Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Classifieds Forums => eBay - Craigslist Ads - Other Listings => Topic started by: Sparkrite on Saturday,January 04, 2020, 01:13:26 AM
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As I am new to these cars and still looking to buy my first one,I would appreciate what you guys think of this one. And as important for me what about the price. I can turn a spanner so any work does not put me off.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1973-Lotus-Europa/293405871812?_trksid=p2504926.m5232.l9681
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Seems like a lot for a car that needs a full restore. A car like this would save years of time and more in money https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1972-lotus-europa-twin-cam-7/
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There is an old saying, spend the money to buy the best sports car you can afford. Anything less will be a project.
Having looked at many Europa TC & TC specials over the years before I bought mine, the brown Europa your looking at is pretty much the price range for a car that has all the parts but is in need of a restoration (as long as the chassis is in good condition). $10K more gets you a completely different car and you will easily spend $10K on a restoration.
If your like me and want a restoration project I would buy it. Rebuilding a sports car has a great satisfaction to it and you will know every square inch of the car.
If you are easily distracted or get frustrated don’t buy a project car. Plus you will need a garage space for at least a year to work on it.
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I agree about buying the best will save you in the long run but I want a bit of a project. I can make the car to how I want it and get to know it as well. This one recent sold on ebay for a lot less. I know its a s2 and less valuable but the TC can't be worth more than double so my guess would be $8,000 tops.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1971-Lotus-Europa-Base/143436331293?hash=item216578b91d:g:sjcAAOSwDEhdxguF#vi__app-cvip-panel
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This '73 TC on Ebay happens to be mine I am selling, so thanks for posting/inquiring about it. The "Buy it Now" price is a starting point and i'm certainly receptive to "realistic" offers. When comparing to other projects or finished restorations, please keep this in mind about my car.... It is COMPLETE and the Big Valve engine RUNS !!! It has one family ownership history and unmolested (except for paint job). With effort to refurbish the brake system, you could have a rolling/driving restoration project and work on it as you go. So from all the junk I've seen out there on the Europa market, this one stands out IMHO as lots of bang for the buck.
and hey, as an added bonus, you get the funky pin striping for FREE !!
:) :) :)
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You can use a Craigslist search engine like Adhuntr.com too and search everywhere. Might be harder to ship to you from a craigslister though. If you are buying sight unseen and shipping to the UK, get lots of frame pics and body from the back side. People tend to take pics of the good stuff.
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Thanks for the advice Clifton, but are the rust prone areas on the frame not easily visible even with a photo of the underneath. Here is another car I have been trying to buy but it's much worse than it looks from the photos and the owner wants too much.
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If there are good frame photos you would see the rust. If there was rust, someone might only show a picture or two of a not so rusty area. I picked mine up on the west side of the country. No rust here but a car that sits out can have a lot of spider cracks. This may not be shown in pics unless there are good close ups. I found my car 1,200 miles away. Seller sent what I thought were good pics. The seller took pics of everything but the repaired damage that was obvious if I had seen the car in person. Price was good so I still got it but had it been a $10k plus car and it was shipped to me it would have been different.
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Thanks for the advice Clifton, but are the rust prone areas on the frame not easily visible even with a photo of the underneath. Here is another car I have been trying to buy but it's much worse than it looks from the photos and the owner wants too much.
Good luck with your search. I dig that paint job, very period.
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the wheel trim rings (beauty rims, wheel embellishers, whatever...) are almost worth the value of the car by themselves!
notice the key lock just forward of the front left wheel arch? probably a burglar alarm? Seeing the foreign license plate, safe to assume this is on your side of the pond?
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OMG, the only way I'd take that is if it were free. My hideo-meter went off the scale!
It's also an S2, not a TC.
I bought new beauty rims inexpensively when doing up mine. Had to hunt a bit to find the correct narrow ones.
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Its funny how some love or hate the paint job, for me its the main reason for wanting this particular car, I love it. Ted great info about the beauty rims ( I never knew this) and yes its in the Uk but had been standing in Texas for about 20 years and does not run or drive. some more pics of the modified 70s seats and details of the custom paint shop who did the work.
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The interior is something as well. I would drive this with a bumper sticker "My Other Car is a Gremlin".
I loved the 70,s, wish I remembered more of the era. :beerchug:
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Its funny how some love or hate the paint job, for me its the main reason for wanting this particular car, I love it. Ted great info about the beauty rims ( I never knew this) and yes its in the Uk but had been standing in Texas for about 20 years and does not run or drive. some more pics of the modified 70s seats and details of the custom paint shop who did the work.
That is too funny! I drive through Abilene a few times a year. I will have to see if Rick is still around...
Ted, your car's serial is 8 units younger than my TCS! Mine is a 5 speed
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Did your car sell Ted?
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No, it did not sell......yet !
good offer/negotiations going on with California contact who was broker/buyer for a connection in Germany, but before we could come to agreement, they found another one instead.
no hurry, no rush, it will go to the right home in the right time.
:)
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just relisted my '73 Special on EbayMotors for a no nonsense $9,995 Buy it Now price - NO offers below that being accepted. Carpe Diem!!!
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Good luck, Ted!
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https://www.ebay.com/itm/293470922843?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
Relisted for sale. Contact me directly if you have interest. "tedtaylorsr@gmail.com"
i'm not giving it away, but motivated to sell since i'm moving next month! :)
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Ted’s Europa is a great restoration project!
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thanks Glen!
I had a guy on Ebay question the car's originality saying the VIN indicates it should be a Special, and as a Special, should have a 5 speed trans. He continued saying the dash was wrong. I disagreed with him and suggested he do his research and ask questions of this forum for the experts to chime in. Obviously not all Specials were equipped with 5-speeds. The dash is the same I've had in my JPS Europas of the same 1973 model year, so I don't know where this guy was coming from.
I admit and make note the engine is not matching numbers, but all else about the car appears quite correct and original to me. Oh yes, and some obvious mods such as the electronic ignition, adjustable shocks, and replacement brake boosters from Lockheed.
If only cars could talk and explain their own history! :)
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As someone once said on the Internet many years ago, "It doesn't take all kinds; there just are all kinds."
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Only a handful of non-JPS Specials built in 1972 came with 5 speeds. Most of the original 5 speeds built were allocated for the JPS and then slowly trickled down to the other Specials until supply could be met. Then 5 speeds became more readily available for non-JPS cars. It was never standard on the Special but an extra cost option. Your dash of course is exactly the same as my TCS dash. But only Fed-spec Specials got the new dash. UK Specials kept the same dash as the TC. I am not sure about the ROW Specials. 1972 "production year" Specials like yours are fairly rare considering that about half of the early ones built were all JPS.
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I just checked on the Europa Registry. ROW (Q) Specials did not get the new dash either, just the North American cars. I guess if we couldn't get the Euro horsepower, we had to have a consolation prize: a "new dash."
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Your Killing me! :FUNNY: :FUNNY:
Dakazman
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HOLD - Deposit taken, sale pending :)
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SOLD, going to Phil back in the UK. He already posted his new project for his 70 yr old dad.
thank you and good luck with the restoration/modification