2023 Launceston Trial
I'd wanted to see the Zetec-powered Singer Chamois of Nick Symons ever since I heard of the build On the morning of the 2023 Launceston Trial, the Arkley-MG ( VT No.151 ) burst into life but then stopped as I warmed it up. It had been playing up the week before, cutting out at low revs but then firing up again a minute or so later. At the time, condensation inside the brand new distributor cap was my favourite theory for not wanting to run. As the car warmed up, the issue seemed to go away. This time, however, it played dead for much longer. I checked for a spark but there was nothing and nothing at the king lead from the coil, either. This was a bugger because I'd been a non-starter for the Exeter Trial in January. After replacing a rather corroded distributor car and rotor arm, I thought I'd cured the poor starting and backfiring. Lovely MG J2 of Jon Moores, originally had 847cc but this time has a Duratec motor. Graham Beddoe arrived and we went through it again. Fault...