’73 TCS Federal Lotus Europa

Body Removal Notes

Disclaimer: I used Phil Ethier’s “Europa Body Removal” email as my guide and took notes as I went. In a couple of places I quote him. In a number of cases the configuration of my TCS was not stock, and so some of my steps may not match your car (and there are some TCS vs. S2 differences). This worked for me, as written, but your mileage may vary and you should use your own judgment where my approach seems wrong. I am an amateur mechanic and new to Lotus repair.

Russ

NOTA BENE: All nut and bolt measurements given are tool size, not actual bolt size.

1 Removed front trunk lid

1.1 Removed spare tire

1.2 Removed the 2, ½” lid retaining bolts, one from each side

1.2.1 Each bolt had a washer between the bolt head and the trunk lid

1.2.2 Each bolt had a rubber washer between the trunk lid and the body

2 Removed rear deck lid

Deck lid is bolted to two hinges that are themselves mounted to the exterior body. I removed the lid from the hinges and left the hinges attached to the body.

2.1 Removed 2 top nylock 7/16” nuts from each hinge, with fender washers between nut and deck lid

2.2 Removed 2 bottom nylock 7/16” nuts from each hinge, with fender washers between nut and deck lid

3 Removed wheels and placed car on jack stands.

4 Removed Air Horn (original?)

4.1 [The horn was not working and the ground wire from the air pump was not connected]

4.2 A/H was mounted with 2, ½” through bolts, with fender washers between the nuts and the body panel. Bolt heads on the top of the A/H bracket, nuts and washers under the car. Pump was mounted with circular clamp that is itself mounted to the trunk bulkhead that holds the radiator.

4.3 Removed A/H by removing the 2, ½” nuts and bolts

4.4 Disconnected positive lead from air pump (bayonet connection, blue wire) and labeled it as such. Ground was not connected; not sure where it goes.

4.5 Removed air pump by pulling out of the circular clamp (it was a light press fit).

5 Removed rear “Trunk” tray

5.1 [Air cleaners is mounted on this tray. I left it in place for the time being.]

5.2 Loosened clamp holding air cleaner hose to carburetors and pushed hose off carbs.

5.3 Tray then lifted out. [Two nuts and bolts that should hold the tray to the frame were missing.]

6 Removed radiator

Note: The chassis closing plate was missing. If it had been there, I would have removed it at this time. As Phil points out, once the closing plate is removed, be careful to not place a load on the front of the body. The closing plate is a structural member that helps support the front of the body. If you overload the front, the fiberglass will crack.

6.1 Drained fluid

6.1.1 Removed sensor ground wire that goes through hole in trunk, by radiator, to center of front frame, secured by SS Phillips screw.

6.1.2 Loosened the upper hose at the radiator end first, and drained down as far as possible by lowering the hose end into a bucket in the nose.

6.1.3 Placed a catch basin under the drain hole in the bottom of the luggage compartment. (At then end of this process I had to clean the residual coolant from the luggage compartment.) Phil did this differently:

“There does not seem to be a drain anywhere, so removing the radiator hoses is the only way. I took off the upper hose at the radiator end first, and drained down as far as possible by lowering the hose end into a bucket in the nose. I cut up an antifreeze bottle to make a big flat pan to fit under the lower radiator hose connection. Any coolant you spill goes out the drain hole in the nose, so have a pan under the car to catch it.”

6.1.4 Pulled temperature sensor sending unit out of press-fit rubber grommet. Additional fluid drained.

6.1.5 Loosened the lower hose at the radiator end and drained into luggage compartment.

6.1.6 Lowered front of car with jack and released radiator cap on overflow tank in engine compartment to get as much remaining coolant as possible.

6.2 Removed 3, 7/16” radiator mounting bolts. Top is through-bolt with fender washer and nut on reverse side. Two bottom fasteners are studs attached to radiator with nuts and fender washers on obverse side.

6.2.1 Both studs were corroded and snapped off. Radiator shop will put in new studs.

6.2.2 Body holes are much larger than stud size and there were no rubber grommets under the radiator. May require repair/modification.

6.3 Disconnected 3 electrical leads from radiator fan

6.3.1 Ground wire bolts to stud.

6.3.2 Remaining two wires have bayonet connectors. Yellow wire goes to the lower left, facing the radiator. I labeled the wires.

6.4 Removed fan from radiator

6.4.1 Removed 2, 7/16” nuts, top right and left, with washers. Studs are on radiator.

6.4.2 Removed 1, 5/16” through bolt, washer and nut.

6.5 Tried to remove stone screen from back of radiator.

6.5.1 Three of six screws came off, the others were corroded/frozen. Radiator shop will fix.

6.6 Removed press fit grommet for temperature sensor sending unit from radiator end cap.

7 Removed Battery

7.1 Battery attachment is not stock. The battery is sitting on a wooden tray that is loose on the fiberglass tray. The latter is damaged. A simple metallic heat shield has been attached to the fiberglass tray, engine side (see Photo 1). New holes have been drilled in the fiberglass tray and new, shiny “J” bolts have been installed. One original black “J” bolt was loose in its original hole. The “J” bolts secure an aluminum plate across the top of the battery. The plate sits on a rubber strip (see Photo 2).

Photo 1. Battery attachment, as purchased.

7.1 Remove two 7/16 nuts and lock washers from “J” bolts (nuts and washers are stored on “J” bolts.

7.2 Disconnect leads. Ground cable is red and attaches to the top Eng/Trans bolt, front side. Alternator support bracket is on rear side of same bolt (see Photo 3). Positive cable (also red) has a joint in the middle to ease body removal. I separated the cable at the joint (using two 9/16” wrenches) and put the cable piece with the battery parts.

7.3 Battery had to be pulled out on end to clear body work.

Photo 2. Engine from drivers side after removal of heater control and thermostat. Note vertical aluminum heat shield screwed to fiberglass battery pan.

Photo 3. Ground wire attaches to Eng/Trans bolt, as does the alternator bracket.

8 Remove heater control, thermostat, and temperature sensor

8.1 Disconnect heater hose from control housing.

8.2 Release heater-control-cable wire from clamping screw and release cable housing from clamp (5/16”). Note that heater control can be rotated off the main housing. It is a press fit and has some missing “teeth.” It may not be on in the right orientation.

8.3 Unscrew heater control housing from cylinder head.

8.4 Disconnect temperature sensor wire from sensor on thermostat housing. Unscrew temperature sensor, then unscrew sensor fitting from head.

8.5 Remove thermostat cover from head (2, ½” bolts) and remove thermostat.

8.6 Remove thermostat inlet hose from main water line, which itself disappears down into the body

9 Remove coolant tank lines

9.1 Removed small diameter overflow hose that connects to the main water line.

9.2 Removed short, medium diameter hose from bottom of tank. It connects to radiator fill line. I cut it in half to ease removal. For reassembly it should be put on the tank prior to reinstalling the body and should be watched for alignment when the body is lowered. Alternatively, the tank must be removed from the body prior to reattaching the body.

10 Remove throttle and choke linkage (see Photo 4)

10.1 Loosen 5/16” throttle cable nut (center of carb-to-carb linkage rod) and pull wire free. Cable housing is not attached to anything and whole cable now can be pushed out of the way.

10.2 Loosen 5/16” choke cable nut on front carb and pull wire free. Cable housing is held in place by a spring clamp on the top of the carb. Choke cable can now be pushed out of the way.

Photo 4. Passenger side showing throttle and choke cables.

11 Remove brake sensor wire.

11.1 On the frame, drivers side, towards the front of the engine, adjacent to the dip stick, there is a brake line junction.. It has two bayonet connectors on it. The front connector is bent and takes the double wire lead. The back connector, which is straight, takes the single wire lead.

12 Removed misc. engine compartment electrical leads.

12.1 Transmission back-up light wires (part of alternator cable) connect via bayonet. Same color wires, so assumed no polarity issue.

12.2 Alternator cables fit with unique plugs; no refit issues

12.3 Solenoid has two bayonet connectors. I labeled them for reattach location. The third connector is a stud with 7/16” nut. Two large power cables were connected. Both are labeled.

12.4 Coil has three leads with bayonet connectors. I labeled them Coil L, Coil R, and Coil Mid based on their position.

12.5 I disconnected the coil high voltage lead that goes to the distributor.

12.6 Disconnected low voltage lead to distributor from its bayonet connector. So labeled

12.7 Disconnected ground to chassis from alternator cable. It is attached to the top ½” bolt that holds the 45⁰ brace to the main frame.

13 Remove radiator hoses from front chassis tubes.

13.1 Photo 5 shows orientation, chassis to the left. Note upper hose is shorter.

Photo 5. Front radiator hoses. Left = chassis. Top hose is shorter.

14 Remove heater hose from body tube in engine compartment.

14.1 Heater hose runs from heater control on cylinder head down below the engine to connect to a tube the runs into the body (see Photo 7). Heater control end was removed in step 8.1, above.

14.2 Photo 6 shows the heater hose at the top with the end that connects to the body tube on the right. The tie wrap was loose and its purpose unknown,

Photo 6. Heater hose and lower engine block to chassis tube hose.

15 Removed lower engine block coolant hose

16 Removed connecting hose from coolant reservoir tank tube to main chassis return tube (see Photo 7)

Photo 7. Coolant tank connecting hose and heater hose in place

Photo 8. Coolant tank connecting hose

16.1 Coolant tank has a short hose that connects it to a metal tube that runs down below the engine. That metal tube is then connected to the main lower radiator line with a short hose that connects to a branch of the main chassis coolant tube. The lower part of this arrangement is shown in Photo 7.

16.2 I had to cut the hose to get it loose. Hose is shown in Photo 8.

17 Remove seats

17.1 Push the seat all the way back on the runners.

17.2 Two ½” bolt heads are now accessible. They are in the runner channel, at the front, one on each side. Remove both. A short ½” box end wrench is the easiest tool. Note, there is also a ½” nut on the seat runner itself. This does not need to be removed.

17.3 Slide the seat all the way forward. It will come off the runners. The two back ½” nuts can now be removed and the seat tilted out of the car.

18 Remove inboard seat belts

18.1 Remove 11/16” bolts that retain the inboard seat belt fixture. Belt fixture stays in car because it is wired to the interior harness (presumably for the seat belt lock-out feature required by the U.S.)

19 Remove Pedal Assembly (see Photo 9)

19.1 Remove cotter pin from brake pedal pin and remove brake pedal pin and two washers (Cotter Pin/Yoke/Washer/Yoke/Washer/Pin head)

19.2 From underneath car, behind master cylinder, remove 4 7/16” nylocks and fender washers.

Photo 9. Pedal assembly before removal.

20 Remove clutch cable.

20.1 Cable housing ends are press fit into brackets at passenger tunnel and in engine compartment on frame.

20.2 Remove cotter pin from inboard side of clutch pedal extension lever and remove pin.

20.3 Pull clevis free from clutch lever on bell housing. Remove jam nuts and clevis.

20.4 Pull cable housing free from tunnel in interior (pull up edge of carpet) and pull cable assembly complete from engine compartment and remove.

21 Disconnect handbrake lever mount

21.1 The instructions said to remove the throttle pedal, but I did not.

21.2 Pull large rubber stopper in luggage compartment.

21.3 Remove ¾” bolt from top of lever. (See Photo 10.)

21.4 Wrestle brake cable free from lever, push back into frame.

Photo 10. Handbrake brake cable and lever

22 Pull throttle cable down to body

22.1 Throttle cable runs from lower driver side body hole (see photo 11), up over engine to passenger side where it connects to the center of the dual carb linkage. Throttle is “held” in place on the frame, near where it enters the body (see Photo 12) by a soft plastic loop.

22.2 I pulled it down out of the way, but did not pull it out of the body.

Photo 11. Throttle and Clutch cable hole in body.

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Photo 12. Throttle cable plastic loop that positions the cable prior to its going up over the engine.

Photo 13. The brake fluid distribution block on the frame below the vacuum reservoirs.

8 Remove master cylinder

7.4 Drain brake fluid (I disconnecting the brake lines at the distribution housing (7/16”) in the engine compartment (see Photo 13) and then pumped the brake.)

7.5 Remove the brake sensor wire from the distribution block (Photo 13) by pulling the red wire with black stripes from its bayonet connector.

7.6 Disconnect the two 7/16” brake lines at the vacuum reservoirs that are a hard link between the body and the frame. Gently bend them out of the way.

7.7 Remove the two ½” nylock nuts from the master cylinder base from under the front of the car. Top nut requires the longer box end wrench because of close quarters. Based on Phil’s description, I assume that the S2 has four mounting nuts

10.3 Remove clevis from brake pedal linkage end, in passenger foot well, by loosening the jam nut and unscrewing the clevis.

10.4 Pull master cylinder assembly from car and drain.

11 Remove Steering Column and Steering Rack

11.1 The steering rack had to be removed to get at the pinch bolt that holds the lower, inner steering column in place. The pinch bolt is inside the frame and while it can be reached with a box end wrench, it was too tight for me to loosen that way. I understand that the design for the S2 is slightly different and that the pinch bolt can be released. Phil’s notes just say “Remove steering column.”

11.2 I first followed the manual’s instructions for removing the Inner Column (Europa Manual section H.3)

11.3 Free Both Tie Rods (Started with the driver’s side).

I removed the disc brakes at this time to make this easier. I knew I was going to rebuild them anyway, so no reason not to take them off now. This is not necessary to remove the Tie Rods

11.3.1 Remove wheel bearing dust cover by wiggling it out with a large pair of vice grips.

11.3.2 Remove cotter pin and castellated nut.

11.3.3 Remove 7/16” brake line connector from caliper. Brake fluid has been previously drained.

11.3.4 Remove 2 5/8” caliper bolts from back side of caliper. Breaker bar was required and the top bolt is blocked by hard brake line, which needs to be removed or gently bent out of the way.

11.3.5 Withdraw caliper and remove disc and hub.

11.3.6 Load the front suspension so that it is not putting tension on the tie rod.

11.3.7 Remove top two, ½”, bolts from brake shield.

11.3.8 Loosen front, lower 9/16” bolt by loosening the nylock nut on the reverse side. Don’t remove until tie rod is loose.

11.3.9 Remove rear lower 9/16” bolt.

11.3.10 Bracket shield is now loose and can be moved around to miss the pickle fork.

11.3.11 Once the tie rod is loose (see below) finish removing the front, lower 9/16” bolt and extract the steering arm.

11.3.12 Using pickle fork, break tie rod loose from steering arm

11.3.13 Repeat for passenger side.

11.4 Remove steering rack mounts

11.4.1 Steering rack is held in place by two split clamps that bolt to the frame (see Photo 16). There is a left and right mount and they are marked differently as pairs. Note which is which on removal

11.4.2 Remove four 7/16” rack mount bolts.

11.4.2.1 Top two bolts have the head inside the frame and the nuts are nylock. As a result, as soon as the nylock nuts are broken, the bolts begin to rotate. The bolt heads can be reachable through the access ports (remove the rubber plugs). Photo 17 shows the loose bolts protruding from the frame after removal of the rack.

11.4.2.2 The two lower bolts go into captive nuts in the frame and can be simply unscrewed.

Photo 16. Steering rack and mounting clamps.

Photo 17. Loose steering rack mount bolts protrude from frame.

11.4.3 Pull steering column U-joint out of frame (remember this is why we are doing all of this!)

11.4.4 Remove upper ½” bolt that holds inner steering column pinch bolt. Use wedge to open pinch clamp and remove splined end of inner steering column.

11.4.5 Withdraw steering rack, with finagling, through passenger side opening between the roll bar and the spindle. When ½ way out, pull rack completely in the direction of the driver’s side.

12 Disconnect fuel line

12.1 Loosen clamp on fuel line at fuel pump; pull fuel line free.

12.2 Drain gas tanks if necessary by lowering the fuel line below the tank level, the gas can be saved in a gas can. (The drain plugs at the bottom of the tanks are hard to use because the gas does not flow straight down but sprays as it comes out, picking up dirt.)

12.3 Release gas tank cross feed from driver’s side and pull through frame to passenger side.

13 Pull carbs, with flanges by removing three, 1/2” nuts per carb. See Photo 18 for parts arrangement.

Photo 18. Carbs off car with nuts and washers.

14 Remove center console

14.1 Arm rest pad pops out (blind fasteners).

14.2 Unscrew shift knob.

14.3 Remove four screws holding shift boot to console (probably not stock; original was a press fit but console has warped.

14.4 Two 7/`6” nylock nuts hold choke/heater bracket through the frame. Removal required holding the bolt head under the console. Bolts are held in place with undercoating and must be pushed down to remove . Bracket needs to be pushed down into the frame tunnels, clear from body. Note that there are two spacers on the back of the bracket that hold the bracket above the body

14.5 Remove ash tray and unscrew two Phillips screws that hold ash tray mount.

14.6 Remove “beauty” Phillips screws from the front of the console on each side, two total.

14.7 See Photo 19 for console parts arrangement.

Photo 19. Console parts arrangement.

Photo 20. Dash bracket to frame bolt.

18 Remove dash bracket to frame nuts. See Photo 20.

18.1 Remove 9/16” bolt from each side of console, under dash. Wow, how are we going to align this when we put the body back on?

19 Remove Front Body Retention Bolts

19.1 Remove rubber plugs on each side in the luggage tray in the nose.

19.2 Remove the 9/16” bolts through the holes. The associated nylock nut and washer are in the shock tower.

20 Remove Rear Body Retention Bolts

20.1 Remove the two (one on each side) 9/16” bolts, at the rear of the engine compartment adjacent to the end of the transmission, with washers and nylock nuts under the frame.

21 Free speedometer cable

21.1 Speedo cable is press fit into transmission end (Is this right? Shouldn’t there be a retaining nut?) and is tie-wrapped in three places to the frame (trans mount tube, coolant reservoir fill tube at frame, and main upper coolant tube near frame tunnel.

21.2 Cut cable ties and pull speedo cable up out of frame into body area of engine compartment.

22 Free Oil pressure line

22.1 Disconnect 9/16” oil line fitting from engine, below intake manifold . Line must then be pulled all the way up into the body. Alternatively, disconnect the gauge end and pull down into frame. [I only pulled partly into frame and broke it when we lifted the body off!]

23 Remove bracing struts, vertical and lateral.

23.1 There is a three dimensional, triangular strut structure at the firewall. The upper horizontal strut holds the fuel evaporation canister. First remove the canister. The vertical struts are then free at their upper end, but are attached to the frame at their lower end with 7/16” nylock nuts. The lateral link is fixed at the firewall with the remaining outboard seatbelt bolt and at the body on the engine side of the body with four 7/16” nuts that are accessible from the wheel side of the wheel well, where the lateral link is extended to the shock tower.

23.2 Vertical struts. Remove the two (one each) 7/16” nylock locks that hold the vertical links to the frame members in the engine compartment. See Picture 21.

23.3 Lateral struts.

23.3.1 Remove 5/8” bolt from upper, outboard seat belt bracket. Nut is held captive by vertical strut bracket on the other side of the firewall (but the nut on the drivers side was not captive and required vice grips to keep it from moving.

23.3.2 Remove four, each side, 7/16” nylock nuts from the wheel side of the wheel well. This releases the lateral strut and frees the strut extension. See Photo 22 for fastener layout. See Photos 23 and 24 for layout inside wheel well.

23.3.3 Loosen bolts on rear shock tower so the wheel well lateral braces can be rotated out of the way when the body is lifted. Otherwise the body has to be lifted above the braces, which is too high for my teenage lifting crew.

Photo 22: Lateral braces and fasteners.

Photo 23: Lateral brace extension inside wheel well, released from later brace bolts.

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Photo 24. Lateral brace connection to shock tower.

24 Disconnect heater hoses from inlet and outlet tubes behind the dash (almost visible in Photo 20).

25 Disconnect vacuum line that leads from the intake manifold to the two vacuum reservoirs. Leave in engine compartment.

26 Remove the gas tank cross feed. It passes through the frame. Disconnect from driver’s side tank and pull up into body on passenger side.

27 Remove body

27.1 Place 4’ 2X4’s under the body sills, running the length of the body.

27.2 Slowly jack each side a few inches, alternating until the body is 4” off the frame.

27.3 Put 10’ 2X4’s under the body, across the frame, at the frame mounting points, front and back. See Photo 25. 2X4’s must be on edge to support body weight.

27.4 Fasten 2X4’s to body with lag bolts and fender washers, through existing frame mounting holes (two front, two back), so body can not slip off 2X4’s when lifted.

27.5 Get 6-8 helpers. Body will have to be raised over engine, so lifters have to be strong enough to raise to shoulder height.

27.6 Lift body and place on cart. See Photo 26 for cart design. Next time user bigger wheels.

27.7 Remove 2X4’s and save for replacing the body.

Photo 25. 2X4 beams are located under primary frame mounting points on body and attached with lag bolts.

Photo 26. Cart is 3/4” plywood and 2X4’s.