History of a Lola T492 Sports 2000 chassis?

[simon drabble]

I dont know him but I had the misfortune of briefly knowing his brother and sister they are the nearest thing I have met to living poison and I am sure they spoke about him being inside

[chunterer]

Gents, best not start 'referring' to legal stuff please!!!

Cheers,
chunty

[911thillclimber]

No response yet from Tony D or Tony Harman yet...

Thinking about this slightly fuzzy 'time' this car had:

Harry bought a good Lola t490 tub off TD. Harry had tony Harman/John Scheneider make some mods and mount the Pink Ghia body onto that tub.

Alan Humberstone then races and crashes it (maybe badly).

The story goes that Brian at Autoquip then buys this damaged race car with body. Brian starts to fix it up. My tub has all those scars but when Brian sells the car to Mike it still has the Ghia body, so I presume the body is not THAT bad?
Mike though thought it was, and chucked it in favour of a new T 492 body which I have.
The pink body was white when Mike got the car, so maybe Brian did fix the Ghia shell too?

I think I need to contact Brian again (though he was not too willing to details things on the phone) to try to find some more facts.

The biggest one here is did Brian re-tub the Haumberstone crashed car. and if so, was the replacement a spare from Lola, a custom built one from someone, or even a donar car?

Another twist here is the mods in the seating area Tony h has confimed are his handiwork and those are right in the middle of the tub, PRE-CRASH!

I hope you are all as confused as me.

[driftwood]

me thinks you now
1 ask too many questions
2 facts are not laid out in chronological order with each car owner answering SPECIFIC questions so you get each segment in place ie 80-82 82-84 84-92 92-2007

[Clive Brown]

Too much unnecessary detail !

(i) We know Harry had HU6 ; he got it from TD .

(ii) TD has identified suspension modifications on the car as being those effected by he and his team .

(iii) We have no reason to believe that the tub was changed or underwent major repair after Harry bought the car from TD, but before it became a KG .

(iv) Tony Harman identifies modifications to the present tub as being those he and John Schneider effected under Harry's commission .


As far as I'm concerned , it's HU6 . Items (i) and (ii) above demonstrate this , and (iv) establishes continuity .

Whilst it might have had major repairs , I don't believe it's been re-tubbed , again because of (iv) above . I might be doing him a disservice , but I don't think Brian Davis would have had the necessary skills to undertake major repairs to a monocoque himself . Even if the monocoque did have major repairs effected after AH's alleged major shunt , why all the redundant rivet holes and apertures if one or both of the pods were new work ?

BTW , if you went off at Pits Bend at Lydden , unless you spun through 180° , you'ld hit nearside first . Did little Alan drop the lot leaving the paddock for the track ? Not impossible !

[Clive Brown]

Originally Posted by simon drabble

I dont know him but I had the misfortune of briefly knowing his brother and sister they are the nearest thing I have met to living poison

I'd read on another site that you were already recuperating from one broken leg . With postings like that , you must be a real glutton for punishment !

[simon drabble]

haha in fact I dont think they speak to him so maybe he is the good guy!
I am impressed that a Sports 2000's history has had such an indepth analysis. These were only ever club cars and although I like them I cant help thinking that many of the original ones had a checkered history given that they were (and still are) relatively inexpensive cars and were a good base for thundersport and modsport cars

[911thillclimber]

I suppose it is because I deal with tons of detail at work i seem to want every nut and bolt (and rivet!) in the right place.

The tub I am converting has seen many an adventure, but rear tubes TonyD says had triangular plates welded on to hold the Hart in place certainly are not on this tub. There is not a scratch anywhere where I might think you would put them.

However, this matters little to me. My vote is with the Ted toleman origin; HU 6, a Lola T 490 that has lived a bit of life. (thank god for that)

Unless TD and T Harman come back with something exciting then it will rest at that.

Unless I can get TD to write some screed for Lola then I will not get it recognised and a new chassis plate. That will be a dead end.

So: does anyone make replica chassis plates?

I should add that this car is great, and with the 250 lbft/bhp 911 flat 6 in the @rse it should hillclimb a treat!

Is this the most sucessful and most reasearched club racer sports 2000 ever?
My heart goes warm every time I see this shot...



And this one too...




Graham.

[Steve Wilkinson]

Originally Posted by 911thillclimber

Unless I can get TD to write some screed for Lola then I will not get it recognised and a new chassis plate. That will be a dead end.

So: does anyone make replica chassis plates?

Graham.

Get a small rectangular piece of brass and a Dremmel and make your own chassis plate.

[Clive Brown]

Great stuff ! Now think of your car's life as a Skoda , with about 305bhp of 420R , which was a pretty cammy motor , going through the flat-out curves around the back of Thruxton on F2 slicks at the last Wendy Wools round of the year , traditionally held in mid-October when it's nice and cold , so you can't really get the tyres up to temperature . You're leading , but then partway through the race , you notice drizzle on your windscreen !

That warm feeling might not be just in your heart ....

[RickT]

Hi Guys

Just caught up on this thread, its fascinatiing !

The T490 were great cars, a really pretty S2000. It looks like the history on this one is nearly there now, and an interesting one at that. 911thillclimber, it looks like you have a really exciting little project, and it should be a flier with that Porsche motor.

I see that you are now looking for a Lola chassis plate, but I noticed in a couple of the photos ( the first pic in Post 137 and the second pic in Post 273) that there appears to already be a Lola chassis plate on top of the LH sill ? Its difficult to make out exactly what it is, and it seems to appear in some photos but not in others, is it a bag tank manufacturer plate ?

Keep up the good work, the car looks great and the history is a good read too.

Cheers
Richard

[911thillclimber]

You are eagle-eyed!
When I bought the car off Mike he gave me a Lola plate, brand new and obviously a repro plate.

For insurance, the car had to have a plate on it to identify it if it was stolen (!) before it was covered.
I stamped the plate with a ficticious 'T 492 GL' (my initials), and on it went.

I wish I could get another!

Clive: Your last note made me laugh!
I think a Karmann Ghia or VW shell would look great on this car and would raise a few smiles at a hillclimb, but hillclimbers are a bit like that, not quite on the beaten track thank goodness.

[simon drabble]

Originally Posted by Clive Brown

Great stuff ! Now think of your car's life as a Skoda , with about 305bhp of 420R , which was a pretty cammy motor , going through the flat-out curves around the back of Thruxton on F2 slicks at the last Wendy Wools round of the year , traditionally held in mid-October when it's nice and cold , so you can't really get the tyres up to temperature . You're leading , but then partway through the race , you notice drizzle on your windscreen !

That warm feeling might not be just in your heart ....

superb... !!

[911thillclimber]

Happy Christmas one and all.

There has been no response from my emails, so maybe the trail now is closed, I won't chase the formal Lola direction as i have no written 'evidence' from TD to give to Lola.
Maybe Tony will find the time later?

The car as it is today, just put everything back into the tub to do the brakes and oil lines.
Graham.

[Steve Wilkinson]

Graham, any news on the hunt for the chassis number since your last post?

Also any progress in putting it all back together?

[911thillclimber]

Hello Steve:

I've sent a 'pictured' email to Tony D and Tony Harman just before Xmas, but have had no response at all, so I'm not sure that I should push that route further.
Lola's official position is without written confirmation from TonyD at minimum the claim to T 490 HU 6 cannot be upheld. This thread is not strong enough evidence as they must follow FIA guidlines (!) which needs all manner of hard evidence.

Lola have looked at the contents of this thread though, and were very helpful.

Lola Heritage have accepted the evidence and their site lists the car as Ted's T 490 # HU 6.
I've contacted the sport 2000 and Lola sites asking if anyone has HU 6 and have zero response, so, for now I'm calling it HU#6.

The car itself is going great. The engine is all in, box/shafts etc done, rear suspension done, need some calipers and plumbing.

Body is on and framed/located.
Dry sump system all but done.

so:

Brakes/electrics, a seat and all the cosmetics and a good stout clutch (Tony Tewson I think).

My expectation is a June Loton meeting as my first 'go'.

Looks like this:






Graham.

[driftwood]

what size flywheel u using need 5.5 or 7.25 clutch? i have steel and carbon need clutch spline dims as well
wheels- need any more F2 march rears i have 2 or 3 pairs
calipres what type do u need?
bodywork are u painting in a 908 scheme? fitting tail end on?
mail here or PM me and i can look thru my stock
have u sorted seatbelt fire extinguisher out?

[Steve Wilkinson]

Originally Posted by driftwood

what size flywheel u using need 5.5 or 7.25 clutch? i have steel and carbon need clutch spline dims as well
wheels- need any more F2 march rears i have 2 or 3 pairs
calipres what type do u need?
bodywork are u painting in a 908 scheme? fitting tail end on?
mail here or PM me and i can look thru my stock
have u sorted seatbelt fire extinguisher out?

Drifty in salesman mode!

By the way you don't need an on-board fire extinguisher for Speed Events although I would recommend fitting one despite them being very heavy.

[driftwood]

A girls gotta earn a living some how!!
No point leaving the stuff on the shelf when this poor urchin needs the parts to finish his car!

[Steve Wilkinson]

Originally Posted by driftwood

A girls gotta earn a living some how!!
No point leaving the stuff on the shelf when this poor urchin needs the parts to finish his car!

Trouble is he will be significantly poorer once you've finished with him ducky!

[driftwood]

and do i look bovvered at least he gets the parts he needs to run the car up the hill so you can take a photo!

[911thillclimber]

I presume you two are friends!

Been to look at some brakes today, AP 4 pots, radial mount with 13'' wheel clearances to the 10.5'' discs. £280 ish each plus i need to do the lug-to-radial blocks. so light and so nice. I think I will be going in that direction. (wife has given me the approval..) Need to check the offset today.

The car will have a small hand held extinguisher as my previous car have had.

Flywheel is currently stock 911 which is very light and uses a 215mm assembly. I'm tempted to use an AP Organic as I did on my hot Impreza for 3 years with zero probs, just a bit expensive. Must have a sprung centre to save the gearbox innerds.

so far my uprights are OK!, met someone at the Autosports Show who has new cast ones fully machined for £600 each which seemed a good deal to me. I paid £450 the pair for this Money Pit of a car.

as to colours. I've just seena T492 in bright silver which looked fab. This car's Postman Pat red is horrid, but will have to do for this year. Too many things yet to buy.
There were some great 908 schemes used, some on white, some on silver, none on red!

One very nice real T 492 HU 97 os almost the last made.



Graham The Poor Urchin

[driftwood]

I presume you two are friends!fortunatly for Steve he has the pleasure that he has never met me but i know deep down in the heart of his bottom he loves me and 1 day he will sneak uop behind me at the circuits and say Boo !

Been to look at some brakes today, AP 4 pots, radial mount with 13'' wheel clearances to the 10.5'' discs. £280 ish each plus i need to do the lug-to-radial blocks. so light and so nice. I think I will be going in that direction. (wife has given me the approval..) Need to check the offset today.why do that when cp 2361 will bolt straight on and do away with £100 per calipre bracket being made

The car will have a small hand held extinguisher as my previous car have had.not a problem i can supply u with a nice lifeline bottle

Flywheel is currently stock 911 which is very light and uses a 215mm assembly. I'm tempted to use an AP Organic you need to use it not eat it! as I did on my hot Impreza for 3 years with zero probs, just a bit expensive. Must have a sprung centre to save the gearbox innerds.twin plate AP cintered will do the job £600 ish plates £75 ish each will do a season or more

so far my uprights are OK!, met someone at the Autosports Show who has new cast ones fully machined for £600 each which seemed a good deal to me. I paid £450 the pair for this Money Pit of a car.

as to colours. I've just seena T492 in bright silver which looked fab. This car's Postman Pat red is horrid, but will have to do for this year. Too many things yet to buy.
There were some great 908 schemes used, some on white, some on silver, none on red!why not apply the Martini stripes to the red a la Brabham F1 car BT45 46 48 paint wheels black or Gold

[Clive Brown]

I, too , loved the T492 in silver ; would have looked great with Martini stripes and black wheels . I thought about the idea of Martini stripes a la Brabham over the existing base colour , but the car isn't really even red ; it's more a sort of reddy-orange .

Graham , the only answer is to doff your cap to your car's undoubted heritage , and have it sprayed Humberstone pink . I'm sure The Drifter would approve , as I understand this particular shade is very popular in metropolitan East Sussex .

[driftwood]

Thats rich coming from a former student of sussex university!
who woke you up sleeping beauty some Queen come n give you a kiss?