Ulsteroid trials and tribulations

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    Back in March I did the Torbay trial in the Ulsteroid. This event uses some of the hills also used on the MCC Exeter trial, such as Simms and Tipley, along with others of varying severity. I have to say I have no desire to try to get an Austin 7 up Tipley again, some of the holes were horrendous! After a couple of hills the slight click when taking up drive became a nasty clunk and despite being very gentle with things eventually the o/s drive shaft gave up the good fight and all drive was lost after hill 9. Well after a summer of WAY too much work and not enough play, I have finally got the axle off and am in the process of rebuilding it. Having entered class 0 on the Exeter trial (slightly less damaging hills than the main trial, but no Simms) The car also needs a reversing light and map reading light fitting. Father doing the electrics whilst I do the oily bits. the cream crackered shaft can be seen in the foreground.

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Hope this will play ok? Video of our slightly half hearted attempt at Simms on the Torbay trial in March, nursing a sick half shaft.

[Timothy P]

Ouch, glad to see repair is underway.
We'll definitely try to spectate a class 0 hill this year to see you in action on the Exeter.
Hope all of the preparation work goes well, and best of luck with the trial itself.

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This video is of us on the Kimber trial in 2016, including the infamous Alham splash, over a foot deep on this occasion!

[Special Bits]

A quick update. The night of the Exeter was bitterly cold, minus 6c reported by a marshal. We set off from the Haynes Motor museum at 02.23 and had a 23 mile road section to the first test, a cross the line reverse back then forward over line C timed job. no heroics, just got the test completed and straight into the first stop-restart of the event, a reasonably easy one. So having lulled us into a false sense of, oh this is rather easy, security, the next hill was as rough as you like, the chassis hitting the ground a few times. this rather set the tone, with some of the tracks approaching the hills, and leading from them, being at least as bad as the trials hills them selves! During the night it is all a bit of a blur, we had trouble with a dodgy headlight switch, making the lights go out on bumps, of which there were plenty, but still managed to clean all the hills we did. daylight came just as we got to the breakfast stop at Crealy, revealing a white landscape with a thick covering of frost.

Setting off from Crealy I commented how difficult the crash box was being, putting it down to cold oil. Unfortunately as I changed into 3rd just under the M5 J30, the gear lever went all floppy, a quick peer down the footwell revealed that the stub of Austin Gear lever had snapped off flush with the gearbox turret top, game over. This being about the closest the trial came to home, I decided to drive the car back to my parents 15 miles away, with it stuck in 3rd. There were a few tricky hill starts, but I managed to get it home.

There's a couple of videos Ill endevor to share, sorry they are rather dark, the new camera didn't cope well with low light.

Entry in for the Lands End trial, Good Friday-Easter Saturday.

Stuart
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  26231169_1804692636268925_4611571263744934608_n.jpg (Size: 139.62 KB / Downloads: 920) Us on Pin Hill around 4,30 am

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Struggling up one of the muddier hills.

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Trialing with no lights

[Duncan Grimmond]

Full marks for perseverance!

[Pearls not a Singer]

A quick update. The night of the Exeter was bitterly cold, minus 6c reported by a marshal. We set off from the Haynes Motor museum at 02.23 and had a 23 mile road section to the first test, a cross the line reverse back then forward over line C timed job. no heroics, just got the test completed and straight into the first stop-restart of the event, a reasonably easy one. So having lulled us into a false sense of, oh this is rather easy, security, the next hill was as rough as you like, the chassis hitting the ground a few times. this rather set the tone, with some of the tracks approaching the hills, and leading from them, being at least as bad as the trials hills them selves! During the night it is all a bit of a blur, we had trouble with a dodgy headlight switch, making the lights go out on bumps, of which there were plenty, but still managed to clean all the hills we did. daylight came just as we got to the breakfast stop at Crealy, revealing a white landscape with a thick covering of frost.

Setting off from Crealy I commented how difficult the crash box was being, putting it down to cold oil. Unfortunately as I changed into 3rd just under the M5 J30, the gear lever went all floppy, a quick peer down the footwell revealed that the stub of Austin Gear lever had snapped off flush with the gearbox turret top, game over. This being about the closest the trial came to home, I decided to drive the car back to my parents 15 miles away, with it stuck in 3rd. There were a few tricky hill starts, but I managed to get it home.

There's a couple of videos Ill endevor to share, sorry they are rather dark, the new camera didn't cope well with low light.

Entry in for the Lands End trial, Good Friday-Easter Saturday.

Stuart
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Us on Pin Hill around 4,30 am

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Struggling up one of the muddier hills.

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Trialing with no lights

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Well done Stuart!
For those who've never been to the Land's End trial, pictures here show just how challenging the Hills can be for a 7.

This

is the Blue Hills on the 2012' and here

     in 2014

[Alan Bee]

MCC Exeter Trial 2018 - one of eleven cars to clear Simms!
https://www.facebook.com/duncan.stephens...721050454/

[Special Bits]

MCC Exeter Trial 2018 - one of eleven cars to clear Simms!
https://www.facebook.com/duncan.stephens...721050454/

That was an amazing achievement, Alan, well done! Seemingly the first Austin 7 Saloon to clean Simms in living memory!
How was Tipley? I would have done the main trial rather than class 0 if it didn't include that horror!

See my half baked attempt on the Torbay trial above.

For those who have never been to have a look, video rarely does a trials hill justice. Simms is an absolute beast of a hill, 1:3 at points, rough enough that going flat out at it is almost certain to break the car, with a surface varying from rough gravel/mud to damp polished rock towards the top. When a car or bike fails, the marshals going to assist have a great deal of difficulty staying on their feet, and cars just slid back down the hill with all 4 wheels locked up!

[Alan Bee]

Hi Stuart, there was a delay when we arrived at Tipley which meant we did it in the dark, so only felt the bumps rather than saw them. I remember it from a few years ago when a steering arm broke and we turned over. It was a long night/day, 22hours and things get a bit blurry but think Tillerton Steep was probably one of the roughest. You are right about Simms being polished rock, because I have also slid back and turned over and also about the video not doing the hill justice until you compare it with the rest of the fields attempts shown on you tube.