Lotus Europa Forums > Garage

Deep question: Are project Europas more sought-after than restored Europas?

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berni29:
Hi

I think if you are going to sell then make sure it goes and stops reasonably well, then leave it at that. Be very careful on old tyres, especially on test drives. Maybe changing the tyres for forum favourites would be a good idea,

All the best

Berni

FourLoti:
Thanks to everyone for the great input - and the time spent on it! I needed an informed sounding board and got more than I could have hoped for. And it's definitely helped sort out what I plan to do, and that's to err on the side of originality. I'm not really trying to max out the sales price, just didn't want to end up trying to explain why some things are fixed and others are not. In all my other many projects, I didn't sell until everything was perfect, even if it meant replacement parts and some non-originality. So this is new territory for me.

That said, it came back to me that as I was going over my "max" bidding limit for this sight unseen, long-abandoned gamble of a car, I remember saying to myself, "No, I should pass and wait for the next totally unmolested, documented ownership, semi-rare color, TCS 5-Speed with nice interior, reasonable paint, and all within reasonable driving and towing distance." Wait, What?

As it stands right now, all of those positive attributes (except for maybe towing distance) still apply, with the great added benefit of having almost none of the risk factors I faced. I've been extremely lucky with this one. The compression is excellent, oil pressure is very good, starts instantly, runs very strongly, doesn't smoke, and has five reachable gears, plus reverse. I tracked down and am still in contact with the two main prior owners going back to early 1984, (both car guy/collectors), and have a name and prior address for the last owner before them. And if it turns out to be legible, I've attached a list of what I added to the story. In short, there is now not a gauge, lamp, switch, window, lock cylinder, blower, regulator, stabilizer, etc. that doesn't work properly, the brakes have been thoroughly gone through and work very well, even with the OE M/C and bypassed boosters. I've been on 30 mile test drives in 75 degree weather with some stop and go, and, even with the seeping radiator, it did not overheat, thanks to the Otter switch and fan working exactly as intended.

So, I'm not going to do much more (maybe the shaft seals since that's mostly labor) and not worry about alienating that segment of potential buyers who expect to buy a Europa that does not come with a to do list. (If such a thing exists :)

I'll keep you all up to date.

Thanks again!

Ron

EDIT: In the attachment column labeled "Retained". I meant not discarded, not necessarily still on the car. Although for fun I've left the original wires on the engine because I like the looks and they work just as well as the new NGK wires I bought and that will come with the car.

Clifton:
Restored doesn't mean fully sorted but still better than a project. I've sold cars with issues that I didn't want to fix and was up front with the issues and the price reflected it. The mark down was worth not fixing for me. Iv'e sold good cars for top dollar with no issues too. I would rather eat a few bucks and let the buyer know.

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