The previous Subject (at the time of writing) introduced us to another 1970 S2 on Vancouver Island (1970 Europa S2 0496R) and among the replies was mention of my car, purchased last November (2018) on BAT and imported by me from Bremerton Washington (
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1970-lotus-europa/). No doubt others have had the same reaction from friends/family; 'mid-life crisis'. Nope. Mid-life opportunity. I figure that getting something at 55 that you'd have loved at 20, 30, 40, or 50 can hardly be called a mid-life crisis. I bought her largely because of the dash. I was keen for that set of SMITH gauges that come on many different 1970's cars (and on nothing you can buy today). Keen, in part because my brother had a 1972 MGB back in the late 1970's when we were both teenagers (I had a 1970 Volvo B20B). This Lotus had a perfect unrestored wood dash with every gauge functional. It was only after a bunch of online research that I came to appreciate the rest. At the time of bidding I asked my wife by e-mail.."What's my limit?". She replied: "Go for it". How great is that? I won with a $12,100.00 US bid. No need for any of you to translate to $CDN..... I knew at the time but the number has conveniently been forgotten. She (the car) has 37,000 original miles. Bob Wilson (who owns the third S2 on Vancouver Island, a Type 54) came by and said nice things about originality. He should know, he's owned his car since new.
There have been a few surprises: The de-lamination on the windshield was more serious than I thought. Randall Fehr in Seattle had a new one with a small scratch for $150. OK, off to a good start, though picking it up in person cost me a fair bit in addition to the purchase price. New tires. An anticipated expense. Still OK. Four new Spax shocks and new front springs from RD Ent.. Now the $$ are adding up but shocks and springs can hardly be considered a surprise for a car that's sat since 1977. The BC provincial inspection uncovered a loose steering wheel, poorly fitting hood (that was considered a problem because of the design of our windshield defrosting system), play in the half shafts, and a starter with its 12v battery lead/connection dangerously close to the frame. I also had to scrape out wet carpet and repair seized seat runners. The cable for the heater (controlling that hot water valve) also needed resetting.
It's Jan. 18, 2019. I've owned her for two months and covered about 20 kilometres total. But, this is not a sob story. The steering wheel was just a loose nut and the locking mechanisms on the hood and truck just needed tightening. Shims, new hardened spacers, and some machining on the slightly damaged hubs have the half-shafts/rear wheels turning smoothly (luckily no differential/transaxle problems). I've now ordered a new fancy starter from RD Ent (the one on my car must have been replaced at some point with an incorrect large diameter starter from the Renault 16). Of course I added several nice but unnecessary extras to my 2nd RD Ent order including stabilizer bar bushings, motor mounts, gear shift linkage rubber washers, and a fuel pump (just to have as a back-up). I am probably (certainly) over $20,000 CDN by now. But, very soon I will be driving what I hope will be an amazing car. Thrilled to join you all in this 'hobby' and I can't wait to convoy with the other Van Isle Europas!
Cheers,
John Taylor
