Who makes the Prosport LM3000 Car???
Discussion
No one, or not any more at least. The Prosport 3000 was built from about 1992-97 under two different owners, before the company was bought out by several drivers and continued as LM3000 for a couple of years.
There are, I think, around 20 in existence (though a figure of 18 seems to stick in my head), the last one being Martin Harrison's '97 car (which I partly built, when I was on my year out from uni, at DFH Engineering at Meriden). That car later had a Rover V8 fitted for the Castle Combe GT series.
Of those that are left, one races in Wales, one at Knockhill and a couple are still knocking about in the Castle Combe series. One did BGT this year for a short period and I got all nostalgic every time it drove past the pits. Would've loved to have put a couple of decent drivers in that car and engineered it myself... The best of them is still Mike Millard's version that pops up in the historic Group C series every now and then - and still creates little upsets.
One was turned into a roadcar by Dave Beecroft, who now runs Corvettes in BGT.
I suppose the most famous Prosport out there is Bob Light's Stealth B6. The Stealth started life as a Prosport, before having the V8 added, the body modified and entirely different rear suspension fitted. You can still see the family resemblance, though.
The chassis were made by Jimmy Brady (who runs the blue Ultima in BGT) and it was designed by an ex-March guy who I met on a number of occasions, but whose name escapes me....Arthur someone. Lee Noble styled it, which is why it looks a little like an Ultima. It is far more advanced than an Ultima, though - more like a mini-Group C car.
One of the last couple built was an open top variant that raced at the Daytona 24hrs in '97. It finished, too, despite barely any running before the event - Nigel Greensall and Peter Hardman were among the drivers.
They were cracking little cars and very fast in their day - 1:08s at Snet in '97, for example - and driven by some pretty good guys. Sadly it was quite expensive and unfortunately was up against the mighty TVR Tuscan Challenge. The Prosport was a far better car - a true racing car - but the agricultural Tuscans were cheap and had the engine lease carrot. That's not a comment based on bitterness, either: my driver, Chris Lord, raced in both series so was pretty well placed to compare them.
Sorry, gone on a bit there, but I retain a great enthusiasm for them - the first proper racing car I ever engineered.
Why do you ask?
There are, I think, around 20 in existence (though a figure of 18 seems to stick in my head), the last one being Martin Harrison's '97 car (which I partly built, when I was on my year out from uni, at DFH Engineering at Meriden). That car later had a Rover V8 fitted for the Castle Combe GT series.
Of those that are left, one races in Wales, one at Knockhill and a couple are still knocking about in the Castle Combe series. One did BGT this year for a short period and I got all nostalgic every time it drove past the pits. Would've loved to have put a couple of decent drivers in that car and engineered it myself... The best of them is still Mike Millard's version that pops up in the historic Group C series every now and then - and still creates little upsets.
One was turned into a roadcar by Dave Beecroft, who now runs Corvettes in BGT.
I suppose the most famous Prosport out there is Bob Light's Stealth B6. The Stealth started life as a Prosport, before having the V8 added, the body modified and entirely different rear suspension fitted. You can still see the family resemblance, though.
The chassis were made by Jimmy Brady (who runs the blue Ultima in BGT) and it was designed by an ex-March guy who I met on a number of occasions, but whose name escapes me....Arthur someone. Lee Noble styled it, which is why it looks a little like an Ultima. It is far more advanced than an Ultima, though - more like a mini-Group C car.
One of the last couple built was an open top variant that raced at the Daytona 24hrs in '97. It finished, too, despite barely any running before the event - Nigel Greensall and Peter Hardman were among the drivers.
They were cracking little cars and very fast in their day - 1:08s at Snet in '97, for example - and driven by some pretty good guys. Sadly it was quite expensive and unfortunately was up against the mighty TVR Tuscan Challenge. The Prosport was a far better car - a true racing car - but the agricultural Tuscans were cheap and had the engine lease carrot. That's not a comment based on bitterness, either: my driver, Chris Lord, raced in both series so was pretty well placed to compare them.
Sorry, gone on a bit there, but I retain a great enthusiasm for them - the first proper racing car I ever engineered.
Why do you ask?
Thanks for that Ahonen
I was wandering what the cost was to convert one for road use or if there was any road legal cars because two of them are for sale on piston heads classified pages.
Can't streach my budget to second hand Ultima costs.
Feel free to run on evern more about prosports as far as I am concerned.
I was wandering what the cost was to convert one for road use or if there was any road legal cars because two of them are for sale on piston heads classified pages.
Can't streach my budget to second hand Ultima costs.
Feel free to run on evern more about prosports as far as I am concerned.
You could convert one for road use. It was done once before, though slightly dubiously... All that was done was an increase in ride height and the fitment of a horn and windscreen washer!
How they stand on things like headlight heights etc I'm not sure, but it's got to be possible. The centrelock wheels might be a slight issue, but apart from that it'd be okay. We used to add passenger seats for track days, so no problem there, though they do leak like sieves - rather like sitting in a power shower at 100mph.
The main issue from a chassis point of view would be the ride height. Unlike the Ultima, it was only designed with racing in mind, so the geometry might be a bit strange if the ride height was increased from 50 to 100mm - plus you'd have to be a bit careful with driveshaft angles etc. There'd be no problems with fuel economy as I'm sure they all had 100 litre tanks.
As a track day car it would be a huge giggle, though. Drive to the circuit, drop the spring platforms back down, go after the supercars. Only 320bhp on tap, but only weighs 750-800kg...
Go on, do it. (But make the necessary enquiries first.)
How they stand on things like headlight heights etc I'm not sure, but it's got to be possible. The centrelock wheels might be a slight issue, but apart from that it'd be okay. We used to add passenger seats for track days, so no problem there, though they do leak like sieves - rather like sitting in a power shower at 100mph.
The main issue from a chassis point of view would be the ride height. Unlike the Ultima, it was only designed with racing in mind, so the geometry might be a bit strange if the ride height was increased from 50 to 100mm - plus you'd have to be a bit careful with driveshaft angles etc. There'd be no problems with fuel economy as I'm sure they all had 100 litre tanks.
As a track day car it would be a huge giggle, though. Drive to the circuit, drop the spring platforms back down, go after the supercars. Only 320bhp on tap, but only weighs 750-800kg...
Go on, do it. (But make the necessary enquiries first.)
Ah, I'm not fully versed on what's needed for SVA. The external radii would be okay, but it might be more difficult inside.
Security would be okay - the door handles/locks were mixed and matched from the Lada Riva and a caravan...
Edited to add: Yes, the Cosworth V6 24v motor out of the Scorpio, but with steel rods/crank and slide throttles. Revved to 7700rpm.
>> Edited by Ahonen on Wednesday 15th December 13:45
Security would be okay - the door handles/locks were mixed and matched from the Lada Riva and a caravan...
Edited to add: Yes, the Cosworth V6 24v motor out of the Scorpio, but with steel rods/crank and slide throttles. Revved to 7700rpm.
>> Edited by Ahonen on Wednesday 15th December 13:45
sorry to jump in, but I am looking at running a Prosport next year and would value your input.
Could you mail me with your contact details please?
Cheers
Simon@scuffham.com
[quote]No one, or not any more at least. The Prosport 3000 was built from about 1992-97 under two different owners, before the company was bought out by several drivers and continued as LM3000 for a couple of years.
There are, I think, around 20 in existence (though a figure of 18 seems to stick in my head), the last one being Martin Harrison's '97 car (which I partly built, when I was on my year out from uni, at DFH Engineering at Meriden). That car later had a Rover V8 fitted for the Castle Combe GT series.
Of those that are left, one races in Wales, one at Knockhill and a couple are still knocking about in the Castle Combe series. One did BGT this year for a short period and I got all nostalgic every time it drove past the pits. Would've loved to have put a couple of decent drivers in that car and engineered it myself... The best of them is still Mike Millard's version that pops up in the historic Group C series every now and then - and still creates little upsets.
One was turned into a roadcar by Dave Beecroft, who now runs Corvettes in BGT.
I suppose the most famous Prosport out there is Bob Light's Stealth B6. The Stealth started life as a Prosport, before having the V8 added, the body modified and entirely different rear suspension fitted. You can still see the family resemblance, though.
The chassis were made by Jimmy Brady (who runs the blue Ultima in BGT) and it was designed by an ex-March guy who I met on a number of occasions, but whose name escapes me....Arthur someone. Lee Noble styled it, which is why it looks a little like an Ultima. It is far more advanced than an Ultima, though - more like a mini-Group C car.
One of the last couple built was an open top variant that raced at the Daytona 24hrs in '97. It finished, too, despite barely any running before the event - Nigel Greensall and Peter Hardman were among the drivers.
They were cracking little cars and very fast in their day - 1:08s at Snet in '97, for example - and driven by some pretty good guys. Sadly it was quite expensive and unfortunately was up against the mighty TVR Tuscan Challenge. The Prosport was a far better car - a true racing car - but the agricultural Tuscans were cheap and had the engine lease carrot. That's not a comment based on bitterness, either: my driver, Chris Lord, raced in both series so was pretty well placed to compare them.
Sorry, gone on a bit there, but I retain a great enthusiasm for them - the first proper racing car I ever engineered.
Why do you ask?[/quote]
Could you mail me with your contact details please?
Cheers
Simon@scuffham.com
[quote]No one, or not any more at least. The Prosport 3000 was built from about 1992-97 under two different owners, before the company was bought out by several drivers and continued as LM3000 for a couple of years.
There are, I think, around 20 in existence (though a figure of 18 seems to stick in my head), the last one being Martin Harrison's '97 car (which I partly built, when I was on my year out from uni, at DFH Engineering at Meriden). That car later had a Rover V8 fitted for the Castle Combe GT series.
Of those that are left, one races in Wales, one at Knockhill and a couple are still knocking about in the Castle Combe series. One did BGT this year for a short period and I got all nostalgic every time it drove past the pits. Would've loved to have put a couple of decent drivers in that car and engineered it myself... The best of them is still Mike Millard's version that pops up in the historic Group C series every now and then - and still creates little upsets.
One was turned into a roadcar by Dave Beecroft, who now runs Corvettes in BGT.
I suppose the most famous Prosport out there is Bob Light's Stealth B6. The Stealth started life as a Prosport, before having the V8 added, the body modified and entirely different rear suspension fitted. You can still see the family resemblance, though.
The chassis were made by Jimmy Brady (who runs the blue Ultima in BGT) and it was designed by an ex-March guy who I met on a number of occasions, but whose name escapes me....Arthur someone. Lee Noble styled it, which is why it looks a little like an Ultima. It is far more advanced than an Ultima, though - more like a mini-Group C car.
One of the last couple built was an open top variant that raced at the Daytona 24hrs in '97. It finished, too, despite barely any running before the event - Nigel Greensall and Peter Hardman were among the drivers.
They were cracking little cars and very fast in their day - 1:08s at Snet in '97, for example - and driven by some pretty good guys. Sadly it was quite expensive and unfortunately was up against the mighty TVR Tuscan Challenge. The Prosport was a far better car - a true racing car - but the agricultural Tuscans were cheap and had the engine lease carrot. That's not a comment based on bitterness, either: my driver, Chris Lord, raced in both series so was pretty well placed to compare them.
Sorry, gone on a bit there, but I retain a great enthusiasm for them - the first proper racing car I ever engineered.
Why do you ask?[/quote]
Interesting! I was at Sillystone for the LMES/ BGT weekend and spent alot of time in the paddock with the Prosport guys. Started off with one of them fabricating a fuel filler guard as the scrutes were worried fuel would enter the cockpit!
Then he broke third gear, going up to fourth, coming onto the start/finish straight during practice. The engine was from a Granada I think, I'm sure he said it was a V6,if memory serves cos I'd had a 
. They got that sorted and only managed one "Hot" lap and a few under the saftey car in the race and broke it again
. Suppose they might consider me a jinx, but, well thats racing! Really nice blokes though! I'd like to say thanks for putting up with me!
>> Typo!
>> Edited by c9/89 on Thursday 6th October 23:13
Then he broke third gear, going up to fourth, coming onto the start/finish straight during practice. The engine was from a Granada I think, I'm sure he said it was a V6,if memory serves cos I'd had a . They got that sorted and only managed one "Hot" lap and a few under the saftey car in the race and broke it again. Suppose they might consider me a jinx, but, well thats racing! Really nice blokes though! I'd like to say thanks for putting up with me! >> Typo!
>> Edited by c9/89 on Thursday 6th October 23:13
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