1969 Elden PH7 Sports Racer

History

This car is chassis #1 of three designed by Peter Hampsheir, one of the founders of Elden Racing Cars. It was built in 1969 for the new F-100 series set to start in England in 1970. The F-100 series was conceived by Geoff Clarke. Clarke was the well known founder of the Motor Racing Stables racing school at Brands Hatch in 1965. He and John Webb would go on to create Formula Ford, which of course became hugely successful.  The F-100 series was to be a full bodied, closed wheel, series to complement the Formula Ford series. 

Along with Elden, a number of other manufacturers built cars for the series, including Royale (RP4), Merlyn (Mk16), and others like Dulon, Nerus, Nike, and more.

The cars ran 1300 c.c. Ford Kent Crossflow engines derived from the Formula Ford 1600 engines. They also came equipped with Hewland four speed gearboxes. Due to their superior aerodynamics, their lap times were similar to period Formula Ford times despite running 300 c.c.’s less displacement.

Elden was still a fledgling race car manufacturing company in the late 1960’s before really hitting their stride in the early 1970’s. Near the end of 1969, needing cash flow, Elden decided to sell their three new PH7, F-100 prototypes prior to final completion. The buyers were Clark Sturgess and Mark Cole. 

Sturgess and his driver, Chris Lee, assembled cars #1 and #3. Lee drove this car, chassis #1, very successfully in the F-100 series in both 1970 and 1971. At that point the car was raced  under the Sturgess name. Mark Cole, then an editor of of Hot Car magazine, took car #2 and assembled it as a photo-journalism project. He raced it in the series in 1971. Car #3 was given to Tony Helder in exchange for his body design work on the cars. Car #2 is currently owned and raced by Kyle Shepard in the U.S. Car #3 is owned by Klaus Essig in Berlin, Germany. All three cars are currently active in vintage racing.

In the mid-1970’s, the Elden/Sturgess chassis #1 was exported to a broker/dealer in Kent, Washington. In early 1976, chassis #1 was purchased and shipped to Kansas City, where the new owner raced it to the Midwest SCCA Regional Championship in that year. In 1979, chassis #1 moved on to its next owner in Colorado. There it remained stored for the next 10 years. Thereafter it was sold and raced sparingly in historic racing from 1990 through 1994. In 1994, the Elden was sold and converted to SCCA C-Sports Racing, where it competed in 1995 and 1996. The car then sat idle until purchased by the current owner in 1999. 

During the 1999-2000 off season, chassis #1 was totally disassembled and completely restored using all new heim joints, fasteners, chassis panels, and suspension components as needed. The car also received an engine rebuild and paint. Thereafter the Elden was raced in vintage events and continually sorted and developed while substantially remaining in its original configuration.

In the 2009-2010 off season, another comprehensive refresh was performed, including an engine rebuild. The car has only one race weekend (2 hours) on this refresh, and has been stored indoors since.

Recent competition history:

Consistent winner in RMVR.

The car has won at High Plains Raceway (Denver, CO), Pueblo Motorsports Park (Pueblo, CO), Second Creek Raceway (Denver, CO), Hallett Motor Racing Circuit (Hallett, OK),  Miller Motorsports (Park, UT),  Motorsports Park Hastings “MPH” (Hastings, NE), and Denver Grand Prix (Denver, CO).

And the Elden has set 1600 c.c. sports racer track records at:

High Plains Raceway

Pueblo Motorsports Park

Denver Grand Prix

Description

The Elden is configured for B Sports Racing. It is powered by an Excelle Racing 1600 c.c. Kent Ford pushrod crossflow engine breathing through twin Weber 45 DCOE carburetors. It has a dry sump lubrication system and a rear mounted oil cooler. Internals include a steel crank, Carrillo rods, JE pistons, a ported and polished steel head with Rimflow big valves and a Cosworth cam. Spark comes from Crane electronic ignition. The engine is equipped with a lightened Tilton flywheel, Tilton 7 ¼ inch clutch, and Tilton starter. Available dyno sheets show 191 h.p. As mentioned above, the engine has two hours on it. The engine’s power is driven through a 9:31 Hewland Mk9 gearbox with Webster gear sets. 

The Elden’s chassis is a 1” square tube spaceframe design. The front suspension is double A arm, chrome moly, and the rear is also double A arm chrome moly with radius rods. The car is equipped with Koni coilover adjustable shocks and Girling disc brakes. The steering is rack and pinion, and the wheels are Revolutions, currently shod with Hoosier slicks. The car has a 7.5 gallon Fuel Safe fuel cell, which was installed in 2020, and the radiator is also relatively new at five years. The body is still in its original fiberglass, and is in great condition. The whole car weighs in at 1100 lbs.

Below is a list of work performed on the Elden in 2026 by Rick Cardenas at Blak Racing Enterprises:

• Rebuilt fuel cell mounting bracket.
• Installed new fuel cell.
• Replaced all 4 brake cylinders.
• Cleaned rotors and repacked bearings.
• Removed transaxle and disassembled, inspected and reassembled.
• Replaced clutch disc.
• Replaced pilot bearings.
• Inspected and lubed all CV joints.
• Rebuilt rear body mount.
• Reattached side pods using stainless screws instead of pop rivets.
• Flushed cooling system.
• Filled cooling system with distilled water and water wetter.
• Removed and cleaned dry sump tank.
• Inspected all lines, and replaced one line.
• Mounted oil cooler.
• Added 6 quarts of oil.
• Fabricated and installed new fuel system lines.
• Rebuilt both carburetors.
• Cleaned and inspected entire chassis.
• Reassembled and fired and warmed up the engine, checked that it went through all gears.
• Added gear oil.
• Added new battery.
• A new fire system was also added.

The seat belts need updating. 

This is an opportunity to buy a beautiful, rare, sports racer from the late 1960s/early 1970s (with distinctive 70’s characteristics, such as a McLaren resembling front and the Lola resembling side air scoops) at a price point tens of thousands of dollars below others in the 1960s sports racer market.

This is one of the original Elden racing cars, a manufacturer that would soon become the world’s largest racing car constructor by sales. Parts and support are also still available for Eldens, which makes owning a rare piece of history, chassis #1, a very doable thing.

These Elden Ph7 cars are also competitive. Here in the U.S. you can find chassis #1 and #2 regularly mixing it up with Lotus 23s, Elva Mk7s, and Merlyn Mk6 cars, and besting many of them. In 2025, Kyle Shepard raced his Elden at both the Monterey Pre-Reunion and Reunions. He also raced the car in the new Sports Racer Challenge Series with CSRG at Sonoma in April, 2026. 

So if you are interested in a rare, great looking sports racer, that also happens to be a bargain, check out this Elden. It is currently located in Texas. We are happy to arrange a viewing and test fitting for you. Just let us know. 

All vehicle descriptions are accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of writing. Corrections, and supplemental information, are always welcome. Buyers are responsible for confirming vehicle histories, condition, and authenticity to their own satisfaction prior to purchase. Motorsports Market is not the owner of the vehicle and assumes no liability for errors and omissions.

(c) 1996-2026, Motorsports Market. All Rights Reserved.

Photos

Questions, Comments, Offers?

Please Contact Us if you have any questions or comments, 

or would like to make a non-binding offer.