HISTORY | abacusracing

OUR HISTORY

Formerly known as Phase One Machine Shop, Abacus Machine and Automotive Services has grown exponentially since its conception over 30 years ago, and is still the original and foremost import performance shop in the Tidewater Region. Abacus began building motors for British sports cars participating in SCCA and SVRA events. That experience carried over to the development of Nissan 4 and 6 cylinder engines for SCCA GT-2 and GT-3 events culminating numerous national championships. We are as prestigeous as we are dedicated, cultivating a brand you can depend on, and a name you can trust.

One front-runner is Bill Thumel's very own 1967 Penske Lola T70 Mark III that took over three years to completely restore. The car was built for the Can-Am racing series, which ran from the mid-'60s through 1974. There were no weight, motor or horsepower limitations on the vehicles, making for insane performance modifications. Weighing a mere 1,900 pounds, the car has a 500-horsepower Traco Chevy V8 behind the driver's seat. It was one of Penske's original cars for 1967, driven in the last three races of the Can-Am series that year.

Another vintage figure in our line-up is our #71 1968 Lola T70 Mk IIIb coupe. This Lola was raced by the likes of Chuck Pasron in 1968 and Chuck Beck in 1969 for HAAS Racing and BECK RACING respectively. It ran in the Can-Am series from 1969-1971. This Lola was also driven by Leonard Janke at Watkins Glen, Edmonton, and Road America in 1969 as the #77 car for BECK RACING. Although it itself has never won a championship, it has won numerous races, including over 10 for Abacus Machine and 6/6 in our 2014 season. You can check out its racing videos here.

This Elva Courier Race Car, Number 36, was produced in 1961 and bought in Maryland. The SCCA log book showed that it had begun its racing career in 1962, and that it had mostly competed at local tracks, especially the old Marlboro Motor Raceway (which closed in 1969, shortly after Summit Point opened). After a long hiatus, Abacus Racing rebuilt the engine, installed it, and completed all the performance engine and chassis tuning to be a racer once more. This particular Elva Courier had its own feature on britishracecar.com, check it out to learn more!