"cletus44 aka Clayton Seams" (cletus44)
05/31/2015 at 17:41 • Filed to: None
23
35|
"cletus44 aka Clayton Seams" (cletus44)
05/31/2015 at 17:41 • Filed to: None | 23
| 35 |
I first posted about the sad-looking, Lotus I had found for bar-tab money about a week ago. Since then I was inundated with enthusiasm for the project and people telling me “do eet.” Well you guys are terrible influences on my common sense. I just bought it and dragged it home.
Let’s start with a little history of the car. This is a euro-spec Europa that was sold new in Italy, in 1969. It puttered happily around the Italian countryside until 1973 when a Canadian on his honeymoon sawthe car and decided he had to have it. You can still see the original Italian (I think) registration number on the front of the car.
From what I can tell, the man loved his little car. he repainted the original Lotus yellow with Corvette Daytona Yellow in 1974 and it still wears this Corvette hue today. He kept a meticulous log of the maintenance in a thick binder that came with the car.
He drove it to local racetracks and national parks across Canada throughout the 1970’s and 80’s. But in 1987, for reasons I don’t know, the Lotus was parked and it hasn’t been registered since.
The Canadian owner died in the 1990’s and he willed the car to his grandson who parked it behind the veterinary clinic where I picked it up. It had a tarp over it but the elements have really fucked this car over. It would have probably taken me a few weeks to turn it around before the outdoor stagnation but now I estimate this restoration will take me over a year. Some kids just don’t get the classics.
ANYWAYS! I payed the grandson for the car and for an extra $100 he threw in a pristine burled walnut dashboard for the car. I now owned a Lotus! It took a lot of cussing and pulling but we managed to winch the Lotus up onto the trailer behind my trusty Suburban.
We had to move a dumpster out of the way, one of the wheels didn’t roll and we broke our winch. It was quite the hassle but we could finally hit the road.
Oh don’t mind me, just hauling ass down the 401 with a bright yellow Lotus on a trailer. I was shocked at how few people looked at this little fiberglass sports car as we made our way along the highway. Those are some body panels in the back of the ‘Burb. We stored them inside so they wouldn’t fly off at speed.
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Made it home! Remember how I said that
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? Well this required some problem solving skills. What I ended up doing was use my Suburban to back up the trailer as close as I could to the gate and then use my 1969 Chrysler to tow it to the back of my yard. Now THAT’S Jalop.
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And now she’s home! Now the real work can begin. Firstly, removing the body and assessing the extent of the frame rust. I like you Twiggy, let’s be friends.
Jonathan Harper
> cletus44 aka Clayton Seams
05/31/2015 at 17:43 |
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