Rochdale cars

Can anyone comment on the car I have been offered as a gift in exchange for a few favours I did for a guy?

I have wanted a Rochdale for donkeys years and I've been given one in rough condition. Now I need to find out details of them.

Is there a book about the marque?

Have any of you owned them and are able to give me technical information, please?

I would very much like to use in PCT's where I presently enter anything I own or can borrow, most recently a Westfield and a Liege.

I am quite prepared to use the shell on a spaceframe with a Sierra 1600 but would be open to argument about retaining the sidevalve if competition classes are more suitable to the old spec.

If it goes to the modern spec it will get used in the kit car class of PCT's, autotests, scatters and night rallies. The older spec will be PCT's only as there are no classic trials near West Yorkshire apart from the White Peak when it runs. I do not particulary want to build a car for one or two events per year.

Also what is so special about Aquaplane inlet and exhaust manifolds with twin SU's, do they push 25 HP up to 26, which in the fifties was spectacular or are they really worthwhile, even now? They are available from the guy for 짙100 but I don't realise how bad they are, are they 짙100 good? I could get a fully sorted 1600 engine and box for that money. OK, so I'm a philistine.

Regards

John

john@jdrhodes.freeserve.co.uk

 

 

 

 

Peter Treliving has passed away (posted on behalf of Pat Toulmin)

Michael,

 

I have just had a phone call from Tim Whellock to say that, very sadly, Peter has just died from the brain tumour he has had for a while.

 

Tim would very much like to have a good turnout for the funeral, both of trials' drivers and cars. He will let me know when and where, probably early next week, and I will let you know.

 

He has asked if the word can be passed on? As I don't have such instant publishing facilities can you please broadcast it on Classical Gas and the Community?

 

Many thanks

 

Pat

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Summer Puzzle

Hmmm ... An interesting one! Michael is obviously in a privileged position because he knows where he found it on the Net and may have seen a better image, but here goes anyway.

I think it might be Bluehills (2). The surface, general gradient and curvature, and the right-hand side (as viewed) all look correct and it could be that the spectators down the left-hand side are concealing the drop to the sea. I've certainly seen 1930s pictures of Bluehills that show the 'scarred' waste dumps in the background rather than the grassed 'hills' we see today.

It's a well-attended section and the Number (133) would suggest a major event. The number provides the conundrum, however. I'd always believed that the MCC generally gave the bikes and outfits the lowest set of numbers with the cars following later (as they do now). A quick flick through 'Cowbourne' confirms that, in the 1930s at least, a start number of 133 would generally have meant a car rather than a bike - and remember that the old Bluehills was used until well into the 1930s. I then noticed that BSA 3-Wheelers were often given numbers in the 'car series' so did this cover outfits as well?? I need an MCC expert to answer that question!

Although other events (the 'Gloucester' and the 'Brighton-Bere' for example) often had fields well into the hundreds, I don't think any of them combined cars and bikes. So I still think an MCC event is the most likely. It certainly doesn't look like an 'Exeter' hill and the 'Edinburgh' didn't run in the Peak District PreWar, but it could have been an MCC 'Sporting' Trial in the Peaks although these didn't always attract three-figure entries.

Anyone got any better ideas than Bluehills (2)?

Andrew

Beggars Roost - Help Required

Hi everyone,

Summertime again and time for me to write features rather than event reports for the Classical Gas Web Site. I hope you liked the Buckler piece.

I am going to do a couple of articles on old trial hills, starting with Beggars Roost. Now despite my enthusiasm as a Trials publisher I don't have much of a personal archive to draw upon.

So, any help appreciated. Old magazine articles, pictures, adventures and reminisences old and new. I will be gratefull for anything and will be delighted to acknowledge it in the final piece.

Post it here or e-mail it to me at mleete24@hotmail.com

Thanks in anticipation.

Michael

Lands End Date Change 3

I have now had confirmation from three sources, namely John Aley, John West and the MCC web site, to say that the Lands End will run at Easter again next year!

The MCC discussed the move last weekend and it would appear that nothing will be done without further consultation involving the members.

Hopefully this means that the Lands End will stay where it is for the foreseeable future, but I would urge everyone who is against the change, to keep an eye on triple, and when comments are invited, make your feelings known.

What is good to see is that the MCC have taken into account members views expressed both by letter and by this web site. As far as I know we also won't be losing any of the orgaising team either so can carry on with the Lands End as it is.

Giles

Madcap ideas !!

As we enter the summer recess I'm sure many of us are scratching our heads thinking what mods we can do to get "that little bit more" from our machines.

With our sport having such history there must be some interesting tales of people with mad ideas that have lead to amusing or disasterous consequences !!

I know of a particular Class 1 driver (who'll remain nameless for now!) who thought he'd try filling his tubes with water. Caused great amusement to his fellow competitors when deflating them at Section 1 caused a 6ft high fountain ! That was the least of his worries, just imagine the wheel wobble when he pumped them back up (with air) and started driving down the road !

 

International Classic Motor Show - November

Just to let you all know that the ACTC will have a stand at the Classic Motor Show at the NEC on 4th/5th November. We hope to follow the 1998 format of display boards on the wall, a TV showing continuous video of our events, and a display of at least three cars. This time, hopefully, we have enough notice to make sure that some of the cars will not be cleaned after the previous trial and we can display them 'as nature intended'!

Any offers of assistance on the stand (there should be a small number of free entry tickets available on a first-to-commit-to-help-first-to-receive-a-ticket basis) and/or the loan of suitable videos will be gratefully received. You can find my e-mail address in my 'Member Profile'.

Put the date in your diaries now!

Andrew