Biggar Rally

[SHyslop]

This is more 'Rovers Not Spotted' but I hope it may be of passing interest. With excellent weather forecast for last Sunday, I set off at 7.20 for my annual day out on my own. The photos are of the rally field at 8.45 so don't think the crowds had stayed at home; they were just yet to arrive. My car was the only pre war Rover entered but I was hoping to see a 1947 12 entered in the list, GNX887 as I used to own a really nice 1947 14 saloon registered GNX65 but it went to Eire many moons ago.
Anyway, there was a good smattering of P4s and one owner has been a faithful viewer of whichever car I've had with me at this show in the past few years. He was suffering from a sticking valve, an exhaust one on an IOE engine and it was good to catch up with him again. I had several lengthy conversations with people who remembered having, or their parents having, similar cars in the past.

Probably the most interesting was one chap whose parents had had the same model when he was about 8 or 9 and several times a year, he told me, they set off from Scotland to the south coast. He was interested in reliving the view he had had of the dashboard from his seat in the back and in particular the click of the door shutting had a particular interest for him as he said that had always been the signal to him that they were "on their way". We spoke about Shap, the Jungle Cafe and the whole route without motorways and bypasses, some of which I just remember and other parts of which I have (unwillingly) experienced when stretches of the motorway have been closed and the lengthy detour over what used to be the A6 has to be taken.

Anyway, it seems something of a pity that the era for these sorts of authentic memories of this age of car is passing and soon will be with us no more. I try to take a 30s car each year to this show and my day is usually just about filled with people who have interesting memories of these cars. I also met in with a chap I knew of who lives only about 15 miles from me and has a 1932 Rover Pilot. The man whose car I was beside I have known for a long time and it turned out he had a new set of cylinder liners for the 1900cc 14 engine so they are on their way to me and may hopefully be of use for one of the 14s.

Last year, I was going round the stalls and a chap had a box of Payen copper gaskets - manifold and downpipe rather than head. I had been making a new manifold gasket for a 1934 14 only a few weeks before so I knew their design when I saw it. I had ordered new ones but downpipe gaskets came instead and it wasn't worth sending them back, just in case you think I was too mean to buy them. The stallholder had two pairs so I asked him if he knew what they were for. No, he didn't, but he had a catalogue at home and as there was a number on each, it would reveal what the application was. But the catalogue is at home? Yes. So you don't know what they're for? No, but they' must be rare. This went on for quite a while but we settled on a fair price for something I was very surprised to find at a one day show.

In fact, to be fair, the stalls were better this year than those at the Cumbria Steam Gathering we'd been at a few weeks earlier.

There was a goodly number of 1970s Rovers. starting with a 1971 P5B and P6B, 72 P5,2x 73 P6, 74 3500S, plus many Land Rovers.

After a day of wall to wall sunshine and copious crowds of people, I was pleasantly surprised to be awarded the prize for the Post Vintage Category. It is only the second time I have won something at this show so it was rather good to have the qualities of the P1 Rover recognised by an independent person (or persons) unknown and the car covered 102 miles with no intervention needed on any of its mechanical bits.

[GOY189]

Well done Simon,
Mike Maher