Post by 911hillclimber on May 28, 2011 7:10:27 GMT 1
Sit back and relax because this is a long story, and I'm still adding chapters...
After a long spell in an old 911 and a younger and much faster Impreza, i wanted/needed a change and a challenge; a new car to continue hillclimbing in.
Duriong a visit ti the Historic Race Car show in Stoneliegh i spotted a Lola T 492 Sports Racer, open race car, Pinto engine and Hewland Mk9 and every inch a racing car mad by one of Britain's finest companies.
It also looked great!
After a long hard search I found one in Eping Forrest, a roller with modified suspension and a new body shell.
Little did i know just what I had done.
The car eventually had a Porsche 3.2 litre flat six installed by me along with it's gearbox, not sure that was a wise choice!
On the short list was
Pinto (boring in this car)
Rover V8 (everyone does that)
Impreza turbo (v tempting but gearbox issues)
Bikes? (No!)
Porsche it was and a special one was found in the Porsche Club I'm a 20 year member of.
After some hard winter grafting it was in!
I also wanted to find out more about the history of this 1978 built car, one of 100 made in 78/79.
This is still unfinished business and is a subject of an extrordinary thread on Ten-Tenths now 800 posts and 65,000 hits.
Back to the car.
I got it to a private test day at a sunny (!) Curborough with a few friends attending and immediatly ran into teething problems ranging from dry sump issues, to I can't press the clutch pedal far enough!
It was an uncomfortable car to drive. I'm not too big a fellow, but this was made for a jockey. After a few meetings, the car went back into the garage for a serious looking at.
Comfort and ease of control was the priority, and I've learnt to realise how important this is.
Changes made to the front roll cage cleared my leg positions so the clutch was now 'ok' the steering wheel better placed for reach, and added an umbarella too!! ;D
The season came round for 2010 and i was ready.
Pity the engine had taken on demonic levels of backfires, the gearbox sort of had gears on request, but was generally naff.
Dispirrited, we went to Loton.
I crashed just after Cedar kink.
The car left the track to the left, accellerated at mach 20 across the grass and kissed a world war II wall.
It took 3 weeks to repair.....
Life is getting tougher with the Lola.
I found out the reason why this suddenly happened, and had the car pro set-up by ex hillclimber now pro car preparer Sean McClurge.
What a transformation!
The car finished 2010 still frustrating in the engine/trans departments, and was wheeled into the winter garage, the trusty 911 into it's Carcoon and i bought an old go kart to rebuild feeling well naffed off with the lot and hillclimbing in general.
The kary rebuild was very enjoyable, but another story entirely.
Im March 2011 I thought i would get the engine looked at by One Who Knows about them, Bob Watson and have it tuned up to get the carbs right.
An engine rebuild later (DIY) and the engine was right, 269 bhp and 240 lbft. I had the box rebuilt too, but the one in the car went into the skip, literally except for the LSD.
Odd seeing £1500 of gearbox go into the scrap bin...
I just happened to have another in the garage as you do and this was rebuilt and is great.
All this came together just in time for the seasn this year, and after a few events ended very abruptly at Prescott up a bank when an old 'repair' to the rear suspension upright failed just before the Esses.
I have never stopped so quickly without brakes before.....
Rapid repairs, another set-up a McClurg Motorsport and we are back in the hunt.
however (told you life was tough with this car) I now have some tech issues in my head that need resolving!
I am 2 secs slower up Loton than last year despite the car being the best it has ever been
Another Chapter is starting which I hope you will help me with!
Graham.
This is how i bought it. Body elsewjere, the Lola tub had been highly modified, the rear suspension is March F2 and the fromt is a bit of Ralt F3000 ish.
Part-way though the first initial build and full of optimism, rather mis-guided! I fell in love with the looks and the engineering challenge, so expensive though because just about everything is custom made.
As it was at Loton last week. looking good, the best it has ever been with a slower time!
As it has been in a distant and very colourful past!
Kevlar Karman Ghia body, RS200 500 bhp engine and FT 200 trans (how did that survive?)
After a long spell in an old 911 and a younger and much faster Impreza, i wanted/needed a change and a challenge; a new car to continue hillclimbing in.
Duriong a visit ti the Historic Race Car show in Stoneliegh i spotted a Lola T 492 Sports Racer, open race car, Pinto engine and Hewland Mk9 and every inch a racing car mad by one of Britain's finest companies.
It also looked great!
After a long hard search I found one in Eping Forrest, a roller with modified suspension and a new body shell.
Little did i know just what I had done.
The car eventually had a Porsche 3.2 litre flat six installed by me along with it's gearbox, not sure that was a wise choice!
On the short list was
Pinto (boring in this car)
Rover V8 (everyone does that)
Impreza turbo (v tempting but gearbox issues)
Bikes? (No!)
Porsche it was and a special one was found in the Porsche Club I'm a 20 year member of.
After some hard winter grafting it was in!
I also wanted to find out more about the history of this 1978 built car, one of 100 made in 78/79.
This is still unfinished business and is a subject of an extrordinary thread on Ten-Tenths now 800 posts and 65,000 hits.
Back to the car.
I got it to a private test day at a sunny (!) Curborough with a few friends attending and immediatly ran into teething problems ranging from dry sump issues, to I can't press the clutch pedal far enough!
It was an uncomfortable car to drive. I'm not too big a fellow, but this was made for a jockey. After a few meetings, the car went back into the garage for a serious looking at.
Comfort and ease of control was the priority, and I've learnt to realise how important this is.
Changes made to the front roll cage cleared my leg positions so the clutch was now 'ok' the steering wheel better placed for reach, and added an umbarella too!! ;D
The season came round for 2010 and i was ready.
Pity the engine had taken on demonic levels of backfires, the gearbox sort of had gears on request, but was generally naff.
Dispirrited, we went to Loton.
I crashed just after Cedar kink.
The car left the track to the left, accellerated at mach 20 across the grass and kissed a world war II wall.
It took 3 weeks to repair.....
Life is getting tougher with the Lola.
I found out the reason why this suddenly happened, and had the car pro set-up by ex hillclimber now pro car preparer Sean McClurge.
What a transformation!
The car finished 2010 still frustrating in the engine/trans departments, and was wheeled into the winter garage, the trusty 911 into it's Carcoon and i bought an old go kart to rebuild feeling well naffed off with the lot and hillclimbing in general.
The kary rebuild was very enjoyable, but another story entirely.
Im March 2011 I thought i would get the engine looked at by One Who Knows about them, Bob Watson and have it tuned up to get the carbs right.
An engine rebuild later (DIY) and the engine was right, 269 bhp and 240 lbft. I had the box rebuilt too, but the one in the car went into the skip, literally except for the LSD.
Odd seeing £1500 of gearbox go into the scrap bin...
I just happened to have another in the garage as you do and this was rebuilt and is great.
All this came together just in time for the seasn this year, and after a few events ended very abruptly at Prescott up a bank when an old 'repair' to the rear suspension upright failed just before the Esses.
I have never stopped so quickly without brakes before.....
Rapid repairs, another set-up a McClurg Motorsport and we are back in the hunt.
however (told you life was tough with this car) I now have some tech issues in my head that need resolving!
I am 2 secs slower up Loton than last year despite the car being the best it has ever been
Another Chapter is starting which I hope you will help me with!
Graham.
This is how i bought it. Body elsewjere, the Lola tub had been highly modified, the rear suspension is March F2 and the fromt is a bit of Ralt F3000 ish.
Part-way though the first initial build and full of optimism, rather mis-guided! I fell in love with the looks and the engineering challenge, so expensive though because just about everything is custom made.
As it was at Loton last week. looking good, the best it has ever been with a slower time!
As it has been in a distant and very colourful past!
Kevlar Karman Ghia body, RS200 500 bhp engine and FT 200 trans (how did that survive?)
