LOGBOOK: JIM JUPP

History: CSMA tarmac rally car Spec: 1275cc, twin 1¼-inch SU carbs, Cooper S running gear and twin tanks

Checking back over my notes I find it crazy that it’ s been a year since my last report on STElf, my MkIII Riley Elf. Some might find that frustrating, which I have in part, but it’ s been worth it so I could line up exactly what I want for the car.

Some key milestones have been reached in the past 12 months. Firstly, I have a replacement for the alloy John Aley Racing rollhoop that Don, the previous owner, fitted. A lightweight rollhoop sounds nuts, and it is, but it’ s a rare, genuine piece of history and I’ m glad that it has now gone to a good home.

I still wanted a rollcage for STElf as I hope to take part in track days. I opted for an off-the-shelf Safety Devices rear bolt-in cage, which is the same we fitted to the Bogus2 project that we did in conjunction with Mini Sport in 2010. It has a cross-brace/harness bar that mounts to the central seatbelt mounts. I want to keep the headlining so toyed with lowering the cage slightly but, after investigating, I’ m going to stick with the standard set-up and just fit

It wasn’t used in action, thankfully, but the aluminium John Aley Racing hoop certainly had period charm.

I replaced the remote servo a few years ago but it’s not going back in.

the headlining around it during a hot day. Even though STElf is a 1967 car, Elfs were ahead of their time when it came to one-piece headlinings.

The cage will be painted Damask Red, to match the bodywork, with some additions I am thinking of but more on that once confirmed. I want to keep the rear seats too but that does mean reworking the rear frame, as the Elf seat back covers part of the wheel arch and that' s where the cage will mount. At the moment I’ m toying with modifying the frame to be like a Mk3 Mini saloon type, having trial-fitted the cage with the help of a ratchet straps to squeeze it in.

The shell is ready to be taken away for bodywork. After a very frustrating delay, waiting for my turn, I’ ve found another restorer to do the work but, weather-permitting, the rolling shell will be off to the bodyshop soon.

My panel list is extensive and, in the main, BMH panels have been bought for the work, sourced from a British Motor Heritage licensed supplier. I’ll have to see if all the panels will in fact »

The dynamo controller will not be re-used.

The modified loom will be kept for reference. STElf has more filler than an ageing film star.

be needed as I’ m hoping the front panel, once stripped, can be re-used. The inner wings are scrap as they have been butchered by what looks like crash damage in the past when STElf was a CSMA tarmac rally car.

I think there are two options: cut up through the A-panel to release the front end or, if the old outer wings turn out not to be any good, then it will require complete wings and A-panels. Going by the state of the inner wings, the outers can ’t be original. I suspect the front panel is an after-market item too but I do have an original one that could be an option.

There are a few specialist panels that BMH doesn ’t make for the Elf/Hornet but thankfully M-Machine does. They supplied me with the boot floor repair panels, which are different to those on a Mini, along with some front floor sections correct for the MkIII Elf.

I’ ve dropped both front and rear

The SU fuel pump might get re-located or upgraded.

Thankfully, the rear subframe bolts were easily removed. With the subframe removed I could scrape off some of the underseal.

Removing the subframe gave me a better idea of the panels needed The radius arm, back in position and held in with a temporary piece of wood.

The Safety Devices rear cage will be fitted for additional safety during track days.

Ratchet straps help ease the cage into the shell, to pull the legs in. Sheldon’s rear seat fitted, to demonstrate my quandary about fitting the rear seat with the cage in-situ. Here you can see the original Elf seat (red) and Sheldon’s later type.

subframes out and removed a lot of the underseal with the help of an electric hot air gun. That’ll save a few kilos. There is still a little more to scrape off.

I’ m pleased to say that both front and rear wet subframes came out very easily, even the bolts that go into the problematic heelboard. The Hydrolastic has now been removed and replaced with temporary bits of wood, to keep the car moveable. Once it’ s on a jig, I’ll collect the subframes to work on them. I’ m planning on fitting dry suspension during the build-up.

I’ ve found some Hornet air vents which I hope to re-purpose as the old ones are shot where they pass through the bulkhead. Even though the general plan isn ’t to change much on STElf, it’ s not just the alloy cage that has gone. I’ ve decided not to re-fit the remote brake servo, which was mounted in the passenger footwell. I was very happy with the non-servo disc brakes I fitted to Subby, our Clubman Estate project, plus not fitting a servo removes another potential failure point.

The loom came out, eventually, and, having already converted STElf to an alternator, I think a more modernspec. loom will replace the original. I’ll probably source it from Autosparks. I’ll be keeping the old one though, purely for reference at the moment. This also means I can ditch the redundant dynamo control box from the loom, which was mounted on the inner wing.

I’ m really pleased with progress on both the gearbox, short engine and head; more on those next time.

Jim’s contacts

www.bmh-ltd.com www.m-machine-metals.co.uk www.safetydevices.com

M i n i 1 9 8 1 m o d i fi e d M o n t e b e l l o's R a m o n M i n i W o r l d . o f i s s u e 2 0 2 3 y u a r F e b r h e t f r o m A u t o m o t i v e D L P P h o t o :