Elva car quest success

Efforts to locate a genuine Bexhill-made example of a racing Elva have met with success.

A 1958 Mark III has been bought for the town museum and trailered down from Hull.

As yet classic "basket case," it sits in a barn awaiting both the cash and the team of ex-Elva volunteers need for restoration to begin.

"Bringing Elva home" has been a long-held dream for those working towards the creation of a motor heritage gallery for the town museum's new extension.

An appeal was launched last December with the aim of purchasing an Elva - last element in the museum's quest for the three vehicles which have made motoring history in Bexhill.

The museum had already secured the reproduction of the Serpollet steam car which won the 1902 Bexhill Motor Trials.

The trials were the first truly international motorsport event held in Britain. At Earl De La Warr's behest, his private seafront cycle track (now De La Warr Parade) hosted the trials.

French steam pioneer M. Leon Serpollet clocked more than 54mph in front of Whitsun crowds to record fastest time of the day.

The reproduction of his "Easter Egg" car - so called because of its streamlined shape - was hand-built and was the star of the late-lamented Bexhill 100 Festivals of Motoring along the parade.

The third element is Volta, the car built by students of St Richard's Catholic College in a bid to gain a class world land speed record for electric cars.

The team succeeded in 1993 with a speed of 106.746mph which, because the classification system has since been changed, will stand for all time.

Steam marking Bexhill's place in motoring history at the start of the 20th century, electricity marking its end-of-century contribution - all that was needed was a representative the mid-century impact made by the late Frank Nichols' petrol-engined Elva cars.

The Elva appeal fund was launched by means of attractive limited-edition coloured cards showing the original Elva Engineering works in London Road - now demolished - with two of the company's vans outside.

Already, cash has included a 500$ donation from the States by three-times Indianapolis winner Bobby Rahal.

Enough money has been raised to purchase the Mk III. More is needed if it is to be restored to museum standard, let alone to running condition to represent Bexhill at shows.

The Elva comes as a virtual "kit."

But though sorely in need of tender loving care, its Moore and Tye aluminium body, hand-crafted at St Leonards still looks "modern" despite the passage of half a century.

The whole car was remarkably advanced for its day. Lift the flip-front one-piece forward bodywork and wishbone independent suspension is revealed. Behind the battered bucket seats sits a neat De Dion rear suspension layout with inboard brakes.

A Triumph Herald engine is currently installed but the original Coventry Climax engine comes as part of the purchase.

Car designer and ex-Elva body-fitter Bob Curl was among the group gathered in the barn to admire the Mk III.

The Climax unit was designed to power fire pumps. Fifties car designers swiftly saw the potential of the advanced overhead cam design. An aluminium block meant high output was coupled with light weight.

A Mk III tipped the scales at under 8 cwtb- less even than Colin Chapman's rival Lotus Elite.

Bob said: "It's only 1100cc but it could get 130mph on the long straight at Spa. The Elite did over 120mph."

Newly-appointed museum chief executive Cllr Peter Fairhurst - the teacher who headed the Volta-building team - and John Betts who is heading the museum's fund-raising campaign were among the group admiring the Elva.

Tenders received for the building of the museum extension were higher than expected. A cost-cutting exercise is now under way to keep the Lottery-funded project to put the museum cotume museum and motor heritage under one roof within budget.

But it is still hoped that building work can start by Easter.

This means that restoration of the Elva must be geared to a potential July 2008 deadline to get it into the new gallery.

The Elva was sourced by Roger Dunbar of the Elva Owners' Club and brought from Hull by racing driver Bob Sellix.

Roger said the previous owner had bought the Elva in 1971 with the aim of adapting for use as a road car powered by the Herald engine.

Roger said: "We are now going to research its racing history before then."

Referring to the motor heritage galley project, he said: "There just cannot be a better way for the town to remember the Elva legacy and for future generations to learn and enjoy."

Julian said: "I think it is so important to get the Elva into that gallery because if we had not got it the motor heritage gallery would have been incomplete.

"The concept was always that would have the three different racing cars associated with Bexhill - steam, petrol and electric."