http://www.completekitcar.co.uk September 2019 69ABOVE: Chalk and
cheese! The Ford
Dexta tractor has a
32bhp diesel, while
the T70’s cammed
LS3 engine dishes
out 500bhp.Fitting the bodywork in place involves
fixing the sills in place first to act as datum
for everything else – clear measurements are
detailed in the build manual for this.
The rear canopy and front nose are easy
and quick to fit, but aligning them and
cutting out various vents and holes for the
lights took much longer, as did removing the
various moulding flash lines.
By the end of 2017, the bodywork was
largely fitted and it was starting to look
like a proper car, albeit one rolling around
on a rather nasty set of Sierra Cosworth
16in slave wheels (which have the same
bolt pattern).
At this stage in the build, work started
on all the mechanical items – such as the
fuel tank, fuel pump, coolant tank, fuel tank
breathers and all those other ancillaries
dotted around the car. It seemed to take an
age and, no matter how many hours you
spent in the garage, the car’s appearance
didn’t seem to change much.
With motivation dipping it was good to
have the target of getting the engine fitted
for the Stoneleigh kit car show in May- GD wanted the car to be displayed
on the stand with the engine cover and
nosecone removed so people could see a
build in progress.
the cost of the planned LS3 V8 engine so
I had to scrape together the fund for this
much earlier than I’d expected (otherwise
it would cost an extra £500). To raise the
cash, I had to sell my beloved Lotus Elite
(the wedgy one from the ’70s). It hurt at the
time, but I had to be realistic – on a sunny
day I was never going to grab the Lotus keys
over the T70!
The Lotus sale also gave me more room
in the double garage, which soon came in
handy when the bodywork was ready.
The plan was to fit the suspension and
bodywork to get the car to a rolling chassis
stage, before worrying about the engine –
happily Gardner Douglas had kindly agreed
to dry store this for me until I needed it.
By mid-2017, I’d been spending every
spare minute in the garage and was starting
to feel a bit burned out. Happily, Andy
and Meena, as well as the many new friends
I’d made through the Club GD – expertly
run by Sue and Larry Hilliard – were around
to spur me on. Regular track days, kit car
shows and their Facebook page all helped
keep the motivation going when it waned.
Building a complex car such as a T70, or
a Cobra, is a marathon and having fellow
enthusiasts around when you ‘hit the wall’ is
massively helpful.Name: Peter Rosenthal
Age: 47
Occupation: Journalist
First car: Very rusty Mini 1275
Lottery win car: I’d keep the T70 and buy a
McLaren F1
Best tool in your garage: Clarke three-in-one
sheet metal machine
Best bargain in the build: The new crate
LS3 engineI BUILT THIS
066 GD T70.indd 69 01/08/2019 12:46 pm