Part Two ...
The 'Le Mans' Courier Story

The story starts with a US based Field Engineer (DAC) working in France who had a great interest in club racing. He ran a Healey 3000 with limited success but then he was competing against a field full of Ferrari 250's and E Type Jaguars, so this was hardly a surprise.

Richard (Dick) Osteen met with a fellow competitor named Ron Lutz, who talked of happy times with an early Elva Courier, and had even acted as an 'agent' for Elva Cars in helping to supply a few similar cars to U.S. personnel stationed in Europe. Early in 1963 it was decided that both Dick and Ron would each buy a Trojan built Mk.III Courier to enter in the 1601cc to 2000cc racing class.

The cars were ordered with the 1800cc MGB power units but these were given the full race treatment, which included increasing the bore to 2 litres. This was undertaken by Barwell Engineering in Leatherhead, as Barwell offered a wide range of tuning goodies and was the preferred tuning specialist as far as Trojan was concerned. Trojan also had to make special modifications to the Courier Mk.III supplied to Dick, as he is 6'7" tall and the pedal box; seat and steering wheel locations needed some revision. The cars were chassis numbers E1037 and E1042, both being ordered on the 11th February and were delivered on the 26th April 1963.

These cars raced moderately successfully throughout the season and Ron and Dick discussed the heady idea of entering a Courier in the 1964 Le Mans 24 Hour race. Their enthusiasm was such that Dick managed to relocate to join Ron at Poitiers and they set about organising their entry for this prestigious race.

As Dick had some influence with the organisers as a member of "Ecurie Le Mans", he managed to gently persuade those responsible that the special Courier (at that time only planned) was a suitable car to be added to the list of sixteen supplementary entries. The car would be invited as a "Voiture Suppleante" (Reserve Car) and in the event of enough of the 55 invited cars withdrawing, which happened for many and varied reasons, then they would be 'in'!

Ron Lutz talked with Trojan and BMC Competitions Department about supplying a car and suitable engines, and once the Le Mans entry had been accepted the project was underway. The Elva Courier Mk.4'T' Type was ordered on the 7th November 1963 and was ready at the end of January 1964. The car number E1137 was actually a rolling chassis with unpainted lightweight (two layer) body, but complete with the differential, gearbox, two engine blocks and umpteen special engine tuning parts.

The first job was to saw off the nose of the body with the view to improved aerodynamics, much to the chagrin of Mr Peter Agg, the Managing Director of the Lambretta-Trojan Group, who had contributed to the design the car. There was another reason, as Ron had persuaded Trojan to supply the incomplete car, without charge. The deal was for the car to obtain good Press coverage by running in this important race, and in that event Peter and his company would be very happy. However, if the car did not run, then it would have to be paid for, or returned to the Trojan factory. A similar agreement was made with 'BMC' over the engine parts supplied.

A team organiser would be required, and Chuck Foster agreed to help keep everything together to ensure that people, parts and paperwork were all in the right places at the correct time. Not an easy task.

A home was rented with a large basement garage plus a suitable side room for the engine builds, and various friends were recruited to help, as everything had to be done at weekends, or whenever the 'day' jobs allowed. Dick and Ron were involved in the electronics industry, but they soon found 'Red' Earl to help with the glassfibre work, and Jim Taylor was appointed as the automotive electrician. Tony Corrado produced the 'elephants toenails', or lamp covers, using the domestic oven to achieve just the right shapes with ingenious moulding and heating methods and great timing. Soon the nose was reshaped to everyone's satisfaction and all that as needed was some horsepower.

The BMC engine blocks were special castings with extra thickness around the area of the cam-followers. The standard pushrods would not survive the high revs anticipated, and so sturdier pushrods and cam-followers from a Buick V8 provided the answer. Again, a bore to 2 litres and Hepolite racing pistons were used, although it was also necessary to machine 1.5mm off the face of the blocks, while the induction was care of special Derrington inlets for the 45DCOE Weber carburettor.

A technical college in Angers was encouraged to electronically balance the crankshaft and flywheel assemblies as part of a class project. They did a wonderful job as both assemblies were balanced to spin, vibration free, up to 10,000 rpm. The likely maximum was to be 7200 rpm but as an addition engine safety measure, high output oil pumps were ordered from Australia.

The first completed engine was installed and it immediately blew off the oil filter housing. Next time it pumped up the oil cooler like a rugby ball and after much head scratching it was discovered that the filter bypass hole had been inadvertently plugged. After this and a few other minor maladies were fixed, the car made a perfect maiden run.

Although the car was supplied as a roadster, the team had decided that it should become a fastback coupe, and so a simple prototype hardtop was fashioned and fitted before the car was taken for a 'shakedown' run at the Monthlery circuit near Paris, in mid March.

The circuit managers were only allowing the oval, steeply banked 'Anneau de Vitesse' part of the complex to be used, but Dick took the car up to the maximum rpm limit and saw over 126mph. However, the project very nearly came to an early end when he experienced a rear tyre blow out at top speed, but that near disaster was avoided and the car returned to Jaunay-Clan for further race preparation. There was to be a two-day pre-race trial for Le Mans entrants on the 18th & 19th April .

It had become obvious that a higher diff ratio would be necessary to achieve the anticipated maximum top speed, but funds were getting short and there was still much to do. Ron then hit on the idea of forming a 'supporters club' and produced some very authentic Certificates, which were named 'ELVA au MANS'. Initially, twenty of the Certificates were printed and sold for $25.00 each, thus raising a very useful $500.00 and the new differential unit was purchased.

Within a few weeks the 'membership' had increased to nearly fifty supporters, but the team had spent $1300.00 already, with the need for an additional $1000.00 in sight. More friends of friends were encouraged to join. Other modifications included a very high-speed windscreen wiper motor, which would have plenty of use, and parts to facilitate keeping the prized differential at a reasonable temperature.

During the pre-race trials, the car performed well, apart from the need to watch the 'diff' temperature gauge which resulted in the need to install an oil pump and cooler, plus a rather unexpected problem from the thin, non-standard Courier bonnet. The top speed had been calculated at 150mph, with 145mph at 6500rpm, and Dick gave it full throttle down the Mulsanne straight, watching the revs pass the 6000rpm mark, until there was a loud 'whump' at around 6200rpm and the car slowed.

At that speed the bonnet had 'caved in' to produce almost an 'air brake' effect, but would pop back into shape once the car returned to more normal speeds. The local hardware store provided the answer in the form of lightweight aluminium tubing to brace the underside of the moulding. The rest of the weekend was uneventful, and having achieved everything that was expected of the much-modified prototype 'Le Mans' Courier, it was back to base to make the car look rather more respectable.

However, there was one important task, which was to fabricate a new 120 litre fuel tank, being the maximum capacity for an up to 2 litre engined car. This involved lots of thought in order to make the tank fit safely into the rather confined boot space, and the much neglected slide rule came in useful in calculating shapes-v-volumes!

Other detailing included the mandatory illumination of the race numbers, some bodywork flaring to cover the tyres sufficiently, and lots of bodywork preparation prior to painting. A cracked windscreen during installation created a last minute drama, which involved a train trip to Paris, where a new Renault Floride/Caravel unit was obtained. This screen was fitted upside down to give a greater 'rake' and better aerodynamics.

The car was then ready for painting in white with contrasting blue racing stripes, and once this was completed, the Courier was taken to the Le Mans circuit ready for the 'Pesage' or scrutineering on the Tuesday morning prior to the race weekend.

Although roll bars were not mandatory in 1964, the team had wisely fitted a hoop to the car, but as a result the 'F.I.A. Suitcase' would not fit inside the car as the rules required. After much discussion, it was agreed that the roll hoop would have to be removed, until a more senior scrutineer heard about the problem and declared in a voice of doom…'These boys are complying with the spirit of our rules on safety. If they remove the roll bar the suitcase will fit, but if they then have an accident… I do not want their blood on my hands!' So the bar stayed in place and the car was approved and accepted.

The team were now ready for the serious business of the three-day pre-race trials. Trojan Limited had agreed to send a helping hand, and the next day Arthur Rothan arrived. Arthur had first become involved with Elva in the earliest days, working with Frank Nichols at Bexhill and then at the new factories in Hastings and Rye, before transferring to Croydon after the full Trojan takeover.

Ron Lutz was the first to take the car on the circuit and soon returned complaining of severe high-speed vibrations, which Dick confirmed. The car was promptly taken for a full suspension alignment check, and the wheels were dynamically balanced, with limited improvements. However, an elderly member of the Dunlop Tyre Co. support team learnt of the problem and volunteered to help, and he mounted the wheels and tyres on a small stand, spun the wheels by hand, occasionally stopping to wrap a small length of soldering wire around carefully selected wheel spokes. The Elva guys were not exactly convinced, and with some trepidation took the car back on the track, but it was perfect!

Dick just had to thank the Dunlop representative for his help and commented on the fact that they had used the latest most sophisticated equipment to balance the wheels, to no effect. The droll response was "Ain't sophisticated equipment that solves problems son, it's experience" A lesson learnt!

The car was back on track and Ron tried to beat the mandatory 5-minute lap requirement, but was just outside the time with problems with the differential still overheating. His 5mins 2.9sec lap was not enough to qualify, and so Dick had a try and after a few circuits improved steadily to manage a couple of laps in 4mins 56sec (in excess of 160kph or 100mph). He achieved 132mph, but was still having to lift off at the end of the Mulsanne straight due to the diff temperature readings, and so later that evening a couple of 'mouse ear' air scoops were added to the rear of the roof and air was ducted down towards the offending unit. At the same time the hard top was lowered to increase the top speed. However, the next afternoon trials showed that the diff was still not running at the correct temperature, and with others dropping out, the team were now close to being accepted for the major event.

Practicing for a race like the 24 hour Le Mans endurance race would always be full of incidents, and Dick was flat out coming into the 'S' bends just before 'Arnage', when he came across scattered parts from a very broken Porsche 904 GTS which had been entered by a Swiss team. Threading his way passed the scene, he then picked up speed out of 'Arnage' and headed for the very fast 'White House' 'S' bends with brick built walls either side of the turns. The Deep Sanderson just ahead decided to bounce off the walls to ricochet back and forth with Dick trying to avoid the mini-based missile at about 130mph! The Courier survived and further thought was given to the diff unit before attempting the night trials.

The Ferrari team had refused a set of new Lucas quartz-iodine driving lamps, but the Elva team were delighted to accept the offer, and were perhaps the first team to use these lights at Le Mans. They worked brilliantly too! So, the night testing went well and on Saturday morning, Peter Agg from Trojan arrived in a BRG Trojan Mk.4 'T' Type Courier to inspect the troops and found that they were now the last of the supplementary cars not yet 'in'.

Everyone anxiously waited for the news that someone had dropped out, when it was discovered that a French entered A.C. Cobra was having difficulties in draining the fuel tank. This has to be done to ensure that officials can observe the filling of tanks, and thus confirm correct capacity. The Rules are very clear in stating that cars must be in front of their pits with empty tanks at 1.00pm, but the car was still in the paddock. The Cobra had not complied but was not eliminated, and so Ron Lutz and Peter Agg protested to the organisers, but in vain.

The Courier sat in the Paddock at 4.00pm when the race started, and the Le Mans attempt had come to an end.

Obviously everyone was dismayed and distraught at being so close to the race, and Dick found some consolation in working with Paddy Hopkirk and his 'works' MGB, although the fact that the Courier had put up rather faster times than the 'B' was best not mentioned!

One can only guess at how the race would have run had the Elva been able to compete, but it is more than possible that it would have experienced problems with the unsolved overheating diff. The ratio used gave the car around 70mph in 1st, 95mph in 2nd, 125mph in 3rd and an estimated 150mph in top.

For the record, it seems that the car was timed on the famous Mulsanne straight at 239kph, or approximately 149 mph, which puts it up for the award as the fastest Courier ever, despite the V6 Cougar, which would appear some five years later. Peter Agg was pleased that 'his' Courier had achieved that much, until he discovered that this was not quite the end of the story! Both Ron and Dick were hugely frustrated that they had not been able to prove the car under racing conditions, and also to repay all their friends and supporters by allowing them to see the car race. The Le Mans Courier was therefore entered in the 'Coupes de Paris' race at Monthlery for early September, and the Team invited everyone to attend. Except, it seems, Peter Agg.

Race line up - note banked circuit

The Courier wins

Having trailed the car to the circuit, a toss of a coin decided that Dick would drive, and with a standard diff ratio fitted, he put the car on pole position.

The car was quick enough to be 'protested' by the Paris Monceau Triumph team who were running two highly modified TR4's, but this protest was soon dismissed as the Le Mans approved stickers were still in place. The Courier easily won the race, almost lapping the car in second place, and Ron was then entered into a race with bigger capacity cars to finish mid field (10th).

A very successful day, which made up in a small way for the disappointment of Le Mans, until a less than happy Peter Agg telephoned to complain that the car was not be used unless it was paid for. He probably did not realise that the Courier had achieved an outstanding win in front of possibly 8000 spectators with the resultant glowing publicity for Elva, but it was reluctantly agreed that the car had to be sold and it went to another owner in the UK.

The 'Elva au Mans' team paid the BMC Competitions Department for one engine and returned the other block and spares. Somehow you cannot help feeling that both Trojan and BMC did pretty well out of the Le Mans attempt, due to the dedication and determination of two amateur racers and their friends, but both Dick and Ron experienced the thrills and terrors of driving at arguably the worlds most famous high speed motor racing circuit, in a car they had prepared to exacting standards. No mean feat, and not too many people would have been bold enough to make such an attempt in an unproven car with little or no financial support. A brave attempt indeed.

Where is it now??

Well the 'Le Mans' Courier was raced in the UK during 1965 and entered by Advance Trade Motors. It appeared at a Castle Coombe Test Day in June, at Brands Hatch in July and in the Martini race at Silverstone with Broadmani in the drivers seat. The car was almost certainly shipped to the States sometime thereafter. I did hear that it was advertised for sale just a few months ago (if the same car) but the present whereabouts is unknown. The green Courier Mk.III, which Dick Osteen drove before 'Le Mans' now has a home in California and is currently raced in 'Vintage' events by Heidi Dunn-Gilred.

The only other Elva to run at Le Mans is the ELVA-BMW GT160 coupe, which was entered in 1965 and driven by Sir Richard Wrottesley and Tony Lanfranchi. Sadly it DNF, but then that is another story…!