Logos and Placards

[katanaman]

  Hi!  I brought this up before, but today I am volunteering at the local museum and coworkers here felt I should try to dig deeper...  (Bainford, I know you're reading this...)  My S-2 has existed through several owners and several decades, so I really don't know how it was delivered.  I do know that the S-2 logo on the r.h. wing is gone -- I kind of like having no logo there as I prefer the body's lines there...  But... the nose logo is yellow and green, and the shift knob has a pewter looking shift pattern about 5/8" in diameter only, the horn button on the steering wheel is black and silver, and the logo on one of the seatbelt clasps is black and silver.  Does anyone keep track of the themes that Lotus tried to apply (supply bins notwithstanding) during a production run, or is this common?  I do understand that Lotus reacted to Jim Clark's death at Hockenheim with a change to black/silver for a while, though I am not sure it was a corporate wide change that effected all car production.  Who knows?  Thanks, Dan

[LeftAngle]

The story about Jim Clark's death being the reason for the "black badge" is a good one, but untrue. In the late 60s, Lotus was running red and white cars and the marketing director thought the yellow and green logo clashed, so he designed the black and silver one.  Colin Chapman rejected them and they were put on the shelf.  When stocks of the yellow and green badges ran out, production grabbed the black ones.  There was a month in 1969 that the black badges were used exclusively and the story about them being used for the anniversary of Jim Clark's death came to be.

My S2, built in January 1970, is badged exactly like yours, including the wood shift knob.  I have the S2 logo on the rh (passeger) wing, but the "World Champion" badge is on the driver's side.  Perhaps the interior black badges had been accepted by Chapman.  My seat belts are pretty much shot, so the Lotus clasp will probably be scrapped, but I've added 2 more of the black and silver type to the headrests.  With all these badges, no one should ever wonder what kind of car they're in:)

[katanaman]

  Whoa, guys!  Tonight I took an abrasive fiber pad and some Brasso to that shift knob wafer.  I thought that it was pewter.  Now that all of the grunge is off, I found that it has a black background and a gold colored raised shift pattern!  I am still thinking of treating myself to one of those wonderful $80 knobs on eBay that have the yellow and green logos, but on the other hand, reminding myself of the shift pattern -- it's different than the pattern for my MGB -- might have some advantages...
  That's another thing -- I have grown accustomed to the electric overdrive on that MGB and thought that the reduced rpms make a nicer tone to listen to...  Could be that that Mazda rotary will produce a nice music I might want to hear in the higher rpms.  Maybe you can help me decide the next issue -- that of a stereo.
  The MGB and other LBCs of that era had 2 speakers that are mounted far forward on the door panels, at knee height.  I know that I am rarely willing to have the volume high enough to hear the music clearly enough -- it seems that it is either too quiet (distant, maybe) or too loud.  I know that as I dig into the body -- the "firewall", I might find that it needs to be redone.  And this should affect how much cacaphony emminates from the engine.  Are those of you who have Europas that run happy with that speaker arrangement?  Got any different take on speaker placement?  Rather just listen to the engine tones?                           Thanks, Dan

[LeftAngle]

I rarely listen to the speakers anymore in any of my vehicles.  I prefer an iPod with earbuds... They cut out most of the background noise and have much better sound.  Another interesting phenomena is, when you exit the vehicle, the music keeps on going:)  My Lotus never had a radio and the speakers had been removed years before I got it... Now, I'm trying to come up with some way to cover the holes without making them look like they've been "covered". 

I threw my shift knob into a box of old parts and replaced it with a new, longer, black & red one.  After reading what you did, I'm going to dig it up and re-mount it.  Sounds good.  Hope I have as much luck as you bringing it back.

[EuropaTC]

Hi Dan

Trust me Dan, having the shift pattern on the gearknob is no help at all, these cars have a mind of their own where gear changing is concerned 

I'm not sure what these $80 ones are that you've seen, but it is very easy to convert your original one to those with a lotus badge/logo on them like the ones in the Elan. I changed mine several years ago for very little money.  The diameter of the shift pattern insert is exactly the same as the official Lotus lapel pin badges which you can generally pick up for around £5 - say $10 ? All you need to do is to carefully remove the shift logo, it's very thin and easily comes out, and then replace with a lapel badge. I think I ended up drilling the insert hole a touch deeper and then gluing it into place but I can't remember the exact details.

The image below shows a typical lapel pin badge plus the converted one in my car.

Music - mine has door mounted speakers as you describe and they work well. I'm not a fan of thumping bass or letting everyone else hear what's on my player, but I think you'll find the Europa is much more civilised than you're expecting. Having the engine behind you is one part of it, but the panel gaps and aerodynamics are much better than on the typical MGB so there's not a lot of exterior noise going on.  I've no idea what a mazda engine will add to that mix, but I think you'll find it quiet until you are really pressing on.

Brian

[LeftAngle]

Thank you Brian.  I dug out the old knob and went over it like Dan said, but it looks like the PO may have worn a ring that made the edges look like those on a quarter.

The details of a logo so small will probably prevent me from making a decent copy, but if I'm successful in printing one, I can print two as easily.  I'd be pleased to send Dan one.  The good thing is, they could be white, green & yellow or Black and silver or any other colors that match his car.

[Bainford]

  the nose logo is yellow and green, and the shift knob has a pewter looking shift pattern about 5/8" in diameter only, the horn button on the steering wheel is black and silver, and the logo on one of the seatbelt clasps is black and silver. 

This is exactly how my 74 Twin Cam is badged, except the seat belt buckles have generic orange buttons that say 'press'.

As for the speakers, my car is still fitted with its original AM/FM 8 track deck and speakers. It sounds about as good as you imagine it would. I know this because when I bought the car almost three years ago, I turned it on to see if it works. I think my girlfriend turned it on during a drive once also, but aside from that it's never used. I love listening to music when I drive, but I've put 10,000 miles on my Europa now and have never listened to the stereo whilst driving it. So much so that when I replace the wood on my dash (an upcoming project) I'm considering not including a facility to fit a radio. The Twin Cam plays all the music I need when cruising in the Europa.