Engine Punk

Spotted at Jamaica Inn (Photo : Roger Holland) Regular followers of Engine Punk may remember I recently wondered if an Austin 10 saloon I'd spotted years ago at Wadebridge show ground was still around. The DVLA website showed no records could be found so it looked as if this venerable motor car was no longer extant. However, a chance remark from a neighbour today revealed it is still with us and in running condition. He went to a legendary hostelry in the middle of Bodmin Moor with his wife (she went on her own accord) and took some photos of the old cars there expressly to show me later. Imagine my surprise when he showed me this image. I recognised the radiator immediately and the colour scheme was as I'd remembered. Checking its registration number revealed it to be the same as that Austin 10 saloon I'd snapped at Wadebridge all those years ago. I hope it turns up at a show this summer so I can see it again. My question remains - is this a sports saloon version of the Au...

The cover depicted here may not be what you get. Do let me know what comes in the post if you order one. The Horsepower Whisperer and The Wormton Lamb are still available on Amazon but I am re-launching both books with new covers. This is because I have finished writing the rest of the Soul Trader trilogy and will be gradually releasing two new books that continue the misadventures of Hob the Horsepower Whisperer and his chumrades. If anyone orders hard copies of either The Horsepower Whisperer or The Wormton Lamb, they will receive a book with the old cover until any stock is used up. Any print-on-demand orders for The Wormton Lamb with Amazon should already feature the latest cover design. This has not happened in the past. I know that a relative bought a copy of The Horsepower Whisperer from Amazon last year and it had the very first ever cover, dating back to 2008. I am now up to cover number three. I can only assume Amazon ordered a stock of my books on publication and they may st...

Although damaged this photo of 1112RH must have been very cherished and looked at often (Photo : Vivian Bush) Vintage Thing No.169 attracted an interesting comment last month. I’d blogged about a Bentley Mk VI James Young two door saloon belonging to some friends of mine and mentioned that a four door version had apparently been also offered. Vivian Bush invited me to email him because he had personal knowledge of one and had photos. 1112RH was a Bentley MkVI with James Young four door coachwork to design C10BM (Photo : Vivian Bush) “My father arrived home one autumn evening at the wheel of the 1952 James Young Mark VI registration 1112 RH, and I think that was October 1961. I was approaching 4 years old and loved the car at first sight. It replaced a small 1.5 litre Wolseley saloon we’d had, and was a big step upwards in terms of body size and horsepower. Could this have been the Wolseley it replaced? (Photo : Vivian Bush) “The first owner was a local millionaire, in the days when...

1.                 The story begins with a growth hormone experiment that goes horribly wrong. 2.                 The tale of The Wormton Lamb asks us what are we doing to rural communities and our environment through the unseen effects of self-interest by people who have sold their souls. 3.                 The book introduces the traffiscope, a means of predicting the future by studying the traffic. What road sign are you? 4.                 It is set in the wider Wold around the flock market town of Wormton. 5.                 It also introduces the Mithering Brethren who believe souls can be improved if they are th...

Getting down low with Little Satan While in pre-war Austin mode, I found these pictures I took of a well-executed Austin 7 special at the Crash Box Club gathering at Powderham Castle back in 2019. It's only knee high Little Satan is a neat little aluminium blob with a mischievous radiator mascot. I reckon there’s something of a Ford Model T flat tracker about it and I’ve heard Austin 7s and Model Ts mentioned together as endowing the population with cheap reliable transport in both their respective countries. All you need to know, clearly displayed Running gear is 1935 Austin 7 Ruby with shortened rear chassis members and the engine was built Don Rawson, who is a well-respected name in Austin 7 circles. Output of this engine was estimated at 60bhp partly thanks to a stainless steel induction system for SU carbs by Haywood & Scott of Basildon. They were also responsible for the eye-catching stainless zorst system. I especially like the way the ally body has been left unpain...

The Austin 10 Ripley. That radiator reminds me of an Austin 7 Grasshopper but chromed or nickel plated This rare survivor of an Austin Ten Ripley Sports appears at shows around the west country following a comprehensive restoration. I had a close look at it at Boconnoc last summer and it especially intrigued me because, years ago, I read about how the great rivals in the UK motoring market place – Austin and Morris – faced each other off with cheap sporty cars. In simplest terms, Austin had the Austin 7 and Morris had Morris Garages. The MG brand included larger sports cars and even saloons but Austin remained happy to let the Austin 7 represent them in the “scurrying kindergarten” the Bentley Boys had to contend with. However, there were little glimmers of sportiness in other parts of the Austin range as represented by the Austin 10 Ripley Sports. The present owner of this particular restored it over a seven-year period after it was recovered from a scrapyard in Callington in the ...