Engine Punk

This post was prompted by a request for information about the GP Centron at the 2009 Exeter Kit Car Show. Somebody had one and wanted to know more about it so they put up a board about it in the designated car park for kit cars. They knew it had connections with Cornwall but not much more than that. I apologise for the quality of the pictures but these are photos of photos. I left my name on the writing pad asking for more info so if I hear anything I'll do an update. I happened to visit the factory at Threemilestone just outside Truro, when the moulds for the Centron II briefly resided there during the summer of 1983. At the time I was an industrial design student and tried to get a summer job out of them but had no luck. The company were called Statestyle and were developing an ultra-violet curing process for woven mat glass fibre. Staff on their experimental production line had very well bronzed forearms - it was a kind of rolling sunbed. The GP Centron was the first Beetle-base...

On the Thursday, Al and I had a run out in the Morgan to Blois. Al always reckons that you have to pace yourself when spectating the Le Mans 24 Hours. You can get over excited and then race will eat you up. Many people never leave the campsite, sleeping off hangovers by day and raising hell all night. Some are wired into the excellent Le Man FM radio station and wander around in a world of their own with combination radio hats and enormous ear phones/ear defenders that blot out all other noise around them. Blois is about an hour and a half away, to the south east on the River Loire – Blois on the Loire via Amboise, where they eat framboise (raspberries to me and you). King Stephen of England (famous for fighting Queen Matilda) was born here around 1097 but the town’s other notable feature is a magic museum – La Maison de la Magie - dedicated to Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin. I’d never heard of him but he’s the guy Harry Houdini named himself after (although he made a mistake and actually...

Despite the recession and continuing economic gloom, the 2009 Exeter Kit Car Show at the West Point Exhibition Centre was still upbeat. Some people pointed to vacant spaces in the exhibition hall and maybe the weather did put some people off but there was still loads to see. This machine is the KZ1 and is a one off, although there are plans for production. Apparently, there has already been strong interest in the car from Middle eastern customers and although the designer is British production will probably be in Eastern Europe. I don't know if there is any link to the Ascari KZ1 but it looks superb. I went with Peter Tuthill, author of (among others) Cornwall's Motor Industry. He's currently working on a similar book on Devon's motor industry and needless to say that I've put my name down for one. As soon as it's out, you'll hear about it on this blog. Peter is another self publisher like me, so has to do practically everything himself but it'll be wo...

The prototype Elfin 300 looks like a sports car should look like My blog entry on the ( MAE head prompted the owner of this car, Graham Allen, to get in touch. It's an Elfin, the prototype Elfin 300 in fact, and features the MAE head on an 1150cc block. (Photos by Graham Allen) "The car is an Australian make called Elfin who were the equivalent of Lotus for Oz, making over 250 racing cars in the 60's and 70's. "My car is the prototype 300 which has a Holbay S65 engine, essentially a Cortina block with their own head, similar to the MAE one but 1150cc. You will find a few makes of downdraft head, Lucas and Holbay amongst others and they were used in Formula Junior and Clubmans 1500 series. Thus you find some heads are 1100 and others with larger valves and chambers are 1500. "I'm not sure how much of an advantage they really were as the fastest Cosworth engined Juniors were sidedraft but for cool looks you can't beat a pair of twin Webers s...

I’ve only recently got into Alice Cooper and for this I have to thank my mates Glyn and Andy. They’re not punk rockers but they know what I like and knew that I’d like some of the songs from Vincent Furnier’s long career. I once bought an Alice Cooper album because it had School’s Out on it but the other songs didn’t appeal. That and Elected seemed to be enough for me for years but on a foray through Alice Cooper’s back catalogue I found plenty to like about it, even if he sometimes sounds like Barry Manilow (but I'll ignore such soppiness). Alice Cooper is about spectacle as much as anything so when I heard he/she/they was/ were playing at the Pavilions in Plymouth I moved pretty sharpish to get my ticket. Andy saw Alice Cooper at the Cornish Coliseum years ago and will rave unprompted about how this was one of his favourite all time gigs. But would they live up to Andy’s expectations? Or to mine having discovered classics like Eighteen , Poiso n and No more Mr Nice Guy ? Of cou...

Question : which motorsport event has a higher death toll for spectators than for drivers? The answer is Le Mans. The photo (by Alan Mansell) was a bit of a clue. A higher percentage of drivers have died, of course. And huge numbers of spectators have descended on the Sarthe circuit over the years but this doesn't detract from the sense of occasion through being there. The 2009 event was my third time at Le Mans (previous expeditions were in 2004 and 2005) and I enjoyed this year's festival of motoring excess just as much as ever. Audi had been the dominant team but this year Peugeot were in the ascendant with the petrol powered Aston Martins having an outside chance. And after last year, in which Peugeot narrowly lost overall victory to Audi, the leading French diesel manufacturer was out for revenge. With the recent foul weather, I’m enjoying looking back to a fantastic event with some very warm weather. I would have liked a Morgan entry as they celebrate 100 years this year...

This bike has to be the most stylish British tow stroke roadster without exception. I was captivated by its italianate lines many years ago when it appeared on Steve Wilson's book British Lightweight Two Strokes. I've probably mentioned before that, as a lanky git, 250 motorcycles are the practical lower limit for me but that doesn't stop me liking their delicacy and the "born with wheels" feeling a small and nimble bike can give you. It might be hereditary, too, My dad went on a European odyssey with my Uncle Phil on Uncle Phil’s 250 Panther and that had a Villiers 2T engine just like this Norman. They had a good time although the frame broke in Italy and we used to have a photo, now unfortunately lost, of an Italian blacksmith welding it up. There was a good reason for Steve Wilson to choose the Norman B4 for the cover for his book - it's a good all round bike with few flaws and about as good a bike as a Villiers powered twin can get. And for me the Norman B...