Elva Mk 1 & 2

[Rupertlt1]

...and here in 1959:

https://revslib.stanford.edu/catalog/tg260qd5418

RGDS RLT

[Rupertlt1]

Posts #50 & 51 now identified as Peter Westbury in the Falcon-bodied MGW Special. No Elva connection.

[Rupertlt1]

Described as a MkIIB:

http://bringatrailer.com/2015/01/15/...57-elva-mkiib/

RGDS RLT

[ElvaMKII]

Originally Posted by Rupertlt1

Could this be the Elva MK II of Millard Ripley from Ithaca in western NY State? Also of interest circa 1958 #171 of Hubert aka Hugh McPhail, from Kenmore, nr Buffalo, NY; Bob Davison (or Davidson) of Buffalo, NY; Bernie Keller, Bellville, Ohio, Elva-Buick.

The Elva MK II of Rip Ripley was alloy bodied. He calls it a MK IIB, with a long tail. Bob Davidson did race a MK II at Harewood and the Glen in 1959. It had an alloy Streamliner body with short tail, high headrest fairing and long nose, with pear-shaped bump over the carbs and a second gas tank cap on the far left side of the cowling. (I have photos). I would be very interested to find a photo of McPhail's MK II. My MK II was owned by Dennis Brown of Buffalo and raced onced at the Glen in 1964. I made a Gallery of Elva cars at the Revslib.stanford.edu site and you can see photos of Davidson and Brown's Elva. Bob Duell says he knew Davidson, McPhail and Brown and has photos. I've asked him to share.

[ElvaMKII]

Originally Posted by Rupertlt1

Described as a MkIIB:

http://bringatrailer.com/2015/01/15/...57-elva-mkiib/

RGDS RLT

This is a MK II (B?) owned and just sold by Tom Jones to Chris Patterson, son of Alan. Chassis 100/49 makes it a late MK II must was raced in California in ca. 1959 by Dan-San Abbott and then went to Jack (?) Hinshaw in early '60's. Found and marked period photos of the car at Revslib.stanford.edu.

[Rupertlt1]

Bob,

Put this in the Elva Gallery:

Elva Mk 1B, registration 796 DRB, chassis number 32

https://revslib.stanford.edu/item/nc424fc7841

Do you know if it is Bob Davison or Davidson?

RGDS RLT

[Rupertlt1]

Connor Circuit, St. Eugene, Ontario, 20 September, 1959:
Elva Mk.1 of John Pace, Elva Climax of Ray Rockall.
(Plus two Elva Couriers driven by Bob Dyer and John Cannon.)

So we have two Elva Mk.1 cars at this event.

[Rupertlt1]

Originally Posted by Rupertlt1

Elva Mk 1B, registration 796 DRB, chassis number 32

Here is the car at the Brighton Speed Trials, 7 September 1957:

https://revslib.stanford.edu/catalog/gx559qd6363

RGDS RLT

[ElvaMKII]

Robert "Bob" Davidson raced a Lotus MK IX in the late 1950's. He raced an a Elva MK II in 1959 at Harewood Acres and Watkins Glen. I think his car was one of the two Elvas sent over to race at the 1957 Sebring race but we're damaged in transit and sent back to a Elva for repairs. One, with plastic body, went to Texas and the other to " someone in Canada". It was probably Davidson who got that car.


QUOTE=Rupertlt1;3498276]Bob,

Put this in the Elva Gallery:

Elva Mk 1B, registration 796 DRB, chassis number 32

https://revslib.stanford.edu/item/nc424fc7841

Do you know if it is Bob Davison or Davidson?

RGDS RLT[/QUOTE]

[ElvaMKII]

Hugh McPhail was a lumber yard owner who was a WWII pilot and who built airplanes after the War. He started building Kurtis race cars in 1953 and was making his own aluminum bodies. In 1957 he put a Chevy V8 into an AC ACE. (He should have marketed that idea!). In 1958 be bought Elva MK II 100/27 from Chuck Dietrich. That was the car Dietrch had imported and raced in 1957 but then crashed it at Marlboro. The car was sent back to Elva and repairs made by November. The Elva was returned to Dietrich, who sold it to McPhail in May or so of '58. McPhail raced it at Harewood, Dunkirk and Green Acres. He evidently once loaned the car to Donald Peters, a popular and one-armed fellow, to race at Watkins Glen in 1958. Bob Deull recalls the car then went to Dennis Brown of East Aurora, who raced it at the Glen in 1964. The car by then had had some body work done, probably by McPhail who could do aluminum work, that included a removable cowl, smooth rear deck to replace the spare tire hump, and a Kamm style rear end. In the late 1970's Charles Schwab of Short Hills bought the car. It was sitting in a field at the end of a steep dirt road (he told me) and he planned to restore it. He did not and in 1980 he sold it to John Lindsey of Toronto. The car then went to Frank(?) Miller and in 1990 to Bob Grunau, who restored and raced it. In 2006 Bob sold the car to me. It sits in my garage. We're taking it to the Elva 60th a Reunion next Septembe.r 😄

Originally Posted by Rupertlt1

Could this be the Elva MK II of Millard Ripley from Ithaca in western NY State? Also of interest circa 1958 #171 of Hubert aka Hugh McPhail, from Kenmore, nr Buffalo, NY; Bob Davison (or Davidson) of Buffalo, NY; Bernie Keller, Bellville, Ohio, Elva-Buick.

[ElvaMKII]

Originally Posted by ElvaMKII

Hugh McPhail was a lumber yard owner who was a WWII pilot and who built airplanes after the War. He started building Kurtis race cars in 1953 and was making his own aluminum bodies. In 1957 he put a Chevy V8 into an AC ACE. ( He should have marketed that idea!) in the 1958 be bought Elva MM II chassis 100/27 from Chuck Dietrich. That was the car Dietrch imported and raced in 1957 but crashed it at Marlboro. the car was sent back to elva and repairs made by November. The a Elva was returned to a Dietrich who sold it to amcPhail in May or so of '58. McPhail raced it at Harewood, Dunkirk and Green Acres. He evidently loaned the car to Donald Peters, a popular and one-armed fellow, to race at Watkins Glen in 1958. Bob Deull recalls the car then went to Dennis Brown of a East Aurora, who raced it at the Glen in 1964. The car by then had some body work done, probably by McPhail who could do aluminum work, that included a removable cowl, smooth rear deck to replace the spare tire hump, and a Kamm style rear end. In the late 1970's Charkes Schwab of Short Hills bought the car. It was sitting in a field at the end of a steep dirt road (he told me) and he planned to restore it. He did not and in 1980 he sold it to John Lindsey of Toronto. The car then went to Frank(?) Miller and in 1990 to Bob Grunau, who restord and raced it. In 2006 Bob sold the car to me. It sits in my garage. We're taking it to the Elva 60th a Reunion next Septembe.r 😄

Bernie Keller owned a MK IV and put a Buick V8 into it and raced it a few times. I think it was the MK IV that Berdie Martin had made at Elva using the 1500cc, FPF, DOHC Coventry Climax motor that had been in Doc Wylie's MK III when he crashed it during practice at the 1958 Sebring race. It must have been wickedly fast. I think the car now with a nephew of Bernie a Keller but has remained unrestored.

[ElvaMKII]

There are some photos of Canadian MK I's at Revslib.Stanford.edu/. I've made a "Gallery" of the Elva photos I've found in the various collections. Look in the Elva Galley for the MK I's.

Originally Posted by Rupertlt1

Some info about early Elva in Canada:

Bud Mackley (member of L.A.C.) Ecurie Erable
Elva Mk1-M.G. 1,250 c.c. Falcon bodywork
#90 Harewood Acres 16.6.1956
"FIRST APPEARANCE in Canadian competition of the Elva was made by
Ecurie Erable's entry with this neat bodywork."

#108 Harewood Acres 4.8.1956
Race 2:
1. #78 Bill Wuesthoff (USA), Alfa-Romeo Spyder, 1,290 cc
2. #102 C. Henry, M.G. TC
3. #108 Bud Mackley, Elva-MG, 1,250 cc, Ecurie Erable
4. #16 R. Price, M.G. TF

#14 Harewood Acres 29.9.1956

* Bob Rusznyak, Elva Mk. 1

Competition Press, June 13, 1959, Page 7
ELVA, Coventry-Climax 1100cc
Stage 2. Car in good condition.
Raced very little. Large brakes
fitted. Complete with trailer.
$2,350
Jim Fergusson, 2301 Queen St. E.
Toronto, Canada

Canada Track & Traffic April 1961
Mk. 1 ELVA CLIMAX 1100 cc. - Only one
race since the top end overhauled, new valves and
springs installed. Usually finishes in first three
in class. $2,450, call WO. 8-5059 after 6. Ray
Rockall, 148 St. Paul St. Belleville
[Ontario. Falcon bodywork]

[ElvaMKII]

I'm pretty sure the Kurtz Elva is a MK II and not IIB. Ripley's car is the only one I've een that was listed as a IIB in period race results. He sold the car to Patrick (?) Pratt in 1959. Not sure where it went after that. And, I do not have the Kurtz car. It is possible that Bill Peters did get it.

QUOTE=PeterMorley;1919382]Bob Engberg has mentioned the following blue Mark IIs.
>On cover of the SCCA's "Sports Car" magazine of May, 1958 is a photo showing an Elva which is listed as the MK II of Charles Kurtz. It was a dark blue and looks to be a MNK II B like the one of Rip Ripley.
>In 1959 Bill Peters bought a blue Mk II.

Don't know if Peters bought the Kurtz car or not, Bob thinks his car isn't the Peters car but it might be the Kurtz one.

This is the blue Kurtz car from the magazine cover - very similar to your Stelcher photo, but some differences like the larger headrest & headlights:



Pat Thoma's recollections are slightly confusing:

If it had a De-Dion how could it have an A-series rear end?
The diff would have been an A-series one in the Elva diff housing, but the output shafts would have been Elva parts, so fitting another diff wouldn't help.
The axle shafts in the De-Dion ends would originally have been Elva parts as well.
Maybe they made their own axle shafts from production components?

SU carbs were normal on early cars like Elvas, only the most expensive cars (or over budgetted drivers) would use Webers in 1957.

Does Pat Thoma recall who or where he bought the car from?[/QUOTE]

[ElvaMKII]

I did think that I had the Campbell MK II and said so on this forum. My belief was partly based on the fact that there's a hole in the cowl of my car at the approximate location shown in the photo of Campbell at Road America. Also, Berdie Martin told me in 2010 that he thought I had his car and that he'd sold it to Campbell. Berdie also said the car was "the first MK II" in the USA. I now think he was right but for the wrong reason. I have traced my car's history back to Dennis Brown's ownership in 1964 and have several reasons to believe Brown got his car from Hugh McPhail. I've discovered that the McPhail car was chassis 100/27 and it was the first MK II to be imported and raced in the USA. (The 1957 Sebring entries unfortunately never made it to Sebring). Dietrich raced it in 1957 but crashed the car at Marlboro, sent it back to Elva to be repaired, and when it came back (Dietrich said in 1995) he had sold the Elva to "someone in Buffalo" . That someone was McPhail.

QUOTE=ElvaMKII;2278461]Here are some photos of Frank Campbell, of Hinsdale, IL, racing his Elva MK II (MK IIb or III?) I think I have this car. He may not have been the first owner as my car appears to have been a MK IIa that was made into a MK IIb with mods to hood. Photos show the car at Road America and elsewhere in 1958-59. bobengberg@aim.com[/QUOTE]

[Rupertlt1]

Originally Posted by Rupertlt1

Some info about early Elva in Canada:

* Bob Rusznyak, Elva Mk. I

Listed here in Ontario, Canada:

G. Rusznyak, Elva Climax Mk. II

http://www.racingsportscars.com/cove...956-09-29e.jpg

RGDS RLT

[Rupertlt1]

Originally Posted by Rupertlt1

Connor Circuit, St. Eugene, Ontario, 20 September, 1959:
Elva Mk.1 of John Pace, Elva Climax of Ray Rockall.
(Plus two Elva Couriers driven by Bob Dyer and John Cannon.)

So we have two Elva Mk.1 cars at this event.

1st ANNUAL O’KEEFE SUNDOWN GRAND PRIX OF ENDURANCE
HAREWOOD ACRES, ONTARIO JULY 25, 1959

DNF FM John Pace/L.Cassani Elva Mk.1-MG, Laps completed 10

RGDS RLT

[ElvaMKII]

Originally Posted by ElvaMKII

This is a MK II (B?) owned and just sold by Tom Jones to Chris Patterson, son of Alan. Chassis 100/49 makes it a late MK II must was raced in California in ca. 1959 by Dan-San Abbott and then went to Jack (?) Hinshaw in early '60's. Found and marked period photos of the car at Revslib.stanford.edu.

Correction: the ex-Jones MK II's new owner is Chip Fudge.

[Rupertlt1]

Ed Licht is new on this thread.

Quoted from the splendid book "They Started in MGs" by Carl Goodwin:

Photo caption: Ed Licht in his red Elva Mark I, at speed at Watkins Glen in 1957 (courtesy of Ed Licht). [#282]

"By 1957 I was out of the Army and I started driving an Elva. Dominic Ravisi was a cam grinder I knew from Boston. He had an Elva Mark IB. It had an 1100cc Coventry Climax engine. He tuned it so it got 127 horsepower at 8700 rpm. It was very fast but it didn't have good brakes, only Triumph drums."

He raced car from 1957 to 1963: Bridgehampton, Thompson, Watkins Glen.

[Rupertlt1]

http://www.racingsportscars.com/driv...Licht-USA.html

Dominic Ravesi*

Looks like the photo is from 1961.

[PeterMorley]

French motoring weekly La Vie de l'Auto has a letter from Stephen Douezy, who has his late father's Mark 1 (1-100-23), writes that Anne Rochelle's Elva is a Mark 1B that he has recently restored (it must have been featured in a previous issue).
It had apparently been widened by 20 cms in the 70s or 80s to fit wide wheels and he says it is chassis number 100-42.
He also says that 100-23 was the 5th car made and that 100-42 was the 10th made out of 20, so he clearly hasn't understood the basics of the chassis numbering system.

[PeterMorley]

Just talked to Stephen Douezy who has 1.100-23 and rebuilt the car for Anne Rochelle, he confirmed it is the ex Francois Brun car 100-41.
They have rebuilt the Climax engine but have fitted a Ford 109E to make it more suitable for road & track day use.

[Rupertlt1]

Peter, Can you explain "the basics of the chassis numbering system." RGDS RLT

[PeterMorley]

Originally Posted by Rupertlt1

Peter, Can you explain "the basics of the chassis numbering system." RGDS RLT

They started at number 1 and continued....
So 100-23 is the 23rd car made
100-41 is the 41st car made.
By the time they made 41 they had already started making Mark 2s so an earlier chassis number like 36 could have been a Mark 2.

There are lots of gaps in the list of known cars which are cars that were either never finished, scrapped or are simply unknown at present.
Any duplication of numbers could be due to all sorts of reasons!

[Rupertlt1]

Norm Namerow of Montreal entered an Elva Mk I in the races at St. Eugene, Ontario, on 29 June 1958. He met with an accident at the Montreal M.G. Car Club meeting at St. Eugene on Sunday October 12th 1958 – “National Races” - I think driving the Elva.
RGDS RLT

[Rupertlt1]

P. S. Banbury (Elva Mk II Coventry-Climax FWA 1098cc) competed at Trengwainton Hill Climb, Cornwall, England in 1958 - April 6, August 3. (He had a brother J. B. Banbury who raced a Morgan Plus Four. They shared an Elva MkIV at Lydstep on 21 March 1959.) RGDS RLT