Where do I start with a car I have owned all my adult life? It will have been with me 43 years in Feb 2017.

It was 2 shades of grey with a white roof, and a smelly damp interior, but I soon had it sprayed in Red with a White roof and pillars. I started out with a rebuilt 850 engine as the original had a holed piston. My dad and I built it with a gas flowed head, not very powerful but incredible economical.

I used it like that until I past my driving test, I then bought a 1100cc engine of a friend who had to scrap his rusty Austin 1100, usual rear sub-frame failing. I fitted the engine with some twin carbs from a MG 1100 and better exhaust with a Copper rear silencer box made by my Dad…sounded amazing but not sure about the legality these days !!

It then started burning a lot of oil so the engine was removed for a rebuild and the old 850 was reinstalled with the twin carbs and exhaust fitted…we then toured Wales, 480 miles on 8 gallons of fuel…as I said it was super economical.

I had the 1100 motor re-bored and balanced by Tony Blore Racing to 1150cc and fitted a gas flowed Cooper head with a better exhaust manifold and the big Single SU carb.. It went so well I could blow off 1275GT’s. ;o)

It still used a lot of oil but at least I was not followed around by a cloud… we toured Scotland in it, went on honeymoon to Cornwall, went camping in it all over the UK I finally insured it in my own name as it was in my Dads name for years…different times? I also took it over to the 1980 Le Mans race and toured Brittany.

In the early 80’s the rust was eating its way into the body, so after rebuilding a Moggy 1000 from scratch I decided to take the Elf off the road to rebuild it with a Semi Space frame… I read as many books as I could on chassis design and went to race meetings to see how they were put together (no internet then). It was not built to race just a quick light road car.

It took me 18 months to complete the build and bought a Short Stroke 1300ccrace engine from a local Rally guy complete with S/C gearbox and Webber carb… as I was building the car a work college came over to see it, he raced in Sprints and Hill climbs and once he saw the car famously said “You could Race this” the seed was sown in my mind…and I am still friends with Ken but he has a lot to answer for and not sure if my understanding wife will ever forgive him…lol.

When I finished the car (Photo enclosed) it was featured in Auto Performance magazine, it was on the front cover and also the main spread off the issue, it was a great feeling and an honour after such a long rebuild.

Later in the year I entered my first hill climb in Wiscombe Park and came last in class but the racing bug had already bitten, but after racing around on the roads for many years like most youngsters at the time it was a big surprise to realise how fast you had to drive to be competitive. I did a few more events that year and enjoyed the experience and gained a bit of speed in each event.

The Second year racing still failed to produce any wins but I started to enter the National midland events and the car started to get more well-known. I even entered the fasted 4 pot car challenge for Street machine magazine.

After looking at all the results for the year I realised it would be better in the bigger over 1300 class so looked at how to gain more power, I looked at 1430cc engines etc but I know I need a lot more power to be competitive. I wanted to supercharge the car but it was working out too expensive so the chap who sold me the Short Stroke engine manged to get me a lot of the Turbo parts from the British Leyland Factory and the racing Metro Turbos that Tony Pond raced in the BTCC’s. Turbo, head, Block, Dog Box etc.

I first ran the car at Pembrey and got my first award a 3rd in class…I was chuffed to say the least as the car was still running low boost. We then fitted a 15lb actuator plus a bleed off valve for even more boost and the car really took off, literally it was a real handful as it could spin its wheels in any gear on road tyres..”The Little Red Booster” was born. It was given that name by a fellow competitor.

We had a great summer racing and I won a several events and famously beat a SWB ex works Audi Quattro Sport in Gurston Down’s 100th meeting by 100th of a second. It was the first time I was clapped as I drove back down the hill, and luckily for me one of the lads from Mini Spares was in the crowed watching me. I was first in class in the Gurston Hill climb Championship that year (a few years later also won the best presented completion car for the year, a great honour as it was voted by the scrutineers).

The following year I was honoured to be inviting to the Mini Birthday at Silverstone by Mini Spares and was on the Stand …a great weekend was had by all, meeting Keith and all the guys from Mini Spares and a few beers in the evenings.

I was fortunately sponsored by Mini Spares the following year as the car went from strength to strength and won more events in my class and was 3rd overall in the Midland and Leaders championships…no bad for a car with the smallest engine in the class. Plus it was still a road legal car! I could beat ANY road car that entered a Hill Climb over 1300cc class; M3’s Cossies etc were no problem. Imagine running a car like that then being asked well what beat you? A 1963 Road Legal Riley Elf lol

Sadly the regulations changed in 1991 and the Elf could no longer race it was take off the road and stored away in my garage, I had to run another car and fitted a Turbo engine in a Cox GTM a great little car but had no real success due to Lotus 7 opposition, and sold it in 2 years. I then had a Family and returned to full time education to get a degree in technical Illustration.

I thought that was the end of the Elf and even tried to sell it about 14 years ago but with no luck. Thank god. So kept it in the garage but not knowing what I was going to do with it.

I rebuilt a house we bought and I did not race for 11 years but then bought and built a Nissan Pulsar GTiR and successfully raced and won my class in the Welsh and prestigious Midland championships in 2011 almost doubling my nearest rival points total I won 7 of the 10 events I entered and I was 9th overall in the biggest Hill Climb championship in the UK…Job done…well almost?

When I was developing the Pulsar I had it running about 300bhp in an early stage of tune and it was a real pleasure to drive with very very little turbo lag (it ended up with around 400+ but more lag) and I began to think if I could have this 300bhp power and response in a car half its weight it would be an amazing car to drive. But how? At the time my daughter started to go out with a lad running a classic Mini, and when he brought it around and parked it by the Pulsar I realised again how small the Minis is…and the idea started on doing a Mini again and that idea soon developed into “ Why not the Elf”?

So the Elf is going to return and I am in the middle of rebuilding it with a new up to date Space Frame and roll cage. It will be quite different from the first race incarnation but still with a 1300cc engine and Turbo… and also red again so “The Little Red Booster” returns. I have enclosed a pic of the car taken a few months ago but it has moved on since then. I have had it checked by a scrutineer and all is ok to proceed.

Unfortunately It will not be road legal this time, reasons for that will become clear when it’s finished as it should have an amazing power to weight ratio for any car no matter a 1963 Riley Elf. I hope it will again be in a few magazines again when it’s finished.

It will probably be the car I will finish my race career in, and not many can say they started and finished racing in the same car so many years after I started racing in 1985 and in a car they bought in 1974 @ 16 years old, it’s a car I will never sell it as it’s a part of me, I’ll just try to make it a bit quicker every year!

Regards
Phil Oram
(President of the Elf Preservation Society ;o)