RECAP AND PHOTOS PROVIDED BY DAVE LINDEMANN
Now THAT is empty!
How close have you come to running out of gas without actually running out?
I had a business trip planned to beautiful Lyman, Nebraska. As it turns out, I was able to locate a good used 1973 Europa chassis in Littleton, CO just prior to my trip. Figuring that since I was driving all the way to Lyman, maybe I could take a few hours out of my trip and go to Littleton to pick up the chassis. After clearing it with my boss I was good to go with my Chevrolet Equinox. I left Lyman later in the afternoon and the fuel level was lower than I would have liked—there must be a gas station in Lyman…….my phone gps said “no results”. So I headed off figuring there must be a gas station somewhere between Lyman and Littleton. My phone kept saying “no results”. What I didn’t take into account was I was driving in the far SE corner of Wyoming……there is NOTHING out there! The fuel level dropped, the warning light came on, I was getting nervous and I started looking for houses or anywhere I could stop and ask for a gallon or two of gas. Finally, I saw signs for Cheyenne – what a relief! The Equinox has an 18.8-gallon capacity fuel tank and I filled it with 18.69 – gallons. Talk about driving on fumes!
Here is what a Lotus Europa chassis looks likes secured in the back of a Chevrolet Equinox.
The gentleman I purchased the chassis from was away on a bicycling trip but his wife was home to provide access to the chassis. Thankfully, it is light enough that I could lift it into the vehicle by myself. The trip home was noisy due to the rear hatch being open but otherwise uneventful.
Bob Cates did a wonderful job of blasting the chassis down to bare metal. The turn-around was fast and the price was right at $125!
The chassis had some surface rust and a couple of little “dings” so I called Mark Nordin at Mark Nordin Enterprises about blasting, repairing and painting the chassis. Mark painted the blue Europa I’m also working on and he did an amazing job. He recommended that I take it to Cates Sandblasting in Stacy and then bring it to him for metal repair, priming and painting.
Primed and painted chassis in Mark’s paint booth – almost as good as new!
The chassis went directly from Bob to Mark for some minor metal repair, epoxy primer and catalyzed “Dove Gray” chassis paint. While the chassis was being repaired I was working on removing everything from the damaged chassis. I soon realized that parts from a 34-year old car can be pretty crusty!
You probably figured this was coming…..I can’t put crusty, rusty parts back on a freshly refinished chassis can I????
No, I can’t. Here we go on the never ending, perpetually under restoration saga……. what to do……stay tuned to find out!