19 replies to this topic

[David Pozzi]

Hello,
I just found this forum and searched the archives a bit, I'm impressed with the knowledge of your members.

I own the first of three Lola's owned by Buck Fulp, T70 chassis SL/70/09.
He raced this car in 1965, then in 1966 bought two Lola T70 MkII's and almost won the USRRC series.

I have searched the net and found 1965 records of him racing Watkins Glen, and at the Bridgehampton double 500, I have a DVD of this race. I also found mention of him entering the last Bahamas speed week in 65 but I have a little doubt about the accuracy of this because I found a post here that was missing his name.
I'll pull up some of the links later, i'm running out of time tonight.

My car can be seen at: http://www.pozziracing.com
I have owned this car since 1974, bought for $600 from an Autoweek ad!
Best $600 I have ever spent!

Thanks in advance for any info or race results you guys can provide.
David

[JB Miltonian]

Just looking at "Sports Car Graphic" for March 1966, reporting on the 1965 Nassau races. There are two small pictures which show Buck Fulp's Lola T70 during the Governor's Cup race. The text indicates that the Lola had trouble with stones damaging the radiator. All you can tell from the pictures (b&W) is that the car is a dark color with two light stripes running down the center.

[WINO]

Confederate flag colors.

WINO

[David Pozzi]

Thanks for the reply, I'll look for that magazine!
My car had a small hoop roll bar with what looks like no bracing or very little, the bar was a round hoop over the engine not all that close to the driver, pretty scary. The car was metallic blue like a Mecom Lola and had two white stripes down the center which were outlined in red pinstripes. I remember seeing an interview of Fulp in 66 at Road America and he was wearing one of those Rebel caps.

David

[Gokart Mozart]

If I'm not mistaken, the car number would have been #26? I think I may have some photos of this car in my archive...I'll keep you posted!

Respectfully,

Jacques N. Dresang
Eagle #7225
www.angelfire.com/wi/haase00

[Elva36]

Dave,

I think Fulp only had two T70s, yours and mine. My chassis # is SL71/18. Mine ran all the races he did in '66, yours was raced in '65. Both had the same paint scheme, the metallic blue with twin stripes that you describe. He had a helmet painted by Von Dutch in the Confederate Stars & Bars. Remember, he's from South Carolina. His family's business was the Cannon Towels textile firm, and he demonstrated admirable good sense when he came into his inheritance at age 21: he immediately got a new Ferrari from Chinetti. This led him into racing, and he did quite a few rent-a-drives with NART in the early '60s. He was a bit turned-off when the steering rack on your car tore loose at Bridgehampton in the fall of '65; he was just driving through the paddock, so it could have been much worse, but he hit the fence hard enough that he didn't make the race, I think. He was very successful with my car, winning the USRRC rounds at Riverside and Watkins Glen, coming third at Mid-Ohio, and leading the last race (at Elkhart Lake)--and the championship--until his shifter fell off, which was his only mechanical problem all year. He dropped out of one of the first races when a stone broke his goggles and cut his eye, and then missed several more when his eye got infected. Without such bad luck, he almost certainly would have been USRRC champion that year.
I've got pictures of our two cars in a garage, and another Fulp sent me of him winning Riverside in mine. If I can figure out how to put them up on this website, I will.

Paul

[Elva36]

Dave,

I didn't realize my name wouldn't appear somewhere.

Paul Wilson

[Scribe06]

I was always under the impression that Fulp had only two T-70 cars, one bought in 1965 and the other in 1966, as has been mentioned. Since Fulp was close to 100% of the South Carolinians doing some serious road racing (how to categorize Graham "Tombstone" Shaw is anyone's guess), I took great interest in his activities and spoke with him on more than a few occasions in those days.

I remember the cars being as described: a metallic or "candy" blue with the while stripes with red edging.

What I find amazing is that he seems to have been pretty much ignored and I cannot even begin to think of the last time I say an article or interview of him. He stills lives in Anderson and apparently has a small company that he owns. I even had his phone number at one point....

It was a huge disappointment when Buck didn't win the USRRC in 1966.

[Pedro 917]

There are 2 pictures where the Lola T70 # 26 of Fulp can be seen in "Pro Sports Car Racing in America 1958-1974" by Dave Friedman (pages 149-150). One is the start of the 1965 Nassau Trophy race and in the other, he's behind AJ Foyt in another T70, same race.

[Pedro 917]

and another picture of Fulp in the Lola T70, Nassau Governor's trophy 1965 on page 132.

[WINO]

Paul,

Buck Fulp did make the Bridgehampton 500 KM race in 1965. In fact, he was the second fastest qualifier, sharing the front row with Hansgen and Rodriguez. Hansgen dropped out first and based on the video I have, he was scheduled to take over from Fulp during his fuel stop. Fulp was lying second behind Sharp's Chaparral but he hit the Armco at the beginning of pit row and that was it.

WINO

[WINO]

Posted at the request of Nassau expert Terry O'Neil:


"Fulp drove the car in both the Governor's Trophy race and the Nassau Trophy race in 1965. He did not finish in either race, going out on lap 3 in the Governor's Trophy and on lap 8 in the Nassau Trophy. Further information can be obtained in the forthcoming Bahamas Speed Weeks book [out in the Spring of 2006] written by Terry O'Neil and published by Veloce Publishing."

Terry, I will be waiting in line for this long overdue opus!


WINO

[SCHKEE T332]

I hope this is a good time to ask a dumb question....
Why is the car called a T70 ? I know why GT40s are called Ford GTs etc., but the T70 thing has me puzzled, as well as the serial number issues, such as SL.71/18 or SL/70/09 or SL. 76/149. The SL stands for Slough, but what does the 70,71,76 etc. stand for ?
David, does your chassis tag actually read SL/70/09 ? It is odd to have a slash mark between SL and 70.
Anyway, I've been curious for a while. Thanks.

[David Pozzi]

Paul,
Can you re-send the Lola photo to me?
I had a hard drive crash a while back and I think I lost it.
I can host it on my web site.
Here are some Pete Lyons photos of your Lola in 1966! http://www.petelyons...as/LolaT70.html

I thought the John Starkey book listed two Mk2 lolas owned by Fulp? I can't find my book to verify it.

I don't have a chassis tag on my car, It's probably decorating some guy's toolbox. The previous owner told me my car was owned by Fulp, plus the number 9 was written in two places behind the front chassis panels.

Gokart Mozart Yes, my car and his 66 cars were number 26 according to all the photos I've found so far. Not to say he may have run another number somewhere.

SCHKEE T332
Lola model designations run as follows: WHERE MADE/TYPE/CHASSIS NUMBER.

Lola cars used the prefix to designate where the cars were built. SL stands for Slough, the town the car was built in, later cars have HU, for Huntington.

The 70 designates the model, or "Type" there was a T-90 that was an open wheel indy car, the F5000 car built at the same time as the T-70 was a T-140

The first T-70 was the Mk1 but it was just called "the" T-70.
Later cars were called T-70 Mk2, T-70 Mk3, but Lola marked them SL/71/XX, and SL/73/XX. SL/74 was the Mk3 "lightweght" spyder chassis I believe there was only four, one to Penske, one to Gurney, I forget who got the others, this chassis is called a T-70 Mk3 "B" spyder here in the states. SL/76 is the MK3 coupe series in the states called a T-70 Mk3 "B"coupe, which has the two headlights and lower nose shape and larger rear spoiler, it's really a T-160 type Can-Am chassis, but has a couple of differences from the 160.

(I need to verify my type comments above, as soon as I find my John Starkey book, it's at the bottom of the "stack".)
EDIT: I found the Starkey book, made a fiew corrections.
Fulp had two Lolas, my mark 1 SL/70/09, bought in 1965, and SL/71/18 bought at the end of 65

David

[David Pozzi]

WINO,
Thanks for that information! I will get that book when it comes out.

Fulp related to me that my car had cracks in it's fuel tank that had to be re-welded, I think he said the RH side when raced in "Florida" I can't find any mention of him racing in Florida though, maybe Nassau? My car came with just fuel tanks, not fuel cells. The tanks were welded up out of four D shaped sections with a baffle in-between each section.
David

[raceannouncer2003]

Hi David

We talked to you at Monterey on the Thursday when we were watching them take the photos of the Chaparrals and the specials!

The following webpage mentions John Klug in relation to Fulp's Lola in '65 (and Bondurant's?) Does anybody know who John Klug was? There was a John Klug from Newport Beach who co-drove a 934 in a couple of IMSA races in 1984 who seemed to be a radio announcer on KUCI.

http://www.962.com/o.../1969_lola_t70/

More on the Fulp Lola in the '65 Nassau Trophy race from "Wheelspin"..."At the end of the first lap, McLaren led, followed by Bob Bondurant in the Lola T-70 followed by John Fulp's Lola T-70, then Sharp in the older Chaparral. Charlie Hayes in a McLaren Chev was in 5th spot...Jim Hall in 6th....The first four laps had hardly gone by when the parade down pit alley started: John Fulp encountered fuel line problems..."

Vince Howlett, Victoria, B.C., Canada

[David Pozzi]

Vince,
Thanks,
I remember talking to you guys at Laguna Seca, we had a nice chat.

I have read the reference you posted and searached a while back on John Klug, he's mainly referred to in connection with Porsche race cars. I guess he was crew chief or such for Fulp, or had a team?
David

[David Pozzi]

I have an idea that my car may have been driven in 1966 by Charlie Kolb, Kolb was friends with Buck and co-drove with him in a Ferrari in 67 at Sebring. I have a photo of the Lola Kolb drove, it has a small forward facing scoop on the top of the RH driver's door, on the side of the car it says Driver - Charlie Kolb. The body my car came with has this rather unusual small scoop.
David

Here's a pic of my original body door, this body looks like it had been modified to fit a Mk3 chassis, then put back on my car, it has clearance at the windshield base for a Mk3 upper A arm link clearance, a Mk1 or 2 does not need this.
The body has blue colored fiberglass, not just the gell coat. The first coat of paint is Blue Metallic.

[David Pozzi]

Thanks guys for all the help and info.
Here is a photo provided by Paul Wilson, given to him by Buck Fulp, it shows both his Mk1 in the background and also his new Mk2 in the foreground.

I bought the Dave Friedman book, "Pro Sports Car Racing" and found the Fulp photos. I have enough photos now to put together a little history page on Buck's Mk1 and his USRRC history with the car. I have images from Nassau, and Bridgehampton, but have found nothing from Watkins Glen in 1965. Any ideas where to look for Watkins Glen pics?

I'm further exploring what may have happened to the car after the 65 season. There may be a connection with Charlie Kolb and Baker Racing, the Quaker State Lola. I know the door that came on my car is the same as that car.
David

[David Pozzi]

I thought I'd add a photo of how the car looked when I received it spring of 1974.


Note the tail and left rear wheel torn off, the nose and radiator smashed against a guard rail.

I also found out both of Fulp's Lolas were sold to Pace Setter Homes team the end of 1966, and my Mk1 was used for display purposes. Goodyear put money into the deal for Roger McCluskey to drive, perhaps the display was for them.

I don't know when the car was painted red, but it has additional damage to the tub that indicates it was raced after Fulp had it.

Any further info much appreciated...

Oh, had a great time at the Monterey Historics, but my car ate a ring and pinion gear in the morning warmup sesssion.
David