VIN: the Penske / Wolfman - Banzai Runners Lola T70 Mk3B GT chassis SL76/139
History of chassis SL76/139
Chassis SL76/139 was the first T70 Mk3B GT.
Completed by Lola on December 30th 1968 and dispatched to the USA the next day, its destination was Roger Penske Racing in Philadelphia.
Penske had a reputation for turning out some of the best racing cars in the business and, once landed, SL76/139 was comprehensively reworked to include lots of parts from the Group 7 Lola T160.
The T70 was purchased by Penske to contest the triple crown of endurance racing: the Daytona 24 Hours, Sebring 12 Hours and Le Mans 24 Hours. Like all Penske’s cars of the period, it ran in the dark blue and yellow colours of the Sun Oil Company (Sunoco).
SL76/139 was supposed to be driven at Daytona by Mark Donohue and Ronnie Bucknum. However, Bucknum had injured a finger in a motorcycle spill so was replaced during practice with Chuck Parsons. The Lola qualified second behind the works Porsche 908 Langheck of Vic Elford and Brian Redman.
The early stages of the race saw Donohue dice with the Porsches of Jo Siffert and Vic Elford at the head of the field. The Lola then began to fall back as Porsche occupied the first five positions and the Gulf Racing GT40s moved up the leaderboard.
At around one third distance, the Lola had a minor coming together with a Porsche and needed a long stop for body and exhaust system repairs; just over an hour was lost and any chance of victory seemed to have disappeared.
By midnight, Donohue and Parsons were eleventh, 44 laps behind the lead Porsche.
Three hours later, the Lola had risen to seventh and it continued to gain places as the front runners steadily encountered trouble.
With 18 hours gone, all the Porsches were out and the sole remaining Gulf GT40 followed soon afterwards.
Donohue / Parsons took the lead on the 484th lap. They finished on 626 laps, 30 clear of the older T70 GT driven by Ed Leslie and Lothar Motschenbacher. It was Lola’s first international long distance race win.
At Sebring six weeks later, Donohue was reunited with Bucknum and SL76/139 again qualified second. This time, it was behind the works Ferrari 312 P of Chris Amon and Mario Andretti.
For Sebring, the Lola’s fuel-injection had been switched to Weber carburettors after pick-up problems at Daytona. It was 40bhp down as a result. The front suspension had been strengthened, the rear anti-roll bar repositioned and a new engine cooling scoop added behind the cockpit.
Donohue got a great start in the race and the Lola led for much of the opening four-and-a-half hours. However, when the bumpy track caused a rear radius rod to pull out of the monocoque, its race was over.
Afterwards, two crew members were given the task of transporting SL76/139 back to Philadelphia on Penske’s distinctive Sunoco blue flatbed transporter. They got six miles up the road to Ormond Beach where they decided to stop for the night.
When they woke the next morning, the transporter was gone.
It was discovered later that day just a few miles down the road. The Lola was still on the truck but its engine had been crudely removed. The thieves had also stolen all of Penske’s tools and spares to include wheels, a gearbox and a spare engine.
About a month later, a tip off led the police to the crooks; they discovered a barn full of stolen goods including much of the Penske gear.
Roger Penske eventually arranged for SL76/139 to be repaired by a local firm.
It was made street legal, given a stock five-litre engine from a Z/28 Camaro, kitted out with a more comfortable interior and air-conditioning.
In its new configuration, the Lola appeared in the November 1970 edition of Car Craft magazine at which point it was on the temporary Philadelphia plate T598-215.
Penske sold SL76/139 to Mike Bohanon from Southern California. Also known as ‘Wolfman’ on account of his long hair and beard, Bohanon was a major marijuana dealer in the Los Angeles area and a founder member of the Banzai Runners.
The Banzai Runners did high speed early morning sorties on the freeways of Los Angeles; to join you had to do a run in excess of 150mph.
The club used a team with CB radios to spot traffic and scout the area for police. For this purpose, Bohanon had his Lola equipped with brighter than normal front lights.
Bohanon left the Banzai Runners in 1971 after the San Fernando earthquake made the freeway surface inconsistent. By this stage, the club had been over run by a new crowd.
SL76/169 was later acquired by Jim Landrum and restored to its 1969 race specification.
Notable History
Roger Penske Racing, Philadelphia
02/02/1969 WSC Daytona 24 Hours (Donohue / Parsons) 1st oa, 1st S5.0 class (#6)
22/03/1969 WSC Sebring 12 Hours (Bucknum / Donohue) DNF (#9)
23/03/1969 stolen but recovered later that day missing its engine.
Repaired and fitted with a Z/28 five-litre motor. Modified for road use.
11/1970 featured in Car Craft magazine
Sold to Mike ‘Wolfman’ Bohanon, Southern California
Later sold to Jim Landrum
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: unattributed & Motor Trend Group - https://www.motortrend.com/
