Bruce K Posted January 3, 2025 Posted January 3, 2025 1 hour ago, John B said: I was driving this almost daily until they salted the roads. ‘66 Series 1 E-Type Fixed Head Coupe. It’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. I had the engine rebuilt to race specs, 355hp and revs to 7,000. It’s very lively and a blast to drive. Well done! Gorgeous silhouette (Enzo said the most beautiful in the world)! The motor upgrade was a great idea for a driven car, and often does not negatively impact the classic car sales price. I owned a drophead coupe 4.2 liter Series II, but I was young and my only upgrades were rust repair and a sports exhaust. You are wise to avoid any possibility of salt. Rust went through XKE's like snails through lettuce. 1
Croc Posted January 4, 2025 Author Posted January 4, 2025 16 hours ago, John B said: I was driving this almost daily until they salted the roads. ‘66 Series 1 E-Type Fixed Head Coupe. It’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. I had the engine rebuilt to race specs, 355hp and revs to 7,000. It’s very lively and a blast to drive. Which gearbox are you running in it? Original Moss 4 speed?
John B Posted January 4, 2025 Posted January 4, 2025 3 hours ago, Croc said: Which gearbox are you running in it? Original Moss 4 speed? As a ‘66 it has the full synchro 4-speed, which is actually quite nice. 1
3-Pedals Posted January 28 Posted January 28 While I just picked up my 7, I have been a sports car nut since I was a kid. Most of my "other" cars have the engine in the opposite end so I thought this, being "British", might be of more interest here. It is my rendition/tribute of a 1958 Lister/Chevy scratch built over 7 years with an additional year of de-bugging. It is constructed on a steel tube frame based on the original Lister but with major structural improvements. Body is hand laid carbon fiber. The profile of the car is pretty much spot on but took liberties with the width (about 2 feet wider than a real Lister). The paint is early '70's Porsche Signal Yellow with a Carrera Blue center stripe. Interior is all custom fabricated and I learned how to do upholstery work on it so don't look too closely. Of course it had to have the classic Britt style wooded steering wheel to finish it off. No heat in the car but, I installed electric seat heaters which really help in the winter. It is a true roadster and has no top so having a good weather app is helpful. Even so, been caught in the rain and t-storms several times and, well, it just plain suck but I am guessing you 7 folks are a bit more used to that than me! I used some corvette suspension pieces and lots of hand fabricated custom bits. Power is from a modified 7.2 L LS7 making 640 hp and 550 ft-lbs to the rear wheels through a Tremac T-600 5-speed manual road racing box to the C4 corvette rear limited slip diff. Car weighs 1,980 lbs wet w/o the driver. Lots of hidden aero tricks under the car that make it far more tractable at high speeds than the original. The way the drive train is geared the theoretical top end at red line is just over 260 mph. Not likely to get there with the '50s style body but it gets to 120 in a few heartbeats. Several passengers have mentioned it does has a high "terror factor".....LOL A few pics below: 5 2
Croc Posted January 28 Author Posted January 28 I think I need some time alone with those photos. hand laid carbon fiber body….look at that engine… 1
slowdude Posted January 28 Posted January 28 25 minutes ago, Croc said: I think I need some time alone with those photos. hand laid carbon fiber body….look at that engine… typical statement for a recovering moose knuckle addict. body is beautiful however, and the custom work done yourself must put a big smile on your face.
JohnCh Posted January 28 Posted January 28 Very impressive build! How long did it take? BTW a number of us also have rear or mid-engine cars -- or both -- so don't let engine location hold you back from sharing your other cars. Variety in a garage is important
3-Pedals Posted January 28 Posted January 28 52 minutes ago, JohnCh said: Very impressive build! How long did it take? BTW a number of us also have rear or mid-engine cars -- or both -- so don't let engine location hold you back from sharing your other cars. Variety in a garage is important I pretty much quit racing, went to work, and built the Lister. Took 7 years to complete and another very frustrating year of de-bugging and some re-egineering. That is when I learned just how bad the aero was on these cars, LOL. Lots of late nights designing and fixing the aero issues. Happy to share some of the other builds. Agree 100% about variety!
3-Pedals Posted January 28 Posted January 28 Thank you for the kind words! Got in a bit over my head on this one and took twice as long as anticipated. Still, it is a one of a kind and beyond exciting to pilot. Only bit of frustration is that I am the only one who can fix it when it needs attention. Up until my fuel cell bladder failed last year, the Lister has not let me down one time after the de-bugging phase. I sourcee engine parts directly from the engineers at the Corvette GTR racing team HQ in Detroit. They were awesome and set me up with the cam and fuel injectors for that motor. Mahle light weight pistons bumped the displacement and compression ratio and....instant monster motor. Oh, yeah. It is wicked loud and sounds amazing. Although, my wife and I came back from the 250 mile British Reliability Run with our ears ringing and almost deaf!!!
3-Pedals Posted January 28 Posted January 28 And, for you rear-engine fans, that is my passion and I build those too. My solo II ride in action: 2
wdb Posted January 28 Posted January 28 You appear to have a favorite color scheme. Beautiful cars! 1
NSXguy Posted January 28 Posted January 28 My 7️⃣’s current stable mates. The Lancia is apart for a refresh at the moment. 6 1
CBuff Posted January 29 Posted January 29 1 hour ago, NSXguy said: My 7️⃣’s current stable mates. The Lancia is apart for a refresh at the moment. I bet those all handle well at high speeds in the turf. Very Dez friendly. 4
S1Steve Posted January 29 Posted January 29 That Lancia with the Turbo Fan wheels is awesome… I love the rest of them too..
11Budlite Posted February 2 Posted February 2 (edited) I guess it's time to update this thread with the latest addition to my garage. For the first half of 2025 I had been looking for a more track-focused Duratec-powered Caterham to take over most of the track duties that my 310S had been fulfilling up to this point. That ended up not working out, so when this car showed up on BaT, I decided to give it a shot. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2007-lola-b07-90/ It's a 2007 Lola B07/90 that the owner had raced in both historic and SCCA P2 competition. He raced it in the 2024 SCCA Runoffs and came in 11th with support and race prep from Wolf Motorsports in Elkhart Lake. He felt it was no longer competitive in SCCA competition so he put it up for auction and purchased an Elan DP02, IIRC. I have always liked the Duratec-powered Caterham SP300R, having a much more modern chassis with better aero than any other Caterham. The Lola would be a very similar chassis with a naturally aspirated Duratec and 5-speed sequential transaxle, instead of the supercharged Duratec and 6-speed paddle-shifted transaxle in the SP300R. Even with the BaT fee, it ended up cheaper than any other Duratec Seven I had hoped to purchase. Some details: Chassis: Aluminum honeycomb monocoque Engine: 2.0L Duratec, Jenvey 45mm ITB, TDC dry sump, appr 210hp ECU: Life Racing Dash: AiM MXG1.2 Transaxle: Hewland FTR 5-speed sequential, LSD, with integral dry sump tank Suspension: Ohlins dampers, Hyperco springs F: 450 R: 1100 Brakes: AP Racing Calipers, Girling M/C's with balance bar Wheels: Jongbloed 3-pc, F: 8x13 R: 10x13, (3) sets Tires: Hoosier slicks, F: 200/540x13 R: 275/570x13 Bodywork: 6-pc fiberglass with Zebulon/HRP CF dual element rear wing Weight: appr #1200 but we haven't had it on the scales yet So far my son and I have done 3 track days with it at NYST, Canaan, and the combined oval/infield at Pocono. Other than a charging issue at NYST, it's gone very well and we've had a blast every time. It's much more physical to drive than my Caterham, the Exocet, or the Miata's we've been driving, but it's been a really fun learning experience both out on track and in the garage. In fact, it's been an inspiration for both of us to get in better shape, and it'll provide a goal for my daughter and son-in-law to reach for when they gain more track experience. And what better reward at the end of a trackday than to get a hug from your 41 year old son thanking you for sharing with him the experience of driving a car like the Lola! Some photos from 2025: Edited February 2 by 11Budlite 5 1 1
Reiver Posted February 2 Posted February 2 Nice, very nice. I've found a soft spot for the 2L Duratec myself.... happy little revver that she is. Looks like a great track platform. Great that you can share that with your son... now that's a Dad/son deal if I ever heard of one. That's making memories. 1
S1Steve Posted February 2 Posted February 2 Congratulations Bruce, You brought a proper Racecar. I watched the driving video a few times, and I’m amazed at your cars ability to go around RA… dare I say faster than any Seven at 3 times the cost… Enjoy..🍻 1
Vovchandr Posted February 2 Posted February 2 So cool to have this thing pretty local. Nyst is a fun play land for light cars 2
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