Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Garage => Topic started by: Gary_t on Monday,March 22, 2021, 09:18:17 AM
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Hi all,
I have Europa TCS 3154R, up in Saskatchewan, Canada. Back when I was doing the restoration, I was a regular on the yahoo group. When I 'finished' (we all know they're never really finished), I kinda dropped off, and then the yahoo group went away. In the meantime, I took up Formula Ford/Continental racing, and didn't drive the Europa as much as I should. I just recently found this forum, so here I am again.
My car has a Cosworth BDD (still in full Formula Atlantic spec), NG3 (recently damaged), Elise Motorsport wheels, flares, full cage, Banks twin-link copy, and lots of other work. Unfortunately, it's both a poor race car, and a poor street car, but it sounds pretty epic.
Gary
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Hi Gary,
:Welcome:
your car looks pretty epic too!
Mark
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:Welcome: Gary-t
Western Canada seems to be a hotbed of Europa owners!
Tom
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:Welcome: Gary_t!!!
Your car looks great! We should compare notes. My car has a BDA built by Dave Bean back in '80, Banks twin link, rear disc, front vented discs, adjustable front A-arms, and NG3 tranny. My BDA is a warm street motor so it works great on the street.
I look forward to more pictures and stories about your car!
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:Welcome:
Greetings from 2 provinces east. Love the paint job!
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:Welcome:
Looks good with those Mk1 Elise Sport 160 wheels on.
Any more pics?!
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Just so you know, the yahoo group just moved to another platform. https://groups.io/g/LotusEuropa/messages. It is still going.
Welcome to this forum though.
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:Welcome:
Gary.
I love the emerald green and the sunroof. Hope you get your NG3 sorted out soon.
Dakazman
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Hello Gary T from Gary T I'm in high river (long time Saskatoon)
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:Welcome: I love the Elise wheels. Would they fit on a TCS that didn't have flares?
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:Welcome: I love the Elise wheels. Would they fit on a TCS that didn't have flares?
Mk1 Elise wheels have a PCD of 4 x 95.25. There are a variety of different designs to choose from but worth considering that Mk1 Elises had 15” Fronts and 16” Rears, the Mk1 Exige had 16” Fronts and 17” Rears (same PCD) - rear wheels are generally wider than the fronts too. Offsets varied across a range but most are low, around et10.
Mk2 Elise wheels have a PCD of 4 x 100.
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Sorry, not a chance - they just about rub with the flares. Best part of those wheels is that they bolt on, same bolt pattern. 15x6 front, 16x7 rear (as I recall).
My BDD was built by Nicholson-McLaren in (or around) '80 for Colin Tuckey when he was FA racing his (1 of 1) Magnum FA. A friend bought the car, I bought the spare engine. Supposedly had done qualifying laps at Long Beach (not that I can prove much/any of this!). I actually haven't opened it up - was younger/dumber when I installed it. Build sheet from NM says 'at least 220HP at 9800 RPM'. Doesn't feel like that to be honest.
The green is actually 'Lotus New Green' (IIRC) from late 2000's. Great colour, a friend (now in BC) painted it for me. Sunroof, car had one when I bought it - a story in itself - body separate from frame, and 7 big rubber-maid tubs of everything else. I should have glassed over it in the extensive rebuild, but see above (younger/dumber).
It's funny how many Europas are actually around - when I have it out, there is always someone who knows of another (usually in a garage, not driven).
Thanks for the tip on the yahoo group. Folks there saved me piles of headaches over the years.
My NG3 was ran low on oil (yes, British car, when it stopped leaking, I should have known it was low, not that I fixed the leak). Damaged the ring/pinion and the primary shaft. I have a line on another in Lockport, New York, but the guy doesn't want to ship to Canada. Normally, I'd ship to Montana, drive down, and bring it in myself... but, not really an option at the moment.
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Also - Gary T - sorry, wasn't trying to nick your nick! What are the chances of 2 Gary T's, both into Europas, both from Western Canada, etc??
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I hope that we are destined to meet. I hope to have my S2 on the road this spring.
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Welcome to the forum, Gary. Wicked looking Europa. Love the colour. Cheers :beerchug:
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Nice car! What did you use for windshield molding?
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I had the glass installer guy come over, look at the car, and he picked out a molding. The windshield is bonded in place, and the molding is from a late 80's (I think) AstroVan, or some such. It was years ago, so I don't really recall details, sorry.
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Gary,
Where did your wheels and what size and offset are they?
Tom
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Gary,
Where did your wheels and what size and offset are they?
Tom
Mk1 Elise Sport 160
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Yeah, those! Thanks - I did not have all of that info to hand.
A friend brought them over from the UK years ago when he had a Europa project. When his stalled, I bought them for my (slightly less stalled) project.
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Gary,
Is that what you used - 15" on the front and 16" on the rear with a 10 mm offset?
Tom
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Are there any Elise S1 15" rims (5 1/2 to 6 inches) that would fit on a TCS stock without flares?
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Are there any Elise S1 15" rims (5 1/2 to 6 inches) that would fit on a TCS stock without flares?
You would have to use front wheels all around for them to be 15”.
A list of Mk1 Elise wheels showing specs for most of them can be found here;
https://wiki.seloc.org/a/S1_Wheel_Options#Lotus_Victory_.28Sport160.29
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Yes, those Sport 160 wheels are what I have. I have not measured the offset on mine, I assume that is what they would be too.
I would be really surprised if any of them would work without flares. The fronts rub if I turn too tight, and are quite tight to the flares as is.
However, looks like I was wrong:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1969-lotus-europa-4/ (https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1969-lotus-europa-4/) This has 15" wheels with 185/55R15 tires, no obvious flares.
I don't know that this means the Sport 160 wheels will work however, 1/2" wider, possibly different offset, etc. I have custom front hubs we CNC milled (mostly cause we could), so I'm not entirely sure how much my hub face moved, relative to a stock setup.
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:Welcome: I am from Abbotsford, BC. There are a lot of Europa owners out here in the Lotus Club of BC. Some on the road and some sitting in garages and gardens. It is great to see another car out there.
I love the styling by the way. I have an S2 that I would love to do like that. I will have to have a look at Elise wheels in the future. I hope you find your transaxle parts. I have just ordered all the rebuild parts for my original 5 speed in my Europa special and I had to buy from 3 places to get a full set of bearings gaskets and synchros. Meca parts in France has the most parts by far. The Renault shop in Germany had a reasonable selection and Dave Bean had some of the seals and gaskets.
Alpine America is another good place for parts but I emailed Michel and he isn't back in Canada until May...
Cheers,
Ross
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:Welcome: from British Columbia
Great looking Europa. Every time I see a build like this I want to dive into mine and make a monster.