T70 road car

[Al B]

At the 1969 International Racing Car show there was a T70 fitted out as a road going car. Was it actually sold as a road car ? I've seen some pictures of the car, it did look superb!

[robbeddington]

Hi Al

The 1969 show was the first time I saw a T70. It was the last MKIII that Lola ever built, before the development of the MKIIIB. It was chassis SL73/135. Sbarro completed the build before the 1969 show and there were Sbarro decals beneath the doors. (Sbarro also rebuilt GT40-1033 as a road car with similar mods - I own the doors of this GT40, complete with electric windows!).

Apparently SL73/135 was used as a road car in France but suffered a major fire. It was restored and is apparently still in France, but has not been on the road for many years.

When Lola moved to the MKIIIB, Sbarro bought the last (around 5?) MKIII chassis and built them up as road cars. There is a wonderful Ferrari version (!) in Washington and there was another Chevy powered car in California.

Visibility for the road is apparently interesting!

Cheers - Rob

[Johan]

Sbarro made a blue one that is shown a lot and here is a red one but it does not have all the grills in the openings like the blue one has (had).

[Johan]

This is the Sbarro Lola Ferrari ...

[Napolis]

They make great raod cars. I've driven mine 40K miles over 35 years.

[Al B]

You lucky person, I envy you! I still have the book (the Lion book of Motor Racing 1970) in my collection that had the picture in. That, and a cutting from an old Autocar from '69 that I have somewhere, fuelled my desire to one day have a T70 myself (with a bit of help from the lotto...). For now I will continue with my broken Impreza and my other half's Ford ka.

[Eddie Hill]

Here is my T-70 Road car
Originally owned by James Garner


SL73/117, second place 1969 24hrs. daytona; THX 1138 Sci-Fi movie car


440 cubic inch all aluminum engine being installed now. Electronic fuel injection and dry-sump!


Eddie Hill
Wichita Falls, Texas

[markman]

Eddie,

If you put on drag slicks, painted it Pennzoil yellow, and loaded it up with nitromethane, would your Lola do the 1/4 mile in under five seconds?

Mark Manroe,
just down the road in Granbury, Texas

[Eddie Hill]

Eddie,

If you put on drag slicks, painted it Pennzoil yellow, and loaded it up with nitromethane, would your Lola do the 1/4 mile in under five seconds?

Mark Manroe,
just down the road in Granbury, Texas

I don't think so It has that pesky gearbox, and all those gears to shift--- and- you know- all that takes time!!

But now, my OTHER car-----


Eddie

[Eddie Hill]

Eddie,

If you put on drag slicks, painted it Pennzoil yellow, and loaded it up with nitromethane, would your Lola do the 1/4 mile in under five seconds?

Mark Manroe,
just down the road in Granbury, Texas

Wow! I made a mess! That picture WAS WAY TOO BIG, even for someone from Texas! I'm just barely smart enough to fix it, and I did.

Sorry!, but it's all better now!
Eddie

[markman]

I don't think it's been clearly stated on this forum just who Eddie Hill is, nor do I think he would brag on himself, so I will. Eddie Hill is a member of the Drag Racing Hall of Fame. He is perhaps best known for being the first to run the quarter mile in under 5 seconds. That was the drag racing equivalent of Dr. Roger Bannister breaking the 4 minute barrier for running the mile. I believe Eddie's dragster was known as the Nuclear Banana. He is also one of the greatest drag boat racers of all time. All of this while being one of the great gentlemen in motorsports. See http://www.nhra.com/50th/top50/E_Hill14.html for more information.

Eddie's home of Wichita Falls, Texas is also home to one of the great American race drivers of the 60s and 70s, Lloyd Ruby. Lloyd came close to winning the Indy 500 several times, and, more relevant to this forum, was a great road racer in Ford GTs, winning the 1966 Sebring 12-hour with Ken Miles. Also known as a fine gentleman.

[David Pozzi]

Eddie,
Shouldn't that car be blue?

What happened to the THX 1138 bodywork?
David

[Eddie Hill]

Eddie,
Shouldn't that car be blue?

What happened to the THX 1138 bodywork?
David

The Lola IS blue! I know it looks black in the pictures, and a lot of the people who see it out on the road call it black, but it is actually a very dark blue. Midnight blue, I think, is what my painter friend calls it. Easy to tell in the sun that it's blue, but in artificial light, hard to distinguish from black.

You know, I don't remember even asking about the movie bodywork, when I bought/traded for the Lola.!! I traded my twin-Pontiac-engined dragster, and cash, for it. And I just got the THX 1138 DVD Two disc set, Director's cut, and watched it two nights ago! And now I really wish I had inquired about movie body panels, and got a set of them. Thirty-two years ago I thought the fake panels were really hokey, and had zero interest in making that beautiful coupe look like the movie car. But now---- How cool would that be!! Probably he'd of given them to me, at the time, if I'd just had enough foresight to ask!!

Oh, well!

Eddie

[Eddie Hill]

I don't think it's been clearly stated on this forum just who Eddie Hill is, nor do I think he would brag on himself, so I will. Eddie Hill is a member of the Drag Racing Hall of Fame. He is perhaps best known for being the first to run the quarter mile in under 5 seconds. That was the drag racing equivalent of Dr. Roger Bannister breaking the 4 minute barrier for running the mile. I believe Eddie's dragster was known as the Nuclear Banana. He is also one of the greatest drag boat racers of all time. All of this while being one of the great gentlemen in motorsports. See http://www.nhra.com/50th/top50/E_Hill14.html for more information.

Eddie's home of Wichita Falls, Texas is also home to one of the great American race drivers of the 60s and 70s, Lloyd Ruby. Lloyd came close to winning the Indy 500 several times, and, more relevant to this forum, was a great road racer in Ford GTs, winning the 1966 Sebring 12-hour with Ken Miles. Also known as a fine gentleman.

Thank you, sir, for that very fine, and kind, tribute!!

Lloyd is, indeed, a fine gentleman! And just now he is being honored in our fair city with an overpass being officially named after him. And an exhibit of his racing career scheduled for Oct.-Dec this year, here in town.

And for me April-June next year.

Thanks again, and take care.

Eddie

[Gerald Swan]

Hi Eddie, you could try resizing your picture to a smaller size and keep the same filename and location and hopefully it should resize itself on the Forum page.

Failing that if you resize it and change the filename and/or location when you are on the Forum you can click the Edit button on your post and remove the old address and replace it with the new one.

Gerald.