Engine Punk

The Buckingham 4 valve JAP was built by Graham Buckingham, a technician at Coventry Polytechnic when I was a student there in the early eighties. I was making a mock up of motorcycle riding positions for a project and he took an interest in what I was doing and eventually let slip that he had designed and built a motorcycle. I was immediately fascinated and in response to my constant questions brought in what remained of it. The curious influence of the moon and tides on the flotsam and jetsam of my photographic print collection brought these snaps of it to the surface the other day so I thought I would record what I could remember of it now before these snaps disappear again. The engine was a four valve conversion of – no less – a speedway 490cc JAP engine. Graham said he had a mate who worked in the Jaguar drawing office and it was he who drew up the head. I think he said the valves were Jaguar parts. No Jaguar engine had four valves per cylinder until much later. The camshafts were ...