About this time of the month three years ago I was in a recently rain drenched driveway negotiating my over payment for a very rare automobile.

The seller had an enormous convertible car in a garage and the reason he gave for this sale was to get the funds to put a top on that leviathan. If he were looking for reasons he might want to part company with the little sports car,  it’s possible there might have been others.

I could name them.

By the time I realized how far gone the car really was, I was deeply invested. As it had for a very long time before it fell into my care, the car sat untouched but this time it was indoors away from the ravages of our unkind weather patterns.

Bit by bit I came up to speed about what I’d done. The Marque was Lotus, the brainchild and creation of one Colin Chapman of England. While I read of the glories and the deficiencies attributed to his creations and specifically to mine, a Europa, I found myself going in the exact opposite direction that reason should have dictated I go.  It became clear that the early Lotus cars were exactly the type that suit my temperament except for their potentially needy maintenance. As usual, I’d picked a car that doesn’t qualify as a money investment. But it has stunning good looks, is frugal on gas, handles like a dream, and is uncommon. I like that Lotus cars were unlike any other. This was part because of Colin Chapman’s automotive genius, and part because they aren’t trying to be anything. No posers. They actually are what they were designed to be. I like the authenticity. Loti were not ever the result of wannabe mentality.

This one was the confluence of desire and practicality. As I understand it, the push by Mr. Ford to soundly beat Ferrari after their offense to him following Ford’s effort to buy the company got the ball rolling for this design. Sketches were drawn for it in 1966. Ford wanted Ford to beat Ferrari and Chapman, if his creation were to be the source of that victory, wanted the Lotus name on the machine. Lola got the contract and the GT 40 resulted.

Comparatively diminutive, the Europa was born of that effort. Shortly thereafter came a slew of mid engine sporting cars, but in the world of cars produced for street users, this one came out first. Given all their attributes, it’s still top on my list. The Miura is more beautiful. The 914 had better initial build quality (I would drive one again!), the X1/9 had a quieter interior. Any of them would be good to have. But my good fortune is that of the 9300 or so ever built, one of them – VIN number 952R – is mine  and I aim to bring it back to it’s glory.

I dreaded the time I knew it would take to rejuvenate the lass and so I stayed away from the project as long as I dared. Now, the part of that rejuvination that I dreaded the most is finally behind me. No longer does it seem just theoretical to believe that she will be roadworthy and beautifu. Still,  it’s a long road.

What was wrong with it? I know there were wiring issues, but I haven’t gotten that far. The seats were rusted out and the rails were gone along with the seat base and upholstery. The dash was warped and the veneer was shot. The gauges were beset by corrosion. The windshield was detached, delaminated, broken, chipped, scratched, and unuseable. The locks were shot. The hinges were frozen and had to be cut out and tossed. The heater box was rusted apart and unusable. The radiator looked like it would leak like crazy and was distorted and had to be replaced.

I pulled the body and examined it and found that it’s primer clad fiberglass was beset with poor repairs, cracks, missing pieces, and unfortunate modifications. The headliner was gone and the cheap ‘carpet’ was tacky. The rear view mirror was broken off, having fallen with a chunk of windscreen still attached. The back light (window) was out of the car. The interior light was missing The front turn signals were cracked and the metal around and behind the headlights was pitiful after the ravages of rust. The tail lights had been modified and not correctly. The license plate light was missing entirely. The hood hinges were broken. The gas tank was leaky and will be discarded.

I put all that aside after rejuvenating the seats and dash.  The real action was in the chassis. Finally, this summer I devoted my spare time to that. The tires are 15-40 years old and two studs and 4 lug nuts were missing. All the bushings and any other thing with rubber were utterly wasted. Front ball joints and  one trunnion, one upright, all bearings, one hub, both bellows on the steering rack, the rack mounts, all four shock absorbers and springs, both front spindles, all the bolts, one anti roll bar drop link, and every bushing had to be replaced with new. Trunnions were rebuilt. all lower wishbones required welding, and on one side that includes the lower shock mounts which had broken free. The upright and it’s trunnion that I saved had to be rejuvenated completely. This because of nature and neglected lubrication. The trunnions appeared never to have been oiled and in fact, one of them had it’s  access bolt ground flattened with a grinder for reasons unknown. The a-arms and wishbones were candidates for straightening. The T-section cracks in the usual places needed welded up and then fortified. That required that I install a 220 volt outlet and buy a welder. I opened up the bottom of the t-section and welded it where the factory ought to have then I welded back in the plate I had removed to get at that seam. See that in the photos below.

I pulled the motor, cleaned it up, and replaced the water pump with new. I repaired the broken manifold stud and replaced a bad one. I gave the exterior of the motor and transaxle a meticulous cleaning and polished their alloy cases. Cleaned and painted the rocker arm cover also. The pulley’s were very ugly with the effect of weather so I stripped them down and treated the rust then by degrees built them back up to a nicer painted surface. The distributor, alternator, fuel pump, and associated hardware had to be sanded and painted. One motor mount and the rear transmission mount were toast and all were replaced with new. The trailing arms were rusty and broken. I stripped, de-rusted, repaired, and painted them. The rusty dented drive lines needed paint and all the universal joints were shot. Replacing the u-joints was a seriously involved project both in removing them and installing them. The rear uprights were heavily oxidized alloy units but cleaned up well and were painted. All the spacers in the vicinity of the bearings were replaced with new ones that were the correct design and right dimensions. All bearings were replaced with new. The rear shocks were replaced with a set gifted to me. The lower links were not original to the car and were no longer fit for use. I made new ones, but when I installed them I also used the correct spacers unlike those that came with the vehicle. The new ones are swaged tubes with new heim joints. The bracket to which they mount was an ugly mess and I removed it and completely renewed it. Both rear hub nuts, their associated d-washers, and one of the front grease caps had to be replaced with new. The reason I had to replace the front left hub was that for reasons unknown the inner bearing receiver was too large and the bearing could never be properly seated.

The chassis frame was sounder than I’d thought but still had to be welded in several places before being derusted, cleaned, primed, then painted. With the motor out of it’s place, I withdrew the long water pipes and renewed those then put them back but with new rubber grommets. I installed a very nice grounding bus bar front and rear, joined by either a 4 or 6 gauge wire. The trailing arm mounts were renewed and the bolts replaced with grade 8. All hoses were replaced, since they were shot. The swirl pot was de-rusted, cleaned, primed, and is being painted. But I may not use it. I fear that a big junk of paint will break loose. It should be replaced.  I had two new gas tanks made for it and got a new sending unit. I ordered a new windscreen and window seals from Banks Garage in England. The dash has been renewed with new veneer. The heater box is fixed and painted. Thank goodness for new metal.

All missing or damaged wheel studs are now fixed. I am currently reinstalling the shift linkage and planning the brake system. All lines were in bad enough shape that I removed them. The shifter was in sad shape but now is ready for installation in the chassis. The motor is in the chassis, cradled by new mounts and repainted.

I had not done most of the operations this car required of me. Never pressed out a bushing. Never replaced a U-Joint or a spindle. Never rebuilt a trunnion or replaced ball joints or weld repaired suspension or frame parts. I’ve certainly never taken a car completely apart before.

The rejuvenation is well under way!