Lola T-70 replica

[Mike Dozier]

I wish MDA all the best...hopefully they will ship
6 - 10 Lola coupes per year. Then maybe we can get some
first hand opinion, other than Jim...who continues to amaze us with his acts of madness. Look forward to seeing his
Lola in person one day.

MikeD

 

[Ian K]

[ QUOTE ]
I even once took it into Manhatten over the Verranzano Bridge through NJ. and back home. I'm not sure many have done that.


[/ QUOTE ]

Ahh, the Verrazano Narrows - beautiful drive ... and the
second longest suspension bridge in the world!

But Jim, have you taken it up, over and around Bear Mountain
Bridge? There's a lot of nice twisties up thatta way /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Ian

 

[Jim Glickenhaus]

Ian
That's where I usually go. Very nice. My Lola, esp. with road mods. is a great driver.
Best

 

Hi all,

I have read all the postings on the Lola T70 with great interest.

I have done earlier postings on the subject as well as the GTD T70 we built in Cape Town in 1995, the only one in South Africa, which is now for sale.

I have been talking to Andy Burrows, owner of Gardner-Douglas, for some time now and a few months ago he visited us in Cape Town where he saw the new GT40 project and met up with my friends and associates. He also went to Hi Tech Automotive in Port Elizabeth where he met up with owner Jimmy Price and saw the Superformance Cobras being built. I think he enjoyed his trip to Wildest Africa - no lions (only V8 roar) in the streets or mud huts!

In September I met up with Andy at the Donington Kit Car Show on Saturday 13. On the Sunday the circuit was open for a track day but on the Saturday it was under lock and key so much so that one could not get near it. I could not be there for the Sunday as my wife (the government) was landing at Heathrow early on the Sunday morning and that was the end of little boys playing with racing cars. Remember Margaret Thatcher!) Later on the Saturday afternoon Andy asked me if I would like to go for a spin in the country lanes outside the circuit in his new Lola T70 Spyder replica.'Love to I said'. Well, the roadholding is phenomenal and the car sticks like glue, more precisely super glue. The speeds and roadholding through the country lanes of Leicestershire were unreal. We blasted past some older folk tootling along in their Fords and Vauxhalls and I have subsequently heard that there are several people in the area suffering from and being treated for a new syndrome (the world is full of new acronyms and syndromes!) called MBBS (Missile Blast By Syndrome). The reason I will not reveal the speeds achieved through those country lanes is a concern that some British cops are anonymously browsing our beloved website!. They say the food is not all that good in the Leicester slammer! I also believe that is one of the reasons why Concorde has been taken out of commission. Concorde does not like competition particularly from something that flies along the ground! Only joking!

On a more serious note, Andy's T70 Spyder replica is something special. The car is visually a precise copy of the original T70 Spyder but under the skin it is quite different. Chassis is space frame and suspension is modern push pull as I call it. It's powered by a Chevvy Corvette LS1 engine. In the UK it is SVA approved which means approved for road use. It is a great car and would make a great race car proven by the fact that Andy has already had a few wins in it. To date Andy has had more enquiries about his T70 from the US than any other country. Andy's telephone number is +44 1949 843 299, website address www.gdcars.com and e-mail [email protected]. Andy is a real gentleman and a professional operator. His Cobra replicas are of the best in the UK if not the best. I would highly recommend dealings with him and his company.

With regard to the T70 Mk111B keep watching this space. Interesting how there are two camps - those who like the Lola shape and not the GT40 and the other way around.

Like Jim keep enjoying the drives - either 2am in New York or Leicestershire! Keeps us young! Also check Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham and Phil Hill - quick as ever in their mid-70s.

Four years ago a mutual friend announced his retirement at age 65. Old SM went ballistic and told me to tell our friend that if he retires now he'll bloody well rot!

Keep right on till the end of the road!
Andre 40

 

[Brian Kissel]

Hello MK3B !!!
Here is a little food for thought, at least from my point of view. It has been two weeks, since you originally posted about your possible future project (Lola T70 Mark IIIB). If my math is correct(as of this post) there have been 3148 threads posted since the new forum. Of these posts only .04321% (or 136)have had views more than or equal to your initial posting which has had 663 views. Although there have not been a lot of replies, just your subject line (Lola T-70 replica), has stirred some intrest, or there wouldn't have been this many views. The Ebay auction( T-70 ) for the Sbarro Lola T70 has recieved another 200 hits(views), now totaling 7409, even after closing, not doubt partly due to this forum. The auction,--- 1965 GT40 Mark V for the --1965 GT 40-- "Original,JWA/Safir" Mark V, had only 4348 hits, although there were people willing to part with some serious money for the car, it did not sell either.
There may have a couple of reasons for the Sbarro car not selling .
(1) the initial bid price of $130,000.00(reserve not met) scared everyone away
(2) the fact that T-70MKIIIB's(according to John Starkeys, individual chassis book) all started out as SL76
(3) OR the fact, that on page 157 of the above book (second edition),it states " Franco Sbarro claims he never replicated Mark IIIb's but that he sold three chassis in the early 1970's. SL76/143 and SL76/147 were two." Note that these chassis numbers start with SL76, not SL106, as stated in the auction for this car.
This car is very popular, and a must have for some people. Another quote from Starkey's book, page 152 <font color="red"> "SL76/140--1972-- Sold to Fred Opert Racing. Sold to William Munstedt who robbed a bank for the purchase money and was arrested." </font> It appears, some people just have to have one. I hope, you do indeed follow through with your project.Your question Mono or tube frame, still hasn't been answered. But I believe if you can deliver a QUALITY body, and chassis ( with a resonable time frame) like the many suppliers for the GT 40's on this forum, I think you will have a saleable item. At any rate, please keep us up to speed on your project, either here, or send me a personal message. THANK YOU !!!!!!!!!!!
Regards Brian /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Ron Earp]

Question from a Lola idiot - what powerplant powered these things when they were intially built?

Thanks,
Ron

 

[Brian Kissel]

Hello Ron !!
The largest majority of them had small block Chevy's. There were a few exceptions to the rule that had Aston Martin, Ford small blocks, and even a few Big Block Chevy's.
Regards Brian /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Ron Earp]

Nice! So, I can like them!!

Not a big fan of Chevy power (great engines but I suppose I like the underdog of the car/rod world, Ford) but I can easily justify using a Ford motor.

Ron

 

[Mike Dozier]

Dan Gurney won an SCCA race with a T-70 spyder/289 SBF.
Pretty sure that's the only race a T-70 won with Ford power.

Someone else (Agipou?) tried the Ford 427 in a
T-70 spyder for Can Am..but too heavy...the all aluminum
big block Chevies dominated Can Am until the coming of the Porsche 917.

If you want to see some great footage of the T-70 coupes
at 1969 Daytona/Sebring races, check out "The Racing Scene".
(See post under Memorabilia)

MikeD

 

[ChrisL]

While we are on the subject of Ford v Chev, may I digress just a little. The major racing category on the local scene has Ford up against GM. The only engines permitted are the 5L Ford and the 5L Chev engines. It had recently been accepted however within the category that the Chev SB engines could never be made to produce the same amount of horsepower as the Ford SB engines, so the rules were changed to allow special "motorsport" heads (non siamesed ports) to be developed to allow the competition to continue on a level playing field. Given that this advantage is now a "documented fact", how did history decide that the Chev SB motor was to become the more popular engine of the two in motorsport?

NB. This category is very tightly controlled and limits the engine revs to 7000RPM. Both engines produce around 650HP and it is said that the Ford engine was capable of producing about 20HP more than the Chev.

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

Maybe the issue lies with which engine the manufacturer has favored in its production/performance versions.
Ford has long had the 302 as its base and performance option whereas G,M has had the 350 for its various street/performance incarnations.....The G,M 302 has always been a rare bird and as such has not had the time and resourses that the Ford 302 has had....just a thought

 

[Mark Worthington]

Doesn't the Chevy 302 come with a 4-bolt main just like the 350? That's a huge difference and why the SBC is more developed in my opinion.

 

[Mike Dozier]

Chris

The small block Chevy was WAY more developed than the SBF
since it was introduced a lot earlier (1955) than the
SBF (1962?). That carried over in the 1960s and 1970s
since Chevy muscle cars outsold Ford 2 or 3 to one.
So the aftermarket manufacturers did the logical thing
and spent most of their development money on the Chevy.

It was only after Ford introduced the 5 liter EFI Mustang
in 1986 that the manufacturers poured money into developing
go fast parts for the 5.0. And the rest is history.

Now go fast Windsor parts are cheap, available,
and make as much or more power than any Chevy small block.
And late model Mustangs ended up way outselling the Camaro/
Trans AMs, prompting GM to drop them from their line.
Funny how things work out sometime.

MikeD

 

[Brian Kissel]

Hello Ron !!
Here is a Lola that you could like LOLA MK 6 without disappointing the Ford camp. It is still for sale,although it doesn't have the sleek lines of a LOLA T70 MK IIIB, it has to be the next best thing.
I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving !!!!!!
Brian /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Ron Earp]

Oh man!!!! I like it!!!! It does look really tiny though, much smaller than a 40. Is it? The 70 has better lines, true, but this is also a unique car and that is what counts. Thanks for posting,

 

[Mike Dozier]

Lola only made (3) of these MK VI cars, and when they sold one to John Mecom (Chevy racer), Ford had a canary!
Ford tried (unsuccessfully) to buy the car from Mecom, who raced it with a small block chevy for a few years,
with some success.

The neatest thing about the MK VI is that Eric Broadley
(owner of Lola) DROVE the car to Lemans to participate
in the 24 hour race in 1963! Wonder how many people
did that?

MikeD

 

[Brian Kissel]

Hello Mike !!
I think Jim Glickenhaus, agrees with Broadley's theory. That the Lolas (and in Jims case, all his cars), were ment to be driven. It is still going to be awhile before I can drive mine, but I can hardly wait.
Brian

 

[Mike Dozier]

I was reading Mark Donohue's book last night (The Unfair
Advantage). Now that it's available again,
every gearhead should buy a copy. What a great story!

Anyway, Donohue's 69 Daytona winning Lola was stolen
the night after the race, ending what could have been
a very succesful year for the Penske Lola coupe.
The car was eventually recovered and converted to
street use. So a race winning Lola did make it to the street!

MikeD

 

Am I the only one that would LOVE to see a Chaparral 2D replica. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

Hell no! I'd love to see it in my garage.