[LM24] Cadillac Northstar LMP

[Jim Craik]

Hello,

My name is Jim Craik, a few months back, I purchased one of the six, 2000 Cadillac LMP carbon monocoques. This is chassis #00-002, one of the DAMS cars.

This chassis only ran in a few races during the 2000 season, it was one of the black Motorola cars, #4, 2000 Le Mans and was then damaged in a fire. The fire melted some of the carbon in the lower left, but per Riley & Scott, the alum core is not damaged and can be repaired.

What I have is the monocoque, with fuel cell, steering rack, master cylinders, firewall with engine mounts, shifter and all front suspention mounting brackets.

Does anyone here have have or know someone who has info/data on these cars, the other chassis and parts.

Thanks in advance, Jim

I have some photos in the Chassis History Archive section, but I cant figure out how to move them here, sorry.







.

[GT3.14]

Sounds like you have already been in contact with Riley & Scott. Have you contacted DAMS or any of the drivers, engineers, mechanics? Jon Fricker at Wayne Taylor Racing looks like a good person to start with. Perhaps Wayne Taylor as well.

http://www.waynetaylorracing.com/team/

Cool project!

[GT6]

Can't actually help but i did see them race in le mans and also have a scalectric set with the car,

[nobster]

Would be nice if you can get it restored, beautiful car it was!

[TheNo1F1Fan]

[Jim Craik]

Originally Posted by GT3.14

Sounds like you have already been in contact with Riley & Scott. Have you contacted DAMS or any of the drivers, engineers, mechanics? Jon Fricker at Wayne Taylor Racing looks like a good person to start with. Perhaps Wayne Taylor as well.

http://www.waynetaylorracing.com/team/

Cool project!

Hi Racer,

I have not yet contacted Riley & Scott, the info I have is from a report made after the fire, Le Mans 2000. The team then kept 00-002 as a spare.

I have sent an email to DAMS, but I have not heard back. I also spoke to a guy in Apple Valley CA, who has 00-004.

My chassis only ran in the 2000 races and was the first body style with the large NACA ducts on each side.

As I understand most of the other cars were modified to 2001 spec, with a number of mods, including a different radiator location and slightly different bodywork.

The last ones, the 2002 cars were completely different.

[JHamilton]

You should contact Mike Fuller or Mulsanne Mike. He's on here or the Mulsanne Corner Facebook page.

[JoestForEver]

Good to have enthusiastic people for that brilliant car. Nothing I can offer to help but all the best wishes are for you and the work!

[MulsanneMike]

Jim,

I laid that chassis up! Email me and I might be able to help you out.

mike@mulsannescorner.com

[Jim Craik]

Originally Posted by MulsanneMike

Jim,

I laid that chassis up! Email me and I might be able to help you out.

mike@mulsannescorner.com

Hi Mike,

I can't wait to talk to you, I have sent an Email....

[Maelochs]

Mr. Craik,

You realize that by having posted here you have now obligated yourself to posting a complete photo history of the rebuild ....

We are all eagerly awaiting news of progress on the project. Hope it is very satisfying for you and proceeds smoothly to completion.

[Lanky Turtle]

That's a very interesting chassis you've picked up. I remember watching Le Mans on TV that year and the car catching fire very early in the race and burning for a long time. I'm really surprised the chassis is still around.

Are you planning on restoring the car to running condition? I always wonder what happens to these cars once they are retired. I see a few of them turn up at vintage racing events but I'm sure a lot of them just end up in storage for many years.

[Jim Craik]

Originally Posted by JoestForEver

Good to have enthusiastic people for that brilliant car. Nothing I can offer to help but all the best wishes are for you and the work!

Thank you, that means alot....

Good luck next weekend!

[Jim Craik]

Although I live in the Silicon Valley, I'm sort of a 20th Century kind of guy.....

I have a couple of chassis photos in the Chassis History Archive section, but I can't figure out how to move them here, does anyone know the trick?

[Ephaeton]

You could just copy them here, such as ...



(from this post of Jim Craik)



(from that post of Jim Craik)

[Jim Craik]

Originally Posted by Lanky Turtle

That's a very interesting chassis you've picked up. I remember watching Le Mans on TV that year and the car catching fire very early in the race and burning for a long time. I'm really surprised the chassis is still around.

Are you planning on restoring the car to running condition? I always wonder what happens to these cars once they are retired. I see a few of them turn up at vintage racing events but I'm sure a lot of them just end up in storage for many years.

Yes, I also remember the fire, Race# 4 (00-002) was credited with only eight laps, so it was very early in the race. On YouTube there is a Japanese vidio showing the efforts to extinguish the car, its kind of painful to watch.....

But then again, an undamaged, complete car would be out of my price range....

As I understand the story, a few years ago, this chassis was sold to a guy in Western Australia who planned to modify it into a track car with a Viper V10. His plans changed and fortunately no mods were carried out.

He mentioned in the GT40s.com web site this is was available and I was able to convince the wife that we needed this very beautiful and fairly significant car.

I do plan/hope to return this beauty to a runner/historic racer and have started the process. That said, it's going to be a fairly slow process as I really enjoy being married

[Maelochs]

Dude, after you finish the car you can get married again!

Seriously, wish you well with this project. Hope to see it at some track somewhere some where in the future.

[knighty]

For what its worth the engine was supplied by TWR in oxfordshire, it was basically a turbocharged version of the chevrolet IRL engine, I remember the intake system was horrendously bent and screwed up all in the name of a decent aero path to the rear wing.......I remember stumbling upon the CAD data when I wporked at TWR 10 years ago.......I seem to remember that Nigel Stroud was bought in in order to save the project as the R&S efforts were not providing the on-track results, I believe he used his sea of UK engineering contacts, one of them was a well known independent chassis designer based in the Norfolk area, I remember going to his design studio (for BTCC project) and seeing photos of this Cadillac LMP900 that he had in his garden after it was dropped off for evaluation - as you do, I have just dug out my old note books and his name was Jim Router, pm me if you want the e-mail and phone number I have, he was an ex team lotus design engineer who also did a lot of chassis design for VanDiemen, but he may well have been under NDA, so might not be able to talk about it.

[JHamilton]

I hate to be pedantic but the 4L Northstar would have been branded and Oldsmobile Aurora engine in the IRL.

[Coach Ep]

Originally Posted by Jim Craik

Yes, I also remember the fire, Race# 4 (00-002) was credited with only eight laps, so it was very early in the race. On YouTube there is a Japanese vidio showing the efforts to extinguish the car, its kind of painful to watch.....

But then again, an undamaged, complete car would be out of my price range....

As I understand the story, a few years ago, this chassis was sold to a guy in Western Australia who planned to modify it into a track car with a Viper V10. His plans changed and fortunately no mods were carried out.

He mentioned in the GT40s.com web site this is was available and I was able to convince the wife that we needed this very beautiful and fairly significant car.

I do plan/hope to return this beauty to a runner/historic racer and have started the process. That said, it's going to be a fairly slow process as I really enjoy being married

To be fair the car was crashed into the pit wall in the warm up session, just a couple of hours before the start of the race and with the mechanics managing to rebuild it so quickly it could take the start, it was suspected something was not attached or fixed properly, causing an oil line to burst or come apart and set the car on fire. It stopped just after the second chicane on the Mulsanne straight, drivers right at marshals post 63 who tried to put the fire out. Problem was the electrics were still on leaving the fuel pump to do it's job - and with the car rapidly being engulfed with flames there was hardly a chance for the marshals to get close to the car and put it out - one even tried to 'smack off' the kill switch with his knife - which broke the blade! At least the driver made it out safely (young Kristian Kolby if I am correct).

Must have been 15-20 minutes or so into the race, causing the Safety Car to make an early appearance and showing again the fragility of the Caddilacs as the undertray of one of the SC's came off and went for a flight - again! (the scene already being witnessed earlier in the week when they made several showings before and between practice sessions).

[BudLightJaguar]

Just watched a Youtube clip about Cadillac LMP. And I was surprised by the sound. Never heard it before so I thought it had a cross plane V8 sound muffled by the turbos. But it had an Audi R8 like (relatively) low revving flat plane sound.

[Jim Craik]

Hi Guys, thanks for the input....

A couple of things on the motor, I have read in several places that the motors were the smaller Olds Aurora blocks and that they were built up by "McLaren".

One other thing, in my investigation into these cars, I did read in at least one place, that these motors had a rather strange turbo set up. Per this one article, only six of the exaust pipes whent through the turbos, with two of them going straight into the exhaust. Could this be true?

I do not remember hearing this anywhere else......it seems like the kind of this we would have heard about.

I suppose it could help low end power and certinally would give a strange exaust sound.

Any thoughts?

[JHamilton]

Originally Posted by Jim Craik

Hi Guys, thanks for the input....

A couple of things on the motor, I have read in several places that the motors were the smaller Olds Aurora blocks and that they were built up by "McLaren".

I thought they were built by Ilmor, but Knighty says otherwise, so I don't know. My understanding was that these were the same or similar to the IRL engines which were the 4L. I'm not sure if the 3.5L "Shortstar" ever raced anywhere?

[JoestForEver]

Originally Posted by JHamilton

I thought they were built by Ilmor, but Knighty says otherwise, so I don't know. My understanding was that these were the same or similar to the IRL engines which were the 4L. I'm not sure if the 3.5L "Shortstar" ever raced anywhere?

I think IImor is the rebranding of Mclaren North American division, which produced M8F and M20 for Can-Am. Guys bailed them out after Mclaren withdrew.

[joeb]

I have no inside knowledge of Cadillac's LMP but this thread has been very entertaining to read. Helps keep me sane while sitting delayed at the airport...