Restoration of 2358R

[andy harwood]

The PO of my TCS installed a fiberglass binnacle, and it is a solid piece, not like the Lotus very thin plastic one. I have the later Lotus one in now, so have the directional turn signal indicators.

[EuropaTC]

Not a single area of the body has had any repair work.  And the PO told me the car had been resprayed and didn't know why (which I don't understand as his best friend had the car before him).  I'm perplexed.  I wonder what the real story is on this.....

It might just have been a combination of paint fade and very minor damage. That's why I did mine the first time around, the car was presentable for a daily driver but just showing signs of old age. I also left the front chamber and door shuts in original paint that time as well, you lose the slight mis-match over the sharp edges and it wasn't so obvious on a casual glance.

[Certified Lotus]

The plan for today was to get the Europa completely ready for removing the chassis from the body. My friend Drew and my Son Ryan were there to help and we got a lot accomplished.  The only thing that held us back from actually doing the chassis removal is we couldn't get the steering column u-joint removed and tried to remove the steering rack to accomplish same when we ran out of time. Next weeks project ;-)

A couple of surprises while disassembling.  The area under the battery was eaten away by battery acid and needs re-glassing (no big deal). The radiator mounting bolts snapped off while trying to remove the nuts. Not sure about how to tackle that issue.  If anyone has suggestions let me know.

[BDA]

Obviously, the bolt that fixes the u-joint on the steering column is tough to get to and requires patience (and some skinned knuckles). Of course the reglassing isn't a big deal. Hopefully, it didn't affect your frame!

If you're keeping the radiator, you should be able to get new bolts brazed on it. On the other hand, if you're up for a cool aluminum radiator, here's one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/GPLUS-Aluminum-Radiator-For-Lotus-Europa-S1-S2-TC-USA-stock-/262674592656?fits=Make%3ALotus%7CModel%3AEuropa&hash=item3d28a03390:g:RUcAAOSwImRYSS4J&vxp=mtr.

Good luck and keep us up to date!

[Certified Lotus]

BDA, thanks for the radiator link. That price is very cheap for an aluminum radiator. Has anyone bought one? What do you do about the shroud that is on the OEM version? Do you use the original fan or replace with a modern plastic one?

[blasterdad]

REPLACE FAN WITH NEW ONE!!!
Lotus fans of the time were "puller" fans from a R16 Renault wired backwards to make them a "pusher", but the shape of the blades are wrong in that direction, making it very inefficient.
There are pics of of the adapter plate I made for mine here...Worked great!
http://www.lotuseuropa.org/LotusForum/index.php?topic=1469.15

[Certified Lotus]

Did a search of older posts and it looks like a number of people have bought this aluminum radiator plus added the electric fan. Just ordered one. Thanks for the advice. 

[BDA]

I found this old post of mine explaining what I did (http://www.lotuseuropa.org/LotusForum/index.php?topic=603.msg9389#msg9389). I don't say it's the best way to go, but it works well for me.

[Certified Lotus]

Now that I ordered a new aluminum radiator and fan, I have two OEM radiators available. One is just the radiator with the screen bracket around it and the other is complete with fan and all accessories (although the two mounting bolts on the bottom are snapped off). Do these have any value?

I know original radiators for an early S1 go for big $$$ in any condition.

[blasterdad]

Just my opinion, they are worth what someone is willing to pay & for what reason, i.e. if someone wants to keep the car original, they may pay more.
If they just want something to get them by for a while, then less...
Personally I would ask about half the cost of a new one, or might make a good barter/swap item.

[Certified Lotus]

Good advice blasterdad.

Question. The OEM radiators had a screen on the road side built onto them to keep dirt/stones away from the radiator itself. What have others done to replicate this (or nothing at all)?

[BDA]

I got some stainless steel screen and made a frame from aluminum sheet folded over the edge - well I didn't make the frame, a buddy who was good with a sheet metal brake and shear made the frame.

[EuropaTC]

I used a coarse polypropylene mesh, actually the stuff that's used in the chemical industry to support the cloth on a pressure filter. As you might guess, I used to work in the chemical industry and it was "free".     20 years later and it still looks like new !

I think it's essential to have something there. The wheel throws up loads of spray, plus of course dirt and that'll make a real mess of the fins on a radiator. If I were doing it now I'd use woven stainless mesh, and probably two layers. The first knocks down most of the spray and the second gets what makes it through the outer layer.

Brian

[Certified Lotus]

Thanks for the examples of what you both did. I knew I needed some type of protection from road debris. Interesting that of the two OEM radiators I have, both the screens are caked in road dirt. You would think not cleaning them on a regular basis would make the airflow for the radiator very inefficient.

[EuropaTC]

Thanks for the examples of what you both did. I knew I needed some type of protection from road debris. Interesting that of the two OEM radiators I have, both the screens are caked in road dirt. You would think not cleaning them on a regular basis would make the airflow for the radiator very inefficient.

As was mine when I bought the car, or it might have been a mixture of dirt and rust ! 

We had a Hillman Imp which had a rear mounted radiator and a common failing there was to get the fins clogged up with dirt, shortly followed by blown head gaskets as the car overheated. I often thought that the early reputation for overheating was nothing to do with the engine but that most owners of the cars when bought new would never consider brushing the radiator as a service job !