Race Cars Out of the Past

[Flakbau]

Since my '60's jaunts to Watkins Glen to view the early Can-Am races, I have never been able to forget Eric Broadley's Lola T70 spyders. The lithesome lines, raging V8's, steamroller rubber, and incredible driving provided by the likes of John Surtees. A T70 with any history runs between $300 and $400K today, so originals are expensive and risky to campaign even in the occasional Historic race. The replica market has not favored Eric's delicious design, so affordable Lola's never multiplied like Cobras or Caterhams. Therefore, my surprise was imaginable when an ad appeared in race-cars.com for a LolaT70 replica with an HSR logbook!


The car had seen only 425 miles since manufacture in the early 2000's. The motor, a 383 SBC built by Hypercision in Chicago, was assembled to Can-Am standards, but slightly detuned so it could run on pump premium. The car had an original Moon high-rise manifold suitable for mounting four pairs of downdraft two barrel Webers - one velocity stack per cylinder, just like the Lolas of my youth. The car's overall dimensions were the same as the originals, and same suspension, but with a few other important changes. The frame is heavier and permanent, unlike the originals which were good for only one or two seasons. Same AP Racing brakes, but the fronts are no longer mounted inboard for superior cooling - front brakes are conventionally mounted within the wheels. Inboard front brakes had resulted in cantilevered uprights, one of which snapped on John Surtees at the end of the straight at Mosport back in the early 60's, nearly killing him. The fuel sidepods are also smaller, so the passenger seat is now full-sized. And the transaxle is now a 5 speed Getrag, so overall ratios are better, but the trans is slower to shift than dogbox Hewlands. The low miles did not matter - if I bought the car, I would have to rebuild it because everything had timed out - belts, hoses, battery, tires, fire suppression, fuel bladder, brake cylinders, carb internals, shocks and more. Every flexible line was the old style - rubber and not teflon cored - so they all had to go. Because the price to buy and rebuild the car would be one-half or less than the price to do the same with an original T70, and because my car is streetable, I opted to buy it.

We've gone further, with a full upgrade to LED lighting, charging ports, air horns with column-mounted button, switched from tri-ears to single center wheel hub nuts and so on. The wheels were refinished, and bodywork perfected/repainted to Stellantis Hydro Blue Pearl Metallic. I will not see the completed car until later in December, so the included images are of the original car and a sister vehicle. I plan to drive her on the street and at Historic races:

[blueline]

Wow! Definitely post pics here when you get it back.

[Flakbau]

Will do! Especially since I won't be busy driving her during the winter unless I trailer her south.

[blueline]

1997 Porsche 911 GT1 Rennversion - 993 GT1 108 is up for auction very soon.

What an amazing race car and rare beauty. Just wow!

Broad Arrow pre-auction estimate: $8,500,000 - $10,500,000. The accompanying brief bio of the car's development and history is a great read.

https://www.broadarrowauctions.com/vehi ... d568259d8a

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[blueline]

"Seinfeld’s Ex-McQueen 917 Was Bid to $25 Million But Did Not Sell"

https://www.autoweek.com/news/a63475942 ... d568259d8a

There are a number of excellent photos in the Autoweek article. I posted a few below.

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[RDMcG]

Here are some I photographed here and there:

Porsche:

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Ferrari:

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Delahaye:

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Took this pic of Hamilton's first F1 win in Montreal..McLaren

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In my view the most beautiful racer ever- the Gurney Eagle, at a show in the Phoenix Museum of Art:

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[blueline]

Here are some I photographed here and there:

In my view the most beautiful racer ever- the Gurney Eagle, at a show in the Phoenix Museum of Art:

Excellent photos! I totally agree with your sentiments about Dan Gurney's Eagle. He was an incredibly talented individual in so many ways.

It would have been awesome to have been able to see him race in person and to have met him. Everything I've read paints him as one of the nicest persons one could ever hope to meet.

[blueline]

And on the Porsche side of the ledger, the silver #12 904 that you photographed is simply magnificent. What a superb looking design.

[RDMcG]

And on the Porsche side of the ledger, the silver #12 904 that you photographed is simply magnificent. What a superb looking design.

Perfectly proportioned, one of the best designs. It is however very small which does not show properly in the shot:).....

[blueline]

Autoweek:

"How do you pick the best Formula 1 cars from the series’ 75-year history? It ain’t easy."
"Here Are the First F1 Cars Confirmed for 2025 Monterey Motorsports Reunion"

https://www.autoweek.com/racing/a637863 ... d568259d8a

There are going to be some fantastic F1 cars on display at Laguna Seca this August!

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WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca

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WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca