Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

A rather potent Seven turned up for the old lads lunch today. I have seen the engine in Bill McCurdy's shop and on his dyno many times, interesting to see it installed. In the first photo are Bill McCurdy, the engine builder, Carl Whitney, known for his Coventry Climax FW series builds, Bill Fralick and Bill Gavin, among others.

That's a lot of action under the bonnet! Love the front fenders!

What did this apparent monster show on the dyno?

1owner69Elan wrote:What did this apparent monster show on the dyno?

I don't know that I can recall the development history, it has been extensive. The swept volume is greater than two liters as it is built on a alloy block intended for Cosworth belt drive applications and the stroke is longer than normal for a BD. I recall early dyno runs at over 400 bhp but detuning for reliability and drivability has dropped the maximum power to something between 300 and 350. The cylinder head is quite special, it was one of the very early new castings made nearby in Connecticut in the eastern US before the whole business was sold to Dave Bean. The cylinder head has a special and very thick combustion face to deal with high cylinder pressures. It also gives a large unswept volume to moderate the static compression ratio. The block has the Nikasil bore finish rather than iron liners. There was an early cylinder wall failure on the dyno due to a casting void that went undetected.

That's still a big stonking mess of power for a little slip of a car like that!

May I drive it please?

I was asked to drive it that day as I was the one that fitting the engine and gearbox in the car. At 5"10 1/2'" I could get in the car, but could not put the steering wheel on! Oh well.

Bill Fralick