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New Member - New Europa JPS owner

9870 Views 41 Replies 9 Participants Last post by  EuropaJPS, 
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Hi guys,

Just a quick post to say hi as I am new to the forum, and to ask for some advice.

My father recently passed away and left me his treasured Europa JPS, owned by him since 1978.

The car is a JPS, with the badge on the dash and is currently off being completely restored back to it's former glory. I can't wait for it to be finished!

Anyway, the car currently has Wolfrace Slot Mags on which I am intending to replace with the original Brand Lotus wheels - which came thrown in with the car when my dad purchased it those years ago (even have the original 40 year old rubber on!).

Obviously, they need refurbishing, but I found yesterday that one of the wheels has had the stud holes widened - presumably by the previous owner to use on another car?! What a plonker!

I was therefore wondering on all your opinions on what to do about this. I know that it is possible to fill the elongated stud holes with weld and re-drill, but I am very conscious of what the heat required to do this would do to the structural integrity of the wheel etc.

Do you guys have any ideas on what to do? Am I better off trying to buy a second hand single wheel to replace the damaged one? If so, anyone have any idea where I could look? I don't want to buy a brand new replica etc unless I have to, to avoid mismatches with the other 3 perfectly good wheels when they are refurbished.

Thanks in advance, love the forum already!!
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Thanks for the welcome and all your info 4380R, I really appreciate it!

I'm desperate to have the car finished and back with me so I can finally drive it! It holds a great deal of sentimental value to me and I think once the restoration is complete, it will be a fitting tribute to my late father!

I believe the car to be a genuine JPS - the badge is located on the dashboard - I can upload a photo later when I get home from work - maybe someone could help figure out it's authenticity?

I had seen that Banks and other suppliers carried new wheels, I was just concerned with the outcome of a refurb on 3 old wheels and one brand new one, but I may be being OTT. As you pointed out they are probably all slightly different due to tolerances etc! I would just like to ensure every detail is as perfect is possible.

I will go and have a look at some other Europa dedicated resources as well - thanks for the heads up.

Cheers
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Thanks for all of your replies guys, I never knew there were so many europa sites!

I've uploaded the picture of the badge on the dash - would anyone be able to tell me how I can tell if the car is a genuine JPS?

Thanks is advance!!

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Here is a picture of the offending wheel - hopefully it illustrates the issue with the enlarged stud nuts!

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Plus a picture of the car out in the open for the first time in years, being taken off for restoration!

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4380r said:
Unless somebody else pops up claiming to own #83, yours is likely one of the orignals. You may want to check the Europa Registry on Lotus Europa Central to see if your car is listed there, or if someone else is claiming to have #83. What's your VIN? (not that that will tell you if yours is a JPS)

There are all kinds of legends and misinformation about the JPS cars. It's been said that the badges were not even mounted at the factory, but by dealers in the U.S. THAT legend has given rise to the rumor (to my knowledge never verified) that some JPS cars were not black.

That would be kind of a silly contention, as JPS was a sponsor of the F1 team, and its colors were black and gold.

There is legend that in addition to the 200 with badges, the factory sent a supply of additional unnumbered JPS badges, ostensibly to help dealers move the cars off the lot as being a special addition car. Some (most?) of THOSE cars, if indeed those badges ever existed, wouldn't be black.

I've seen a lot of Europas, I've never seen one of those badges. But that doesn't mean they didn't exist, I've just never run across one.

There is a guy on ebay from Canada selling what he claims is an authentic JPS, it's the right livery, but it has no badges. I asked him about authentication, and he said only the U.S. market got the badges.

BTW...anyone looking for an Europa right now, there is an abudance on ebay, including two nice ones (one of which is VERY nice) in Maryland. The one in Chevy Chase is advertised as being in JPS colors but does not claim to be an actual JPS car.

At the end of the day, all the Europa Specials were identical mechanically, the JPS was merely a cosmetic special. BUT a genuine, restored one with its original badge can bring a bit of a premium.

I recently had the wheels on my Special refinished, and as BDA said finding decent 13" tires is getting more difficult. I found NO true performance tires in the original sizes. I wound up with Kumho Solus, not bad, but street tires. Wouldn't do too much really aggressive driving with them.

Oh...don't suppose the car had overheating problems when your dad drove it? It looks like he completely blocked out the front grill intake with the European tag...
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The car never had any problems with overheating that I know of - by the 'tag', do you mean the registration numbers attached to the grill? The previous owner to my father changed the original grille to a gold mesh grille, which I hate! It will be swapped during the restoration.

The car has only done 28,000 genuine miles, but is having a head rebuild in due course as per the recommendation by miles Wilkins on the twin cam engine.

I have the vin and it isn't logged on the Europa registry you pointed me towards. It was registered in England (where I am) so maybe that dispels the myth that no badges were put on English europas, only American exports?

Very interesting learning about the history, and hopefully I can be a worthy custodian :)
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XHILR8N! said:
I don't really see us as owning these cars. We are their custodians. That in mind, i'm very slow to modify anything if we have "survivor" examples.

Have you ever driven this car?

What is the condition of the spare wheel?
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Hi, no I have never driven the car, I have been in it once in my life (I'm only 27 mind!) for a grand total of 5 miles to an mot station and back.

The spare wheel is fine in terms of the stud holes, but needs refurbishing.

I agree with you, I want the car completely original, whether it is a JPS or not - I'm a stickler for detail and want to restore rather than replace where I can, apart from consumables.
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TheKid#9 said:
Original Wheels are the way to go. Your wheel does look pretty bad but I'm sure you'll be able to find a replacement or find someone to fix it if possible. You'll have a blast driving her once the restoration is over, I know I did when I first drove mine after it was finished.
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Absolutely love the colour of your car - thought I recognised it! I read your thread with great interest and was taken back by the quality of your work!! Your car is stunning - a true credit to you :) I hope mine turns out as good as yours!
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Loki250 said:
From a fellow JPS owner (JPS #188), welcome to Europa ownership. What separates a JPS from any other TCS with black paint and gold pinstriping as far as I can tell is the badge. I believe all part numbers are the same with the plain Jane TCS. I've had my JPS for about a year now, and I haven't any part specific to the JPs except for the badge. The badge location also appears to be wherever the dealer decided to attach it at the time. See where mine is located.

Joji Tokumoto
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Thanks for your reply and the pic of your badge. Mine appears to be in the same location as yours, but on the other side - presumably due to it being right hand drive?
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Do any of you europa owners have any experience of the toyo r888 tyres? They seem to be quite easy to get around my neck of the woods...
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Hi 4380r, what did you end up going for? Are you happy with them?

I have heard conflicting reviews of the r888 - some say they are great for grip on the street, others say they aren't so good until they get warm.


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4380r said:
You could not have your Europa in better hands than Banks. It should be something when they are done.

Are you going to do ANY upgrades that improve performance or reliabilty?

Example, the electronic ignitions (Pertronix are popular in the U.S.) is a very good upgrade. I had the Ignitor INSIDE my distributor...visually it looked OEM.

Also, assuming your car is a 5 speed, sooner or later you may have to face that the speedometer gear IN the transmission fails. Not made anymore, they are next to impossible to source (although if anyone can find one, Banks would be the guys) and if you do find one they are priced like unobtainium.

Happened to mine and I had to go away from OEM, so I had Speedhut put together a GPS speedometer which was virtually identical to the OEM. Worked great, except for in tunnels or anywhere else you drop GPS.
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Hi 4380R,

No, no upgrades planned - I want to keep it completely original as far as possible - I know that will mean reliability may suffer but given that it is so "Special" to me (forgive the pun!!), I wouldn't be able to bring myself to modify it I don't think.

I am trusting that I will be advised accordingly throughout the restoration as to what the best thing to do is with regard to any problems that may crop up.

The car is the 5-speed, so the problem you highlighted may well crop up, so thanks for the heads up! No doubt there will be many issues as everything on the car, apart from the aftermarket alloys, is original.

To be honest I have no idea what a well sorted Europa is like to drive, and I don't really know what to expect in terms of maintenance, but I am handy with a spanner, and had the Europa in bits in my teens when me and my dad took the body off of the chassis to rust proof etc over ten years ago. So hopefully I can maintain the car properly once it is complete!
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Hi Guys,

Apologies for resurrecting my old thread!

My Europa is now complete! It was delivered on the first week of January, which has been torture as I have had to wait until the weekend just gone to drive it due to the wet weather. I can't bring myself to get it wet - it is so stunning and clean!

I took it out for a run on Saturday just gone and can honestly say I was petrified! Other cars looked like monster trucks and the handbrake was...well interesting. If nothing else, I think my clutch control will improve!! I have a fast daily driver for commuting, but it felt so detached in the corners on the way to work this morning! Due to the engine rebuild and learning the knack of the car and the gearbox, it was a steady drive on Saturday, but boy was it a lot of fun!

The restoration cost a lot more than I had anticipated due to a full engine rebuild. Originally it was intended that the water pump would be changed and a service would be enough but on further inspection, there were water marks in the cylinder etc. So the twin cam was completely overhauled! Ouch!

The car has had a vast amount of work done by Banks, including a new (genuine Lotus) chassis, new suspension, new brakes including lines and servo, new (recon) radiator and transfer pipes, engine and head rebuild including water pump etc, rebuild of the De'llortos, new starter motor and much much more!

Originality has been key to the restoration - probably at the cost of finances and also efficiency (for example not changing to elec ignition) but I think it was the right thing to do - especially as it is a JPS and it deserves the attention and care it received!

Anyway, sorry to waffle on, I'll stop for now! If anyone would be interested in pics of the finished product I can upload some to the thread.

All the best!
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Sorry, stupid question! Hopefully these pictures look ok! They are from a phone camera so aren't the best quality unfortunately.

Land vehicle Vehicle Car Coupé Sedan


Land vehicle Vehicle Car Coupé Classic car


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Thanks BDA. Banks did all of the work on her - I have some fantastic restoration photos that Richard took for me as it was being done.

He has done a superb job on the car - I cannot recommend him highly enough.

I must get out with the proper camera the next time the sun is shining as the phone camera photos don't do it justice! It really is immaculate - almost to the point that I'm frightened to drive it, but my confidence grew a bit on Saturday with the first drive!

I can't wait to put some miles on it now!
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Thanks 4380r! I'm having trouble leaving the garage at the moment!


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