New member with a T70

[Brian C]

Hi all. I’m fairly new to the racecar world. I’ve recently acquired a T70 Mk IIIB, a build which my father had started many years ago but was never able to finish. When he passed a few years ago, he also had a T160 and many spare parts (transaxles, wheels, etc), which we bartered into a situation that allowed us to finally complete the car. A HUGE thank you to Mac McClendon and his whole crew, who had known my dad for years and helped make this happen.

Since his passing I’ve been absorbing all that I can learn about vintage endurance cars, Lola, and the T70 in particular. I’m pretty handy with a wrench but I sometimes feel in over my head on the specialty stuff, and info is sparse. That’s why I’m here, to learn and hopefully share knowledge too.

A little about the car: it’s titled, registered, and insured for the street. It has Jim Inglese EFI and a ZF DS25 for better street manners vs the more proper Webers and Hewland transaxle. It also has modem brakes, blinkers, a horn, and even cabin cooling fans. No AC though! And I can’t get it out of the driveway without scraping, ha.

If anyone is local to me (DFW), would be cool to meet up and talk shop. Could always use a hand in the garage for bleeding brakes or whatnot, and I’m happy to lend a hand as well.

A few pics:

 

[Brian Kissel]

Welcome to GT40S Brian. Very nice car and introduction. There is a section below ( Lola T70 Lounge), that has some good info on the Lola builds. Mac McClendon is certainly a wealth of knowledge and all around good guy. I look forward to hearing more about your car. It looks to be a piece of art.
Congratulations and enjoy the forum.

Regards Brian

 

[Ian Anderson]

Beautiful looking car!

 

[DJ]

Very nice.See you took a picture at Macs place. He has been a great help to me also

 

[Brian C]

Thanks for the warm welcome guys. Yes, I think I’ve read every thread in the T70 forum, best resource on the internet by far! I need to make introductions there as well.

 

[Randy V]

Absolutely STUNNING.....
I live in Midlothian, TX most of the year (just outside Dallas).. Maybe I will see you at one of the many automotive gatherings in the area!

 

[Jim Albright]

Brian, what mufflers are you running and how is the sound level for street use? Thanks! Jim

 

[Adrian]

Stunning car, thank you for sharing the photo's

regards Adrian

 

[Jim Craik]

Beautiful car, welcome!

 

[Brian C]

Brian, what mufflers are you running and how is the sound level for street use? Thanks! Jim

Jim, I was running the Kooks 14" long, 3" pipe straight through mufflers (R300-14) originally, which are the ones in the pics. I ran these for a few hundred miles. They were actually quieter than expected and not obnoxious at all volume-wise, especially at idle and getting-through-the-neighborhood paces.

I recently switched to Vibrant race mufflers, which are barely mufflers at all (see attached pic). These are much louder and quite close to open pipes. I prefer them, just goes with the spirit of the car, and my car is not a daily driver.

I recommend welding in a V band after the collectors so you can experiment if you're not happy.

 

[Brian C]

Absolutely STUNNING.....
I live in Midlothian, TX most of the year (just outside Dallas).. Maybe I will see you at one of the many automotive gatherings in the area!

Randy, it's a bit of a drive for you, but I go to Cars and Cantina on the first Saturday of each month most months. If you see me say hi!

 

[Jim Albright]

Jim, I was running the Kooks 14" long, 3" pipe straight through mufflers (R300-14) originally, which are the ones in the pics. I ran these for a few hundred miles. They were actually quieter than expected and not obnoxious at all volume-wise, especially at idle and getting-through-the-neighborhood paces.

I recently switched to Vibrant race mufflers, which are barely mufflers at all (see attached pic). These are much louder and quite close to open pipes. I prefer them, just goes with the spirit of the car, and my car is not a daily driver.

I recommend welding in a V band after the collectors so you can experiment if you're not happy.View attachment 125213

Brian,
Thanks for responding! I'm going to try the xforce varex mufflers with internal bypass to try to satisfy both street driving and track time.
Best regards,
Jim

 

[Randy V]

Randy, it's a bit of a drive for you, but I go to Cars and Cantina on the first Saturday of each month most months. If you see me say hi!

Thanks! I just started following on Facebook. I’ll endeavor to get up there and visit!

 

[Gary Paz]

Looks like a car I know... Watched this real numbered car restored in Burbank Ca...