Mario Andretti's 1966 mk2 T70 Lola

[KeithN]

Hello
I am trying to find out more information about Mario Andretti's 1966 mk2 T70 Lola, which I understand had a 7 litre Ford FE engine race prept by Kar Kraft.

Has any body got photos of this car which raced the tail end of 1966 at
Can Am round 5,6 and Nassau Trophy.

Does anybody know of a Max Kelly, he worked on this car at Riverside?

I believe the car raced under the number 1 and 11.

[Chris Ardern]

That is a mysterious car. Is that the car they ran the automatic in? Is that the car Grizzly Adams bought and converted to a Coupe?
Here's a model of the car. You have my curiosity piqued
Picture, UK – Marsh Models

Chris
Vintage GT Coupes

[Brian Kissel]

This is the last information I have on Grizzly adams car.

Lot Details

Maybe ??????
Regards Brian

[Evan]

This might help a bit, it says '67 but its '66.
Results obtained in 1967 USRRC Championship - CANAM 1967 - Pics of all cars - Statistics

and maybe this
http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo_canam.html

[Johan]

Fitting a big block Ford in a T70 MK II chassis would be a tough undertaking.
The area of the rear chassis bulkhead just under the drivers seat would have to be chopped up a bit. The whole rear of the car would be a shoehorned affair that would leave telltale signs that a big motor was once installed. There would be no room for headers in the normal location due to oil coolers so they would have to run up and over the engine in some fashion.Furthermore, after the big motor was removed and the chassis was being evaluated for some other use, some massive rebuild might be in order to create a sturdier assembly than allowed by the use of the big block.
In the case of the Grizzly Adams car which had a SBC, a modified chassis was constructed with more interior room than the standard chassis allowed. This rebuild would have probably erased most clues to the initial placement of the FE if in fact it was the Andretti chassis. Who knows ? I'm just guessing..

[Ian Clark]

Evan,

Great link, thanks for posting.

Cheers

[KeithN]

Hello Johan

If this helps I could send you photos of the monocoque which shows that the centre bulkhead had been widened and strengthened well before Haggerty had the car.

Could you contact me direct at kn.ch.newcombe@ntlworld.com
Thanks
Keith

[Johan]

Keith, on an unrelated issue, how wide are the rear wheels on the car ? Are they 14 " in a MK II/III offset ?
Back on topic,
Let me ask around a bit on this car and then I'm happy to send you an e-mail.
I know a person that did a bit of the work on it I believe.
It is a very nice car and I have some photos of it during the time the coupe bodywork was fitted.

[KeithN]

Hi Johan

Rear wheels are 16" not sure of the offset.

Regarding the photos, these were taken of the car when in its raw condition, it was only 9 years old and the photos were taken before any restoration took place.
And yes, the car still retains it original monocoque showing the widened and strengthed of the internal middle section.
I have compared this car to my other t70 and can confirm the front and rear bulkheads appear to be unmodified and all the suspection points remain the same. In fact the car without its body is no wider or longer than my other car.

Thanks
Keith

[KeithN]

Hi Johan

Forgot to mention that we discovered a couple of years back, that Dan McLoughlin wasn't involved with this car, it was actually John Mason that did the monocoque restoration (reskinning) he has also confirmed that the monocoque is a result of a R&D program. I have spoken with him and Dan Haggerty about the car a number of times. It is thanks to John that I have managed to obtain these photos. John kept all the history on it.

[Chris Ardern]

OK now what was the Honker was that a MK4 or was that a Lola chassis? Then what was the Lola T160 Mario raced in 1968? That 68 car had a Cammer I think, Did the 66 and the Honker have Cammers.
Really interesting thread
Chris
Vintage GT Coupes

[KeithN]

Honker was a unique car in its own right.

Mario's T160 was a completely different car.

[Johan]

So...a few observations in no particular order.
If it has 16" wheels it must have T142 uprights because I don't think MK 3b uprights would work as the tire would hit the chassis.

Dan Haggerty was gravely ill in the hospital and at the same time getting divorced from his wife all the while being persued by the IRS.
He felt better and "escaped" from the hospital and went home to several suprises.
First, he checked to see that his T70 was still in the garage. It was still there under a tarp ! Actually, no it was not. His wife had sold it for about $8000 to a guy in Sacremento (Valejio ?) and put cardboard boxes under the tarp in the general shape of a T70.
Haggerty got three letters out of the mailbox; one from the Hospital he had been in that contained his own death certificate, one from office of the Pope expressing sadness at his passing as he was a "family film" maker, and one from the IRS demanding money.
He mailed the first two letters to the IRS and they left him alone for quite some time...

Chuck Haines used to have a T70 chassis that had been all hacked up in the rear that he thought was the ex-Andretti car but it had no chassis plate.

John Mason worked on your car about the same time my coupe was running in the Bonzai club in LA.
Seems everyone wanted to have a T70 coupe back then.

What is your other T70 ? (lucky fellow !)

[KeithN]

1. The uprights are correct for this car.

2. MK3 Spyder

[KeithN]

What was the chassis number for Mario Andretti's car?

[Johan]

Some sources indicate SL71/37

[KeithN]

Johan, your observations are spot on. We have spent the last two years trying to uncover the full history of this car and have spoken with some great enthusiasts both sides of the pond. We have now established nearly 40 years of continuous history all relating to this car and identifying it as chassis number 37. As a result of this I feel it would be prudent to return her back to a spyder.
With this in mind has anybody got a period and correct bell housing for sale to adapt
a Hewland LG to a Ford FE engine or should this be a separate thread? (Still getting the hang of this online posting business).

With regard to the uprights, they are most definitely correct, I can only assume that the wheels were purposely made.

Evan, Thank you for your links. I hadn't seen those before...very interesting. I have now sent some period photos to them, hopefully they may add them to the collection.
Once again thanks to everyone for all your help, most appreciated.

[Johan]

I believe I have a bell housing(s) Aluminum and Magnesium. 6 bolt and 5 .
Depends on the length of your input shaft, but those are easily replaced with a proper length (to the bellhousing) shaft.. .
Bodies are available of course from several sources including specialized mouldings or McClendon.
FE engines are available in the USA from several sources .

The only problem as I see it is that you are really going to spend an enormous amount of time and money on the FE Ford part of the equation and IF it was a Spyder other than SL71/37 or IF the original SL71/37 never had an FE, this might be a goose chase. Your call of course.
If an FE would more or less "Drop In" due to the chassis previously having had a similar powerplant then that would be a good thing. However it would probably need a dry sump to clear the pavement and the bonnet at the same time. Wet sumps and solid disc brakes are required(Goodwood at least) in Europe and
the dry sump and vented rotors (those are big tires to slow down) may make the car difficult to race there. As a coupe the car could have a dry sump and vented rotors but would not be able to race some events as the bodywork would be considered an advantage ofer the spyder. The question must be asked "where do you want to race it ?"
Just a consideration...

Looking forward to your chassis info !

[Evan]

Great car, enjoy!!

[Johan]

I agree, great car and however you restore it I'm sure you will enjoy it.