1971 MCLAREN M8F CAN-AM

 Bruce McLaren was a famous race car designer, engineer, driver and team owner from Auckland, New Zealand. At age 9, McLaren contracted Perthes disease and spent two years in traction.  He was not expected to walk again, but overcame his illness which left him with a slight limp.

McLaren was very successful in Formula One racing, with McLaren cars and drivers winning a total of 20 world championships, they won three Indianapolis 500 races, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 12 Hours of Sebring. McLaren team cars totally dominated Canadian American (Can-Am) sports car racing with 56 wins, and five constructors’ championships between 1967 and 1972, many with McLaren driving.  Bruce McLaren died at age 32 when his Can-Am car crashed on the Lavant Straight just before Woodcote corner at Goodwood Circuit in England on 2 June 1970.  His name lives on to this day with the McLaren Formula One Racing Team and McLaren road cars. 

My modest build took 7 years to create. We used research, photos and extensive measurements which I had taken from McLaren M8 Can-Am race cars to design, engineer and fabricate a similar looking street/race car. It began on a large aluminum flat table where we laid out steel tubing around the engine and transaxle. The construction incorporated  design elements so it may be used on the street as well as track days.   It has a custom tube frame which is skinned in aluminum. We designed and built the suspension, including the pickup locations and geometry. The engine is a Chevy V8 mated to a Porsche 930 turbo transaxle, hubs are C5 Corvette Z-06, Porsche rack and pinion steering, Indy Car pedals, and Alden Eagle double adjustable coil-over shocks, custom aluminum dashboard and gauges, 5 point safety harnesses, and fire suppression. We created a fiberglass body and fitted it to the frame, and built the huge rear wing from aluminum. The front and rear body pivot forward and rearward on a pin mounting system, and the doors open out to open the body and service all areas, or just minutes to completely remove the body for maintenance. The total weight is only 2,000 lbs.

My vision was to create a street/race look of a 1971 McLaren M8F Can-Am race car. Thanks to my great friends Paul & John for their amazing skills and expertise on this project!