New project 1971 Lotus Europa S2

[GSHARP]

I wanted to reach out because we have taken on an exciting project car in the form of a 1971 Series 2 Lotus Europa with the registration DDG 872J. We're eager to gather information and stories about its past.

As you can see from the photos, our Lotus Europa, is a 1971 Series 2 model and is very much a work in progress. We're thrilled to discover the tales behind this particular car.

If you have any knowledge, history, or personal experiences related to this UK / Scotland-based Europa with the registration DDG 872J, we would be thrilled to hear from you! Whether you've owned it in the past, know someone who has, or have any information about its journey on the roads of the UK, we're eager to learn.

Any details or anecdotes you can provide will help us piece together its history and make this restoration project even more meaningful.

Feel free to comment below or send me a direct message to share your insights. We greatly appreciate any information you can provide, no matter how big or small.

Please also feel free to share this post with others who might have valuable insights or experiences to contribute. The more knowledge we can gather from the Lotus community, the better equipped we'll be to undertake this project successfully.

You can follow our journey on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ddg872j

[lotus-62]

wondering about the dark blue/silver paint, my '69 s2 had the same dark blue/silver paint scene 

 

[Lotus Historic Register Ge]

I'm looking for a Lotus Europa S2 Else folding brochure.

A copy would also be very good. I would be happy,

if anyone can help.

My email is: s-herrmann@t-online.de

[GSHARP]

11 hours ago, lotus-62 said:

wondering about the dark blue/silver paint, my '69 s2 had the same dark blue/silver paint scene 

 

The paint is an conundrum, log book says it's green, front is blue / silver, back is primer. Do you have any pictures of your blue/silver car?

[NG5]

Congratulations. I was looking at that car when it was up for sale wondering if I wanted to do another restoration. I thought it looked a good basis.

Unlike elans and +2s as far as I am aware no 2 tone europa's were ever for sale from the factory, (happy to be corrected), so almost certainly a re spray. If the paint code on the body plate is green then there should still be some trace of it somewhere, unless it's been rebodied which isn't that unusual. Most common places for original paint are inside the wheel arches under the black underseal, and between the inner and outer skins infront of the rear wheel arches/ behind the front wheels. Virtually nobody bothers removing the original over spray from there. The original paint at that time was cellulose which will rub off using thinners leaving the original grey epoxy primer untouched. Thinners won't touch most later paint systems.

It's certainly had some painting done because at the front only the spare wheel well should be black (all the rough side of the fiberglass), the front luggage compartment should be body colour (all the smooth gel coated fiberglass)

Good luck, I'll be interested to see how it progresses. 

[GSHARP]

13 hours ago, NG5 said:

Congratulations. I was looking at that car when it was up for sale wondering if I wanted to do another restoration. I thought it looked a good basis.

Unlike elans and +2s as far as I am aware no 2 tone europa's were ever for sale from the factory, (happy to be corrected), so almost certainly a re spray. If the paint code on the body plate is green then there should still be some trace of it somewhere, unless it's been rebodied which isn't that unusual. Most common places for original paint are inside the wheel arches under the black underseal, and between the inner and outer skins infront of the rear wheel arches/ behind the front wheels. Virtually nobody bothers removing the original over spray from there. The original paint at that time was cellulose which will rub off using thinners leaving the original grey epoxy primer untouched. Thinners won't touch most later paint systems.

It's certainly had some painting done because at the front only the spare wheel well should be black (all the rough side of the fiberglass), the front luggage compartment should be body colour (all the smooth gel coated fiberglass)

Good luck, I'll be interested to see how it progresses. 

Thanks for your comments. Keeping this car original isn't going to be a problem 😄😆🤣. As it's 50 years old; the chassis has been replaced, the engine has been swapped and the body doesn't show any of the paint mentioned in the log book!  Despite knowing all this we've got a heritage certificate on the way to confirm the lack of originality!

The automotive archaeology we've done so far shows it's had an interesting past. It didn't come with any paperwork so I'm still interested in hearing from some former keepers to find out more stories of its previous lives.

I'll keep recording our progress on Instagram so please follow along there. 

[lotus-62]

I have but at home..... my old log book is blue/silver , now it's back to blue. as soon as I am home I will look for the old pics

 

[GSHARP]

21 hours ago, lotus-62 said:

I have but at home..... my old log book is blue/silver , now it's back to blue. as soon as I am home I will look for the old pics

 

Thanks, it would be interesting to see what the whole car looks like in blue/silver.

[lotus-62]

found the (very old) picture.... 

[jonwat]

First bi coloured Europa I've seen, and I've seen dozens 

[GSHARP]

On 23/06/2023 at 19:09, lotus-62 said:

found the (very old) picture.... 

That's spooky.. I'm wondering if our car has been re-shelled with your old body. Do you know what happened to your car?

I've discovered that our car was originally supplied in Cirrus White to London Sports Car Centre in Edgware, so not blue/silver or green.

[lotus-62]

I bought the very early 1969 s2 car around 1997 somewhere in Kent/near london.   the poor body ended up in 3 big pieces in a garbage truck as I found out it was clued together poorly, chassis was badly rusted, ended up building a new chassis and bought an banks 62 body.   the rest is history....

 

[NG5]

Quote

That's spooky

More than spooky, if you look in detail at the photos. On your car the sill strip where the rivets are, is trimmed rising slightly up above bottom of the floor between the 1st and 3rd rivet. The photo of Rick's old car is not as clear but also seems to have the sill strip trimmed high in that area. All europas are slightly different on the sills as I believe they were trimmed free hand, but the similarities there are amazing. As you are stripping off all the paint it will soon be apparent if it's 3 big bits joined back together, but I wouldn't worry if it is. Quite a high proportion of europa body shells have been heavily repaired, so long as it's done well, and if not all repairs can be redone properly, it just takes time.

[GSHARP]

On 26/06/2023 at 22:05, lotus-62 said:

I bought the very early 1969 s2 car around 1997 somewhere in Kent/near london.   the poor body ended up in 3 big pieces in a garbage truck as I found out it was clued together poorly, chassis was badly rusted, ended up building a new chassis and bought an banks 62 body.   the rest is history....

 

Maybe not all history. I'd say our car now wears the front and doors from your old car. Do you happen to remember the registration of your car? There are some numbers written on the inside of the doors that may confirm their former identity.

The engine cover, luggage cover and rear of the body show signs of being white at some time in the past. It was also fitted with a sunroof at some point.

As Jim has said I'd imagine a 50-year-old car to have seen some 'action' in her day and would probably have earned some battle scars along the way. 🤣

[lotus-62]

100% not my old body, my doors ended up in my Banks62 as did the engine cover.  the rest of the body was  destroyed in the Netherlands and not shipped back to the UK LOL I must dig deep to find some pics but I will do it just for fun!