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1961 Elva Courier

Frank Nichols was the owner of a garage and the builder of the Elva sports car. The name Elva is French for 'elle va' meaning 'she goes.' Elva cars of Bexhill, Sussex was formed in 1954 with the intention of building racing cars and like many manufacturers of the day, production road cars were essential for providing funding for the race car program. The Elva Courier arrived in 1959 and was intended as a sports car designed for production class competition. It used a conventional spaceframe chassis, clothed in lightweight fiberglass and powered by either a 1500cc BMC B-Series engine as fitted to the MGA and MGB or Riley unit. The suspension was independent at the front by wishbones and coil springs, with a well-located coil-sprung live axle at the rear. Front disc brakes provided the stopping power.

All early Couriers were exported and successful wherever they went. In the United States, Mark Donohue won two SCCA championships in 1960 and 1961 in his Elva Courier. Next came the MKII which gained a curved windshield and the new MGA 1600cc engine and was available in the United Kingdom as a kit car.

The production of the Courier changed markedly in 1962 when the U.S. distributorship failed financially leaving a large shipment of cars held at the docks. Nichol was unsuccessful in his attempts to recover his inventory of cars and ultimately was forced into a partial liquidation of Elva. Production rights to the Courier were acquired by the Trojan Limited Company which moved production to Croyden, Surrey, and began producing cars designated as the Mk III.

U.K. buyers were now able to purchase the Mark III as a complete car. It had a box frame chassis moulded into the body along with a Triumph front suspension and rack-and-pinion steering. The closed coupe body was available with either a fastback or a reverse slope Ford Anglia-type rear window. Power was from a 1800cc MGB engine.

The Elva Courier MK IV was first shown in the Autumn of 1962 at the London Motor Show. The new coupe wore a fiberglass body and was equipped with an all-independent suspension and an MG engine. Power was from the 1800cc MGB engine while later models could be purchased with the Ford Cortina GT engine. The Elva Courier Mark IV T-Type fixed-head coupe was the final iteration of the Courier line and came with a Lotus twin-cam engine and modified bodywork which resulted in additional interior room.

The Elva Courier was acquired from Trojan in 1965 by Ken Sheppard Customised Sports Cars of Shenley, Hertfordshire. Production ceased in 1968.

The Mk I and closely related Mk II were by far the most successful, with production lasting from 1958 to 1961. Total production is estimated to be about 500 units.

by Dan Vaughan

Roadster
Chassis number: 100155

The Elva Courier was made in limited production between 1959 and 1962, with about 100 Couriers made each year. These cars were fast, well-built, comfortable, aesthetically pleasing, and well-balanced.

This particular example was purchased in 1966 by Butch Gilbert as a well-used race car. He then restored the car with the intention of using it in competition. The current livery is a tribute to Huffaker Racing and its previous owner, Paul Quakenbush (Lucky Duck Racing).

Drivers from 1966 on include Butch Gilbert, Dennis Peretti, Stan Rinne, Ron Middlebrook, Stu Hockman, Sue Quackenbush, Paul Quackenbush, and Wes Abendroth.

This 1500 lb. car is powered by an enhanced 1600cc MGA engine with a 4-speed close-ratio transmission. There are disc brakes in the front and drums at the rear. it has a fiberglass body and a Quaife MGA-455 ratio limited slip differential. Added features include a complete fire system and a pressurize accusump.

by Dan Vaughan

Roadster
Chassis number: 149L

Perhaps the only original owner Elva Courier MK II, it's simply remarkable because it never entered a competition - Elva Cars were in essence a focused race car manufactured founded by Frank Nicholls. He built Courier MK IIs in Hastings, on England's south coast. The Courier was fitted with an MGA 1588cc engine with an accompanying 4-speed gearbox, tube frame, fiberglass-bodied 2-seater sports car in the then-typical British style. Its 78 horsepower propelled the 1411-pound overall curb weight vehicle from zero-to-sixty mph in 9.2 seconds, and a top speed of over 100 mph. And should it have mattered, an average of 37.1 miles per (Imperial) gallons.

After World War II, Europe was ready to get back to auto racing. Many of the buildings and factories that had produced the engines and chassis before the War had been ruined or transformed into making military vehicles.

Club racing offered a competitive means for individuals to enter the racing scene and prove their skills while maintaining a level of affordability. Specialty vehicles were built that offered performance at a competitive price. Examples include Lola and Lotus.

In 1947, Frank G. Nichols left the Army with nothing more than mechanical skills and enough money to begin a business in a garage fixing vehicles. This proved to be a successful endeavor so he moved to larger facilities located on London Road, Bexhill. While there he became interested in racing. At first, he only followed the sport, and then he began racing using a Lotus VI and later a 'CSM'. His success in racing stimulated others to mimic his racing style and his machinery. To stay competitive and as a business opportunity, Nichols decided to create his own chassis.

The name 'elle Va' means 'she goes'. Nichols began producing formula junior cars and sports racers. The vehicles he produced were not confined to one city, or continent, but rather many were exported to the United States where they proved to be very competitive and captured many victories.

The Elva 100 series was powered by a BMC A-Series (Sprite or Mini) engine or a two-stroke DKW engine tuned by Mitter in Germany. The Elva became the first mass-produced British Formula Junior car.

The success of the vehicles on the race tracks and as a business prompted Nichols to expand Elva Engineering to another level. In 1958 the Elva Courier prototype was produced. It featured a ladder frame-type chassis with aluminum bodywork. This vehicle was a car that could be driven on the road, compete at the race track, and be driven back home. Even though these were hand-built vehicles, it was easy to manufacture, maintain and repair.

A 1500 CC. MGA engine and gearbox were used to power the vehicles. With this configuration, the vehicle was capable of achieving a top speed of 100 miles per hour and a zero-to-sixty time of 11.2 seconds.

With the success of the vehicle brought an increase in demand. A larger factory was built in Hastings and the staff of builders had grown to over sixty individuals. Assembly of a Courier took eighteen hours and approximately three vehicles per week were produced.

An unfortunate incident occurred when a shipment of cars was sent to the United States only to encounter problems. The distributor had financial difficulties so the shipment sat dockside in New York. The vehicles were unable to be recovered by Elva Cars and they were forced into voluntary liquidation. In 1961, Trojan Limited acquired the rights to the Courier and assumed production.

Trojan Limited revised the chassis, implemented a production line, and began mass-producing the Couriers. In place of the previous tubular chassis, a stiffer square section frame was used to make the cars more practical. An MGA 1622 cc engine now powered the vehicle; disc brakes were incorporated to add extra stopping power and the front suspension was supplied by Triumph. In an attempt to create more interior room, the engine was moved forward in the chassis. This caused handling problems and the vehicle suffered from poor balance. The Courier was losing its sports-car roots.

In 1963, the MK. IV entered the scene. Power was provided by an MGB 1798 cc or Ford 1500 GT engine. The suspension was enhanced by incorporating an independent 'Tru-Track' suspension. For the price, the performance was unmatched.

Trojan Limited began turning their attention to other endeavors and the Elva name was eventually dropped. Nichols continued to produce sports cars and was involved in projects with Carrol Shelby and Len Terry. Later he produced boats for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

Ken Sheppard took over production of the Courier and produced an additional thirty-eight cars on top of the 210 couriers produced by Trojan. Sheppard had a passion for motor racing and the improvements made to the Courier were evidence of a true sports car. The build quality and service were enhanced.

In an attempt to create the most versatile Courier and revitalize sales, prototypes were created using a Ford V6 engine. They were successful at creating a vehicle that had excellent handling and ample power but they were unable to acquire the necessary funding to sponsor their endeavor. This would be the final attempt at creating Couriers in the sixties.

Today, Elva vehicles can be found at many historic and vintage racing scenes. Their agility and performance are still being experienced by drivers and admired by fans.

by Dan Vaughan