Engine Punk

If things have been a bit quiet on this blog recently, it's not because I have fallen off the world. I went to one of the inspirations for the Wild Hunt, the Le Mans 24 Hours race and since then have been making the most of what is turning out to be a fantastic summer. This was the view from my sleeping bag of a morning - that's the Morgan of my mate Al parked in the Houx campsite within the circuit and in the distance are the tribunes around the start and finish line. Everyone was there because they were enthusiasts and we had a great time enjoying the atmosphere together. I felt very much like this during my time in this year's Land's End Trial. Of course, what I should have been doing at Easter was promoting the launch of The Wormton Lamb for this was published on the Easter Saturday but this was the very day that I was making my almost triumphant ascent of Blue Hills near St Agnes. At Le Mans I should have been promoting the Engine Punk thing and networking...

I'm continually impressed with the material this other blogspot is throwing up - Engine Punk Litmus . It's been set up by a fan - I know ! I can't believe it! Huge grin! Anyway, everything on here so far provides an accurate example of the Engine Punk aesthetic and I have to say that so far these are all in tune with what I had in mind when writing my tall stories about Nick Hob and The Wild Hunt. It would appear that, somehow, I have struck a chord with other people and not only understand what I was on about but are coming up with more examples. So - I would like more people to join in because I don't know where this is leading. I'm going to have a word with the administrator to see if other people can contribute. I would like to see what you lot think is Engine Punk. I'll still get worked up about Vintage Things but exploring the Engine Punk Aesthetic isn't just about me anymore - your views count!

Hallo - I'm back from Le Mans and will be posting my thoughts about this fantastic event on this blog dreckly (good Cornish word). There were loads of Vintage Things that Ill share with you soon. This was just one. I didn't travel down to the Sarthe circuit in it but a whole bunch of other people did. This Bedford TK was parked in the campsite hard by the Porsche curves and I really its livery. There's an obvious London Transport influence and those who know anything about graphic design will know what a towering contribution Harry Beck and Edward Johnston made to simply catching the eye. Applied to a classic British lorry, the effect is highly pleasing and not only recalls the home city of many endurance spectators at Le mans but also reminds me of the wonderful support vehicles and racing car transporters of yesteryear. There were some models of theses I haven't just got back, I've been making the most of what has so far been a brilliant summer here in Cornwa...

By the time you read this I will be gone. I will be on the camp site in the middle of the circuit enjoying the 24 hours of endurance racing at Le Mans. This will be my third visit to the circuit for this event and I am really looking forward to it. Everybody says that it's so much better value for money than Formula 1. I think that Bernie and Max should dispense with the racing and just concentrate on the refuelling and tyre changing because that's how Formula 1 cars overtake these days. At Le Mans, I will have virtually a very long weekend of proper job racing and razzmatazz.

The sun shone again on the Run to the Sun this year and in addition to peachy 23 windowed microbuses like this example there many other fine examples of automotive art present at the show'n'shine on Sunday. My sister said I was mad to go for many people who have live around Newquay believe RTTS causes nothing but trouble with the local toughs picking fights with louts from a line when I saw nothing but people having a good time, admiring each other's handicraft and relaxing in the weather. This machine won spirit of the event award and I featured it on this blog last year. At that stage, it still looked a bit like a Beetle but now resembles a tannalised log cabin on wheels that -- against all the laws of probability -- has been souped up. In the space of just 12 months, it's had a pretty radical reworking and about the only clue to the retention of the running gear underneath was the voodoo dolls head gear knob. Rust patination was demonstrated by a...

I read this book for the first time many years ago. It was recommended to me by a friend, which is always the best way with anything. He lent it to me which meant that I had to give it back afterwards and is part of the ongoing thought processes concerning the development of the Sole Trader Trilogy, I wanted to read The Wild Wood by Jan Needle again. Getting hold of a copy proved surprisingly difficult. Amazon listed it but, on closer inspection, this proved to be an entirely different book altogether. In the end, I notified eBay that I was looking for one and after a few weeks found an original paperback complete with illustrations by Willie Rushton in good condition -- and all for the princely sum of 50p. The Wild Wood retells Winston Grahame's The wind in the Willows from the point of view the working class stoats, ferrets and weasels. I had often wondered what Ratty, Moley and the Badger did for a living. Toad was clearly gentry. Although he was a menace to everyone wh...

I was unable to go to the VSCC Wiscombe hillclimb this year so by way of compensation have been reviewing the photos I took last year. This the Austin-MG special built and raced by Brian King. It's essentially an Austin 7 engined fitted with an MG ohc cylinder head but there's a bit more to it than that. I like the way it's been fitted - and supercharged. Most MGs of this era had a vertical shaft drive that doubled as the dynamo. It was notorious for getting covered in oil and not producing any sparks. For his Austin-MG special Brian chose a duplex sprocket chain drive. With all that going on the front of the engine most normal people wouldn't have known where to put the blower but Brian extended the tail end of the crankshaft rather than the nose and moved the flywheel outwards so that he could take the supercharger drive inboard of the clutch. The components date back to 1930 and 1934 so long before Austin and MG were bedfellows in the overcrowd...