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Elfin's magic Mallala

Started by Ray Bell , Aug 23 2005 23:48

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21 replies to this topic

#1 Ray Bell

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Posted 23 August 2005 - 23:48

It was built as the Australian competitor for the Lotus 23...

Like the Catalina, which raced directly against the 22s in FJr, it was a step behind with the driveshaft being the top link in the suspension in Lotus 18 style. But it performed well and looked good.

Now we have a quandary... how many were built? And did they ever get updated by the factory with top links in the rear suspension, perhaps late versions that might have been built alongside cars like the Elfin Imp and some of the Monos?

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#2 Bernd

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Posted 24 August 2005 - 00:51

Why not ask the factory Ray. The company is alive and well.

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#3 Ray Bell

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Posted 24 August 2005 - 08:32

Better company here, mate...

And we have a Catalina owner in our midst anyway, he's bound to know.

Where are you, Brian?

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#4 Brian Lear

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Posted 24 August 2005 - 12:17

Ray

Five Mallala's left the factory between December 1962 and March 1964.

All had the Catalina type rear suspension which used the drive shaft as the top link.

All five cars exist.

A brief ownership history .....
S6311 Original owner Scuderia Veloce - fitted with Ford 116E engine
Current Owner Peter Goodwin (Queensland)

S6315 Original owner Brian Morrell - Fitted with Ford Consul engine
Current owner Graeme Henderson (Victoria)

S6316 Original owner Bryan Thompson - fitted with Climax 2.4 litre engine
Current owner Graeme Wright (Victoria)

S6317 Original owner Greville Egerton - fitted with Ford Cosworth engine
Current owner Brian Ax (New Zealand)

S6418 Original owner Henri Leroux (South Africa)
Current owner Shairon Beale (USA)

Brian Lear
Elfin Register

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#5 David M. Kane

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Posted 24 August 2005 - 12:52

Brian:

Photos of the car can be found at:

http://www.shaironbeale.com

Stephen Knox was the previous owner who bought the car back from Africa. It apparently was in a pretty bad state and he and his team undertook a massive rebuild. Since he too is in Australia perhaps he can share with you if he did the suspension change and if so his logic.

He can also tell what engine it had in it. When Shairon bought it in Sydney sight unseen and we had it shipped straight to New Zealand for the Southern Festival of Speed, it had a Lotus Twin-Cam producing about 130bhp, it was pretty stock. It now produces something in the area of 177-190bhp with a very broad power band.

The only other change we have made is having a custom seat done by Glen McDonald of Bald Spots Sports for safety purposes. He does the seats for the Penske IRL Team and most of the serious racers I know such as Duncan Dayton et al.

We try to maintain this car to the highest possible standard.

Shairon has maintained a Knotty Theme with her vehicles, the Lotus 22 is Knotty, the Elfin is Big Ears and her 1950s Golf Cart (matching paint to Lotus 22) is Mr. Marvel. Clearly this is about fun and passion. Cosworth, our 3 year old Jack Russell, loves to profile around the paddock in Mr. Marvel...yes, we are out of control.

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#6 Ray Bell

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Posted 24 August 2005 - 21:05

Thanks Brian...

The rear suspension could have been changed anywhere along the way... most likely in South Africa. Now David, if you want to see some nice Elfins, drop into Brian's place some day!

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#7 Pedro 917

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Posted 24 August 2005 - 22:16

I saw this Elfin ME5 - Chevrolet at the Nürburgring Old Timer GP a couple of weeks ago.
Does anybody know the story of this car? It was driven by Harm Lagaaij.

It qualified 4th on the grid but did only 2 laps.

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#8 Ray Bell

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Posted 24 August 2005 - 23:05

Originally posted by Pedro 917
.....Does anybody know the story of this car? It was driven by Harm Lagaaij.....

This car... specifically 'this car', right?

It was purchased as a real historic sports racing car and taken to Europe for the explicit purpose of fooling everyone.

Once in Europe, the owner converted it to a much more modern car using a wind tunnel, realising that because it was 10,000 miles away from the people who know and love it nobody would recognise that he was cheating.

Thanks for the pics... you'll find some more on one of the other threads, the 'Lola Limp' thread I think, certainly a F5000 thread that's been popular in the past week.

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#9 Ray Bell

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Posted 19 September 2005 - 21:42

Ya gotta say this is nice!

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#10 David M. Kane

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Posted 19 September 2005 - 22:01

I think Harm is a designer for Porsche? I thought I heard this when his Elfin raced at the BRIC a few year's ago.

Ray which chassis is this beautiful red Mallala?

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#11 Ray Bell

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Posted 19 September 2005 - 23:20

The original 'works' car... the one that won its inaugural race at Mallala in David McKay's hands and thereby named the model...

Driven thereafter by Greg Cusack under the Scuderia Veloce banner, went to Denis Geary and then the present owner has had it since about 1965.

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#12 Barry Boor

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Posted 20 September 2005 - 07:23

I have heard of this chap Harm before. I know it is O.T. but he bought and maybe still owns one of the wooden chassis Costin Nathan G.T. cars some years ago.

Source of info... Roger Nathan.

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#13 Hieronymus

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Posted 20 September 2005 - 09:59

This photo shows Henri le Roux's Mallala in action during the Cape South Easter Trophy sports car race in January 1965 at the Killarney circuit near Cape Town. I posted the same photo on another thread that deals with this race, but for the purpose of the Elfin Mallala enthusiasts, here it goes again.

By the way - from where the name Mallala???

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#14 David McKinney

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Posted 20 September 2005 - 10:28

Originally posted by Hieronymus

By the way - from where the name Mallala???

see post 11

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#15 Patrick Fletcher

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Posted 20 September 2005 - 11:39

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Hieronymus
This photo shows Henri le Roux's Mallala in action during the Cape South Easter Trophy sports car race in January 1965 at the Killarney circuit near Cape Town. I posted the same photo on another thread that deals with this race, but for the purpose of the Elfin Mallala enthusiasts, here it goes again.

By the way - from where the name Mallala???

[/QUOTE
and we get told off for not cutting the grass !!

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#16 Ray Bell

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Posted 20 September 2005 - 12:44

That being Shairon Beale's car... the only one of these cars I've never seen...

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#17 Hieronymus

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Posted 20 September 2005 - 13:52

1) Sorry, didn't see post 11.

2) About the grass...it is Africa, my good man. It looks more sterile these days, think the lot at FIA had something to do with it.

3) Perhaps Shairon Beale will enjoy this photo or some history on this car's life in South Africa?

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#18 David M. Kane

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Posted 20 September 2005 - 22:27

Shairon LOVED the photo!

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#19 Hieronymus

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Posted 21 September 2005 - 06:35

This is what I could find on Henri le Roux’s races in South Africa in the Elfin Mallala:

He contested the South African Sports Car Championship in 1964. The results I have:

-1st in Class B (2nd overall) – Republic Day Races , Kyalami (6 June 1964)

The race report mentions that, “Henri le Roux’s Australian Elfin Mallala with Cosworth Ford engine was most impressive and will certainly be a car to watch, though the final drive ratio was wrong and he reached peak revs early on in the straight instead of near the end.”

- Dnf (blown engine) – Royal Show Races , Roy Hesketh Circuit (21 June)
- 1st Class B – Border 100 , East London (13 July)
- 2nd Overall – Lourenço Marques (26 July)
- Dns (swallowed a nut in the cold air intake in practice) – Rand Winter Trophy , Kyalami (1 Aug)
- 3rd class B – August 120 , Roy Hesketh (23 Aug)
- Disq, post race for non-operative brake lights. Plug connection had vibrated loose – Van Riebeeck Trophy , Killarney (19 Sept)
- dnf (crash – broke rear suspension) – 7th Rand Daily Mail 9 Hour , Kyalami (31 Oct)
The car went well in the early stages.
- 3rd in Class - Rand Grand Prix , Kyalami (12 Dec)

He also competed at the Cape South Easter Trophy meeting (see photo in earlier post) on 9 January 1965. In the sports car race he won class A (5th overall).

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#20 Ray Bell

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Posted 04 October 2005 - 00:43

Originally posted by Brian Lear
Five Mallala's left the factory between December 1962 and March 1964.

All had the Catalina type rear suspension which used the drive shaft as the top link.....

Just spoke to Stephen Knox, the previous owner of the car Shairon Beale has now...

He says that the car, having been the last one built, had different suspension from the factory...

Brian, could you check Shairon's photos to see if the rear uprights are as for the Elfin Mono, which was in production by the time this car was built, was it not?

Yeah... I know... the rear suspension wouldn't have been the same as those early Monos.