CANAMSA - SA stratch build

[Fred W B]

Hi Johan

Thanks for the very kind words. They are particularly appreciated coming from you as an owner of originals. I have been lurking a bit on the Lola heritage forum but am apprehensive about posting there as it seems that some owners of some original cars (not necessarly Lola's) can get really worked up about replicas, particularly when they are not 100% correct.

If you think it will go down well I will post a shorter version of the story so far up there.

Cheers

Fred W B

[Johan]

It will go over well. We all appreciate your enthusiasm and talent.
With very few exceptions that I am aware of, owners of original Lolas, Cobras, Gt40s etc. are very supportive of the guys that make replicas for their own use, such as you are doing. It is usually the replica owners themselves that develop a "pecking order" based on the type of replica owned. The Lola heritage site is for Lola enthusiasts and you certainly qualify.
Now, that said, I think your rear fenders need a bit more bulge, perhaps an inch. I'm going home to look at mine and see what's what. I have three different types of rear fender on my spyders. What wheels are you going to run ?

[Fred W B]

HI Johan.

Wheels, maybe an issue. I have looked around a bit, and some people have made noises about being able to supply lola replica wheels (cult sports car etc) but nobody seems to have bought any. I would like to fit 8J and 10J 15" halibrand replicas, but for me ordering split rims is very expensive. I don't have an unlimited budget. So I have bought a set of 7 and 8J superlight wheels, as here. In fact they were delivered this week. Not right, but I think they will look okay. At least they could be considered period. Just have to find some suitable profile tyres now.

I plan to set the suspension up for I can fit 8 and 10J splitrims, with offset such that the outside face sits in the same place relative to the body, in the future.

Cheers

Fred W B

[Johan]

Wheels are expensive, but available. You now have a hub issue though.
If I were you, I would splurge on the wheels and do the hubs to take the original and save on other areas that can be converted with less consequence, like carbs or paint. Those wheels look fine, but to do a 4 bolt hub would prohibit a lot of future wheel possibilities. With all of the Cobra/GT40 wheel options out there, it seems like there should be an affordable 6 pin solution.

[Richard O'Clery]

I agree - I think having correct looking wheels particularly on the Lola coupes and spyders is crucial to the overall final look.

I'm thinking of having my own wheel centres cast by a local wheel manufacturer (not for a Lola, unfortunately). I haven't priced it yet, but I think it's so important to the overall look that it almost certain to be worth it.

You could think about digitising your 1:18 wheels, clean them up in CAD, talk to your wheel guy to see if they would cast from a pattern made from the CAD file, or get their preferred alloy specs if they want you to take it to someone else for casting. Let them clean it up, machine, balance, bolt on the innners and outers and you are away.

[Johan]

Why not just go with a 1 piece original style wheel ?

[Fred W B]

Thanks for the wheel suggestions guys.

While I understand the sentiment re correct wheels, at this stage I am committed to the hubs and wheels I have.

This project has already run away with me a bit, and I am resisting the urge to add any more "nice to have's" or side projects at the moment. I still have a lot of work to go yet:

finish body pattern
make body moulds
make body
mount body on proto chassis
make real suspension
make real chassis
build up car for real
get it on the road
replace "cooking" engine with dry sumped tuned version (already in hand)

Plus you have to leave something to tinker with once the car is complete

Why not just go with a 1 piece original style wheel ?

So with that in mind, Johan, where can you get them from? I gave up trying to find someone who would actually reply to my e mails stating:

Price?
Delivery?
OFFSET/BACKSPACE?

Cheers

Fred W B

[Mark]

Hi Fred
Been off line for a bit and nice to see you're making progress

Regarding the rims - I know someone who know's someone who makes replica rims for someone else who builds GT40 replicas, really close to the airport, if you know what I mean... Email me on marks3t@hotmail.com and I'll put you in touch if you want.

Cheers - Mark

[Johan]

I have a fairly large collection of original wheels. I have 8" 10" 12 " and 14 " wide t70 wheels that are all 15" diameter.
I plan to have these wheels re-made in magnesium soon. I spoke with a castings house last week about it. Some of them are available in aluminum as well and there are goods and bads to that.
I must have these new wheels to race, and they do not fit anything other than a Lola hub. I'm having a few hubs made as well for spares. I'm no Fran Hall and I have NO desire to go into the wheel business, but if successful I would be happy to share the wheels to keep my costs top a minimum. We are talking about a year here though.

[Fred W B]

Hi Johan

Going back to your comment re the rear fenders needing more "bulge", do you mean vertically, or do the "hips" need to be wider above the wheel arch, or are you talking just about the protruding "lip" and its blend?

Cheers

Fred W B

[Johan]

Fred, it depends on the wheels. The most important thing is how the wheels fit in the fenders. It can make or break a car. I think with the wheels you have the fenders will be perfect as they are.
If you went to a 10 or 12 inch wheel, the fenders would need a corresponding horizontal bulge.
I think your wheels would look really good if you painted them with a grayish flat black very lightly, and then steel wooled just enough off to make the aluminum show through a bit. They might look like magnesium minilites. I think you fenders are just right as is for the wheels you have.
Have you seen the IMCA slot car site or the Racingsportscars site for various
t70 fender treatments ?
Your lip in the various sections looks good, in my opinion.
Great work.

[Fran Hall RCR]

Johan...very funny..... ...cheeky bugger.

[Johan]

Huh ?

[Richard O'Clery]

I think Fran is impressed by your horizontal bulge, Johan. And why shouldn't he be?

[Fred W B]

So back to the business at hand.

I have now got pretty much the whole of the body pattern framework covered in foam, and the hard edges such as the cockpit edges etc made up.

Won't be starting with the hard skinning for a while yet though, as I am currently working on the extreme rear of the body and the front 250mm of the nose still has to be done. I am not happy with the contours we did along the top of the doors, into the top of the front wheel arches, so I have some reworking to do there as well as on the curves on the back of the doors below the nostrils. It's too "square" there at the moment.

I want to get rid of most of the foam dust before I get the sticky stuff into the workshop.

[Fred W B]

[Fred W B]

I made the nose duct wide enought to suit the biggest radiator Summit list and kept the duct sides parallel as on the coupes, because I prefer the look over the tapered sides. Part of me wants some things on the body that are obviously not "correct" as proof of my intent to not attempt a perfect replica.

Cheers

Fred W B

[Fred W B]

What is the story with my posts coming up in all sorts of obscure fonts?

Cheers

Fred W B

[Richard O'Clery]

I agree with the parallel side ducts looking better. Thanks for the update; it's looking great!