Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Members Cars => Topic started by: bikenut on Sunday,December 17, 2017, 01:57:22 AM
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Hello everyone,I have been searching for a few years now.My dad bought a new Europa in January 1973.I was a car obsessed 12 year old so this car was my world.We traded it in for a Jaguar,I remember seeing a pic in a magazine of a Europa in a movie called 11 Harrowhouse,as i studied the pics i spotted the registration number MMO 597L .I always assumed that the car was damaged and scrapped,the DVLA shows it last licenced in 1975 so that confirmed it to me. BUT........ I have heard a rumour the car is in Japan,I managed to contact a guy there who says he imported the actual car in 1995 and it showed no signs of damage.Then recently I noticed a post with pics on here of a member called Soulsaver in the UK,guess what his registration number is? Yep MMO 597L,and I can see one glaringly obvious incorrect detail on that car that confirms to me this is my dads old car.I have messaged Soulsaver but I see he was last active here in January 2016.Is there anyone on here that can tell me anything about this car? I just want to know the fate of this car.My dad was a bit eccentric and a car lover,I have many memories of him and the car and a few stories people may like to hear.Thank you all for reading this .Fingers crossed.
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If you knew the chassis number, there may be some clues here:-
http://www.lotus-europa.com/regspcl.html
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All I have is 2 photos when we owned it,I remember the special edition badge on the dash and Im almost certain it was number 063.I have looked on that database before and can see cars around that period but not the actual car Im looking for.If you look here at soulsavers posts you can see the car and its reg of MMO597L. Even if that was a different car with our old reg number transfered to it,there is one feature that would be almost unique to our car and i can see it in the pics.We bought it new and it was registered 5th Jan 73.
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There is also this page -
http://www.lotus-europa.com/lost.html
I found my previous owner from the 1970's on here searching for the car I now own. I came to that page by searching Google for the registration plate. I dare say you have done that.
Cant you cope with a replacement car??
Steve
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Thanks Steve I will try that site next.I am sure some one on here must know who Soulsaver is and if he still has the car or not,he was last on here Jan 2016 and the car looks great in his pics, and has our reg number MMO 597L.
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Unfortunately, I don't think lotus-europa.com has been updated recently, but maybe it will help regardless.
You might try sending an email to Andy Graham (AGraham@lotuscars.com). He's the official Lotus archivist and is collecting information about cars and may have some information that is useful.
Good luck and keep us up to date with your search!
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DVLA records are not much help. Black Lotus reg 1973, not ever MOTd, and not currently taxed.
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The car was used in the film 11 Harrow house after we sold it.As dvla shows not taxed since 75 I always assumed it was destroyed in the stunts during film making.But I saw on here a post from a member called Soulsaver,he has a JPS and the reg in the pics is clearly MMO 597L. So maybe the car was stored somewhere for years or maybe it was not damaged at all and just has not been taxed? As someone suggested to me recently,the car was still fairly new when the film was made,maybe the stunts were done using another car.I just would like to know the fate of our car,I dont want to buy it or hassle anyone.My Dad loved the car,it lived in a garage with red carpet and a radiator to keep it dry and warm,the garage was out of bounds to me and my siblings.I have many memories of being in that car,we used to meet 2 American air force guys at the Lotus/Clan dealer on Saturdays and go for a drive,one owned a Elan sprint and the other a +2s/130.
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may have been saved
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Check out this link and read the comments near the bottom after looking at the cool photos. Some folks are suggesting the car is owned by a Lotus enthusiast that is still active on an Elan forum.
http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_4187-Lotus-Europa-Special-Type-74-1973.html
If you haven't seen this web site before...you can waste a lot of time looking around.
Dean
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Check out this link and read the comments near the bottom after looking at the cool photos. Some folks are suggesting the car is owned by a Lotus enthusiast that is still active on an Elan forum.
Unless Richard is bikenut, which is my guess.
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Hi I am not Richard,my name is Phil Alexander. If you look at the post on that link,the last comment was by soulsaver,the same as the name i saw on here,also I think MMO 597L on Elan.net is the same person(soulsaver). If you look on here at soulsavers posts you will see a black Europa bearing the reg number MMO597L. I think he either owns or used to own it.I have trawled the forums and the internet but cannot trace him.All i know is he did mention he lived in the north west of UK.He was last active on here in Jan 2016.It could be that MMO 597L was destroyed and someone has used its ID to build another car,but I doubt it.Also I can see one slight detail in the pics from soulsaver that makes me even more sure that it is the original car.We bought the car new,It was registered 5th Jan 73,the number plate law changed on 1st Jan 73. Cars had to have white and yellow plates front and rear,my dad didn't want those so had the black number plate on the rear and the silver figures in the front grill,this was illegal but he was adamant not to have the new coloured plates on it.The car in soulsavers post also has MMO 597L in the front grill.Here is a pic of my siblings and mother around mid 74 in our back garden,I was taking the photo.
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Hi Phil,
Have you tried the conventional Lotus clubs, like Club Lotus and the Lotus Drivers clubs ? Both clubs have been around for years and pre internet most enthusiasts were in one or the other (LDC was originally the Midland Drivers Club (?) - or something like that). Club Lotus would be my first guess, Graham Arnold did quite a few articles on the Europa in the late 70s/80s and it wouldn't surprise me to hear they have records of cars/members going back to then.
There are some local branches/offshoots that might work as well, if you've got an idea about the north of England than there's NyLoc (North Yorkshire) and there used to be one around Cheshire as well, CLOG or something. Although most of the clubs these days seem to be about the modern cars very often folks have an Elise plus an Elan or other old Lotus tucked away, so you might hit lucky. Worth a shot anyway ?
Brian
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Hi Brian,actually i had not even thought about the clubs,in this age of internet I often forget the old ways.I will see what comes up on here then maybe I will write a email to Andy Graham at Lotus and see if he can help,if not I will try the clubs as you suggest.Many thanks to you and everyone else for your help.Im sure the car is alive and well,I think it has been taxed but the dvla record is incorrect,i saw that soulsaver said the car has never had a problem with dvla taxing it and he signed off as Ed,which is the person using the name MMO597L on Elan.net forums. So I know his name is ED,he lives north uk and has a Europa Special with our reg number.his pics are on here a year ago,so the car must be around still. I am determined to find it.I need to know it survived,my dad died 2011 so its a sentimental search by me.
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Hi again...
Since writing my previous post another idea cropped up, maybe the magazines could help ? Classic & Sportscar often have a "where are they now ?" feature and I suppose the other mags run similar features from time to time. It's not as good as a dedicated club but you never know.
As you have an old photo that gives a bit of an angle to the story, especially with the film connection so I'd think you have a good chance of making it into print. It might be worth throwing an email at them and asking if they could run a few lines in their next "Newsround" feature in the mag.
http://www.classicandsportscar.com/news (http://www.classicandsportscar.com/news)
Andy Graham is a friendly and helpful guy, I was in touch with him via the Lotuselan.net forums about my Elan a few years ago. I think he has more on Elans than Europas but it's worth a shot, nothing to lose is there ?
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Thanks again Brian,good idea.I will keep it in mind.I know what you mean,"lost and found" type articles.Thanks again. Regards Phil.
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Hi Phil,
You were searching for Europa MMO 597L a while ago, did you ever find it?
This car was exhibited at Donnington Lotus show, a few years back.
It was in pristine condition, which surprised me, as I remember what happened to it in the film.
The Europa, driven by stunt driver Marc Boyle, nose dived into the ground, after jumping the wall, destroying it's front end. The film would be shot out of sequence, so it appears to drive away, the Transit van went back for a second take!
When I saw the car at Donnington, it was on the 'Banks Europa' stand, so I presumed they had restored it. If you speak to Richard Winter at Banks, he may be able to put you in touch with the owner.
Regards,
Dave
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Hi Phil,
You were searching for Europa MMO 597L a while ago, did you ever find it?
This car was exhibited at Donnington Lotus show, a few years back.
It was in pristine condition, which surprised me, as I remember what happened to it in the film.
The Europa, driven by stunt driver Marc Boyle, nose dived into the ground, after jumping the wall, destroying it's front end. The film would be shot out of sequence, so it appears to drive away, the Transit van went back for a second take!
When I saw the car at Donnington, it was on the 'Banks Europa' stand, so I presumed they had restored it. If you speak to Richard Winter at Banks, he may be able to put you in touch with the owner.
Regards,
Dave
Hello Dave!
:Welcome:
I really do hope that this car can be found for Phil...
Mark
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Hello Dave
Well I had forgotten all about the old Europa search, I bought a plastic model kit and consoled myself with that instead. You are the only person that seems to have ever seen this car. Do you know what year you saw it at Donnington? A few years ago I had spent months on the internet on USA and Japan sites and some claim to have either seen or own the car but when I dug deeper they were just other black Europa's. I also searched a huge worldwide database of chassis numbers with owners locations but found nothing. I don't know the chassis number so its very hard to get any info, but looking at other genuine JPS cars I guess the chassis number is around 74/1850P to 74/1890P. Our car had the dash badge and I'm sure it was numbered 061,063 0r 065 and was registered 5/1/1973. There were photos on here in 2016 of the car in the UK so its strange that I cant find it. You have re ignited the flame Dave, I will contact Richard at Banks Europa and see if he knows its whereabouts. I don't want to buy it ((but if it was for sale one day maybe i would), I just want to know if its survived and how its keeping and tell the owner a few stories about its early pre film-star days and maybe send them a few pics. Thanks again Dave for your help, much appreciated, I will get onto it and post the outcome on here. Regards Phil.
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:Welcome: Bread Van!!
And bike nut, I hope you find your JPS! Richard does sound like a good person to ask. Good luck!
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I found this one.
Just kidding!
Dakazman
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I have sent a email to richard@banks-europa.co.uk giving him a few details and my reason for wanting to locate the car. I sent it on 27th November and have had no response so will just wait until New year for a reply. If not then the search continues. A few years back I noticed a user name on the Elan forum of "MMO597L" which is the Registration number of our old car, so I registered and joined the forum. He last posted in 2015 and there is no way to contact him on there so that's a dead end. I have found out recently that i can ask DVLA for detailed information on the car but I have to have " reasonable cause" for requesting it, so that is my next move after Christmas. In the meantime thanks for all your help and Happy Christmas all of you.
Regards
Phil.
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Richard does not really do email. You should call him. Hopefully he can help you.
Merry Christmas to you too! I hope you find your car. That would make a great Christmas present!
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I second calling Richard. I have bought several things from him over the years. And phoning is by far the best approach.
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I hope that the search is successful, the only clues are that Ed 'soulsaver' appeared to also be on the IMCDB site (below)
http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_4187-Lotus-Europa-Special-Type-74-1973.html
the search continues......
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Hi Phil,
Regards JPS Europa at Donnington Lotus Show, it was several years ago that I saw it, but it was definitely MMO 597L, the number was etched on my memory from the film. At Donnington show, it was in the area allocated to Banks Europa, along with some of their other modified versions.
If I can find a picture of it at the time, I will let you know. There was an article in Hot Car magazine, relating to the car in 11 Harrowhouse, I will have a look for that also.
My understanding is that there were 200 numbered JPS cars, all built in 1973, but there were plenty of other JPS cars without numbers. Lotus themselves, retained one of the last JPS models at the factory, this was built 1975. This was part of their heritage collection, along with a late Elan Sprint, unfortunately, someone took the decision to auction them off!
Dave
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Hi again Dave, yes i used to read Hot Car magazine as a teenager and that was when i saw the article and recognised the car in it. I remember showing the article to my Dad, he almost cried when he saw the car jumping over the wall and smashing to bits, he treated it like a baby and it was his dream car. Since then i assumed the car was destroyed, but i have seen pictures of it on here posted by soulsaver, I found them via the IMBd. I have mesaged soulsaver but no response. I will try calling Richard as you all suggest. Happy Christmas and thanks everyone for helping. It would be amazing to see the car again
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Hi The search is over!
MMO 597L didn't appear at Donnington; that's probably memory fog but a near miss: It was at the Lotus festival at Stoneleigh, 1992 (IIRC) and won concourse.
But it was indeed on the Banks stand. I had a small TV/video playing the Harrow House car chase.
I have a copy of the green reg book, and it's 2nd owner was Harrow House Productions. Where & when did your dad p/ex the car?
(PS Does the PM email the recipient? I didn't get notification, and I can't seem to find my email addy linked at all?) Edit:Sorted, old dead email updated.
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Lotus themselves, retained one of the last JPS models at the factory, this was built 1975. This was part of their heritage collection, along with a late Elan Sprint, unfortunately, someone took the decision to auction them off!
When Lotus went bust, the receiver sold them.
That was JEX 590N.
I used to own JEX 591N.
Both were 1975 cars with US Federal bodyshells which Lotus had left over after the April 1974 deadline for exports to the USA. Presumably Lotus had a lot of bits left over and decided to build them up and sell them off before changing over to Esprit production.
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Hi Soulsaver, To respect your privacy I have sent you a private message as there are too many questions to ask here.