and then you have from Jay Leno the Lola story ...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 8View attachment 1267174, I probably won't build another one. That Lola is a beautiful car, though. So are the T70s, especially the IIIB coupes.
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.and then you have from Jay Leno the Lola story ...
enjoy
Paul
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.So how fast did you go? Did you set any records? Is the car streetable, or trackable? What was the inspiration for all this work? What is the mechanical rundown on the car?