Lola T70 Spyder Mk I replica comfort
- Thread starter Cargirl
- Start date
Yes - the Mk 6 is significantly smaller than both the GT40 (the son grew larger than the father - appropriate!) and the T70. It was smaller than most competitors with similar powerplants. There is a Mk 6 image in the new coffee table book "Lola - the T70 & Can-Am Cars" written by Gordon Jones, which I fortunately received for Christmas. The image shows a Mk 6 trailing an Aston Martin DB4 through a turn. Jones points out the size differential between the cars. When I read the author's comments, I thought about this forum. The Mk 6 is a car with immense heritage, and great rarity. I would be proud to own one, but I believe the smaller interior and exterior size is part of the reason that replicators have favored the T70. That, and the lines of the the subsequent T70 spyder and coupe were prettier and more purposeful than the Mk 6. All of that said, a number of cars smaller than the Mk 6 are currently replicated by various manufacturers, chief among these being Lotus 7's, but also Ginetta G12's (rear-engined I4 sports coupes that are smaller than the Mk 6 - see images below). The front end treatment of the Ginetta G12 and the Lola Mk 6 is quite similar. Note the similar size of the Ginetta and the Lotus 7 in the last image.
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Neil - I think Brian was only requesting that we remain polite to each other, and considerate of differing viewpoints. I would like to understand more about the images you shared. Are you building a Mk 6 replica? Or restoring a very, very rare original Mk 6? Is the above image you on the track? Was that your better half posing in front of the Lola (an appropriate prioritization, BTW)? Only three Mark 6's were ever produced, so an authentic replica would have real gravity. Please advise.
Neil
Supporter
My wife (yes) and I were invited to visit Allen Grant, who owns the Lola Mk 6 GT and he gave us a tour of his shop. Allen was a driver for Shelby in the early days and worked at FAV in Slough. They shared the shop building with Lola and Grant was able to negotiate the sale of that car after its racing days were over and Lola needed the space and the money to build a series of T70s. He was in the right place and at the right time! $3K.
The yellow car is the AC/Ford that Grant drove in SCCA races in his early career. The shot of the Lola on track is at its racing debut, at the Nurburgring 1963 ADAC 1,000 kM race. This was my photo that Allen Grant asked permission to use in his book as they had never seen a color picture of it on the track.
No, I did build a "homebuilt" mid-engine sports racer but at 8
4, I probably won't build another one. That Lola is a beautiful car, though. So are the T70s, especially the IIIB coupes.
The yellow car is the AC/Ford that Grant drove in SCCA races in his early career. The shot of the Lola on track is at its racing debut, at the Nurburgring 1963 ADAC 1,000 kM race. This was my photo that Allen Grant asked permission to use in his book as they had never seen a color picture of it on the track.
No, I did build a "homebuilt" mid-engine sports racer but at 8
Neil - So the grey car in your photos is the 2nd or 3rd Mk 6? Out of 3 total. And the gentleman also owns one of the very first 289 Cobras. That's either 2 cars in the garage, or a very fancy home on southern oceanfront property. In Mister Grant's case, he was not only in the right place at the right time, but he had the judgement required to hold on to the right cars for decades. In my case. I only relinquished one car I should have kept: The Series I Jaguar XKE drophead. But with the exception of the Jag, the failure to retain a valuable car was less a sign of bad judgement, than just the simple fact that the cars I bought early on never appreciated much.
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That video was great. Grant is a wise man to understand the potential of that car, and keep it in original condition for all these years. Now add in another value escalator - a Jay Leno video. A friend of mine just bought a very limited production rear-midengined roadster called a Deronda. Jay Leno also drove his very car in a Garage video. A nice piece of provenance for both men, and a great personal experience for Mister Grant.
Neil
Supporter
Paul, Thank you for posting that video. You saved me lots of typing, posting the same story that Allen explained to Jay. Both Jay Leno and Allen Grant are the real deal- really knowledgeable about cars and great guys. The type of guys you could spend time with, having a few beers. I've been to Jay's "Big Dog Garage" in Burbank a couple of times and as you can see in this video, it is an impressive collection of cars & motorcycles, very well presented. Allen has his shop in Palm Springs in a nice industrial building. After his automotive career, he prospered in commercial real estate. I will not reveal what Allen told me that he had been offered for the Lola but it was substantial.
Yes, there are lots of cars we shouldn't have sold or should have bought. My list of 20/20 hindsight "should have" purchases is a long one- '64 Ferrari Lusso, '65 Ferrari 500 Superfast, '67 Cobra 427, and a Douglas A-26. Oh, well!
Neil - I've tried, but I can't make out the image in your signature - what is that? Is it a vehicle? Looks ominous, like something suitable for Darth Vader!
Also, one of the vehicles you failed to purchase appears to be flying car. That Douglas twin-engine was a predecessor of the A10 Warthog, and is a pretty sizable plane for a single person. Were you part of a club? Can you elaborate?
Also, one of the vehicles you failed to purchase appears to be flying car. That Douglas twin-engine was a predecessor of the A10 Warthog, and is a pretty sizable plane for a single person. Were you part of a club? Can you elaborate?
Neil
Supporter
That A-26? It was a twin-engine ground attack bomber. Allied Aircraft had about 20 of them parked here in Tucson. Various typed of noses, plexiglass, metal, machine guns or cannon- a very mixed bag, all painted flat black. $14K each or $19k in "fly-away" condition. This was a deal something like the advertisement that I saw in "AutoWeek" back when it was published in its newsprint edition. Solar productions had wrapped up filming "Le Mans" and was selling the cars. Porsche 917s and Ferrari 512s for $60k apiece. 20/20 hindsight.
The black car is something I built. At the risk of boring everyone since I posted it before a while ago, here is the result:
The black car is something I built. At the risk of boring everyone since I posted it before a while ago, here is the result:
Neil
Supporter
Since it was its first outing, I entered it in the "150 Class". The object being to run 150 mph, but not exceed 159.999 mph or be disqualified & kicked out. My run resulted in a timing slip for 157.458 mph, just trying to take it easy by starting in 1st, shifting to 2nd, and then to 5th. It is capable of well over 200. Geared for 209 mph @ 7200 rpm. ~620 BHP & 1950 lbs.
I designed & built the chassis & suspension and used a fiberglass kit car body from the Seventies- a Manta Mirage. Manta Cars had used the shape of a McLaren M8 Can-Am car for their Mirage but they had made it into a closed-cockpit coupe instead of the Can-Am open cockpit. Since I was familiar with an M8C and knew it had good aerodynamics, the coupe should be even better. I added a few things to the basic body- an adjustable spoiler, fins and modified front fender vents, etc to insure stability at high speed.
The chassis is a mild steel tubular space frame with stressed aluminum panels; the engine is an aluminum block Donovan (racing SBC) with aluminum Dart Pro-1 heads and long-tube headers. The transaxle is a Porsche G50/01 and I'm running Hoosier race tires. If you search YouTube for my name, there are other videos showing a build diary and a short after- run discussion with my crew.
Building this car was what convinced me that the compromises were too great to create a true "dual purpose" car. I had to choose what I wanted it to be and then make it work for that purpose. It is definitely NOT streetable... but my red Mirage is.
Isn't the world a small place. I often thought about building a Mirage, and also the Volkswagen-powered Amante. But I was also building a business, and spare time was nonexistent, so buying complete cars was always a shorter path to fun. Early on, I did attempted a rebuild. A local judge had absolutely destroyed his Marcos 3 liter coupe - I drove it home on 3 cylinders. Over the course of two years, I assiduously purchased all the parts for an engine and trans rebuild, while I was glassing in aluminum buttresses to eliminate the body cracks which always formed at the base of the B pillars. When I was finished, without much of a weight penalty, I'll bet I owned the strongest Marcos 3 liter coupe body in existence. And during those two years, the machine shop I had selected was going out of business and losing most of my parts! When I discovered the loss, I was so disappointed, I bailed out of the project. Too bad - a unique and pretty car. I don't know if she ever got that second lease on life. Since then, I only buy cars with sound fundaments. My Lola motor produced 180 PSI exactly in all 8 cylinders, equating to 10.5:1 compression, and the trans was smooth and quiet in all 5 gears plus reverse. The rest, though a lot (think of every bit of rubber aging out - every wheel cylinder, every fuel and brake line, every master and slave cylinder, the fuel cell and so on), I can handle. Anyway, your Mirages are like the French fighter jets of the same name - gorgeous to look at and fast as hell. Great job!
@Neil - I forgot to mention that a friend of mine, who installs high-end audio systems in exotic cars, has been working on a Manta Mirage for a few years. SBC with a Getrag transaxle - an 010, I think. Of course, the sound system will be Orchestra Hall all the way. He is very excited about getting his project licensed and on the road. I will forward him this link in case he has questions regarding the build. Also, I saw a Youtube video produced by Neil Arbaugh - is that you? Anyway, I want to congratulate you on your passion regarding automobiles, and your remarkable level of energy at the age of 84. I was a force of nature all the way through my 60's, but seemed to have accumulated an anchor sometime after my 70th bday. I am going to increase my exercise level to see if that will help cut the chain. How do you do it?
