WOLF IN ELF'S CLOTHING

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30936, 17 December 1965, Page 15

WOLF IN ELF'S CLOTHING

fHE standard Riley Elf is a pleasant, well-furnished little car with the usual excellent Mini handling and vef y good low-down torque provided by a flexible singlecarburettor engine. Acceleration is fair, but the keen driver prefers rather more. This week we tested an Elf that gives more in generous allowance: a Mullinsconverted Elf. The full cost of the conversion is £94 6s, and it indudes the Atting of twin S.U. carburettor, a Mini Cooper inlet ‘ free-flow exhaust manifold, a stage two recylinder head, and a Cooper-type camshaft, fax «A°LJ inclu<led “ th * * llocated to gaskets, fitting, road testing, and tuning.

Also included in the price is the lowering and stiffening of the hydrolastic suspension. A pleasant and well-made wood rimmed steering wheel was fitted to the test car, and

Driver Training With additional attention being paid to road safety these days, driver training is being considered more seriously. Not before time. As I have said before, I think plans to introduce driver training into all secondary schools deserve the strongest support, and would pay off handsomely 10 years hence. Three Sections Driver training can be divided into three categories: that for school pupils, that for instructors and police drivers, and advanced training far more stringent than the normal standard. I am sure there are enough keen drivers willing to try to improve themselves to make an advanced driving school worth while. All three "schools,” of course, could use the same training ground. Such a training centre should include a skid pan, shingle roads, gradients. adverse cambers, bad visibility intersections, narrow roads and perhaps even a water-splash. A hazard is much less dangerous if you have met it before.

Some Moves Some moves have already been made. The driving test has been made harder, although it may not be difficult enough yet The traffic department of the Christchurch City Council runs a traffic school, which is excellent in its way, but over-all does not go far enough. There is more to driver education than films and slides. Practical tests and practical experience, as well as demonstration, are essential. Not Interested

A major problem is the motorist who is just not interested in improving his skills —a car is simply something to get him from A to B with the least possible effort. This is understandable, but it does not really assist the work of the educators. The more enthusiastic person who has a real interest in improving his skill wherever possible is much more rewarding ground, but is probably less important than the "A-to-B” driver who takes little interest in driving unil he runs off he road or hits something. Worst Problem

Probably the worst problem is the incorrigible driver, who deliberately does

this costs £l3 extra, including fitting. The results of the tuning are impressive. Far from losing any flexibility the tuned Elf, is, if anything, a little more flexible. The test car would pull from as low as 12 m.ph. in top gear and would happily start from rest in second.

The maximum speeds in the gears are increased to about 30 in first. 50 in second, 70 in third and 05 in top. acceleration The most startling improvement, however, is in acceleration. Whereas the standard Elf takes about 21 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 60 m.p.h., the test car took only 12 seconds. Care has to be taken not to feed in too much power In first gear: a full throttle start left parallel black marks for more than 30 feet on a dry road surface. In traffic, the Elf is quite happy fa third or top. Either

gear win give good acceleration. In second, it is noticeable that acceleration increases slightly at 30 m.p.h.— this is because of the camshaft. Generally one notices only a smooth flow of power. Accelerating through the gears on the flat, the Elf s tail goes down, the nose moves up, and the engine roars smoothly and rapidly up to maximum revs. The car tends to veer slightly to the right on acceleration, and slightly to the left on deceleration. The Elf scuttles up hills very rapidly, accelerating briskly in third, where the standard Elf only just holds its own. When cruising, the tuned Elf is every bit as quiet as the standard version. On acceleration, however, it has a loud roar. On the test car much of this was because of the lack of carburettor air cleaners and silencers, which had not then been fitted. The car had. in fact, been

assembled only shortly before the test CORNERING The drum brakes are not modified, and are just up to coping with the enhanced performance. The lowered suspension makes the ride a little firmer, but not unpleasant The advantages show in cornering, when the tuned Elf goes round more smoothly and with less roll angle. The lowering, however, does not seriously affect the ground clearance, for the test car easily traversed the test section of unmade road. The features of the Elf itself have already been dealt with on this page, and the two main faults noticed were a vibrating rear-vision mirror, and that the driver's lefthand blocks all the view of the centrally-mounted speedometer. The gear-change in the test car was vague. The Mullinstune Riley Elf, therefore, is a rapid and safe road car with remarkable acceleration for its size, coupled with outstanding flexibility. It is suitable for either brisk driving or pottering around town.