1924 Small Car Trials

[Mike Costigan]

Steve,
Before you commit to a date, check with the LCES, as I think they have something similar planned for their Welsh Weekend at the beginning of April.

[Steve kay]

Thanks to all for encouraging responses and interest.

Mike, LCES are recreating parts of the routes on Fri 5 and Sat 6 April.  

In response to Chris Garner, the first factor to note is the odd use of the routes. North was day 1, South day 2. However due to some unexpected activities in Bala, day3 was also South. Days 4 and 5 thus took the Northern route. 
Poppe had problems heating on first attempt at Bwlch y Groes. Day 2 he had problems after the “watersplash” at Beulah. Day three saw him being reported as running excellently. It was day four’s attempt to ascend Bwlch y Groes  that ended the trial. Cars were indeed carefully observed to stop fuelling, or plug changing for which further penalty points were awarded. The second man in each car was an observer, not a team member. Mr Lightbody was Poppe’s observer, and was given a special award for his heroism in pushing the Seven up Bwlch y Groes on its last attempt. 
Penalty points could be given for all sorts of activities, and sometimes lead to vigorous debates in the evenings. The Gwynn team did their sums and correctly calculated that the penalties given for having a team car with spares and help would be far outweighed by the overall performance. If Poppe had fuel level problems in his scuttle tank on day one, it is perhaps odd that he did not reckon that marks lost for topping up would be significantly fewer than those lost for poor time, stopping to let the observer out to push, and stopping again at the summit to take the observer back on board. 

Many thanks, an ever, to Austin Harris for having put together such a magnificent resource. Sadly he had major problems with open access to the site, so additional comments have long since had to stop. Some of us have gathered a lot of further information about images, maybe we should put together a complementary site adding info relating to the Austin/LAT image archive. 

And finally, putting together the dates for two days in April is very much open to suggestions.

[Howard Wright]

Hi Stephen

Some excellent research and I would very much echo your comments regarding the LAT archive.

Another date to avoid (or possibly embrace) is ‘Drive it day’ on the 21st. 

Cheers

Howard

[austin]

If there are more comments to be made I do have ways of adding them, just not "open" on the site. Something like a spreadsheet could be the way forward?

[Steve kay]

  trojan at start.jpg (Size: 119.74 KB / Downloads: 286)

Thanks to Chris Garner for comments, Chris has added to captions in the Austin Harris/LAT archive. I don’t know where Cowbourne found his history of the event. There is agreement that Gunnar Poppe had problems climbing Bwlch y Groes earlier in the trial, but so did numbers of entrants. For those of you yet to climb it, it is not the highest in Wales, rather less so than Gospel Pass, and does not have the steepest parts, with no double chevron, but if climbing in an easterly direction it is a long and relentless climb.  From about 160m at the bridge at Pont Pennant  to spot height of 545m at the summit. The savage hairpin marked Blaen Pennant  wholly defeats any attempts to gather and maintain momentum.
The Autocar report says of Poppe’s final failure, “Fate unkindly disposed of poor Poppe at the last moment, the Austin failing on the 1 in 5 portion on its run up. There followed an epic struggle, during which a heroic observer made frantic attempts to push the car or turn the rear wheels by the spokes. Thirteen times the little car was persuaded to move a yard or so, then volumes of smoke filled the driving compartment, and the much ill-used clutch gave up its job completely. Thereafter the little Austin disappeared, pushed up by spectators and officials, and was withdrawn after a gallant fight.”
History does not record whether the car free wheeled all the way down the other side to Llanuwchllyn station, there to be loaded up to be retuned to Llandod or straight back to Longbridge.
This climb on that day  had the benefit of a Westerly wind giving a helpful push, but adding the handicap of seriously reducing intake of cooling air as cars made a very slow pace up the hill. Numbers of cars were seen having “water flowing from their vent pipes.” The Trojans emitted steam at one end and smoke from the other.
The archive has numbers of images of Poppe in the Seven, some of which have been discussed here on the forum. What I add above is to confirm Editor Howard’s comments about Tom Norton hosting the event. Ah yes, what an irreplaceably good range of pictures that Austin Harris/LAT collection contains. I wonder if it is ever updated. To add coloured images of a certain stalwart driver heroically managing a class win in a trial in 2023 for example, or is that the wrong century?

[austin]

As mentioned above, it can be updated just not openly. After having to remove 1,000s of fake comments per day I had to close that option down. I just don't have the time or inclination after doing it for 15 years plus.

If anyone wants to add to the comments please send them to me. As said above,

No problem with images being added in comments, would be nice to compare then & now.

[Howard Wright]

Hi Steve

Thanks for posting the picture of Norton’s garage. I may be wrong but I think this building was on Station Crescent. It was owned by a Vauxhall agent called Evans and then demolished about 10 years ago to make way for a hospital carpark and bus station.

Cheers

Howard

[Steve kay]

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Some further thoughts on Gunnar Poppe’s unsuccessful outing in the 1924 Small Car Trials. One of the most remarkable features of  the Seven is its competition life, from before going into production. Speed events started at in 1922 at Shelsley, where they will continue later this year. Early racing included not only Brooklands, but driving to Monza, and the opening event at Monthlery.

Trialling also started very early, in the Colmore and the Lands End in 1923. The 1924 Colmore in February saw Gunnar Pope get a Silver, in OL3419, and he took a Bronze completing the April Lands End. All Sevens entered in the June London – Edinburgh finished,  Poppe in OL 3418 getting a Gold  In  July Poppe drove one of the three brave Chummies who successfully  managed the 875 miles of the Lands End to John O’Groats Trial.  So what went wrong with OL3418 on the Small Car Trial? The car was entered by the works, who had to lodge a bond of £250 in case they were  challenged for entering a car that was not in standard production condition. Canning Brown suggests magneto. Whilst a number of cars had magneto problems caused by the deep watersplash at Beulah, this was on the Southern Loop, not en route to Bwlch y Groes. Cowbourne mentions in passing the Autocar report, which clearly notes both clutch smell and lack of forward movement.

For those of you VSCC members with cars eligible for LCES, abbreviated versions of the trial routes will be used for the LCES Spring Weekend, Friday 5/Sat 6th April.  For those of us with modified Sevens, or indeed Morgans or GNs, it is intended to recreate the Small Car Trial on Fri 17th/Sat 18 May. This will use the full Northern Loop, whizzing up Bwlch y Groes. The Southern Loop passes the actual start of the hillclimb just outside Brecon at Warren Road. As far as I know this was only used in August 1921. The four miles or so of the Warren Road diversion will be but a fraction of the day’s original 176 miles, so will be attempted. 
 
Expressions of interest are invited so that planning can commence. No bond of £250 will have to be lodged with the organisers. Participants will be encouraged to stop at the bottom of hills to fill scuttle tanks to the brim. Wing tanks may be available from a well known forumist.

stevekaytwo@btinternet.com  or PM

Thanks and acknowledgements as ever to Austin Harris and the LAT Archive

[Howard Wright]

Hi Steve,

I’ve marked it on the calendar.

Cheers

Howard

[Duncan Grimmond]

Thanks for the mention Steve, yes wing tanks are still available...