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19/06/2023 16:27
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Contents
Se is pt su e 3 e mb Au on er gu sa ’23 st le
Find us on Facebook at mCarMagazine www.facebook.com/Custo
Regulars
24
2
News & reviews Havoc is coming to Dragstalgia
32 Centre Spread
Phew, that was a close call
44 Readers’ Rods Darren Fine’s quirky Prefect pickup
50 SoCal Diaries
RPM Nationals hit Barona, CA
60 Events
Holiday? What holiday?
64 Next Month
44
18
Mark Belcher’s jaw-dropping ‘38 Chevy
Out and About 18 Run to the Sun The legend returns
22 BHP Performance Show New venue, massive turnout
Features
50
8
Whisky a Go Go ‘41 Ford pickup with a signwritten twist
24 Just a Small Job… …that turned into an epic Coupe de Ville
36 Spring Rumble
36 8
The NSRA sallies forth
52 Doorslammers
www.customcarmag.co.uk
Eyes on the prize…
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52
AUGUST 2023 CUSTOM CAR 1
CC Contents Aug.indd 1
22/06/2023 13:09
News & reviews
N
ick Davies, owner / driver of Havoc, has announced that the famed Championshipwinning AA/Fuel Altered will make a rare appearance at Santa Pod at Dragstalgia on the weekend of 7-9 July. “Havoc hasn’t turned a wheel since the 2018 Dragstalgia Cannonball victory, but Rob, Scott and I decided it was time to bring back the lil’ green machine to compete in this year’s event. “We are under no illusions as to how tough the competition has become over the last few years,” continued Nick, “with both the ‘nostalgia-legal’ 6.0 / 5.90 Funny Cars as well as the ‘Outlaw’ no-rules, nostalgia-bodied Funnies, surely targeting mid 5s. Not to mention the dragsters which are a welcome addition to the field. We
certainly don’t have the fastest car in the Cannonball, but that has never deterred us in the past. We’ll be there to win. “A couple of factors contrived to bring about the situation. Firstly, the unplanned break in our Pro Mod schedule, for which a return is most definitely planned. Secondly, efforts to get the new Altered, No Quarter, finished in time for this year’s Dragstalgia were simply too ambitious. We are unwilling to compromise on spec and detail so it will be done when it’s done. And it’s not done yet.” We guess many Havoc fans never thought they would see the car run in anger again and will be so grateful for this opportunity. Never say never, and bring it on.
Pic: Tony Thacker
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OKAY, IT’S NOT CAR RELATED but it is something those of us of a certain age will relate to. If you missed out on riding a Raleigh Chopper the first time around you’ve now got another shot at it as from late June you can buy new bikes online. The limited edition 2023 model is almost an exact replica of the old school Chopper Mk2. Engineering processes have improved tremendously over the years and the new model boasts TIG welding and ali hubs. In addition, to meet modern safety stands the saddle and sissy bar are mounted slightly lower than the original. The question now is, how many will we see in the pits at the Pod by the end of the season? At £950 a pop maybe not that many. www.raleigh.co.uk
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WE’LL BE BRINGING YOU FULL COVERAGE of the Main Event at Santa Pod in the next issue, but here’s a little snippet to whet your appetite. Running in Top Fuel, Finland’s Ida Zetterström set new FIA European records in her dragster in the semi-finals – 3.773 seconds at 321.01 mph. Way to go Ida.
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2 CUSTOM CAR AUGUST 2023
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Steve Sharp WE WERE SADDENED TO hear of the passing of photographer Steve Sharp. Steve shot a great number of Northern-based CC feature cars over the years, with many of them gracing the cover. That was a testament to Steve’s skill behind the lens and his uncanny eye for a good shot. Not only was he a great photographer, he was also a very personable guy. He got on with everyone, was exceptionally easy to work with and fully appreciated the true meaning of a deadline. He will be greatly missed by so many. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. RIP Steve.
Celebr ating 74 years
Mark Blows LONG-TERM HOT RODDER Mark Blows passed away on 30 May following a short battle with cancer. Loved by so many, Mark’s passing will leave a large void in the hot rodding world. Affectionately known as the ‘hot rod historian’, Mark was an active member of Chelmsford Drag n Street Rod Club and was the man to turn to when it came to the history of our hobby. His collection of magazines and photographs was legendary and he was always willing to devote time researching any question he got asked. He helped out with queries raised in CC on many occasions. We are all the worse for his passing. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. RIP Mark.
Steve Moxley PHOTOJOURNALIST STEVE MOXLEY HAS passed away after suffering a heart attack. Always cheerful, Steve had a genuine interest in all racers and teams he encountered. Primarily concentrating on motorcycle drag racing, Steve could easily turn his hand to race machinery with 4 wheels and contributed to CC on a number of occasions. He also had his work published in Gasser Wars magazine in the States. Steve, and his work spanning many years, will be sorely missed by all those in the drag racing community. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. RIP Steve.
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News & reviews
Something for the weekend?
A national custom
The National Hot Rod, Custom and American Car Show takes place over the weekend of 22-23 July at the new venue of the Lincolnshire Showground. Along with a vast array of show cars, displayed both indoors and outside, there will be a fun fair, wrestling and more live entertainment than ever before. Music will be performed day and night and there will also be Burlesque, dance lessons and a Peter Kay tribute act. 2 CUSTOM CAR MARCH The show also includes the 2023 Ink & Oil Tattoo Convention. Weekend tickets include camping and are priced at £45 per person, and day tickets are priced at £15 per person. Advance ticket sales close on 20 July. www.hotrodandcustomshow. co.uk
Super weekend This year’s NSRA Hot Rod Supernationals takes place at Old Warden Park, Biggleswade on the weekend of 11-13 August, with the gates also being open for pre-entered NSRA members on the Thursday. At the time of wring details are still to be confirmed but, as
always, this will be the premiere hot rod event in Europe. Cruises, a fun fair, trade stands, live music and a huge show and shine for pre-1972 hot and customs on Sunday will combine to make this a weekend not to be missed. www.nsra.org.uk
Retro overload Retrofestival at Newbury Showground also takes place on the weekend of 11-13 August. The multi-faceted vehicle exhibits will be supported by arena displays, airshows and a shopping village. The Black Hangar rock and roll stage, hosted by Stompin’ Steve and Dawnie, will feature 13 live artists, swing will be performed in The Spitfire Pavilion hosted by Alan and Lisa McGurk, whilst Ricky-Tick, hosted by Martin Fuggles, will feature the likes of the Edwin Starr Band, Small Fakers and Northern Soul Workshop. www.retrofestival.co.uk
Party weekend Proceeds from the Blue Ridge Runners’ annual motor show are donated to local charities.
It’s not just about show day though as gates for the Party Weekender open at 9:00 am on Friday 1 September and there will be a disco in the marquee that evening. Saturday will see a lunchtime cruise to the seaside and live entertainment in the evening. Sunday 3 September is show day with all manner of vehicles welcome. Generally, the show attracts 300 to 400 exhibits and the prize presentations take place around 4:00 pm. Showers are available for those camping for the weekend and full details, including prebooking, are available on the club’s website. www.blueridgerunners.co.uk
Jumble sale The biggest outdoor sale of motoring items this side of the Atlantic takes place on 2-3 September. We are, of course referring to the International Autojumble at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu. The event brings together all manner of motoring spares, automobilia and historic vehicles for sale, with hundreds of stands to browse in the busy event fields. As the old saying goes, “If you can’t find it at Beaulieu it doesn’t exist!” Opening times are 9:30 am to 5:00 pm on Saturday and 9:00 am to 4:40 pm on Sunday. www.beaulieu.co.uk
Atlantic crossing Sunday 3 September is a day devoted to stars and stripes as Brooklands welcomes a whole host of American cars and motorbikes. The day will offer a feast of chrome and colour from American classics and muscle cars produced by all the major players of the era. Especially for CC readers, there will be hot rods and customs as well, together with Americanthemed entertainment, food and memorabilia. Advance and on-the-day admission prices are £22.95 / £24.20 for adults, £21.95 / £23.10 for seniors and students, and £12.55 / £13.20 for children, with under 5s being admitted free. Family tickets are also available priced at £59.95 / £63.25 for 2 adults and 2 children, or £36.95 / £36.95 for 1 adult and 3 children. Normal Museum admission applies and ticket prices include a voluntary 10% Gift Aid donation which can be declined at the point of purchase. www.brooklandsmuseum.com
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Aussie delights
UNLESS YOU’VE BEEN IN HIBERNATION you’ll know that John Willard has travelled over from Sydney to run his Aussie Outlaw Pop at a few events at Santa Pod. To mark the occasion commemorative t-shirts have been designed by Colin Hardy and printed by Craig Dixon at Altered Tee Apparel. Priced at £25 (discounted to £20 if you contributed to Gofundme to help pay to ship the car over) the shirts are black as standard but can be ordered in white. Search John Willard on Facebook to get your hands on one.
Cosmostron
Automatron John has already run the car at the Pod as you’ll see in our Sportsman Nationals feature in the next issue. Pictured here is
John burning out for the first time in the UK prior to him running his inaugural checkout pass. Some checkout that was as the board read 6.737 / 206.05 – the quickest and fastest a Pop / Anglia has ever run in the UK! If ever there was another reason not to miss Dragstalgia. Pic: Julian Hunt
THE LATE MARK BLOWS would have instantly been emailing to point out the error in the Paul Bacon-built Meat Wagon feature last month – see, we’re missing Mark already. We inadvertently mentioned that Cosmotron is currently owned by Alan Hull, whereas Alan owns Automatron. It is Martin Smith who owns Cosmotron. Sorry guys, but at least it gave us reason to picture both these iconic cars once again.
Pic: Matt Richardson
Name game
Pic: DB
News & reviews
AUGUST 2023 CUSTOM CAR 5
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News & reviews Hang it
UK NOSTALGIA SUPERSTOCK has some cool new merch to sell alongside t-shirts at events they compete at. The A3 size posters are designed by Rust and Chrome Graphics and feature images of 2022 winners by MCT Photography. Priced at just £5 a print they are ideal to pop in a frame and hang in your house or simply stick it up on your garage wall. Pick up one for yourself from the NSS pits at Dragstalgia.
cast
The latest happenings at the home of UK drag racing – Santa Pod
Rover and out
MANY OF YOU WILL HAVE SEEN an Portsmore running his big block-powered Rover P4 at Santa Pod. Ian also likes a bit of hill climbing but recently came to grief at the end of the run-off at Shelsley Walsh. Fortunately, Ian only suffered bruising and nothing serious, but the same can’t be said of the car. We wish him all the best in getting things sorted.
Borders edge
WE CAME ACROSS THIS NEW-TO-US EVENT ajust before this issue went to press. Staged at Lilliardsedge Holiday Park in Jedburgh, Scotland, Hot Rods In the Borders takes place on 11-13 August. The only details we have are that live music will be provided by Blockbustarz on Friday night, and that you must pre-book as spaces are limited. Bookings can be made at www.pitchup.com (leave a special request stating booking for Hot Rods In The Borders) or via the Facebook events page.
The annual Mopar Euro Nationals has
Funny Car, along with the Saturday
become the ‘must-attend’ American
lunchtime Wheels Up Contest, the
muscle car event of the show
only such contest in the UK.
season. With RWYB for American
Off-track entertainment sees the
cars only, drag racing, show and
return of the ever-popular show
shine, wheelie contest, live music,
and shine competition, which will
traders and camping, whether you have a modified or classic American car or truck, come along to the largest muscle car event in Europe at
showcase some of the best muscle cars on site. The Friday evening off-site cruise is back by popular
Santa Pod Raceway on 28-30 July. The racing lineup on track is stronger than ever with 2 new classes to the event making their presence known across the weekend. The much-loved regulars of Nostalgia Superstock, Gasser Circus and Supercharged Outlaws will be joined by Street Eliminator and the brandnew Nostalgia Eliminator. On-track action continues for the public too with Run What Ya Brung being open to American-bodied / engine-only cars only. On-track exhibitions will see the likes of Roger Goring putting in some storming passes in the Ford Mustang-bodied Jet
demand and live evening bands will be playing across the weekend. For the first time at Mopars, there will be a free courtesy bus travelling between Santa Pod and Rushden Lakes Shopping Centre throughout the day on Saturday for those looking for an off-site experience. Tickets for the 29th Mopar Euro Nationals are available online now at santapodtickets.com, and through the Box Office on 01234 782828. Make sure to get your tickets in now, as there will be none available at the gate. More event information can be found online. www.santapod.com
6 CUSTOM CAR AUGUST 2023
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20/06/2023 14:37 26/06/2023 10:57
I
n the April ’20 issue, we featured a Jack Roush big block Ford-powered ’40 Ford pick-up owned by Meyrick Cox. Imported as a ready-built hot rod from the States, Meyrick turned to Jimmy Hibberd and The Unhinged Crew at Valley Gas Speed Shop to transform what he’d bought into what he actually wanted. Whilst the pick-up was well put together, it left a number of unticked boxes on Meyrick’s wish list. First up there was a 383 stroker motor under the bonnet, so that, along with the Ford 9-inch rear axle, was removed and replaced with the Roush motor and a far more manly rear axle. You may by now be wondering what that has got to do with the pretty looking ’41 Ford pick-up pictured here. Initially nothing, but there is a twist to the story. The rear wings on the pick-up that Meyrick bought were in pretty bad shape so he bought the ’41 as a donor truck for replacements. Close inspection, however, revealed the rear wings were in a worse condition that the ones he already had. That not only left Meyrick still looking for fresh wings, it also meant he was the owner of a second pick-up he didn’t really want. It so happens that a business associate and friend of Meyrick’s is a confirmed petrol head, with an eclectic and comprehensive collection to boot. There’s always room for another though, eh? The pair got chatting, Meyrick’s friend got smitten and ownership of the ’41 passed on to him. All he needed then was someone to breathe fresh life into it. It was no surprise that Meyrick threw the name of Valley Gas Speed Shop into the mix.
Watching game
“I really want to make this a very pretty truck,” he told Jimmy Hibberd, who instantly responded, “You do realise it is pretty well knackered.” Undeterred, the excited new owner enthused, “The big thing for me is watching the process of the truck being built.” And with that, there was a new entry in the books at Valley Gas: Carl-Peter Forster, an overseas customer from Austria. Having discussed expectations for the build, Jimmy suggested what proved to be
8 CUSTOM CAR AUGUST 2023
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Collector’s piece There’s no such thing as a collection that couldn’t use one more addition. Especially when it’s as beautiful as this ‘41 Ford pick-up from Valley Gas Words: Dave Biggadyke Pics: Matt Richardson
AUGUST 2023 CUSTOM CAR 9
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Picking up the pieces
1. 1. The pick-up as originally bought, complete with its less than perfectly repaired chassis.
4. 4. With the rot removed, work began on fabricating and fitting new floor panels.
7.
2. 2. The chassis was correctly repaired, boxed and fitted with additional tubular crossmembers.
5. 5. Slowly and meticulously, the bodywork restoration was completed one area at a time.
8.
3. 3. The extent of the rot in the cab floor is clear for all to see.
6. 6. The bed was shot so a repro alternative was fitted, along with the Valley Gas rolled rear pan.
9.
7. The tailgate is also an aftermarket repro.
8. Restoration of the wings, especially the rears, proved to be a major headache.
9. But patience and dedication shone through and many hours of wheeling later…
the perfect starting point. As the engine, gearbox and rear axle were being removed from Meyrick’s truck it would make sense for Carl-Peter to do a deal and utilise them on his. There was nothing wrong with the components, just they weren’t what Meyrick wanted, and the package even included the fuel tank, radiator and propshaft. Result. That all sounds well and good, but there was a significant problem that had to be attended to first. At some stage of its life, the original chassis had snapped in half and while it had been repaired, it was by no means a satisfactory foundation for the build. The first task then was to repair the chassis professionally, boxing the rails and
adding additional crossmembers at the same time. With the chassis sorted, the 9-inch axle was grafted under the rear, and a Kugel Komponents IFS fitted under the front complete with power steering and brakes. The small block Chevy and 700R4 trans were also fitted, as was a new pedal assembly.
were rotten at the bottoms, with 8 inches of metal in need of replacement. Fresh door skins from the waistline down were fabricated and grafted on, and a similar section of the cab back panel was replaced. A result of the chassis snapping was that the pick-up bed had been crushed. It was well past the point of no return so a repro replacement was sourced and fitted. In a similar ilk, the rear wings were a nightmare and were also beyond repair. That presented the team with somewhat of a headache as they were fully aware that replacements were virtually impossible to source. Meyrick Cox came to the rescue once again though as he just happened to
Body popping
Attention then turned to the body, and boy did that need a lot of attention. “It was absolutely shot,” said Jimmy. “In fairness though, the bonnet was pretty good.” Unfortunately, the remainder of the body panels didn’t fare so well. The front wings
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10.
12.
10. …they were ready to be prepped for primer, along with the rest of the bodywork.
12. With the body away the team set about detailing and reassembling the rolling chassis.
11. 11. The primered body panels packed up ready for carting off to the painters.
13.
15.
13. As usual, Berkshire Bodyshop didn’t disappoint and the painted cab and panels sit ready for reassembly.
14. Final assembly begins with the cab going on the chassis first.
14.
16.
15. Wiring was taken care of with a kit from Speedway Motors.
In fairness though, the bonnet was pretty good
16. Prior to fitting the new bed floor, the rear axle installation was clearly visible.
A Banjo wheel tops off the tilt steering column, while the dash houses a complement of Speedway gauges and the SO-CAL Speed Shop switchgear.
AUGUST 2023 CUSTOM CAR 11
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If it 'Drives, Flies, Rides or Sails' Trimmania has the solution
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Trimmania Ltd, Shepperlands Copse, Park Lane, Finchampstead, Berkshire RG40 4QE Tel: 0118 9734999 Email: epg@trimmania.co.uk www.trimmania.com Car_2023_08_August_Trim Mania_HP.indd 1 12Custom CUSTOM CAR AUGUST 2023
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Above: Headlights are also original, albeit converted to LED, with the trim rings once again being impeccably restored.
Above: Fresh, stained wood and stainless steel runners form the new pick-up bed floor. Below: They say that stance is everything and the team at Valley Gas has certainblu got that spot on. Wheels are painted 7 and 8-inch wide Vintique steels, fitted with trim rings and hubcaps and wrapped in wide white rubber. The paint was applied at the Berkshire Bodyshop, the colours being RAL3001 red and Heritage Cream 389 as chosen by the owner. Neil Melliard then stepped up and added the signwriting.
Above: From this view, you’d be excused for thinking the pick-up is a nicely restored stocker. There’s far more going on under the skin than that though.
Jimmy is right, the bonnet trim on a ’41 pickup is gorgeous. This is the restored original, with Valley Gas having fabricated a new bonnet opening catch as they all break.
have an original pair of wings from his ’40. Despite being far from perfect, they were a better bet than the pair on the ’41. “It was still a bit like a steel patchwork quilt though,” as Jimmy put it. New floor panels were fabricated and fitted, as was a rolled rear pan. The running boards, too, had seen better days – and, as only smooth-style repros were on offer, ribbed replacements were hand-formed at Valley Gas. “The body’s much better now’” Jimmy said with a smile. “It’s a really solid truck.” It’s far more than that – it’s a rolling credit to the skills and determination of Jimmy and The Unhinged Crew.
Trim and proper
Paintwork was entrusted to the ever-talented ‘Sweep’ at Berkshire Bodyshop in Newbury, the colours having been chosen by CarlPeter. With the truck then back at Valley Gas, new glass and rubbers were fitted, along with all the refurbished pieces of trim. “The trim on a ‘41 is far nicer than on a ’40,” Jimmy told us. “Problem is, you can’t get repro replacements, unlike for the previous year’s model, so it all had to be restored and re-chromed. The restoration included all the fiddly mild steel backing plates that are an integral part yet nobody ever sees them.” The truck was wired at Valley Gas, including circuits for the power windows
AUGUST 2023 CUSTOM CAR 13
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Left: The crate 383 small block Chevy stroker came out of Meyrick Cox’s ’40 pick-up. Jimmy Hibberd stripped it to make sure everything was as it should be and gave it a cosmetic makeover. The engine is topped off with Edelbrock Performer ali heads and a Rochester tri-power setup. Stainless headers feed the Valley Gas stainless exhaust system and a Walker radiator keeps things cool. The 700R4 was also stripped and fitted with a new filter and gaskets, whilst the Denny’s propshaft was treated to new UJs. Right: Trimmania covered the Glide bench seat in brown leather, with the same treatment being given to the door cards and kick panels. The same company also fitted the headlining and Porsche weave carpet. Far Right: Peek at the rear end and you’ll find a Currie 9-inch rear axle with 3.50:1 gears hanging from a pair of coliovers and located by a triangulated 4-bar arrangement. Rear lights are LED repro early Ford (’33-’36) units.
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Carl-Peter has not yet been able to drive the pick-up but that is about to change, and we’re sure he will enjoy the ride.
and central locking. A GPS tracking system is also wired in, but no sound system. “I don’t drive cars to listen to music,” Carl-Peter explained. “I go to concerts for that.” The interior was entrusted to Eric Giddings at Trimmania in Finchampstead, Berkshire. The guys there worked their stitching magic on the bench seat, door cards, kick panels, headlining and carpet. Outside of the cab they also stitched up the tonneau cover. Back at Valley Gas, there was then just one detail to attend to before the job could be considered finished: the signwriting on the doors. Initially, Carl-Peter gave Jimmy a free hand in designing this, with it then being tweaked by the man who would be responsible for executing the design in paint, Neil Melliard of Prosign. Having a penchant for fine whisky, Carl-Peter gave Neil the nod and he worked his magic with the brushes. At the time of writing, the pick-up has only clocked up road test miles as Carl-Peter’s schedule hasn’t allowed for the handover as yet. That situation will be changing soon, though; he must be keen to get hold of it. Initially, the truck will reside at Bicester Heritage, so you may well get to see it out and about later this year. Ultimately though it could well relocate to Germany where CarlPeter will find the 700R4 tranny perfect for clocking up those Autobahn miles.
To check out the vast extent of work carried out at Valley Gas Speed Shop visit www.valleygasspeedshop.com or call them on 01264 353646.
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COOLING & CNC Fabrication Serck Motorsoport have been manufacturing cooling systems for the custom car and drag racing market for over 40 years. Built to the highest standards in both Aluminium or Copper Brass Construction we have supplied to all levels of performance from Drag Racing to Custom Cars, Classic and Muscle Cars. We can also help you design your Cooling System from scratch with our CAD Software programs. We have recently added a new 5 Axis CNC Machine to our manufacturing department supported by the latest design software to enable us to meet your requirements for any parts machining or cooling solutions. We are also the official UK Distributor Setrab Oil Coolers with a huge range in stock from Diff Coolers to Transmission and Engine Coolers all instock and featured on our growing website. From Colin Millars 6 Second Ford Pop to Mark Todd’s 2000hp Street Legal Aston Martin to Paul Morton’s MK1 Zephyr Zodiac and many many more we have the perfect Cooling Solution for all Custom and Race applications. PERFORMANCE PARTS We have over 35,000 listed parts featured on our growing web site with a huge stock for quick and efficient delivery times for over 30 high quality brands in the market today, from Race and Road Tyres, Race Wheels to Water Pumps to Nitrous Kits to Turbos to Performance Oil to Fuel Injection Systems.
NITROUS Did you know there are now 7 Nitrous Filling Stations throughout the UK plus at our site in Hayes ? You can find them directly on our Website!! You can also get your refills direct at Santa Pod Raceway in the Pod Shop as well as a range of racing products from Serck Motorsport to support racers at the track. We are also appointed Nitrous Express UK Distributors and can supply all your performance requirements from Bottles to Kits to Parts direct from Stock. RACING SERVICES Rebuilding or Refreshing your engine?? Consider Contamination from your Coolers!! We have a full Cooling System Micron Analysis Cleaning and Testing facility in house and can fully service your Coolers, Lines, Oil Tanks.... DOWN TO THE MICRON! We also Flow Test, Helium Pressure Test and carry Endoscopic Inspections as well as Fin Repair keeping your cooling performance to 100% efficiency.
We have also added a full range of Clear View Oil Filtration as featured on Street Outlaws.
www.serckmotorsport.co.uk Custom Car_2023_03_Mar_Serck Motorsport_DPS.indd 1
01/02/2023 13:47
General Enquiries: +44 (0)20 8813 7470 Email: motorsport@serckglobal.com
DO YOU WANT TO JOIN THE SERCK DEALER NETWORK? We are looking for more dealers to help distribute and supply the racers all over the UK by providing such brands as: Setrab oil coolers Autometer gauges Clear view oil filters Nitrous express parts and kits Race star wheels Race gas Fitech Brian crower Turbo smart And many more. We are also looking for more Nitrous filling stations to join the Serck network to help provide Nitrous refills across the UK Please send any dealer enquires to: steven.morton@unipart.com
www.serckmotorsport.co.uk Custom Car_2023_03_Mar_Serck Motorsport_DPS.indd 2
01/02/2023 13:47
Out & About
Resek dhe’n Howl
Words and pics: James Webber In 1987, famed CC editorial supremo Keith Seume and the late Dave Chappell had an idea about getting a load of cars to meet up and cruise down to Cornwall to coincide with a surfing tournament. And thus, a legend was born. For many years, Run to the Sun was a hugely successful event, with people booking up a year in advance for it. But as time went on, the infamous Max Power brigade took over – leading the event down a certain path and losing its core demographic. For various reasons, 2013 was the last official RTTS, the appropriately named Final Chapter. Time is a healer. And now, ten years later, the team behind Run to the Sun have brought it back – with a strong emphasis on making it the way it was in the early days. And so, on the late May Bank Holiday weekend, Run to the Sun was born again. The Saturday consisted of a huge cruise, sponsored and led by Spencer and the team from The Old Dub Shop. This started in Bristol and, without stopping, rolled through all the main service stations en route from here, via the A30, to the RTTS site in Newquay. All along the A30, every bridge, lay-by and available space was filled with families and car owners filming and watching the cruise come past, which was a wonderful site. I pulled into a lay-by just before the entrance to snap a few cars coming into the gate, and when passengers and drivers spotted me they waved and, in time-honoured fashion, flashed me the ‘shaka’ – the friendly hand gesture much loved by surfers. The camping was split into four categories: Preferred Vehicle, Owners Clubs, Modern Camper Vans and General Camping. Just taking a walk around the sites was like exploring a treasure trove
Above and left: Graeme Rust’s ’47 Alvis, a previous CC feature car, was out basking in the Cornish sunshine and headed home with the Best Brit award
of cars and vans, as their owners fired up their BBQ, cracked open the drinks and just generally had a wonderful time in the glorious Cornish sunshine. Music on the Saturday started at midday and went on through to midnight, with acts including Smokey’s King Shufflers, Jazz Mango, Roguey Roads, Robyn Alvarez, K-Klass, 808 State and, headlining, 1990s’ godfather of oldskool DJ Slipmatt. Traders included Volksmagic (who you may recall from Car SOS), who had a buggy they had built to raffle off to raise money for Santa’s A Gangster. Also there were Beetle Juice South West, Hot Rod for Hire, Tyres and Tides, 1981 Barber Shop and Robertson’s Restos, as well as so many more. The atmosphere on the Saturday was a real joy to behold; everyone was smiling, dancing and just having a wonderful, relaxed time.
“The team behind Run to the Sun have brought it back – with a strong emphasis on making it the way it was in the early days”
Sunday was Show Day, with cars for the display being put in position between 8 and 9am before the public gates opened from 10am. Judging them must have been a bit of a task, because there were more than 100 in total, and the overall quality was second to none, but come 3.30pm there was a list of winners ready to be called out. To say they were worthy of their trophies would be an understatement. I spoke to event boss Andreas Christopheros a few days afterwards and asked him if the reborn Run had lived up to expectations. ‘It went better than any of us could have possibly imagined,’ he told me. ‘The buzz, the support, the weather – what more could you ask for? We had 6000 people through the gates and not one complaint over the whole weekend. ‘A real special moment for me was lining up the Proper Cornish Cruisers on Saturday afternoon. We lost their support many years ago, and for a reason. To get them back on board and in such a force was a real big moment for me and the event. It was hard to hold back the tears, to be honest.’ The final word, though, has to go to the legendary Keith Seume: ‘Please spread and share the word, and tell all your friends and family. Run to the Sun is back!’ And so it is. Plans are already underway for next year’s event, which will be a three-day affair following the same ethos as RTTS 23. The dates are 24-27 May 2024; follow Run to the Sun on Facebook and Instagram for up to date info, or visit www.rtts.co.uk to buy tickets. CC
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WINNERS Best Paint: Steve Robinson (’72 Beetle) Best Built Not Bought: Steve Robinson (’72 Beetle) Best Interior: Martyn Dunstan (’73 T2 Snail) Best Kit/Custom: Ian Banks (’58 Beetle) Best Stock VW: Paul Knight (’54 Beetle) Best American: David Smith (GMC Palm Beach RV) People’s Choice: David Smith (GMC Palm Beach RV) Best Brit: Graeme Rust (’47 Alvis) Best Rust, Rat and Patina: Morgan Hall (’53 VW Split) Best Air-Cooled: Nobby Clarke (’60 Beetle Ragtop) Best in Show: Nobby Clarke (’60 Beetle Ragtop) Spirit of the Show (chosen by Keith Seume): Paul Frost
Above: Local tattoo artist Fil recently got his ’41 Chevy back on the road – and he hasn’t stopped driving it since
(Dolly Mixture ’66 Shorty)
Above: Toby Smith’s novel Hot Rod Bar was doing a roaring trade all weekend
Right: Michael Attewell drives this ’49 Chevy Suburban on bags with straight-six power
Above: Buzz Burrell turned up on Sunday in his original steel ’32 5-window, running a 383ci SBC and 4-speed Muncie
Above: David Smith won Best American and People’s Choice with his GMC Palm Bay RV
Some of the Cornish Cruisers driving into the event on Saturday afternoon
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Far left: Down in the weeds ’46 Chevy pick-up came down from the Midlands for the weekend Left: Former CC editor, father of the Run and allround legendary figure, the one and only Keith Seume Below: A selection of cars from the cruise on the A30 at Bodmin
Below: Even 007 got the memo that Run to the Sun was back…
Above: Richard Hindle runs this very unusual ’31 Chevy Coupe Below: As the sun started to set and the music played on, the Saturday evening atmosphere was perfect. Let the good times roll… Right: Walking around the camping areas on Saturday afternoon yielded gems such as this Dodge pick-up
20
CUSTOM CAR AUGUST 2023
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FROM £1860.47 [Gold Card]
-Zero bump steer & anti-dive built in-
Ford Mustang 1964-70. Billet coil over shockabsorbers [adjustable], tubular suspension arms, complete, manual steering rack assembly, forged spindles for suspension, 11” ventilated disc brakes, Ford bolt pattern, 600lb coil springs, coil over bearings, [makes it easier to adjust height]. ................................................ £2954.76 net.
1937-39 Chevy Pickup, tubular suspension arms, 2” dropped spindles, shock thru coil spring, manual stg rack,300lb coil springs, 11” ventilated disc brakes, 23.375” inside to inside-can fit other models ... £2369.23 net. 1947-54 Chevy Pickup, as above except-std spindles, 350lb spring, anti-roll bar- ............................. £2324.96 net.
1955-59 Series 2 Chevrolet 1/2 ton pickup, Rear 4 bar kit. Complete kit with coil over shocks-[black non-adjustable]. Includes, weld on Panhard rod & 250lb springs. One only- ....................... £1116.79 net.
1947-53 Chevy pickup .......... £651.80 net Universal oval-chrm housing £719.40 net 1956 Ford 1/2 ton pickup ...... £581.28 net 1953-55 Ford 1/2 ton pickup . £665.74 net 1957 Chevy car use OE bezel £607.87 net Late 65-6 Must-use OE bezel £623.14 net
Custom Car_2023_04_April_Real Steel_FP.indd 1
28/02/2023 16:58
Out & About
Happy anniversary
Words and pics: James Webber Mayday this year was a special date in the calendar for Jay and the team at BHP events, as this was the Performance Show’s 15th anniversary. And it didn’t disappoint. The show has traditionally been held at Lydden Hill rallycross circuit, however for this year the team relocated to the Kent Event Centre in Maidstone. With three indoor halls and 150 acres of outdoor space, it promised to be the best yet – and that’s exactly what it was. With 100 car clubs booked in and more than 2000 cars on display, it sounds more like a threeday festival than a one-day show. Cars on display inside were invited to park up on Sunday, while clubs were allowed entry between 7.00-9.30am on show day, the bank holiday Monday. The doors opened to the public from 10am, with a price on the gate of £25.
Ghostbusters Ectomobile wagon was one of two movie star cars on show, the other being the DeLorean from Back to the Future
Two Brothers Racing Stunt Team and the Extreme Bike Battle BMX and FMX show. The three indoor halls had some of the very best cars in the country on display, along with two iconic film cars – the DeLorean from Back to the Future
Jamie Webster had his stunning ’67 Dodge Dart GT on display in one of the main halls
“With 100 car clubs booked in and more than 2000 cars on display, it sounds more like a three-day festival than a one-day show” Throughout the day, there were demonstrations from Drift Outlaws,
Camaro SS and Plymouth Duster were there together as part of a club
and the ‘Ectomobile’ from Ghostbusters, complete with actors dressed up in costume. For a nominal fee, visitors could have their picture taken with the cars. Traders included Deadly Brand clothing, who produced a limited edition show shirt, 4tune Performance, Prestige Graphics, Corbeau Seats and Kids Car Mods. Even the trophies were special for this year, orange Lego men made by BHP with the Best in Show and Best Outdoor trophies specially made in carbon fibre by Dan Pritchard (@dan_pritchard_carbon). ‘It was a huge gamble moving,’ Jay told me after the show. ‘Everyone loved it at Lydden Hill, as you got racing and the show. But everyone has been so supportive and the venue has been amazing. ‘We had 12,000 people through the doors, plus 4000 with cars and clubs. I’d like to thank my team and everyone who attended. Hopefully see you all next year!’. CC
Ford in a Ford, with this sleeper ’61 Zephyr packing a 5.0-litre V8
’48 Plymouth Club Coupe appeared to be an older build, possibly from the 80s or 90s
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Ray’s Classics
San Carlos CA since 1980
California Collector Car Export Sales Specialist 1963 FORD RANCHERO FACTORY V8/4SPD P/S, GT RALLY WHEELS, ON THE BUTTON $9,850
1959 CHEVY APACHE SHORTBED ,V8 327ci/4SPD SAGINAW, CAMELHUMP 202 HEADS, 4BBL HOLLEY, ELECTRONIC DISTRIBUTOR, DUAL EXHAUST, MANY NEW PARTS ON THE BUTTON RUNNING DRIVING $12,850.
1964 THAMES 400E LHD CALIFORNIA VAN SINCE, NO ENGINE/TRANS VERY STRAIGHT AND RUSTFREE , EXTREMELY SUNBLEACHED OR TERRIFIC PATINA HOWEVER YOU SEE IT $5300.
1951 AUSTIN A40 DEVON ,LHD CALIFORNIA CAR, TOP QUALITY THOROUGH RESTORATION, LEATHER INTERIOR ,CORRECT BRAIDED WIRE HARNESS, ZERO RUST $12,250.
1965 FORD THUNDERBIRD 390ci/AUTO,P/S, PDB, WIRE WHEELS, P/W, A/C, ONE CALIFORNIA OWNER , EXCELLENT RESTORED CONDITION - $22,750
1949 CHEVY 3100 PANEL VAN - $22,750
6cyl/3spd , one California family owned since new, documentation since 1949, bone stock, runs and drives excellent.
25 VEHICLES UK REGISTERED READY FOR PURCHASE IN THE SW OF ENGLAND POA Prices include shipping from Oakland CA to UK mainland. Check the website for complete inventory list.
WE CAN LOCATE LOCA THE CAR OF YOUR DREAMS
Vehicle shipping to the UK inspection services available in the Western States
Custom Car_2023_08_August_Rays Classics_FP.indd 1
650-361-8083
Tel: e: raysclassics@earthlink.net www.raysclassics.com
20/06/2023 10:16
Words: Mike Pye Pics: Alan Kidd Thanks to Cobham Hall school for the photo location
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The beautifully flowing chop is so subtle you have to really know your ’50’s Cadillacs to even notice it’s been done. A very neat touch is the use of green tinted side glass, which of course then had to be cut down to suit the chop
Steve “the stylist’s” mildly customised ’55 Caddy Coupe de Ville is an exercise in restraint, and one built for the open road AUGUST 2023 CUSTOM CAR 25
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The build... 1.
2. 2. The car became a regular at Burnham Autos, going in initially just for a brake job…
3.
1. The car as Steve purchased it in 2017, a 41,000-mile survivor, bought from a dealer in the US who had obtained it from a gentleman in his late 80s who had owned it for most of its life. It even still had its official Cadillac ID card from 1955 intact.
5. 5. …while the cut out rear window aperture gets a good clean up before going back in. As the rear ’screen is toughened, it can’t be cut down, so the clever bit is making it flow into the chopped roof.
3. …but then later returning for the Burnham Autos’ chef’s special…
6. 6. Paul has spent the last 40-odd years perfecting the art of the roof chop and didn’t want to give too many of his tricks away. So, here’s the finished job, with the roof now in the same colour as the body. It’s a very neat piece of work.
9.
4. 4. It’s not just a case of lopping a couple of inches out of the pillars with a car like this though. Here Paul and Rich discuss the front pillar treatment.
7.
7. Air ride came later, and is not an off-the-shelf system but a combination of parts that are all now remotely controlled by an app on Steve’s ’phone.
8. 8. There’s plenty of space in a Caddy boot, so the air tank, dual pumps and battery are all hidden under the rear parcel shelf, with a sound deadened bulkhead between that and the cabin to keep the noise of the pumps down.
9. Steve’s a bit of a sleuth when it comes to finding rare and interesting parts, and was stoked to turn up this set of NOS Cadillac exhaust outlet embellishers. They fit ’54 models as well, but were only made in 1955.
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“The main thing is the car is still completely practical,” says Steve, “it’s just got better brakes, corners better and drives better. It’ll cruise at 8085mph all day long on the motorway and, on top of that, it’s a beautiful thing to look at. I honestly can’t think of anything I’d change on it.”
T
here’s never a dull moment when writing features on cars built at Burnham Autos. Paul would move a mountain to give us the time to explain in minute detail every subtle deviation from standard and each person or company that has had a hand in any of the cars they build. And there’s always a story. Whenever I put the ’phone down, I take (read: need) a moment to catch my breath, and I like to use that time to reflect on the barrage of information and choose my favourite of the stories. So, for this feature, that’s where I’m going to start. “The wheels are some sort of aftermarket accessory wheel – Steve can fill you in on the details – and you can’t get ’em. Real rocking horse shit stuff. When I say you can’t get ’em, I don’t mean they’re expensive, I mean you just can’t buy ’em, they don’t exist. “So me and the missus are at a steam fair, having a nice day out, and there’s only a fella there with a set of these wheels. And he didn’t know what he had. I gave him £60 for the set, but then had to get them home. Which would have been fine, except we’d gone there in a ’27 T!” Like I said, there’s always a story with Paul…
Meeting of minds
How Steve, the owner of this ’ere Caddy, and Paul came to meet is an equally good one. Steve’s got a few cars, and amongst them is a chopped ’49 Merc, which he bought in from the States. After it suffered some damage in transit, Steve called Paul and asked if he could take it straight to Burnham Autos “for a few minor fixes…” “It looked the bollocks when he first pulled in,” remembers Paul, “but then let’s just say it didn’t get better the closer we got.” “I know,” was Steve’s response, “don’t say anything, I’ll call you in a couple of weeks,” before retiring to a darkened room to have a lie down. We’ll come back to that car in another issue but, suffice to say for now, it’s gone from the aforementioned few minor fixes, through a “just get it on the road and useable” stage to a body-off rebuild. And being a fully paid-up member of the whyfinish-one-project-when-you-could-just-buyanother club, this ’55 Caddy was bought as a stop gap. “’Ere Paul, can you just do the brakes on it for me?” That’s how this one started. “I’ve had American cars all my life, and always liked this era of Cadillac,” explains
Below: Paul wanted to lower the tail lights an inch and a quarter to relieve some of the mass in the rear fins, but Steve wasn’t having it. “’55 was the first Cadillac fin car,” he explains, “and they’re quite famous for that. It’s one of the key things about the car and I didn’t want to lose that.” Those natty exhaust trims are ’55-only accessory parts that Steve sourced. He loves ’em.
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“In 2019, Steve stretched its legs even further, heading across the Channel and up through Europe to the Power Big Meet in Lidköping, Sweden, a cool 1000 miles or so either way” Steve, “but I felt they were a bit of an old man’s car. Well, I’m 62 now so I can have an old man’s car, and I love it. I wish I’d bought one before now.”
Too good to chop?
After the experience with the Merc, though, this time he went for the best he could afford, locating a low mileage survivor via a dealer in America. When it arrived, complete with its factory paint and interior, matching numbers powertrain, great bodywork, even the original owner’s manual, it looked almost too good to modify. Almost.
But nestled amongst the pile of parts in the boot was a four-wheel disc brake kit Steve had bought from Caddy Daddy in Napa, CA, and fitting that was the first job on the list. While Steve might get Paul and the gang at Burnham Autos to do the donkey work, he’s far from a hands-off car builder, being happy to get stuck in at any opportunity, as well as doing the research, sourcing parts and generally being fully involved in the process. “I wanted this car to be useable, something I could go touring in. I’d always wanted to do that, and so the plan was to modernise the car to make it a reliable, long-distance driver,”
explains Steve. It escalated, of course it did, but always in the same direction. As well as the disc brakes, then, Burnhams lowered the car a touch more on its original springs, beefed the front anti-roll bar and added a rear anti-roll bar to bring the handling up to speed. To give the car better motorway legs, an Alders Automotive-sourced GM 700R4 overdrive ’box – which Steve supplied the Wilcap adapter for to bolt it to the original 331ci engine – went in next, along with one of FiTech’s Go EFI 400HP fuel injection kits on the motor.
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Above: The stainless trim on the car is largely stock, but subtly changed in places. Steve came up with the ’56 darts that now live in the vertical sections of the side trim, and ith the idea of painting between them black so the points really stand out. Gold badges all round the car are from a top-ofthe-range Eldorado, appropriate as that name is derived from the Spanish word for golden.
Looks-wise, all they did at that point was tweak the fenderskirts to come down to the sill line, and make new stainless trim that follows all the way through in a neat line, unlike the kicked-up originals.
Holiday road
“I took the car to France like that for the 2018 European Caddy meeting. I’m not really a club person, so it was more of a holiday really with a bit of car stuff thrown in, but it was all good fun and it drove there and back no sweat, and with none of that wallowy, shippy business you get with Cadillacs of this age.”
Left: The wheels aren’t trick hubcaps, as you might expect, but ultra rare Sabre accessory alloys usually found on ’55-’57 Eldorados (yep, Cadillac was fitting alloys in 1955), with original ’55 centre caps. You won’t see many of these on your travels, and Paul Burnham lucked out when he found a set for sale at a steam fare here in the UK. Tyres are sensible 235/70-15 Avon one-inch whitewall radials all round, chosen specifically as Steve puts some serious mileage on this car.
Above: Air horns are a bone of contention between Steve and Paul. They play The Godfather and Steve loves it, while Paul thinks he should preserve his dignity and never use ’em! Hiding behind them is the swirl pot for the FiTech EFI.
In 2019, Steve stretched its legs even further, heading across the Channel and up through Europe to the Power Big Meet in Lidköping, Sweden, a cool 1000 miles or so either way. Again, no dramas, and a great time had by all. The combination of overdrive ’box and fuel injection, together with better brakes, tweaked suspension, a rebuilt steering box and a high torque starter makes this car everything Steve wanted from it. He did, though, still have some ideas going round in his mind for subtle improvements to the way it looked.
The next stage of the transformation was forced somewhat by a minor skirmish with a Ford Focus that ended with another call to Burnham Autos. “While you’re fixing the bodywork, can you also pull the engine as there’s a bad leak from the back…” That escalated into a full engine bay paint and tidy up, sorting the heater and going through the wiring on the whole car. And here’s where Paul started to work his magic. “He’s sneaky he is,” laughs Steve, “It wasn’t ’til I had the car fully painted that I realised he’d used the same colour in the engine bay. He knew where he was going all along!”
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Quiet life
The plan after the incident was just to repaint one side of the car, but Steve quite liked the idea of changing the roof colour, too. In the end, he decided to stop messing about and do the whole thing properly, trim off, glass out, the works, and the good people at Viking Coachworks over the road duly obliged. Paul recommended black for the roof to add a bit of visual lowering but, before he got into that, asked Steve what his long-term goal was for the car. When the words air ride, and then roof and chop were mentioned, things went a bit quiet. “He didn’t say much, but I could see the cogs were whirring,” recalls Steve. “And a few days later he sends me some pictures of the car all stripped for paint, saying we may as well do the chop now otherwise we’ll have to do all this work again.” That was on a Monday. By the Thursday of the same week, the entire roof was cut off the car. Now, Paul can talk for hours about roof chops, he’s passionate about them, and this one is no exception. It’s a “two-and-a-bit chop”, he explains, “and took three-and-a-bit windscreens to get right,” he adds with a grin. We don’t want to give away all his hardwon secrets, but will say the way this car was chopped is unlike any others we have seen pictures of. There are a few hints as to how it was done in the build box on p26 but otherwise you’ll have to ask Paul yourself. “It’s absolutely fabulous,” says Steve enthusiastically. “I’ve never seen another one done quite as well as this. Paul is brilliant, and his eye for this kind of work is fantastic. “I get a bit OCD about all the details, so we work really well together.” “It then didn’t need the darker roof any more to make it look chopped because it is chopped,” smiles Paul. “It would have been a lot easier, and cheaper, to have just painted it, mind!”
On air
Above: Engine is the original 331ci unit the car came with, dressed for the ball with Offenhauser valve covers, some finned ali bits and a lick of gold. This was one of the first overhead valve V8s, introduced in 1949, and in ’55 maxed out at 250bhp, with 345ft lbs of low-down grunt. The big change here, though, is the FiTech Go Street throttle body in place of the old Carter WCFM carb’. The original air cleaner has been retained but now has a K&N filter in it rather than oil, while in place of the old Hydra-Matic trans is a GM 700R4 overdrive ’box on a Wilcap adaptor.
Above: The roof chop necessitated a couple of other subtle modifications to make the car comfortable to drive. The front seat base has been chopped down by 1¼ inches and the steering column dropped a similar amount to match, using a custom stainless drop etched with the Cadillac logo. The back seat was also modified to sit down lower over the transmission tunnel to preserve back seat head room. Below: Incredibly, the beautiful green on green interior is all original, save for the green snakeskin headliner added “for a bit of soul”, as Paul put it. The steering wheel is from a 1960 Caddy with a Steve-made horn push.
Then, of course, it needed to be lower all round to really emphasise the new look. Again, Steve sourced the parts and took them to Burnhams to be fitted. Dropped spindles and bags bring the front down, while a 4-bar with air bag mounts on the stock back axle brings the back down to suit. “Rich [Hall] at Burnham’s fitted most of that. It wasn’t a kit, but he made it all work, and I can control it all using an app’ on my ’phone.” The one thing that was left alone in the whole process was the glorious 331ci
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engine, which still purrs like the proverbial kitten. It’s been given a mild makeover with a bit of gold paint for contrast and some finned aluminium bits, but it’s the fuel injection hiding under the modified air filter that makes all the difference, as far as Steve is concerned. “I wanted that for reliability,” he explains, “and I can’t fault it at all. It starts instantly, every time, it idles better and it feels more responsive, but it’s the consistency of performance I like. It doesn’t matter if it’s hot, cold, raining, or you’re sitting in traffic, you never get a problem with it. “I’ve driven American cars all my life and can’t say I’ve had that experience with any car with a carb’ on it.” Steve went for an early FiTech system with a swirl pot that doesn’t require a full return line to the tank and works in combination with the stock mechanical fuel pump. It never caused any problems but when FiTech suggested a minor upgrade to remove the cut-off valve that previously
stopped the pump when the pot was full, they did it, and it’s continued to be as good as gold ever since. And good as gold pretty much sums up the whole deal with this car, as Steve explains: “You have to really trust someone to do this kind of work – to take an angle grinder to your nice Caddy – and I trust Paul implicitly. The whole thing’s been a very nice experience, and the end result, well, it speaks for itself, doesn’t it? “Basically, anything that could be done to bring the car up to a more modern standard we’ve done; even the wiper motors are now electric – and they’ve proved their worth when we’ve driven through rain for hours on some of the trips – but it’s still clearly an old car. It’s not sitting on some brand new chassis, or anything like that. “You can just jump in it and drive it, and that’s exactly what I do, as often as I can. I’m absolutely over the moon with it.”
Thanks
Viking Coachworks for the paint, Lee the trimmer for the interior work, Peter Jones for the endless supply of windscreens and the green tinted side glass, J12 for the stainless trim work, Rich Hall for all his work re-fitting the car, Matt at MLFabCuts for help cutting the windscreen and of course Paul at Burnham Autos. Ed’s note: While we’re here, Burnham Autos is currently looking for a new member of staff. So, if you’ve got the skill set, passion and an eye for detail, give Paul a ring. Below: Buy a good Caddy from the ’50s and you get a fabulous interior like this without having to do anything. It’s a delightful and sumptuous combination of green vinyl and brocade which has proved comfortable for 2000-mile road trips, with many more to come.
Below: The larger of the three panels in the freshly trimmed boot flips down to reveal all the air ride kit. The other two are for storage, while there’s also a power port incorporated on one side to add yet more useability.
Take a moment to look at everything in these pictures and then consider the reality of chopping one of these bad boys. Even the Mazak window frame parts have been cut and welded. Yes, welded.
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Rumble on PART 2 ■ Words: Dave Biggadyke
T
his month we take a look at another nine of this year’s NSRA Spring Rumbles, which were held over a couple of weekends in May. The areas these covered ranged from Lancashire to Sussex, mid-Wales to Devon, and several more central and eastern regions along the way. The distances travelled on these Rumbles totalled up to a touch over 800 miles. The combined number of vehicles participating in the Rumbles was 177, with the distances travelled on these nine alone totalling over 14,000 miles. Okay, some didn’t go all the way and joined in for just part of the drive. Even so, that’s an impressive number of Rumble miles. Even more so when you factor in the distances travelled to get to the starting points to begin with. We’ll bring you the final nine regions in next month’s issue. So keep an eye out if you were Rumbling on the last weekend in May through to the second weekend in June. CC
Lancashire
Pics: Harvey Davies and Bridge House Farm Tea Rooms Classic Events Date: Sunday 14 May Organiser: Harvey Davies Distance: Approx 50 miles Numbers of vehicles: 15 Start Time: 9.30 am Starting point: Phantom Winger, Preston Finish point: Bridge House Farm Tea Rooms, Wray, Lancs
The Rumblers assembled at the Phantom Winger public house ready for the off.
Adding muscle to the Rumble was this ’68 Mustang, not the only pony car on display at Bridge House Farm.
Definitely a survivor. Sam Anker’s ’67 Corvette has a period race car look, complete with plenty of battle scars.
Out on the road, initially heading along the A6 and a fuel stop-off point.
Above left: Andrew Southcott’s unusual pick-up is a new one on us. It’s based around Reliant Scimitar running gear and the oversize sunroof is perfect for viewing the interior.
You can’t stick to A roads if you’re on a Rumble though, so it was soon time to turn off and take in some Lancashire countryside.
Above: Mixing it up with the F100s was John Reid in his ’48 3100 Chevy pick-up. Left: Fat fendered coupes, the ’40 Ford of Stuart Jones in the foreground alongside Chris and Ali Taylor’s ‘41 Chevy.
Ford F100 pick-up parking was exclusive at Bridge House Farm. The black ‘56 belongs to Al, the red ’55 to Ronnie and the stock green ’53 to Keith Snowdon.
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Sussex
Pics: Jamie Webster of Liberty & Lows and Tim Horsfall Date: Sunday 14 May Organiser: Tim Horsfall and Glyn Thomas Distance: Approx 70 miles Numbers of vehicles: 23 Start Time: 10.00 am Starting point: Hartfield Road Car Park, Forest Row, Sussex Finish point: Goodwood Motor Circuit Café, Chichester
Ready for the off. Lindsay and Ian McCoubrey’s ’37 Ford cabriolet parked up at the starting point in Forest Row.
Co-organiser Glyn Thomas’ ’57 Pop showing off its perfect stance over those slot mag wheels.
The distinctly pleasant weather mean space was at a premium in the South t that making it impossible for the Rumb Downs, lers to park up together.
Not sure where Martin Kelly had got to but his ’57 Chevy was enjoying the views over the Sussex Countryside.
The lineup of Rumblers made for an impressive display at the final destination at Goodwood Motor Circuit… Left: Rudy and Brenda Persy popped over from Belgium to join in with the Rumble, quite a shake-down trip for their freshly completed 4-banger Model B sedan.
…and the view from the rear was equally impressive and represented the diversity of the vehicles that took part.
Right: Whiff Smith came along in his ’39 Ford to check out how things are done in advance of the Surrey Rumble he was organising a couple of weeks later. Far right: Hold on, didn’t we picture Ian Mansell’s Chevy pick-up on the Scottish West Clyde Coast Rumble last month? It’s all part of his and Julie’s mad-mileage-May.
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Berkshire Pics: Phil Bishop and Mark Rumble
Date: Sunday 21 May Organisers: Phil Bishop Distance: Approx 150 miles Numbers of vehicles: 20 Start Time: 9.00 am Starting point: The Shire Horse public house, Littlewick Green Stop-off point: This Is Your Garage, near Abingdon, for breakfast Finish point: Bourton-on-the Water
This was the forward view from Mark Rumble’s ’62 Chrysler 300…
…and this was the view through the back window.
It wasn’t all about Ford Pops, although there were quite a few of them.
Right: Chances are this would be the only Rumble you’d stumble across a ’52 Vauxhall Wyvern Ute. Unless Mark Tobias joined in with any others that is.
The ’32 roadster of Dave Sturgess with Gerry Gaughan’s Revenge in the background.
Right middle: Flick to the Next Month page at the back of this here magazine and you’ll see that Mark Belcher’s ’38 Chevy is going to be gracing these pages four weeks from now
Pam Hiscock added a touch of ‘70s Americana to the Rumble with her ’72 Chevy El Camino.
That’s Mike Crook’s very green and flamed A sedan, with Mark Rumble’s Chrysler parked next to it.
Spot the odd one out. Somebody didn’t treat himself to a limitededition Rumble T-shirt…
Mid Wales
Pics: Hannah Thomas and Tim Mansell
Date: Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 May Organiser: Tim Mansell Distance: Approx 150 miles Saturday / 60 miles Sunday Numbers of vehicles: 11 on Saturday / 8 on Sunday Start Time: 9.30 am Starting point: Premier Inn, Oswestry Stop-off points: Saturday – National White Water Centre, Bala / Coed y Brenin Visitor Centre for lunch Sunday - Lake Vrynwy / Mid-Wales Airport, Welshpool, home of the Air Ambulance) for lunch Finish point: Premier Inn, Oswestry (optional)
Pity any locals trying to travel this road in the opposite direction. That’s Tim Horsfall’s ’54 Pop at the back of the queue.
Chris Taylor demonstrates there’s no steering wander on his ’32 roadster as he and Ali drive through the forests.
NSRA member Paul Slogrove is a mechanic on the Wales Air Ambulance helicopter in Welshpool. He kindly introduced the Rumblers to the aircraft, the pilot and some of the medical crew.
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Devon
Pics: Alan Marsh Date: Sunday 21 May Organiser: Alan and Geri Marsh Distance: Approx 50 miles Numbers of vehicles: 27 Start Time: 11.00 am Starting point: Brightside Diner, Haldon Hill, Devon Stop-off point: Coombe Cellars public house in Newton Abbot, Widecombe in the Moor for an obligatory cream tea Finish point: Dartmoor Lodge, Ashburton
Driven on the day by Ian Webb, the Pepe Jeans ’51 Mercury parked up in the sunshine at the Brightside diner.
Adrian Sidwell’s two-tone ’33 Ford Tudor sedan out in the Devon countryside as the Rumble wends its way to the coast.
Chances are that when out for a drive in the lanes of Devon you won’t often meet a ’65 Dodge Coronet going the other way.
Barry and Lindsey enjoying the scenery in their ’51 Dodge panel van.
The day was blessed with perfect roadster weather and Steve Trott made the most of that in his Flathead-powered Deuce.
Steve Murphy eating up the miles in his ’55 Chevy station wagon, a car just at home on the track at Santa Pod as on the roads in Devon. Above: Nestling between a pair of Fords is Rumble organiser Alan Marsh’s bonnetless ’37 Dodge pick-up,Old Harper. Far left: An obligatory pair of pick-ups. As it’s registered as a ’96 Carbodies Chevy our guess is the black one sits on a Taxi chassis. Left: Steve Woodley heads the lineup is his ’34 coupe as the Rumble makes its way along the Devon coastline.
The Rumble heads out under an awesome sky in Wales in May, who’d have thought it?
Richard Black’s ’27 Model T roadster. Not quite sure about Richard’s pose in the background though…
Time for a spot of lunch, with the car park never looking so appealing.
A ’40 Ford, ’55 Chevy and ’57 Pop – the Mid Wales Rumble attracted a diverse range of rods and customs.
Colin and Sue Ayres in their ’55 Chevy pick-up lead Mick and Paula Harle’s ’50 Matford Woodie up one of the many hills the Rumble took in.
Back on the road and yet more hills to cross. The slogan on the tailgate of Lawrence Priestley’s Model A pick-up reads ‘Take it to the limit’. Quite apt really.
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Norfolk Pics: Shaun Larnder
Date: Sunday 21 May Organiser: Shaun Larnder, Danny West and Michael Goodman Distance: Approx 80 miles Numbers of vehicles: 52 Start Time: 10.00 am Starting point: Zaks Diner, Porringland Stop-off point: Muckleborough Military Collection, Weybourne Finish point: The Smokehouse Ormesby
The lineup at Zaks Diner in Porringland was pretty impressive and included rods, pick-ups…
…and some cool American muscle, perfect for the sunny weather.
The car park at the diner was soon full to bursting and a few cars had to park up on the roadside.
Great stance and unusual choice of wheels set Len Marrina’s Pop apart from the pack. Build is by Wayne Clarke at Oddrods Customs.
Right: Steve Marley’s ’40 Ford coupe, alongside the late Mike Key’s ’32 roadster driven on the day by his son Matt. Right middle: The final destination was The Smokehouse Ormesby where parking was once again very much at a premium. Far right: The scene was pretty much the same when the Rumble stopped off at Muckleborough, rods, customs and trucks everywhere – and the odd antiaircraft gun too.
Left: Yet more muscle at The Smokehouse, this time in the form of a ’74 Plymouth Duster 360.
Right: Flexing some American muscle at Muckleborough was this ’71 Pontiac, with race decals adding to the street racer look.
Dorset
Pics: Adrian Wood Date: Sunday 21 May Organiser: Adrian Wood Distance: Approx 65 miles Numbers of vehicles: 7 Start Time: 10.30 am Starting point: Top o’ Town Car Park, Dorchester The start point for the Rumble was a centrally located car park in Dorchester.
On the right is organiser Adrian Wood’s ‘35 Ford pick-up and next to it is David Thickens’ ’34 Ford sedan.
Taking part in the Rumble was a mix of vehicles including a Mk1 Cortina and a trio of hot rods.
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Oxfordshire Pics: Peter Kent Date: Sunday 21 May Organiser: Peter Kent Distance: Approx 60 miles Numbers of vehicles: 5 plus 2 bikes Start Time: 11.00 am Starting point: The Wandering Kitchen, Wallingford Stop-off point: Cholsey & Wallingford Railway Finish point: The Mulberry public house, Didcot
…where the cars had a privileged parking spot right next to the track. Robert Boswell cruising through Wallingford in his ’30 Ford Model A pick-up.
The stop-off point on route to Didcot was Wallingford Station, home of the Chosley & Wallingford Railway…
Distinctive ’37 Ford Model Y coupe belongs to Rumble organiser Peter Kent. Y not indeed?
Undisputedly the largest car on the Rumble was Doug Fouracre’s ’59 Cadillac. Elaine and Kim joined in on their Harleys…
Chris Palmer’s ’36 Ford coupe oozes class with that timeless front-end styling.
…in the role of outriders, helpfully pointing the way to go.
A couple of Model A pick-ups were on the Rumble, this roofless ’29 belongs to Mark Hudson.
Northamptonshire Pics: Antony Chester
Date: Saturday 20 May Organiser: Antony Chester and Maz Woolfall Distance: Approx 70 miles Numbers of vehicles: 7 for the full distance plus others who joined in for part of it Start Time: 10.00 pm Starting point: Gate Hangs High Inn, Hook Norton Finish point: Industry and Supply, Weedon Left: Ricky Stapleton is well known for driving his ’32 Ford roadster almost everywhere so it’s no surprise he was rumbling in his home county… Right: … likewise Gary Jones who is also known for driving the wheels off his Model A coupe.
By the look of it, half the hot rodders in Northamptonshire drive pick-up trucks.
Yet more pick-ups, this time in the form of an almost matching pair of third-generation Chevy C10s.
Below: Rumblers waiting for the off at the Gate Hangs High Inn.
’50 Ford Shoebox and ’53 Chevy pick-up highlight the mix of vehicles that Rumbled in Northamptonshire, dipping into Oxon and Bucks along the way.
Mixing it up with the hot rods and pick-ups was Bradley Cole in his’71 Ford Pinto. That’s co-organiser Maz Woolfall’s Deuce sedan parked next to it.
Back on the road as the Rumblers make their way home from Industry and Supply.
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S D O R ’ S R E D A RE post to Custom Car, alan.kidd@assignment-media.co.uk, or Email photos and details of your car to details – and when t DE14 9PR. Please include your contact Tren on on Burt 2, 863 Pox PO Ltd, ia Assignment Med file size you have available sending digital pictures, use the largest
Not born in the USA
W
hat do you think of this Ford Prefect? Do you find it ‘striking, but not conspicuously handsome’? Or perhaps you find its appearance ‘very slightly odd’. Some of you will already have spotted that I couldn’t even start without bringing in Ford Prefect from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Yes, you, rolling your eyes. You will remember that the Douglas Adams character was ‘not in fact from Guildford but from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse’. To someone from Guildford this Ford Prefect might just as well be from the same sort of distance. In fact it’s in the Far North
Words: Graham Scott Pics: Richard Hair
to many southerners, or, as it’s also known, the Lake District. Or, to be more accurate, that’s where the Prefect was. It’s very recently been sold. To some people, this episode would really upset them. The builder/restorer/owner was Darren Fine, and he sold it to someone who
Darren is one of those people who likes to build things but, once they’re built, he loses interest. You could argue that’s exactly the psychology of many entrepreneurs, who have the drive to build up a company from scratch, but then they lose drive and often prove not very good at actually running the
‘I was going to make it like the Australian pick-up but they are very, very ugly’ seemed keen on it. But they instantly sold it through eBay for considerably more than they’d paid for it. But Darren’s cool with that. ‘I don’t mind. I’d lost interest in it and now it’s gone to a good home, the people at Shed Racing, so that’s fine by me.’
company. Smart entrepreneurs with selfknowledge then bring in talent to run the company while they start another business. Darren simply sold the Prefect and is now taking a keen interest in a Granada. And there may be a pair of old Minis right behind
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S
The dash used to be Bakelite brown, which isn’t going to win any beauty contests, so Darren sprayed it cream and now it looks much more cheerful. Having done that, he went on to colour-coordinate the rest of the interior. That pool ball gearstick topper is an actual pool ball, because they’re cheaper to buy than the novelty alternative Below, the base of the pick-up bed is made from two-inch planks, which Darren planed up from a wind-blown oak. Crumple zones are for other people. The only problem is that they show up the rest of the bed, which is lined and boxed in leftover flooring from a furniture shed
it. He’s got such a reputation locally for this that he doesn’t even need to go looking for vehicles. People bring them to him. It’s not as if this is even his full-time job. He’s been everything from a teacher to a mechanical fitter and fits in all the restoration in his spare time. Well, what passes for spare time. There’s also the fell walking, the metal detectoring, the climbing and much more.
A few tools
‘Anything outdoors’ as Darren puts it. ‘I’ve got to be outdoors. And if I’m not outdoors I’m in my garage.’ And what he achieves in his garage is actually really rather impressive, given he just has a few tools and bits and pieces. It’s not exactly a fully fitted restoration garage. ‘I play with old cars,’ he shrugs. ‘I modify them, restore them, whatever. And they just turn up! The Prefect came from a window company that had it sitting around. It was an absolute pile of scrap. Someone had hacked off the rear end and it was just broken. ‘I like to modify things but the Prefect was too original to alter. When we got it going it didn’t have a lot of poke and I thought about putting a V8 in there but it was too original to alter that much. ‘Well, obviously I did modify it because I made it a pick-up but on the mechanical
side it’s pretty much standard.’ So what is this standard vehicle? This particular model is a 1949 Prefect, although they were built from 1938 to 1961 at the Dagenham plant, with a break for WWII. Perhaps one of the more interesting facts is that this car was built specifically for the British market. Based on the 7W, this was the first Ford designed outside of the USA. It looks homely, doesn’t it, and has the ‘sit up and beg’ stance that we associate with that period. Owning a pipe was probably a requirement for the driver. It was designed by Ford to be simple, practical, foolproof. Although, as Douglas Adams pointed out in Hitchhiker’s Guide, ‘A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.’ However, Ford also exported some models Down Under, which were then
assembled in Australia to get round import tariffs. But the Aussies were looking for a small, cheap ‘ute’ and they converted some of the four-door Prefects to pick-ups. From 1949 to 1953 they turned out a small number of these cute utes, and perhaps it was this that gave Darren the idea to convert his chopped-about Prefect. Except he didn’t like the Aussie pick-up.
American style
‘I was going to make it like the Australian pick-up but they are very, very ugly, so I decided to go down the American style with it. I did have some ideas and I put them up on a hot rod forum and everyone said you’ll never get it looking right. Then afterwards they all said “Hats off, you’ve done it!” ‘I can sit in my garage on a winter’s evening, the wife’s watching the telly, and I can feel like I’ve achieved something. It was so hacked about, parts missing, I just knew it would never look right if we tried to get it back to where it was. So I started drawing things up, visualising it, and the result is 100% mine. ‘I’ve done everything on it, bar I had a mate who helped with re-covering the seats because I’m not very good at the stitching, but everything is all mine. I managed to get the back end off a 1935 Morris 8 and
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The 1172cc side-valve engine is original to the vehicle, which is great in some ways but terrible in that it only does 32bhp. Rebuilt in the early 80s, it runs like a sewing machine, which is one reason why Darren couldn’t bring himself to fetch it out for a V8. Those wheels tell a story, too, because there’s almost nothing available to fit the Prefect’s stud pattern. Get a set of adaptors machined up? Not likely. Darren removed the centres from the original wheels and took them to a scrap yard until he found a set that they fitted perfectly into, then welded them in on a wheel balancer. And for a princely £20, he now had the world’s only Ford Prefect on Audi A6 rims
grafted that on to it and all the rest I built from scratch.’ Basically everything back from the doors Darren has fabricated himself, everything forward of the doors, including the doors, is original but heavily restored. At the front is the original engine, which is a 1172cc side-valve four-cylinder. With just 32bhp at 4000rpm it was adequate but no more, and is one reason Darren decided not to keep it since it just won’t power the Prefect with the oomph he wanted.
Silent engine
But he couldn’t change it. ‘The engine had been rebuilt in about 1982 and then it had never been run since. So I made sure it turned on the crank handle and then it fired up and I’ve never heard such a quiet motor in my life, totally silent. That’s when I thought that I couldn’t modify things much, it was too straight.’ That didn’t apply to the back end, where Darren’s imagination and creativity delivered that shapely rear. As mentioned, a Morris 8 provided the rear panel but of course Darren wanted it to look like his vision. So he made a wooden template of the Ford logo, cut it out with a jigsaw, put it on the back panel and then covered it in body filler, while carefully sanding back the edges. As he says himself: ‘It’s come up brilliant.’ What also looks remarkably brilliant is the loadbed floor. This is from an oak tree that
came down about five years ago. Darren roughly cut some lengths then got them planed and he fitted them in. They’re so good they do rather show up the other wood in the pick-up bed. ‘The rest of the wooden trim I’m not happy with, it’s just wood panelling left over from flooring, from B&Q or somewhere. Mind you, if you ran into the back of the vehicle you’d know it, those oak planks are about two inches thick!’ The Prefect had transverse leaf springs and that loadbed means that the original chassis and suspension would be hardpressed if the bed was filled with, to take
an example at random, cases of beer. So Darren strengthened the C-section chassis by welding in another side to make it boxsection. That still left the springs a bit hardpressed so he jacked it up by two inches. Did that work? ‘I never drove it after that, I sold it, but it should have ridden pretty well I think.’ While we’re down there, let’s look at the wheels. You’ll like this. ‘The wheels are my favourite part but they’re also a nightmare because there is virtually no wheel that can fit that stud pattern. So the centres are the original wheels which were riveted in, so I took them
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The tailgate is from a Morris 8, which tended not to have a Ford logo on it. So Darren made a wooden template of one, cut it out with a jigsaw, put it on and covered it in body filler, then sanded back the edges to blend it in. The handle above it looks like a spanner, because it is one – from Aldi, Darren points out, because you’re not going to waste a Snap-On on that
to a scrap yard until I found a set of wheels that the centred dropped into just perfectly. They’re from an Audi A6, believe it or not. ‘So I bought four wheels, they’re steels, took the centres out of them and welded the Prefect centres in on a wheel balancer and they’re perfectly balanced. I paid £20 for four wheels and tyres! ‘The cable brakes worked with them, it pulls up straight as a die. The only downside is they’re reversed, so the front of the wheel is the rear, which means the valves are on the inside. Checking the rear tyre pressures is quite difficult.’ You may have noticed that the price of things matters here. Darren doesn’t like to throw money around. But of course that
means he has to be creative. In the cabin he really didn’t like the Bakelite brown dashboard so he sprayed it cream and then had to colourcoordinate the rest of the interior. It looks good doesn’t it? And on the top of the gearlever for that three-speed gearbox is a billiard ball. That’s pretty hot-rod cool right? But once again it’s not just taste, it’s cost:
A load of balls
‘If you go and buy an end ball for the gearlever on eBay, they’re about fifteen quid. But you can buy a full set of billiard balls for a tenner and you still have all those other balls you can sell!’ Darren is pretty up-front about his desire to keep costs down: ‘I like to do things on the cheap. I went on eBay and managed to find five litres of end-of-the-line green paint for forty quid. That’s why it’s that colour!’ But let’s not run away with the idea that this is some bodger. Just look at the quality of the work, including the spray paint. Plus there are all the things you can’t see, like the
wiring loom that he built completely from scratch, converting it from six-volt to twelve in the process. It’s got style, this Ford Prefect pick-up, with lines that are unquestionably better than the Australian version, and there are lovely details like the spanner for the handle on the rear tailgate (‘I got a spanner from Aldi, I wasn’t going to use a SnapOn for that.’) And he had to make all the mechanism for that opening tailgate, too. All in all, it’s a beautiful job, and Darren is fine with it going to a new home where it will be appreciated. He’s not sentimental, it had to go because there’s always another vehicle to restore, modify or simply bring back to life. He said goodbye to the Ford Prefect with a happy heart. As Ford Prefect himself would have said: ‘So long, and thanks for all the fish’.
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RPM Nationals Barona
SoCal Diaries W
Former Custom Car editor Tony Thacker lives in California these days, and this month he’s been enjoying the sound of flatheads…
e’ve made the pleasant trek from LA to Barona, California, for the annual RPM Nationals several times and I enjoy the two-hour plus drive to this throwback 1/8-mile strip tucked into Wildcat Canyon on the Barona Indian Reservation. However, this time I towed a trailer with buddy Scott Campbell. Back in 2022, we acquired the old Asmodeus/Dos Palmas Machine dragster that was part of the US Drag Team attending the first International British Drag Festival in 1964. Then, it was driven by American Bob Keith but it was sold to the Croft Drag Racing Partnership who never really got to grips with it until American ‘Wild’ Bill Weichelt got behind the butterfly. Bill gave the car some history including a land speed record at Elvington. In 1971, Bill returned to the US with the dragster and ran it at the ’71 US Nationals. It then disappeared until 2015, when it was found and restored by NASCAR personality Ray Evernham. In 2022, myself, Geoff Stilwell, Nick Davies of ICE Automotive, Mick Jenkins of Mick’s Paint and Stewart Bassett of Automotive acquired the car and got it running again – although not racing (it’s maybe a little too old for that). Hauling the rail around has been great fun and never more so than at Barona. For more info on RPM Nationals, go to RPMNationals.com.
Any strip, 1960. Actually, it’s the RPM Nationals, Barona. On the left the Asmodeus/ Dos Palmas Machine and on the right the Mooneyes dragster that also raced in the UK in 1963
Brit Simon Gluckman is in an ET battle with Troy Ladd of Hollywood Hot Rods. Simon’s daily street driven 5W is powered by a blown 324ci Olds and runs low 9s
One of many women racers running at the Barona Drags was Stacie Depner in her Chevypowered Model A Roadster on Deuce rails
Troy Ladd of Hollywood Hot Rods has been developing his personal chopped Model A coupe powered by a blown Hemi with a six pack of Strombergs. Runs low 8s in the 1/8th and pulls the wheels up
This hiboy Model A pickup of Kustom Metal Polishing in Ontario, California, had all the right patina as well as a nice small-block Chevy engine with three deuces
Brit Simon Gluckman on left and Troy Ladd of Hollywood Hot Rods on the right. Troy’s Model A is powered by a blown 392 Chrysler Hemi A member of the Pasadena Roadster Club, but seen here driving his ohv Caddypowered ’40 coupe, is Auggie Esposito. Street driven car is a hard charger
Katrin Immke came all the way from Cologne, Germany, to drive her barn-find T roadster that has extensive racing history. It’s prepared for her by Brit Jay Dean of Nostalgia Ranch Right: The overflow can on Stacie Depner’s says it all Below: With more of a street rod rather than hot rod look, the Deuce 3-window nevertheless laid some rubber and made some smoke
The distinctive colour combination of the body and wheels of this 1930-31 Model A somehow reminds me of cars featured in 70’s Rod & Custom magazine
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RPM Barona attracts a growing number of old school rails and this flathead-powered job is raced by ’Hot Head’ Lou. Diggin’ those double Moon discs up front
Ya gotta love this Hemi-powered ’28-29 Model A Roadster, which also sported a 1929 Chrysler grille above that heavily drilled I-beam
The recently found M&V Automotive Model A rpu owned by ‘Hudson’ Joe, who christened it ‘Hanoi Hustler’ in honor of original owner Ed Woodward who was drafted to Vietnam in 1963 Stefan Immke flew in from Cologne, Germany to race his flatty-powered rail job. Offenhauser-headed motor is fitted with rare Hilborn-Travers injection
Charles Chavez of the Emperors Car Club drove the wheels off his Olds-powered rpu, right into the final, and landed in the Winner’s Circle
This deeply channeled original steel ’30 Roadster was built by Brit Jay Dean for Rob Sepe and features a Ford 59A fitted with Offenhauser heads in a Boling Bros frame nose ’22 T I have a leaning towards track w Elco Twin roadsters and the bright yello enry McH is owned and raced by Tom
Tommy Osborne pays tribute to Dode Martin and Jim Nelson’s Dragmaster Company that operated out of nearby Carlsbad, California. Check out the growth of those slicks
This shot says all you need to know about the RPM Nationals – flathead-powered Deuces and the coupe with an original S.Co.T. blower
Another shot that could be straight out of the past with Justin Bass’ Hilborn-injected Chevypowered Altered and the Osborne family ’56 push truck
Built as a tribute to a truck he loved as a kid, Mike Williams’ Model A pickup was built by the Kennedy Bros and finished by Jay Dean
Doncha just love T Modifieds? Dave Roach’s lil’ 4-banger powered ’27 had it going on with wide-bolt wheels and a Deuce grille shell
Above: I’m partial to ‘36s, be they three or five windows, and this pan dragger with small-block Chevy power and sombreros just looked right They make gobs of power and Chevy’s LS family of engines can be found everywhere, even in Porsche 928s. But I’d put the hood back on
Left: In the foreground, Mooneyes owner Shige Suganuma in the front-blown Mooneyes dragster and in back yours truly with the 1964 Asmodeus/Dos Palmas Machine Gas dragster
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Doorslammers ’23
■ Words: Mike Pye ■ Pics: Julian Hunt
The most lucrative race event of the season brings some big names to the Pod, along with some unknows that you’ll surely remember after seeing their performances
19-21
May saw the fifth re-born Doorslammers event share the Pod with VW Breakout, but we’re here to talk about the drag racing. Before we get started, it’s worth pointing out that by far and away the largest class at this year’s Doorslammers was European FWD, with a massive 68 entries, including many of
the 22 Polish teams who brought cars over to race. They were joined by racers from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Greece, Estonia, South Africa, Slovakia, Malta, Denmark and Sweden. However, as the kind of cars entered are not the bread and butter of CC, being primarily what a less charitable editorial team used to regularly describe as “shopping trolleys,” we won’t focus on them in this
“With the quickest runners capable of going deep into the fives, it promised, and delivered, some fantastic racing” True Street
report. Suffice to say, you’d be remiss not to watch them in action as several are capable of running in the eights, which is incredible considering their doing that with generally 2.0-litre or under engines, with all the power going through the front wheels and relatively narrow slicks. As usual, the big hitters were in the VP Racing Fuels Pro Doorslammer class, which comprised mostly Pro Mods, together with a couple of outliers and a single Outlaw Anglia making up the 19 entries. With the quickest runners capable of going deep into the fives, it promised, and delivered, some fantastic racing. One step down is Pro Street. This is largely Street Eliminator territory, though
Plenty of ‘our’ kind of cars in this no chassis mods class, but also a range of hi-po Audis, Nissans, Hondas and Porsches which, while not making for the most interesting cars to Arnie Pamment watch on track, does put their performance into some kind of context. Friday testing showed it was going to be a very close-run thing; three cars in the 9.5s (though the V10, twin turbo Lamborghini Huracan of Germany’s Stephan Klasen was way ahead on terminal speed) and the slowest in the high 11s. When the ladder was created, the supercars dominated, Klasen on pole (8.561 / 173), Simon Cooksey in a Nissan GTR next (9.150 / 161) and Tomasz Drozdz in third place in a modified BMW M3 (9.153 / 154). Of ‘our’ cars, Arnie Pamment in the turbocharged AMX Javelin and Danny Wilson in the small block Mk1 Zephyr were both running strong, though the latter drawing Klasen in round one was going to be a tough gig. Danny Wilson There’s no such thing as a sure thing in drag racing, though, and Wilson’s outstanding holeshot 9.381 / 151 put the Lambo’ on the trailer, to a huge cheer from the Pod crowd. Pamment went through too when Helder Puto Gary Semper fouled, Chris Nasa in the new Camaro took out a Honda, while Gary Semper had a bye in the Stephan Klasen convertible Pontiac Firebird. Come the end of round two, though, the only American V8powered car left in contention was Pamment (8.992 / 150), up against Drozdz’s BMW (10.573 / 144), Cooksey’s GTR (9.161 / 162) and Patryk Walke’s highly modified Audi S5. When Drozdz broke on the line, the two finalists were confirmed as Pamment and Walke, who showed the S5’s potential by clocking an incredible 8.843 at 163mph on route, but damaged the motor in the process, leaving Pamment to solo the final without an opponent to race. He didn’t take it easy though, and ran a weekend best of 8.823 at 155mph.
Patryk Walke
Tomasz Drozdz
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not exclusively, and once again the Poles brought their own take on the technical approach, upsetting the predicted order of the 15-car field in the process. True Street below that is more of a mixed bag. While all the Pro Street entries are street legal, this class is aimed at pure street cars, and its no-chassis-or-floorpanmodifications-allowed regulation means it draws in high performance European road cars – including this year a Lamborghini Huracan, no less. The other two heads-up classes speak for themselves – four cylinder (38 runners) and five / six-cylinder (14 participants). Curiously, electric vehicles are allowed in the former but not the latter, while
“22 Polish teams brought cars over to race and were joined by racers from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Greece, Estonia, South Africa, Slovakia, Malta, Denmark and Sweden” rotary engines are excluded from the four class but allowed in the six. Which just leaves the 6.99-11.99-second Big Bracketeers. Race format is two separate days, a £10k prize pot per day, randomly
chosen pairings, one practice run and no qualifying, but with a £50 buy back option should you not be prepared to go quietly. With the prize fund this year a whopping £90,000, let’s get into the racing…
Four Cylinder
A big and varied class of 26 included some beautiful new VW race cars making their debut at Doorslammers, notably the tube-framed Beetles of Phil Norman and Jim Smith, while Richie Webb over from Austria was Martin Darren Scannell Friedschroeder in the incredible Mexxspeed Karmann Ghia, alongside old favourites such as Richie ‘all carbon’ Webb and Darren Scannell in the cossie-powered Mk1 Escort. They were up against a bunch of largely unknown, but rapid, Eastern European entries and Jack Krugel’s very rapid Nissan Pulsar from Denmark (8.684 / 157), making for an interesting, and impossible to predict, ladder. Alex Leiserach set the pace in testing on Friday with a PB 8.886 / 152 out of Martin Friedschroeder the ARRC chassis’d VW Bay Window pick-up, but Kev Jenkins in Fraudster wasn’t about to be outdone, clocking the class’ only seven, 7.952 at 173mph, with team mate, Chris Todd, right behind in the Fiesta (8.779 / 161). It was all to play for. Todd, Krugel and Scannell all drew byes in the first round and Jenkins retired with engine trouble, opening up the field. By the end of round two, there was a Toyota MR2, an Audi S3, the Pulsar (8.806 / 168 to Jim Smith take out Todd with a PB 8.664 / 170) and a Chris Todd bunch of Beetles left in the running, the quickest being James Wotton on 9.440 / 149. In round three, Scannell took out Krugel with a holeshot 9.268 / 150, Webb saw off Chris Waterhouse, Wotton waved goodbye to Andrew Jack Krugel Burton with a PB 9.131 / 150 and Rob Laughton won the battle of the MR2s over Jack Bowley. Phil Norman When Wotton failed to show due to engine damage, Webb broke the beams and Bowley breaking on the line meant Scannell booked an easy pass into the final, though clutch trouble for the latter left Webb the class winner. Alex Leiserach
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European FWD
Although we’re not covering the front-wheel drive class per se in this report, we thought it would be worth a quick look at some of the weird and wonderful machines that descended upon rural Northamptonshire from as far afield as Germany,
Petros Taxopoulos
Dawid Lamik
Greece, Hungary, Poland, The Netherlands and South Africa – not to mention all parts of the UK. To be quick in this class requires a whole different approach to tuning, aerodynamics and chassis set up. Small capacity motors and big turbos are king here and, when they can put the power down
Pro Street
Let’s just re-iterate that all cars in this class are taxed and MoT’d and capable of at least occasional street use. Now consider that in Friday testing, all but one clocked sub-10 second quarters, with seven of the 15 entries in the eights, that’s impressive stuff. Once again, though, it was Andy Bond (7.456 / 200) that went into Saturday competition as the favourite, sitting on top of the qualifying tree, but with Marcin Blauth in the 4WD Camaro just behind (7.869 / 187) and seasoned campaigners like Brian Pateman in contention, it was no surefire thing. An 8.023 / 164 from Pateman with a lift at the top Andy Bond end on Saturday evening proved he’s capable of sevens, as is Al McSweeney in the Volvo. By the end of play Saturday, the top three were Bond, Blauth and Pateman, and the first-round draw put them up against Matthew Southcott, Wojciech Adamczyk in the Toyota Celica and Mark Sheridan respectively. Byes went the way of Michael Castle and Alan Williamson. Constantin Blumel Of those, the top three continued, along with Al McSweeney, Justin Woolner and Joe Stevens (great Brian Pateman pass at 8.154 / 170), who took out Daniel Pyka, an electrically-troubled Paul Houston and Ash Cooper respectively. Onto round two. There, Pateman nailed Stevens to the tree with a blazing 7.995 / 175, McSweeney also into the sevens (7.963 / 179) to see off Blumel, Al Williamson into the eights (8.921 / 156) to defeat Castle, while Woolner was kicking himself for accidentally hitting the kill switch down track, giving the win to Bond. Michael Castle By the end of round three, the stage was set for a great finale, Pateman’s superb holeshot 7.937 putting McSweeney on the trailer, while Marcin Blauth Bond’s 7.585 took out Williamson’s game 8.467. Both finalists gave it their best shot, but Bond had enough in the bag to emerge the class winner, 7.589 Wojciech Adamczyk / 198 vs 7.989 / 175. Yep, a double seven final from two street legal cars. Wow. Daniel Pyka
Matthew Southcott
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(when they’re not rebuilding engines and / or gearboxes), boy do some of these creations haul ass. Quickest runners were Petros Taxopoulos from Greece, 8.284 / 185, Dawid Lamik from Poland, 8.480 / 172, while England’s Ahmed Jamshaid clocked 8.445 / 169 and Terry Newton 8.976 / 160 during the competition. The final was England, Andy Nicholls, vs Poland, Dawid Lamik, with the Pole taking the win convincingly, 8.584 / 174 vs 14.927 / 59. Piotr Sawczenko
Terry Newton
Ahmed Jamshaid
Six Cylinder We saw the screaming rotary-powered Maltese Escorts last year, so knew they were quick, and Gary Camilleri didn’t disappoint, going 7.364 / 178 in practice on Friday, but nobody expected the tough-looking Audi TT from Austria to cross the line in 7.417 seconds at 185mph. Turns out Hubert Strengberger holds the current AWD Audi world record with the potent coupe. Gary Camilleri Along with his team mate, Mario Kapeller, in an AWD Audi A3, these two cars alone proved the Malteste Zoqdi Racing team weren’t going to have an easy run of it, but Mark Moseley’s Nissan GTR, more rapid VAG and BMW cars, plus the largely stock looking Mk3 Golf of Joe Bristow were all up for the fight. If you thought Bristow’s Hubert Strengberger car didn’t sound, or go, like a regular Golf, that’s because it has a 950bhp five-cylinder Volvo lump onboard, hence the Golvo name, and the astounding 8.981 / 161 he posted on Saturday. Camilleri came on strong at the start and continued in that vein, but Strengberger’s 7.252 with a new mph PB of 190 at lunch time on Saturday put him on pole, with Moseley in third spot. Round one saw more solos than Joe Bristow Jeff Ludgate races, an even more amazing 8.821 / 162 PB for Bristow and the only seven so far from Strengberger (7.611 / 175). Bristow progressed through round two, along with Camilleri, Jeff Ludgate in the Skyline and Strengberger when Moseley failed to stage. Unfortunately, Strengberger threw it away with a red light in the semis, letting Camilleri off easily, while Bristow and Ludgate had a great race for the other half of the final (8.936 / 165 vs 8.875/ 157 in Mario Kapeller Ludgate’s favour). Camilleri then pulled a 7.951 / 139 out of the bag to lift the winner’s crown, Ludgate’s off-form 10.189 / 119 being no match for the screaming Maltese. ey Mark Mosel
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VW Racing Fuels Pro Doorslammer
Jan Ericsson
Friday was always going to be a bit all over the place in this high-horsepower class as teams get to grips with new set ups and the track, and it was Andy Robinson and Andres Arnover from Estonia who put together the right combinations, 5.890 / 247 and 5.919 / 248 respectively, while John Tebenham dropped a valve, requiring major engine surgery on the Friday night. But they all knew tough competitors like Jan Ericsson, David Vegter, Marck Harteveld and Bruno Bader weren’t Andres Arnover going to give up without a fight. Let battle commence. First up in open qualifying on Saturday was Harteveld and Arnover, 7.476 / 122 vs 10.009 / 87. Then came Germany’s Walter Strobel in the Outlaw Camaro, 7.032 / 196. Colin Millar clocked 7.151 in the Anglia Przemyslaw Sochacki with a new PB terminal of 196.31 and Joel Kerr dipped into the sixes for the first time, 6.932 / 185. Andy Robinson and David Vegter both had trouble on the line, but Kev Slyfield Joel Kerr ran through on a 6.580 / 196 and a clean 6.713 / 209 licensing pass for David Smith, becoming a legit Pro Mod contender by the end of the day. The crowd was on its feet, though, when 5.796 / 246 lit up over Jan Ericsson’s lane. Best run in the class so far for the number one spot on the qualifying ladder. Dutchman, Michel Tooren, was next into David Smith vs Kev Slyfield the fives, 5.997 / 241, while Jon Webster, Arnover, Harteveld, Tebenham and the two Polish racers in the class – Mateusz Bankowiak Walter Strobel in the ex-David Smith Jaguar XKR and Przemyslaw Sochacki in a twin turbo Pontiac Firebird – all struggled. Next fiver went to Arnover Colin Millar late in the evening, 5.976 / 245, while Slyfield stayed just outside, 6.039 / 238. Mateusz Bankowiak Mr. consistent, Ericsson, held the top spot, but there’s no free lunch at the Doorslammers, so when the first-round pairings were drawn that evening, it was Swift and Tooren who had the benefit of byes. The rest would have to race. Consequently, Robinson went down in a squeaker to Harteveld (5.945 / 237 vs 6.042 / 244), Smith was eliminated by Slyfield (6.617 / 209 vs 6.018 / 236), Tebenham was sent home by a roaring Vegter (6.590 / 209 vs 5.754 / 235 PB), while Strobel fouled and both Sochacki and Bankowiak failed to show. The eliminations two draw saw Tooren vs Slyfield, Vegter vs Harteveld, Swift vs Bader and Arnover vs Ericsson. This David Swift vs Bruno Bader was going to be good. Jon Webster Tooren started well, a PB 5.904 / 241 defeating Slyfield nham John Tebe after he lost a blower belt on route. An on-form Vegter improved his PB further still (5.740 / 246) to see off Harteveld Andy Robinson (5.957 / 239), while Swift despatched Bader (7.295 / 184 vs 11.513 / 65), who wasn’t having a great weekend and also threw a blower belt. Ericsson and Arnover should have provided the second double five race of the day, but it wasn’t to be. Arnover red lit going into stage, leaving the door wide open for Ericsson, who ran through in 5.821 seconds at 249mph, just to be sure. Next draw out of the tombola would decide the final and it was Vegter vs Tooren and Swift vs Ericsson. Reigning FIA Pro Mod champion, Ericsson, continued his charge to take out a game Swift, while Vegter hunted down Tooren who lifted at half track, meaning Vegter and Ericsson would battle it out for the spoils, Ericsson taking the lion’s share of the event’s impressive £90,000 David Vegter vs Marck Harteveld Michel Tooren purse (5.777 / 249 vs 7.896 / 117).
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Williams Bros Big Bracket
This class is unique at Doorslammers in that it’s the only one that doesn’t race heads-up (and the only one to offer first round buy backs), so consistency and knowing your car is the name of the game here. With some 30-odd racers on the entry list, dialling in anywhere between 8.04 (Tomas Haas) and 11.75 (Kirstie Tramm) in the first round of eliminations, it was a brave person who was prepared to bet on the outcome. As it goes, after a hard day’s racing on the Saturday, it was the quickest runner in the class that emerged the winner, Thomas Haas Thomas Haas from Switzerland (8.313 / 157 on an 8.02 dial in) bagging himself £5,000 for his efforts. Runner-up was the UK’s Jon Turner (9.257 / 148 on an 8.79 dial in) collecting a cheque for £2,000. One of the closest races Jon Turner that day was between Turner and John Tebenham’s Crew Killer Pop, 8.885 / 143 on an 8.75 dial in vs 8.958 / 150 on an 8.94. Brett Featherstone and Marc Huxley had a great battle too, 9.417 / 134 on Dave Cherrett a 9.41 vs 9.770 / 135 on a 9.71, the latter winning with a holeshot. By round three, the field John Tebenham was down to Tim Stanbury, Ronnie Mercer, Dan Williams, Billy Gane, Turner and Haas, with Haas, Turner and Williams going through. You already know who won, so Tom Atkinson we’ll leave Saturday there. Come Sunday, as if to prove how fickle bracket racing can be, both Saturday’s finalists went out in round one, though Haas used the buy back option to stay in contention. At the end of the day, though, it was two old hands collecting the coin, Dave Cherrett, in the Dark Lee Chiles Revenger Model A with the top s ew tth Steve Ma prize, Tom Atkinson runner-up. That’s not to say there wasn’t a load of close racing in between, but each round was peppered with red lights and break outs as racers tried their hardest to nail the perfect reaction time and run right on their chosen dial in. Spencer Tramm came closest to achieving the dream package, running 11.073 / 116 on an 11.07 dial in, but his 0.0004 reaction time put him out of contention. By round three, it was down to Jens Konnecke from Germany, Simon Innes, Cherrett, Nic Williams, Gane and Atkinson, with Konnecke, Cherrett and Atkinson through. When Konnecke tried too hard in the semis and broke out, the final pairing was decided, and Simon Innes the numbers were 9.750 Jens Konnecke vs Kirsty Tramm /122 on a 9.70 dial in for Cherrett vs Atkinson’s lose out 8.665 / 147 on an 8.40 dial. Ben Kennedy
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BRENTACRE CUSTOM CAR & HOT ROD INSURANCE
NB: We advise you to double check with organisers that the event or show as listed is still going ahead, to avoid any wasted journeys. To submit an event, email alan.kidd@assignment-media.co.uk
JULY 6 Krazy Horse Late Nights Bury St Edmunds. www.krazyhorse.co.uk 6-8 Västerås Summer Meet Västerås, Västmanland, Sweden. vasterassummermeet.se
21-23 Bug Jam Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 21-23 Rock’n’Ribs Festival Wincanton Racecourse, Somerset. www.rocknribsfestival.co.uk
3 Krazy Horse Late Nights Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. www.krazyhorse. co.uk 4-6 Ultimate Street Car Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 5-6 Festival of Wheels Trinity Park, Ipswich. www.motorshowevents.com
7-9 Dragstalgia Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk
22-23 National Hot Rod and Custom Show Lincolnshire Showground, Lincoln. www. hotrodandcustomshow.co.uk
7-9 The Weekender Bardwell, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. www.krazyhorse. co.uk/pages/krazy-horse-festival
22-23 Carrot Town Garage American Car Show. Stonham Barns, Suffolk. stonhambarns.co.uk
8 Classic Car Breakfast Meet Jack’s Patch, Kirton Lindsey. Facebook: Bomber County Classics
22-23 Straightliners Race Meet Llanbedr Airfield, Llanbedr, Gwynedd. www.straightliners.events
8 Drag & Drift Dakota Raceway, Honiton. www.straightliners.events
23 Deuce Day Gaydon, Warwickshire. www.deucesofbritain.co.uk/deuce-day
8 Spitfire Raceway Drag’n’Drift. Parranporth Airfield, St Agnes, Cornwall. www.perranporthdrivingcentre.com
28-29 Weekend of Wheels Moorgreen, Notts. www.coffencars.club
7 Top Speed Monday Elvington Airfield, Elvington, West Yorkshire. www.straightliners.events
28-30 KLK Extravaganza Walpole St Andrew, Norfolk. www.kingslynnkruisers.co.uk
10-13 NSRA Hot Rod Supernationals Old Warden Park, Biggleswade. www.nsra.org.uk
8-9 Kernow Old Vehicle Rally Penhallow. KOVC Facebook
28-30 Hotrod Hayride Bisley Shooting Ground, Woking. www. hotrodhayride.co.uk
11-13 Hot Rods in the Borders Liliardsedge, Jedburgh. Hotrodsintheborders@hotmail.com
13-16 Goodwood Festival of Speed Goodwood Estate, West Sussex. www.goodwood.com
29 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com
11-13 Huccabilly Run Hexworthy, Devon. facebook.com/TheAbbotsCC
29-30 Mopar Euro Nationals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk
11-13 NSVA Truck-In Drum and Monkey, Gloucester Road, Upton on Severn. Facebook: NSVA
8-9 Historic Vehicle Gathering Powderham Castle, Exeter, Devon. historic-vehicle-gathering.info
15 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 15-16 Straightliners Race Meet Melbourne Raceway, York. www. straightliners.events 16 Ford Show Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 16 Grand Motorbilia Day Stickney, Lincs. www.mablethorpedmc.co.uk 17 Top Speed Monday Elvington Airfield, Elvington, West Yorkshire. www.straightliners.events 18 VW Air-Cooled Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 21-23 Bullfrog Bash Coach and Horses, Billinghay, Lincoln. bullfrogbash@hellsangelsmc.co.uk
29-30 Ten Of The Best Elvington Airfield, Elvington, West Yorkshire. www.straightliners.events
5-6 Straightliners Race Meet Melbourne Raceway, York. www. straightliners.events 6 American Car Sunday Hooters, Nottingham. www.hootersnottingham. co.uk 6 Wheels on the Waterfront Sovereign Harbour, Eastbourne. Facebook: The Waterfront Eastbourne
11-13 Retrofestival Newbury Showground. www.retrofestival.co.uk
30 Auto Extravaganza Walpole St Andrew, Norfolk. www.kingslynnkruisers.co.uk
12 Classic Car Breakfast Meet Jack’s Patch, Kirton Lindsey. Facebook: Bomber County Classics
30 Rally of the Giants Stonor Park, Henley on Thames. www. allamericanautoclub.com
12 Best of British Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk
AUGUST
12 Drag & Drift Dakota Raceway, Honiton, Devon. www.straightliners. events
1 Hayling Hotrods at the Beach. Hayling Island, Hampshire. Glenn: 07889 710189
13 ‘Normous Newark Autojumble Newark Showground, Newark, Notts. www.newarkautojumble.co.uk
2 Hot Rod Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com
13 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk
60 CUSTOM CAR AUGUST 2023
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15 VW Air-Cooled Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com
8-10 Goodwood Revival Goodwood Estate. www.goodwood.com
18-20 Greenlight Nationals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk
8-10 The Trip Out Euston Park, Suffolk. thetripout.co.uk
19-20 Passion for Power Classic Motor Show. Tatton Park, Knutsford. www.tattonpassionforpower.com
9 Classic Car Breakfast Meet Jack’s Patch, Kirton Lindsey. Facebook: Bomber County Classics
25-27 GOW! Speed Hill Climb Prescott Hill, Cheltenham, Cotswolds. www.vhra.co.uk
9-10 Straightliners Race Meet Melbourne Raceway, York. www. straightliners.events
25-27 Knucklebusters Car Show. Stonham Barns, Suffolk. www. stonhambarns.co.uk
10 VHRA Swap Meet Ramsey, Cabridgeshire. www.vhra.co.uk
25-28 Hot Rod Hop. Thurleigh, Beds. Facebook: Cannibals Car Club UK
11 Top Speed Monday Elvington Airfield, Elvington, West Yorkshire. www.straightliners.events
26 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com
15-17 Hot Rod Drags Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk
28 Drive and Jive Auto Show. Whitstable Bends, Whitstable, Kent. www.driveandjive.uk
15-17 Isle of Man Festival of Motoring www.iomfm.com
SEPTEMBER
16 Spitfire Raceway Drag’n’Drift. Parranporth Airfield, St Agnes, Cornwall. www.perranporthdrivingcentre.com
1-3 Blue Ridge Runners Show West Huntspill, Somerset. www.blueridgerunners.co.uk
17 American Car Show. Stonham Barns, Suffolk. www. stonhambarns.co.uk
1-3 VW Action Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk
17 ‘Normous Newark Autojumble Newark Showground, Newark, Notts. www.newarkautojumble.co.uk
2-3 International Autojumble Beaulieu. www.beaulieu.co.uk 2-3 Jurby Drag Racing Jurby, Isle of Man. www.straightliners.events 3 Brooklands American Day Brooklands Museum, Weybridge, Surrey. www.brooklandsmuseum.com 3 Wheels on the Waterfront Sovereign Harbour, Eastbourne. Facebook: The Waterfront Eastbourne 5 Hayling Hotrods at the Beach. Hayling Island, Hampshire. Glenn: 07889 710189 6 Hot Rod Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 7 Krazy Horse Late Nights Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. www.krazyhorse. co.uk 7-10 European Finals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 8-9 Hindenberg Dirt Track Races www.hindenberg-dirt-track.com
19 VW Air-Cooled Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 22-24 National Finals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 22-24 Flat Caps and Ferrets Lepton Highlanders, Huddersfield. Facebook: Flat Caps & Ferrets 23-24 ACU/UKITA Records Elvington Airfield, Elvington, West Yorkshire. www.straightliners.events 23-24 Sywell Classic: Pistons and Props Sywell Aerodrome, Northants. www.sywellclassic.co.uk
OCTOBER 1 Wheels on the Waterfront Sovereign Harbour, Eastbourne. Facebook: The Waterfront Eastbourne 3 Hayling Hotrods at the Beach. Hayling Island, Hampshire. Glenn: 07889 710189 4 Hot Rod Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 5 Krazy Horse Late Nights Bury St Edmunds. www.krazyhorse.co.uk 7 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 7-8 Straightliners Race Meet Melbourne Raceway, York. www. straightliners.events 9 Top Speed Monday Elvington Airfield, Elvington, West Yorkshire. www.straightliners.events 14 Classic Car Breakfast Meet Jack’s Patch, Kirton Lindsey. Facebook: Bomber County Classics 14 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 15 Straightliners Race Meet Santa Pod. www.straightliners.events 17 VW Air-Cooled Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 21 Run What Ya Brung Saturday Night Special Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 22 ‘Normous Newark Autojumble Newark Showground, Newark, Notts. www.newarkautojumble.co.uk 22 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 28 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 28 Flame & Thunder Show Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk
30 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com
29 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk
30 Drag & Drift Dakota Raceway, Honiton. www.straightliners.events
NOVEMBER
30 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk
1 Hot Rod Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 19 ‘Normous Newark Autojumble Newark Showground, Newark, Notts. www.newarkautojumble.co.uk
AUGUST 2023 CUSTOM CAR 61
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