The $200 Lotus is gone

"cletus44 aka Clayton Seams" (cletus44) 06/24/2015 at 10:42 • Filed to: None

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It’s actually been out of my yard for the past few weeks. But I felt pretty bad about letting it go and it took me a while to put my thoughts into worlds. I bought the car with dreams of returning it to the road over the course of a few weekends and driving around in a wonderfully weathered Lotus.

The seller said he was going to scrap the car if nobody bought it so I figured “what the hell?” and bought the thing. If nothing else, i could save it from the crusher. My friends and I dragged it home behind my 1999 Suburban and dragged it into my yard with my 1969 Chrysler.

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A video posted by Clayton Seams (@theadventuresofclayton) on May 31, 2015 at 1:26pm PDT

Once home, I quickly realized how over my head I was with this project. The engine had sat open for years and all the coolant passages looked like Egyptian tombs. The frame was so rusty that when I tried to undo bolts on the frame, coin sized chunks of the frame would come out with the bolt. The front crossmember was so rotten that the lower A-arm had detached. This was not a car that could be fixed in a few weekends.

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A video posted by Clayton Seams (@theadventuresofclayton) on Jun 7, 2015 at 8:03am PDT

Initially enthusiastic, I dug into the project but it seemed like everywhere I looked, more and more mechanical catastrophes revealed themselves. After calculating the cost of parts it needed, (Not including the hundreds of man hours it would take me) I had to concede defeat. I was in over my head.

I hated the idea of letting it go. I wanted to be a hero that revives cars that have had a rought time in life and returned them to the road. But I just couldn’t do it. I failed. I have menial welding skills, I have no welder, little more than hand tools and a dinky one-car garage. I was hardly outfitted for the full-on restoration this car deserved.

I suppose I could’ve taken the plunge, forged into the unkown and dived head first into the restoration but I was scared. The money in parts that it needed would’ve wreaked havoc on my bank account and I have no real experience in restoring cars that are this far gone. I surrendered.

After listng it on Kijiji for just two days, a buyer was found, and the car was towed away, never to be seen again. It’s doubtful that I’ll ever have the opportunity to find one of these this cheap ever again. It’s not a decision i took lightly. I loved my time with the car and hopefully I can find another Europa that’s closer to being roadworthy in the future. I feel like I let you guys down. I couldn’t do it. But the new owner has lots of experience in classic car restorations so at least it will finally get a second chance at life. And who knows, maybe I was it’s pardon off death row so it could have that second chance.

If you want more info, I wrote !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! over at Driving.ca

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Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 06/24/2015 at 10:51

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You tried. That's more than a lot of people did. It's good that you realized your inability to give the car the work it needs early, versus hanging onto it for a number of years and then coming to that same conclusion.

LongbowMkII > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 06/24/2015 at 10:52

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No reason to feel guilty, you saved it. if you got your money back (or even just lost the $200) you did the right thing and got a story out of it. At least you’re a smart enough man to realize when you are way over your head. :whistles:

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 06/24/2015 at 10:53

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Don’t feel too bad. I’ve been tinkering with cars for years and wouldn’t have even known where to start with that thing. It probably needed a complete fresh frame.

64Mali > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 06/24/2015 at 10:54

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Sad to see it go, but better you do it before you sink 1000 of dollars into it and still see no end in sight. Hopefully the new owner will restore it, at least you saved it from a junkyard.

cletus44 aka Clayton Seams > 64Mali 06/24/2015 at 10:56

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Yeah that’s my thought. The owner also has a restored ‘59 ‘Vette so it’s in good hands

cletus44 aka Clayton Seams > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 06/24/2015 at 10:57

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The frame was pretty crispy and replacement units are $3,000 and have to be shipped from the UK.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 06/24/2015 at 10:58

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Yeah that would’ve sucked for your bank account. You saved it from the scrapper anyway.

jkm7680 > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 06/24/2015 at 11:00

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nooooooooooooo

cletus44 aka Clayton Seams > jkm7680 06/24/2015 at 11:06

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I know :( But now I can start shopping for my next classic. Hopefully a less rusty one!

jkm7680 > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 06/24/2015 at 11:11

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True, but that Europa was really awesome. Even got me looking for one, haha.

Grindintosecond > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 06/24/2015 at 11:15

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Even if you just did parts replacements instead of restoration, it still would have cost a bunch of money.

2400 pounds for a totally replacement frame. (not weight, i just don’t have that key command handy to use the little UK money symbol there)

Sorry your dream had to go. The good news is that one in really good shape isn’t all that much, so save up! At least you can fit in one!

extraspecialbitter > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 06/24/2015 at 11:15

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In your defense, that was some of the worst rust I’ve ever seen. You would’ve needed everything. EVVVERYTHINGG!

cletus44 aka Clayton Seams > Grindintosecond 06/24/2015 at 11:18

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I looked into replacement frames actually. And yes! I’ve been bitten by the Lotus bug and I must have one now. They look so much better in person than in pictures and they really do have a preesence.

cletus44 aka Clayton Seams > extraspecialbitter 06/24/2015 at 11:19

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it was BAD. It was so bad that the pedal box had dissolved. I’ve never seen that before.

Then Something New > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 06/24/2015 at 11:19

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They way I see it is that you got to play around with something cool for a few days. I had to do the same thing with a ‘69 Land Rover that I bought a few years ago.

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 06/24/2015 at 11:19

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Sorry to hear about the Lotus. Does this tickle your fancy for a cheap and cheerful, mostly-sorted classic?

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 06/24/2015 at 11:20

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Aww... I was looking forward o the build thread.

Sn210 > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 06/24/2015 at 11:21

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That's too bad, but certainly understandable. Did you make money on it at least? (If you don't mind me asking)

Alfalfa Romeo > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 06/24/2015 at 11:21

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I understand your decision, but it still fills me with all the sads. I was hoping you would one day drive a Europa that looked just like this one I saw this past weekend.

Grindintosecond > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 06/24/2015 at 11:22

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Not sure I told you before but my uncle has a ‘74, with the notch back. S2 I think? Anyway, its been in the barn for years and hasn’t driven in probably 15. It always broke but it sits there slowly gaining value. Has all the period hop up parts on the 70’s. wheels, Weber carb, etc on that little 1.4 Renault.

I can’t fit. It give me an idea of going around posting video blog stuff on cars that tall people can’t fit in. Europas, 1g miatas, MG midgets. etc. I still want to have a crack at a europa and making myself fit in it.

cletus44 aka Clayton Seams > Alfalfa Romeo 06/24/2015 at 11:25

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Me too man, me too. There’s a 1968 Europa in Gran Turismo 6 and I’ve probably put hundreds of digital miles on that little car.

cletus44 aka Clayton Seams > G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 06/24/2015 at 11:25

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It’s cheap, but I’m fairly stubborn about getting something from the 60’s. It’s by far my favorite decade.

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 06/24/2015 at 11:28

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http://www.kijiji.ca/v-classic-cars…

How about this?

WiscoProud > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 06/24/2015 at 11:56

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For that price I would have given it a shot as well. Don’t feel bad. Some vehicles are just beyond gone.

That being said, I hope you got a decent price. Even if the frame was shot, that body looked to be in relatively good shape.

Seat Safety Switch > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 06/24/2015 at 12:34

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You can’t save them all.

Even out of the people I know who are big-time Europa enthusiasts with large yards, even they pick their battles and would have done the same thing in your shoes. They just might have taken a few more parts off the car while it was on the trailer, is all.

NoneOfYourBiz > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 06/24/2015 at 13:16

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Good on you for knowing when to bail.

cletus44 aka Clayton Seams > G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 06/24/2015 at 13:19

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I've emailed that dude so many times. He never responds

Roadster Man > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 06/24/2015 at 13:48

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Bummer. Start looking for a new project! And you still saved it from the crusher, right?

pip bip - choose Corrour > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 06/25/2015 at 05:50

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it takes gut to admit defeat.

but did you sell for a profit?

Berang > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 06/25/2015 at 10:41

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Honestly at that point I’d just have gone “tube frame chassis! -and screw originality”.

Meatcoma > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 07/10/2015 at 14:14

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That sucks, yea I’m a few weeks behind. Was looking for an update and found this. I was hoping for some magic but I don’t blame you. There are plenty of us that would probably have done the same or worse so don’t feel bad. You tried, that’s the important thing.