Europa a la Foose

So...ant of you loti folks see the "Overhaulin" segment on the Europa?
Blew up at Jay Leno's garage, Chip Foose "overhauled" it?
MUCH newer Lotus engine, Porsche transaxle, headlamps, gauge cluster....chopped the nose out of it and moved it back 4?
All new rear suspension, gangster wheels, flared the rear wings?
Recontoured doors?
Engine air scoops?

How does that sit with those who own these boxes-you-can't-see-out-of?

As in literally fragged?

This is the car:

Nose is OK but no real improvemnt. Wheels look stupid. Overall, C-.

Not even C-. After all these months, the car isn't finished and still cannot be driven. The owner isn't happy...

From what I have heard, the owner is too large to drive it . He could barely get in the car in the last part of the show.

That's funny, M. And it is the indirect reason a good friend of mine got his Caterham 7: An ad on CL had it for sale locally, my pal called and we went to see the car. The guy said he had no choice but to sell, as his wife had given him the "Sophie's Choice" of the car or his home. He'd bought the car on a whim, very shortly before we got wind of it. We drove it, and on return to his garage the wife came out to see what was going on.... it was obvious she couldn't POSSIBLY fit into the thing.

I have been screwing around with Lotus for almost 35 years, and I think this car is a prime example of one of the things that I have learned. It's is pretty simple to envisage modifications to these cars, but the R and D, and execution are a real bear.

With Lotus, less is usually better than more.

With ya on that!

...and add a few more years. :wink:


BTW: Good to "see" ya here again. Hope your holidays were enjoyable.

Roger said:

Not even C-. After all these months, the car isn't finished and still cannot be driven. The owner isn't happy...

Click to expand...

I see them "trailer" most to the "reveal". I saw one, teacher in Ridgecrest, Chevelle, I think....road test, no sun visors, headliner tacked in place, hanging and bunched.

Makes one wonder...also, how well does a full-on body rework last when only takes a week to do?

I mean, if my car was "done" by them, and I had specific things I wanted...and they were scrapped.
How about the gal with the Buick they dropped a Bow Tie 350 into? Or the guy with the original 327 they pitched for a crate 350? What if it was numbers matching?

When I had my 67 Cougar, I'd searched for Ford GT wheels, the steels with slots all around, beauty rings...metal painted to match body...found 4 caps without the "GT" emblems or even holes.
They'd have scrapped them for Foose wheels, I would not have been happy.

The more I think about it.....how would I feel if they snagged my 50 F-1, and dropped a freaking bowtie into it?
Especially after the last rebuild with a Merc crank.
How many folks, you wonder, had stuff important to them cut out?
Dave

Yeah, that'd be the last place I'd consider for doing any work on a significant (to me, anyway) car.