THE LOLA T342
All pictures copyright Lola Heritage unless otherwise stated.
Lola publicity shot to celebrate the 1,000th Lola produced.
TThe T342 was Lola's Formula Ford 1600 design for 1974 and it followed the T340 that had proved so popular with customers as well as taking a lot of wins in the UK and the US. The T342 was another evolutionary design, its most obvious difference being moving the water radiators to the rear of the car just in front of the rear wheels and enclosing the sides of the engine bay in bodywork. This changed the weight distribution and reduced the drag, an important consideration in a Formula where everybody was using the same engine.
Once again there was a big demand for the design, this time ninety-two cars were built of which an amazing ninety-one were shipped to the US although, as can be seen in the race results below, at least one ended up in New Zealand where it was very successful. Oddly, given the success of Patrick Neve and Mike King in 1974, only King raced a T342 in the UK.
With this model Lola celebrated their 1,000th chassis constructed.
Year(s) of Construction: 1975
Total Built: 92
T342 HU227 in action at Phillip Island in February 2006. (Picture courtesy of Brian Reed)
T342 CHAMPIONSHIP WINS
YEAR |
CHAMPIONSHIP |
WINNER(S) |
NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975-1976 | New Zealand Formula Ford Championship | Dave McMillan | Lola T342-Ford |
| 1976/1977 | New Zealand Formula Ford Championship | Eric Morgan | Lola T342-Ford |
| 1981 | CASC (Canadian Automobile Sports Clubs)-BC Region | Andy Mahood | Lola T342-Ford |
T342 rear suspension. (Picture courtesy Spud's Garage)
T342 SIGNIFICANT RACE WINS
1975
DATE |
VENUE/MEETING |
DRIVER |
NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31st March | Silverstone - BRDC | Mike King | Round of the Brush Fusegear FF Championship - Heat 2 |
| 6th July | Croft - BRSCC | Mike King | Tate Trophy Race |
| 7th September | Silverstone - Autosport Jubilee Meeting | Mike King | BAF Formula Ford Championship - Winner Heat 2 |
| 14th December | Manfeild - National meeting | Dave McMillan | FF race |
| 28th December | Bay Park - National meeting | Dave McMillan | FF race |
| 28th December | Bay Park - National meeting | Dave McMillan | FF race |
1976
DATE |
VENUE/MEETING |
DRIVER |
NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4th January | Pukekohe - International meeting | Dave McMillan | FF race |
| 11th January | Manfeild - International meeting | Dave McMillan | FF race |
| 18th January | Wigram - International meeting | Dave McMillan | FF race |
| 18th January | Wigram - International meeting | Dave McMillan | FF race |
| 25th January | Teretonga - International meeting | Dave McMillan | FF race |
| 1st February | Timaru - National meeting | Dave McMillan | FF race |
| 8th February | Ruapuna - National meeting | Dave McMillan | FF race |
| 22nd February | Mamfeild - National meeting | Dave McMillan | FF race |
| 7th March | Pukekohe - National meeting | Dave McMillan | FF race |
| 12th April | Pukekohe - National meeting | Dave McMillan | FF race |
| 19th April | Bay Park - National meeting | Dave McMillan | FF race |
| 19th April | Bay Park - National meeting | Dave McMillan | FF race |
| ?th April | ? | Hector Rebaque | Mexican Formula Ford Championship - Round 1 |
| 31st July | Manfeild - National meeting | Eric Morgan | FF race |
| 31st July | Manfeild - National meeting | Eric Morgan | FF race |
| 25th October | Bay Park - National meeting | Eric Morgan | FF race |
Revised water radiator positioning on the T342. (Picture courtesy Spud's Garage)
1977
DATE |
VENUE/MEETING |
DRIVER |
NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd January | Bay Park - International meeting | Eric Morgan | FF race |
| 3rd January | Bay Park - International meeting | Eric Morgan | FF race |
| 9th January | Pukekohe - International meeting | Eric Morgan | FF race |
| 16th January | Manfeild - International meeting | Eric Morgan | FF race |
| 6th March | Ruapuna - National meeting | Eric Morgan | FF race |
| 6th March | Ruapuna - National meeting | Eric Morgan | FF race |
| 27th March | Pukekohe - National meeting | Eric Morgan | FF race |
| 10th April | Bay Park - National meeting | Eric Morgan | FF race |
| 10th April | Bay Park - National meeting | Eric Morgan | FF race |
| 17th April | Manfeild - National meeting | Eric Morgan | FF race |
1978
DATE |
VENUE/MEETING |
DRIVER |
NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23rd April | Longridge - Mid-Cheshire MRC | Paul Duerdan | Longridge Challenge for FFord 1600 cars - Winner Heat 2 |
Front suspension showing the unusual mounting for the top wishbone. (Picture courtesy Spud's Garage)
This shot shows just how far the pickup points for the wishbone/damper projected from the spaceframe. (Picture courtesy Spud's Garage)
The front damper mounting. (Picture courtesy Spud's Garage)
This shot shows how wide the front track of the T342 was. (Picture courtesy Spud's Garage)
T342 Data sheet.