Complete Kit Car – September 2019

http://www.completekitcar.co.uk September 2019 71

At this point I need to apologise to all my

neighbours – the exhaust silencers hadn’t

yet arrived. Wummpff... wummpff... BAM!

BBBAAMMM! It fired at the second turn

of the key and the oil pressure came straight

up to 60psi and the car settled down to a

reasonable idle. Phew!

The next two hurdles were running-in

and IVA. As the IVA test dates were months

away and we were at the tail end of summer,

there was no chance of getting it road

registered before the roads got slippery and

salty, so Andy suggested running it in at the

Complete Kit Car track day at Blyton Park in

September 2018.

I was desperate to drive the car and,

although it sounds a bit mad to run a brand

new engine in on a track day, it would be a

good safe environment to snag the car and

bed in the brakes for IVA. And anyway, most

race engines are run in on a dyno in a matter

of hours...

Andy kindly set up the alignment for me

and helped with a few last minute jobs to get

the car ready – fabricating a silencer support

frame and checking the ECU map would be

safe for a track day.

After sorting a few minor issues at the

track day (air lock in cooling system, battery

isolator fault) and getting used to the car and

the circuit, I had an amazing day. The car was

unbelievable. The acceleration is a given, but

it’s the brakes and cornering that is equally

otherworldly. As it’s mid-engined and has

dinner-plate sized discs at each corner, the

car seems to pivot around the engine when

you hit the middle pedal and you can brake

incredibly late on a track day.

Although it doesn’t have any aero (though

the diffuser has been wind-tunnel tested at

MIRA and is functional), the mechanical

grip from the 335-section rear tyres is

staggering and fast corners are a proper test

of your neck muscles.

In total the car did 65 gentle (ish!) miles

at Blyton and was brilliant fun. One of

the best days of my life and easily the best

track car I’ve ever driven. Having tracked a

Cerbera V8 and a Westfield on slicks, plus a

Radical SR1, this is high praise.

As the afterglow of the track day faded,

the car passed its IVA test (with only a few

minor items to tweak) first time and is now

fully road registered.

I’ve since covered over 1000 miles in it

and try and use it whenever it’s dry. I’m not

precious about driving it in the rain, but it’s

pretty hairy in the wet as the lightest brush

of throttle will light up the rear tyres, no

matter what gear you’re in.

In total it took about three years to

build, putting in hundreds of man hours (I

didn’t log them, but it’s a lot) and there’s a

brilliant feeling of satisfaction when you’re

behind the wheel of a car you’ve built

yourself. Built not bought.

Gardner

Douglas

T70

ENGINE: 6.2-litre

LS3 V8, Lingenfelter

GT11 camshaft with

titanium retainers and

springs, Canems ECU,

Pace dry sump system,

Speedflow oil pipes,

Goodridge fuel pipes

GEARBOX: Porsche

G50/20 6-speed

with LSD

SUSPENSION: Inboard

rocker suspension,

double wishbones

front and rear, Protech

dampers and springs,

rose-jointed anti-roll

bars front and rear

BRAKES: AP Racing

4-pot calipers, grooved

and vented discs front

and rear, Pagid RSH 42

pads. Separate Brembo

handbrake caliper

WHEELS AND TYRES:

Image Wheels Billet 81

three-piece, powder

coated gold on rims

and centres. Pirelli P

Zero Assimetrico tyres

in 335/30x18 rear and

245/40x17 front

INTERIOR: GD leather

trimmed seats, hard-

anodised aluminium

panels, Schroth silver

Profi III ASM harnesses,

Momo Team steering

wheel, custom Porsche

917-style wooden

gearknob, SPA kit dash,

Tyco-style electronic

battery cut-out,

FEV plumbed in gas

extinguisher system

EXTERIOR: Gelcoat

body in RAL 6018

Yellow Green

T70 looks purposeful at rear with

the rear diffuser and flat floor

having been wind-tunnel tested.

Tripod mirror stands are unique to GD.

While no T70 is a budget build, if

you compare it to a modern supercar of

equivalent performance it’s a bargain. Its

915kg weight (weighed full of fluids at IVA)

and 500bhp V8 means it can hit 60mph

in under 3.0sec with 100mph coming up

in around 6.0sec. To put that in context, a

McLaren F1 was timed by Autocar hitting

0-100mph in 6.3sec, while the current

generation Lamborghini Huracán takes

3.4sec to get to 62mph. You’ll need £160k to

buy the Lambo and you’ll be just as unique

as every reality TV star in Chelsea.

However, it’s not the performance figures

of the T70 that impress you the most on

the road, it’s the ride quality and torque

of the 6.2-litre V8 that leave the lasting

impression. With up to 500lb ft of torque

on tap, the pull is immense in any gear

and you don’t need to change gear that

often on the road – fourth is fine for most

A-roads. Not having to worry what gear

you’re in makes it pretty easy to drive,

though the clutch and gearlever both need

a good shove.

Since it’s been on the road, I’ve taken out

as many passengers as I can in it – it’s great

to be able to share the experience. The wide

sills mean you sit shoulder to shoulder in a

T70, making it a social place to be and you

can chat without shouting. People can be a

bit sniffy about kit cars if they’re used to fast

BMWs and Porsches etc, but when they’ve

experienced a bit of full throttle in the T70

they get a new found respect for them!

But of course there will always be

doubters that will stick to their tin-tops no

matter what. So spare a thought for those

people that buy the Lambo. They’ll lose

£50k in depreciation in the first year and

have the slower car...

066 GD T70.indd 71 01/08/2019 12:46 pm