new to the elf family!

recently picked up my first elf....a 1963, with the smaller engine. i am located in southern california...needlesstosay, most people out here have never seen such a car, haha.

is there a "go to" place for parts that is above and beyond?

do envy you for the good weather

must keep them rust free

nice looking elf

Yo Jon - very nice looking Elf.

is there a "go to" place for parts that is above and beyond?

Minimania sells loads of classic mini parts - many of which, of course, are common to Elf/Hornet

http://www.minimania.com/home.cfm

If you need body parts, you may have to send over the "pond" to get what you need

eg: M-Machine:

http://www.m-machine.co.uk/Parts%20Cat%20doc.pdf

anything else you could place a wanted on this site....chances are someone will have what you need - there is no better bunch of lads & lasses than on this site!!


Anyways - its a "welcome" from me

Very nice and welcome!

Is that Registration UCF OCF or DCF?

Love the period tax disc in the windscreen

Jase

its UCF.....so i guess its from CARDIFF? correct? if so, pretty stoked, been there before.....

drove it out to the hootenanny (http://thehootenanny.com/home.html) today, people loved her...all the other cars were american 50's.

question, you guys have any idea where to get the chrome guards for the bumper? im missing the rear ones.

thanks everyone.....by chance, anyone else in cali on here?

Welcome to the Forum. Enjoy. Nice tidy looking Elf you have there.
Cardiff is the issuing authority of CF
The bumper guards (we call them over riders) are difficut to come by and can be found on Evil Bay now and again.
We have White Buffalow from Lancaster, California and have Red Riley from South Carolina and someone from Taylorsville. NC
I'm sure more Elf/Hornet owners will pop up as the Forum grows bigger.

do i need "elf" over riders? or do any other car over riders work? thanks for responding everyone!!!

jon

Yes As far as we know, you need Elf or Hornet over riders owing to the profile of the bumper. There are many Elves and Hornets with out.

TONYELF wrote:Yes As far as we know, you need Elf or Hornet over riders owing to the profile of the bumper. There are many Elves and Hornets with out.

thanks...ill keep an eye out for them on ebay and whatnot..

jon

Yo Jon .. just did a snoop on our (DVLA) British Vehicle Registration site....it appears yours is a 1962 Elf (same age as my first one - now deceased) ::::::::

The enquiry is complete

The vehicle details for UCF 348 are:

Date of Liability 01 11 1991
Date of First Registration 27 07 1962
Year of Manufacture Not Available
Cylinder Capacity (cc) 848CC
CO2 Emissions Not Available
Fuel Type Petrol
Export Marker Not Applicable
Vehicle Status Unlicensed
Vehicle Colour GREY

Cheers

Alan

That is awesome news. I was wondering why the engine was the 800 cc. What does the date of liability mean? Last time registered?

You have your self a very rare (possibly as low as 20 left in the world) Mk 1 Riley Elf.

The date of liability is the date that the UK road tax is due, so it hasn't been on the road here in the UK since 1991. Interestingly it's not recorded as Exported.

Do you know the build date? A British Motor Industry Heritage Trust certificate will give you all the production records from the archives, when it was built and the dealer it was sent to.

http://www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk/shop/heritage-certificate/index.html

What interior does it have? Is it part leather with cloth centres or all leather?

Where would I find the build date?

Interior is original cloth/red leather, but the front seats cloth has been replaced. Rear cloth is original, as is cloth on the doors and rear window...it's definately seen better days. I'll take pics tomorrow and welcome suggestions...exterior has been repainted grey, but it's a "shinier" blue grey then the original grey. I was planning on having it repainted and repair some of the rust bubbles and get it back to factory grey...also, roof was painted grey! Need it back to white...

Where would I find the build date?

You'll need a heritage certificate to know when it was built, all they need is a chassis number and from that they will look up it's build records in the production books from Longbridge.

Jon,

As was suggested, for Overriders keep a watch on Ebay UK (Not Ebay US) http://www.ebay.co.uk/. Pay attention to the shipping requirements as some sellers will not ship to the US. It is always good to verify with the seller that shipping to the US is available prior to bidding. Expect the shipping to cost as much as the overriders.

I got my overriders from Somerford Mini before they ran out.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.

Jim

im going to do that heritage thing for sure.....

question (sorry for being so nieve...), my cloth is the leather/cloth....but why is this "1962 catalog" on ebay showing all leather (one color) seats? were there specific years that the seats were cloth/leather? or was this just an option?

bill773mini wrote:You have your self a very rare (possibly as low as 20 left in the world) Mk 1 Riley Elf.

The date of liability is the date that the UK road tax is due, so it hasn't been on the road here in the UK since 1991. Interestingly it's not recorded as Exported.

Strangely enough, neither is RRU328H, which I used to own and I know is also resident in Florida now (the owner posts here occasionally). However Jim Ferguson's black Elf is definitely recorded as exported!

asahartz wrote:

bill773mini wrote:You have your self a very rare (possibly as low as 20 left in the world) Mk 1 Riley Elf.

The date of liability is the date that the UK road tax is due, so it hasn't been on the road here in the UK since 1991. Interestingly it's not recorded as Exported.

Strangely enough, neither is RRU328H, which I used to own and I know is also resident in Florida now (the owner posts here occasionally). However Jim Ferguson's black Elf is definitely recorded as exported!

maybe just thrown in a container and brought out here "grey market". prior to 9/11, i believe these things were much easier to achieve....in the last few years, they have really cracked down. i had a 94 mini, and currently have a 2003 vespa px200e, both of which were obviously never imported to the states.

Hi Jon....Overiders...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Riley-Elf-Overiders-/250661540573?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3a5c9792dd

If you win & the guy doesn't want to send to the US, you may have him send them to me and I can forward no probs.

IIRC, my first (Mk1) Elf didn't have full leather seats but had the cloth insert in the middle section (including the rear seat). This I remember because my future M-I-L bought me some clear plastic seat covers for my burpday to keep the seats looking pristine. One really hot summer's day (remember those folks!?!?!) I got in my Elf sans shirt and promptly stuck to the covers...my fiance had to "wash" me off those covers...took about 2 hours....Ouch

Cheers

nice find! i had my settings to "worldwide", so didnt catch this one. i emailed the seller to ask about whether these would work on the rear bumper (maybe they are different from the front ones?) and shipping to the states...if he cant, i have friends flying over from manchester in august, and they can just bring them to me...but thank you for the offer!

drove the elf all over LA today....silverlake, beverly hills, west LA, temperature was great, like low 70's, not too hot.

oh, and yah, my seats are the houndstooth in the middle and red leather on the outsides.

you guys keeping your elves traditional? im leaning towards that direction....my friends took some pics today while out and about, ill post when they email them to me...

jon

superworm wrote:Hi Jon....Overiders...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Riley-Elf-Overiders-/250661540573?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3a5c9792dd

If you win & the guy doesn't want to send to the US, you may have him send them to me and I can forward no probs.

IIRC, my first (Mk1) Elf didn't have full leather seats but had the cloth insert in the middle section (including the rear seat). This I remember because my future M-I-L bought me some clear plastic seat covers for my burpday to keep the seats looking pristine. One really hot summer's day (remember those folks!?!?!) I got in my Elf sans shirt and promptly stuck to the covers...my fiance had to "wash" me off those covers...took about 2 hours....Ouch

Cheers

question (sorry for being so nieve...), my cloth is the leather/cloth....but why is this "1962 catalog" on ebay showing all leather (one color) seats? were there specific years that the seats were cloth/leather? or was this just an option?

From launch they had the half fabric seats and sometime in late summer 1962 they were upgraded to full leather facings, the fabric seats are now very rare. For god sake don't get them wet the fabric almost disintegrates! The date on that brochure will be for the last of the Mk1's, my old Mk1 Elf that Pat Link now owns is September built with full leather and the cantilever boot lid.

you guys keeping your elves traditional? im leaning towards that direction

That is down to personal taste and preference, but with such a very rare car it would be a shame to not keep it standard factory specification.

the fabric seats in the back are original and hanging on their last thread (no pun intended, haha). they are stained and some tears. the front seats had the middle cloth replaced with some sturdier cloth that has stood the test of time...the leather is in pretty damn good condition all things considered. the cloth on the side of the doors has seen better days. headliner is okay, no visible rips/tears. not prestine, but good enough.

you guys seen any original sunvisors/hardware for sale? looks like someone jimmy'd the driver's side one on. there is an original one in the glovebox, ill just have to screw it in.

jon

bill773mini wrote:

question (sorry for being so nieve...), my cloth is the leather/cloth....but why is this "1962 catalog" on ebay showing all leather (one color) seats? were there specific years that the seats were cloth/leather? or was this just an option?

From launch they had the half fabric seats and sometime in late summer 1962 they were upgraded to full leather facings, the fabric seats are now very rare. For god sake don't get them wet the fabric almost disintegrates! The date on that brochure will be for the last of the Mk1's, my old Mk1 Elf that Pat Link now owns is September built with full leather and the cantilever boot lid.

you guys keeping your elves traditional? im leaning towards that direction

That is down to personal taste and preference, but with such a very rare car it would be a shame to not keep it standard factory specification.

Jon,

On the Overriders on Ebay UK, if you are going to bid be sure you are not blocked. Sometimes the seller must unbock bidding from the US since it is not listed as a "shipped to" country. Bid a low amount first to test whether you are blocked. Otherwise have someone in the UK bid for you. Good luck.

All four of the overriders are the same.

Jim

spoke to the seller, all good, and i bid....worse comes to worse, i have friends coming over in august and they can bring them to me...

bmcelf wrote:Jon,

On the Overriders on Ebay UK, if you are going to bid be sure you are not blocked. Sometimes the seller must unbock bidding from the US since it is not listed as a "shipped to" country. Bid a low amount first to test whether you are blocked. Otherwise have someone in the UK bid for you. Good luck.

All four of the overriders are the same.

Jim

ordered my cert! i have the chassis (VIN), engine #, and body number! i was able to decipher my VIN through mini mania VIN cheat sheet....

so if my body # is FR 477, what does that mean?

thanks everyone for your patience with my stupid questions...

i have an appointment friday with a potential painter for the little guy....im going to start with the outside, worry about the inside later, since its nearly all original. right now, im more concerned with getting the paint a bit darker, back to original grey.

oh, i have original BMC touch up paint cans, i will take a pic in the AM.

jon

bill773mini wrote:You have your self a very rare (possibly as low as 20 left in the world) Mk 1 Riley Elf.

The date of liability is the date that the UK road tax is due, so it hasn't been on the road here in the UK since 1991. Interestingly it's not recorded as Exported.

Do you know the build date? A British Motor Industry Heritage Trust certificate will give you all the production records from the archives, when it was built and the dealer it was sent to.

http://www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk/shop/heritage-certificate/index.html

What interior does it have? Is it part leather with cloth centres or all leather?