Evaluation: From the Dick Ray Estate collection. Another barn find. The paint is dull and has the usual Lotus stress cracks. The doors are so loose-fitting you have to physically lift them or they won’t close. The seats have some small rips and the dash is partially disassembled with a few boxes of spares on the floor. The original wheels are in good shape. No terminal rust spotted underneath, but it would be nice to see it on a lift. A cool car with mostly good specs (the optional 5-speed would be even better), but it’s a project not for the faint of heart or wallet.
Bottom Line: There are lots of headaches, steep bills and parts chasing in this Europa’s future, and even if everything is done to very high standards the finished product won’t be worth more than 30 or 40 grand in today’s market. It’s a car worth saving, though, and either the buyer stayed wisely cautious or there weren’t many Lotus fans in Tulsa willing to take on this job.
