Engine Punk

Running as No.42 on the Saturday at the VSCC meeting at Wiscombe Park, RIP shows off its Morgan ancestry parked next to a slightly more venerable 1924 example. The RIP Special leapt out at me from the pages of John Bateman's Enthusiast's Guide to Vintage Specials . This book is a splendid sequel to John Bolster's earlier tome on the breed, entitled simply Specials , and features some weird and wonderful mechanical contrivances, all built with sole purpose of going fast up a hill. RIP is the minimalist expression of that Holy Grail, the four wheeled motorbike. Actually, RIP is a four wheeled Morgan three-wheeler. Possibly RIP's best view. Tailgaters are not a problem. That doped canvas is what I like best about the RIP Special and gives this little car its name. RIP is rakish For a long time I was given to understand that conversions of Morgan three-wheelers into mere cars never had the desired expectation of improving performance. Perhaps have a diff-less...

Question : which motorsport event has a higher death toll for spectators than for drivers? The answer is Le Mans. The photo (by Alan Mansell) was a bit of a clue. A higher percentage of drivers have died, of course. And huge numbers of spectators have descended on the Sarthe circuit over the years but this doesn't detract from the sense of occasion through being there. The 2009 event was my third time at Le Mans (previous expeditions were in 2004 and 2005) and I enjoyed this year's festival of motoring excess just as much as ever. Audi had been the dominant team but this year Peugeot were in the ascendant with the petrol powered Aston Martins having an outside chance. And after last year, in which Peugeot narrowly lost overall victory to Audi, the leading French diesel manufacturer was out for revenge. With the recent foul weather, I’m enjoying looking back to a fantastic event with some very warm weather. I would have liked a Morgan entry as they celebrate 100 years this year...

If things have been a bit quiet on this blog recently, it's not because I have fallen off the world. I went to one of the inspirations for the Wild Hunt, the Le Mans 24 Hours race and since then have been making the most of what is turning out to be a fantastic summer. This was the view from my sleeping bag of a morning - that's the Morgan of my mate Al parked in the Houx campsite within the circuit and in the distance are the tribunes around the start and finish line. Everyone was there because they were enthusiasts and we had a great time enjoying the atmosphere together. I felt very much like this during my time in this year's Land's End Trial. Of course, what I should have been doing at Easter was promoting the launch of The Wormton Lamb for this was published on the Easter Saturday but this was the very day that I was making my almost triumphant ascent of Blue Hills near St Agnes. At Le Mans I should have been promoting the Engine Punk thing and networking...

A Vincent-HRD A series engine looks even more purposeful in a Morgan (Photo : Jeff Smith) As a result of correspondence about VT8, the Vincent-HRD A series, I came across this device. It's the "plumber's nightmare" A series Vincent HRD engine plumbed into a Morgan three-wheeler. I'd seen a later Vincent engine in a Morgan for sale once and the combination - inevitably known as the Mogvin - looked just right and produced a very desirable piece of rolling sculpture. This device has something else again. It doesn't look so elegant but it has a knobbly, technical look that the later more streamlined Vincent engines don't offer. It was built by a chap called Harold Pass (I'd originally seen his name quoted as Howard) and the photograph above was taken by Jeff Smith at a bent sprint at Curborough on 29th July 1973. The engine depicted had already enjoyed an illustrious history before being fitted to the Morgan. St John Horsfall with one of his As...

It's probably nothing to do with this blog but Brian Verrall's A series Vinnie sold at Bonham's auction for £214,800. The estimate had been £125,000 to £150,000. I am ambivalent about this. I'm glad that such machinery is appreciated and this is a record for a British bike sold at auction. I'm sad that the original "snarling beast" is beyond the reach of most mortals. What a bike, though! This is the model that established the Vincent-HRD and Vincent reputations and a fine example such as this is undoubtedly of historical importance. It's a work of art and is priced as such. I'm just not sure how much use any machine will get if it's worth the price of a house. Around 50 are thought to still exist out of the 78 built, which is a pretty good survival rate but I think both these numbers are too low. They should have built more and how could anyone break one up? The Vincent Owner's Club has put together a register of the survivors and a ...