History of a Lola T492 Sports 2000 chassis?

[911thillclimber]

I've found a rack! I do not think they are that rare to be honest if I can find one in 20 mins...

The rack on the car is from Haggispeed's days or maybe when it was a Skoda/Tony Dickinson car on the T 490.

The travel of the rack is really small and this limits the movement. I feel there is much more lock to be had from the wheel/wheel well clearances to easily add another 10 degrees.

The second issue is to get the steering wheel in the right place in the tight confines of the Lola body (here we go again...there are other reasons for my body thoughts!) The wheel is at a crazy angle, not dissimilar to a 1965 Mini.

I want to true the wheel to be square to my seat and at the right angles for comfort. I need to add a new UJ to the rack/wheel shaft to do this and I cannot think the original Lola design was this crooked, so maybe the original rack will help (I'm not convinced of this theory, but a rack is only £100 new, so worth a try)

The original rack is a saloon car so miles of travel but it will add a lock more suited to an English hillclimb not Mallory Park. I only need to rig the mounts in the right places and add stops.

I hope Olton went well for you and the car! I went to Silverstone to see the posh Historics, couldn't resist!

My old 911 isn't this much trouble!!

[haggispeed]

good that it was easy to find then. Don't know if you've measured the amount of travel, I reckon you should get 25 to 30 deg from straight ahead. Pretty sure we didn't change the rack, not sure about the wheel position. Would recommend using good quality joints like the "helicopter" type that DT and so on sell. probably worth claculating the Ackermann as well while you're about it (I have a nice little program to help with that if you want it).

Yes, Oulton went quite well thx. New brakes are fabulous, handling was good despite having to guess the corner weights (ran out of time), first practice was a little hairy running on 3 year old tyres that would have gone down well with the Flintstones !! but they started coming in by the end of the day. Best lap was last lap of the second race, think I was starting to relax a bit as well. Looking forward to Croft in another week, with some nice new sticky rubber on the wheels as well - no excuses then !!

Are you saying our Classics aren't posh then ....

[911thillclimber]

Tony: I'm talkin' Chevron B8's! nothing is nicer

Thanks for all the pointers, all duely noted.

Off to the garage to sort out a way to tilt the rear clam on the car so i don't have to keep on lifting it off! (and begging Mrs Hillclimber to help me...yet again.)

Graham.

[haggispeed]

well yeah they're OK I spose.....

[911thillclimber]

Bit of a busy afternoon today, managed to work out a pivot point/support bracketry for the rear clam.

All worked out though the clam is rather 'flexible'.
Still some braces to add to save the fibre glass but essentially done.

Also done is the grinding wheel caught a knuckle which cut nearly to the bone...strangely it does hurt...but maybe will tomorrow.

Worst injury I've ever had in 40 years working on cars!

[eamonn ledwidge]

Where are you and Driftwood when your country needs you???

"This coming weekend see’s the Connaught Competition Engines Hillclimb and Sprint championship returning to the picturesque village of Ballyvaughan Co Clare. Galway Motor club have been working very hard to ensure that the weekend will run smoothly.

With the first round of the championship done and dusted, the championship is moving along in earnest. What better test for drivers and machines than another weekend hillclimbing in Co Clare!

The Saturday hill is Ballyryan again. For those of you that have not driven it, it is situated on the coast road about 5 km south of the village of Fanore. This hill has proven quite popular and features some twisty sections at the start, a long straight and a tricky finish. The record is held by Sylvie Mullins in the Gould Judd at 43.99 seconds and will take some effort to be beaten.

Sunday’s hill is the big one, the famous and fearsome Ballyallaban hill. 2.2 miles of fast bumpy straights, jumps and corners meandering through the unforgiving Burren Landscape. There are plenty of rocks lying in wait for the unsuspecting driver. The record here is a staggering 96.17 seconds set by local ace Sylvie Mullins in his Gould Judd. This will be quite difficult to better but the leading drivers this year are going to do their best to break it.
3 time champion Paul O'Connell says of Ballyallaban " its the most challenging hill of the year, the last real balls-out hill left. You've got to commit to every single corner and be aware that it is so tough on a car that every run might be your last of the day." When asked what are the chances of beating the record set by Mullins in his 4.0 litre Gould Judd he says "given the disparity of horsepower between sylvie's 600+ and my 360hp hart you'd imagine i've no chance. But i've never given up yet, and if i can get it all right on the day who knows what can happen!"

Regs for the Galway Hillclimb Weekend – April 24th & 25th are now available on www.irishhillclimb.com

[911thillclimber]

Bloody hell!
Those hills sound horrific!

Seriously: I am racing at the smooth easy slow twisty Prescott Hillclimb in the gentle plains of Glouscestershire, and hoping only for a car that actually works.
I have a full-on Puma Rally Cross 4 x 4 as a class mate, bet he's scared already!

For a Gould to run that hill the way it is described is a bit of a wonder as rocks and Gould hillclimb cars do not go together in my mind.

Of course you are a long long way from me, but they sound fab and probably more suited to my 911 hillclimber which i could drive there, but not so sure about coming back...

I am a clumbsy car driver, so best stick to what I sort of know..

[SAMD]

AHA! so you are still around, and here I had thought you had given up motorsport

[911thillclimber]

I'm here bored out of my skull.

On sunday took the trusty 911 out for a run first time since early Oct last year. Ran a dream (or as well as a track tweeked 911 hotrod can be) though Mrs hillclimber was not too impressed despite me just cruising. Maybe we won't be going to Spa in it this September.....

Off to Prescott this weekend, taking ages to come round. Fired the engine again last Sunday and despite being reluctant to start it settles to a very steady tick-over and is a bang-free zone

I've tried the new Escort rack to the car and the fitting will be a breeze. The only tricky bit is getting the rose joints of the right size onto the control arms. This rack will defo straighten the steering wheel position so well worth doing though the current race spec rack is very nice looking and very high ratio, about 1 turn lock to lock.

However, the new rack will not turn this Lola into a Black Cab or a Triumph Herald. At most I will get another 10 degrees of lock before the wheels hit the lower wishbones....but that and the straighter wheel will improve things.

I suppose i have the tool boxes to polish and the wheel caps of the trailer to do, but still bored!

My outlook might be different after sat at the races

I wonder how much this car is actually worth?

[eamonn ledwidge]

Originally Posted by 911thillclimber

I wonder how much this car is actually worth?

Forget about valuations and get on with sorting steering and carbs. Then take it to Mallory for a morning to overcome your agrophobia and desire to 'roof it in'. You will be surprised how quickly you adjust to open sportscar racer.

After this, you will enjoy a good hillclimb season, Driftwood will be back from his grovel trip to Ireland to see EP and can offer you a new valuation.

Next year will look after itself!

[haggispeed]

Hey Graham - you'll never guess what....
I was at Croft this past weekend and driving back from scrutineering minding my own business and who should I see pushing a FF in the queue but John Schneider !! (not his, was helping out a friend).
So we had a chance to catch up on the history of the Humberstone Karmann Ghia, (anyone not up to date with this thread that's where is all started before Graham started swapping carbs, selling it to Driftwood and eventually getting bored !)
So who is this new character in the play then ?....
None other than one Mr Vic Lee
Apparently after Alan did the first shake down test and John did a little moe work on the car it went over to Vic for preparation. So according to John that's almost certainly whn the chassis plate dissapeared.
No idea where Mr Lee is these days

As an aside it was a hell of a shock to meet up with someone I havent see in probably 15 years and just carry on talking like we just finished the build ! I guess that's motor racing eh

[911thillclimber]

Oh dear...
Just when i had (almost) put the Chassis Number chase to the back of my mind!

That is most interesting Tony. Is that Vic Lee who used to Stock Car race at Hendnesford Hill in the early 70's?

Obviously, anyone with a contact will be sent free beer...

As to racing and selling this little car;

Driftwood always talks about a session at Mallory, but although a great track it is so different to a hillclimb.

However, the principle is right. Mrs Hillclimber goes on about a test day privatly at a local sprint track (which i did last year) and just to blow 2 gallons tootling around in private.
I do hope to adapt to open-top this year, but a new opportunity has arrisen on the closed top front also...

Anyway; WHERE IS MY PLATE!

3 days to go to Prescott start line and a sweeping left folowed by a wide right hairpin, a short kinky straight, a super tight left hairpin, a kinky straight, a killer chicane, a tight left, a swoop up hill on a curvey straight and a muder of a semi-circular right to the kink and a finish!

Yikes!!

[haggispeed]

I don't think Vic Lee did stock car racing but not sure of the 70's, he raced special saloons in the 80's then went on to manage BTCC cars for BMW then Peugeot. However if you google him you'll find he is apparently resting at her majesty's pleasure as they say. From what John said I don't think there's any way you'll find he has the chassis plate but it does make sense that this was the time at which it dissapeared.

With the car all ready to go in plenty of time I'm surprised you haven't done any testing, are there no test days at hill climb tracks ? or even a sprint circuit ?
Wish you all the best for the weekend, will be great to finally get out in the car after all the work. Don't worry about the open car thing, as soon as that right foot is planted flat on the floor and the first corner is coming up you'll forget all about it
Must get along to a hill climb sometime, never been.

[911thillclimber]

That's a shame, it might have unravelled things a bit.

Still need to find the Invisible Man from Herne Bay who had the car before you and John did your thing.
Sometimes people keep 'momentoes' like the plates but maybe not in this case. Why take the plate off in the first place?

To the real world.

Getting time off work is really difficult, so although (esp with this fab weather) it would be a very good idea to hire Curborough for a morning it will have to be a learning curve as steep as a hillclimb...

I race this weekend at Prescott, next at Shelsley Walsh, one after that at Barbon Manor but in my 911, and then Loton Park, scene of my kissing with a red brick wall last year.

I am expecting the chassis to be good. I hope the traites of the demon set-up i did myself are bannished beacuse Sean has twweeked it this time and he knows what he is doing.
It will be slowly-slowly-catch-your-monkey at Prescott, but i expect to slice tons of time off on each of the 5 runs I will have (I hope) over the weekend. Besides, I don't want to embarrass the Rally Cross Puma too much...!

The most unproven aspect is the gear change when the car is under stress (they are all there engine running and stationary) and i must change gear slowly like in my 911 (same box): it is no Hewland dog box.

I have to learn the brakes too as they should be phenominal.

I am actually very keen to get there and get in the groove and build confidence in the machine and how it feels, all the reasons for a test morning at Curborough.

A hillclimb is a very relaxed place to be over a weekend, bench-racing is everywhere, but when the flag drops the bull sh!t stops.

Unless it bores the crash helmets off everyone I'll report back on the event if I'm in one piece to type, and Mrs Hillclimber has the camera to hand on video I hope.

You can ALL have a laugh then at my alarming pace, and for now I'm spared Driftwood's commentry.
It was on the run after this clip in this part of the hill I fell off the track and into the hidden dwarf wall towards the top going much faster...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4Smh2qOy7w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx6Uw...eature=related

[SAMD]

Graham.
You need 'seat time' in that car.
I dont care what you do to it, you can put nitrus oxide in it and get another 100 baked beans but you will not improve your time as much as 'seat time' would. You need to do a track day or hire a track or something. You need to wear a groove in the tarmac around some course in order to drive that thing anywhere near properly. A young hot shoe would be going well to get 85 % out of it on their first hill, so how well will you be able to drive it? I wouldn't take it anywhere near a competitive event until I had had a test or two in it, ie; 50 laps X 2.
Just my opinion

[JohnMiller]

Originally Posted by 911thillclimber

Obviously, anyone with a contact will be sent free beer...

Didn't he get 12 years a few years ago?

[911thillclimber]

Time has gone!

I did 3 events and a test day last year before mech gremlins with the brakes stopped me racing it.

The car was not ready.
I had taken 14 months from buying it to racing it, and should have taken a lot more time.
I hope this winters actions will have the car where it should have been before i started out.

The hills are no new thing to me after 20 years racing them, but what is new is the challenge of drivng them safely and then quickly.

I got up Shelsley with 2 and once 3 gears faster than my personal best in my 911 that I've owned for 22 years and hillclimbed for 17.
That was the first time there in the car, and the first event after the wall at Loton.
I find handling the car in the paddock a pain (gears again) and last year was a strain, but was getting easier. My pit crew is my wife and a few helpers on the day who are racing too. Hillclimbers always help each other out.

I know if the gears/clutch work, the engine is 'silent' I can get into the groove.
The open car is weird to me, but no more wierd than changing from a 220 bhp/1000Kg 911 to a 370 bhp 4x4 Impreza was.

When i started out (having sold the Impreza to a friend) I wanted a tech challenge (it has been) but was not ready for the driver challenge to be so hard.

You and others are dead right about a test 'program' but work is weird too and has had to take priority over the last few months in particular.
Also true is giving time to my family who are 100% behind me thank goodness.

There will be pleanty of newcar/new drivers at Prescott this weekend, and all will be pleased to have an event-free time.

My 'got-to-win' attitude is long gone, and personal bests will be the order of the day.

Having a good time along the way just may be the actual priority this year.

[SAMD]

Ah Graham! Maybe that is the wisest position you have adopted, it may not get the fastest times, but if your brain isn’t melting and you are enjoying it then who is the winner!
I had a Grandparent who was one of the most successful men I have ever met. He was the gardener of a UVF Hospital. He didn’t make much money but boy was he contented. I know people who have to make 7 figures every year or they feel they have failed in life. Who is better off?
What is success? The amount of things you have accumulated when you die? Or being happy and contented for the largest amount of time during your life.

[911thillclimber]

What a great weekend of real hillclimbing!
Did I ever learn a lot with this little car....

A lot of the mods over last Xmas have worked great, but the carbs really need sorting now.
I hope to get the PMO's this week and then i will cancell shelsley Walsh to fettle the car, add the carbs and sort a few other things.

I have to say i felt very much 'as one' with the Lola today and even enjoyed being out in the breeze.

For sure, when some essential things are changed (carbs, tyres, carbs tyres, carbs tyres) this car will be fast.

Tyres going on tuesday (Avon A15's) and I hope the carbs this weekend and RR'd at Hi-Tech the week after.

When the you tube bits are up there will be a full report, so much to say.

Fantastic support from those following on Ten-Tenths! Some of you actually turned-up to say hello. Much appreciated.
I would like to say here the set-up of the suspension and brakes by McClurge Motorsport is a dream.
Under full accelleration it is arrow straight, under full off throttle it is arrow straight, it gave me a lot of confidence Sean, great job done, so i thank you.

Forgot a lot of the track instruction off Sean but sliced good time off the track on every run.

Great fun, just as a hillclimb should be! Fab.

Where the car belongs;

[haggispeed]

Graham, so glad all the hard work gave you a really good day, presume it stayed fine where you were. No problems with being in the breeze then
Now what's all this about being off the throttle.... hope you were hard on the brakes at that point

[911thillclimber]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DMFi1uP19w

Just a short clip of the Lola at Prescott complete with carb problem.
The car is very slow to pick-up with only 4 chokes running.

Gets going when it finds all 6! Gets bloody noisey too...and got a telling off.

So much went on this last weekend:
1
The gears work so far, inc reverse (!)
2
The engine breather is flooding, but have the fix
3
The improvised screen sure does work, no buffeting at all, but it is too tall. It falls right on the eye-line for the corners and distorts the view. Must take an inch off.
4
The tank is under a vacumm! I have found the breather pipe i thought was connected is infact blanked off, or was, as it sure breaths now. Thus the pump will have an easy time of it now.
5
The off-set wheel is no problem, but the lack of lock certainly is, so that rack has to be changed or the current one tweeked which i think it can be.
6
The carbs are a nightmare.
A good friend is off to Wales with my webers and a big roll of cash to bring the PMO's back. I will bolt these on and see if it runs for Shelsley this weekend. If not I'll go racing in my 911 road car for a bit of old skool FUN!

It can then go to Hi-Tech for the rollers and a tune. This should get things nice and perky from tick-over.
7
Fresh Avon A15's being popped on tomorrow so some very serious graip. Hope the chassis can take it.
8
I enjoyed the open air motoring. Just need to build on this confidence weekend and start getting enthused to squeeeeze it a bit more.

Tony;
It has been a great kick-off, but i intend to keep it steady for the first 4 or 5 races and step up after that.

Found this one from last year with different exhaust system.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWkAl...eature=related

[911thillclimber]

Feeling a lot more determined now!

New set of Avon A15 compound slicks on the car, about the softest rubber for the weight of car, and sure are soft! £928 for a set of bald tyres....

Further: decided to get the carbs sorted once and for all, so a friend nipped over to the west of Wales and drove back with a set of 46mm choke (perfect for the 3.2 litre engine, and all of 1000 miles old.

Fitted the 'roll-over' valve to the tank breather so the fuel will flow correctly, wired the fuel pump to the ignition(!) and re-routed the engine breather pipe to the dry sump. Should fix the oil loss now.

Needs a tidy-up, bit of bling but only after the engine is fired tomorrow evening. If it is duff then I'll race the 911 and get the Lola down to Mick at Hi-Tech in a couple of weeks (might do that anyway to get the best from the cars (which were not cheap).

This weekend is Shelsley Walsh, just a great hillclimb and steeeeped in history. I might make history myself and go for lots of gear changes getting up the steep hill.

After a bit of a fight, all installed:

[911thillclimber]

Started it tonight.
Explosions are back. Lots of nice blue flames...
Same side of the engine, so i can only presume something is done-for in the engine. Maybe just a tight exhaust valve?

Talk about 10 steps foreward, 3 steps back.

[SAMD]

At least you have narrowed it down somewhat.

[911thillclimber]

True.
Plan is to run it and pull each lead off till it stops flaming. That is the cylinder in trouble.

I can then open the rocker up and check to see if the exhaust valve is held open.

I've pulled the car from the race this weekend, so the pressure is off.
Racing the Best Car in the World, my 911.