Engine Punk

The UAZ-452 became the UAZ-22069 Mentioning the UAZ-452 on this blog has prompted some responses but nothing concrete enough to explain how they arrived on Dartmoor. Peter Tuthill, of Motormind fame, has a brochure for one in English. He's promised to get me a facsimile copy and seems to recall that someone in Birmingham was importing them. Meanwhile, my mate Matt, who is a Tavistock boy born and bred and is an off road enthusiast, also remembers these little Russian 4x4's trundling over the moorland. He seems to have a vague recollection of having a ride in one but as this is something like 30 years ago it remains just a vague recollection. Personally I prefer the look of the earlier UAZ-450 While looking for something else, Matt succeeded where I have not by digging up with his folding sand shovel other references to the UAZ-452 on the Internet. On Horizons Unlimited , “The Website Motorcyclists Trust”, someone was asking the question, are these little 4x4 is an...

Trevithick's road locomotive Hidden away in the steep sided combes of south–western Britain, concealed behind unremarkable facades in market towns and sleepy hamlets, tucked deep down into wooded valleys or crouched against the elements on wind blasted heaths and moors, something is stirring. This is Britain ’s crumple zone against the Atlantic and, against very long odds, Cornwall is still home to an ongoing automotive tradition that has been quietly surviving for over two hundred years. If someone announced that they had written a book on Cornwall ’s motor industry, a very slim volume would probably be the result – not so much a book as a pamphlet. Being able to produce over 150 well illustrated A4 pages initially seems nothing short of remarkable. Having read Cornwall ’s Motor Industry by Peter Tutthill, it’s clear that he has unearthed a wealth of material and some fascinating insights into a surprisingly varied cottage industry. I am also struck by the influence of...