jaymcminn Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 (edited) I've been thinking about building a Lotus Europa for a while and finally scored the Tamiya kit on Ebay for a reasonable price. I've always rather liked the Europa- it looks sort of like a Miura that was hit with an ugly stick!The initial plan was to go with a factory-stock build, but online pics of lowered and modded Europas started me thinking about something a little cooler. I have a set of Fujimi Minilite wheels that have been in search of a project for a while that seemed perfect for the build I'm going for, but I needed to get the stance right for them to work. I actually cut the front frame box off the backbone to move it up a little and repositioned the rear trailing arms a little higher. After several hours work, here is where it sits... Plans are for pearl orange paint with rockers and wheel centers in gunmetal. Interior will probably be various shades of grey. There will be mild engine/exhaust work done as well, and the chrome exterior trim will probably be blacked out. I've ordered some Aoshima tuner-style wings and one of them will probably find its way, in modified form, onto the rear deck. I don't plan on doing Chip Foose-style bodywork here, because I like the Europa's quirky shape just the way it is... As always, questions/suggestions welcome! Edited August 1, 2013 by jaymcminn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PappyD340 Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 NICE, I like the wheels, like the sound of the color scheme too!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimKustom Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 Quirkily Kool! Adding some skis to the back might be interesting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 Those are cool little cars. I couldn't get in and out of one but they are cool little cars. Aren't they like only 36 " tall ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 One of my Favorites! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turn1wonder Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 (edited) The TV show Overhauling did one of these up...but WAY up! Was not much of the original parts or body lines left. I liked it. Maybe Google some info for ideas? Bob EDIT: Google search... https://www.google.ca/search?q=Overhauling+Lotus+Europa&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a Edited July 16, 2013 by turn1wonder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geemoney Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 love this car! I do not have a model of this! makes me think of Emma Peel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geemoney Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 oh yeah, it needs an LS motor in back as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 The Minilites look absolutely right on a Europa. looking forward to seeing more. love this car! I do not have a model of this! makes me think of Emma Peel Actually, she drove an Elan.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deathgoblin Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 The Europa always looks to me like they stuck the nose of a Dino onto a ute rear end. I'd definitely have to remake the top if I get one of these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Van Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 My brother in law had a Europa John Player SPL black and gold. He put gold mini-lites on it. GREAT looking car, fantastic to drive...a bit quirky.....the cars were hand built and when you worked on them you could see hand welds and hammer marks on the chassis!! Bodies were hand laid glass. Not a car I'd want to get in a crash with....the wishbone chassis had almost ZERO side protection for passengers. That and the car ATE power window motors!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kennyboy Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 (edited) Very cool execution so far! I would drop in a Porsche flat six UP FRONT and make the back a pickup bed. Would look cool IMHO. A Lotus-camino.......yeah that's the ticket. Edited July 16, 2013 by Kennyboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin T Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 I love Europa's. It was actually the first Tamiya kit I ever built. I really enjoyed building it and I'm itching for another one to build. I built mine as a Lotus 47 because I loved the look of the real one, I actually have a picture on myself next to the real 47 race car. Please forgive the poor quality of the model, I believe this was the third model I built Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geemoney Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 The Minilites look absolutely right on a Europa. looking forward to seeing more. Actually, she drove an Elan.... so am I thinkin of Linda Thorsen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wisdonm Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 A friend did one years ago with a Taurus SHO powertrain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaymcminn Posted July 16, 2013 Author Share Posted July 16, 2013 Austin, that looks great... especially for a third model! I got the wheel centers painted today before work.. I'll get pics up tomorrow. My brother in law had a Europa John Player SPL black and gold. He put gold mini-lites on it. GREAT looking car, fantastic to drive...a bit quirky.....the cars were hand built and when you worked on them you could see hand welds and hammer marks on the chassis!! Bodies were hand laid glass. Not a car I'd want to get in a crash with....the wishbone chassis had almost ZERO side protection for passengers. That and the car ATE power window motors!! I was thinking about the black-and-gold scheme, but wanted something a little more wild... and yeah, the body on the kit is probably thicker than the body on the actual car. Power windows in a Europa sounds a little incongruous... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianC Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Lotus = Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Van Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 ..I was thinking about the black-and-gold scheme, but wanted something a little more wild... and yeah, the body on the kit is probably thicker than the body on the actual car. Power windows in a Europa sounds a little incongruous... Mainly because once you squeeze into the seat...no room for window winder handles!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaymcminn Posted July 18, 2013 Author Share Posted July 18, 2013 So I had a little spare time today and decided to tackle a custom dual exhaust for the Lotus. I had some exhaust trumpets left over from my Hasegawa Ferrari 250TR build (I used a set of aftermarket turned aluminum trumpets)and thought they'd look pretty cool on the Lotus. The stock exhaust looks pretty lame, so I started playing. This is my first time building up an exhaust like this. I started with a parts box muffler which I mounted temporarily on the frame with Kristal-Klear. I then bent some styrene rod to shape over a candle flame... These were the best two. I mounted them to the muffler... and bent a pipe to connect the header to the muffler. Here's everything all mocked up. Finally, I cut the second hole in the body and reshaped the original one for the new exhaust and pinned and glued the trumpets to the exhaust. Here it is all mocked up- I like it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaymcminn Posted July 18, 2013 Author Share Posted July 18, 2013 I received a set of tuner-style wings from Aoshima and mocked one up on the rear deck. It looks pretty aggressive. Since these pics, I scratchbuilt new end plates for the wing. I also adjusted the rear ride height up a bit... it was sitting too low before. It looks meaner now. The wheel centers were also painted gunmetal. I removed the molded-in fuel filler necks on the rear deck to assist in blending in the separate rear window surround. I added them back in from sprue later. The bodywork was done in Bondo two-part glazing putty. Next up, I'll probably continue with the mechanical work on the engine and chassis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hvymtl Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 Very nice start like the exhaust work and the wheels look cool also Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonioseven Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 (edited) Hi Jason, here's some inspiration for you. Edited July 19, 2013 by Tonioseven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
POKAFONTES Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 The red one looks SICK!!!!!!!!! So does the carbon fiber one too. Lots of ideas running wild in my head. Great start to your project Jay, keep it coming. Looking forward to what's coming Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Jon Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 (edited) Look aggressive, nicely done! The Europa was never a "looker" so hardcore racer is definitely the way to go IMO Edited July 20, 2013 by Jeremy Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris White Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 very very cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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