Engine Punk

And we're off, with a Mexican (or Illogan) wave (Photo : Sam Barker) I was really looking forward to the 99 th Land’s End Trial for 2023, 21 observed sections and 4 special tests sounded really good, with Class O machinery mixed in with the main trial. This was an especially enticing prospect after getting a Gold last year. Did I ever casually mention I got a Gold last year?   After getting around half the Launceston Trial, the Arkley-MG was running well, having been a non-starter for the Exeter in January . Binky motored down on Friday in the arvo and we set off for Plusha for in plenty of time for a yarn to two before the off scrutineering only to discover we had no working offside rear sidelamp. The harder we looked, the shyer the sidelamp became and then the brake lamps became all coy and went and hid as well. Adrian Booth waved us over to his Land Rover and he produced a circuit tester like the one I’d left at home and Matt Robson joined in with his meter as well. We soon...

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...

It's okay now but was suffered intermittent running faults from Christmas onwards Just before the 93rd Exeter Trial, my Arkley-MG (VT no. 151) stopped starting. If it stopped stopping and started, it would often stop. Sometimes it backfired like a rifle shot. At other times it would blow through the carbs. I had fuel. I had sparks. It just didn't wanna went. Until I solved the mystery, it seemed likely I would breakdown in the middle of nowhere until the electron pixies decided to come out to play again. the last thing I wanted to happen was to stage an involuntary sit in on an observed section during the trial so, after a conflab with Binky, we decided to withdraw. I think Binks had seen the weather forecast for the weekend. He didn't seem so upset. Meanwhile, I – who had not seen the weather forecast – put my name forward to marshal. HUGS in the dawn light at Crealy I marshalled frequently in the last century. Treworld, Hobb’s Choice, Warleggan, Crackington, Tipley a...

This Super Robin certainly has presence I've seen some remarkable three wheelers in long distance trials and two of them have been built by George Osborn. George campaigned his Reliant Rialtopless ( Vintage Thing No, 120 ) in MCC events for many years with a policy of continuous improvement.  Mudguards were secondhand items off an Ifor Williams trailer At the Powderham Show this summer I managed to have a proper look at his Reliant Super Robin. It's probably a Hyper Robin now, his latest investigation into how much fun he can have with some Reliant components. George's passenger, Celia Walton, usually gets out his side, rather than clamber over the zorst. The chassis is a standard Robin chassis so, as far as the DVLA is concerned, this vehicle retain its Reliant Super Robin identity. The wheelbase is the unaltered although it looks longer due to the two-seat cockpit being further back in the chassis. The 850cc engine is relatively standard, relativity depending on the obser...

Early morning start at Proper Ansome Cafe, Launceston. the bikes have already gone and the Class 8s are assembling to start. Simon Oates' Liege is in the foreground. This was the first trail for me in ages. During a very busy summer, I hadn't competed since the 2022 Land's End. Bouncing Graham Beddoe was in the Balkans for two weeks immediate beforehand and I was away to my elderly mother's for a few days beforehand. I aimed to get all preparation complete the week before but a late route alteration came too late for me to print out the full route card and we went off piste a couple of times. Fortunately, we soon got back on track and didn't actually run over any marshals. Early morning sunshine warns the Rickman Ranger of Team Robson, Nigel and Nicola Martin-Oakley's Saab 96, Kent Crashby's Coates Orthoptera and Greg Warren in his Escort After signing on at the Proper Ansome Cafe in Launceston, we soon went of course with the first route amendment but had s...