Run to the Sun 2009

The sun shone again on the Run to the Sun this year and in addition to peachy 23 windowed microbuses like this example there many other fine examples of automotive art present at the show'n'shine on Sunday.


My sister said I was mad to go for many people who have live around Newquay believe RTTS causes nothing but trouble with the local toughs picking fights with louts from a line when I saw nothing but people having a good time, admiring each other's handicraft and relaxing in the weather.

This machine won spirit of the event award and I featured it on this blog last year. At that stage, it still looked a bit like a Beetle but now resembles a tannalised log cabin on wheels that -- against all the laws of probability -- has been souped up. In the space of just 12 months, it's had a pretty radical reworking and about the only clue to the retention of the running gear underneath was the voodoo dolls head gear knob.

Rust patination was demonstrated by a number of quite modern cars. I'm ambivalent about this kind of treatment. Somebody had imported the Beetle from Australia and while this demonstrated a bit of rash here and there, combined with the faded pale blue paint work it suggested years of good times in a dry and sunny climate. On front wheel drive Golfs rusted bare steel panels can look to me like simple cases of neglect.

There were muscle cars, like this Mercury Comet Cyclone.

And some very nice hot rods.

But this fat-defended Reliant Robin caught my eye. It's got a Toyota MR2 engine stuffed up its bottom. Or maybe a better description would be half an MR2 wearing the panels of a long deceased plastic pig.

In essence, the whole rear end of an MR2, including suspension, has been squeezed under the glass fibre bodywork. Although the wheel arches are a little square to my liking, I really like this idea and had a chance to speak briefly with the builder. I complemented him on his machine and asked if he'd done anything to the brakes. He replied that he had kept the rear discs from the MR2 and coupled with a lightweight and the original single drum front brake it stopped as well as it went. Performance was described as adequate, just like the Rolls-Royces and Aston Martins of old, so this three wheeler has joined a very exclusive club.