Maurader T70 back from the grave...

[Mark]

Hi All
Introductions first - names' Mark and have been a member and been lurking for a while, reading up on all the info I could on GT40's... Was close a few times since mid last year to buying an unfinished project - but they where either snapped up before I could get round to see them, or needed more work than I have the skills for...

... so last week Tuesday, get a phone call - "are you still looking for a project???" "Sure - why not" I said. Thought it was a '40 "nope - it's a Lola, ex South African Historics racer..."

Got this off a thread in the Lola T70 Lounge - Same car... Just got a nice bit of history from one of the previous owners that I'll share later

As it was when I had a look... Body has been used as a mould and lots' of bits lying around on the floor...

Few pics of the chassis below - Not enough room in the shop to get a full image...

As I mentioned, this body has been used as a mould for another car...

Looks pretty good IMO, and as a bonus, I'm getting a brand new body for mine as part of the deal

So how much Lola was there... Got all the loose bits home and started to try and make sense of everything

Oh No! - What have I done!!!

Starting to make sense...

if you look quickly, it looks like a complete car...

Chassis's due back on Friday (after getting straightened), so might be an idea to get everything ready to bolt on... One Easter weekend and everything was stripped, checked, cleaned, polished or painted. Stuff is in amazing condition - no wear at all (Think I scored nicely here)

Front uprights assembled, calipers checked, overhauled assembled, shocks, suspension arms attached - ready to go!

And the rear - Note swing arm arrangement - bit odd in this instance, but same sort of set-up as my Lotus Esprit

Now for the plan of action:
Friday: Send body panels out for paint
Saturday: Prep and spray chassis
Sunday: bolt on suspension, steering rack, rims and tires and have 1x rolling chassis

This is going to be one very quick build - six weeks maximum (depending on outside suppliers) so stay tuned for very rapid progress (I hope...)

Quick teaser of what the final product should look like...

...That's it for now.

Cheers - Mark

 

[RichardH]

good fur yu, Mark - pity i cant see the pics tho

all sorted epper:

 

[Mark]

Pics now sorted ... (bloody url's )

 

[Joe T]

That looks like a real find, well done,
Excellent Pics, keep them coming, epper: is that a 917 Under the cover plus a few more T70's?

Cheers

 

[Mark]

Sharp eye Joe Yes that is a 917 (replica) under the cover there - beautiful bit of kit - Only one other T70, the orange one, that's built on a modified GT40 chassis. Other cars shown include a part built GT40 chassis and a completed one in Gulf colours. Did you miss the red P4 in the middle pic??? Automotive Art...

 

[Joe T]

I caught the P4 but was not sure about the other bits, I thought I made out 2more lots of T70 bodywork, some may be the new panels you mention, but I am in the middle of prepping the rear section on my MKIII so tend to see bits of T70 bodywork in my sleep.

You have a great project there. couple of quick questions, do the coolant pipes run up the chassis sections? are the rads at the back both oil or is one an extra water rad.

 

[Fred W Ballinger]

Nice to see another SA with a Lola project here Mark, I will follow your build with interest.

Cheers

Fred W B

 

[Mark]

Hi Fred - Thanks for the interest. It is your SA scratch build thread isn't it? Like what you've done, and how you went about the body. More time and patience than me... Mate of mine's trying to do the same with a Lotus 79 at the moment...

Joe - Yes, the coolant pipes do run through the chassis, main rad in the front, and there's one oil (LHS) and one water rad (RHS) in the back.

 

[Mark]

Update Time
Spent most of Saturday on the road picking up bits and pieces - First trip to collect all the body panels, and second trip to collect the chassis that twas being worked on and trying to straighten...
Unfortunately they lucked out trying to straighten the chassis by heating and bending, so it's off to the panelbeater today for a bit of professional attention on the table... Holding thumbs it'll be okay, otherwise its chassis from scratch time

I mentioned I was going to get a new body, but after having a bit of a sit and think, I decided on the original one instead. - Less work fitting hinges, latch hardware, inner panels etc.. And the original was used for a mould, so was flattened and repaired anyway - Just needs a bit of spray filler, primer and paint...

After unloading, admiring, stuffing around and a few beers, me and the mates reckon it's about time we had a look at what I've got myself into...

Quickly threw the panels on the chassis and photo time - Me with stupid grin in the driver's seat, my mate Gavin (Chief Beer Drinker and spanner turner) on the left and Nick (Chief Organiser and Manager - doesn't do much except point, offer suggestions and stand around smoking... classic management style :lol: ) on the right...

My daughter Adrianne gave it the thumbs-up as well - and probably the only person around who fits in the car (How this car was raced with a crash helmet on is beyond me)

Okay - Time to do some dry fitting to see if any other work needs to be done before paint and final assembly.

So far so good - nothing that can't be fixed with a good thump with a 10lb mallet...

Think I forgot a few bits... Lets see where these go

Front suspension, steering, pedal box, radiator, wheels and tyres and front nose clip sorted (And a fuel tank)

Dash, seats, steering column, gear linkage and fire wall sorted...

Front end back on it's own tires again - Speedbumps beware!

If I saw this in my rearview mirror, I think I'd need a change of underwear...

Starting to look like a car here

One rolling chassis... Right pleased with myself!
Four hours from start to finish - Not bad for someone working on their own - I gave up the Bahrain GP for this BTW...

Next stage - Send chassis to shop to get straightened, re-inforced and powdercoated.
Send off the body for prep and paint.

Hopefully get the frame back by the weekend so I can start on final rolling chassis, assembly and cladding.
Not much else to do this week, except get the motor, rip that apart, re-build as neccesary, paint, detail and mate to the gearbox...
Should keep me busy over the next few evenings

Cheers - Mark

 

[Jim Glickenhaus]

One thing that will help is lose the seats. On the original the "seats" were but a thin pad mounted to a very small step up in the front, Zero at the butt and a major tilt backwards.

Best of Luck!

 

[Richard]

Mark - what a fantastic project. I'm looking forward to your build diary continuation series...

 

[Mark]

Thanks for the support Guys

Will be working on the plexi windows when I get home... Anybody know where I can get a nice image of the triangular window hinge mechanism???
Cheers - Mark

 

[Mark]

Oh Bugger...

Update...
Looks like the chassis is completely FUBAR'd!!! - Its been on a jig and the boys have been working on it for two days now and it ain't going to come right without a serious amount of cutting and welding...

Stuff It - New chassis time - Might be able to get something fabricated from scratch in a week to 10 days. At least it'll be properly triangulated and torsionally stiffer the existing one so maybe a good thing.

Been informed that one of the rear swing arms has dissappered after two weeks of trying to find it as well... Just gets better doesn't it?

On a positive note, the seller has kindly offered to fabricate two brand new swing arms (left and right) or supply a complete rear suspension system off their GT40 replicas to suit - Nice offer to compensate I guess.

Body still on track to prepped and painted by mid next week. With a lot of luck, I still might be finished in four weeks - so let's see what happens.

 

[Ian Anderson]

With that orange and black paint scheme - did the car have anything to do with Lohn Love's (RIP) Gunston Toasted car?

I actually watched it racing in Bulawayo!

cheers
Ian

 

[Fred W Ballinger]

Hi Mark

Whats with the big rush? You are only going to build this car once, why not take the pressure off yourself and take it a bit slower?

Cheers

Fred W B

 

[Mark]

Ian - I think there is a connection with the John Love / Gunston car somewhere... There's so much cloudy history on this car that I'm trying to clarify, and one of the things was that the doors and centre 'spider' of my car was borrowed at some stage for a real Lola to participate in some race... That's why the orange and brown Gunston colours are painted over the original yellow body.

I am in a bit of a rush Fred, for a few reasons...
I'm taking delivery of a Diablo replica from the States in about six weeks, so need to get this Lola finished before I start the next project. I also have a Countach replica to tart up for a customer, help my mate finish his GT40 replica, collect yet another GT40 replica this weekend and turn that car around...
Oh, and tidy up all my affairs and move to New Zealand at the end of the year as well - I'm on the clock here and haven't had so much fun in years

 

[Mark]

Update (Not much to report really...)

Hi All
Monday update time - 'fraid I didn't get much done this weekend on the Lola, except look in on the body shop and check on progress. Looking good (under all that filler and primer). Even better news is I should be able to collect on Thursday evening - That's body painted in all it's splender... and a re-fabricated chassis all straight, painted and ready for panel fitting!!! - I'm like a kid at Christmas time. And it's a long weekend coming up here, so should really be able to get moving.

Did pick up another GT40 project on Satuarday, and doesn't look bad at all. Not much was done on it since it was bought from Kit Car Centre in the early 90's so no bodges to fix etc... had two engines, so looks like a Ford 302's going in the back - Price was right - Free, came with the car.

Only thing I had time for yesterday was to do was split and a bit of re-furb on the rims...

These bad boyz are going to look mean on the car... just have to spend more time polishing the rims to a chrome finish (sad I know...)

A few people on here have asked me for info on the chassis design and suspension mounting points - You guys should have PM's, but for the rest of you, here's a few pics of the frame as I received it.

Damn I'm really looking forward to Thursday when I can get busy again

 

[Joe T]

Hi Mark
Looking good, a quick question, does the front support of the roll bar mount on the floor or is their a bracket across to the crossmember.
Is it an aftermarket one, noticed a sticker on it, or do you think it was fabricated for the car.

Cheers

 

[Mark]

Hi Joe
The front support bolts to the floor at the moment - If I turn it 180degrees, so the flange points upward, it will easily bolt to the cross member which will be a lot stronger I think... The roll bar must have been fabricated specially for the car, as it fits very nicely when the main body section is fitted and gives a nice bit of support to the top of the roof.

Cheers - Mark

 

[Mark]

Back in Business

Went to the panel beater on Friday to check on progress...

Guys worked flat out all of last week and worked wonders

The colour is a very brilliant orange in the sun that's very difficult to capture on my old digital camera. The paint's similar to that used on the old 1970's 911's and cost a fortune for five litres - Really pleased with the colour.

1x sorted chassis - The old one was twisted 100mm and bowed 48mm! A lot of cutting and re-fabrication was required (especially the middle rails) and is now square and true to within 1mm.

Back where she belongs - In my garage

Silver looks a bit dark, but in the sun, works very nicely with the orange.

Assembly time:

Might as well start at the front and work back

Right suspension uprights, hubs, brakes, shocks, springs and wheel mounted...

And the left, with steering rack and reservoirs as well for good measure.

Let's get the front clip on and off the floor - Probably safer than lying on the floor

Looking like a Lola again

Other things completed yesterday - Fuel tanks installed (a lot easier this time now that the chassis' straight). Gear change and selector rod fitted. Door locks and latches installed. Front radiator installed - Not bad for a few hours work. Got a bit carried away with bolting stuff onto the chassis and didn't pause to take pics...

Will try and dry fit the motor and gearbox this evening and see if there's any problems. Will also be starting the cladding, and should be finished by the weekend. Will draw up everything after I've made templates from cardboard, and will get the panels laser cut, pre-drilled and bent.

Will post pics as I'm making progress.

Cheers - Mark