Engine Punk

This Super Robin certainly has presence I've seen some remarkable three wheelers in long distance trials and two of them have been built by George Osborn. George campaigned his Reliant Rialtopless ( Vintage Thing No, 120 ) in MCC events for many years with a policy of continuous improvement.  Mudguards were secondhand items off an Ifor Williams trailer At the Powderham Show this summer I managed to have a proper look at his Reliant Super Robin. It's probably a Hyper Robin now, his latest investigation into how much fun he can have with some Reliant components. George's passenger, Celia Walton, usually gets out his side, rather than clamber over the zorst. The chassis is a standard Robin chassis so, as far as the DVLA is concerned, this vehicle retain its Reliant Super Robin identity. The wheelbase is the unaltered although it looks longer due to the two-seat cockpit being further back in the chassis. The 850cc engine is relatively standard, relativity depending on the obser...

Early morning start at Proper Ansome Cafe, Launceston. the bikes have already gone and the Class 8s are assembling to start. Simon Oates' Liege is in the foreground. This was the first trail for me in ages. During a very busy summer, I hadn't competed since the 2022 Land's End. Bouncing Graham Beddoe was in the Balkans for two weeks immediate beforehand and I was away to my elderly mother's for a few days beforehand. I aimed to get all preparation complete the week before but a late route alteration came too late for me to print out the full route card and we went off piste a couple of times. Fortunately, we soon got back on track and didn't actually run over any marshals. Early morning sunshine warns the Rickman Ranger of Team Robson, Nigel and Nicola Martin-Oakley's Saab 96, Kent Crashby's Coates Orthoptera and Greg Warren in his Escort After signing on at the Proper Ansome Cafe in Launceston, we soon went of course with the first route amendment but had s...

This is a CAD image developed by Stuart Brown in response to the photo below (Image : Stuart Brown) This is a mystery car that Stuart Brown is trying to track down. Finding any information about it would be a bonus. The only known image of the car in question. (Photo : Facebook) Our story begins with this mysterious photograph on the Facebook group page for 50s and 60s specials. This is the junction of Oxford Street and Vere Street in 1960s London. Look at the car on the right about to join the traffic.  Stuart has modelled the whole car including the interior (Image : Stuart Brown) Despite a wealth of knowledge among the members of this group, nobody was able to identify it. Close inspection suggests it has the proportions and tail lamps of a Sunbeam Alpine, although the nose is completely different.  The wrap-around windscreen has a pronounced dog leg and - if you look really closely - the door shut lines extend into the roof so they may have hinged at the top like a Mercede...

Hiring a small car for a visit to the Shetland Isles gave me the opportunity to try a modern Kia Picanto. I was really impressed by its fuel economy and refinement. It felt in it's natural environment on Shetland, apart from the main road between Sumburgh and Lerwick where it ran out of puff on the steeper hills. On my first trip I managed an indicated 65.3mpg and subsequently saw flash readings of over 70mpg. The gearchange indicator light often came on long before the little car could climb a hill in a higher gear so I ignored it. This is to encourage drivers to eke out the fuel and when you're on the level or a downward grade it proved how much low down torque this little car has. There were no parking cameras and the handbrake was an ordinary one. The footbrake felt over-servoed compared to my old cars - apart from the Citroen GSA which is like an electric switch. I didn't explore what the knobs and buttons did on the steering wheel. It had air conditioning, which I kep...

The St Pirans Cross on the wing indicates the long standing association with cornwall At the 2022 Land's End Trial start at Plusha Services, I met David Child with this Ford 8. It's obviously not your common or garden Ford 8. This ones has a Conversion Car Bodies GRP shell from the Naco Works, in Epping, Essex. The front end reminds of a 100E Ford Pop and a contemporary Vauxhall Victor I am unsure what to call this car. The company were called Conversion Car Bodies but I've seen some people refer to them as Naco shells. The chassis is a straightforward Ford 8 so you might just as well call it that. Badged as a Ford, it seems to have a mild identity crisis and David is often asked "What is it?" Nowadays, product branding is carefully managed. From the rear there's something of a 105E Anglia estate vibe Conversion Car Bodies were quite astute in aiming their products at a gap in the market for 1950s specials. The Naco shell (see how difficult it is to call it wh...

Dennis Solway's Clayton & Shuttleworth engine soon after restoration (Photo : the Solway family) This steam engine was the first one to fascinate me. Mr Solway was the proprietor of the garage at Marazanvose on the A30. His was the nearest garage to Callestick where we lived and an easy walk through the lanes if you had a car to leave or collect. Fortunately, he was a trustworthy soul. In a small community like ours, reputation counted for a lot. Word of mouth would soon advertise good tradesmen or those to be avoided. Solway's Garage was also signwritten as Agricultural Engineers so any firm that farmers patronised - with wheat in the field and a broken down combine - was sure to be a good one. Dennis Solway was where our neighbours went for their car repairs. One of them, John Holland, even worked there.  The back of the garage, with an open view across the fields to the engine house of West Chiverton, was an over grown paddock of fascinating old cars. I got locked into a...