Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Classifieds Forums => FS/WTB: Europa Parts and Stuff => Topic started by: kram350kram on Friday,February 10, 2023, 07:28:17 PM
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WTB center console upholstery, not the armrest but upholstery from the dash to end of the console.
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The console was not upholstered originally. When you see that, it was done for/by the owner.
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I have seen a number of very late cars with what seems factory original upholstered consul.
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Thought someone might have a used piece?
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I've a November 73 built Special. It has an upholstered centre console. It matches the door cards and seats (though back and base cushion are some sort of velour?). It also has the matching map pocket between the seats and the factory engine cover lift kit..
I've only had it since 2019 so can't guarantee these are original but they seem to be.
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My 73 TCS had original upholstered center console and map pocket. I’ve had it since 1989. I think all TCS and maybe TC had them upholstered. But we’ll get a better answer soon.
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If someone can advise how to attach an image, I have an ORIGINAL UNALTERED 1973 TCS that shows it is upholstered
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Covering the console is a very common addition that owners do but now you all have me questioning my memory.
I used to hang around the Lotus distributor in New Orleans in the middle seventies (I bought my car in ‘75). It’s possible that the ‘74 1/2 Europas, the ones with the champagne interior and seats with cloth inserts, gas struts for the engine cover, and the map pocket MIGHT have had upholstered consoles but I don’t think so. My memory was that they were the same black vinyl consoles all the other TCs had.
Adding a map pocket, gas struts, or even seats with cloth inserts would be fairly straightforward I would think but I think upholstering the console cover would be fairly labor intensive, especially since the area around the gear shift doesn’t lend itself to being covered. Many that are covered have an extra upholstered piece that fits that area to cover how the upholstery cannot follow the contours of the console there very well.
I could be wrong but I don’t think so. The issue can be resolved by emailing Andy Graham at Lotus.
Bud, please attach a picture of your console. Below the message box it says “Attachments and other options.” Click on that. It will display a button to “Choose a file.” Click that to choose the file. Be forewarned that if your picture has too high a resolution, you’ll have to reduce that. One way of doing that is here: http://www.lotuseuropa.org/LotusForum/index.php?topic=1379.0
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There is a picture of mine here
http://www.lotuseuropa.org/LotusForum/index.php?topic=3253.msg33085#msg33085 (http://www.lotuseuropa.org/LotusForum/index.php?topic=3253.msg33085#msg33085)
Edited link
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I could be mistaken about this.
I looked at some old Europa books I have that were published around the time Europas were in production and I found these two pictures in the book, "The Lotus Elan and Europa" by John Bolster. It was published in 1980 so I will accept that the pictures are almost certainly production cars. The possibility that someone would dress up a car that is not much more than eight years old is possible but not that likely.
The top picture is how I remember the later cars with the champagne interior looked. The upholstered items (the seats, door cards, and elbow pad) are all champagne colored the console is black. The bottom picture shows a '72 (because of the idiot lights, in '73 they went with more and rectangular ones) with an upholstered console. As I say, it's possible that the owner had his console upholstered but given the age of the car, I'd admit that it is not that likely.
While I'm not entirely ready to throw my memory under the bus (that's already happened to it so many times already, it's very sad!), I will gladly do so if the fact that the factory upholstered the consoles is authenticated. I've emailed Andy Graham to see if he can clarify the situation. I'll post his reply.
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The bottom picture looks like my 73 special - remember UK RHD cars kept with the non US dash to the end.
It even looks like it has a cigarette lighter to the left of the radio, like mine does. The top shot shows the blanking plate more normally fitted in this location.
I also have a picture in "Old Motor" from 1981, that shows "the Luxurious interior of a late, five speed Special" also champagne, with matching trimmed centre console. It also looks to have a cigarette lighter and the map pocket - if it's the same car that is on the cover.
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The top pic appears to have window switches with the chrome trim surround.
I thought those were only on the S2's?
Also, no switch labels on the top pic?
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Here is a 1974 sales brochure for the Europa,
https://www.veikl.com/d/Lotus-Europa-Special-Twin-Cam-Brochure-1974-EN-45165/2
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SilverBeast, does yours have an actual cigarette lighter? i think what is actually in the picture at the bottom is a switch but a slightly different style. The top picture has a similar style switch to the right of the radio for headlights, I imagine. I didn't notice the blanking plate. I've never seen that before. Maybe the owner deleted the rheostat.
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It has a cigarette lighter. I've mentioned it before (not sure where, I also use the groups.io and Lotus Europa and Lotus Europas Facebook pages) and some people were quite adament a cigarette lighter was never fitted as standard. It isn't shown on any of the wiring diagrams I have seen, but the knob matches the style of the wiper switch and the Federal light and dimmer switches as far as I can tell. The lighter itself seems to be the similar to those as fitted to elan/cortina from using a mirror and Google!
The one on the right is for wipers, it is three position and rotates (off, slow, fast) and push to pump screen wash.
I believe US cars have a dimmer for dash lights, UK cars have a rocker switch (top left above fan switch) to turn on/off the auxilliary instrument lights (I think the speedo/rev counter stay on).
Head lights are a three position rocker (off/side/headlights,plus the stalk for dip/full beam) just above wiper switch.
The final rocker switch far left next to cigarette lighter is two position on/off for single speed cabin fan.
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The S1 came with a cigarette lighter. None of the later ones did as far as I know. As everyone dipped into the same parts supply bin, the fact knobs match means little. Cars photographed for brochures are often preproduction versions and may not have the correct final specification. Press cars were specially prepped and may include extras -- D Jenkins' test S2 had twin tanks with manual valves to control them, for example. This kind of skullduggery was the normal state of affairs for the UK press. Tests from other countries will be more representative as examples would have been drawn from the distributors stock and they would not have the same resources and capabilities as the factory. This is one reason why British cars were always slower in other country's press reports.
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The one on the right is for wipers, it is three position and rotates (off, slow, fast) and push to pump screen wash.
That sounds better than what I have. My wipers have three speeds too but they are: off, really slow, and slow! :)
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The one on the right is for wipers, it is three position and rotates (off, slow, fast) and push to pump screen wash.
That sounds better than what I have. My wipers have three speeds too but they are: off, really slow, and slow! :)
It's all relative, obviously I've never used them as it never rains in Yorkshire! ....or is it because i still need to sort out the clutch?
My screen washer also takes a while to recover between pushes too.
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WTB center console upholstery, not the armrest but upholstery from the dash to end of the console.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/354546521724?hash=item528c9e967c:g:YtgAAOSw~bFWQIVg&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAABAG7tpZDYIWPleSIfwgebpc47H%2B%2BNlWqEyGCZd7sn4Hz0giWrsG7xyfcBrk5aHL9Kbh%2BCt0Bkp3oSF0k4rEE1shRnt%2BqgBlIl%2F4Pnp77c5679UNcSX9qpsH38EcHc%2BzKp2Gh1VGRW9BvKO9rJdgbWzG%2FirMuPztMq7pQ5N%2F%2BD5vZmdEPIc2CNj%2FPq4hOq%2Fi5XzrmVo%2FZ1jPP1T%2FGMJAirQUa6FCSvscXfBerlNtQiEzTClHoF38O6l%2FDEJqZbimWwpF%2FfnBWdK92g%2BwFYR6PdddRXK4RIIlvlPC6TTQM8Vfys6kuiRs4VU4O3zWwlc%2FLNh6%2F%2FoKZ6%2B0OVvObubreROfI%3D%7Ctkp%3ABFBM1JSpuMlh
Looks like what you'd want to have. NO financial interest, yadda yadda. Perhaps they can do in whatever color you desire...no idea. Not cheap, but, then is anything on these cars inexpensive.
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I heard back from Andy at Lotus.
Here is the text of the email I sent him. I also attached the two pictures of interiors that I posted earlier:
Hi Andy,
If you have a few minutes could you correct or confirm my memory? My memory is that the Europa never came with upholstered consoles and that even in the later Twin Cam Specials with the dressed up champagne interior, the seats, the door cards, and the elbow pad were upholstered in champagne but the console was left bare black vinyl as the earlier Europa Twin Cam and Twin Cam Specials were. There are some on this side of the pond suggest that some consoles were upholstered from the factory. The attached picture from a book published in 1980, "The Lotus Elan and Europa" by John Bolster seems to bolster the case for an upholstered console (lower picture). My memory of the later cars is exemplified in the upper picture. Is my memory correct?
I'll understand if you don't have time to research this, but I would really appreciate your time, if you can spare it, for this very trivial request.
Thanks!
[I should note that I didn't remember that SilverBeast is from the UK when I sent him that email! my apologies, SliverBeast!]
And this is his reply. He attached a copy of the same brochure for which MAK supplied a link earlier and a letter from the Lotus distributor to the dealers he serviced announcing the '74 1/2 model year changes (of which I've attached a screen scrape):
Dear Jim,
Unfortunately without full build records and very little reference material I cannot say for sure.
You can see the two colour variations from the Europa Special brochure attached. I know for 1974 the interior trim was revised, is the car with full oatmeal trim a 1974 car?
Regards,
I've convinced myself that my memory is accurate that the factory never upholstered the consoles for a production car. I think if it had been done, it would have been done on the later models and the dealer communication does not mention it. Also, I think promotional material released by Lotus would certainly show the car in the best and dressiest light and there doesn't seem to be any that shows an upholstered dash.
Having said all that, if anybody is convinced that their car has an upholstered console, I won't argue. First, it's not that important to me and second, there is still some room for doubt.
So that's my 2¢!
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It's definitely one of the later ones as it has the gas struts and map pocket. Build plate starts 7311, so issued around November 1973. It wasn't registered until 01/11/1974 though.
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Yours was sold rather quickly! Mine was built in June '73 and wasn't sold till I bought it in May of '75.
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Yours was sold rather quickly! Mine was built in June '73 and wasn't sold till I bought it in May of '75.
Maybe they got a headwind crossing the pond....
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:D
Maybe but I suspect that it sat out in the weather for almost two years at the distributor. New Orleans is hot and humid and it wrecked the metal flake green paint as well as some of the glue used in the interior. The distributor had several cars that he sold at a discount to finally get rid of them. My total invoice was $7050.00 including the 5-speed, taxes, etc. The suggested list would have been almost $8000 after everything was figured. The sale was widely advertised and a guy from Los Angeles flew into New Orleans to take advantage of the deal but the poor guy had something like 12 DD shoes! I guess he figured a way to drive it home (about 2000 miles)!
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My 1974 100% ORIGINAL TCS does not have a cigarette lighter
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As posted today, what is surely factory centre consul upholstered.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/385514696031
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I own 2 1974 Europa's, neither have upholstered consul's. If anyone has a source for upholstered consuls in black, I would be interested! Also looking for a windshield.
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I own 2 1974 Europa's, neither have upholstered consul's. If anyone has a source for upholstered consuls in black, I would be interested! Also looking for a windshield.
Banks has a trimmed center console
https://www.lotus-supplies.com/parts/interiors/fittings-interiors/centre-console-incl-arm-pad-trimmed-tc/
Not sure about the fit. I bought their trimmed dash pad and I had to modify it extensively.
I have several new windshields. Unfortunately I got hit with import fees so the price is kind of high, but they are genuine clear Pilkington. I will PM you a price. I'd prefer not to ship them it if at all possible.