1559 was the first Elite to be fitted with the newly introduced Lotus Twin Cam engine. It is likely that 1559 was chosen for this conversion as it had been residing at the factory since 1961, having been previously experimented upon with a modified differential mounting.
Articles about 1559
Components of #1559
Engine
The twin cam engine is the most significant modification to 1559.
Ample documentation shows that the installation was done prior to December 1963, which makes 1559 the earliest as well as possibly the only factory-installed twin cam-powered Elite
Differential
The differential housing is standard Elite, but the mounting was an experimental version based on the then recently introduced Jaguar e-Type. The differential is mounted in a steel subframe, suspended in rubber. Perhaps this was motivated by the incessant complaints about the “drumming” noises in the Elite cockpit.
Engine Mounts
This page describes the engine and transmission mounts fabricated to mate the twin cam engine and Ford transmission to the Elite
The CBU
A blog, of sorts, from the CBU restoration
Stephen C. Goss
AKA “The Smoking Gun”
The Missing Years
There are seven years missing from 1559’s history. Here’s what we know.