91
FS/WTB: Europa Parts and Stuff / Re: WTB: S1/S2 Kangol Seatbelts
« Last post by richyb66 on Thursday,May 08, 2025, 01:36:04 PM »Nice. I bet they're not cheap.
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This Community became 12 years old in April 2024.
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92
Garage / Re: Rear Adjustable Lower Links
« Last post by My S1 on Thursday,May 08, 2025, 01:27:09 PM »Thank you Benjy. I've seen that video before. He is using the factory CL to CL then adding a few mm more and a few mm less for adjustments in and out. I will not go further in than the factory -3 degrees...I'm going out to zero degrees or at the most -1 degree.
What I'm hoping is that someone can tell me what the MINIMUM distance CL to CL of the joints is when the camber is dialled all the way out to zero degrees and the links are cranked all the way in towards the center of car.
What I'm hoping is that someone can tell me what the MINIMUM distance CL to CL of the joints is when the camber is dialled all the way out to zero degrees and the links are cranked all the way in towards the center of car.
93
FS/WTB: Europa Parts and Stuff / Re: WTB: S1/S2 Kangol Seatbelts
« Last post by Nockenwelle on Thursday,May 08, 2025, 12:59:15 PM »I've found a NOS set on Ebay UK so it may be worth to have a look over there.
94
Garage / Re: Brakes - Pagid pads or four-pot set-up?
« Last post by Footer on Thursday,May 08, 2025, 12:38:28 PM »Very nicely done Benjy, I'm particularly fond of the mirrors and the look of the single windshield wiper.
I also yearned for a Europa for 40+ years and decided the wait was worth it. As you state, the driving experience compares to nothing else.
Enjoy!
I also yearned for a Europa for 40+ years and decided the wait was worth it. As you state, the driving experience compares to nothing else.
Enjoy!
95
Garage / Re: Rear Adjustable Lower Links
« Last post by Benjy on Thursday,May 08, 2025, 11:51:51 AM »96
Garage / Re: Rear Adjustable Lower Links
« Last post by My S1 on Thursday,May 08, 2025, 09:24:40 AM »Thank you BDA. Yes, I will build my own. I have some 1" O.D. 4130 left over from building trailing links and sway bar drop links on my home made car. I got all of my parts from Chassis Shop https://chassisshop.com/ and highly recommend them. I just need to know the final CL to CL dimension when the arms are cranked in to zero degrees camber so that I can draw up the arms based on Chassis Shop bits.
97
Garage / Re: The Europa is an extraordinary car
« Last post by SwiftDB4 on Thursday,May 08, 2025, 09:01:07 AM »What a beautiful paint job and attention to detail!
98
Garage / Re: The Europa is an extraordinary car
« Last post by Bainford on Thursday,May 08, 2025, 08:55:21 AM »A few things:
First; congrats on your successful first drives, and welcome to the club of the enlightened.
Second; at 250 kms in I thought I was getting 'it' too, and I was starting to, but a couple years on I realised I was still discovering subtleties of the brilliance that is the Lotus Europa with every long road-trip I undertook.
Third; I can assure you, the grinning doesn't stop. After 15 years and 25,000 miles, my Europa will still paste a grin on my face every time I drive it.
Also, regarding a comment in your second post; I don't get all the fuss over rear visibility either. I find the Europa is actually quite good in this regard. I drove a '69 Mustang for many years and that car had blind spots. The Europa is a breeze by comparison.
First; congrats on your successful first drives, and welcome to the club of the enlightened.
Second; at 250 kms in I thought I was getting 'it' too, and I was starting to, but a couple years on I realised I was still discovering subtleties of the brilliance that is the Lotus Europa with every long road-trip I undertook.
Third; I can assure you, the grinning doesn't stop. After 15 years and 25,000 miles, my Europa will still paste a grin on my face every time I drive it.
Also, regarding a comment in your second post; I don't get all the fuss over rear visibility either. I find the Europa is actually quite good in this regard. I drove a '69 Mustang for many years and that car had blind spots. The Europa is a breeze by comparison.
99
Garage / Re: Rear Adjustable Lower Links
« Last post by BDA on Thursday,May 08, 2025, 08:44:07 AM »My rear suspension is different from the stock so measuring my lower links wouldn't necessarily help you.
If I understand the drawing (and I'm at a disadvantage because I don't have access to the text that goes along with it), the author is adjusting his camber by changing the length of the half shaft. That's a very strange thing to do. Changing the length of the half shaft is a lot more complicated and expensive than changing the length of the lower link.
So you probably want adjustable lower links. You can buy them (I think r.d. has them? Dave Bean?) but they are pretty simple to make. You can buy the threaded ends and rod ends (eg. https://www.ebay.com/itm/236088625436) have someone cut the ends off your lower links and weld the ends such that the rod ends will allow you to make the link longer and shorter than the original length (a right hand threaded end on one end and a left hand threaded end on the other). Since the ball in the rod end is narrower than the mount where the lower link attaches to the tranny, you'll need to fill up that area with some spacers. This sounds more complicated than it really is.
This drawing seems to imply that it is building the links from scratch (http://lotus-europa.com/manuals/misc/suspension/Rear%20Link.pdf). He doesn't mention the spacers I mentioned above but does include spacers for the outboard end of the link which is a very good idea. I would use steel for those rather than aluminum. You can also buy misalignment spacers (e.g. https://www.ebay.com/itm/330840156157). They are aluminum but they are thicker than the spacers he suggested. Lastly, the length of the threaded ends can affect the length of the tube you'll use for the link. His end is shorter than the end in the ebay kit mentioned above so the length of the tube might have to be shorter. I do not know if his dimensions are accurate for an S1.
As for having exposed threads, you will want some room for adjustment in both directions. If your link was long enough so that you had more negative camber than you wanted, you wouldn't be able to adjust to the way you want.
If I understand the drawing (and I'm at a disadvantage because I don't have access to the text that goes along with it), the author is adjusting his camber by changing the length of the half shaft. That's a very strange thing to do. Changing the length of the half shaft is a lot more complicated and expensive than changing the length of the lower link.
So you probably want adjustable lower links. You can buy them (I think r.d. has them? Dave Bean?) but they are pretty simple to make. You can buy the threaded ends and rod ends (eg. https://www.ebay.com/itm/236088625436) have someone cut the ends off your lower links and weld the ends such that the rod ends will allow you to make the link longer and shorter than the original length (a right hand threaded end on one end and a left hand threaded end on the other). Since the ball in the rod end is narrower than the mount where the lower link attaches to the tranny, you'll need to fill up that area with some spacers. This sounds more complicated than it really is.
This drawing seems to imply that it is building the links from scratch (http://lotus-europa.com/manuals/misc/suspension/Rear%20Link.pdf). He doesn't mention the spacers I mentioned above but does include spacers for the outboard end of the link which is a very good idea. I would use steel for those rather than aluminum. You can also buy misalignment spacers (e.g. https://www.ebay.com/itm/330840156157). They are aluminum but they are thicker than the spacers he suggested. Lastly, the length of the threaded ends can affect the length of the tube you'll use for the link. His end is shorter than the end in the ebay kit mentioned above so the length of the tube might have to be shorter. I do not know if his dimensions are accurate for an S1.
As for having exposed threads, you will want some room for adjustment in both directions. If your link was long enough so that you had more negative camber than you wanted, you wouldn't be able to adjust to the way you want.
100
Garage / Re: Brakes - Pagid pads or four-pot set-up?
« Last post by Bainford on Thursday,May 08, 2025, 08:30:53 AM »Bainford, what is wrong with floating calipers? A tendency to jam, or some such?It's all about braking precision, really. The precise, even, and repeatable application of braking force to each side of a disc, and to each end of the axel is best achieved by opposed pistons squeezing pads from a fixed caliper. A fixed caliper is a (relatively) precise device, that also operates free from environmental factors. Very important in threshold braking and in wet-weather driving.
Floating calipers rarely provide the even brake-force distribution that is desired in performance driving due to binding and flexibility in the slides and mounting arrangement, and their operation is effected by environmental factors such as dirt, moisture, and rust. This can be seen in the uneven pad and disc wear in our daily drivers. Whenever I overhaul the brakes on my DD, I always dress and lubricate the slides and still incur uneven pad and disc wear. Floaters are fine for the OEMs due to having fewer potential leak points reducing maintenance issues, and most importantly, are much cheaper to manufacture.
That is a rough summary, there is much more to be said about it, but it is worth noting that there is no such thing as a proper race car with floating calipers.