For Sale Elden MK10C FF AM 73-79

1973 Elden MK10C Racing At High Plains Raceway 8/1/2021

1973 Elden MK10 C Formula Ford, Chassis # AM 73-79        $22k OBO

Complete log books since new.  

Complete restoration 2019, include:

1) new lightweight body from Marchant Cox 2018, $1500

2) Total Precision Engine built in 2016, head rebuilt 2019.  All receipts and Dyno sheets available

3) New Ron Davis aluminum side radiators

4) Harmon Fuel cell built 2017, unused until 2019

5) Spax single adjustable shocks

6) New billet steel Imp rear stub axles from PA Motorsports 2021. This was a $800 upgrade

7) Frame was checked and Aluminum floor added.  

8) Many new rod ends, 

9) New gauges.  

10) Belts expire 2022

Complete setup sheets, 2 year old Hoosier VFF tires, Performance Friction Brakes, 

Spares are MK10C nose and old nose buck, used rear engine cover and carb snorkel, original brass radiators, one spare set of Weller wheels, 2 set of gears; short track and long track.  

Car was raced this past Aug 1 at High Plains Raceway and is ready to go again.

Reason for selling?  I have 3 more Eldens and need to reduce the collection.  I have done allot of research on Elden’s in the US and have developed contacts in the UK and US to support the restoration.  A registry of Elden’s in the US is on my web site:

https://lchrestoration.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/new-elden-register-by-me-version-1-version-1.pdf

Willing to help with transport for expenses up to 1000 miles.  

Ask all you questions. If there is a specific photo you require, advise.

Thanks for looking.

Jaques Dresang interview of Peter Hampsheir

On July 29, 2020 Jacques Dresang of “Kent-ish The Formula Ford Podcast” Interviewed Perter Hampsheir the designer of the Elden Marque. Take a listen to:

https://kentish.podbean.com/e/episode-10-peter-hampsheir/

Follow along with “Kent-ish The Formula Ford Podcast” for other interesting interviews. 



Permission granted by Jacques Dresang for the link.

2020 is a New Year. Let’s go Racing

I seem to procrastinate on updating this page.

Recap 2019

We raced AM74-5 most of the year at local races, Colorado and New Mexico.  In August we took AM73-79 to High Plains Raceway in Colorado.  When the Petronox unit failed in 74-5 we rolled out AM73-79 for its first away race.  The car did reasonably well. The handling of 74-5 is more unforgiving.  It seemed that the shocks maybe setup wrong or the bump steer is off.  The car was skittish under bumps.  Also corner exit understeer was more than I was expecting.  This was the first real test of the car and over the winter will research shocks packages and recheck the bump steer.

Big news!  The   Hewland gearbox that was lost in late 2018 resurfaced in November 2019.  It landed in Laredo Texas in a warehouse handling shipments into Mexico.  It had been switched with another pallet and sat there unclaimed for 9 months.  An employee in Mexico sent an e-mail to me and the warehouse stating the error and to arrange to contact me.  Over a few weeks I verified the freight was correct and had negotiate a storage rate less than the $5/day for a total of nearly $1500.  Eventually they agreed to a reduced rate and I shipped it back to me.  So now I have the original gearbox for AM74-5 back in the shop.  It still needs rebuild but that will wait.

Winter of 2019 we began the normal winter checks of the chassis, engines and gearboxes. AM74-5 was found to have a small crack in a rear bulkhead. I have raced this car for 6 years and even when I bought it I didn’t crack check it.  So I have decide to go down to the frame and refresh completely.

Last summer I had the frame of AM73-74 sandblasted a and bonded a new floor.  I am nearing completion of the restoration of this chassis.  I moved the new engine from AM74-5 to -74 and installed a fresh rebuilt gearbox.  AM73-74 was a MK10C originally and have decided to convert to a MK10B, front radiator with full engine covers and long tail.  Goal is to finish this chassis by June 2020 for testing possible race near the end of the year.

Activities for 2020 include races in New Mexico, and Colorado.  I have penciled in SVRA Indy and Mid-Ohio but need to ensure Am73-79 is handling better.

 

 

 

Update May 15, A late start to the season

Thought I would catch up with all the going ons of this winter.

Last winter I decided to take the blue 027, AM74-5 apart for refurbishment.  The original Farley engine was 4 years old and starting to show loss of compression and leak down.  Since Curtis has retired from the business I move to a local Colorado engine guy, Pete Christensen of Total Precision Engines, http://www.totalprecisionengines.com.

We decided on a new block and rods and pistons.  Total rebuild looks good on the dyno!

At the same time I shipped the engine I crated up the Hewland to go to Taylor Race Engineering.  Handed off the crate to the trucking company here in Santa Fe and on the way to El Paso to transfer trucking companies, the crate was LOST.  What?  How do you lose a 100 pound black tool box in 50-75 miles?  Learned a valuable lesson.  Insure your freight.  I didn’t insure and the trucking company was willing to settle the loss for 10 cents/pound!   Lots of phone calls etc.  Finally issue was resolved when Vice-Pesident of company admitted they lost and we settled on a value of a used Hewland gearbox.

I was able to take a spare Hewland and ordered the stub axles to convert it from cv’s to donuts.  Also that box was a 5 speed and I changed out the lay shaft to a 4 speed.

All of this took and incredible amount of time waiting for parts etc. I probably wasted to much time waiting for the trucking company to resolve the loss/claim.  Anyway May 8 the blue Elden was at Sandia Speedway for its first shakedown.  Mostly everything was okay but a nagging handling problem needs to be addressed.

Red Elden #53, AM 73-79 ran in a solo event last October.  When we unloaded it from the trailer found a broken rear stub axle.  The Hillman Imp axles are very weak.  So I went on a search for an upgraded solution.  The Lotus Europa uses the same axles and several ideas have been used.  Couldn’t find a supplier.  Finally found a sastisfactory replacement.  Still need a long term solution.

In the last solo event the engine would bog badly at launch.  Found timing way off.  At the first race the engine seemed weak.  I bought this as used low time engine.  But to make the story short, wrong jets in carb, timing off, # 2 cylinder down on compression and leak down on # 2 -18%!   Other cylinders at 1-2% leak down.  So sending the head to Total Precision Engines for a head rebuild.

So we are now waiting for engine parts.  Trying to evaluate the shift mechanism.  Went back through the u-joints and eliminated all slop.  But the shift 1st to 2nd is almost 2 1/2″ throw.  The rotation from 2nd to 3rd is nearly 3″.   My Van Dieman FC the throw is 1″ and rotation is approx 1 1/2″   So I’m looking to change if possible.

Next race is Sandia Speedway with SWMS, http://www.swms.org, June 1-2 and immediately June 8-9 at Pueblo Motorsports Park with RMVR, http://www.rmvr.com.  Goal is to take 2 cars to each race.

Will update after the June races.

 

 

1973 Elden MK10C First Day at Track!

Firts track day 2018

Today we got AM73-79 out to Sandia Motor Speedway in Albuquerque, NM for its initial outing following restoration.

We got this car from Tim H in Tulsa, OK back in 2013.  Jay Davis a previous owner of this car actually stopped and saw the car several years ago and helped with its history.

I ordered a new body from Marchant and Cox, minus the radiator shrouds.  Car ran good.  I’m worried about those small aluminum radiators in our heat and dry air.  It was 90+ degrees out and I limited rpm’s to 5500 and water temps sat at 90 deg C  and oil was 90 deg C.  So there is hope?

I changed the location of the shifter down an inch and it seems much more comfortable. Can’t wait to try AM74-5 (Falconer bodied) which has the same change.  Change was necessary as the sheet metal plate that holds the front end of the shift rod at the bulkhead was severely cracked  allowing excess movement.

So now into the shop for inspection and getting it ready for some solo work the rest of the year.  Maybe track time if things work out.

Larry

 

Aligning the Elden FF tools etc.

My shop has a very non-level floor, 3/4″ drop in 8′ in various places  So I built some scale holders that have leveling feet.  Each leveling pad is made up of 1 1/2″ angle iron I had around the shop.  I welded a tube on each corner that is threaded for 3/8″ leveling pad.  One half of the assembly has 3/4″ plywood with 2″ high density foam as a resting pad when you want the car off the scales.  The other half is for the 15″x15″ scale pad which is used for all measurements.

I then laid out on the shop floor the wheelbase/track of the Elden and marked the floor for the leveling pads.  Took a large level and established level on the Left Front Scale Pad and projected that level across the other corners.  Put a small level on each pad and iterated leveling the pad to it’s self and its other pads until all pads are level to themselves and all others.  Marked floor for future use.

One issue I had as I began to use this setup pad was that each pad assembly would move each time the chassis was lifted, the camber change would move the pads sideways.  Also I didn’t have a good point to measure and set the ride height.  So I added a cross brace to the pads and that eliminated lateral movement and reliable place for ride height.  Not gorgeous but cheaper than a full setup pad.

 

 

 

 

I grew tired of trying to align the Elden’s with the various wheel/tire combinations I have.  So I decided to build my own wheel/hub stands..  Took a 1/2″ plate Al 6061, 3″ Aluminum 6061 angle and 4 casters to build my hub stands.

 

I drilled various holes to allow the wheel center line to move in 1/2″ increments to simulate the various wheel diameters I may encounter.  The hub stand eliminates the wheel/rim and sets on the scale pads.  This allows setting ride height, castor/camber and toe much easier. On the center line of the hub stand is a 12″ bar I use to establish toe of the wheel.

Another problem I had was trying to locate the chassis center line and setting the track at that center line. Once I found the center line by measuring many different points of the chassis pickup points and using the drawings found earlier.

Elden FF Chasis Drawing

Then made a permanent mark on the top chassis front/rear.  I then took a 6 ft level-attached a 6 ft tape measure on the top of the level, and installed a pointer on the level at 3ft to indicate the center line mark on the chassis.  I then spanned the level across the wheel/hub stands to measure the track.  Using plumb bobs at the end of the level equidistant from the center line, adjusted the a-arms. This is difficult on the front, as the a-arms have a very narrow range to use and I found a pickup point had been bent.  The rear this was much easier to establish.

For more details on how I make this all work please write me a note and I will try to elaborate more.

 

Feb 2018 Update

Morning to all,

Thought I would take a few minutes to catch up where we are in the winter work on the Elden’s,

Elden #1,  AM 74-5,  is on the alignment rack, home made, to confirm last years setting and upgrade my measurement capabilities.  Below is a picture of my alignment setup.  My garage floor is not even close to flat, 3/4″ slope in 8′ in places.  So I took my Scale pads and built a pad holders with a roll off area behind the scale pad.

Shop alignment setupI also built my own hub stands to get the wheel assembly out of the way and allow a much more accurate surface to measure off of.

IMG_0948

I also broke down and bought some Suspension Geometry Software to help me understand the Elden suspension design.  I have chased under-steer all of my time  with this car.  Some of the issue is my driving style and maybe the shocks are not in the correct range. (shocks were valved for a higher spring rate than we are using now).

After conversing with MK8 Motorsports in UK, https://www.mk8motorsport.com/, I have begun to follow their guidance on setup.  This required a softer spring package than I was using and maybe the pickup points on the lower a-arms was incorrect.  So with the software I hope to get some Roll Center numbers, camber change  etc.

The hard part of the suspension geometry software is accurately is inputting 3-D coordinates for all the pickup points.  So working on tools to aid in those measurements.

 

Elden #2, AM 73-39, was found to a have a severely bent frame. That frame in is Colorado Springs with Tom B. to straighten.  Hope to have back in late February.  Then we will start over building it with all clean, polished etc parts. This will take most of 2018.

Elden #3, AM 73-79, has its new side radiators from Ron Davis Radiators in Phoenix, AZ.  It was a big challenged to plumb the radiator cross over piping and trying to ensure the driver is safe.  The radiator shrouds were from this car many years ago and were a challenge to fit.  Also with the cross over piping in the drivers compartment, the body parts and suspension are a bit more trouble to deal with than the front radiator cars.  So allot of planning and cussing takes place to fit everything.  I believe we are complete.

Next with Elden #3 is to  fit the front suspension, order shocks, etc.  The end maybe in sight!

Elden #4, AM 73-74, waits in the trailer for its time in the shop.  Unfortunately we have borrowed a few parts to further the other sisters completion.  One of the things we have had trouble with is front uprights.  In talking with MK8 Motorsports, they are now building Elden parts and have listings on their web site; https://www.mk8motorsport.com/elden-parts

I have sent them 3 damaged front uprights from my spares and they will attempt to repair or build new.  Give them a shout.

Will update the suspension work later.

Enjoy the Super Bowl Sunday!

Elden Formula Ford MK10 Chassis Drawings

I want to share a set of drawings I received from John S.  John sent me  the MK10 chassis drawing, Lower A-Arms for Front and Rear Suspension and the Rear Hub casting.  Thank You John, for sharing these valuable pieces of information.

PS:  Elden spare suspension parts are available from MK Motorsports in the UK: https://www.mk8motorsport.com/

and GMT in the USA: http://www.gmtracing.com/

Note: GMT acquired the jigs for the Elden from Pat Price Engineering.

Note:  Just got this from Peter Hampsheir.

Larry,

The differences between the mk8 are minimal.

After 1981 the weight minimum was increased by 50 Kg to allow for mandatory for extinguisher. The Mk8 was already under weight and so I decided to put the exrta in the chassis for strength. The main members were increased from 1″ sq to 1 1/8″.

SCCA roll bar regs increased to 1 1/2″ dia. Rear radius rod mounts went to clevis mounting and the engine Y frame was made detachable. The rear cross-member was raised to permit inboard brakes.

The original  MK 8 chassis drawing was left on train and was superseded by the Mk 10 drawing 10C1 in Jan 74. This was the last mk10 chassis drawing.

Regards, Peter.

 

Elden FF Chasis Drawing

Elden Formula Ford MK10 Chassis

Elden FF front Suspension A Arm drawing

Elden Formula Ford MK10 Lower Front A-Arm

Elden FF Rear Suspension A Arm drawing

Elden Formula Ford Lower Rear A-Arm

Elden FF Rear Hub A Arm drawing

Elden Formula Ford Rear Hub

Elden MK 7 8 9 10 11 Rear bulkhead

Elden MK 7 8 9 10 11 Rear bulkhead

 

Indianapolis Baby!

June of this year year we entered the Falconer bodied Elden FF, AM74-5, in the SVRA Open Wheel World Challenge at the famed Indianapolis 500 Road Course.  I heard there were 350 open wheel cars entered and by looking at the drivers meeting in the media center I would believe it.  There were FV’s to F1 cars.  Pro series and amateur entrants.  I met a few folks driving F Jr’s from Australia and New Zealand.  Cool!

Here is a picture of me in “027” on the grid in Gasoline Alley.

IMG_0383

We came well prepared and had minimal problems with the car.  But when we left NM we knew that the under-steer in the car was still to be worked out.  We are running 300 lb/in springs front and rear.  We have been advised to go to 275 Fronts and 250 or softer in the rear. Upon getting home we will order those springs and see if it helps.  Note for History, Elden #4 AM73-74 springs were 225# front and 180# rears.  They appear to be original.  So during the races I fought some under-steer in the high speed corners.  So I took my time to ensure not to interfere with anyone of the faster guys.

Also I guessed at the gears and 4th was okay but 1-3 were to low and was unable to use effectively, so left allot of time on the table.  I was so consumed on trying to drive, I decided not to chase gears.  But I have a better idea from other competitors what should be in the Hewland for next time.

So here is a video of the last race.

Next race is High Plains Raceway end of July.

 

Larry

 

 

Update 7/4/2017 Elden FF 73-79

Well lets update the world.  We received a new a new body from Len at Marchant and Cox in the UK:

http://www.marchantandcox.co.uk/m-and-c-moulds

The Elden was originally a MK10 C which had the radiators mounted on the side of the chassis behind the front wheels.  So that is what we are restoring.  Steve C was working in the shop and began moving all the “bits” from Elden 73-39, the bent chassis, and began installing into this chassis.

Engine is a 4 hour old, iron head engine built by Pete Christensen in Fort Collins, Colorado at Total Precision Engines.  This engine had a brand new 711M block and Scat crank.

http://totalprecisionengines.com/PeteChristensen.php

The gearbox on this Elden was rebuilt by Taylor Race Engineering many years ago and never even had fluid put into it.

http://taylor-race.com/

So before Steve C could get to far along I decided we needed to mount the body as the side panels cannot be removed without removing the radiators and suspension.  Many of the mounting tabs had been removed in a past life, so I manufactured new ones.  The nose structure, holding the nose cone, had been removed and lost.  So with the luck of having Elden #4, an very original MK10C, was able to use its chassis to mimic the nose cone box.  One change will be the removal of the battery from the nose cone location to another place in the chassis.

Here is a picture of the nose cone structure from Elden MK10C 73-74:

IMG_1016

New nose cone support structure on 73-79

Now a picture of the body mounted to the car.

IMG_1024

Still need to design some Aluminum radiators that will fit the radiator shrouds and mount to the side panels.  Also I am building a 20 gauge Aluminum panels to mount to the side of the chassis to separate the water transfer tubes from the driver compartment.

So anyway the work continues.