Vintage Thing No.46 - the Austin-MG special

I was unable to go to the VSCC Wiscombe hillclimb this year so by way of compensation have been reviewing the photos I took last year.

This the Austin-MG special built and raced by Brian King. It's essentially an Austin 7 engined fitted with an MG ohc cylinder head but there's a bit more to it than that.

I like the way it's been fitted - and supercharged.

Most MGs of this era had a vertical shaft drive that doubled as the dynamo. It was notorious for getting covered in oil and not producing any sparks. For his Austin-MG special Brian chose a duplex sprocket chain drive.

With all that going on the front of the engine most normal people wouldn't have known where to put the blower but Brian extended the tail end of the crankshaft rather than the nose and moved the flywheel outwards so that he could take the supercharger drive inboard of the clutch.

The components date back to 1930 and 1934 so long before Austin and MG were bedfellows in the overcrowded king size divan that was British Leyland - there's no badge engineering with this little baby.

That's what I like about this car so much - nothing should really fit together but it does, because a considerable amount of artifice has been applied to it. It's a model of engineering in both senses.

And the exquisite machining doesn't end with the engine. Just look at the front suspension.

I had a brief chat with Brian in the paddock but he and his machine were being mobbed by enthusiasts desperate to know more.

He told me that he wasn't trying too hard on the day because he didn't want to bend it after all the hours he'd spent working on it. I can quite understand this but I reckon he was still enjoying himself.

There is always something hugely appealing about racing Austin 7s but this one is in a class of its own.

Vintage Thing No.17.1 - dirt track Douglas

While looking through some old photographs I found this shot of a dirt track Douglas at Wiscombe Park hill climb back in 1998 (I think). This shot reminded me why I like this design so much - for such an old bike, it looks like it's doing a 100mph even propped up against a Transit. The bike wheels and low slung engine all shout speed to me and although it's a hard tail and I prefer sprung frames any attempt to give it springing would alter the simple lines of the bike. The handle bars look like a bit too practical. I'd like to see this machine with drop handlebars like a racing push bike. And the gearchange on the tank and the shape of the tank itself make you realise this is an old bike. But the concept of the dirt track Douglas seems so modern to me.

Because it has a front brake this is probably the road going version of the dirt track Duggie - the SW5. The speedway biked lacked any sort of front brake and the gearchange was usually locked in one position. Me? I like brakes and admire speedway riders for travelling so fact without any form braking save that of the engine. An SW5 such as this is probably the only bike of the twenties that tempts me into ownership. Like an old hymnal, it's a great blend of ancient and modern. And if it was an SW6 then it'd even more desirable for that means it's a 600cc machine and not the normal 500. I don't think it is though. The yellow numberplate suggest this bike runs in the 500 hill climb class. If I were ever to own a bike like this that's what I'd use it for - hillclimbing.

You probably can't quite make it out but just behind the hand gearchange lever is the name of Douglas on the tank. "Douglas" has a full stop. Maybe a full stop couterpoints the dynamic lines of the bike but never has a sporting motorcycle been so well punctuated.