Engine Punk

I'd wanted to see the Zetec-powered Singer Chamois of Nick Symons ever since I heard of the build On the morning of the 2023 Launceston Trial, the Arkley-MG ( VT No.151 ) burst into life but then stopped as I warmed it up. It had been playing up the week before, cutting out at low revs but then firing up again a minute or so later. At the time, condensation inside the brand new distributor cap was my favourite theory for not wanting to run. As the car warmed up, the issue seemed to go away. This time, however, it played dead for much longer. I checked for a spark but there was nothing and nothing at the king lead from the coil, either. This was a bugger because I'd been a non-starter for the Exeter Trial in January. After replacing a rather corroded distributor car and rotor arm, I thought I'd cured the poor starting and backfiring. Lovely MG J2 of Jon Moores, originally had 847cc but this time has a Duratec motor. Graham Beddoe arrived and we went through it again. Fault...

This is me getting up Simms! With Simon Knight (Photo : Pete Brown) To celebrate one a half tons of Vintage Things, - yes! 150 of them - here is my cheekily little Arkley-MG. It originally started life as a 1275cc MG Midget in 1973 but by the time I got to know it, over 20 years ago, it sported the bodywork of an Arkley SS and completely different running gear. My car stands a lot taller than other Arkleys The Arkley kit consisted of a new bonnet and boot moulding for careworn Spridgets. The man behind them was Modsports racer John Britten and I first read about the Arkley SS in Peter Filby's Alternative Cars 1979. Production began in 1970, with moulding produced by the Lenham company, and cars based on really early Spridgets needed a bespoke hood. Conversions based on post 1967 cars don't need a special hood so my M-reg example can use a standard Midget hood. (More of that later.) Arkley survival rates aren't bad considering that rust was the main reason they were converte...