Author Topic: FS: 1971 Lotus Europa S2 reg YDF 537K unfinished project £7500 London UK  (Read 665 times)

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Offline 0290Paul

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Hello - joined the forum a couple of years ago but haven't posted as my S2 project stalled, and now unfortunately due to a number of other (unwanted!) priorities (and the likelihood that I'm going to lose my workshop space before I can finish it) I'm going to have to sell it on. It has had a lot of work done and many new parts ready to be fitted by someone who has the time and space. When I was able to work on it briefly last year I bought over £700 of new parts, mostly from Kelvedon Lotus including transfer tubes, new clutch kit, and many more. Brake lines are mostly done and the cylinders either new or rebuilt. The previous owner did a lot of suspension work including new bushes and Spax dampers and although that was a long time ago now, they appear to be in good order still.

It has a good chassis that has been blasted and painted by previous owner. Bodyshell has had structural GRP work done including fitting a boxed steel section into the bulkhead to take harness mounts. The underside of the car has been scraped clean and stonechipped and painted but the body will need restoring - I was either going to wrap it or paint it and do the GRP repairs as a rolling restoration as I'm not too worried about cosmetics.

I have been through the parts list and there is very little missing and the parts have been boxed up according to the sections in the list. The centre/horn push for the Chapman signature wheel is missing, one of the smaller gear linkages will need remaking or replacing (NOW DONE), and one seat frame is rotten (the other looks to be new). The wheels are very rare Mk1 Cosmics as fitted to the first Else cars but will need repair and refurbishment.

There is a new wiring loom and hinge kit included in the new parts that came with the car. The radiator was reconditioned by the previous owner.

There are two rear bumpers and one front in useable condition. I also ended up with an extra rear luggage tray after some over-enthusiastic ebaying.

I have two engines of the original Lotus/Renault 1470 type, one that came with the car and another bought from a Club Lotus member that he assured me was an excellent running engine only removed from his car due to upgrading to a crossflow Renault unit. There is also a Weber 45 DCOE and inlet manifold, and a welded/repaired cast iron exhaust manifold in addition to a good cast iron exhaust - I was going to cut up the repaired one to use with the Weber intake.

From memory, one seat cushion had split but the rest of the interior trim just needed cleaning and refitting apart from the carpets. The windscreen and rear screens are there but not fitted to the car. The doors are assembled with the side windows fitted but aren't on the car.

Please message and I'll give you my number and email for questions. The car is located in Camberwell, South London. The engine and gearbox are not fitted so it doesn't roll, and the body is just resting on the chassis, so it will need trailering away, I may be able to help with that.

There are pictures here https://photos.app.goo.gl/ScE27H8ZzczgRjjM7 that should be visible, let me know if there are any problems viewing them.

Paul
« Last Edit: Thursday,September 29, 2022, 12:40:14 AM by 0290Paul »

Offline BDA

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Re: FS: 1971 Lotus Europa S2 reg YDF 537K unfinished project £7500 London UK
« Reply #1 on: Monday,April 18, 2022, 07:24:31 AM »
 :Welcome: 0290Paul!!

Sorry it doesn’t look like you’ll be able to finish your baby! That’s just such a sad story! I hope you find a good home for it.

Offline 0290Paul

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Re: FS: 1971 Lotus Europa S2 reg YDF 537K unfinished project £7500 London UK
« Reply #2 on: Monday,April 18, 2022, 11:42:27 PM »
Thanks BDA - yes, the impending workshop problems are sadly just the straw that broke the camel's back after two years of setbacks that have made it very hard to progress the car. Workshop space is now almost impossible to find in or near London and moving away isn't really an option for us at the moment, so I've had to face the fact that I won't be restoring any more cars any time soon.

Offline grichard

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Re: FS: 1971 Lotus Europa S2 reg YDF 537K unfinished project £7500 London UK
« Reply #3 on: Sunday,April 24, 2022, 05:44:40 AM »
hello Paul
Whilst I can commiserate with you on spending money on something that you will probably never see on the road, on the other hand I would take an enormous financial risk by taking it on.  I have bought much cheaper  Europa projects, as an expat retired, in Spain, but think that this is worth a punt.    Without wishing to insult you I would only risk 4500 pounds.  What do you think?

Offline 0290Paul

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Re: FS: 1971 Lotus Europa S2 reg YDF 537K unfinished project £7500 London UK
« Reply #4 on: Thursday,April 28, 2022, 12:17:59 AM »
Sorry for being slow to reply, I thought I'd get a notification of replies! I'll remember to check in more often. Not insulting at all, I understand your view, and there used to be plenty of cheap Europa projects about but as the prices have risen that doesn't seem to be the case anymore, in the UK at least. I think I'm pricing it fairly given the good chassis and all the new parts - I've certainly seen less sell for more lately! I'm not expecting to get back the £9k it owes me and I'm writing off the work I've done, but £4500 is too much of hit. If you want to message me a number we can have a chat about the car and I can take you through the good points and bad points if you want?

Cheers,

Paul

Offline 0290Paul

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Re: FS: 1971 Lotus Europa S2 reg YDF 537K unfinished project £7500 London UK
« Reply #5 on: Thursday,September 29, 2022, 12:37:45 AM »
Just an update on this, I've actually had a bit of time to get some work done on it and have spent another £500 on parts and paint with the chassis rolling now and the body raised off. The engine and gearbox are fitted with the new clutch and mounts, gear linkage is set up, transfer pipes fitted, all the brake pipes are done and I've switched to the bodywork which is coming on well, I'll start a thread if I remember to get some pictures next time I'm down there.

That said, life is still very unpredictable with the future of the workshop still unsure and my caring responsibilities for my parents ballooning, so the car is still for sale if someone wants to take it on to finish off - as much as I would love to finish it, I'm worried about suddenly finding myself kicked out of the workshop with a car in pieces and nowhere to put it  :(
« Last Edit: Thursday,September 29, 2022, 12:42:16 AM by 0290Paul »