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It's not the most precise shifting, but it's worked and I haven't noticed any changes. Oh, I wore the Sabelt driving shoes to/from the car show, and that definitely helped with managing the clutch and being steadier on the throttle. Though I noticed I tended to rev the motor pretty while letting the clutch out, like 2-2.5k with quite a bit of slip :/.
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Aug 1, 2017 05:14
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kimbo305 posted:While I was putting the battery tender on, I double checked the plungers on the Strombergs. They resist before the bottom of the plunger cap touches the carb body, so should be ok. Tried to top off the carbs, since I thought they were just a hair low according to the diagram. Ordered a tiny funnel off Amazon, but even just a dribble of oil took it from 1/4" to over 1/2". I know it's supposed to overflow and correct itself, but it bugs me. Next time, I'll try to use a plastic pipette just to be anal. Applesnots posted:Also, I strongly recomend that you get a spare one of these. http://www.englishparts.com/product...kwd=&origin=pla If that fails you are dead in the water (and they do fail), throw it in the glove box and forget about it. You can replace it with just a philips screwdriver. Ordered and stowed in the trunk. This is gonna be an interesting auction: http://bringatrailer.com/listing/1971-lotus-europa-3/ Even less original, but not a bad motor to have in such a car. "There is a complete new wiring harness in the car that includes 20 fuses verses the original 2." So stereotypical. TBF fuses do weigh something.
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Aug 10, 2017 22:20
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Oh yeah, here's a how woefully flexy the engine lid is:  Most cars at the Triumph show had their engine bays open. I would have done the same, except that I was worried the slight wind would crack/rip some fiberglass.
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Aug 10, 2017 22:32
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Despite all the typical swap project worries, it sold for 13k, to a guy I had bid against a few times on BaT, including on my Europa. I drove it today after a weekend of Lemons. I dunno if I should be proud of the Europa or sad for the 280ZX, but the Europa definitely accelerates faster. The Z also used Stromberg carbs, so I got to check that their oil level was ok using my newly gained knowledge. The 4 spd in the Z had a different shift pattern, and I accidentally buzzed reverse in the Europa after I momentarily forgot the gates.
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Aug 16, 2017 21:11
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Drove it all around Saturday doing errands. The motor died after a weak start leaving the grocery store. Took maybe 7-8 increasingly spaced out start attempts before I got it running again. The guy who complimented me on the car was hopefully out of earshot. It took me closing the choke to finally catch. Maybe I flooded the carbs in the intervening attempts? Other than that incident, been starting and driving just fine.
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Aug 21, 2017 03:41
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The choke was probably 1/4 out after 15 min of driving after parking for 30 min. Is it correct to try to be "analog" that way?
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Aug 21, 2017 15:28
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Somebody linked the top 10 car animes in another thread, and turns out one of the "dumb cars" the cops drive in exDriver is a Europa. I guess I can finally bump that up on my to-watch list.Gorson posted:it was a LHD car so the accelerator pedal linkage ran over to the right side inside the cabin (the passenger could "accidentally" step on the gas quote:I remember it originally had dual Zenith-Stromberg sidedraft SU carbs that gave my dad fits so he replaced them with a single 2 barrel downdraft Weber kit. After the carb swap it was a surprisingly reliable car and did not leave me stranded. A week ago, I would have cast doubt on the carbs being that big a stranding headache, but now that attitude is slightly checked.
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Aug 22, 2017 20:39
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Applesnots posted:Eh, Its british cars. I keep enough tools and spare parts in the trunk that I could fix drat near any problem on the side of the road. Might want to check the gap on your points (correct gap and clean) if you are having hard starting, easier than pulling apart the carb. I keep a spare set of points and condenser in the trunk as well, because british cars. The PO put on a pertronix ignition, so it's less maintenance than the original distributor. Though not maintenance free, iirc. Fo3 posted:Carbs aren't that bad. The main problem is every carb around these days is either very old and worn, (or some cheap reproduction), and not been tuned/jetted by some carb wizard- because they aren't around anymore. The trackside tuning my teammate did on our Lemons 280ZX's Strombergs has me hopeful that I can make him tune mine one of these times I go over. Though in the race car's case, that was just taking it from black smoke rich to no smoke and still sounds healthy.
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Aug 23, 2017 16:18
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I asked about 12V when I first checked out the car, and the PO said the car was 12V stock, at least. Not sure if there're other issues from running Pertronix against the factory alternator.
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Aug 24, 2017 18:26
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Fo3 posted:You misunderstand. All 12V cars with points ignition distributors dropped the voltage to the ignition coils to prolong the life of the breakers/points. The car is 12V, but the ignition sees only ~7V due to ballast resistors dropping the volts. Oh ok, that just the ignition system is on a lower voltage. I'll have to check if the coil was changed, but I think it was. The PO's upgrades were all pretty well thought out, and generally known to the Europa community. I have yet to join the europa yahoo group, which apparently is the best resource. It just seems so astoundingly old school.
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Aug 24, 2017 18:39
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I'll try to check it out this weekend. While we're on the ignition front, I've noted a few times, once at least for a couple of seconds, that the motor keeps sparking and running after I key off the car. Coil/ignition the culprit?
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Aug 25, 2017 22:37
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Deteriorata posted:It was fairly common back in the day to have an anti-dieseling solenoid, that would shut off the fuel when the ignition was off. But you'd have enough in the carbs to fuel it for a while, no? drat, I really want to dig into the car now but am not home.
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Aug 26, 2017 20:06
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Tomarse posted:and once when the head came off the needle and the needle then dropped out. Better link me! I drove it around today to get a photo shoot. Pics coming soon. I let someone else drive it, and noticed the front right suspension clunking noticeably going over road surface imperfections. Shaking the tire at the top gets some play. About the same amount on both front wheels, though I don't hear or feel anything from the front left. Could be that the way my feet are perched behind the pedals, that they don't feel anything? Because of the size of the wheel and the general construction of the car, this is one vehicle here doing a suspension check makes it feel like you could maybe rip the whole wheel out if you just pulled really hard. Anyways, moved the car around quite a few times for the shoot, and no startup issues or dieseling. Had the choke fully back in the whole time. I tried to locate the ignition, and it was hidden under carbs, so didn't get great shots of that or the coil, which is visible but in a slighlty awkward place:    Also spotted some insulation peeling off the firewall onto a fuel tank: 
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Aug 28, 2017 02:19
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Oh, forgot about octane -- I'm using 93 (R+M)/2, which is the highest you can normally get in the US. Annnnnd here's the pics. I found out my friend got a blue NB, and the idea of a buddy cop car show came into my head. I have no idea why Google Photos is so aggressive with recompressing the images, but these look artifacty even as big as I have them.          
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Aug 28, 2017 17:09
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I actually had a pair of red sneakers at one point, but must have donated them. It was down to these or some red and white snakeskin BKs. The Jordans didn't seem they'd be a problem driving the car, but I couldn't heel toe and had trouble not hitting the gas while braking. Drove home with the shoes off.
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Aug 29, 2017 17:17
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Found 2 relevant threads on the run-on in the Yahoo group: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/lotuseuropa/conversations/topics/45051 https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/lotuseuropa/conversations/topics/40497 And one slightly less relevant one with an amusing take: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/lotuseuropa/conversations/topics/80576 This is the first car I've owned where the premier user base is on an email group.
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Aug 29, 2017 22:50
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I tried to watch exDriver; it's pretty trite, so I'm probably not gonna finish. The car drawing is so accurate and clearly a labor of love. Some shots of the Europa:   After the driver gets crashed out and reports some damage to sway bar:  Did I mention that this is what the parking brake looks like?:  I don't get why they decided to make the car so true to life, but I can definitely appreciate it.
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Sep 4, 2017 23:20
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And now, with mixed feelings, I announce the sudden end of the Europa's stint in my life. I've been house shopping in the Boston area for a while, trying to find something before I got priced out of here. Most of the good stuff in convenient locations have off street parking at best, and that's what I suddenly settled for. Between not having a garage spot (or having to rent one somewhere) and wanting to have cash on hand for buying the place, the Europa was suddenly much less viable. I commented on a couple of the BaT Europa listings that this one was for sale, which netted three prospects. One was very serious, and after a 40-min convo with the PO, he was sold. Wired me the money; I sent the title, and I dropped off the car with the shipper today. This was a pretty nice trailer setup, and a fairly diligent driver, so worth walking through the process of getting a car shipped. I would certainly use these guys for my future shipping needs.  Not shown: the drivers had their own cars in the trailer. One was a mid 2000s Forester, and I almost made fun of it, but merely asked "who's shipping a Forester?" before getting told it was the driver's. Car and spare 5-speed trans:  I tried to capture how truncated/snubbed the rear of the car looks, but it doesn't come across in 2D. The way the bottom panel (that the license plate is on) cants slightly toward the ground makes the car look very taut in person. I packed the spares into the trunk, frunk, and passenger seat. Fit pretty easily, honestly: http://imgur.com/a/iFWdR The main issue was that the trans was way too heavy and bulky to ship in the car and risk having it rip the fiberglass (and whatever else on the way to the ground). I perched it on the passenger seat while driving the mile to the pickup point, but the driver was fine with strapping that on the floor of the trailer. Ramp was easy:   There's a little bridge to drive right over into the front trailer:   The Europa's not wide, so there wasn't a lot of stopping and checking. The driver was wearing Puma driving shoes, and that probably really helped.  Note the aftermarket 3rd brake light. With the tires rolled over the lift:  Extremely flattering shot of the paint, btw. And raised:  Probably will not sigificantly affect the roll center height of the truck. Driver spotted some drips of oil on the filter and by the drain plug:  full album here: http://imgur.com/a/XESUn
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Sep 10, 2017 21:31
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Oh, I forgot that the drivers were named Dmitri and... Dmitri. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67UClVdc1hM&t=14s I dunno what's next, but it'll have to be a car that can be sat outside without it getting significantly worse for the wear or me feeling guilty about it. The house will have one off street parking spot, but it's not terribly wide, so I don't want some huge honker of a car like my Charger. I've been trying to talk to this guy: https://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/cto/6294444305.html But he's incredibly blase about making a sale. The 944 chassis and interior are great, and the LS is the LS. Far off dreams (when I'll have garage space and money again): - 2nd gen ZL1 - GT350 - Stratos kit - 987 Boxster Spyder - Lotus 7 clone. I really can't shake this one. Everything that was really good about the Europa -- how raw and light it was -- would be magnified here. Of course the negatives would be amplified, too.
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Sep 11, 2017 17:05
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Two more dream cars: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1992-era-gt/ Mercedes SLS
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Sep 11, 2017 19:07
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I think a 914 is not a bad idea, but one on par in price with the Europa would be a lot slower. Also they rust a lot, which was not as big of a deal in the Europa  Couple more things I forgot to mention: - I loving forgot to pack the car cover. It's such a unique item that I'm gonna have to ship it out to the buyer - when the driver was getting the car onto the ramps, I was looking at the shift linkage moving around in the back of the trans. The motion from reverse to 1st is very noticeable. He didn't catch 1st, so you could see the synchro rattling and spitting the linkage back into neutral. Going from neutral to 1st, it was a pretty short travel on the linkage. Might be hard to see from straight back, like Muffinpox reported.
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Sep 12, 2017 01:34
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mekilljoydammit posted:I would do unspeakable things to own a good (and from what I can tell, the ERA ones are good) GT40 clone. In the comments of that listing, all the various replica brand owners are at war about adherence to the original, trademark, and quality. gently caress all that -- if it comes close to in looks and has a V8, it's good enough for me. I saw this one: http://topclassiccarsforsale.com/ford/232304-rcr-mki-gt-40.html It's over my budget (<= Europa) and also would not be an outdoors car, but drat, if that price is real.
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Sep 12, 2017 16:28
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An extremely clean one with the Weber carbs and 140hp head went for 36k: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1973-lotus-europa-special-3/ The winning bidder has a lot of money to throw around -- I've bid against him a few times and he's usually willing to go over well over other bidders' stopping points. He quit on the one I bought at under 13k though.
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Sep 14, 2017 21:10
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And now this decent one didn't sell: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1973-lotus-europa-twin-cam-2/ Maybe it just missed the small boat of interested buyers?
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Sep 27, 2017 23:52
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Europa replacement DD update: have been trying like mad to get ahold of this guy: https://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/cto/d/1990-porsche-944-s2-ls1/6294444305.html But he's replied to me twice out of numerous times to schedule a visit. Made me miss out on Imperador's BMW. Still my top choice, I think. He upped the price from 14k for unknown reasons, but if it's well done, can't make a LS 944 for that kind of money. https://boston.craigslist.org/sob/cto/d/2001-porsche-carrera/6311735052.html Not that special, but good price, and I wouldn't worry about keeping it in the outdoor parking spot or getting tagged in a parking lot. e: a little more context on the garage situation -- I'm in Cambridge, MA, and I want to stay somewhere in the area. There's several suburbs within maybe 7-8mi of where I work (and presumably other future places I'd work). That is my convenient bike-commute radius for looking for a place. For semi-irrational reasons, I wanted a place close to the subway, which I wouldn't use to get to work, but would be a really strong feature for holding up the place's value in the long run. Most places that fit these criteria didn't have a garage -- maybe <10% of condos/houses I looked at did. Hell, some didn't even come with a driveway or off-street parking. The few places that did come with 1-2 garage spots just didn't seem like great housing in general. When the next good place came up, I went for it despite its sole crappy parking spot. A garage would have been incredibly awesome for AI projects, or even mundane poo poo like tightening up the skid plate bolts on the Charger like I just did in my apartment parking spot, but that'll have to be down the road. kimbo305 fucked around with this message at 18:49 on Sep 28, 2017 |
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Sep 28, 2017 18:39
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I looked at this one more than a couple times, but I assume it'll be in the 40s: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2002-aston-martin-db7-5/
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Sep 28, 2017 19:39
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Seminal Flu posted:Trying to copy sigtrap? Idgi; what did he have after the truck?
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Sep 28, 2017 22:34
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https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1990-volkswagen-corrado-1-8-2/ BaT is def the wrong venue for that car. I don't think it'll go for as high as the seller was thinking. But I still want it 
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Sep 29, 2017 19:23
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MrOnBicycle posted:That's what I thought as well (already given up on US cars), but then I see Alfa Romeos that are half the price. But yeah, you are right. It's just a shame that I keep falling for cars that always turn out to be rare / hard to get in my country. It's gotta be the import and shipping process that poses a barrier. Seems to be one shop on BaT that sell Italian cars and scooters in Italy, and I have to assume a lot of the buyers are outside but able to make the purchase a reasonable deal despite the import.
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Oct 1, 2017 19:48
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Here's the new car in the new parking spot: drat pole:  Last night was the first time I used the spot, and it was pretty tricky with the neighbor's car giving me a pretty narrow gap. Should be fine once I have more practice. There's a mild curb that you have to carry some speed over. The 911 is a semi-beater -- not in great shape but totally usable. Not sweating stuff like that badge and the peeling paint. On the fence about doing the IMS or just going with it.
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Oct 7, 2017 01:35
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Not sure if you mean 991 by current Porsche? That's a lowly 2001 996. The hip flares are nothing on the new ones: https://i.imgur.com/0wPG58lh.jpg (not the same field of view, diff angle, etc.) Currently mentally pacing back and forth about doing an IMS fix on it, or if it's not nice enough to get one.
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Oct 8, 2017 18:09
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To be completely fair, I'd take that over the Z06 only because I've never had a V12 before!
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Nov 28, 2017 20:32
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The choices they made back then for powerplant and transmission made 100% sense at the time, but they hitched the Europa to a dead and sickly horse. Refreshing the drivetrain would be a cinch if the parts were plentiful, but spare motors and trans have a rarity premium now. Probably easier rebuild the trans, buy the adapter, and put in a 4AGE.
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Dec 18, 2017 18:40
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