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The MKII versions of Elf and Hornet arrived in early 1963. Not everyone picked it at the time, but the new cars brought the Mini range two major steps forward, first with the 998cc engine and second, better brakes, with wider drums, plus a bigger master cylinder.Now the little cars justified their extra price tags, with a performance increase (at no cost to economy in normal driving) that went beyond what an extra 150cc should have done in theory.
Not only that, but the braking system could cope with the extra urge. And the cars still had the extra internal style of the upmarket Riley and Wolseley names, plus that bigger boot, and better engine accessibility. It made them seem, if not a bargain, definitely a better buy than the standard Mini. One step down the chain, to a secondhand buyer, they were even better, with the price difference rather less
Hydrolastic suspension came in too when the mainstream Minis received it, in September 1964.
Elf and Hornet in New Zealand and Australia
In 1964-5 the Elf (and Hornet, very briefly) got the nod for New Zealand assembly, put together by Dominion Motors, at a £130 price premium over the basic Mini (£847 v £717 pounds). It appears none were assembled in Australia, though a few were privately imported from the UK to there, so they are a very rare sight on the roads.
In New Zealand the Elf was by far the biggest seller with its best year in 1965 when 695 registrations scored it a surprising 8.7% of the small car market. Sales continued well through 1966 (358), 1967 (299), 1968 (279), and 1969 (288), with a few late sales in 1970 amounting to 56. Its total comes to 1997, and there would also have been a few private imports, so probably just over 2000 altogether.
The Hornet was a very small seller with just 109 recorded sales and a few known private imports. The Hornet was only very briefly in assembly in New Zealand, while the Elf sold very steadily, with the sales noted above clearly justifying the decision a) to assemble it, and b) to price it above the Mini by around 18% in 1965, when full assembly started.
NZ Elf sales amount to a surprising 6.5% of total Elf production. With a good survival rate over here, I would not be surprised to find that there are more Elfs still alive here in NZ than anywhere else in the world, though one gathers more than a few are finding their way to Japan.
A Mark II, 948 cc, Riley Elf – registered 814 RFC – tested by The Motor in July 1963 achieved 75 mph with the 0-60 time much reduced to 22.6 seconds (although the standing quarter mile time was, oddly, only 22.9 seconds), fuel consumption falling to 35 mpg. Britain was going through a credit squeeze at the time, and The Motor commented on the Riley, which, at L574, cost L127 more than a basic Mini.
'Whether the extra items of equipment, performance and the prestige of owning a Riley are worth the extra outlay in these days of hardening economy, depends on your approach to motoring; if you want Mini virtues coupled with superior comfort, trim, equipment and finish, you should consider the Elf seriously.’ In January 1963, complaints that the Elf and Hornet were too slow were countered by the introduction of a new 998cc engine, which was quite different in detail from the 997cc Cooper unit. This engine had a bore and stroke of 64.58mm by 83.72mm – making it a much ‘squarer’ unit than that of the Cooper – and was resultantly better able to withstand high revs. It produced, in single carburettor, 8.3:1 compression form, 38 bhp at 5,250 rpm with 52 lb/ft of torque at 2,700 rpm. The extra 4 bhp and 8 lb/ft of torque over the 848cc engine restored the performance of the Elf and Hornet. It made observers wonder why, despite its revving ability, BMC had gone to so much trouble to build a different engine with virtually the same capacity as the Cooper. This was because there was ample spare production capacity for crankshafts of the new unit’s 3-inch stroke and very little for the 3.2-inch stroke Cooper.
Wide front brake drums and twin leading shoes were also fitted to the Elf and Hornet at the same time to cope with their increased performance. These models were then given a Mark II designation.
Finally, in February 1964, the arc of all Mini windscreen wipers was reduced from 130 degrees to 120 to avoid fouling the windscreen’s rubber seal.
In 1964 the Elf and Hornet were fitted with Hydrolastic suspension. The early Hydrolastic suspension was more conscious of outside temperatures and wheel activity than the makers liked to admit. This made them squeak as they went over bumps vigorously, although the condition was soon alleviated by a minor design change to the Hydrolastic damper valves.
The Wolseley Hornet (far left) and Riley Elf lost their exposed door hinges in October 1966, this Mk III example also featuring air inlets in the front wings (left) with horizontal slats operating in conjunction with the new fascia vents It remained only for safety bosses to be fitted to the forward facing door handles of all model in January 1966, following a bad accident in which a child was impaled, before a Mark III version of the Elf and Hornet was introduced in October 1966. These cars were of far neater appearance outwardly, having new concealed door hinges and the seams at the back of the body ground off for flush welding. The sliding windows were also replaced with conventional wind-up windows, which did not make the doors much thicker. The additional space was needed, in any case, for the concealed hinges. The outer door handles were also changed to a conventional push-button fitting employed on bigger saloons now that there was more space for the mechanism inside. Adjustable fresh air vents – which had been introduced with great effort on Ford’s Cortina – were also provided on either side of the fascia with a superior gear lever rather like that of the Mini Cooper occupying a place between the seats.
There were a number of changes in the electrical equipment, too. The old floor mounted dipswitch was replaced with a headlamp flasher, indicator switch and horn push on a single stalk on the right hand side of the steering column. The winking warning light that used to be on the end of the indicator stalk was relocated in the speedometer dial with high beam and ignition warning lights, and the horn was given a louder tone. Self-parking windscreen wipers were also provided at last. The speedometer, and the oil pressure gauge, when fitted, had metric markings added and instruments ere surrounded by new bezels to reduce the risk of injury in a crash. The seats on all except the standard car and commercial vehicles were reshaped to give better location.
The Riley Elf and Wolseley Hornet received all these changes except those to their rear styling and lighting, which remained the same as before, along with their distinctive radiator grilles.
By August 1969, the Elf and Hornet had been discontinued
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