"64Mali" (ctaaffe64)
02/11/2016 at 13:15 • Filed to: LotusWork, Europplink
9
5|
"64Mali" (ctaaffe64)
02/11/2016 at 13:15 • Filed to: LotusWork, Europplink | 9
| 5 |
Welcome back to how is the Europa progressing. Its been mostly slow going with tons of fiberglass work, circuit planning, and little things here and there.
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
Here we have the upgraded firewall, created with Carbon Fiber, Fiberglass, and plywood for increased strength. This spot will act as the main roll bar for the whole car so its structural rigidity has been greatly increased. You can also see where the area behind the seat is being reshaped to allow for a small cubby hole rather then a area of dead space.
Here we have some new fiberglass added to the front passenger wheel area, the whole body was covered in spider cracks, bondo, and shotgun pellets. (Yes someone shot the car, with an extra hit at the drivers side.
Next up was to strengthen the fiberglass floor and seat mounting locations. The floor was a very thin fiberglass and would provide no protection to road derbies that might penetrate the floor. Fiberglass, AL plate, and then plywood was added to create more strength and rigidity.
Everything you see will eventually be smoothed over and will look factory when its finished.
While doing fiberglass repairs the matter of the non working wiper motor was taken care of. First it was disassembled and soaked in gasoline to remove all he old grease. There is a flaw in design that allowed water to flow down the wiper arm into the gearbox. This will be fixed and gasketed so that the rain wont leak into the car.
Also on the list of to replace is the existing heater core. This sharp piece of metal lurks under the dash to catch an unsuspecting persons knee. It will be replaced with a universal heater box that can be safely tucked in a different location away from the passengers.
It seems Lotus was not all that concerned about passenger safety in this car. Considering it was designed to be a race car its not all that surprising but its poor form to injure a passenger.
Last up just proof that the body does hang high enough in the garage to park a car under.
Keep posted for more updates. Once the body is more or less finished mechanical work will begin again.
MM54
> 64Mali
02/12/2016 at 20:37 |
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Fantastic! I probably mention this on all your updates but I very much want some day to restore a Europa
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64Mali
> MM54
02/13/2016 at 18:10 |
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You’ll need to keep an eye out as the rough ones go quick.
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MM54
> 64Mali
02/13/2016 at 18:15 |
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There was a total basket case for sale a while ago somewhat nearby, but it was basically a craking fiberglass shell, locked up engine, and a bunch of rust. Other than that, I’ve not even seen any for sale around this area. Once I have the means to begin work on one, though, I’ll certainly be looking a lot harder (and in a larger area).
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64Mali
> MM54
02/13/2016 at 18:29 |
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I think with fiberglass it’s always a basket case. This body had tons of spider cracks and some minor cracks in the frame.
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MM54
> 64Mali
02/13/2016 at 22:10 |
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I’ve done a lot of carbon fiber work so I’m hoping that some day I can harness that experience to patch up the fiberglass