The Challenge
When I bought the Elan I had no interest in drag racing as I was planning to go rallying in my Anglia. However, I soon fell in love with Easy (reg ESE 59E :-) ) and the Anglia and rallying fell by the wayside.
Once I started increasing the power the obvious place to go to test was Santa Pod. Started off in the 17s but whittled it down to high 12s by the early 80s. Then I broke the engine and life got in the way for 19 years.
Although the power (168bhp at the wheels) was very good back in the 80s, shopping trolleys have more than that these days so a rethink was in order.
Eventually I settled on fitting a YB Cosworth engine. To that end I bought a wrecked 3 door RS Cosworth with a 400bhp engine. Stripped and sold the rest of the car for enough to make the engine free. However, I wasn't totally happy with this so, after a chat with Graham Hatherway (who was modifying my chassis), I talked to Geoff at Geoff Page Racing and we agreed that he would build me a 520bhp YB. I built all my Lotus twincam engines but that was some years ago and these are a little more complicated.
The chassis and drive train are designed for 650bhp so we have some leeway if I want to up the ponies at a later date (race fuel, nitrous).
So, what are my aims and aspirations? Well, the title to this blog is a clue :-) My plan is to build a UK road legal Elan that is the fastest in the world. A lot of supposedly road legal cars, especially in the USA, are technically classed as road legal but can barely drive around the block without overheating and have to run on exotic fuels.
My car will be able to cruise and run on standard (high octane) pump fuel and be able to pass the UK MOT without modification. This means road legal tyres, wipers, lights, etc.
With the BHP box ticked, I now have to transfer that power to the ground. To that end I have enlisted help from Graham Hatherway, Geoff Page and suspension guru Bob Buck.
What 1/4 mile time am I aiming for? Well, that I am keeping to myself as I don't want to become a hostage to fortune :-)