History of a Lola T492 Sports 2000 chassis?

[911thillclimber]

Well....
today did not go to plan.

Plan was to get 2nd in class and bag 6 points.
Actual event was not so good.

Practice run was a blast a good 48 sec run and the car was great.

First race run was a good hard start, quickly to 2nd(!) and quickly to 3rd(!!) under the crossing bridge and through the fast (70mph accellerating) long left hander to Orchard hairpin, going great guns.
Came out of Orchard to a slight left before the blast to the famous Pardon and CRACK the off side front suspension instantly collaped, the tyre wrapped itself to the tub and the body was jacked up 12"!

I scraped to a halt exactly where i stopped when the engine went bang.

This car likes parking on this spot..

Got out, took the body off and had the car put on the wrecker.

So, no race and no points.

Got the car home this afternoon and immediately stripped the front end and found out why it had failed.

There are two pratts in this episode of 'Life with Lola'.
Pratt 1

The bloke who bolted the front end together years ago, at a guess in the pre Humberstone days. He left two washers out of the lower wishbone / upright mounting.

All these years the thing held together just by the nut's and the corners of the flats which are about 0.020" bigger than the hole in the spherical lower joint. On this run the nut pulled through the joint and the lower wishbone detatched from the upright, Good Night Nurse.

It could have come out on the 70 mph left hander..or Pardon hairpin.. or even worse the dreaded Esses where i think i would have lost every corner on the car and maybe some of my bits too.

Am I a lucky boy.

Pratt 2

Me.
I should have checked every part of the front and hadn't in the past.
Looking at the other side front in the same place, and it is exactly the same, just waiting to pull through.

So, all this grief for the sake of two washers.

So, the toll of trouble is:

Need one new top wishbone.
4 new rose joints
One new tyre
New brake hose
Another David's Isopon fibre glass kit
Local cosmetic tub repairs
Front end alignment job at McClurgs.

Next race is 9 August so need to press-on.

[spd(john)]

Glad to hear you are ok, the car can be repaired.

[911thillclimber]

Indeed it can and is John.

Just might have found a NEW top wishbone pending a call this morning.

Found two thick form stainless steel washers to build the lower joint pins correctly...

all this because of two washers!

[Andy Clegg]

Your'e lucky it broke there. Anywhere else at Prescott and it's going to hurt. glad you are ok.

[911thillclimber]

I was indeed a lucky chap on sunday!

Found 2 new top wishbones through the Sports 2000 web site, no idea of cost and how quickly I can get them.
Buying new rose joints for the front, but 1/4" bore x 3/8" UNF RH and LH joints sure are rare and expensive!

As said, all this because of two missing washers!

[911thillclimber]

When this happened to the car on sunday i thought getting parts would be near impossible and would need a bespoke fabrication/jigging etc (= time and £££)
So, put as many irons in the fire as i could and came up trumps and i think you are making them after all!

Peter Richardson is getting a pair made for me and the fabricator is posting first class to me early next week in natural finish as i don't want nickle plated parts.

Thus new top wishbones, new rose joints and now trying to find a set of 1/4" bore x 3/8" UNF LH&RH x 2" high misalignment rose joints that are less than £40 each!! I can get the set but £100 the set seems steep.

Suspension alignment at McClurg's is available so then all the rest to do.

Wife will be super-glued to the TV for the tennis and Grand Prix and then i just might get a glimps of CLM but a 3 day weekend in the garage!

Next hill is Loton Park, 9 August, so about 5 weeks to get it all together.

[911thillclimber]

Some progress!

To my surprise the rose joints arrived, and very impressive, the new top wishbones did too!

After a little fettling because of the dampers the car has and the way they fit, all is painted and drying. All too slowly of course...

Wishbones are nicely made and rose joints and top bearing fitted a treat as i did a dry run of the assembly.

Started on the body damage...
The tub forward flange of the side pod is now straight and solid so the next days will be the center section of the body that took the twist of the wheel.

New slick fitted today at BMTR, £180 and the previous one did about 15 miles before getting two very very deep gashes of the said tub flange cutting it like a knife.

I think I'm at about £700 so far because of the washer missing.

[911thillclimber]

Had a good 6 hours on the Lola this afternoon.
Body repaired as best I can, such a pity the damage shows in places, was such a good body.

All the front end now bolted together with new rose joints ans new nuts etc.
Just got the 0.5 deg neg camber on the top wishbones. Bit of a struggle because the uprights are (I think) Ralt F3000 and are not well matched to the Lola wish bones.

Still, just the steering arms to do, repair the one side pip pin location plate and replace the one brake line, bleed the brakes.
I'll have that done tomorrow and it will be ready for McClurg motorsport to align it 'while I wait'. I'm about a week ahead of schedule!

[911thillclimber]

If I had worked a bit harder, and knew a bit more about the race car industry i could have raced the car tomorrow after all.

The front end is now all together, all the angles seem ok, though you may hear Sean at McClurg Motorsport laughing next friday when he checks it, but by eye it all looks right. My £60 laser tracking tool paid off again, and the borrowed Dunlop Camber Guage is really easy and accurate to use.

There are some poor design/build elements to the front end which is a mix of T492 Lola and Ralt. On full droop the outer track control arm rose joints are <just> in bind and ideally need high mis-alignment rose joints, not made in this particular size.

I can get them in 1/4" bore or 3/8" bore but not 5/16" oddly.

Just the body to go now so that is this weekend's lazy job, a clean and wax and she is ready for August racing.

I need to 'bond' the crazed gel coat that has locally been punched by the break in places probably with clear araldite or similar.

Hope nobody will notice from about 10 feet away.

Finally, i never though i could get two new front top wishbones for a 36 year old racing Lola in 3 days from placing the order! Stunning.

[911thillclimber]

All done, on the ground and polished.

If you don't get too close the body looks fine.

There were 3 areas of broken gel coat clear to the eye, so decided to 'wipe' the cracks over with clear fast setting Araldite to seal the splits.
Has worked quite well.
Might get a new nose in the winter.

Seem to have lost a loop from one of the pip pins which is irritating as new they are £30 all for a bit of sent stainless wire..

This car always leaves me with something.

[maguire imp chassis no1]

Good evening
I have great time for reading this tread
So much effort has been put into your car
Well done

Keith

[911thillclimber]

Thank you for the kind words Keith.
The car certainly keeps me busy, but it is great people find this little tale of interest too!

These things become such a large part of your life....

[911thillclimber]

Perhaps I should be a bit more confident in my own work, but took the car down to McClurg Motorsport for Sean to give the front end a quick check-over.

The tracking was 1 minute 'out' from the 10 mins toe-in previously set and the camber only just into about 1/4 deg negative, I had 1/2 deg before.

this is down to the wishbone differences, but at least both sides are the same.
There is no more adjustment to be had on the rose joints...

A little project will be to make some new top mount alloy plates where the upper wishbone location is 4 mm further in. this will mean I can get the 1/2 deg easy and have some thread to make further adjustments if required.

Another mod to make at the same time is the give more clearance to the outer track road arm rose joint on full suspension droop, again, 4 mm more would be nice. I can do this without upsetting the bump settings.

Need to find some suitable sheet alloy now...

Never ending, always something to do.

Car now ship-shape for the August clubbie meet at Loton Park on 9 Aug.

Tow car has developed a fault after the tow home, so hope this is a trivial thing to fix....

[911thillclimber]

The Midland Hillclimb Championship is a strange thing.
A lot of the rounds are crammed in at the start, there is a long break mid summer and then there are a few left and all done by end Sept.

We are just at the end of the summer break, but I'm entered in a one-day Clubbie at my Club's own hillclimb venue, Loton Park near Shrewsbury ( www.hdlcc.com )

I know this track well so can get back into the seat before the next Champ round at Shelsley Walsh weekend after this one.

The car is ready, just needs some petrol tomorrow and a run-up to charge brighten everything and we are off. hope it stays dry but cool.

The new front tyre does not hold air like the others, so each race day will see two stints of foot-pump work unless BMTR can seal it.

My trust Vauxhall SRi 4x4 turbo is no more.
After 68K faultless fast safe miles the dual mass flywheel started to vibrate, so now hav e a very nice Skoda Superb 4x4 Tour de France estate diesel.

Half the fuel consumption, bigger inside and thoroughly modern it is a treat, Superb in fact...

Might have to put early retirement off for 12 months to recover, but got a steal of a deal.
Only 192 made (number of riders in the Tour de France) and just two colours, white and blue.

Mine is blue and matches the Lola quite well!

The 911 is giving a bit of jip after 25 years, so a bit distracted at the moment.

During the 'holiday' I had the chance to pedal a truly wonderful race prepared 911 up Loton done by a professional outfit.
Now, that could be very distracting...

[911thillclimber]

Quite a day at loton Park hillclimb for the one-day Clubbie.
firstly, my new Skoda Superb tows, suberbly..

Had 5 in the class today, and seeded to win based on capacity of the engine.

Practice 1 was a gentle affair to make sure the front end did not come apart so a long 64.6 second run. Everything seemed ok, so practice 2 was a touch harder at 60.76.
I'm trying to get used to a full collar neck brace which is a bit naff but could be great in the event of an abrupt halt as the saying goes.

After a lazy lunch, it was Run 1 in earnest. My fellow class mates were behind me but could be 'sand-bagging' so gave it a go and ran to a Red flag because something was on the track ahead of me..

Hot and bothered much like the engine i tried again.
Great start, my best ever in this car @ 2.01, very nearly 1G of acceleration bagging a 59.74 run, way off my best, but not too bad.

Run 2 came round quickly and although leading the class i was worried about the chap in the fab Mini Z cars chassis with a potent 2L VTEC Honda engine and a carbon body...

Result was a 59.47 and a class win by miles.

[morninggents]

Was it a PB in the Lola?

[911thillclimber]

Sadly no.
Miles off as my pb was last year at 57.14

That was under a lot of championship pressure and it should be said with the much wider wheels on...

But, I'm a year older too!

[morninggents]

Do you think it will be slower with the narrow wheel/tyre set-up? I was one of those who thought it would be quicker!

[911thillclimber]

It is an interesting conundrum isn't it?

The experiment was to narrow the wheels from 10Fr/14"Rr to 8Fr/10Rr which also allowed a greater steering lock.
At this time i found the bump steer too, so, with all this the car should be faster?

I have rarely exceeded the lateral grip of the narrow wheels so far more to come there, the steering lock makes the world a more plesent place, and the bump steer gone makes the car much less fidgety on the track.

I do not feel so aggressive in the car now, and at time feel i could happily sell up
and race the 911 again, feel the 'mojo' for the sport ebbing at present.

I always tend to feel this way after the long summer break, but it is more so this year.

So, I not at all sure I'm doing the car justice, but irritating that the car was faster last year!

"Must try Harder" is the mantra.

Car is great, has more to come, but may need a better driver I think.

[911thillclimber]

This weekend is a Championship meet at the famous Shelsley Walsh hill, magic place to to be at let alone race.

Car went well today, practice day, but the competition is VERY heavy in the class and i will be lucky to see a point out of it.
Still, 'just here for the fun' and all that...

First practice on a great day, califormnian blue sky, 20 deg C and feeling good.
Had a good start and off up this demanding and very narrow track and pulled 4th in the middle of the steepest section at 75 mph, down to 3rd as the first Esse approached, down to 2nd to take a good pass only to find I've slotted 4th again.

Too late to fumble a gear change as i was in the bend by now so floored the pedal and ran though the Esse complex and on to the finishing line all in 4th.

this engine sure has some torque and we finished with a 35 sec run despite this 'operator-error' incident.

My rival in an NG V8 was all of a 1/10 behind me.

Second run was more determined and everything went well but 2nd in the esses and a strong 4th to the finish to clip a low 33.

Came home early to sort a few insurance issues out with my new Skoda Superb which seems to have defeated all the insurance data bases.

It is a rare as hell Skoda Superb Tour de France special edition, just 192 made for the UK, but still a badged Skoda..

Tomorrow will have to count and I simply must turn the volume up and close one eye whilst on the move up this very unforgiving hill.

My new neck brace is bloody awkward but gives the distinct feeling on a full impact things will be fine for my neck...

My paddock next door is a Pilbeam MP48 with a 5 litre BMW injected V8 with a giant Hewland box and he has 4 runners in front of him!

Wish me luck.

[gt917]

We all wish you luck.

Thanks for continual updates and enthusiasm, no matter what

[MGDavid]

Originally Posted by gt917

We all wish you luck.

Thanks for continual updates and enthusiasm, no matter what

Second that !

[911thillclimber]

Thank you both, I'm never too sure if this 'blog' (is that the right term?) of the ongoing saga of my 'life' with this pesky car is really of interest, but as long as people are 'hitting' the thread I'll carry on!

Race day today dawned with very light rain. not forcasted, but a real drizzle that went away and the rest of the day was hillclimb dream perfect.

first race run and i duly repeated with great precision the same miss-gear selection in exactly the same place to clock a miserable 34.14. PRATT!.

Discussing this new operator-error of mine a fellow classmate who is very very very fast told me the simple solution.
Duly noted the second run was with more grit esp as my rival was just 0.1 sec off my butt.

Gave the car death off the line to the limiter and some and to 2nd. Charged to the first bend (they are all nervey at Shelsley) and to 3rd. Easy past the barriers and to the next which can be adverse camber and the car at full tilt. You just have to hit this one hard to take on the steep hill incline. Done and follow to 4th up the slope to face the main 'obsticle', bottom Esse.

now, this is where my learned Class mate advised, so to 3rd just before the Esse left hander, and pounce on the throttle, forget 2nd, too low.

Use the mighty torque of the engine to run the bottom Esse through the awkward but exciting mid stretch to the right top Esse all in third and the pedal to the metal. Avoid the bloody drain cover (!) that can kick the light car all over the shop and power out of the top and take a sure footed 4th to the long run to the finish line.

Gasp and phwee...

Get into the hard breaking strip to the holding paddock and past the time clock, 32.97, my pb being 32.71.

I cannot type the way I shouted seeing this, but i was pleased a bit.

Car ran superbly and i feel my MoJo coming back great feeling and the front suspension is still where it should be!

Only 2 more rounds to go.

I came 9th in a 12 driver class; this has been the toughest grouping I've seen in sports Libre over 2 litres.
Fastest driver was 25.97 with 400 bhp/ 500 Kg.

Still, I'm happy, the car is in one solid piece and that is all that counts!

As an aside, fell in love with this:

[Serge]

Hi,

I've been reading this thread and following your story for quite a while, but have never posted on here before.

This seemed to be a good time to ask you not to stop posting your progress on here. It's a very interesting story and a good read. It also gives some insight into the sport for us outsiders and a bit of motivation to get our own projects finished. I know I'll look into hillclimbing once I get my Lotus Europa finally finished!

Kind regards,

Serge

[Andy Clegg]

I'm still reading about your adventures.