Man finds car he had to sell in 1991 on eBay

A man who sold a car he described as his "pride and joy" has been reunited with it 35 years later after finding it on an internet auction site.

David Reynolds, from Swineshead, Lincolnshire, said the 1972 Lotus Europa was sold during a divorce in 1991.

In September he found it in Sheffield on eBay after recognising distinctive alterations he made to the interior.

"I had a job to sleep", he said about the night he rediscovered it, adding he had no regrets about spending £16,080 rebuying the car, after selling it for £4000.

David said he although had seen other similar yellow Lotus Europas over the years, which "brought back memories", the listing he saw in September caught his eye because of black coachlines which were not an original feature.

After looking at more pictures of the interior, he "realised there was a little piece of wood around the radio which the local joiner made."

Only after seeing footage of the car driving could he verify the number plate matched the one he sold.

"Half of me thought, I must have made a reasonable job of it in the first place."

"All the previous owners have looked after it too which is something I can only be thankful for," he added.

"I was chuffed to bits to just see it in the state that it is," he said.

David described spending two years restoring the Lotus, "from nut and bolt " between 1989 and 1991, including repainting the bodywork.

He said selling the car "knocked the wind out of [his] sails" but he needed to do it.

"I got divorced and to keep the house, I had to find some money from somewhere," he said.

He added the Europa had a special place in his heart: "I then had a Black Lotus Europa and a Series 3 Elan at one stage, but the yellow one was all of my pride and joy, because I'd done that from nut and bolt."

"I'd put all my passion into doing it in the first place", he said, "but needs must."

The Europa was the first mass-produced car designed with a mid-mounted engine.

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