246 replies to this topic

[davea79]

Hi there Hungus, did you check for the holes in the rear shelf & floor the cage holes?
He has posted all the photos of the brackets, braces, front & rear brakes which look nothing like standard brake callipers & drums.
The tank in the boot would have left mounting holes.

deanehill, great to see you helping out! Great work!! I'm guessing there should be seam welding throughout as well which would also be obvious?

Hungus76
You have more info than most to know what to look for.
Maybe shout deanehill a trip to visit & authenticate it for you.. God knows I would!!!

Good luck & nice car. Hope it is the car

[hungus76]

Hi there Hungus, did you check for the holes in the rear shelf & floor the cage holes?
He has posted all the photos of the brackets, braces, front & rear brakes which look nothing like standard brake callipers & drums.
The tank in the boot would have left mounting holes.

Yes, there are definitely holes in the floor from the rollcage. There appears to be extra holes under the parcel shelf that correspond to the mounting points of the cage shown in the photo's provided by Deane Hill.

The mounting holes in the boot from the fuel tank are also still there but have been filled with silicone.

Had a bit of a look under the car today and to my eye the brakes appear to be standard HQ disc/drum combo.

[davea79]

That's good news, have you thought much about having the car restored to racing spec & colours or will you keep it in the current trim?
I would be a bit torn myself on what to do!
Actually no I wouldn't

[hungus76]

That's good news, have you thought much about having the car restored to racing spec & colours or will you keep it in the current trim?
I would be a bit torn myself on what to do!
Actually no I wouldn't

A faithful Group C restoration is indeed a part of the long term plans for the car. Still a long way off as all spare funds these days are being put towards the build of my pro-street HQ coupe.

Also, I have yet to decide if the car should revert back to the look of the Graeme Blanchard or Scotty Taylor era?

Decisions, decisions...............

[hungus76]

Wow! Amazing story congrats! I would build the Blanchard car out of your l34 and also build a seperate replica L34 Taylor car as well. You being the owner of this historic car would have the right to own an example of each.

Hi Mat,

Thats an interesting idea about building up both examples, I hadn't thought about that possibility! Definitely an option to consider.

Thanks for the interesting read. And especially to deanes amazing effort too.

Glad you are enjoying the thread, when I originally started it I had no idea how it would unfold. It has been amazing story so far and I'm sure there wiil be much more to add into the future.

Yes, Deane Hill has been a huge part of piecing together the history of this particular car and words cannot express how grateful I am to him for all he has done. The information and photos he has provided has been invaluable.

Also a huge thankyou needs to go to Wayne aka outer control for his efforts in gathering further information for me. The man has an incredible passion and knowledge of these cars.

Without the assistance of Deane and Wayne, the history of my beloved car wouldn't have come to light and I wouldn't have an amazing story to share with you all.

[Torananut]

Hi Adrian,

I own a similar car, the Charlie O'Brien L34. My car had all sorts of little mods done to it in its racing life and most were still on the car when i bought it. In the rear footwells there are bolts and plates installed to strengthen the rear outer trailing arm bracket connection to the floor (Colin Bond had trouble with these brackets pulling away from the floor in one of the early races for an L34 for the HDT, after that everybody strengthened this area). In the photo you can see the back ones in place, while the front bolts were removed because they got in the way of the carpet when it was converted back to road car.

 Bolts and plates where suspension brackets meet floor 1.jpg   360.22K   16 downloads

The bushes in the rear trailing arms were super-glued in place which i have been told was a common practice at the time. Also the front chassis rails have also had extra welds added where it meets the floor sections on both sides.

Does your car have any of these mods?, let me know.

Cheers, Grant


P.S. My car finished right behind yours at the 1976 Hangten 400 at Sandown, you can see it for a total of about five seconds in the DVD.

 Sandown Hangten 400, Sept. 1976.1.jpg   387.93K   11 downloads

[a9x868]

just loving these photo,s and the story so far
keep at it!
cheers
davemc

[Torananut]

Found some pictures of your car today, add them to your file of info on your car. The first two pics had 14/9/1975 on the back of them while the third pic was dated 15/2/1976. Enjoy, Grant

 Graeme Blanchard L34 1.jpg   310.96K   13 downloads

 Graeme Blanchard L34 2.jpg   284.03K   11 downloads

 Graeme Blanchard L34 3.jpg   274.69K   12 downloads

[WhiteA9XS]

real cars those L34,s not family wannabes -Baron

True wayne , just a shame about the 6 cyl running gear ! ... now i,ll run an hide !

ps nice story and pics hungus , congrats on a nice outcome ....

[a9x868]

True wayne , just a shame about the 6 cyl running gear ! ... now i,ll run an hide !

ps nice story and pics hungus , congrats on a nice outcome ....

fragile little things those L/34's
6 cyl running gear
ok with fraud gearbox and diff
or a9x upgrades

[a9x868]

It least the L34s were built as race cars, not boy racer sunday drivers!.

the L34s were built as race cars

came with a dealer option trailer
so you could get them home when they broke the fragile bit's

[hungus76]

Hi Adrian,

I own a similar car, the Charlie O'Brien L34. My car had all sorts of little mods done to it in its racing life and most were still on the car when i bought it. In the rear footwells there are bolts and plates installed to strengthen the rear outer trailing arm bracket connection to the floor (Colin Bond had trouble with these brackets pulling away from the floor in one of the early races for an L34 for the HDT, after that everybody strengthened this area). In the photo you can see the back ones in place, while the front bolts were removed because they got in the way of the carpet when it was converted back to road car.

 Bolts and plates where suspension brackets meet floor 1.jpg   360.22K   16 downloads

The bushes in the rear trailing arms were super-glued in place which i have been told was a common practice at the time. Also the front chassis rails have also had extra welds added where it meets the floor sections on both sides.

Does your car have any of these mods?, let me know.

Cheers, Grant

Hi Grant,

Thanks for letting me know about the modifications to you car, when time permits I'll give mine a good looking over to see if it has anything similar.

Also, thank you so much for the larger pix of my car, I hadn't seen those photos as clearly as that before so very much appreciated.

P.S. Love the photo of you car in full race trim, looks very tough indeed!

[hungus76]

there are a couple of great books! (Bathurst XU1 Toranas and Bathurst A9X toranas, A photographic history, by Stephen Stathis) your L34 features in the A9X book in the guise of the "Taylor / Kennedy car at bathurst 77. it's only one pic in B/W on page 45. Beautiful hard cover limited edition "coffee table style books".
PS i wont sell u mine, but u r more than welcome to borrow them 4 a look. cheers jason

Hi Jason,

Thanks for letting me know about the books, they sound like they would be a great read. Also it's very kind of you to offer to lend them to me.

Would it be possible at all for you to take a picture of the photo from the book and post it here? It would be fantastic if you could as it's proving to be rather difficult finding photos of the car from the Taylor / Kennedy era.

[hungus76]

[this carry on should move to the great debate]

Agreed. Don't need this never ending saga clogging up the thread.