Has anyone made an Elite raceworthy?

Howdy.

I've recently come across an Elite that's been sitting in someone's garage here in the States for quite some time. The previous owner has stuffed a GIANT V8 into the car & has done some interesting body work to the hood & front bumper area to make it fit. Having been in Southern California for the last 30 years, it's surprisingly rust free (from the parts of the chassis I can see), but it hasn't moved in years. I'm seriously considering purchasing it with the sole intention of turning it into a race car (still considering the nightmarish amount of work that will go into fabricating a tub and roll cage, but I'm particularly fond of the notion of racing such an odd-ball). Assuming this all works out, has anyone else done any sort of high-performance modifications to an Elite/Eclat?

I'm thinking stiffer suspension (maybe? haven't even driven the thing yet), wider wheels, *much* better brakes, maybe a limited slip diff, etc. Any suggestions on what will fit or what's been tried & tested? How 'bout what will break on the track (aside from the body panels )?

Thanks in advance.

Hi, I've got an Eclat2.2 which races successfully here in the UK when I can afford to race, it was the subject of an article in the LDC magazine "chicane" issue no 84, the car still runs a 2.2l 912 engine ang original Getrag box, but has uprated brakes, suspension,diff etc.
Regards Dan

eclat22 wrote:Hi, I've got an Eclat2.2 which races successfully here in the UK when I can afford to race, it was the subject of an article in the LDC magazine "chicane" issue no 84, the car still runs a 2.2l 912 engine ang original Getrag box, but has uprated brakes, suspension,diff etc.
Regards Dan

Thanks Dan. Aside from the chicane magazine, is there anywhere can I get more info on your car? Can I even get that magazine on this side of the pond? I'm specifically interested in the items you mentioned - brakes, suspension, diff (and maybe some other sundry items) - what they are and where you got them. In particular - are you running disk brakes all the way around? Inboard or outboard on the rear? Are you running a rear end out of a Lotus or did you source something else entirely? If it's still a Lotus rear end (and if you're running rear disks) where did you mount the calipers?What sort of options are there for suspension? If it's too much info for a forum thread, feel free to email me (assuming it's info you don't mind sharing, of course ). My email is this same username @hero.com.

The previous owner of the car in question claims that the motor he's using produces somewhere north of 300bhp, so brakes and rear end are pretty important topics. Currently, it's running stock brakes all around (which of course means rear drums) and a rebuilt Lotus diff, half shafts, etc.

For what it's worth, I would be running this in endurance races (between 16 & 24 hours a race). I suppose it may also be good to know that this is a MY1974 Elite.

Thanks again.

There was a black car that was raced in period. I'll see if I can find some references and let you know.

Hi Brian, Ive been busy but will try and email you in the next day or two with some more info. What experience do you have of racing and its class structure? I have a fair knowledge of how things work in the UK but none of how the race structure is set up in the USA. Before buying a car and spending lots of money to prepare it you would want to ensure its eligibility for the events you would like to run in! ie are cars allowed to run with non original engines?
Will contact you soon
Dan

I know that for the two series in which I'll be racing (I say 'I', but really I should be saying "we" as there's a team of us), engine swaps are not only allowed, but encouraged. We've been running our current car (an E30 BMW) for close to a year now. Myself, my team, and the race organizers are all concerned with safety - our biggest concern, in that regard, is fitting a roll cage & sorting the brakes. With that done, I have no concerns about the car's eligibility. Beyond that, we'd like to actually do well, so suspension, limited slip, wheels, etc. also start coming into play.

Thanks in advance for the info!

Hi Brian,

If you send me a PM with you address I'll send you a copy of Chicane 84 with Dan's car featured.

(maybe that will inspire you to join our wonderful club!)
Cheers,

Tim.
LDC Publications Editor.

We picked up the car over the weekend. What a piece of ... work! hehe

I also received the issue of Chicane from Tim (thanks again, Tim!) that has Dan's article. An interesting read, for sure, but doesn't have much detail on the car itself.

We didn't do a whole lot of work on the car other than to transport it across town & give it a quick once-over before getting to work on prepping our current car for the next race. We noticed the Lotus has a roll-hoop, which was reassuring, but still many questions remain.

If anyone has any information on how they've upgraded any of the bits and/or how they've fit a proper roll cage, I'm all ears (even if that info is a referral to someone else who may know; or another website that details this sort of thing). I'm a big fan of not re-inventing the wheel, so I'm trying to see what others have done before the hack saws & plasma cutters come out.

I have to say, I'm incredibly excited about this car. I have a feeling it will either be a force to be reckoned with or a complete disaster. Either way, the next several months will be interesting. Trust I'll be documenting it well, though I may not release any info until the car is done.

Brian, Did you get my email from early April?
if not I will resend it, when I know that you are getting the email, I can send you some rollcage pics etc
Regards Dan

eclat22 wrote:Brian, Did you get my email from early April?
if not I will resend it, when I know that you are getting the email, I can send you some rollcage pics etc
Regards Dan

I didn't. You know, I've been having problems with that email account being a little over zealous with spam removal. Would you please resend to my alternate address - again, this username(briank) @churchofbk.com

Thanks a ton!