serge......... you are doing well.

Mike
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Offline Mecky

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Re: #460002 - Restoration
« Reply #9 on: Friday,February 22, 2013, 05:09:03 AM »
Hi Serge,

how is your project going on? Are you already able to guess, when your car could be ready?
The race tracks need every Europa they can get :pirate:

Will you use your 821 engine or replace it by a 697 (maybe the original one)?

Regards

Stefan

Offline Serge

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Re: #460002 - Restoration
« Reply #10 on: Friday,February 22, 2013, 06:56:14 AM »

Hi Stefan,


my car will take some time to complete, at least another year, maybe even longer. My ultimate deadline is 2017 (when the car is 50 years old).

I will be using the 821 engine so I can get homologated as a GT car in period G2 for appendix K. I have another 697 engine, but this isn't the original engine (it was replaced by a 697-01 engine from a renault 16 TL). I will probably use the 697 engine to make this engin to original spec, so I have an original spec engine with the car, should I want to change from the racing engine.

Kind regards,

Serge


PS: I have at least 2 video / blog updates coming in the next couple of weeks.


Offline Serge

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Re: #460002 - Restoration
« Reply #11 on: Sunday,March 24, 2013, 02:07:24 PM »
Hi everyone,


I have another video for you, however there isn't much Lotus content, but there is quite a lot of footage of the manufacturer-stores in Paris and of the Rétromobile Classic Car Show in Paris (One of the bigger shows in Europe, and the first event of the new classic car season).

I am currently editing three other videos, so expect to get some more Europa-oriented updates very soon.

I hope this video bridges the gap.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcPbBipyhO4

Kind regards,

Serge
#460002
Http://Sleurs-Motorsport.com
 
« Last Edit: Friday,April 05, 2013, 04:44:38 PM by Serge »

Offline Serge

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Re: #460002 - Restoration
« Reply #12 on: Monday,March 25, 2013, 09:24:45 AM »
I've been able to upload some pictures of my repairs to the rear crossbar and some of the modifications that I made to the rear Y-section of the chassis. There will also be a video about these repairs, but that will take another few days before I can get that online.



Meanwhile you can read all about it right here:

http://sleurs-motorsport.com/?p=535

Kind regards,

Serge
#460002
http://Sleurs-motorsport.com
« Last Edit: Friday,April 05, 2013, 04:44:48 PM by Serge »

Offline Serge

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Re: #460002 - Restoration
« Reply #13 on: Wednesday,April 17, 2013, 04:58:48 AM »




Finally I've found some time to edit the video of the repairs above. I had already edited the next video, so I'll upload that in a couple of days.

I hope you'll enjoy it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyP5Zg-OPqA


Kind regards,

Serge
#460002
http://Sleurs-Motorsport.com

Offline LotusJoe

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Re: #460002 - Restoration
« Reply #14 on: Wednesday,April 17, 2013, 10:16:00 AM »
Serge, Maybe I'm having some difficulty on my end but it seems you latest video is only about 1 minute long, and ends while you explaining the cross member modifications.  :confused: But what I'm really interested in, is where can I get the t-shirt your wearing? Very cool.

Joe Irwin
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