Colin Chapman was right - to improve performance - handling and power
"Just add Lightness"
So yes - if you are searching for the ultimate performance from your B series - you can go go to a large bore - use a reputable shop - You can supercharge - take your pick
Or you can do what Colin Chapman said - you can add lightness (I believe this may be the most expensive option)
The Elva Courier notched into a market just barely above a Lotus Seven Series 1 (BMC A Series) but well below the the Lotus Elite and cut the latter's price by a factor of two but providing similar performance to the more expensive car.
It was clever - Elva threatened Lotus at the time for the specialist sports racing car market - they leaked that the Jaguar Engine would be used and then maybe the Coventry Climax The press was titillated, the competition anxious - Archie Scott Brown hung around the Elva guys even after he finished racing in the Listers. What were the guys in Bexhill up to - cheeky &^%$#$#
The final solution was brilliant - no need to compete with Lotus - the Elite was a money loser - but how to build a car that could give equivalent performance for 1/2 the price- More $ than a MGA - less than a Austin Healey - How could it be done - superior engineering ie. the ability to make a superior product for a reasonable cost.
Here is the Recipe
Tube Frame Chassis with a few space frame concessions - Simple - light weight and major assemblies can be mounted and the semi completed car rolled around (Lotus figured this out with the Elan )
Molded Fiberglass Body - wrapped around the steel to form an integral assembly (Lotus did this as well on the Elite just to a smaller amount - roll hoop and engine front suspension) - but only one molded assembly for trunk and hood leaving raw fiberglass inside - the Lotus used two pieces for the hood and an internal body molding to give the engine compartment a shiny appearance - Elva painted it flat black - cheaper - lighter effective - ( just a note for corrosion alone wrapping steel with glass is a bad idea)
Front Suspension - they are virtually identical - Alden and Alford uprights - Morris Minor steering
suspension arms and geometry virtually identical - with a rear steer Ackerman geometry the de rigour late 50's racing setup (the shocks are identical)
Rear suspension - the Elva used the lightweight rear end from a Riley 1.5 a B Series powered Morris Minor (think Sprite extended) if your MGA powered Riley could use it - so could your new Elva (truth was that axles broke on both cars - just as they do on racing Spridgets) - It is the cars Achilles heal
Lotus used an expensive independent design with a Sprite differential - Elva added a bit of sophistication in the 4 bar link and long travel coil over shocks - but appropriately simple and effective for a lightweight less expensive car -
(Side note - the body mounted differential in the Lotus does whine - not every solution is perfect again fixed with the Elan - diff mounted to the fame)
Brakes - Elva used Drums from a Hillman Minx a relatively big family sedan - Lotus used Girling Disks all around - Elva gave an option for front disks - it wasn't popular - both cars had a racing pedal setup with dual masters and bias bar to adjust brake pressure front to rear.
Wheels - Borrani Alloy Wires for the Lotus - Elva used Pierced Hole Morris Minor - special made but steel none the less - Alloys were available on the Elva - but dearer than even the Borrani's Most racers used steel - cheap and plentiful
Engine
Here is the kicker and the money saving piece - Elva had a relationship with BMC for supplying the A Series Formula Junior engines (think Sprite) - they bought Coventry Climax engines for sports racers - but Lotus had recently sewn up Coventry on the new Elite and gave Coventry dreams of Formula 1 -
Everybody was selling cars like hotcakes to build the English postwar economy - engine producers had their order books filled. - Good engines were in short supply
The BMC B series was the most produced English engine at that time and would be for a while - it was cheap, it was powerful when tuned, it was available and in several guises
Riley
BMC
Wolesley
MG
and Gold Seal BMC Factory Replacements
Harry Weslake's facility was right across the road perfect for getting a tuned and prepped engine - Weslake had developed the BMC B and A series cylinder head for BMC - who better to extract maximum reliable power.
Bingo - an Engine and transmission combination - plentiful, easy to service - sporting pretensions - nearby expertise - and not temperamental
The Elva was 500 lbs less than an MGA and 600 lbs less than a 62 MGB - but a 350 lbs more than the Elite almost all in engine weight
The car is balanced 50-50 and side to side with a driver only
This package delivered near Jag XK150 performance for less than a Healey and weight under Porsche's vaunted Speedster - Very Exciting for it's time and very competitive
Built for racing right from the showroom - no need for modification - Elva's tore up the tracks across the US - Mark Donohue was one of the hotshoes to look out for. And hey if you blew one up - there was another engine waiting in the nearest junkyard (or in the paddock)
The Elva even solved the early MGA race engine heat problem -they supplied a very big copper radiator - custom designed built for the car -
They continued building Elva Couriers in some form right up to 1965
the later ones sharing the independent rear end with TVR and
powered by MGB spec motors
The Elva Courier - a former day MGA Outlaw
When we went looking for an E Production race car in the Eighties in order to compete with MGB's - Elva Couriers's were the hot ticket - the same engine (or 1622 displacement and lighter weight) - but Tube Framed glass bodied adjustable suspended BMC powered War Horse - John Kelly was tearing up the tracks 15 yrs after the last Elva was produced and - Craig Chima went on to win EP in 2003 - We ran out of money (tires mostly) - but we could a been a contender we were fast enough.
You want more performance from that B Series lump in your car - Less is More
the Elva Courier is not a bad way to go
Given a set of ear plugs I would drive all day, alone and unsupported -
Something only a very rare Lotus Elite owner would attempt
Mostly due to my reliable MG heart
"Just add Lightness"
Or you can do what Colin Chapman said - you can add lightness (I believe this may be the most expensive option)
The Elva Courier notched into a market just barely above a Lotus Seven Series 1 (BMC A Series) but well below the the Lotus Elite and cut the latter's price by a factor of two but providing similar performance to the more expensive car.
It was clever - Elva threatened Lotus at the time for the specialist sports racing car market - they leaked that the Jaguar Engine would be used and then maybe the Coventry Climax The press was titillated, the competition anxious - Archie Scott Brown hung around the Elva guys even after he finished racing in the Listers. What were the guys in Bexhill up to - cheeky &^%$#$#
The final solution was brilliant - no need to compete with Lotus - the Elite was a money loser - but how to build a car that could give equivalent performance for 1/2 the price- More $ than a MGA - less than a Austin Healey - How could it be done - superior engineering ie. the ability to make a superior product for a reasonable cost.
Here is the Recipe
Tube Frame Chassis with a few space frame concessions - Simple - light weight and major assemblies can be mounted and the semi completed car rolled around (Lotus figured this out with the Elan )
Molded Fiberglass Body - wrapped around the steel to form an integral assembly (Lotus did this as well on the Elite just to a smaller amount - roll hoop and engine front suspension) - but only one molded assembly for trunk and hood leaving raw fiberglass inside - the Lotus used two pieces for the hood and an internal body molding to give the engine compartment a shiny appearance - Elva painted it flat black - cheaper - lighter effective - ( just a note for corrosion alone wrapping steel with glass is a bad idea)
Front Suspension - they are virtually identical - Alden and Alford uprights - Morris Minor steering
suspension arms and geometry virtually identical - with a rear steer Ackerman geometry the de rigour late 50's racing setup (the shocks are identical)
Rear suspension - the Elva used the lightweight rear end from a Riley 1.5 a B Series powered Morris Minor (think Sprite extended) if your MGA powered Riley could use it - so could your new Elva (truth was that axles broke on both cars - just as they do on racing Spridgets) - It is the cars Achilles heal
Lotus used an expensive independent design with a Sprite differential - Elva added a bit of sophistication in the 4 bar link and long travel coil over shocks - but appropriately simple and effective for a lightweight less expensive car -
(Side note - the body mounted differential in the Lotus does whine - not every solution is perfect again fixed with the Elan - diff mounted to the fame)
Brakes - Elva used Drums from a Hillman Minx a relatively big family sedan - Lotus used Girling Disks all around - Elva gave an option for front disks - it wasn't popular - both cars had a racing pedal setup with dual masters and bias bar to adjust brake pressure front to rear.
Wheels - Borrani Alloy Wires for the Lotus - Elva used Pierced Hole Morris Minor - special made but steel none the less - Alloys were available on the Elva - but dearer than even the Borrani's Most racers used steel - cheap and plentiful
Engine
Here is the kicker and the money saving piece - Elva had a relationship with BMC for supplying the A Series Formula Junior engines (think Sprite) - they bought Coventry Climax engines for sports racers - but Lotus had recently sewn up Coventry on the new Elite and gave Coventry dreams of Formula 1 -
Everybody was selling cars like hotcakes to build the English postwar economy - engine producers had their order books filled. - Good engines were in short supply
The BMC B series was the most produced English engine at that time and would be for a while - it was cheap, it was powerful when tuned, it was available and in several guises
Riley
BMC
Wolesley
MG
and Gold Seal BMC Factory Replacements
Harry Weslake's facility was right across the road perfect for getting a tuned and prepped engine - Weslake had developed the BMC B and A series cylinder head for BMC - who better to extract maximum reliable power.
Bingo - an Engine and transmission combination - plentiful, easy to service - sporting pretensions - nearby expertise - and not temperamental
The Elva was 500 lbs less than an MGA and 600 lbs less than a 62 MGB - but a 350 lbs more than the Elite almost all in engine weight
The car is balanced 50-50 and side to side with a driver only
This package delivered near Jag XK150 performance for less than a Healey and weight under Porsche's vaunted Speedster - Very Exciting for it's time and very competitive
Built for racing right from the showroom - no need for modification - Elva's tore up the tracks across the US - Mark Donohue was one of the hotshoes to look out for. And hey if you blew one up - there was another engine waiting in the nearest junkyard (or in the paddock)
The Elva even solved the early MGA race engine heat problem -they supplied a very big copper radiator - custom designed built for the car -
They continued building Elva Couriers in some form right up to 1965
the later ones sharing the independent rear end with TVR and
powered by MGB spec motors
The Elva Courier - a former day MGA Outlaw
When we went looking for an E Production race car in the Eighties in order to compete with MGB's - Elva Couriers's were the hot ticket - the same engine (or 1622 displacement and lighter weight) - but Tube Framed glass bodied adjustable suspended BMC powered War Horse - John Kelly was tearing up the tracks 15 yrs after the last Elva was produced and - Craig Chima went on to win EP in 2003 - We ran out of money (tires mostly) - but we could a been a contender we were fast enough.
You want more performance from that B Series lump in your car - Less is More
the Elva Courier is not a bad way to go
Given a set of ear plugs I would drive all day, alone and unsupported -
Something only a very rare Lotus Elite owner would attempt
Mostly due to my reliable MG heart
No comments:
Post a Comment