VSCC Trials
At last we are freed a little from the Covid restrictions that have been taking a little bit of fun out of what we have been able to do. The VSCC’s Exmoor Fringe Trial was planned originally for the 10th of April. However, all credit goes to the organisers in that they thought outside the box and moved the Trial at the last minute to the Monday the 12th.
On Thursday I drove my 1930 Model A Ford Tudor saloon the 1 mile journey home from work where the engine amusingly cut-out a quarter of a mile from home.
Exmoor Fringe Trial
On Monday Morning my intrepid son Burt and I hopped into the Mighty Model A at 04:30 am and spanked it down the Foss way from the southern tip of Yorkshire down to Exebridge, where we competed in the VSCC’s Exmoor Trial. We completed all the Hills. For me, to compete in a way where I will stand a chance of winning it is all about traction, which means letting the tyres down to the point where they nearly spin on the rim. The consequences of tight rope walking that fine line is the occasional puncture, which there was no time for in my schedule, so I think we will have done quite mediocre.
Having finished the trial, we just set straight off on the 260+ mile journey back up the Foss Way, where we whizzed home without a problem; In fact we drove straight to our local pub the King Bill and were there in time for last orders. It cost me 2 pints of oil, a gallon of water, a packet of fags and whole heap of petrol, but what a fantastic thing to do.
Driving a vintage car on the road is something I dearly love doing; I do it all the time. I drive a vintage car to work possibly more than anything else. Granted under normal circumstances, it would have been ace to do what I would normally do, drive there the day before and drive home the day after to make it all the more relaxing and drag out the fun. But I always drive my vintage car. I don’t have time to waste faffing about putting cars on and off trailers. Driving to and from events is a large part of the fun.
Back in days of yore, people drove their vintage cars to and from any event they were doing- racing, trialing, rallying or even concourse. The idea of a trailer was out the question and today it is so much easier and safer. I drove the last 60 or so miles, with a quick lunge from the Fosse Way, on the M1, up to the A46 to the A6097, then the last few miles up the A1. It was pretty much flat out for 60 miles, doing 55-60mph in the dark, I may have lifted a little for the round-abouts, just because it is a Model A doesn’t mean you can't try to scrape the door handles on the road! It's safer too, so many vintage cars these days have lovely subtly fitted indicators and the LED light bulbs make bad lighting a thing of the past.
Driving a vintage car on the public road is great fun. Currently in the UK we are at liberty to do it whenever and as much as we like. So many other countries do not have that luxury. Some you can only use on the road if you are involved in an event.
Having spent 18 hrs thrashing up and down the country in a vintage car my 20 year old son said it was the best thing he had done all year.