Author Topic: My 72 Europa SS  (Read 36099 times)

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Offline Sofa King

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My 72 Europa SS
« on: Tuesday,November 06, 2018, 05:24:53 PM »
I was hoping to introduce this car at LOG 38, but unfortunately I made it but the car didn’t! Now that it is almost done I thought it was time to post some photos.
« Last Edit: Tuesday,November 06, 2018, 05:28:47 PM by Sofa King »

Online BDA

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Re: My 72 Europa SS
« Reply #1 on: Tuesday,November 06, 2018, 05:31:06 PM »
 :Welcome: , Sofa!

Glad you made it to the LOG but it's too bad you couldn't bring the car!

Just a hint: "some pictures" means more than one! We love pictures and stories!

Don't be a stranger!

Offline Sofa King

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Re: My 72 Europa SS
« Reply #2 on: Tuesday,November 06, 2018, 05:37:29 PM »
I’m having a little bit of trouble posting. New to the site, so “some” picks turned into one! Hopefully this time I did better!
Thanks!

Online BDA

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Re: My 72 Europa SS
« Reply #3 on: Tuesday,November 06, 2018, 05:49:11 PM »
Wow! Very nice! Tell us about it. What motor and tranny did you use? Give us all the gory details!

Offline gideon

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Re: My 72 Europa SS
« Reply #4 on: Tuesday,November 06, 2018, 05:51:04 PM »
 :Welcome:  Cool car.  Nice pics.  What engine and transaxle do you have in there?  What mods did you make to the chassis?

Offline Sofa King

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Re: My 72 Europa SS
« Reply #5 on: Tuesday,November 06, 2018, 05:58:46 PM »
The engine is an LS6, mated to a Porsche Boxster 6 speed transaxle. I built a custom chassis using Miata front and rear suspensions and brakes. It uses a remote electric water pump, mounted in the front by the radiator. I’m using a drive by wire system from a Chevy truck to eliminate the long throttle cable.

I had to move the rear wheel wells backwards 3” to center them up on the longer engine and transaxle, and I had to move the fronts forward 9.5” to fit the Miata subframe and me! All four fenders are flared about 3”, the front chin is lowered 2” giving it a more aggressive “mouth”, and the rear facia is lowered 5” to cover the back of the transaxle.
« Last Edit: Monday,November 26, 2018, 07:28:57 PM by Sofa King »

Online BDA

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Re: My 72 Europa SS
« Reply #6 on: Tuesday,November 06, 2018, 06:02:20 PM »
Where have you been? We would have loved to heard a blow-by-blow of your build!

Offline Sofa King

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Re: My 72 Europa SS
« Reply #7 on: Tuesday,November 06, 2018, 06:08:48 PM »
I pretty much kept my head down and plugged away. A couple of the local Lotus guys knew about it, but I kept pretty quiet about it. I didn’t want to talk too much about what I was doing, and then find out that I didn’t have the skill or persistence to get it done. I also wasn’t sure if the Lotus community would find it cool, or blasphemy. I assume it will be a little of both, but I can assure you that no restoreable cars were hurt during this build! :D

Offline Sofa King

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Re: My 72 Europa SS
« Reply #8 on: Tuesday,November 06, 2018, 06:49:50 PM »
I do have a build thread on the Grassroots Motorsports Forum, but I have a ton of photos that I can post here:
Here are a couple of chassis shots:

Online BDA

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Re: My 72 Europa SS
« Reply #9 on: Tuesday,November 06, 2018, 07:10:47 PM »
That is one beast! In a small package!
« Last Edit: Tuesday,November 06, 2018, 07:26:08 PM by BDA »

Offline andy harwood

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Re: My 72 Europa SS
« Reply #10 on: Tuesday,November 06, 2018, 09:56:30 PM »
Wow! Very well done!!! To echo BDA - beast.

Offline 2766R

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Re: My 72 Europa SS
« Reply #11 on: Wednesday,November 07, 2018, 12:39:10 AM »
I bet this Europa would run circles around the GKN Lotus Europa V8 (GKN47D)!  I lean towards being a purrest, but your Europa is WAY COOL!

Offline Clifton

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Re: My 72 Europa SS
« Reply #12 on: Wednesday,November 07, 2018, 03:24:08 AM »
That is a lot of work. How many years did it take? You probably have another 100 ft lbs torque than me and mine is murderous. I can't imaging yours when you hit it. Any videos of you doing silly things in it?

Offline dakazman

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Re: My 72 Europa SS
« Reply #13 on: Wednesday,November 07, 2018, 03:31:35 AM »
Sofa King,          :Welcome:

Very interesting build, I will have to visit your build thread so I can read about the details.
I’m also glad you kept your head down and completed your vision. I can only count a handful of V8 installations yours looks great! I’d also love to hear the baby fire up.

Don’t be a stranger and once again,  Welcome .
Dakazman

Offline Certified Lotus

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Re: My 72 Europa SS
« Reply #14 on: Wednesday,November 07, 2018, 04:18:47 AM »
 :Welcome:  That’s an impressive build! Wow!  What got you thinking about doing it Sofa King?