1973 Lotus Other

Lotus Twin Cam Special Mid Engine

7303484R

Clear

1 General Information and Background. A rare 1973 John Player Special Limited Edition #128 of 200 in the black and gold JPS Formula 1 Trim complete with Formula 1 winners plaque on the cockpit exterior. To commemorate winning their fifth Formula 1 Trophy Lotus is understood to have decided to make a Limited Edition run of 200 (100 for North America and 100 for Europe) of their new Twin-Cam model Europa in the black and gold JPS racing trim. The initial run had decals added to the dash board of the vehicles (apparently by dealer in the US and not by Lotus themselves) to further distinguish the edition. This Europa JPS is number 128 of 200. Apparently the demand for the John Player Special trim was so great that Lotus decided it was financially prudent to extend the production line so that in total some 4,700 Twin Cam Europas Type 74 were delivered in the JPS as well as in other colours.Vehicle is left hand drive. Our Europa was purchased out of North Carolina in 2005 and upon receipt it was determined that it required considerably more work performed to make it roadworthy than had been anticipated from the on-line description provided. In particular the car required extensive work to the suspension system, steering and safety areas before it could receive a Nova Scotia Government Roadworthy Safety Certificate. Some $3000+ was spent on making the car roadworthy and such detailed descriptions of work performed and invoices will accompany the vehicle or scanned copies can be sent on request . This work was undertaken by a specialist in British vehicles and in particular sports cars. One of the problems encountered with the car was the ground clearance which even with the suspension fully repaired was not very great. This was solved by obtaining a kit from a Lotus approved supplier in the UK that allowed the clearance to be increased which with new larger tyres allowed a higher ride. Even so no Lotus Europa is designed for back roads or bad road surfaces. Once the car was on the road driving it was a great pleasure as it sticks to the pavement like a limpet and because of its extreme lightness the twin-cam engine provides excellent performance for a 40 year old vehicle. According to legend the original Europa was designed by Colin Chapman around his own physique and he was not a large man. Initially he refused to allow any changes to be made to provide greater space and comfort in the cockpit, however, he relented enough so that in the twin-cam model the cockpit area was redesigned to allow more space inside the car and to improve visibility by altering the rear window area. The redesign apparently allows someone over 6 foot tall to drive the car, however, even for smaller persons getting in and out of the vehicle is rather tight. 2 Condition (Additional Information). The space allowed above for description is fairly limited so the following clarifications are also noted: · As stated the car, when received in 2005, required considerable work to make her and fully operational and roadworthy. Once complete the car ran and performed well. · Making her operational and roadworthy did not include renovation on the bodywork and interior which was to be phase II of the restoration activities. The intent was to have the bodywork, in particular, dealt with by fibreglass and paint specialists to try and retain as much of the original JPS paint as possible. The main areas of crazing and paintwork flaking are on the front left wing and around the driver’s door which should be seen from the photos. For the interior the intent was to initially repair the seams and seat sections that required it together with repairing the centre consul and glove box fascia and general tidying up. This unless more extensive works were deemed preferable for ROI. · Unfortunately due to being assigned overseas for several years followed by a severe illness upon returning home the car was garaged and not driven since 2007. As this was not anticipated the car was not prepared for long term storage (e.g. engine inhibited, etc) and therefore the mechanics will require a full re-inspection before start up. · The vehicle has hard and soft copies of the Europa Manual, an additional spare wheel (without tyre) and a few other small parts. 3) Sale and Shipping. The Europa is sold without warranty although inspection and questions are welcome. Shipping to be the full responsibility of the buyer from the cars presently garaged location in the Metro Halifax area of Nova Scotia. Halifax has good road, rail and sea connections and is home to an Autoport where bonded vehicles are received on import and customs cleared. The vehicle is therefore sold on an “As is, Where is” basis. Unless otherwise agreed between the parties, regarding form of payment and time, full payment is required as stated herein. The vehicle is also for sale locally. Subject to EBay regulations Owner therefore reserves the right to end the auction early unless the reserve price has been met. On 11-Jun-15 at 11:53:13 EDT, seller added the following information: ADDIONAL INFORMATIONA number of queries have been received and responded to, two of which may be of general interest to prospective buyers. The queries and responses should have appeared in the Q&A bottom of the listing, however, due to problems with the Q&A System they have not been shown. For good orders sake they are shown below. Unfortunately the photos cannot be added here but can be provided on request. Response sent Jun-10-15 03.02PM Hi Thanks for your interest and apologies for the delay in replying but have been busy and only am just getting around to catching up on emails. As requested I attach some add photos of the engine compartment and interior. If there is anything in particular that you want details or photos of please let me know. Per the repairs. These were related to problems under the car front section plus other general works on the engine, carbs, electrics, brakes, etc, to make sure she was safe and roadworthy. Per the underside - from checks that the garage undertook it appears that, because of low clearance, the car had run over a large stone or something similar that had damaged the front struts/suspension. This was the main item that caused costs and time particularly in getting spares. It is also the reason we made efforts to raise the clearance. I can scan and attach copies of the work records if you wish. Pls just ask and confirm. The work was therefore not related to rust or her being in an accident. I have tried to take some pictures under the car but they were not very successful (1 photo attached) due to access so will try again if you wish. Best Regards John Original Question to fieldcosearch, Could you send more pictures, particularly of the interior and engine compartment? Were the repairs alluded to in your description required due to accident damage or rust damage? Thanks, Mike.Response sent Jun-11-15 07.19AMHiMany thanks for your interest and enquiry. Regarding the vehicle's official designation you are perfectly correct that it is "Europa Special". I have used the John Player Special term in the description as the generally recognised colloquial term for the Europa Special in the distinctive John Player Special colours that were used on the F1 racing cars and which, in turn, were derived from the black and gold used on the cigarette packets of that name. Hence also your comments per the problems that were starting to arise in the '70s with tobacco advertising. Examples of such general colloquial use are found in various publications including the scanned copy attached from "The Lotus Europa - An Enthusiast's Guide and Pictorial Review" by Robinson and Francis (scanned copy attached). Nonetheless and as agreed, you are correct that the actual designation should be "Europa Special" and I include this in the Q&A section of the listing to clarify same and put the record straight. Thanks for raising this description issue. John Original Question sent to fieldcosearch, Why do you call this car a John Player Special when it is in fact a Lotus Europa Special? Although this car sports distinctive JPS black and gold livery, I can find no factory mention of the cars being called by Lotus as John Player Specials. The difference being that the 1970's Lotus built F1 cars were actually identified as John Player Specials on their chassis plaque with no mention of Lotus in an effort to side step European regulations to eliminate tobacco advertising in motorsport at the time. On 12-Jun-15 at 12:10:01 EDT, seller added the following information: ADD INFORMATION PER COSTS OF WORK PERFORMED AND ADD QUERYFollowing queries on the works performed I rechecked the invoices and scope of works performed and realised that the total noted in the description was only for one invoice. When adding the other two the total expended (solely on getting her roadworthy - no work performed on body or interior) was actually Cdn$ 6,318 or US$ 5,265 at the prevailing exchange rate at the time. Should you require copies of the invoices please request and I will send.For the avoidance of doubt, as I have received several queries relating to her current drive away status, the car was on the road until 2007 but has been garaged and not driven since then. I have not tried starting her up before I listed her as the mechanics require checking first and I believe it should be up to the new owner to decide the extent of such pre start-up work. Renovation work has not been undertaken by myself on the body or interior as this was a Phase II that, despite good intentions was never gotten around to. She needs a new owner who will put her back into her former glory, as she deserves, rather than sitting in our garage unused. As such she is sold as is, where is. Query Response sent Jun-12-15 11.22AM Hi Mike Thanks for clarification. As you probably know the Europa is not a unibody design. Instead it has a separate steel main frame to which the mechanics are attached. The body itself is fibreglass for lightness and as far as I am aware there are no steel components apart from the chrome bumpers, thin cover plates that protect the underside and the thin stripping over where the Rocker Panels would be on a unibody vehicle. As far as can recollect no work was done on the fibreglass body which was going to be the next phase of works. I do not know if there were any previous repairs done on the body so it does need checking for soundness. The vehicle was viewed by a prospective buyer yesterday who pointed out, as I had not previously noticed, that the passenger side seat was slightly off centre indicating the body under that area requires proper inspection and probably a repair separate from the more general and cosmetic work that is required. FYI I attach some abstracts from a Lotus book showing the steel frame chassis and separate body. The doors were attended to as part of the work done to make her roadworthy so open and close properly but as you note with Europas are not perfect. Ref body paint/fibreglass surface areas these are shown in the photos on the listing and particularly shots 15 and 16 on the driver side wing. There are a couple of other areas of flaking/damage and I can send photos of those if you wish. Obviously the paint is old with scratches but it needs a fibreglass and paint specialists to advise on required actions. I had not gotten around to this as it was Phase II and there aren't many fibreglass body people in our area. Please ask any other questions as you wish including additional ones that may have arisen from the above. Best Regards John - Original Query Dear fieldcosearch Rocker panels are the metal under the doors. They look like they are painted silver but I thought that they were originally the body color in that model. Was any bodywork done there?Also, the door hinges are a notorious problem area on these cars. Are yours good ?You mention issues with the body. Pictures of the bad areas would be helpful. Thanks Mike