Engine Punk

On the way to Clinton and killing a tyre In 2023, I was a non-starter for the Exeter and a non-finisher for the Land’s End Trial. This was caused by a double whammy of a dying engine ignition module and oil seals crying enough on the back axle and contaminating the Arkley-MG’s rear brake shoes. An intense remediation programme with the critical help of Adrian Booth enabled Graham Beddoe and me to complete both the Tamar Trial and the Camel Classic later in the year. Our performances were unremarkable but we had grand days out with our motorsport family. I reckon these intense local one-day trials are an important forcing ground for exploring what the car can do. It also shows up what the driver can’t do - or ought to be doing. Front tyre on the inner edges had increased significantly, despite several adjustments to the tracking. Prior to the Exeter Trial, I had the car checked on a four-wheel alignment rig and this revealed how much the front camber can change when the suspension...

At the start, everything is clean. Watto's VW Imp is in the foreground while to the left is the Class 7 winning Beetle of Joe and Gary Browning The Camel Classic was postponed from February this year but the wait was worth it for many forestry sections were now available, having been out of bounds to all for some time. Representing the Not Terribly Good Club of Great Britain, Mr Graham Beddoe and I weighed up our chumrade’s machinery on the morning of the trial and marvelled at the high standards of preparation. After a slap-up binge at The Borough Arms, we set off in the Arkley-MG for Hustyn, an old MCC hill on the edge of St Breock Downs. The original section was metalled long ago. Legend has it a doctor insisted upon it to make his life easier visiting patients. Today’s Hustyn lies in the woods to the south and was part of a network of sections for this year’s Camel Classic, beginning with a holding control at the top of the first section where successful climbers pop out of t...

I was looking for something else the other day and this 21st Anniversary programme for the West of England steam rally turned up. I had no idea I had it still. Flicking through it, some interesting info about Firedrake No.13 came to light.  My original post about this engine raised a few questions. having visited Dorothy in the Shuttleworth Collection, I found myself wondering about the identity of the "parts" engine. Originally, Dennis Solway was going to use Clayton & Shuttleworth 46817 as a source of parts for another engine but he relented on discovering this locomotive was in better condition than his first one.  Here was the entry for the late Mr Solway's engine. I found this quite by chance So it was Clayton & Shuttleworth 48656 that surrendered its parts so 46817 could steam again. Had it survived despite this unselfish act? Yes! Clayton & Shuttleworth 48656 is listed in my Traction Engine Register. A quick check on the web revealed two interesting ph...

As Nigel Cowling put it, "When was the last time you saw two Imps on a trial?" Left is the Singer Chamois of Nick Symons (once owned by Nigel) and right is the very historic trials Imp, nowadays campaigned by Paul Watson.  (Photo : Nigel Cowling) The 76 th Tamar Trial was the first event after our retirement on the Land’s End, completing half of the Launceston Trial and a Did Not Start on the Exeter.  With a new ECU and some new, higher quality rear axle bearings by SKF, a gentle afternoon Sunday drive with Graham Beddoe seemed in order. Under starters orders from Lisa Gregory. "And away they go! On the way out Wacky Races!" The first section was Petherwin Old Hill where Graham had marshalled once before on the Land’s End. We got away from the restart here alright but I still have yet to achieve a successful restart on Warleggan. The special test in between at Lewannick Down caught a few out with it’s A, B, C and D lines. Pete Adams at the start - he can still sh...

Torum on the 2021 Launceston Trial I first came across Torum outside Georgie Mellor’s engine tuning establishment in Plymouth. I’d brought my Siva Llama there in an attempt to rectify a lack of puff above 60 mph and outside was what you might call a “cobby” trials car. This would have been around 1999, by which time Joe Caudle and Andy Prosser were successfully campaigning Torum in classic long-distance trials. Torum began in 1985 as a Midge, a component car built to plans offered by John Cowperthwaite of JC Sports Cars. For about £30, an enthusiast received templates and plans to turn a tatty Triumph Herald or Spitfire into a vintage-styled sports car. After getting so far with the project, family commitments and a career in teaching intervened for 10 years before Joe could resume construction. I asked Joe how he got into motorsport.   “I first remember becoming interested in motorsport and cars at an early age when my Uncle Harry used to visit. He went to the Grand Prix r...

Gareth entered the 2018 Camel Classic and is seen here in his Marin V8 with Roger Hancock's buggy and event scrutineer Adrian Booth Gareth White’s Marlin runs a Rover V8 and its custom zorst means you usually hear it before you see it.  Marlin Roadsters are typically based on either Triumph or Marina components and evolved over a long production run from 1979 until the present day with the drivetrain out of BMW 3-series. Along the way, the Marlin Roadster also used Ford Cortinas and Sierras as donors, growing slightly in the process to accommodate the wider track. Not so many V8s were built, however. Most common seem to be the Marina B series variety and with the back axle from a Marina van they make tough trials irons for Class 7. They’re nimble enough for the twisty bits and have a reasonable power to weight ratio. They are also very robust. Marlins don’t need much modification to be competitive in Class 7 but they usually sport 14 inch wheels and twin spare wheels and external...