Engine Punk

Observe the Offy heads and ally manifold After a bit of a fallow period, we Candidi Provocatores pulled ourselves and our car together and entered the 2017 Exeter Trial. Binky had done a lot to the Allard J1 since we broke the offside halfshaft on Simms during the 2016 Exeter Trial. In addition to rebuilding the rear axle with the help and advice from Lee Peck, he had fitted an alloy inlet manifold and the Offenhauser heads made of a material our friends in the parish across the water call aloominum.  He also had the choice of a twin carb manifold but chose the single one for torque reasons and ease of adjustment. While the manifold was off he took the opportunity to adjust the tappets. These had been set quite wide for running in purposes and closing them up to the recommended 12-14 thou   made the engine a lot more lively. Previously, it was twice that as Rob was concerned about the fresh valve seats receding and burning a valve. The weather forecast was enc...

We had poor visibility most of the way After the wettest December on record, the going was going to be muddy for the 2016 Exeter Trial and as I headed east from Kernowfornia I could see great swathes of earth had been carved out by the water from the newly ploughed fields and dumped in ditches and roads and other vestiges of human infrastructure. This year starters from Popham were the first off and, running as No.109, your brave boys found themselves only 6 cars away from the front of the pack. Having been at the tail end of classic trials for a few years we were interested to see what the conditions would be like, especially on Simms, which seemed to get polished and sweaty as the day draws on. Although not cold with our cast iron cabin heater ahead of us, we got very wet even on the drive from Popham. I had given some thought to having a zip sewn into my trousers and jackets but I hadn't actually done anything about it. I was quickly reminded how my Hein Gericke jacket w...

Flying helmets are in this winter. Allard J1 is never put of fashion Now the mud has settled it's occurred to me that Team Robert's exploits in the 2012 Exeter Trial gave rise to  the best competitive result we've ever had. Subject to confirmation, we only failed two hills and found out later that one section was subsequently disregarded. But there were some highs and lows along the way and I don't mean the ruts on Marilyn - more on that/her later. My lasting impression is of how well organised the 2012 Exeter Trial was. Bearing in mind that the marshals, and officials are all volunteers, they did a superb job. The queues were short and the holding controls metered out competitors like a well adjusted carb. Although closure of some sections was a shame and meant we didn't do the competitive sections we'd hoped to do, it was entirely the right decision and kept the entry field moving in a trial that tested the ability of the organisers as much as the cre...