calvan

July 1 is Canada Day - national holiday - but this year was a bit different as the vast majority of events were cancelled or had some sort of a virtual alternative. I normally alternate between two events - either volunteer work with the local RCMP to help out with the crowds at the beach or at a car show put on each year by some friends who run a high-end restoration shop called Jellybean AutoCrafters (shameless plug, but their work is good enough to have been shown at Pebble Beach). Both were cancelled this year but my day was saved when I got an invite from Jellybean to join a max 25 car one day tour, lunch included route not known til the start, all gratis. So away we went. Took the Esprit and were one of two European cars in a group of 22 hot rods and muscle cars. Despite some crappy weather, it was great fun. The first shot, assuming I can get them to upload in the right order, is us at the start. The Jellybeans car show is always held at the Langley Speedway, a now defunct 1/4 mile paved oval that was used for stock car racing from 1965 to 1984. I went there as a kid. It is now part of a regional park and has largely been taken over by the nature and horse crowds, but our hosts got approval for our group to get onto the old track for a few (slow) laps. Still a lot of fun; I could remember where the pits and grandstands used to be and imagine the crowds. Especially when I managed to hang back to create some space and give the Esprit a bit of wellie through the east end of the old oval. The second shot shows the cars stopped on track after a few laps. Our hosts had a photographer there taking video and drone shots so I will look for that on their Facebook page in a few days as it will undoubtedly have better pictures than I took. After that it was off along the back roads to Chilliwack for lunch and then the long route up a stretch of the Fraser River and back. The spring flood is on and the river is almost as high as I have ever seen it. Great drive, if not quite as brisk a pace as I would have done on my own. Great day nonetheless. The last two shots were taken at the end of the day - one shows that we weren't the only Esprit there after all .

And a brief follow-up question to the solar experts here: If Covid-19 makes you puke, does that count as a Coronal Mass Ejection?

True. I stand corrected but I must say you handled that with flare.

(sun)spot on!

Sam, I will put my two-bits worth in on a couple of points. And since free advice is generally worth what you pay for it, I won't be offended if you ignore me completely. The main point is in the work to be done to put it together. Not so much whether you can do it but more whether you like to do it. If you don't think you will enjoy assembling the car, follow @jep's advice and move on to something you can get in and drive. Otherwise, read on. My own inclination is much like Justin's. I am at best a semi-competent wrench turner but I sure love to drive. And bear in mind that at the end of the day you will have a Europa. It is a bloody brilliant little car to drive but since you had a Europa before, you know that. . It has its drawbacks - getting stuck in traffic on a warm day gives you a whole new appreciation for the term "shake and bake" - but get one out on a twisty back road with no traffic and there's nothing like it. When I get a chance to drive my Europa through the twisties my usual thought is "if I was having any more fun it wouldn't be legal". Your biggest concern seems to age. I obviously can't answer that for you, but I might have a bit of a parallel. Up until this Covid nonsense put a stop to most things, I was playing old-timers (age 55+) hockey twice a week. I'm 66, more or less the median age of the group, but there are a few guys well into their 70s who are playing with us. Granted, they're in fairly good shape to start with but it is really the enjoyment they get from the game that keeps them going. I realise there is a big difference between playing a team sport and spending hours in a garage, often by yourself, but if you really enjoy taking on a project like that it can be a reward by itself. If you are capable of the work (technically and physically), think you can get it done in about a year, and will look forward to the work then I say go for it. Assuming you're still reading this, the next question is value. To follow what @Bibs said, its value as a car is essentially nothing. Even if you do most of the work yourself, by the time you pay for the body, paint, and engine work and factor in something for miscellaneous extra costs and some value of your time, even at minimum wage, you could just go out and buy a decent running car for the same amount. They don't come up all that often but good Europas are out there. The pile of bits is still worth something to the estate of the former owner but probably mostly as parts. But selling the car as parts may not be a job the executor wants to take on - he will have to inventory the parts, put a value on them, store them until sale and deal with all the time-wasters and low-ballers "Yes, I know you have two front shocks but I only want one and even though it has a bit of rust on it I'll still give you $1.50 for it." Unless they already have a business that can handle this stuff the task of parting out an entire car, especially something a bit weird like a Europa, could be a pain in the ass of monumental proportions. If you still think you want to take it on, I'd suggest pointing this out to whoever is administering the estate and see if you can work out a deal to take the whole works off their hands. I haven't even tried to work out the parts value but if you factor in the costs of inventory, storage, admin fees, etc I'd be surprised if the net value to the estate is more than $3-$5K. If you want to take on the project, that might be a reasonable value to you as well. Let us know how it all plays out.

If people go into my garage, most would happily pay to be allowed to leave.

It was a sunny afternoon here in White Rock so I decided to take the Europa out for a drive. As I was going along the beachfront strip (imaginatively named Marine Drive), what did I see coming along in the other direction but a Countach. I hear the 70s have been calling - they want their cars back. Unfortunately, no pics as I was driving and didn't have a passenger.

here is a beacon of joy and hope (not): If he is re-elected, I will not be the least bit surprised to see a "grassroots" movement spring up to repeal the 22nd Amendment. That is the amendment that was enacted post-FDR to give constitutional status to a presidential term limit. Otherwise, I agree with the sentiments expressed by @Loquacious Lew

Me too. I did spend several hours tidying up the rubbish tip that passes for my garage. Don't see any difference.

I agree, although I'm not too sure about the "Closely followed by.." bit. Like others, I will make a choice among the Lotus road cars I have driven. Not the longest list, and glossing over different types of each car (for instance, I think i have driven 5 variants of the Esprit) my choice is among: Elan Europa Esprit Evora as passenger in 7 moved an Elite for a friend, but that was only about ten feet so doesn't really count. My vote is for the Europa. Not as good an overall car as the Elise but I get more fun out of driving it. That's what counts.

I have heard that the rate of spread of Covid-19 is largely influenced by two factors: 1. How dense the population is, and 2. How dense the population is.

A bit of automotive wisdom I have heard over the years is that too many short runs, i.e. less than ten minutes or so, can be damaging to the engine. I don't know if it is simply folklore but it makes some sense so I will pass it on. Because he piston rings are never a 100% effective seal, some products of combustion will get past the rings and into the engine oil. A small amount of water will go into emulsion and it can react with CO to produce small amounts of acidic compound. Over time it can accumulate in the oil. However, if the engine is allowed to get fully warm it will allow the water, and I assume the CO, to gain enough heat energy to gasify out of the oil and escape. Longer run times allow this to happen and alleviate the build-up of unwanted compounds in the sump. My undergraduate chemistry courses were close to half a century ago so I won't claim great expertise to verify this. But, as I said, it seems to make sense. If I haven't used one of my cars for a while I will make a point of getting it out for a 10 or 15 mile run to make sure it is fully up temperature for a while. I know that is impractical if the car is off the road but I suggest letting it run for at least ten minutes every few weeks.

I see that it went for US$12,639. I was following the auction out of interest as its serial number indicates that it is 15 cars older than my Europa, at least in the "R" production series.

Might I suggest some reading material:

My poor Europa is in isolation whether I like it or not. Being short of garage space, I rent space for it in an otherwise unused section of secure parking at an extended care facility. Normally a great deal as the car is safe and the space is cheap. But now the care facility has had a confirmed case of Covid and is in complete lockdown so I guess the car is stuck there for the duration. I'm not in lockdown at home but am generally staying put. I've been turned into a garden serf. (Not the most enthusiastic gardener on the planet)