1975 Elfin MR6L - Cars of the the MSC Tasman Revival F5000 Series
Another astonishing Elfin is the MR6L which was raced by John McCormick in which he won the 1975 Australian Gold Star Series.
The car went to Western Australia after John McCormick finished racing, then the major components were used in an Alfa Romeo sports sedan. Effectively the car disappeared!
Paul Trevethan, from Melbourne Australia bought the tub, the gearbox, the four corners and some suspension parts. “The guy I bought it off was Roger Seawood who had bought it to restore himself. It took us fifteen years to get it to the car it is today.”
“The car originally ran for a year with the Leyland engine in it but it wasn’t reliable because they weren’t able to develop it. So they put the Holden (Chev) engine in it and won the 1975 Goldstar.”
The Leland is 4970cc developed by Repco and is a full alloy block. “The weight difference between a Leyland block and a Chev is 2 or 300 lbs” says Trevethan. “It is significant as this car weighs about 700 kgs while the other Elfin MR8C’s (C is for Chev) weigh about 900kg.”
“This has a 3.5 inch stroke, alloy block. It is not an Oldsmobile block but very similar.”
“The engine came from McCormack but we had to get special heads from NZ. It makes 500_+ HP.”
What’s the difference between driving the MR6 to the MR8?
“The MR8 is like driving in an arm chair as it is a lot bigger. Speed wise there is not much in it.”
Trevethan is from Melbourne and prepares historic race cars at Broadwalk Engineering.
