This rough fiberglass body might not look like much, but it's actually a rare 1962 Elva Mk VI sports racer—and one with a storied history nonetheless.
Period-correct looks are ideal. Period-correct braking performance, not so much. To that end, we upgraded our Elva Mk VI with more modern brake master cylinders from Wilwood.
Fire burns just as hot if you are driving a vintage race car, so we fit our Elva Mk VI with a modern fire-suppression system.
After successfully constructing the passenger seat (by replicating the driver seat), we need to build an upper seat bracket so it can be mounted to our Elva Mk VI.
Why go through the hassle of fabricating a passenger seat for our Elva Mk VI? For authenticity, of course.
The Elva did not have an off-the-shelf option for a wiring harness, so this is what we did.
As it turns out, the new clutch system for our Elva Mk VI would, in fact, require some custom fabrication to fit properly.
Our Elva Mk VI is missing its clutch linkage. The good news? There's an off-the-shelf solution available.
After widening the driver's seat in our Elva to accommodate its driver, it's time to smooth out the rough edges and add additional layers of fiberglass for added strength.
The frame for our Elva Mk VI is just about done. One of the last things we need to finish, though, is creating mounts for the cooling system's header tank.
To ensure the chassis of our Elva can be correctly aligned later in the restoration, we first need to figure out if its frame is straight to begin with.
While we want our Elva Mk VI's roll bar to look as period-correct as possible, we'd need to make some concessions to ensure our sports racer is legal for both …
Here is our step-by-step guide on repairing fiberglass, featuring our 1962 Elva Mk VI project car.
When mounting a seat in a race car like our Elva sports racer, is it better to prioritize driver comfort or performance?
In keeping our Elva Mk VI as original as possible, we opted to retain its original fiberglass seat for the driver–with a few repairs and modifications so the driver could …
At some point in our Elva's history, the original front frame was changed. For our Elva to be as period-correct as possible, we set out to recreate the factory setup.
Our Elva Mk VI had all the evidence to suggest it previously had an oil cooler. The hard part, then? Recreating the original setup almost entirely from scratch.
Our Elva Mk VI needed an exhaust header, but with little reference, we didn't know what the finished header should look like. Thankfully, luck was on our side.
Our Elva Mk VI was missing both its original intake manifold as well as the twin Weber DCOE side-draft carbs that it once held. We had more work to do.
Our 1962 Elva Mk VI originally came outfitted with a combination of Smiths and Lucas gauges. Unfortunately, the original gauges were replaced sometime in the '70s.
The drivetrain is finally ready to be fitted into the chassis of our 1962 Elva Mk VI, but would it all actually fit?
No front engine mount? No problem. Here's how we built our own.
Need new bushings? Why not make them yourself?
Engine cradles for an Elva Mk VI aren't exactly an off-the-shelf part. Luckily, we found a friend who had one that we could duplicate.
Missing critical parts on your rare car? High-tech solutions exist.
Missing transmission mounts? Nothing some custom fabrication can't fix.
How hard is it to find a high-torque, lightweight starter for our Elva? Easier than you might think, actually.
Clutch technology has come a long way since our Elva first raced.
Need a flywheel? Fidanza can make a custom one.
More fab work for our favorite sports racer.
How to build a missing critical part.
Once we found the correct Weber DCOE cores for our Elva, we sent them right to Mike Pierce of Weber Carburetor Restoration.
The last part we need before we can install and dyno our Elva's engine? An exhaust header.
What does the perfect FWA engine for our Elva look like? Period-correct, docile and easy to use–both on and off the track.
Believe it or not, components for a Coventry Climax engine don't come cheap or easy–luckily, we had several resources that could help.
How to turn a greasy lump into a real race engine? Equal parts detective work and machine work.
We take an anthropological dig into the rear suspension of our Elva sports racer.
As if our Elva project couldn't get any more complicated, we soon found out our transaxle was not the Hewland it was said to be. Luckily, we got a tip …
In order to restore our Elva Mk VI's frame bushings as accurately as possible, we used a bit of modern tech for help: A 3D printer.
Most of the front suspension restoration went smoothly, but not without having to confront a lot of Whitworth British Standard Fine hardware.
Although early Elva Mk VIs came with drum brakes, we decided to restore the period-correct disc brakes currently fitted to the car.
Since we are confident the steering rack that came with the car is original, we decided to rebuild it instead of replacing it.
We turn to Aurora Bearing Company to help us find the right-sized rod ends.
What you need to do before sending those parts off to be powder coated.
We fixed the poorly modified brake pedal in our Elva.
Now that the body of Elva was put back together, it was time to focus on the suspension.
Even though endurance racing rules would have required headlights, our Elva MK VI, however, had its headlights crudely covered.
Although it was included with the car, the entire rear bulkhead needed to be reattached to the body.
Upon further inspection, we realized that the entire rear of our Elva had been crudely widened. Our next step, then, would be to restore the rear end to its original …
Even as rough as the body of our 1962 Elva Mk VI was, the frame was almost perfect.
Our Elva Mk6's body was badly damaged. We figured we'd better make some repairs before we got too far along on this project.
At first, we couldn’t find any period pictures of our 1962 Elva Mk Mk VI sports racer. Then we scored a big breakthrough, discovering the treasure trove held at the …
As we have had luck with Konis on both race and street cars over the decades, we were eager to retain the original shocks on our 1962 Elva Mk VI. …
While original, the steering wheel on our Elva MK VI was in pretty bad shape. In an effort to get everything up to concours quality, we sent it off to …
Finding information for our 1962 Elva Mk VI can be tricky considering how few were built. Despite that, we instantly started communicating with other Elva owners.
Media blasting away the old paint from our 1962 Elva Mk VI so we can properly restore the vintage fiberglass.
Before we can media blast the Elva, we need to carefully disassemble the car and keep track of all of its parts.
In this update, we track down crucial missing parts for our Elva.
In this update, we take our Coventry Climax engine to Savannah Race Engineering for a full race build.
We finally track down our Elva's storied history.
