1966 Lola T70 1966 Lola T70

1966 Lola T70 MK2 ex Team Surtees.

Offering the ex Team Surtees chassis SL71/48 Lola T70 Mk2 for sale. This is the last T70 Mk2 built. Its excellent history is as follows:

SL71/48 was built in early 1966 by Lola Cars for Team Surtees and was displayed at the London Racing Car Show between the 19th and 29th January. Painted plain red, the car made its race debut at Snetterton for the Archie Scott-Brown Trophy in April ’66. Driven by Graham Hill, the car retired in the first heat after only 17 laps when the final drive failed and then failed to start the second heat. At Silverstone for International Trophy in May, David Hobbs drove but retired early in the wet and damp conditions. At Mallory Park for the Grovewood Trophy, Hobbs got the better of Denny Hulme in Sid Taylor’s T70 and looked like taking the win until a rear tyre deflated and Hobbs limped into the pits to retire. At a soaking wet Silverstone for the Martini Trophy, Hobbs started in pole position and took the lead and led Denny Hulme until the oil pressure suddenly dropped. Hobbs pitted for more oil and rejoined to finish third. During the pit stop it was discovered the leak had covered the rear tyres and brakes in oil. The last time the car was raced by Team Surtees was at Croft for the Wills Trophy where John Surtees won in an invincible display of supreme driving skills in miserable conditions. With the demise in 1967 of Group 7/9 racing in Europe, the car was exported to America for sale and was advertised by Fred Opert Racing Enterprises on behalf of John Surtees with Pierre Phillips and Carl Haas as agents. For the 1967 US Champions at Riverside, George Hollinger rented the car for one race with a view to buying the car after the event. However he decided against it. The car was then re-advertised over the next three months with the price subsequently dropping by around $1000. Eventually any offer was considered, one such coming from Hollinger who had previously turned the car down a few months before. His offer was accepted and Hollinger raced the car in 1968 along with Dick Barbour. In 1969 he sold the car to Doug Abadie of California who paid $10,000 for what was referred to as a “Mk2B”. He tested and practiced with the car track day and private events, but never took part in any races. In 1971 Doug sold the car to a Texan who also had just purchased the crashed chassis of SL71/22 which George Hollinger had flipped at Road Atlanta shortly after he sold SL71/48 to Doug Abadie. In 1975 the car was sold to Display Cars ofCalifornia, a publicity and promotions company. In 1979 Mac McClendon bought the car from Californian Federal Savings and Loan. He put the car in storage until selling it in 2007 who has since had Mac restore the car. The restoration was finished in 2011 after which the car made its 1st successful outing to the Rolex Monterey Reunion in August where SL71/48 won its race!

Specification: 5.7 liter period correct Chevy Small block wet-sump engine on 4 x Weber IDA 48 down draft carburettors, Hewland LG-500 gearbox, KONI adjustable shocks, dual fuel tanks, MSD iginition, etc..

Recent work: Fresh HRS Engine Developments 5.7 litre Chevrolet with Mathwall Engineering oil pumps and sump fitted. One race of use at Spa.

SL71/48 comes with full history documentation as well as paperwork confirming its history. In addition, there is the restoration file with engine dyno data, electrical schematics and lots of in-period pictures. FIA HTP papers are also available. Spares include a new set of magnesium wheels and gear-ratios.

This sale represents an opportunity to acquire a fully sorted MK2 T70 with Team Surtees history and excellent eligibility including Goodwood Revival, CER, Masters etc. The car has received an invitation from Goodwood for the 2015 Members Meeting.

News:

 2015 Goodwood Members Meeting Bruce McLaren Trophy – 1960-’66 prototype sports cars: Winner and lap record, Nick Padmore Lola T70 Mk2 Spider.

A burst of noise signalled the start of the Bruce McLaren Trophy Can-Am race, and Jay Esterer (Chinook Mk2) and Nicholas Padmore (Lola T70) streaked away into the distance on their own. Sadly, Esterer’s car slowed and he pitted, and thereafter Padmore was in no danger of being caught. During the race, John Minshaw set a new lap record in his T70 (which he later crashed), only to have the lap record broken again by Padmore with a 1:18.217.

Read more at:  https://grrc.goodwood.com/members-meeting-73/race-gallery-bruce-mclaren-trophy-1960-66-prototype-sports-cars#B33kSQT1FDYYJJ3J.99

Published on Mar 23, 2015

Nick Padmore sets the Goodwood Circuit lap record with a time of 1.18.217 (average speed of 110.46mph) in Phil Hall's 1966 Team Surtees Lola T70 Spyder, prepared by Complete Motorsport Solutions, in the Bruce McLaren Trophy at the 73rd Goodwood Members' Meeting (22/03/15).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXRzQa8czZk

POA