Elva - She Goes Far

[elvacar]

We are back - 350 miles later and not bad for a shake down cruise. I lost two generators in the process - As it seems that when the rpm gets close to 5500 for an extended period the generator does not seem to go for the concept. I am checking out the Control Box and building the bullet proof generator for next weekend.

First the Columbia Gorge Rally is next week - I realized this in the parking lot of the Organization Restaurant - R and R ing the noise and wondering where all the cars were parked. I will owe my wife.

The rain was torrential in spots coming down the west slope of the Cascades but it only lasted 10 minutes- We were soaked - Rain X to the rescue
Regular rain was handled by the weather equipmen.
without a drop

With all the excess holes sealed up top and side curtains - it gets quite hot inside


I was in good hands as my wife knew Jeff Gamroth's mother - Jeff being a key Porsche racer in the NW and aside from the digs about British cars and reliability - (I did however get my licks in stating emphatically that my car certainly would have contained German content in the form of melted down german tanks and ships). Jeff put us in with the brit car racing crowd and his mother put us up for the evening.

We went to the Rose Cup Races at Portland International as a consolation with a generator purchased the evening before form an old Bugeye racer.

At the track the Miata club gave us an award for best roadster

We drove the Columbia Gorge Highway on Sunday (Where Lotus does their US advertising) and had a blast -

Sorry no camera onboard

We saw a GPS Confirmed 110 mph with more pedal available on the open and unpopulated Eastern Oregon Interstate HWY

It was a great drive and then the second generator started to whine

So a real good shake down - the car has lots of HP and a resonable amount of torque. The suspension is sublime - a real treat - compliant and firm

The mixture is great at Sea Level and leans out at the top end here in the mountains at 5000 ft

Scott

 

[DrEntropy]

Very neat!

 

[Twosheds]

Sounds like you had a great trip!

The last sentence confuses me though. The mixture richens as altitude increases. In airplanes anyway.

 

[elvacar]

Embarassing to say the least

I won't let on what my day job is

The SU is supposed to compensate with the venturi size/damper system as the venturi only responds to the actual vacuum available to fix the jet position

I was losing power on a few mountain passes that felt (seat of the pants) like a lean condition and not rich -

It bears a closer look and a little experimentation - But a 3000 ft gain from the Columbia and a steep pass seemed to give the car a power issue it definitely did not have on a similar climb closer to Sea Level

"Precise Flight" Scott

 

[healeynut]

You know, the funny thing was early Hawker Hurricanes and Spitfires had SU type carbs which when you flew inverted or with negative Gs the dashpots fell open and motors stalled...

 

[JPSmit]

You know, the funny thing was early Hawker Hurricanes and Spitfires had SU type carbs which when you flew inverted or with negative Gs the dashpots fell open and motors stalled...

was just reading about that the other day, apparently they had to sharply bank the planes to the right before a dive or a roll to keep the fuel flowing. One of the few advantages of the Messerschmidts was fuel injection

 

[Silverghost]

It was a great drive and then the second generator started to whine

That made me think of this:

I was takin a trip on the Columbia Gorge Highway.
Toolin' along in my Elva Cabriolet
Jokin' with my rider and diggin' that there was no more snow.

Just as I said the car feels fine,
I heard that highway start to whine
And I knew that my generator was about to blow....

< edited to fit the circumstances of course! >

 

[elvacar]

Radio - We don't have no stinking radio - A heater was a luxury option. And you really couldn't hear one - it's the equivalent of having a radio on a sportbike

We have developed hand signals in the car for necessary conversation

Pothole Right - punch in the right side
Pothole Left - tug on the right ear

I'll take video it is probably pretty comical

It really sounds like half a Chevy big block - I get the muscle car guys to come over when the hood opens - they are really expecting a V8 of sorts

That must be one of the the fascinations with SP250's until the 2.5 liters is mentioned.

I got a whole lot of respect when an older guy came up and said that the Courier is what he wanted back in the day and he had to settle (his words and my sentiment) for a Healey 3000 as the Courier was out of reach

I am assuming used as the Courier new was just under a big healey in price

Car is slowly leaking oil in the garage waiting for another trip - seems like a bird dog waiting for another hunt and drooling on the floor

Scott

 

[elvacar]

Caveat to Big Healeys

I really like the way the Big Healey looks. I had a tri carb Mk 2 with 8000 miles and still wisps of Cosmoline on the engine, frame and grease on the wool felt washers for the rear handbrake cable connections (who knew they did that) and sold it for the princely sum of $23,000 after 1 yr sorting and a purchase of $8000. I believe they are one of the best made cars I have ever seen, the level of detail is amazing and they are still a car I will go out of my way to see. My father would love, as I would a 100-4 and I would not mind still having the 3000 in my garage.

But Colin Chapman was right to add lightness it is a unique drive to have a 1400lb car and a true 50/50 weight distribution. This has been and is addictive and the Elva is the car I kept for 25 years - while Porsche 911's (one), Alfa Romeo Spiders, Alfetta's (2), GTV-6, Healeys, Sprites and MGBGT's (3) have only left memories.

There is however here in Bend a nice 67 Sprite for sale black on black

 

[Twosheds]

I won't let on what my day job is

"Precise Flight" Scott

Well, I forgive you. If you're only a pilot, you are not expected to have the sophisticated technical knowledge an A&P has.