Today’s car is a 1963 Elva Courier Mk III owned by Kevin Ayres. Kevin races the car regularly and he has for 135 weekends since his ownership and he does quite well according to the info I found on line. The car was imported as a sports car and converted to a race car in 1989. The name Elva is a blend of the french words “elle va” meaning “she’s going”.
I photographed this car at the Queens English an All British car meet with an Auto Jumble held at Woodley Park, Van Nuys, CA. The car is finished in red with twin white racing stripes from the front to rear of the car with a black interior. It is powered by a 136 hp, at the rear wheels, with 1.8 Liter, MGB in line OHV 4 engine, 5-main bearings with a Weber 2bbl side draft carburetor that is mated to a 4-speed MGB manual transmission with 3.73 rear axle. Slowing this beauty down are disc brakes up front and drums in the rear. The independent front suspension consists of wishbones, and coil over shocks. The rear suspension is rigid axle with coil over shocks.
The Elva Courier Mk III’s were built from 1958 to 1965. The total number of Elva Couriers built is estimated between 500 and 550 units. The MSRP was $3,233.00. The published top speed of 108 MPH with a 0-60 mph time of 7.9 Seconds.
Today, Elva vehicles can be found at many historic and vintage racing scenes. Their agility and performance are still being experienced by drivers and praised by racing fans. What a great Car to take to vintage car races, British car shows, or Cars and Coffee events. Thanks for riding a long. Frank
