Pretty neat project . . .

Anyone looking for a REALLY neat body to put on a VW pan . . . coolest part is that it would be a VW powered Lotus, NOT a Lotus bodied VW.

The Lotus carries the VIN on the body, not the frame.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110321269748

Not sure how you'd fit a pan under that. Europas are very low and are designed for a backbone frame. Everything outside of the backbone (including the floors) is fiberglass - not great in a side impact. I guess you could cut the floors out. That body looks pretty rough, though. You could do a tube frame and use a Spyder drivetrain, I suppose.

"Europas are very low and are designed for a backbone frame."

Oh, come ON Lane . . . I know that you're more adventurous than that ! ! ! The VW chassis, without the pans, IS a backbone frame.

Look at the pics of the Lotus spine, look familiar?

You take a VW chassis and cut away the pans, then you lower the Lotus body over the VW spine (the spine will come into the position of the stock Lotus spine) cut away material as you go until it matches the stock height. Weld a few tabs to hold it in place (mimic the stock Lotus mounting tabs) and step back.

The track of the Lotus is 53 inches, the VW is 53, so that's done.

The wheelbase of the Lotus is 91 inches, the VW is 91. Either take a bit out of the VW, or use a saw and some fiberglass and adjust the Lotus body to fit, we really aren't talking a massive amount in the wheel wells at all.

Anyway, NOW the body is on the VW spine and sitting at stock height. Since the spine pokes through the opening in the Lotus shell in a similar way to the Lotus "fork" it all ought to be kinda step=by-step from then on.

Granted, it's a REAL Lotus body that we're talking about here, not a cheezy fiber replica of a 356, so you really wouldn't
to want to put TOO much time and money into it . . .

While Lotus' were never exactly built like steel bridges, their backbones certainly look more beefy than a VW's without the pan for support. Surely you'd need some extra bracing if you did as you suggest.

The last time I rode in a Europa I felt pretty vulnerable, but the car felt solid torsionally. I would think that an unreinforced VW backbone would tend to twist quite a bit.

The backbone shown in the add looks like it's only partially there, but maybe it could be combined with the VW backbone for some decent strength.

Agreed! I'm imagining a backbone something along the lines of the TVR. I've owned a couple of those and have a better understanding of how they work and go together. As you said, the VW spine is a starting point.

Once a ride like this is designed and carried through, of course, there's no reason not to buy the adapter kit and put a FORD four cylinder in the rear, Esslinger's done magic with them, and an entire class of racers (Formula Ford) were pretty much designed around the engine.

http://www.esslingeracing.com/midget-engine.htm

Plus Lotus and Ford have a history of sorts . . .

Nice restoration project - maybe with V-Tech engine or hybrid.