Broadley Lola GT

Somewhere in a shoebox I have two old b/w snapshots that I took at Silverstone when Eric Broadley's Lola GT first appeared. I shall dig them out and scan them; a lovely simple car, no wonder FORD snapped it up! Now I must promise myself to come back and announce when I have jpg images available for enquirers; not Press quality of course, but nostalgia works better in amateur phots! On the same day I snapped Ecurie Ecosse's TOJEIRO GT, which I think had an aluminum Buick V-8?
I have only just discovered this forum today, and shall return.
David Kipling
Canada

BROADLEY: Mr. "Designer"...

Oh, that's sweet like candy!

I have warm, fuzzy memories of my first Lola GT...................1/32 scale and still a wonder!

I often go into my basement workshop, spray some old AMT lacquer paint and and rub some "3 in 1" oil about and I am once again 12 years old in a world of motorsport wonders! Will Jimmy Clark repeat this year as world champ? Will Ford EVER win LeMans? Where are all these cool Aston Martin GT cars and who has all those neat Lotus 30/40's and Maserati Birdcages? What will "Chunky" Chapman think up next? Why do so many neat cars come out of this "Cooper Garage" place and why won't Carroll Shelby return my calls? I AM gonna by a Cobra as soon as I save up enough allowance!

They say smell is the strongest memory and I agree........The Honda F1 V12 at Watkins Glen in 1967 had an acrid, raw odor....of course the mechanics revving it to 12,000 RPM while I was pinned behind the pipe by the crowd (now I KNOW why I hear like crap) has NOTHING to do with it.

And being PERSONALLY yelled at by Colin A.C.B. Chapman on the grid at Watkins is just a "faint memory" (I WAS sitting on the front tire of Fittipaldi's Lotus at the time, two minutes before the G.P. start.....Chunky's question to me was along the lines of "What the BLOODY HELL do you think you are doing?!?!?!" I snapped a picture at that moment! Said photo was entered by a Lotus friend of mine at the Lotus Owners Group photo contest a few years back an apparently won some award (I don't know, I never got any money.....)

Ah, well, time to come back to reality..........


Rick

Rick,
The Lola pictured is currently owned by Allen Grant (ex Shelby driver)
The restoration is about complete. The last photos I saw were beautiful.
I will ask Allen to post some pics on the forum.

He can also give the whole history on how he got it. It is amazing.
This was the first V8 my dad ever raced.
He co-drove with Tony Maggs at the '63 Nurburgring 1000km. Only got the drive because he knew his way around the Ring.

Regards
Dennis Olthoff.

Dennis,

I saw Allen's Lola at the Portland Historics 2 years ago. I should look for my pictures, and post the "before" shots. It was in need of a restoration at that time. The car is truly unique.

dolthoff said:

Rick,
The Lola pictured is currently owned by Allen Grant (ex Shelby driver)
The restoration is about complete. The last photos I saw were beautiful.
I will ask Allen to post some pics on the forum.

He can also give the whole history on how he got it. It is amazing.
This was the first V8 my dad ever raced.
He co-drove with Tony Maggs at the '63 Nurburgring 1000km. Only got the drive because he knew his way around the Ring.

Regards
Dennis Olthoff.

Click to expand...

Dennis,

Yes, I have seen the Grant site and I truly regret never having met your father. I take pride in having had the honor of crawling under your SPF at the Glen and helping Jimmy P. remove the passenger seat, the trailer hitch and all other "excess weight" from your "One Lap" SPF a few years back. Right up with my 70's racing crew experiences, meeting Hulme, Donahue, Titus and a wealth of other legends. While they might not remember me, I will never forget my brushes with "greatness" and the memories they provided.

Heck,
How many people saw John Wyer back P1075 into the door frame on the old Kendall Tech Center at Watkins Glen and remove one of the early carbon fiber flares off the rear of a Gulf GT40? I did......and like a moron I didn't take a picture!

Best,
Rick

I was lucky enough to have met Dennis' father and mother at Lime Rock in 2000 at the SAAC Convention. Bob Olthoff was even gratious enough to sign my helmet. Very nice people.

Here are some photos that I found of the Broadley Lola GT. This car was for sale a few years back for $600,000.

Hi,
Any chance this post could be moved to the Lola forum??? I would hate to have it lost....really can't wait to see David's original pix.

OK David; you have our attention!!! : >