Hollie, the little Europa has broken all records, now being the vehicle that has been towed more times, has left me stranded more frequently, and has cost the most repairs in the shortest time. I ascribe this to the reality that though it looks restored, it was not restored. It was freshened up cosmetically and anything that needed repair was seen to (except the courtesy light, the brake fail light, a switch that isn’t hooked up, the radiator fan, and a pivot bushing and the main earth connection to the chassis. oh, and the dash board. In this case, it’s literally a dash board) and apparently it has every bearing assembly that it left the factory with. The last time it broke, it came home on the back of a big truck and it has sat unusable in the garage ever since.

So I have to get to it and reclaim my investment. I have to pull it apart and have a look at that clutch and at the very least replace the throw out bearing (or is it the ‘clutch release’ bearing) and whatever else has come undone. Today I still don’t want to go there. At heart, I’m no mechanic. But I don’t know another course of action than to do the work. I certainly don’t have the means to take it somewhere where I absolutely trust that it would be properly remedied.

Maybe the repair costs will be offset somewhat by the calendar sales, which have picked up considerably since I added a photo calendar to go with the cartoon one. Photo calendars are outselling the cartoons 19 to 1.

http://www.lulu.com/shop/dennis-fenimore/2017-lotus-europa-cars/calendar/product-22967878.html

Here is the patient, snapped from atop her roomie, Bwana the Series Land Rover in the operating room.