Author Topic: 1972 Twin Cam...Auction  (Read 657 times)

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Offline Lou Drozdowski

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1972 Twin Cam...Auction
« on: Monday,September 20, 2021, 05:03:09 AM »
 Car & Classic...2210R

 US spec left hand drive with Stromberg's from across the pond.

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/auctions/1972-lotus-europa-twin-cam-W4XO6n?fbclid=IwAR3sHQOjWxSXiyv9ZkysI_SZPaFLY2ddltDIS0eDhX4JdqsuC6unKAFgDyo

This car was last listed in the registry in 2010 from California with many mods...
« Last Edit: Monday,September 20, 2021, 05:15:38 AM by Lou Drozdowski »

Offline BDA

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Re: 1972 Twin Cam...Auction
« Reply #1 on: Monday,September 20, 2021, 07:06:16 AM »
Really nice car! The use of a NACA duct (that’s what it appears they did anyway) to mount the heater (or is it choke?) pull knob is an interesting idea. I like the wheels but I think they should lose the fake knock-off spinners.

Offline 4129R

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Re: 1972 Twin Cam...Auction
« Reply #2 on: Monday,September 20, 2021, 08:27:27 AM »
Alternator?

Servo ?

Rear luggage box?

Head lining?

ASH TRAY ?

Spare wheel? 

Inlet cam is wrong, no alternator drive.

Battery and radiator moved.
« Last Edit: Monday,September 20, 2021, 08:35:32 AM by 4129R »

Offline Blitzen

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Re: 1972 Twin Cam...Auction
« Reply #3 on: Monday,September 20, 2021, 08:46:37 AM »

[/quote]
Really nice car! The use of a NACA duct (that’s what it appears they did anyway) to mount the heater (or is it choke?) pull knob is an interesting idea. I like the wheels but I think they should lose the fake knock-off spinners.

I’m not a fan of the “NACA duct” and agree with losing the spinners.

Alternator?

Servo ?

Rear luggage box?

Head lining?

ASH TRAY ?

Spare wheel? 

Inlet cam is wrong, no alternator drive.

Battery and radiator moved.
Removing servos is not unusual and since I did the same, it’s not a concern to me.  Nor is the lack of spare.  Ad mentions they have a new headliner included.   But thats a great observation about the lack of alternator, totally missed that the first time. 

Offline Richard48Y

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Re: 1972 Twin Cam...Auction
« Reply #4 on: Monday,September 20, 2021, 08:52:56 AM »
Fake knock-off's can stay but the "Carbon Fiber" dash HAS to go!

Offline BDA

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Re: 1972 Twin Cam...Auction
« Reply #5 on: Monday,September 20, 2021, 09:07:44 AM »
 :I-agree: I'm not a fan of that either. The area to the left of the speedo-tach binnacle is very busy which I think is poorly laid out.

As long as I'm on the subject of things I don't like about it, I don't like the "junk" in the front trunk, especially since it doesn't have a rear one.

Offline Exlimey

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Re: 1972 Twin Cam...Auction
« Reply #6 on: Monday,September 20, 2021, 10:47:32 AM »
Interesting gas tank,label says it’s a off road cell.

Offline 4129R

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Re: 1972 Twin Cam...Auction
« Reply #7 on: Monday,September 20, 2021, 12:24:01 PM »
Removing servos is not unusual and since I did the same, it’s not a concern to me.  Nor is the lack of spare.  Ad mentions they have a new headliner included.   But thats a great observation about the lack of alternator, totally missed that the first time.
[/quote]

I just hope whoever buys it realises that you would have to take the head off, get the head and cam cover modified for the oil seal, buy a new inlet cam (from QED) before starting to put the alternator in place.

That would be about £600 with the alternator, cam, machining and gaskets.

I cannot think it can be belt driven elsewhere.

IMHO a non-Europa knower has put in a standard TC engine from an Elan, and has not worked out how and where the alternator goes.
« Last Edit: Monday,September 20, 2021, 12:26:09 PM by 4129R »

Offline SilverBeast

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Re: 1972 Twin Cam...Auction
« Reply #8 on: Monday,September 20, 2021, 01:31:58 PM »
Cabin ventilation looks like it could be interesting!  The fresh air intake to the plenum chamber looks to have been blocked up and the only fan(?) looks like it blows air through the heater. Even if it's a filter I would imagine it can only suck in hot air from the front compartment because of where the radiator is now fitted.

Offline 4129R

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Re: 1972 Twin Cam...Auction
« Reply #9 on: Monday,September 20, 2021, 01:42:11 PM »
It seems a PO has not thought anything out very carefully. The radiator, battery, alternator, fan, spare wheel etc are all positioned where they are from the factory for a reason.

I believe the spare wheel is actually used as part of the crash impact compartmentation. When you remove it, in theory the front crash impact protection is compromised.

It looks like a PO has given up and left the car in an un-useable state through lack of knowledge.

Offline jbcollier

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Re: 1972 Twin Cam...Auction
« Reply #10 on: Monday,September 20, 2021, 03:20:04 PM »
Europas were never crash tested.  They had an exemption in the US and Canada.  This is not to say that the spare tire might, or might not, be useful in the event of a front crash.  Spare or no, you would want to be very particular about what you crashed into.  Best would be to hit another Europa.

Offline BDA

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Re: 1972 Twin Cam...Auction
« Reply #11 on: Monday,September 20, 2021, 05:12:32 PM »
I think I remember asking someone at the Lotus distributor in New Orleans, where I got my car, about the Europa bumpers - this was during the time when the US had a 5 mph bumper regulation. I couldn’t see Europa bumpers surviving a 5 mph crash. I was told that the actual regulation was that any damage from a 5 mph crash would cause no more than a certain dollar amount. Perhaps that was how an exemption for Europas worked.

There may be something to the spare tire providing extra protection in a crash but I think if the car were hit hard enough to be useful, it would certainly prang the frame. And we know how valuable the frame is because Chunky put the driver and the passenger on either side of it to protect it in the event of an accident! So I’m thinking if the spare does help in a crash, it is unintentional.  ;D

On a more serious note, when my car was young, I was enjoying my car maybe a little too much on the curvy road around Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans. Unfortunately, I had forgotten that a hurricane had recently passed though and a part of the road was closed with aluminum barriers weighted down with sandbags. When I rounded a bend, I saw the aluminum barriers closing the road ahead so I slammed on the brakes. I don’t know how fast I was going when I hit it but had to be faster than 25 mph (my eyes were closed as I imagined the front of my car disintegration in a shower of fiberglass shards. When I opened my eyes, my bumper was very mildly deformed. The body work showed no damage. The aluminum barrier was seriously mangled and there was sand everywhere. I think the steel bumper does a good job of spreading the load and the fiberglass absorbs a lot more shock than you would think.

Offline Vegantune

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Re: 1972 Twin Cam...Auction
« Reply #12 on: Monday,September 20, 2021, 10:04:44 PM »
Fake wheel spinners just a joke adding to unsprung suspension weight multiplied by outer most leverage point. Dump those. The choke recess way overdone like some altar to an icon. It's just a pull cable. KISS. Who knew one of the steering rack boots can double as shifter boot? Have fun with aluminum knob on a hot day. Wouldn't want to scrape my head on unlined cabin ceiling, but easily fixed (could have put in headliner paid for photo 98 instead of engineering choke cable altar). Changed outside mirrors to larger Vitalonis, but removed riser bases. Rob Peter to pay Paul. Go with both for better rear view.

Add cigarette lighter but delete ashtray? SMH. "Carbon fiber" dash looks like cheap stick-on film cover up. Squirrely left gas tank - midnight substitute? And story on those odd gas tank caps? Assume alternator maybe down lower left front of engine from using Elan engine swap? 336 box is what it is. But just 40 Federalized s/n's later, would have been a 352. Worse, s/n plate shows gearbox number stamped over w/other numbers. Explain photo 62. Disconnected speedo drive flopping around loose in rear tail (photo 101) is results of documented bad drive gear inside trans. Other docs show car entered GB in early 2014 @25253 from Holland (appeared there 10/2012). Mileage never changed again from 2014 because trans never opened to fix gear. Hope the shards aren't still in there.

Larger forward radiator w/dual puller fans I guess is OK-ish, but plumbing looks a bit amateur. Why shift battery weight w/long wimpy cables up front rather than make simple platform to clear tiny rear roll bar? One odd way to get fan for heat only, but no blower for fresh air. Expect heater output <= 50 wheezing gnats given size, and fresh air only when moving, preheated by radiator. Missing spare tire is like no insurance: don't need it until you do. Rear window possibly reinstalled with locking center trim missing from rubber seal. Maybe explains messy upper corners? Trim also missing from side markers, but somewhat matter of taste.

Bargain bin sun "filters" just look cheesy, clamps more cheesy. Dash is messy haphazard layout. Switch gear is hodgepodge. Wiper switch from GM's chrome dash era. No place to store any thing for even for a weekend trip. Whole thing makes me think of what a young kid would do if they got a Europa with lots of issues, and thought it could look totally way trick cool, but throw in some band-aids for real problems. Too much weirdness not from the mind of serious engineer for me to like. Not opposed to improvements, just way too much squirrel's breakfast and tacky froufrou with questionable critical mods. When I see stuff like this, it raises the :WTF: happened? history red flag.
« Last Edit: Wednesday,September 22, 2021, 12:36:18 AM by Vegantune »
- A Norwegian Blue with beautiful plumage is still nothing but a dead parrot.

1973 Black Europa TCS/Vegantune JPS #180
1973 White Europa TCS
2012 Jaguar XJL 5.0 Supercharged
1975 Ferrari Dino 308 GT4
1994 Volvo 940 Shoebox Wagon
2005 Yamaha V Star
1998 Kawasaki XII Voyager

Offline gideon

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Re: 1972 Twin Cam...Auction
« Reply #13 on: Tuesday,September 21, 2021, 12:44:49 PM »
I believe the spare wheel is actually used as part of the crash impact compartmentation. When you remove it, in theory the front crash impact protection is compromised.

Yes, and here's the quote from MJK

Quote
“The mounting of the spare wheel onto the chassis was carefully arranged to give us maximum crash intrusion protection,” reveals Kimberley. “Under 30mph barrier crash conditions, we were able to achieve excellent results for the steering column tests.”

https://drive-my.com/under-the-skin-of-the-lotus-europa-twin-cam/


Offline 4129R

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Re: 1972 Twin Cam...Auction
« Reply #14 on: Tuesday,September 21, 2021, 12:59:41 PM »
I believe the spare wheel is actually used as part of the crash impact compartmentation. When you remove it, in theory the front crash impact protection is compromised.

Yes, and here's the quote from MJK

Quote
“The mounting of the spare wheel onto the chassis was carefully arranged to give us maximum crash intrusion protection,” reveals Kimberley. “Under 30mph barrier crash conditions, we were able to achieve excellent results for the steering column tests.”

https://drive-my.com/under-the-skin-of-the-lotus-europa-twin-cam/

I thank you.

I was not hallucinating or dreaming.