Elva 200 Ford and BMC Formula Junior.

History

Update: This is a Formula Junior bargain. Ongoing research indicates that this car  may have early 1960’s race winning history in the U.S. with both Chuck and Suzy Dietrich, Chuck’s wife.

You can race the Elva at the Velocity Invitational in 2025, and the Rolex Monterey Reunion in 2026. Be a part of the Formula Junior Anniversary Series worldwide for the next four years and beyond. You can compete in the drum brake class and wind up on the podium at places like Goodwood, Silverstone, Lime Rock, Monterey, and more. 

This Elva is understood to originally have been raced by Chuck Dietrich in the U.K. in 1960. He drove the Elva to a third place finish out of 30 cars in the 1960 British Empire Trophy race held at Silverstone. Dietrich finished behind the Lotus 18’s of Henry Taylor and Peter Arundell, and ahead of Trevor Taylor and Denny Hulme. Dietrich also raced the car in the Stuart Evans Trophy race at Brands Hatch in October of 1960, but suffered a DNF.

In 1961 and 1962, Chuck and his wife, Suzy, raced an Elva 200 Formula Junior in the U.S. Race results show that the Elva was powered by both a Ford engine as well as a BMC engine. See the results below.

1961:

June 3, 1961: 5th Annual Lake Erie Invitational Sports Car Race. Suzy Dietrich wins FJ race in Elva. 

https://www.racingsportscars.com/driver/archive/Suzy-Dietrich-USA.html?cat=7&page=2

June 17-18, 1961: Chuck Dietrich wins the Road America June Sprints SCCA Nat. Championship Race in an Elva 200 FORD.  

https://www.the-fastlane.co.uk/formula2/FJ61_W38.htm

July 9, 1961: Indianapolis SCCA Divisional. 1st in FJ and 3rd overall. Chuck Dietrich Elva BMC, FJ.

https://www.racingsportscars.com/results/Indianapolis-1961-07-09.html

September 9-10, 1961 Road America 500. DNF. Elva 200 FORD.

https://www.the-fastlane.co.uk/formula2/FJ61_W67.htm

1962: 

Suzy Dietrich finishes 11th in the Governor’s Cup race at Marlboro in an Elva FJ

http://speedqueens.blogspot.com/2016/09/suzy-dietrich.html

Years later the Elva was discovered in the U.S. in Indiana. In 2005 a full restoration was undertaken. The car has since been campaigned in historic races along with two other Elva 200’s.

Only 20 of these cars were built, and there appears to be only three left in the U.S. The total number of remaining survivors is unknown.

Description

The Elva was originally fitted with a BMC engine. It was later converted to a dry sump Ford 105E engine (which was permitted in period). The car can be reverted back to BMC power without much trouble. The Elva will actually come with its earlier BMC race engine needing a rebuild if you want to convert the car back to BMC power.

The Ford engine has a billet steel crank, steel rods, forged pistons, steel main caps, ARP bolts and head studs, electronic ignition, and a lightweight steel flywheel.  It is also equipped with a Titan dry sump pump, and dual 40mm DCOE Weber carburetors. Cooling is handled by an aluminum radiator.

The engine’s power is delivered by a 7.25″ Tilton clutch through the VW four speed gearbox. 

The Elva is equipped with cast iron drum brakes at the rear and finned aluminum drum brakes up front. An ATL fuel cell is fitted inside an original-style aluminum tank. The harness dates are current and the car has an FE-36 fire system.

The Elva has unequal length A-arm front suspension, and independent rear suspension with coil over dampers all around. The rear suspension uses the half shafts as the upper control arms just like the Lotus 18 and Lotus 20 Formula Juniors.

The car rides on aluminum 15″ Elva wheels with good Dunlop L-series tires.  

Get this drum brake Elva 200 now to be ready to compete in the drum brake class worldwide. It should be an excellent, competitive, and bargain candidate to run at events like Goodwood when the drum brake FJ class returns there as a featured race. You can also keep it here in the U.S. and race it at the premier U.S. historic racing events from Lime Rock to Laguna Seca. 

If you need a quote to ship the car to you, either domestically or worldwide, just let us know and we can help. 

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) 1996-2025, Motorsports Market. All Rights Reserved.

Photos

Video

This video is from when the Elva was powered by a 1000 c.c. single Weber BMC engine. The car now has the same twin Weber Cosworth 1100 c.c. engine that you see in the Lotus 22’s in the video.

Questions, Comments, Offers?

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