‘Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets,’ says AC/DC rocker and Sarasota Café Racer, Brian Johnson.
Brian Johnson is as passionate about racecars and racing as he is about music. His latest “love”, a real 1965 Lola T70 Spyder (SL 70/15), is a seriously fast racecar that competed back in the day in Can-Am and USRRC (United States Road Racing Championship) competition. Unlike so many Lolas that had left Slough, UK, with 289 Ford power and years later converted to Chevrolet, Brian’s Lola is still Ford-powered. It’s currently seeing service in historic racing powered by a 598-horsepower, 347-cubic inch small-block. Stunning Lola tips the scales at under-2, 000 pounds! Michael Alan Ross photo, above, at Laguna Seca.
The rocker’s Lola, above at Quail Lodge, Stuart Schorr photo, is finished in its original blue with white stripes and #12 livery, as driven by Dave Jordan and Ronnie Bucknum, a popular USRRC, Formula One and Can-Am pilot, who also raced a GT40 at Le Mans. The late Bucknum drove SL 70/15 Lola for Haskell Wexler who campaigned it new when sponsored by Jim Russell at Russkit. Russell was a pioneer of slot racing cars, the first to offer models with dual engines and four-wheel-drive. Brian Johnson’s Lola, below, was the first of that series of 1/24-scale models that launched Russkit’s Black Widow line.
NOTE: While his full-size Lola was being restored, the folks at Predator Performance presented Brian Johnson, below, with an extremely rare, collectible Russkit Black Widow Lola in its original box.
Lola is one of the most revered names in racecar building and the T70 is one of its most iconic. “When Eric Broadley first introduced his Lola Mk VI GT coupe in 1964, he started a revolution in sports car racing that swiftly led to the T70. It developed into a Can-Am open version and a World Championship coupe version,” said Lola expert, author and Sarasota Café Racer, John Starkey. His book, Lola, The Sports-Prototype & CanAm Cars, is the acknowledged bible of “everything Lola” and includes the history of SL 70/15.
Over the years SL 70/15 was painted blue, white, powered by Chevrolet and Ford engines, and actually ran without a body! At one point it was owned and converted by Bob Bondurant into a drivable chassis configured as a movie camera car. According original owner Haskell Wexler in Starkey’s book, it was used as a camera car for the Paul Newman movie, Winning. “Newman may have actually driven it at some point. This is when he was starting to get hooked on racing,” said Starkey.
NOTE: Lola T70s were used as camera cars for racing films and a T70 Spyder, identical to Brian Johnson’s and powered by Ford, was used in the UK movie, Day Of The Champion.
It was Starkey who brokered the sale of SL 70/15 to Brian Johnson. Its previous owner, Skip Shattuck, had dismantled the Lola and was going to restore it. It never happened. Stuart Schorr photo, above, at Laguna Seca pits.
Predator Performance in Largo, FL, prepares and maintains Brian Johnson and his wife, Brenda’s racecars, handled the restoration and race-prep of the Lola T70 Spyder. They installed a new MK I body, above, on the mostly steel Mk I tub. Except for an aluminum scoop attached to the roll bar and channeling fresh air to the Webers, the Lola looks exactly as it did in 1965-1966, right down to the white-trimmed blue #12 livery. It's the only Mk I T70 to be equipped when new with knock-off wheels.
While originally powered by a 289-cubic-inch Ford small-block, the latest powerplant is considerably stronger and more powerful. Ted Wenz at Savannah Race Engineering, Savannah, GA, built the current engine, above: A 347-cubic inch “289” that pumps out 598 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 514 pound-feet of torque at 5,500 rpm. Topped with four Weber 48 IDA two-barrel carburetors, the aluminum-head small-block is fitted with Crower steel crank and rods and 13-to-1 forged pistons. The 3 ¼-inch stroke, 3.40-inch bore engine bolts up, below, Gary Savage photo, to a Predator-installed Hewland LG500 transaxle.
Johnson’s first time out in #12 was at the 2011 Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca. In a field of 46 1960-1968 USRRC Sports Racing cars, he finished 8th. Not too shabby for the first outing. Unfortunately Johnson is not getting much track time in the Lola as he is focused on sorting out the 50+ Racing/Predator Performance BMW-Riley Daytona Prototype for the Rolex 24 next month. He’s one of the team drivers of the Highway To Help entry. Brian & Brenda Johnson in SL70/15 at Quail Lodge, below, Stuart Schorr photo.
For more information about Lola, The Sports-Prototype & CanAm Cars by John Starkey, please visit, http://www.johnstarkeycars.com/pages/publish_nr.html
For more about the #50 BMW-Riley Rolex 24 racecar team, http://www.carguychronicles.com/2011/11/brian-johnson-racing-for-kids.html
Check out Michael Alan Ross photography, http://www.michaelalanross.com/