This trip to Angoulême in France for the annual vintage racing around the ramparts of a mediaeval hilltop town did not start well. In fact it began with a strange chuffing noise from the Rover's engine. Our editor had become involved in this, as he had taken a fancy to the Reliant Robin in which my Canadian friend Helen and I had completed a road trip to the Isle of Man, as reported in the December 2023 issue. We ended that trip with a solid respect for the Reliant as a bad idea (one wheel at the front) executed with imagination, skill and determination, but having driven the little three-wheeler for 1000 miles between us, neither Helen nor I wanted to drive it any further than that.
A deal evolved which had Helen trading in the Reliant and some cash for Simon's Rover P4, as that seemed like a much better choice as a car to use for the next road trip, this time to France. Helen flew over from Vancouver, but Simon then noticed the annoying chuffing noise coming from the Rover's engine. As detailed in a previous , he eventually traced this to a blowing head gasket, though it was not leaking any oil or coolant, just compression. It may even have been fine as it was for the duration of
