Engine Punk

I look a bit Afrika Korps in this shot. Ian looks very much at home in the Candidi Provocatores Allard J1. What a team! (Photo : Lee Peck) This summer I had the opportunity to drive the Candidi Provocatores Allard J1 in the Motor Cycling Club's Testing Trial.   This was held in some grassy and gently undulating fields near the village of Keinton Mandeville in sunny Somerset. Very sunny it was, too. I originally had in mind a gentle pootle around some country lanes instead of the white heat of offroad competition but, thanks to Binky, this was a double win. He had a family re-union to attend so wouldn’t be around for the Testing Trial and asked me – because that’s just the kinda guy he is – if I would like to take the wheel. "Not arf," was my instant reply. Binky, in case you were wondering, is Mr Robert Robinson-Collins (Gent) and before we were Candid Provocateurs we were collectively the Team Robert trials sidecar team of dubious reputation but exuberan...

My mother, who is 88 and born in 1929, is writing her memoirs and one of her most profound memories is of seeing a flying boat crash into a hill while she had been evacuated to Otterham Mill near Bude in North Cornwall. She thinks she was between 11 or 13 and that this was during a period when she was schooled at home by her mother. I have had a search on the net but can find no record of anything that matches her recollection. Here it is in her own words. "It occurred while my parents and the rest of the family were staying at Otterham Mill, near Boscastle. This was a private sort of evacuation as we had come from Hosrmonden in Kent where we experienced doodle bugs and flying bombs. We were also on the flight path from Germany to London. "We all arrived at Otterham Station with our bikes on the train. I think my father couldn't stay long as he had to get back to his work in a bank in London. "My godmother, May Fountain, was a teaching colleague of my mother...

A refurbished 150 Sprinter class (Photo : Peter Skuse) The other day, I started to wonder about what engines powered my commuter train. A hundred years ago they would have been steam engines, maybe a steam rail motor but more likely powered coaches with a cheeky tank engine. Nowadays they are powered carriages that divide and multiply - as one literary person once complained - like worms. If anyone knows who said this let me know. I think it's a great quote. The worms I ride on are usually Class 158 or 150s Sprinter units but sometimes we get 155 or 153 Class units, either singly in pairs. Class 150s and 158s all have a single Cummins NT355 or NTA355 water-cooled six cylinder diesel engine to each unit. Mounted on their sides under the floors of the passenger saloons, these drive the bogies through a hydraulic final drive. These put out either 325 or 400 bhp at 1800rpm. Bore and stroke is 140 x 152mm (5.5 x 6 inches!) for a capacity of 14 litres (I make it 1403...

The winning vehicular contrivance as built as a rail motor I blogged about it before as When was the first motor race held? and am doing this little update because it is still not widely known that the first ever motor race took place on 26th August 1867. This means that this Saturday will be the 150th anniversary. I think one of the reasons it is not well-known is that it was an outlaw race and the motors in question were steam motors. Each steam engine should've had a man in front with a red flag but they were hurtling along at speeds in excess of 15 mph. The only reason we know about it is snippet in the Engineer magazine. Check ouy original blog post for more info. I just think this should be celebrated more widely. Partayyy!

If you go down to Bishop's Wood at Easter....  an Allard J1 emerges from the bushes (Photo : Richard Davies) In the weeks before Easter 2017, we had very little rain and the Land's End trial look set to take part in the driest conditions for many years. However, soon after setting off from Binky Towers near sunny Andover, we experienced heavy precipitation that was on occasions of Biblical Proportions. Note the capitals. I can't see anything phallic about a well-polished MCC badge Let's maximise the positive, though, it was by no means cold, what with 3.9 litres of foot warmer thundering away on the other side of a bulkhead so holey some cultures might worship it. I was just nice and without any religious fervour. Oo look a sideacr! And it's the Cox-Triumph with Pete Adams Felons Oak looked rough in our dancing headlamp beams but posed no problems and we made good time to Barcroft Control and Beggar's Roost. The old hill isn't as fierce as ...

Observe the Offy heads and ally manifold After a bit of a fallow period, we Candidi Provocatores pulled ourselves and our car together and entered the 2017 Exeter Trial. Binky had done a lot to the Allard J1 since we broke the offside halfshaft on Simms during the 2016 Exeter Trial. In addition to rebuilding the rear axle with the help and advice from Lee Peck, he had fitted an alloy inlet manifold and the Offenhauser heads made of a material our friends in the parish across the water call aloominum.  He also had the choice of a twin carb manifold but chose the single one for torque reasons and ease of adjustment. While the manifold was off he took the opportunity to adjust the tappets. These had been set quite wide for running in purposes and closing them up to the recommended 12-14 thou   made the engine a lot more lively. Previously, it was twice that as Rob was concerned about the fresh valve seats receding and burning a valve. The weather forecast was enc...