Lotus Europa Community

In another week I will know if I am going to have the funding to buy a smallish very low hours VMC.
That is a computer driven vertical mill for anyone not familiar.
I have owned these before, I used to make a lot of firearms parts and accessories.
It is being a real stretch to make the purchase and I know from experience that tooling up will be expensive too.
Need to find some products to make that folk will actually want to buy ASAP to begin the recoup.
Not sure what those might be, looking for suggestions.
For myself I am unhappy with the available air boxes and despise plastic.
Thinking aluminum base and fiberglass cover.
The machine can carve aluminum very well, steel runs too, just slower.
Not large enough to do a dashboard and wood is not good for the machine.
Once I get back in the groove roller rockers become a possibility, if I can find raw material to work with.
A lot of things can be done as billet, so long as the material does not cost too much.
Material cost and availability are now major issues for small time guys who did not pre-order in bulk some time ago.
No fourth axis on this machine and I am not competent to program 4D anyway.
4D and even 5D could be added but the tools for that cost much more than this machine.

There are virtually no decent jobs locally, and it seems what few there are practice age discrimination.
So the goal is to build up a side income and provide items no one else are doing.
Does not have to be Lotus bits, just not interested in going toe to toe with the Ford/Chevy/China companies.
Not intending to go back to eighty hour weeks, only need to about double my income.   

 Richard,
 Nowadays I cant blame you for double.
 I have a full console and binnacle and a alternater bracket swap for a 100 amp ( SBC) chevy. One wire. That may require a shunt.
   I met two Northrup Gruman machinist down here lately, one with a complete shop. I've been staying out of TC items but soon I'll be looking for something else to do in my retired life.
 LOL , I think I completed my wife's To-Do list, but this drought is killing me. Hoping for some rain in 2 hours.
 Pics later
D'Man
 

The one to the left of the radio cutout next to the light switch is the wash wipe switch, the one to the right is probably a lighter. My RHD TCS has this layout, but flipped because of this. The lighter isnt labelled but the wash wipe is.

Let's not forget about our own Chuck Nukem. He seems to be gearing up for some interesting things too!

Hi Cheguava

I also tried to get Banks and have emailed them about the covers. They do not have a pic of the black two section seats but the oatmeal ones look like this. I have my original fairly crappy foams, I wonder how difficult it would be to copy them in a more modern seating foam?

Its great to see you tackling these issues as I will be doing many of the same tasks. I may well investigate my centre console next as well.

All the best

Berni

So older cars, which are already at a disadvantage, have to be saddled with inferior tires?! That’s lunacy!

With stuff like this and the all the politics surrounding Andretti trying to get on the F1 grid, it seems like the people who run motor sports are actively trying to ruin them.