Lola T165/70 by Can-Am Constructors

[Celerity]

Buzzcocks - Fast Cars

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1969-lola-t165-70-can-am/

This custom-built Lola began its life as a T160 sports racing car that was delivered from the factory to American distributor Carl Haas in 1968 and was subsequently campaigned in SCCA competition by privateer Jack Hinkle. Chassis SL160/10 was acquired in the early 1980s by Arizona outfit Can-Am Constructors, who updated it to T165 specifications before using it as the basis of a custom-built street car. Completed in 1983, the build features a widened fiberglass Lola T70 Mk III gullwing body and is propelled by a 460ci Chevrolet MK IV V8 with four dual-throat Weber carburetors, an Inglese intake system, magneto ignition, and dry-sump lubrication. Additional equipment includes a synchronized ZF five-speed manual transaxle, Lola T222-specification suspension with adjustable Koni coilovers, Girling disc brakes with adjustable bias, 15×12” and 15×19” magnesium center-lock wheels, and air conditioning. After earning several concours awards with its first owner, the car was acquired in 1985 by Lola collector Mac McClendon, who kept it until its sale to a New Zealand collector in 2004. In 2017 it was purchased by its current owner, who returned it to the US. This T165/70 is now offered on dealer consignment in Massachusetts with a clean Montana title in the name of the seller’s LLC.





Can-Am Constructors was founded in Tempe, Arizona, in the early 1980s by brothers and airline pilots Charlie and Don Bartz, who endeavored to transform Lola racing platforms into road-going performance cars. After converting a T70 Spyder into coupe form, the company shifted its focus to this T160 chassis for its first commissioned build. The aluminum monocoque was reportedly modified by former Shelby American crew chief John Collins, with T165-specification upgrades including heat-treated thicker 0.063”-gauge aluminum, nitrogen-cooled rivets, front structural support modifications, and strengthened suspension pick-up points.





The fiberglass T70 Mk III body was widened by 9” to fit over the broader chassis and was finished in yellow, which has since been complemented by blue Le Mans stripes. Measuring 37.5” high at its roof’s peak, the body features front and rear clamshells, gullwing doors, a wrap-around Perspex windshield, faired-in headlights, blue fender-mounted side mirrors, and an enamel Lola nose badge. Chips and surface cracks are noted in various areas of the finish, as are scuffs on the nose and tail surfaces that contact the ground upon opening of the clamshells. An area of the left-front fender between the headlight and wheel arch is said to have been touched up with a resulting difference in shade from the rest of the car.





Center-lock 15” magnesium wheels measure 12” in width up front and 19” wide at the rear and feature black spokes and polished rims, the latter of which exhibit surface oxidation. Avon racing tires are mounted at each corner. Girling disc brakes incorporate four-piston calipers and 12” vented rotors all around with adjustable front-to-rear bias.