Elva Courier MkIII Restoration Blog

One day I heard about an Elva which was for sale on eBay, and I went to look.  It was still listed in the “Racing Cars, not street legal” section.  There was no reserve and it was bid up to $500.  It was a real basketcase in every sense of the word.  It had no engine, no transmission, no windshield, top, or side curtains.  The body was separated from the chassis, and cut in 4 big sections, and a pile of other smaller pieces.  The chassis had been sandblasted and left to sit outside for about 10 years; no floors or outer sills were existent.  I told my wife I was bidding on the car, by email.  She responded, “don’t do it!” but it was too late, I had already won the bidding.

The car was delivered one night, a few months later, while I was on a business trip.  My wife called and said that there was a man with an Elva on a trailer and he said the Elva was mine; I had forgotten to tell her.  She was six months pregnant at the time, so I called a neighbor to help unload the pieces.   So began my longest project ever.

Someday it will look like Bud Byrnes' car