Engine Punk

Brian Partridge's Ridge-Cannon This is a long overdue series of notes about the car in which I passengered Brian Partridge in the 2016 Land's End Trial . This blog is as much for my benefit as anyone else's. Over time, some details can get lost. I really mean forgotten. I have been wanting to record something about Brian's car ever since the 2016 LET, which we now regard as Lee Peck's stag do. I don't drink but things are already getting a little hazy with the passage of time so I gave Brian  a ring and quizzed him about his car, in between enthusing about Vintage Things, trailling and swapping tales of derring-do with our motorsport chumrades. It's a well-proportioned little rascal even if I can't fit in it Brian has developed his Ridge-Cannon over many years. It started off life as a Cannon sporting trials car with a beam front axle and a Ford 1172cc engine but when Brian got it in 1986 it had a crossflow Ford engine. The chassis pro...

At the start, our Arkley-MG and Troll of Terry and Bob Hart look very clean I missed out on my fix of motorsport this year and, determined put that right, I have bought the Arkley-MG Midget that Ray Goodright campaigned for many years. More about that little car later as a Vintage Thing. I have entered the Exeter Trial and the long-distance classic trials are really my favourite. However, it seemed a good idea to enter a local one-day trial beforehand to get used to the car, especially if I could persuade Adrian Booth to be my passenger. The event we plumped for was the Camel Classic, run by the Camel Vale Motor Club, on 2 nd December 2018. This is run under ACTC rules and eligible for MCC members. The class structure is the same so we were running in Class 7. The format is not like an MCC trial, despite some of the hills being familiar to us. The sections are marked out with numbered poles starting with 12 at the bottom and 1 at the top. Getting the furthest up the ...

Still driveable but rolling injured, the Candidi Provocatores Allard J1 It was Stephen Bailey's idea to have a Team Steampunk in the 2018 Land's End Trial and it was such a good idea I wished it had been mine. He invited Binky and me in our guise as Candid Provocateurs to join and also canvassed for a third entrant to make up the necessary numbers. Dave Middleditch stepped forward and - with goggles akimbo - we looked forward to the 2018 LET with gathering anticipation. Unfortunately, Stephen had damaged his knee backalong on the Torbay Trial and then suffered a herniated disc in his spinal column. Driving a long distance and then bouncing up and down - or being bounced - in the driving seat of his Midge gradually seemed like a bad idea. Meanwhile, Dave lost oil pressure on the engine in his 1500 Midget. Undaunted, he then set about an eleventh hour  rebuild but was thwarted at the  la st minute by a combination of timing, maladjusted combustion and then two flat ba...

Wish us luck on Bishop's Wood. And Warleggan (Photo : Richard Davies) After being a non-starter in the Exeter Trial in January due to illness , the Candid Provocateurs will ride again in the 2018 Land's End. Not only that we are travelling marshals. Not only THAT but we are part of Team Steampunk, consisting of No 212 Binky and Ginger (Mr Robert Robinson-Collins and me), 213 Stephen Bailey and Luidmila Gliaudel in their MG Midge and 207 Dave Middleditch and TBA in their Class 5 MG Midget. Stephen has some injuries sustained in the recent Torbay Trial (way to go dude!) and his sprained knee and herniated disc may mitigate against him starting. Or bouncing much. I said we can all help change tyres but it's not looking good for him. Dave cracked a thumb recently but was all good to go until his car lost oil pressure. News from Northampton is that he has another engine and is fitting it today! As he is starting from Cirencester while the rest of us are setting out from ...

Norton Selwood leaps to intervene as a sidecar outfit gets to the worst bit on Simms The Candidi Provocatores were entered in the 2018 Exeter Trial but Binky caught manflu! He caught it before Christmas and rang me a few days before the event to croak almost unintelligibly at me. Using the telephonic equivalent of mime, he explained how he wasn’t fit enough to drive the Allard overnight and get cold and wet. I could tell he was terribly disappointed. Steven Hand on his C90 I still hoped to get a ride somewhere, thinking that if Binky was unable to compete maybe a bouncer might drop out and that I could help someone else but, despite flagging up my availability on social media, in a way I am happy to say my services were not required. Nobody else was ill. So,instead, I went along to watch at Simms. It's a kind of hero worship An MCC team had put in a great deal of work on the hill before New Year and I made use of the new parking arrangements that use the play...

I look a bit Afrika Korps in this shot. Ian looks very much at home in the Candidi Provocatores Allard J1. What a team! (Photo : Lee Peck) This summer I had the opportunity to drive the Candidi Provocatores Allard J1 in the Motor Cycling Club's Testing Trial.   This was held in some grassy and gently undulating fields near the village of Keinton Mandeville in sunny Somerset. Very sunny it was, too. I originally had in mind a gentle pootle around some country lanes instead of the white heat of offroad competition but, thanks to Binky, this was a double win. He had a family re-union to attend so wouldn’t be around for the Testing Trial and asked me – because that’s just the kinda guy he is – if I would like to take the wheel. "Not arf," was my instant reply. Binky, in case you were wondering, is Mr Robert Robinson-Collins (Gent) and before we were Candid Provocateurs we were collectively the Team Robert trials sidecar team of dubious reputation but exuberan...