Engine Punk

Horsepower whispering with a Ginetta G21S Six foot of two by two timber isn’t in everyone’s toolkit. The day I helped my mate Pete Low re–assemble the engine in his Ginetta, neither of us had such a thing. Pete’s day job is vicar of St Budeaux in Plymouth . This means the days off he gets are Mondays. Fortunately, last week I had a clear Monday so our packed diaries coincided for once and we were able to start work in earnest on his car. When I arrived at the vicarage, it was immediately apparent that he’d bought all the gaskets and assembled a fine array of hand and power tools. He’d even arranged for good weather. Pete’s Ginetta is a G21S. He’d bought it with a reconditioned engine that needed re–assembling. The ordinary G21 has a 1725cc engine made by the now–defunct Rootes group for the Hillman Hunter range. The G21S has a special head developed by Holbay, which was used in the sportier Hunters and Rapiers. All we had to do was fit the cylinder head, carburettors and exhau...