Elcar information or parts?

Victor

E-mail me at StelvioGT @ yahoo.com, and I'll try and get you in contact with Mr. Locke.

Dear Victor,

Don't be discouraged by a tough project like that. It sounds like a great car! My grandfather had an Elcar, too, which he traded an aircraft for ( a Travel Air biplane ). I'm not sure of the model, but it was a 1926 cabriolet with a Lycoming straight eight. He had it until he died eighteen years ago, when it sold at an auction in South Hutchinson, KS. I remember that after he owned it about forty years he had it repainted and had a new top made. Somehow he found an older man to hand-fabricate the new soft top who had actually built them for Elcar back in the old days. When he tore the fabric apart for a pattern, according to my grandpa, he found his own name written on the inside, still intact. It's such an incredibly rare car { and now regarded as a Classic by the CCCA } that it would be kind of neat if a new body could be made. I know that would be difficult. I can't even guess what it would cost to have a custom-made replica of an original body made -- based on a surviving original. As I recall, my Grandpa Brown had it painted Turquoise with Black top and fenders about 1975. Best of luck. Maybe there's a body out there somewhere. Ivan Saxton from Australia knows about someone down there who put a body from another car (Rolls-Royce maybe) on a Twenties Elcar in the not-too-distant past.

----Jeff

Hi Jeff:

Great story! i always heard a lot of stories about a small world... but this one tops them all!. Thanks for your comments. Yes, it would be great to find a correct body or have a copy made of an original body but I guess that would not be an easy task. I am in no hurry to do it, but I have been getting information and pictures on woodies, and I did find a Franklin with Cantrel body that resembles a lot the chassis proportions, and does not seem that difficult to do, so I may end up doing that. If in the future a better body appears, a woodie would be easy to move.

Thanks again!

victor

Send me a mailing address I can reach you at ( via the PM feature on this site ) and I'll try to find a picture of our family's Elcar and mail it to you.

Hello,

My father-in-law has a 1928 four door Elcar sedan possible model L78 (or 75, not positive) with a Lycoming straight 8. He advised that the car is approximately 99% complete, missing cloth top and seat covers....pretty much anything that was fabric. He even has the original oil can for the engine (apparently there was a holder/compartment for an oil can that was attached to the engine). The vehicle was owned by a minister in Marion Indiana before purchased by my father-in-law. It is my understanding that the engine runs and has 18,000 miles on it. I would like to restore it before he passes but have no experience and would not know where to start. Any suggestions would be appreciated. How rare is this vehicle?

Thanks.

In the 1950s Ralph VanDine had 2 Elcar sedans,,,one blue the other dark red,,The blue one was the daily driver and the red was a very low milage car,,,Ralph and the 2 cars were last seen??? in Silver Spring Md,about 1969,,,Ralph also had Stanleys,,so someone of the steam crew may have info,,Good luck,,,Ben