1955 Elva MKI

After leaving the Army following World War II, Frank G. Nichols acquired a small garage business at Westham in 1947. It was soon very successful and larger facilities were needed. He moved to a larger garage in London Road, Bexhill. He gained a love and appreciation for motorsports after racing a Lotus IV, which led to the commission of a racing special called the CSM. One of Frank's mechanical engineers was 'Mac' Witts, who had created an 'inlet over exhaust' conversion for the Ford 100E engine. In regular guise, the Ford engine offered 36 horsepower. With the conversion in place, which greatly improved engine breathing, horsepower increased. Frank may have had some racing experience, but his true talents were as a businessman. He recognized an opportunity to promote the 'inlet over exhaust' conversion and had it installed in the custom-made CSM.

His business sense told him there was a market and demand for sports racing cars, and soon the 'ELVA' was born. The name 'ELVA', for 'ell va', means 'she goes.' Frank chose to use the name after a friend watching the CSM perform commented: 'Elle va!' in French.

The Mark 1 was the first ELVA built for sale to private owners. They were given a simple ladder frame arrangement from round tubing, with the drivetrain sourced from the Ford Prefect. The steering was from a Standard Ten sedan, the front suspension was comprised of wishbones and coil springs, and a live axle in the back was located by a Panhard rod and trailing links. A three-speed gearbox was attached to the Ford engine. The early examples were given aluminum bodywork, but costs and delivery time had Frank consider alternatives. A solution was found with Ashley Laminates (later renamed to Falcon), who created a fiberglass shell of the alloy body. It was quick and inexpensive, and the entire body could be bolted and unbolted to the chassis very easily.

The Elva's were not sophisticated or complex, but they were inexpensive. They offered buyers with limited resources the opportunity to buy a race car and compete against the much more expensive Cooper and Lotus cars.

After delivering a few cars, receiving feedback, and proving there was a market for these cars, Frank and his team worked to improve the product even further. Soon the MK 1/B emerged, with the most distinguishable difference from the earlier cars being an ELVA custom-fabricated front suspension, employing tubular A-arms and coil-over shocks. Buyers could now select either the Ford or Climax FW racing engine, the three-speed gearbox, or a BMC 4-speed transmission.

Impressed by the MK1, Chuck Dietrich of the United States became the U.S. distributor for Elva, expanding the market and potential even further. All of the MK/1B racecars that Dietrich received were powered by Climax engines.

Roughly 23 examples of the MK1 were built, including 6 MK1s.

The Elva MK1 provided the team with the opportunity to learn and grow. The Elva's that followed were much more sophisticated and competitive.

by Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2020