Lola 342 serial numbers

[Bill 75]

Hi,

I have a Lola 342 that is in the process of a re-build. The number plate on the dash is missing and I was wondering if Lola stamped a serial number somewhere else on the frame. The log book that came with the car is questionable. No numbers in the log book, but it apparently hit the wall at T2 Laguna Seca on 10-27-84 and sustained major damage to the right side. Driver was a Philip Courtney. It was repaired by 9-6-86, where it was used in a school at Carlsbad.

Thanks in advance for anyone with ideas.

[rusty718]

Bill,
I suggest that you contact Gerald Swan at the LOLA HERITAGE website. Give him the s/n of the gearbox in your car, and he can tell you what chassis that gearbox left the factory mounted in. If it left the factory mounted in a T342, you have a clue.
Rusty Tanner
Houston

[Bill 75]

Thanks! Another source is always good.

Bill

[racersonly]

Bill,
I've seen many Lola FFs over the years, and I'm not aware of any other Lola ID on the car other than the Lola plate. You might be able to get the info you need by using the SCCA log number. Most of the cars I've seen have been registered with SCCA. Not all, but most. This number is usually stamped on the main roll over hoop. The first 2 digits are the Region of record. (SCCA Regions all have a number) The rest of the number IDs the car. The Chief of Tech, for the Region of record, should have the record of your cars registration. Hopefully with the Lola plate info.
If you get stumped, hit me back, I'll try to help best I can.

[LolaT340]

Lola never stamped the frame - only fitted the chassis plate, of which many have been lost to the wind over the years.

Whilst gearbox serial numbers can help, there is no guarantee that the gearbox has not been changed in 35 years.

[LolaT340]

ps..the Lola site is lolaheritage.co.uk

[Charles Warner]

Also check the fuel cell number.

[Lola_T360]

I think you might be disappointed by the Lola records for US sales
Every sale in US went via Pierre Phillips or Carl Haas [more often] who were the agents
Chances are the list for all US sales will just say "Phillips" or "Haas"

I've seen engine and gearbox numbers on the Lola lists - which are actually recent transcriptions of older boxes of invoices - but never a fuel cell number [only ever seen those on Ralt's list]

What might be worth a try is Haas. Most of the records survive, apparently, dumped in a backroom in a completely unarchived way. A relative of a friend who works at Haas pulled out the Lola T360s for me a year or two back and that gave individual teams/owners which were missing from Lola records

You'll have to persuade someone at Haas to find the room and sneak in there and search; but please be discreet. I think that the senior people there asked for this stuff to be dumped years ago and the office girl could not be bothered. I'm scared that if someone makes too much noise about it they might decide to dump the lot so that they don't get historians and owners troubling them all the time

[Bill 75]

Thank you all for the help!

I have joined the Lola Heritage and am waiting on approval from Gerald.

I did check the roll hoop number and found 19-2091. Email I tried for the Southern Cal. Club Ford didn't work so I will have to try another. I will use Hass only as a last resort as I don't want to destroy a source for others.

I have two log books, both with different Identity numbers! I have four photos of Lolas that came with the books, none of which look like mine. Different colors and a roll bar pad, that mine didn't have. The first log book starts in July 1975 and has an identity number of 11-702. This book ends in August 1979, with the last driver being Philip L. Courtney. The second book (19-2091) starts in August 1982 with Courtney and other drivers. This continues to 10-27-94 when Courtney hits the wall at T-2 Laguna Seca. It is repaired by 9-6-86 and log continues to 1989. Begins again 3-5-94 and ends sometime that year.

Only thing I'm sure of now is the ID number 19-2091.

I will keep checking.

Bill

[racersonly]

Bill,
OK, now maybe we can get you headed in the right direction. The number you found on the roll hoop (19-2091) and the corresponding log book number (also 19-2091) should be the SCCA registration number and log for your car. The first two digits (19) should be the Region of Record. Region #19 is the California Sports Car Club. The Chief of Tech for Cal Club is... Chuck Knox, Asst. Chief of Tech,... Ken Swift. (I'll be sending you a PM with the phone #s and Email addresses) Contact one of these guys and give them the registration number. They should have a record of the car from when it was first registered and hopefully that will include the Lola plate numbers. It should look something like... T342 HU ###
About that other log book, (11-702) That could have some value to whoever owns the car now. Region #11 is the Florida Region. The Chief of Tech for Florida Region is... Tim Lee. (again phone and Email in PM)

[scorp997]

Hope this lead works out for you. I tried to use SCCA to track down some info on my car using the same tactic and never received a return message. It *should* be easy for someone in the organization to track this down for you.