Help me class an old Lotus

Every time I read the SCCA book, I get glassy eyed.

Looks to me that they are pretty tough on Lotuses.

They appear to be excluded from most classes, or running against much more powerful cars.

So, help me out. What would be the most advantageous way to class an old Lotus Europa, with a non- Lotus engine?

I will be building a cage, and should be about 1800 lbs.when finished. I'll also need to be NHRA legal.

I'm trying to class it so I can begin building a cage/ suspension.

Thoughts?

Sounds like XP to me.

more specifics on the motor?

Look at the Modified class rules, too. They're more "open" than Prepared and allow some creativity.

A Europa powered by a non-Lotus engine should be classed in E-Mod.

It's actually a Lotus built head on a non-Lotus block.

Not that it matters, but it will be street legal and driven.

E-mod sounds like the ticket. It's a tough class though - things like sevenesques and 4AGE-powered starlets.

D-mod if the motor is under 2 litres.

Solo or Club Racing?

SVreX wrote: It's actually a Lotus built head on a non-Lotus block.

Are you referring to a regular Lotus twincam motor, which is a Lotus head on a English Ford block.?

oooh the suspense..

i know what it is.. and i know of quite a few over 400 whp

IIRC every swapped Europa I've seen running at the Nationals is in E Mod. I'd avoid XP, the way the rules are set up that would mean a dollar race to try to stay competitive.

You planning to stuff a Yugo motor in it?

What about a Lotus engine out of a 1991 Dodge Spirit R/T? Would that be "keeping it in the family"?

I like the ruleset in XP better. I think the Mod classes have a threat of becoming the "how much do you want to win (spend)" classes.

Classing doesn't much matter to me, but I tend to run what a brung, and not care about how competitive I am.

What about a Lotus engine out of a 1991 Dodge Spirit R/T? Would that be "keeping it in the family"?

hmmmmm.....

RossD wrote: What about a Lotus engine out of a 1991 Dodge Spirit R/T? Would that be "keeping it in the family"?

That's the motor I'm using.

But it's not a Lotus motor. It's a Lotus head.

Jensenman wrote: You planning to stuff a Yugo motor in it?

Awesomeness.

No, but I might be working with the same motor you stuffed into a Yugo (or at least a backwards Yugo!).

I think you two guys have some explaining to do:

Jensenman wrote: IIRC every swapped Europa I've seen running at the Nationals is in E Mod. I'd avoid XP, the way the rules are set up that would mean a dollar race to try to stay competitive.

maroon92 wrote: I like the ruleset in XP better. I think the Mod classes have a threat of becoming the "how much do you want to win (spend)" classes.

So which is it?

It's BOTH! To be nationally competitive in Either class it takes Cubic Dollars. D-mod is probably the most expensive since you have to make the most power out of the smallest displacement. XP you have a weight penalty for displacement so you have a similar make power out of displacement expense as D-mod, plus you have some dollars that have to be thrown at aero. E-mod is probably cheaper since you have no real penalty for using displacement to get power, but in all 3 classes you need expensive tires, lightweight wheels and super $$ shocks to win. Not that it can't be done for cheaper as I'm sure that there will be someone who says so-and-so did it back in 200X for $15 and a pack of gum, however All the EM, DM and XP cars I've seen that are really fast have a bunch of dollars in them. However also You have some of the nicest most inventive people in the AutoX community.

OK, let me clarify.

I have absolutely no intention of being competitive nationally, or for that matter even locally. I'm not that good a driver- I'm just having fun.

But I don't want to build an abomination either.

I'm building for the Challenge, and for myself, because I intend to drive it for a while after the Challenge.

But I can also attempt to build it toward a particular class, so that it will be appealing to someone else in the future.

I don't want to build something that has no life after the Challenge, because it was built in such a way to be completely useless or uncompetitive. I could build a cage out of used steam pipes and make it through tech at the Challenge, but it would be completely useless for someone more interested in being competitive in other venues.

So, it will have a motor swap ('cause I like speed), and a cage ('cause I don't want to kill myself). Body mods are likely at some point (think Lotus 62, 'cause I like it). But it will also have a full interior ('cause I want my wife to ride with me, 'cause I like her more than cars).

I'm thinking that means E mod, so I'd like to build the cage, etc. to work for that class (as well as the NHRA).

But someone else in the future may be putting the bucks into it to make it competitive. It will just be a fast street driver to me.

Be aware that making a NHRA cage in a car makes it lose it's appeal as a Mod or XP car period. The NHRA rules simply require you to build an oversized HULK of a cage compared to the SCCA rules such that anyone that would think your car has a "future" as a Mod class car would rip your cage out and build a new-lighter one. So If your goal is to have something that someone will maybe want to buy for anything more than what your uses for the car is (having fun, and being locally competitive), I'd make the cage semi-easily removeable. And make sure the car would be under-weight for it's class (without interior, lights, etc. as minimum weight with ballast is better than over minimum weight with everthing removed). Also attempt to use the "stock" floorpan as much as possible, this way you won't have the tube frame weight penalty.

Really though, I just wouldn't worry about the future of the car. If you do a good job building it as a semi-streetable fast driver it will have MUCH more appeal as that when you sell it down the road than as a Auto-x car. I'd try to make it have a SCCA SOLO 1 legal cage, big brakes, and have common enough parts to be easy to service, so the car would have huge appeal as a Trackday toy, as that's where a wider range of people spend silly amounts of money (think Porsche GT3 etc.).

THAT is helpful. Thank you. Sometimes I need a little help focusing!

Problem on the "stock" floorpan- it's fiberglass.

I dunno how it was done, but there's a National level DM Elan featured in Sports Car last year which has a roll bar installed. Those are, like the Europa, backbone frame with a fiberglass shell. The article mentioned that there was a good bit o' fabrication involved. You might also look into some of the road race cars out there for inspiration.

Of course, you can always overcome the 'tube frame weight penalty' with a boring bar or some wastegate mods.

Jensenman wrote: I dunno how it was done, but there's a National level DM Elan featured in Sports Car last year which has a roll bar installed. Those are, like the Europa, backbone frame with a fiberglass shell. The article mentioned that there was a good bit o' fabrication involved. You might also look into some of the road race cars out there for inspiration. Of course, you can always overcome the 'tube frame weight penalty' with a boring bar or some wastegate mods.

That national's level DMod Elan sounds suspicously like this car:

Driven by Ron and Karen Babb, it is perennially a strong contender. They race out of the NW division and you may be able to contact them and get some ideas.

I think the one he is refering to is a yellow one. I remember reading the article last year and thinking... Damn.. this guy has some money, as It sounded like the car was built for him by someone.

Probably similar to this:

http://www.spydercars.co.uk/pg2_spy_rollbar.htm

Europa Series 2 chassis:

http://www.spydercars.co.uk/pg8_spy_eur_sf_chassis.htm

Renault Fuego transaxle conversion:

http://www.spydercars.co.uk/pg12_eur_fuego_conv.htm

Here is another interesting shot of a Europa Series 2:

http://www.spydercars.co.uk/pg3_special_projects.htm