The British Motor Show 2023

 

The British Motor Show 2023

 

I had noticed a request for volunteers for The British Motor Show in the 2CVBG magazine and being at Farnborough and not too far away I signed up for it. It was a club stand and three clubs would be represented. The 2CV Club, The Traction owners Club and the Citroen Owners Club. There was corporate support from Citroen too. The gates were open on the Wednesday to set up the stand and I delivered the Burton late in the afternoon.

 

Gita following behind in the Toyota to bring me home. I was hoping to attend each day but things didn’t work as planned. I left the keys with James Gibson Club organiser and set off home. He would be there all week. Surprise, surprise the 2CV shop was here as well showing their Burton and their electric van but no one else from Registers day.

I was hoping to come on the bike to have some fun and make travelling easier but I was dogged by ill health this week and Gita having to give me a lift back down on the Sunday to pick up the car. Gita dropped me off at the show ground car park and I caught the bus to the show. It was quite some walk just to the bus stop. It was a few minutes transit to the entrance but another long walk, about twenty minutes, from the entrance to the 2CV display area. Once on the stand is was show time and I spent much of it talking about the Burton. Peter from the Thames Tortoises was there displaying his Traction.

I  did a little walk about but the show was just too big at the airfield for me today. I visited the Military Racing Motorcycle Stand and a had a very pleasant conversation with a young man and moved into a display hall to have an equally pleasant with the rep from Pheonix Motorcycles who do trials and off road experiences.

 I picked up a genuine Cornish pasty for a snack before going back to the Citroen stand. I completed the day sitting in my camp chair waiting for the event to end.  The event ended about five pm when the organisers gave the all clear and allowed us to move our cars and disassemble the stand. I was not able to do much towards and was pleased to escape early. I joined the queue of cars to escape and join the queue of the nearest petrol filling station to fill up and go home.

2CV Registers Day 2023

 

2CV Registers Day 2023

 

I was not sure I was going to make it this year. This year I have been dogged by ill health and the ups and downs of feeling good one day and not the next it has been difficult to plan anything. On a good day I took the initiative and made the booking. To the Wirral in the Burton and camp overnight and come back after the prize giving. Two hundred and twenty miles equating to five hours of travel time each way. I was not sure I was up for it but I was with my faithful co-driver so I had the confidence to give it a go. We were going to go up the M1 but a section was closed so Tom diverted us to the M40 which was a little longer and slower but got us there in the end. Arriving around five in the evening we set about making camp. It was a welcoming experience meeting people again.

We had been to the Wirral Rugby Club before in 2018. It has a nice club house that includes a good bar and kitchen. Food available from five thirty and by the time we got there it was closer to six thirty. We ordered and were served with our food quite quickly along with a pint we settled in to see old friends arrive and enjoy the live music.

Up early for a Full English in the Club House and then to join the display. This is when I discover a deep scratch in the left front wing. I didn’t do this!  The car is no longer perfect. I am not best pleased but there is no one to rant at. Stay calm and have a pleasant day. No sooner on display there is a continuous stream of punters asking about all sorts of things from the trip meters to does the power tube work, the ambient air diverters and why so many dials? Late in the morning I did a walk about to see my best in show and cast my vote for the best car. After voting I went to the 2CV to talk about their Burton on display which is still work in progress. They have an AK 250 electric van on display. Looks good and is also a kit. The day rolls on and the Judges announce their decisions. This year I don’t win the prize. I won it last time. A couple did come up to me to say that I should have won the category I entered. Hey ho it’s not all about winning but meeting old friends we had not seen since 2CV meetings in 2019.

We packed up the tent and left about four and made our way back by the M1 and home by eight thirty. It was a long way for just one night but the Burton was doing well with 54 mpg on the way up and 56 mpg on the return ( downhill with a following breeze).

 

 

July 2023 bits and pieces.

 

July turned out to be a washout after the Brooklands show I took the El Cid to Whitchurch for some stitching and renovation by 2CV Mehari wizard Coops. That was a nice day out but left me only the Burton to play with and finding that the trip meter was not working properly I had to investigate. This was an upside down job with my head in the footwell to get to the wiring.

 I even contacted Brantz, the trip meter people to get advice. After a bench test the meter was shown to be OK so the problem was the wiring in the console below the gear lever. A dodgy earth was the problem and fixed by soldering on a new earth tag also done in the footwell. Another fix were the mirrors finding replacements for ones I bought with the kit in 2014 were not so much a problem as I had been lead to believe and were still available from Europa Spares. I was beginning to tick off the list of bits to do. The Buell had problematic tick over and the cooling fan was seizing up and needed to be replaced before complete failure, replacement of the faulty neutral indicator switch and a check on the gearbox oil. In a day it was done and I had my smooth running Buell back again.

I did a bit of DIY at Ivy’s flat with removing the kitchen work tops one at a time, sanding them down with a belt sander and coating them with a hard wax oil to keep the water out. If it not done regularly it all goes black and doesn’t look nice. That job was very dusty and I needed hosing down after each session. Not a job to do in one go. I also made a support bracket to hold the worktop at the sink where one should have been fitted but wasn’t.

I had my Facebook account hacked. Been on a demonstration for the Kucki women who were abused in North East India. Walking from Indian High Commission to Parliament Square and posed by Ghandi’s statue. Finishing off that week with a visit to the Royal Albert Hall having afternoon tea before the performance of Bollywood at the proms. Finally with repairing the corroded switch on a Unicorn bubble generator.

Brooklands Bike Show 2023

 

Brooklands Bike Show 2023

 

Always things seem to happen on the same day, Wey Valley Observed Sunday and the Bike Show. My usual is to support the shop and spend the morning helping out. This Sunday I would finish early and head over to Brooklands to support the club stand at the show. It was quite profitable at the shop and I finished early but not before I had taken photos of the bikes in the car park and pretended to be part of the old stock.

It was quite busy at Brooklands as I threaded my through the crowds to the Club Stand near the Jackson shed. I parked the Buell with the other machines on the display. Next to the stand was another bike club with an interesting display of machines among them were a supercharged Aermacci and a seven cylinder radial engined creation called Radial Nerve. The owner started this one up for us and with minimal exhaust sounded really sweet. I could feel a similar project brewing with my spare Valiant frame. The radial engine is produced by a Czech company for use in period model aircraft. They do two sizes, the seven cylinder, 360 cc and fourteen cylinder 720 cc versions.

During the afternoon I did a walk about viewing the test hill and some speedway bikes that cleared it extremely quickly keeping an eye out for John from the LE club and his Valiant as he had got it running and said he would be there or I could have just missed him. Not far from the hill was the ABC stand. Notable because they are Granville Bradshaw’s creation that were made close by in Hersham. I like the ABC flat twins because of the ingenuity of the design in particular the leaf spring suspension. Something I have mentioned before but not I have had a chance to talk to someone about the ride. It is as good as I thought it would be. Able to soak up really rough roads to make a smooth comfy ride. An excellent system for the technology of the day (1919). The only drawback was the lack of suitable damping at that time. He could have used friction dampers as on the 1930’s racing Guzzis.

There was an excellent selection of classic British lightweights with a smattering of Continental glam. Electric bikes from Zero and Maeving were across the road from us and doing a grand job of providing test rides. I don’t own one but I have range anxiety just thinking about it. Eighty miles is not far and my trip to Cobham then to Brooklands and home clocked 75 miles. There would not be much be much left in the battery  after that trip.

The Rotary Club of Chipping Sodbury 2023 Classic Run

 

Chipping Sodbury Classic Car Run 2023

 

A few weeks ago it was the El Cid that was taken out for a run to the 2CV National near Worcester and now it was time for the Burton. A weekend away visiting family near Bristol and the delights of all the pubs on the main street of Chipping Sodbury. It used to be a market town. It has expanded enormously but has lost the market but still has the wide main street that was the start of the car and bike rally. Not many bikes but over two hundred launched on a scenic drive around Gloucestershire on a gloriously sunny Sunday.

Saturday was used to check the car and fit the rally plate to the front bumper for the early start on Sunday. My number for this year was 197 which was the same as last year. I had Covid last year on returning from Spain and had to miss the event. My brothers’ Adrian and Barry were in a Dolly and were in front of us, number 196. We lined up in Chipping Sodbury High Street at 8:45 for a 10am start. Time to have a bacon roll while watching the other entrants move off. There was a bit of a delay in our start time of about half an hour but it turned out to be critical as the day progressed. Leaving Chipping Sodbury with a wave from the Mayor and a commemorative photograph we were soon on our way chasing those ahead. It was not long before we joined the pack ahead and were behind Adrian in his Dolly.

Today Gita was driving and I navigating. Gita had not driven the Burton since Croatia in 2019 before lockdown. Neither of us has driven much since. Out through Wotton under Edge, Nailsworthy, Michinhampton and towards Gloucester for a coffee break in the Dowty Sports and Social club and some very nice cakes. It had taken over two and a half hours to do this part of the run and left little time to complete the second stage. During negotiating road works around Gloucester we lost our way and not able to discover the route we decided to take to most direct route to return to Chipping Sodbury. We were only 29 miles away at this stage with about one and a half hours driving. How long taking the scenic route would have taken I’m not sure but certainly longer. The run finished at the Rugby ground at 4pm so we had to be back before then to have the pre-ordered lunch. We were just in time to sit and have lunch before the event ended. It was about 3:15 when we parked up and were almost the last to finish missing the afternoon entertainment.

It was a difficult route with a slow pace to cover the forty odd miles in each direction and I was disappointed not to complete it but it was not possible with the start time but an enjoyable day none-the-less. Going to have to do it again.

 

2CV National Meeting 2023

 

It is great to attend the 2CV National meeting with the gathering of so many like-minded people. Once again I only managed a day visit with my brother Adrian who was my passenger in the El Cid. I travelled to Bristol to pick him up to go to the meeting near Worcester on the Saturday. Not a quick journey but pleasant enough enjoying the countryside getting to Orleton to the west and passing Shelsey Walsh Hill Climb in the process. The roads are as naggery as the hill climb with interesting twists and turns in beautiful scenery.

As always you meet some interesting people, some new to the club and renew friendships with some of the old stagers. It was not one of the best meetings as there did not seem to be a focal point for events. I found the trade stands and some food but not a central display arena. We ended up going to a local pub for lunch as there was nothing to eat at midday when we arrived. After lunch there did not seem to be a program of activities and we were going to head for home but before that we needed to see what interesting things were at the meeting. We headed up the track to one of the camping areas and found and interesting special. It was a Willys jeep body with a Dianne cab. It was very nicely done with numerous novel features. The proud owner was Mike “Hookey” John well known in the Club for his innovation. 

We stopped, took some photos and had along exchange of ideas along with discussing the modifications  we had done  to our cars. As forecast there was a thunderstorm just after 4pm and we took shelter in his camper. Within a few minutes the volume and ferocity of wind and  rain had swamped the site. The storm took an hour to pass and our conversation continued in the camper. The intimate details on the special that included what was done to make various parts of the body to fit made interesting listening and I felt I had come away with little nuggets of information. When the rain stopped we made our way home, but not before having to make some risky manoeuvres passing an on-coming Ami on a single lane track that had become a mud slide on a slope with impending collision, a touch of mirrors was all that happened as the cars slithered toward each other. Bouncing through puddles that filled the pot holes on the track we exited the site and headed for home. I did feel a bit disappointed with this meeting and was glad I had not signed up for the whole event. Compared to last year at Ely near Cambridge there was no show arena as the focal point of the event so no show for everyone to gravitate to that we found along with the lack of food at what I thought would be a peak time I felt it was a poor show and was disappointing. I felt sorry for the first timers we met that day. Down the pub after getting back to Chipping Sodbury, with so many pubs to choose from how much better can it get?

May Comment 2023

 

May Comment 2023

 

When governments impose their decisions against market demands they fail because the population does not agree with their decision and big business does not agree with it either. When big business does agree it is because they can generate more profit from it. Lots of information is stopped from getting to the public and this relates to Euro compliance to emissions. Does anyone remember the lean burn petrol engine? It was so lean that a 1600cc car engine that would do about 35mpg with a lean burn engine could achieve 75 mpg plus around thirty years ago. Savings for the average punter would have been enormous and exactly what we need now with the cost of fuel. The development of the lean burn engine was stifled because of the Eurocrats dogma with emissions. Not CO2 but the nitrous oxide produced from these engines. Because you get more miles for the same amount of fuel you clearly reduce the CO2 emissions but using less fuel is clearly not in the interests of the people whom sell it so the excuse of nitrous oxide emissions was used to kill the development even though the exhaust could have been cleaned up. I see the same monosyllabic thinking behind the thrust of governments with electric cars for the masses. One big problem is the cost of these cars. The second hand electric car market has not being going long enough for electric cars to have bottomed out and to show the real cost of an electric car. How many years for £30,000 to reach zero? I think less time than a comparative ICE (Internal Combustion Engine). I can never see an electric car becoming a useable classic. My El Cid is worth more now than I paid for it.

 If Europe are to ban ICE in 2030 then why is Euro6 compliant engine development still being pursued? Is it because Germany can’t go completely electric? I, for one of many, will not be going electric. I don’t use my cars or bikes very much since Covid so an electric car permanently on charge would be a really significant electricity cost for a pensioner and I reckon with failing memory I would forget to put it in charge so when I needed to use it I couldn’t. Having a gallon of fuel around is a great stop gap for me and my ageing ICEs.

 Information from the Petrol Revolt website.

Everyone knows of the con from all the manufacturers who produce diesel engined cars and that they have fiddled the exhaust emissions with their plug in electronic assessment of engine performance giving completely false information. They all have to pay compensation for this but those figures are still with the DVLA and Genghis Khan is relying on them for ULEZ. All the diesel cars should have to pay ULEZ because what is in the log book is not correct. The car industry is getting away with murder if you believe in the TFL 4000 deaths from emissions. What other false information is being used? All of the legislation and statistics that are quoted needs to be questioned. Any government figures need to be looked at in the light of what they want to show and what the government wants to tell you. Which may or may not be true? Let us have a look at inflation. The Office of National Statistics (Government info) says that the rate of inflation if falling. My wallet tells me otherwise. We are not in a recession. Who would notice when food banks are so short of food because the poor can no longer give away food. The only people who claim everything is satisfactory are those who have so much money they would not know what a recession looks like and that includes the politicians. It is about time they threw in the towel before there is nothing left of the country. This reminds me of a nautical tale I remember from my childhood; a sailor was lost at sea for months and when his boat was recovered all that was found was a set of false teeth and a note; I was so hungry, in desperation, I began eating myself. The hunger was all consuming.

I see the greed of those in power will achieve the same for the country.