History of a Lola T492 Sports 2000 chassis?

[andy97]

Originally Posted by 911thillclimber

Seriously thinking of removing the 911 engine and fitting something that works.

Sorry to hear about your trials & tribulations. Can I suggest that the car in Sports 2000 trim is probably worth good money, which you can then use to buy something else with. How about going the Mallock route?

[911thillclimber]

Over tyred?

This car in thunder saloons ran these wheels and was a fast car.(on tracks).
The car on a hill neither under or over steers! It simply seems slow to the two other cars I've hillclimbed over the last 20 yars of competing.

I can do Loton Park hill in 59 secs in my mild 220bhp 911 @ 1000KG, road tyres.
The Lola is 610Kg/270 bhp on AVONs, and wide ones at that. The car is 400+ bhp/tonne.

Others have said that the car is over wide on wheels and tyres. It would cost about £2000 to experiment however...

Andy:
The car is far too modified for Sports 2000 even before i butchered it (I'm known as the Butcher on the web site).

Non original suspension, body stiffening gallor, F3000 brakes instead of Ford Cortina etc.

Would be a silly cost to convert it back. And no chassis number either!

A Duratec with Hewland FT 200 is the best bet.

If i sell the car I might get £12K ish. Probably get more breaking it.

I would probably go to my 911 again and tweek that a bit more and relax, and put 10k into the bank.

This pill is starting to taste bitter.
Off to Italy for 10 days tomorrow, so time to contemplate.

I'll give it this season and try a few other things before deciding what to do.

[morninggents]

It would be a shame if you gave up on the car after all you've invested in it and we would lose this great thread.

Try something radical. Do you have a spare set of front wheels and tyres? If you do and you are able to do practice days at hill climb venues then try the spare fronts on the back.

[Groupc]

First comment from a long time reader, so please forgive my intrusion.

I'm disappointed to read of your current frustrations, after all your efforts I'd have probably put it on Ebay weeks ago !

But, before you lose heart with it entirely, how about getting a 'name' driver to test it and see if they have any input ?

I know zero about hillclimbing, but would getting A N Other's time as a bench mark make it clear whether it's the car or you ? There are Wednesday morning test sessions at Mallory Park every week. Look at this thread over on Autosport ?

http://forums.autosport.com/index.php?showtopic=127667

[SAMD]

Graham. Do whatever you have to do. Just dont close the thread lol.

[haggispeed]

Originally Posted by 911thillclimber

If Tony (Harman)(Haggispeed) is looking in, I saw this creation of yours from WAY back at Barbon Manor the other weekend!

Hi Graham, sorry haven't been around much lately due to too much work, although that has now all stopped as they've decided they don't want me anymore hey ho more time to rebuild to old Mk6D Haggispeed. Which brings me straight to your pic. That is the only other Haggispeed still running, it's another Mk6, a "B" circa 1975, belongs to Pete and Stuart Nelson and runs a Rover 1.6, I think I'm right in saying it has won it's championship class for the last 3 years and holds a few lap records too. The Mk6 is very much like a Mallock 18 only better (of course) e.g. live axle, Watts or Panhard rod link, nice and straightforward. The Mk8 & 9 Haggispeeds were in existance in Sweden until recently when one got chopped up for parts and the other has loads of scaffold welded to it to make it look like a sevenesque car, poor old Haggis would spin out in his grave, !!

[911thillclimber]

Been in sunny Italy for 2 weeks with Mrs Hillclimber for some relief from the car.

tony: you are right about that car, pictured off the start line at Barbon Manor this year. V quick car.

I still have not got to the root of the speed issue. The Lola is 270 bhp in 610 KG yet gives the same speed to the second as my 911 with 220 / 1050Kg. Makes no sense except I'm a few years older.

At Prescott this weekend so will try harder!

Having a 'competant' second driver try it out is on the cards.

[911thillclimber]

Practice day at Prescott in the sun!
Car and I had 3 positive runs and with some educated (in Porsche ways) help there (fellow racers) I have made some progress to finding some speed.
Each run was faster in time and local speed trap readings better than my 911 recorded. Miles off the Impreza times!

Tomorrow will be a bit more experimentation which will involve determination and white knuckels, and 6000 rpm in 2nd for much longer.

I hope to report on a good day.

[911thillclimber]

Bloody hot at Prescott which was a pain!
Anyway, the first time run went well, and yielded a 48.13 run, (best practice was 49.07). Car went well though many tell me it sounds 'off beat'.

The second run this afternoon was v hot, and i really did not want to do the run, missed a 2nd to 3rd change, recover and then did a 3rd to 4th instead of a 3rd to 2nd...resulting in a laughable 49.1

However, this was a psitive weekend. The car went faster due to simply driving it harder.

The timing system can calculate the best run out of all your sector times, and mine was 47.93 so missed 0.2 secs out somewhere!
Such is hillclimbing.

Plan now is to get some jets to weaken the carbs off and see if that will brighten this lazy engine.
Not sure what to do to brighten this lazy driver.....

2 weeks off now, got the kart to get ready for Silverstone, then the private day testing, then Loton Park for a one day clubbie.

Busy.

[911thillclimber]

pics will not load up!

[911thillclimber]

Went to Curborough sprint track this morning with Sean from McClurg Motorsport who has set-up the chassis this and last year. Sean is an ex hillclimber and bought his overalls and helmet!
Good dry morning, so a good start. I ran the car round the very tight track to warm things through having set the tyre pressures and dampers/ARB's all to max soft.
Certainly is soft. Sean took it round after and came back with much the same feeling. This is the first time i've ever seen the car out and about. Sounds good! Looks strange without the body on though.

We went through a steady iterative process of changing one thing at a time, measuring the tyre temps starting with the front end. The adjustments made a noticeable difference to the way the chassis flowed, and then after the rear was similarly tweeksed Sean encouraged me to drive it much harder....

The chassis certainly flows now, and changed direction so well with no twitchy antics. Further, i had the opportunity to really try the brakes out andI'm amazed just how strong they are, 90 to 10 in about 3 seconds with the odd chirp from the front, no locking up. Pleased about that as I've never hit them hard unlike my Impreza or 911!

The tyre temps were good and even across the width so the set-up seems to be spot on, and it feels it too.

I have to admit it took a bit to pace it along, but to the end of the 2 hours i felt i was there, the car asking for a little correction as it changed quickly from left to right, done by letting the steering wheel slip freely through your hands , catching the wheel on slight opposite and nail the engine. Works in a 911, does too in the Lola. (no power steering, the Impreza was nowhere near this sensitive).

As to shere speed, well Sean concluded as i've done, this engine just is not cutting it. We agreed it feels like a chassis with 170 bhp, not 270.

The chassis is great, and I'm really pleased to 'park' the chassis now and focus on the engine.

Couldn't have done this without Sean, ace guy who knows what is going on mechanically and also in the driver's mind.

I feel very confident now with the package, so will leave the engine as is till winter and then;

Sell it?
Sort the engine (I thought i had!)
Change the engine in this chassis (and fit a Hewland)

[911thillclimber]

What a day at the races today!
Loton Park Clubby meet, 3 in the class, clear blue sky and everything to go for.
Bloody hell Sean, you have done me a great chassis!
A TOTALLY different car to drive on this long tricky hill. All the hard parts have become silky, even the dreadded kink along Cedar Straight was flat in 3rd where last time it certainly was not.
The car turns, stops and switches direction as i always hoped it would. Amazing difference and an absolute delight. My smile was 720 degrees round.

The odd twitch and even a nice slide was caught by letting the wheel slip through loose hands, catching the opposite and planting the throttle, just sublime and FUN, at long last i've had a great day with the car.

I won my class.

The first practice run felt very good, even though the engine was 'off' and I missed two gears, the second run in practice was really good and resulted in a 2 second drop in times (massive change in hillclimb terms).

The first competative run was great, all worked correctly and i actually used the brakes, but there was a difference.

As an experiment to try to understand this problem engine we took the air filters off and this saved a 0.9 sec off the practice time. I think this was more to do with me getting more confident, but 0.9 off.
As a special 'favour' i was allowed by the officials to remove the silencers for the second run. That is a MAJOR concession and did the car sound gooooood!
A 911 flat six on open pipes made the paddock jump (110 DB), two times louder than the silenced car @ 108 DB.

However, most interestingly, the tick-over rose from 1000 rpm to 1600 rpm, so the huge silencers are infact restrictive.

The car now sounded like a full-on Targa Florio Porsche 906 (dream car) and to the line I went for my second run.

Blasted off in first off the start sounding like a banshi Porsche, grab second....and the gearbox went dead.
No second and i could get first/3rd/4th but not 2nd. Failed run and a crawl back to the paddock like a wounded racer..

I think a selector fork has slipped or bent.

However, that aside what a fab day. PB, fab handling chassis and some further insight to the engine. Wonderful and a real joy.

Have a 4 weekend break now from the season so will be quiet for a change. Just time to do the box!

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

[bob k.]

Graham, so glad that you are starting to enjoy the Lola. This is still a good read, thanks so much for sharing your story with us all. You could sell installments of this story. I for one eagerly await the outcome of your next modification/repair/test. and report.

bob k.
T490 HU4

[911thillclimber]

Thanks Bob, sometimes I feel I'm 'typing' to myself, but extrodinarily, the hits keep rising on the thread. Will soon be at 70,000.

While the hits are still there i will 'report' to the unknown audience!

The car is still very much unfinished business.

The chassis is superb, McClurge motorsport has seen to that.

The engine is a mystery, but fresh clues are being found.
The gearbox issue is a side show, but should be easy to fix.

Can't do the engine without the box, so need to get a move on.

If i can get 270 bhp/240 lbft into this 610Kg chassis/driver then the thing will be balistic, took much for and old'un like me, so then I'll sell and run my 911 again, far more civilised!

The engineering is far more interesting, but i must get the car faster than my hot Impreza was on the hills, and I'm getting closer!!

Thanks for your encouragement over the years.
Graham.

[911thillclimber]

300 mile round trip last evening to get the gearbox into the Specialist who built it for me to have a looksee inside.

Stripped it all down to find a 2/3rd selector fork bent. No bits of metal anywhere and looking fab inside.
Noted that first gear synchro ring was just undersize, so fitting new ones and a fresh fork.
I did have trouble getting into 1st on the fateful run and that 'shove' may have started things off.
Anyway, collecting this friday and treating the Wife to a day in the southern lake district and a pint or 3 of delectable Dent Beer in a village pub!
Bet it rains.
Back together Sunday.

Contemplating making my own 'Sports re-packable silencers' now.

Mike had a PMO fuel injection system on a 2.8 flat 6 in the workshop...injection....mmmmmmmmmmmm

[Andy Clegg]

Originally Posted by bob k.

Graham, so glad that you are starting to enjoy the Lola. This is still a good read, thanks so much for sharing your story with us all. You could sell installments of this story. I for one eagerly await the outcome of your next modification/repair/test. and report.

bob k.
T490 HU4

I always read how your'e doing with interest.
Andy

[Groupc]

So do I !

[Unit 2 Racing]

An other here.

[XRS]

Me too

[911thillclimber]

Ha!
Kind of you all to voice support for the Blog!
Apart from the technical tribulations, (will they ever end?) I tried to hunt down a bit more info on the "Chassis Number" while at Loton.

My next door racer in the Paddock raced a T 492 on the hills in the 1986 ish era when he sold it and it went maybe to the States then back to the Channel islands for the hills there.

Interestingly, Mike who i bought it off gave me a spec sheet with details of the hillclimb car and those who built the engine and prepped the car. Mike cannot recal how he got hold of the paper but he did insist i took a wreck of a lola body away with the car which is now in Belgium(!). This duff body was the hillclimb body from 1986.

However, Ian could not recal a guy called Dennis Humphfies in the 80's so this is another dead end but unless i keep trying the chassis plate will go totally cold on me.
Dennis certainly was not prominent in '86 with the car that became mine.

Gearbox nearly done, and looks more like a slipped selector fork than bent, but new synchro rings in place and a few other bits.

Next hillclimb is 21 August! What a delay.

[Andy Clegg]

I used very occasionally used to go up to Prescott. Do you have any photos of the Porsche? I 'd be interested to see it.
Andy

[911thillclimber]

Prescott in the lola, meeting before the crash in the very same spot!



My fab 911 hotrod:



Same base engine in both, but stock injection in the 911.

[911thillclimber]

Gearbox back into the car. Linkage all re-set and feels good. Went to Halfords to get some Castrol oil, only had 2 litres and i need 3. (normal for me) so went to another who had none!

Also rigged-up the tempory extension tubes in the faint hope i can run the car like this...

However, have found that the silencers originally fitted to this engine when it sat in the middle of a v nice Nomad still exist and could be mine very soon.
Got a feeling i will need to mod the gear linkage but will be worth it.

Fingers and spanners crossed.

Went out in the old 911 with the same type of engine as the Lolas today to visit those Halford shops, and it definitly goes better than the lola!

Must soon get to the bottom of this engine.

[911thillclimber]

Not sure if I've posted this before?

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

[911thillclimber]

Got hold of the original race silencers off the engine from way way back, a few tweeks to make the mounting fit and ensure the rear body will pivot over them plus the itchy job of re-packing the chambers.
I hope that will not become an annual job....

Started it up of course..filters off the carbs, let the pump fill, and stab the throttle, Verrroommm and stettled to a nice even tick-over.

Certainly sounds much better, a real 911 deep beat with fast throttle response, a real 'blip-blip' action.

Interestingly, the engine still runs hotter on one side, so a run to the rollers is needed.

Doing a Show-n-Shine in Shrewsbury next weekend, then the next hill is Shelsley Walsh on the 21 August. Can't wait.