Mike's 1964 Elva Courier MkIV Build Thread!

[ELVA164]

It's my first update is a very long time, but an exciting one! :D

Bodywork continues on the Elva, with the inner fender installed on the left side, the left headlight bucket and bumperette area rebuilt, the left rocker panel rebuilt, the left pedal box rebuilt, and some extra "clearance" work done to the firewall to leave plenty of room around the Ford cylinder head.

Her face is looking more complete!


Some shots of the bumperette/headlight area:



The inner fender is feeling more at home!




Roughed out rocker panel:


The pedal box/firewall area, complete with custom catch bottle :P



Inside the pedal box, all new:


I'm collecting engine and gearbox parts as well which I hope to start building up while the bodywork continues! If anyone has a steel Ford 1500 crank, aluminum or lightweight steel flywheel, and/or a good used 5-port dry sump pump for a 1500 pre-crossflow, please let me know!

[flyboyx]

yeeeoooww!!!! yer gettin' there bud!

i just went through and read the last couple pages to refresh my memory on this. that bill of sale is something else. traded an alfa gulia? damn. i bet he wishes he had that one back.

[ELVA164]

I have the serial number, too, so I could track that car down next! But that would be ridiculous...

[quickervicar]

Any chance of me seeing this at the Watkins Glen SVRA event this year?

[ELVA164]

Any chance of me seeing this at the Watkins Glen SVRA event this year?

Unfortunately, no. Due to track repaving the SVRA event has been moved to late July this year, and we will be at Waterford Hills, MI for the English Ford reunion there. Hopefully we get the Cortina done in time for that...

That said, my goal is to finish this car for the VRG event at NJMP the second weekend of September, and that's twice as close as the Glen! It will be the Elva 60th anniversary celebration and will include an all-Elva race for the Mark Donohue cup! Pretty good incentive if you ask me ;D

[quickervicar]

Is it just this year the SVRA event is moved to July? The Watkins mailing made it sound like it might be a permanent change. I sure hope not.

[ELVA164]

Is it just this year the SVRA event is moved to July? The Watkins mailing made it sound like it might be a permanent change. I sure hope not.

I can't say for sure, but I hope not as well. Waterford has become one of our favorite events and I'd hate to have to choose between them.

[ELVA164]

Another small but exciting update! The left front fender has been revived!

The front of the rocker has been mostly re-formed as well, and a bit more progress was made on the front bumperette:


We also have the area around the door hinge almost completely rebuilt, with only a couple small patches left!


My hope is to remove the various aluminum patches from the rear firewall tomorrow so we can make it one smooth fiberglass piece, and it sounds like I might get my first chance to do some fiberglass of my own! :D

[flyboyx]

its gooey and sticky and generally a pain in the butt. good skill to have though. it gets easier the more you do it.

[ELVA164]

its gooey and sticky and generally a pain in the butt. good skill to have though. it gets easier the more you do it.

Yeah, I'd really like to get some practice in since almost every car we work on has a fiberglass body. The bonus is I can screw this car up without worrying about pissing a customer off!

I've been warned of itches for days, though...

[flyboyx]

it depends on which type you use. the woven matt isn't too bad until you start sanding it. i always try to wear rubber gloves while i am working with the resin, but the problem is you always end up with the resin on your gloves, then the fibers stick to your fingers and you find yourself trying to work with "zz top" bearded hands.

[ELVA164]

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Got a bit more work done on the Courier today, although I didn't get to the fiberglass like I'd hoped. Looks like that will be tomorrow.

When I arrived, I discovered some progress around the front fender, door hinge, and rear of the door opening:




The hinge bolts are now welded in, which should make installation and removal a lot more possible in the future.

Today I removed all the dumb aluminum panels which had been installed to cover various holes and breaks in the fiberglass on the rear firewall and transmission tunnel:




It appears "grab the scrap aluminum" was the go-to fix for some previous owner...

Tomorrow should be fiberglass day! I think I'll be working on gluing the inner fender to the outer one, but we will see.

[craz azn]

Awesome progress! Keep up the good work dude!

[ELVA164]

Another update! :D

Today was my first experience with fiberglass, something I feel is almost prerequisite to working with vintage British race cars. I focused on the area inside the left front fender, attaching the inner fender to the outer. I took a few "before" pictures as a point of comparison:




I also did some small smoothing out of the area between the hood and the headlight:



Here are the results of about three hours' work:





This picture is the rear of the fender well, it's kind of hard to tell by itself:

This is the small patch made just in front of the suspension tower:


I forgot the "after" pictures of the outside, but I'll get those sometime soon!

I was pretty happy with my first effort, with only one air pocket and minimal sloppiness. The most important thing I learned? More gloves = less sadness.

[ELVA164]

Not an update per se, but some exciting finds! :D

First, I found a good used Titan 5-port dry sump oil pump:



I also found an awesome std/std forged 6-bolt crankshaft, good for 8,000rpm (more than I'll use, of course)!



And I took some time after work to clear a bench and get ready to assemble my gearbox with Dad! I have a few parts there now, with a bunch more to move: