End of september 2000
The MG is put away for the winter.
Unfortunately the work to get the car ready for winter storage took me longer than I thought, so I've done no progress on the 'ropa for nearly three weeks. This is also partly due to a misunderstanding with Richard at Banks. I thought I had ordered the fine fibreglass tissue and some wax, but when I received the latest shipment, the tissue was not included. One more order... I also have a problem removing the locking nut on the rear wheels. A mechanical friend of mine tried in his professional garage, with no success. I'll give it one more try at a local garage before I buy the whole da** thing new from Banks.. Then i also may convert the car to disc brakes at rear! Engine is sent away for renovation, and assembling of the chassis is soon to start.

Late August/early September, 2000
Hopefully, the body is finished, at least when speaking about fibreglass work. I still need to prime the body, but I'm in no hurry. The body has got a layer of wax oil inside; I think I'll put on one more layer before I am satisfied. Front hubs are assembled again; now I need to do the rear suspension, then I start assembling thins on the chassis. No progress on engine and gearbox... Pictures from this period is here...

August 1st to 15th, 2000
During these two weeks I have practised plastic surgery. The front is fixed, so is the crack in the windshield. I have started to make the rear part look like an Europa again; as I stripped the paint, I found lots of screws and pop rivets. I removed some ten sheet metal plates from inside the engine compartment! Removed one sheet metal blade, applied fibreglass - wait until it hardened, then remove another sheet metal plate, add more fibreglass and so on. It sure takes some time...

I still haven't taken the time to check weather the "new" Gordini engine is a 807 that will fit right into the chassis. But; as autumn is close, I'm in no hurry. Hopefully the Europa will be on the road by next May. Or June. Perhaps July?? Or the year after next year?? To see pictures from this work, click here...

July 30th, 2000
Today I've done quite a job. First; I painted the chassis with three layer of Ford red; now it is shining red! And very nice!
Then; I finally took the patient to saw the bolt holding the drivers door, and what I found was yet another disappointment... The whole bodyside in the door frame was cracked!  A 30 cm long crack, with a branching crack towards the outer body causes most of the door sagging, I guess... I also tried to repair the crack between the windshield, door and roof. Hopefully my first ever attempt with fibreglass will be a success, though I can't tell this until it has hardened in a day or two. To see the pictures from today, click here! And the best of all; a friend of mine (hmm; the friend that gave me Lotus-mania in the beginning...) has traced a Gordini engine from a resigned Europa owner for me! 

July 23rd, 2000
Just back from my three weeks holiday, I sent the wife and kids away - and started working in the garage. Removed lots of plastic padding on the rear part of the car, only to find more cracks in the bodyshell. Looks like the car has had a heavy crash both at the front and rear. The front part is easy to fix, but the rear will cause problems, due to the layout. Perhaps Banks have pre-made rear parts at a nice price??

When on holiday in England I visited both Miles WalkingWilkins at Fibreglass Services and Richard Winter at Banks Europa Engineering. If you click on Summer holiday 2000  you can read about it - and see some pictures as well. And; this is (nearly) just the car related story and pictures; not all the family pictures ;-)

June 10th, 2000
Took the car out of the garage and onto the courtyard. Used a surfacing machine, and removed most of the painting in about two hours. Had a long conversation with Richard Winter at Banks Europa Engineering in the UK a couple of days ago, and got lots of advises from him - both on paint stripping and other stuff like removing doors etc.. Now I hope to strip the rest of the paint during the weekend, and thereafter start repairing the cracks in the bodyshell. As I removed the paint today I discovered several cracks in the rear. Especially those in the front worries me. My guess is that the car has been in some accident, sometime in the past.

June 2nd, 2000
Parts arrived!
New chassis, front suspension (incl wishbones, shock absorbers and springs), rear shock absorbers and spring (adjustable Koni's all around), new cooling pipes, repair kit for wheel cylinders and brake pipes. Now it is just to find a good way to rust protect the chassis before I start to put the car together again. My goal is to have the body repainted and back on the new and completed chassis before september. We'll se; my timetable has broken before....
To see a pictures of some of the new parts; click here.

May 23rd, 2000
Finally some progress! Having spent a month or more to decide if I should keep the old broken chassis - or buy a new one. At the end I choose to order a new chassis. This, together with new front wishbones, springs and shock absorbers, brake lines etc., was ordered from Banks Europa Engineering in UK a week ago. Hope to get the parts this week.

Meantime I have started to strip the paint from the car. Got lots of advice's from the people on the Europa mailing list, but turned out to use a knife to strip the paint off with! This works excellent, and I use just a fraction of the time I would have used if I should use other ways of stripping the car.

March 5th, 2000
Rest of suspension removed, as well as front part of gearshift mechanism. Also removed the radiator transfer pipes. And; given the chassis a closer look...

This unfortunately informed me that the chassis has seriously cracks in the front, just where the cross member is welded to the backbone. After being advised both to weld the old chassis - and replace it, I have taken the most expensive way out; buy a new chassis. This will most probably be bought from Fibreglass Services in UK, who offered a standard Europa S2 chassis at GBP 750,-. I have also asked the same company (along with a few other) for prices for a loooot of new parts. This will be an expensive spring....

As it isn't enough spending a lot of money on the Lotus; the MG is due to a technical test during May, and I know they will find a few defects there, as well...

February 20.th, 2000
Front suspension 95% out. Bent lower wishbones made the choice ease; everything will be renewed. The front lower wishbone on the right side is stuck, guess I need to heaten it up to get it off. See pictures from today by clicking here.

February 19th, 2000
Engine and gearbox is out of chassis. Rear wheels and links/suspension just put aside for now, I will concentrate on the chassis first. Hope to dismount the front suspension tomorrow.
Engine is in bad condition, I fear. Will see what I do. Gearbox has correct number, engine has been replaced sometime by PO (previous owner).
I have found an excellent way to drain the remaining coolant system; pictures of this will be put up shortly...

January 30st, 2000
The Body Has Left The Chassis!!!!
Just couldn't wait to get the friends together; built up high platform to place the stands on, and got the body high enough to pull the chassis out backwards. Lowered the body, and rolled the chassis back in the garage, next to the body (click here to see the pictures). The chassis was positively rust free, just some surface rust under the 'carpet' that was surrounding the chassis. Guess I'll remove this with a steel brush on my drill. Then it is to pick out the engine and gearbox, remove the front and rear suspension and get the chassis painted. As I have thought of painting the car deep blue or black, I'll paint the chassis red.

 Does anyone have suggestion on body-work? I'll try to fix the few cracks by myself - and I'll need all the (good) advises I can get.

January 29th, 2000
Lifted the body!!
Unfortunately my stands aren't high enough so I can't push the chassis away; will have to build app 10 cm more to clear the body from the chassis. The body was surpassingly light ;-). I am now looking forward to fix the damages in the body, then disassemble the motor and gearbox and restore them, fit new front suspension and rear shock absorbers: Guess all the bushings need replacement as well. Inside I'll have to buy a complete new set of carpets and noise reduction plates.
Perhaps I can reach this before the summer, after all :-).

January 28th, 2000
Hmm, am I getting lazy?
Well; I have done some work; removed the last two bolts from the chassis (the ones in the front, at the suspension mounting point), picked out the facia, removed the lights (...), and tried to lift the body. Guess this will be done within a day or two...