Custom Car March 2025 by Assignment Media Ltd

Where there’s a Willys…

Dave Spreadbury found a way of turning a ﬁve-door body shell into a factory-look cruiser

PLUS Dave Bird’s chopped, two-doored pro-street Jag may be more street than strip with just a mere 454 under its bonnet – but it’s still a big cat with claws…

MOLLY’S AMERICAN CLASSIC

74 Dodge Dart 318 being exported to Cornwall, UK

“ Importing a vehicle with Kev from Hill Shipping is always a pleasure and he’s great at making the process simple for us.”

- Rik, Cornwall

News & reviews

Classicdisplay

By Adam Sayers

The NSRA presence at the 2024 NEC Classic Motor Show displayed just what the club is and has been about, from Charles Baldacchino’s Small Fry, built by his brother John nearly 50 years ago, through to debut cars from 2024 such as Adam Sayers’ Model A and Graham Slater’s couped Jag. Mark

Barrett’s Chevy pick-up (CC Dec ’23) was also on display.

Pre-29 members were represented by Dougie Hill with the Mighty Mouse slingshot, Richard Woolmer’s Austin A30 with JPS livery and, for the smallest members, the incredible ‘halfpint’ tot rod built by Dave Spicer for daughter Natalie.

www.customcarmag.co.uk

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Contributors

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The stand was nice and busy all weekend thanks to the great choice of vehicles chosen to represent the club by NSRA committee member Matthew Stanley. Dougie never stopped chatting to attendees, who couldn’t believe he was the actual driver of such a mad machine, while Graham’s Jag left the older guys unable to work out what it used to be or what had been done to it.

Across the hall, Pike Murray was promoting the Willy’s Wars with three very different cars: Kim Bishop with Grey Vegas, Simon Daniels with Viagra Coupe and Steve Roberts with Flatpack 40. The NSRA’s immediate neighbour was the American Auto Club with a very impressive display.

Tales were told, new members gained and old friends reacquainted, with the NSRA becoming the centre point for our scene boasting vehicles from the early years to new builds. A great event that should be on everyone’s to-do list for 2025.

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Deuce of a day

Tickets are now on sale for Deuce Day, a feature of the Old Ford Rally, on 20 July 2025 at the British Motor Museum, Gaydon, Warwickshire. Vehicle exhibitor tickets are priced at just £12, which includes an entry pass to display your ‘32 Ford as well as passed for a driver and one passenger and free entry to the Museum and Collections Centre. www.deucesofbritain.co.uk

Touch of class

Having last month informed you of the dates for no prep racing at Manston Raceway Park in Kent, we can now give you details of the race classes. As things stand, all classes will be flashlight start, heads up 1/8th mile No Prep, unless stated otherwise. A chip draw will decide pairings and lane choice, and there will be first-round buybacks. Additional classes may be added if sufficient interest is shown.

Big Tyre: Any tyre and engine sizes, any transmission, slicks allowed, power adders permitted, no minimum weight. This class also allows AWD.

Small Tyre: Same rules as Big Tyre but with a maximum tyre width of 10.5 inches. Slicks, drag radials, and semi-slicks are permitted.

Tailgate: A brand-new class for trucks with no restriction on tyre size or power adders. No minimum weight, no engine size restriction, slicks allowed, no requirement for an MOT. No full tube chassis vehicles at this stage.

FWD: Another new class. Apart from mandatory safety requirements, there are no rules other than the car must be FWD.

Stick Shift: The third new class. No restrictions on engine and power adders, no minimum weight, and slicks are allowed. Must be a 3-pedal vehicle.

True Street: Vehicles must be taxed, tested, insured and run a full interior. There will be a qualifying cruise and other than safety there are no restrictions.

Daily Driver: Same rules as True Street but following the cruise all competitors head straight to the staging lanes and run three passes. The winner will be decided by the most consistent average. Street tyres only.

RWYB: A test and tune class will be run on all race days.

Facebook: Manston Raceway Park

Celebrating 74 years

Stop by showroomthe today to check it out.

News & reviews Something for the weekend?

Straight to it

Speed Show 2025 is a familyfriendly weekend of straightline entertainment, celebrating everything from drag cars and bikes to jet cars. Taking place at Elvington Airfield, York, YO41 4AU on 22-23 February, it offers static displays and live drag racing action. Opening times are 9.30 am to 5.00 pm on Saturday and 9:30 am to 4:00 pm on Sunday. www.straightliners.events

Swapsies

The NSRA season opener, the Southern Swap Meet, is on Sunday 2 March at North Weald Airfield in Epping. This is the event to move on all the parts you never used, buy

Beastly read

The author of The Beast, The Story of The World’s Most Infamous Car is Paul Dodd, son of the larger-than-life character who built the car, the late John Dodd. The book chronicles the story behind the car along with that of its creator. The Beast has been the subject of much publicity since the sensation it created when it debuted at the

more parts you may never use or just catch up with friends you haven’t seen for a while. Trade pitches are available with admission from 7.30 am, and the public gate opens at 9.30 am with admission costing £10 per person (£5 for NSRA members).

www.nsra.org.uk

Run for it

The dates for this year’s Run To The Sun are 23-26 May. Friday sees the cruise to Newquay from Reading, finishing at the venue at Nanskival. Together with the traditional array of VWs, the organisers welcome any pre-1990 hot rods, customs and classics.

Throughout the weekend live music, local drinks and kids’ attractions will be available. Admission tickets, including 3 nights’ camping if required, are available online now.

www.rtts.co.uk

Rock on

The Rods & Rockers Weekend takes place at Kays Barn,

Dunnington, near York, from 30 May to 1 June. Live music features heavily throughout the weekend, as does a classic and period custom car and bike show. An autojumble and tabletop sale will take place on Saturday morning, with a hog roast following later in the day. Advance weekend tickets are priced at £35 per person, or you can pay on the gate for single or 3-day admission. Tel: 07736 668925

Custom Car Show in 1972.

As the story unfolds, Paul qualifies the facts and also dispels some of the myths. I learned a lot reading the book, both about the car, the background and family life of John Dodd and the truth about the Rolls Royce lawsuit and why John fled to Spain. The Beast did bite back, but the

story does have an unexpected happy ending, and the book is an informative and entertaining read.

Priced at £20, the A4-sized hardback is available by contacting Paul via Facebook Messenger, by emailing

pauldoddsm@hotmail.com or by calling him on 07775 681673.

Ross Graham

We were saddened to hear of the passing of hot rodder and former CC contributor Ross Graham earlier this year. A quiet guy who loved rods and photography, Ross was well-known in the Scottish hot rod community and regularly attended events in the locale and further afield.

Our thoughts go out to his family and friends.

RIP Ross

Flat out

If you run a Flathead-powered car of any kind and fancy stretching its legs on the strip, you need to be part of the Flathead Meltdown at Santa Pod. This has been moved from its HRD slot for 2025, to keep it away from the Pendine weekend, and is now part of the Nostalgia Nationals weekend on 3-4 May. It will feature classes for fourbangers, V8s, V12s, OHV conversion Sidevalve blocks and race cars. The Flathead Meltdown isn’t confined solely to VHRA members and anyone with a qualifying vehicle can take part. www.vhra.co.uk

Fooling around

The Only Fools and Motors meet dates at The Five Bells, Tydd St Mary PE13 5QH have been confirmed as 1 March (TBC), 5 April, 10 May, 7 June, 12 July, 2 August, and 6 September. All the dates are Saturdays, and the fun kicks off at 2:00 pm.

Facebook: Only Fools and Motors

News & reviews

Period velocity

Velocity Vintage Drags is a new series of events being run in conjunction with No Prep racing at Manston Raceway Park in Kent. Run over the eighth mile, the ﬁ rst of these period-style race meetings takes place over the early Spring Bank Holiday weekend, 3-5 May.

Vintage Velocity Drags is purely about the racing, with Saturday being grudge race day and Sunday elimination day. The categories of racing are 4-Banger sponsored by O’Neil Vintage Ford, V8 Flathead sponsored by Royal Kustoms and Overhead Valve sponsored by Namco American Motor Co. Spectator admission costs £20 per day, with the daily price for racers being £45 which includes the race licence fee.

Velocity Vintage Drags T-shirts are available in sizes S to XXXL. The shirts are either forest green or black in colour and are printed with the event logo on the front breast and a large SNAILS print on the back. Priced at £20 plus postage, the shirts can be ordered through Mark Phillips on Facebook. www.velocityvintagedrags.racing

Rainy Sundays

The Rainy City Cruisers meet on the 3rd Sunday of the month at The Stablegate, Denton, Manchester M34 3SH. If you ﬁ nd yourself in the area pop along and say hello.

Invitation only

Whitewebbs Museum of Transport in Enﬁ eld is the venue for the Gathering of Geezers IV on Sunday 27 April. The display of rods and customs is by invitation only, so please don’t turn up to show your car, but visitors are welcome to view the cars and the museum exhibits.

Facebook: Whitewebbs Museum of Transport

Get a grip

An adjustable wrench can be a useful asset in the toolbox if you don’t have the correct size of spanner or socket to hand. However, the very nature of the movable jaws means the wrench could slip or not grip very well. Laser Tools now offers a game-changer, as this 250mm adjustable wrench features a unique grip-wrenchstyle locking mechanism, providing a superior hold on fasteners compared to standard adjustable wrenches. With an adjustable jaw capacity ranging from 0 to 30mm, this tool locks ﬁ rmly in place once the grip lever is closed. It is particularly effective for working on stubborn or rounded fasteners.

www.lasertools.co.uk

Induction process

Convert

Webcon can now supply a billet ali rod linkage to cable convertor system that will ﬁ t any 5/16 inch linkage rod and allow quick and easy connection to a throttle cable. The system is supplied complete with pin, yoke and split pin at a price of £27.60 including VAT.

www.webcon.co.uk

News from the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame’s Selection Panel, which meets annually to choose the year’s new members, is that Frank Brachtvogel has elected to stand down as a selector. Ian King, who was inducted in 2020, will be taking his place at the table.

The Hall of Fame’s directors, advisers, and selectors and the BDRHOF Benevolent Fund’s trustees all serve in a voluntary capacity, pro bono.

www.britishdragracinghof.co.uk

Injection- Engines- see our Website for more items! Injection- Engines- see our Website for more items! Injection- Engines- see our Website for more items! Injection- Engines- see our Website for more items! see Website for

start then self tuning. self self tuning. self

Items include VAT & are subject to

Preparation- Remove all plugs from block & heads, acid dip. Replace all plugs, Core plugs to be brass. Pressure test to check for cracks. Line-bore cylinder block, machine decks parallel to crank centre line, rebore/hone block to pistons, commonly, +.030”. Replace cam bearings. Fit camshaft. Clean & balance all reciprocating p arts. Check clearances- main bearings, conrod bearings, crank end float, conrod side clearance, piston rings & pistons. [some engines have new conrods, others are recircled and fitted with ARP bolts]. Fit pistons to conrods & assemble bottom end. Fit timing gears & chain, time in camshaft. If it is a std engine, then the C.I. heads are fitted with guide liners if required, 3 angle seat job, new valves, springs, seals, rockers, collets. The heads are then installed with new lifters & pushrods.

Some hot rodders like to mix things up and build a different make of car for their next project. Others are die-hard devotees of one particular brand…

Words: Dave Biggadyke Pics: Alan Kidd Kidd

We featured the coupe that kickstarted Dave’s Willy journey in the March ’98 issue. Dave sold it in 2002 and it’s still around today, owned by Simon Daniels.

Project management

The box section chassis sculpted by Dave is just visible in this shot. Note the internal body bracing

The Wisbech Engineering IFS is fitted with a pair of ShockWave integrated air spring and shock absorbers from Air Ride Technologies (now known as Ridetech)

The NSRA Fun Run at Billing in 1997 is firmly etched in the memory of Dave Spreadbury. That event saw the first public appearance of his Pro Street ’41 Willys, which he’d named Rat Catcher. The tunnel ram-equipped small block Chevy-powered coupe went down a storm, with Dave’s name being called out as the recipient of the coveted Participants’ Choice trophy.

Understandably, this made that particular Fun Run very special for the Spreadbury family. But there was more than that to come from the weekend.

Walking around the show field, Dave encountered fellow Willys owner Mike Taylor. While chatting to him, Dave spotted

The owner-fabricated stainless exhaust system features electrically operated cut outs for when Dave wants to be heard

a for-sale notice displayed in Mike’s coupe, proffering a ’39 4-door Willys sedan he was looking to move on. Dave was smitten, a deal was struck and the Spreadburys became a two-Willys family overnight.

That’s stretching things a bit, to be honest, as Dave’s new toy was short of running gear and engine. There was no chassis either, so what he’d actually bought was a 58-year-old bodyshell. It was a 4-door, much like the one Steve Roberts based his coupe build on (CC, January ’25), albeit with different front-end styling as it had rolled off the line a year earlier. Dave told us that when he started working on the car, he uncovered evidence that it had been built under license in Oslo and was destined for the European market.

The replacement Hemi dressed and ready to go. The alternator Dave now wants to replace is clearly visible

With the front doors widened and the narrowed rears welded shut, Dave marks out the steel that needs removing to reprofile the rear windows

Dave was in no great rush to complete the project as he already had his coupe to enjoy, and he didn’t want to simply replicate the build he’d just completed. Instead, he began by devising a build sheet and compiling a list of all the parts he needed. “I’m just a regular guy building hot rods,” he explained. “I do pretty much all the work myself and rather than buy off-the-shelf components I prefer to make what I need if at all possible. Besides, I don’t have an unlimited budget and can only proceed at a pace that funds allow.”

Kickboxing

The first job on the build sheet was a chassis, which Dave formed from 3 x 2-inch box section steel. The rails incorporate kick-

The Hemi sat on wooden blocks prior to the custom ali engine mounts being fabricated

The original headlight pods had suffered badly over the years

The 3x2 Rochester GC carbs sit on an original Weiand polished inlet manifold purchased from a museum in California

The body mostly prepped and in primer

The carbs and manifold mounted in place. Note the recessed bulkhead providing muchneeded clearance

The boot lid needed a little reshaping to get it to fit to Dave’s satisfaction

Prior to the new interior being fitted, the inside of the body was covered in sound-deadening material

“Drawing inspiration when on a shopping trip to the local John Lewis store”

The fully machined 354 Hemi has been rebuilt to pretty much stock spec using all new components. Dress up items include the O’Brien Truckers finned rocker covers that were bought during a trip to Tampa. Not wanting to need a prop to hold up the bonnet when open, Dave fitted a pair of metal sliders to the bulkhead that extend from the brackets to a steel crossmember bolted to the underside of the bonnet. To lower the bonnet, it is simply raised an inch to unlock the sliders

Inset: Capping off the trio of 2-barrel Rochester carbs are Thickstun finned air filters that Dave also picked up when in Tampa

“I prefer to make what I need if at all possible”

Left: A custom waterfall centre console plays host to a Lokar shifter and a concealed switch panel with a pop-up cover. The modified Limeworks column is topped off by a Billett Specialities steering wheel, with its centre boss incorporating a Rodtronics-supplied 4-way switch panel controlling the indicators and horn. As he had no senders, Dave sold the original Willys gauges to a guy in Hawaii and replaced them with aftermarket Smiths instruments with their faces painted to match the original speedo

Left: The front seats originally saw service in the third row of a Renault Espace; they were chosen for their tilt and fold-flat mechanism to aid rear passenger access. The rear seat is custom-fabricated from MDF and sculpted foam. Tom Tidey trimmed the entire interior in Poppy Red leather with diamond-stitched panels

ups front and rear to help achieve the stance Dave was looking for. Combined with air ride all round, the chassis design ensures the Willys lays frame when parked up and cruises with style at ride height.

The front suspension is taken care of by a custom IFS fabricated by the team at Wisbech Engineering near Kings Lynn. It features disc brakes and rack and pinion steering and is fitted with integrated air springs and shocks. You may have already noticed the car is right-hand drive; this is the configuration it left the factory with.

At the rear, the Ford 9-inch axle installation features 4-bar link and Panhard rod location, and Firestone 9000 air bags. Thanks to Hauser Racing, the narrowed axle is fitted with 3.25:1 gears, Strange shafts and Mercedes discs and calipers.

When it came to the engine, there was only one choice: Dave had his heart firmly set on an early Chrysler Hemi. Initially, he opted for one that came via a fellow rodder

Left: The carpeted boot area is home to the 2-gallon air tank which bears the script ’39 On Air. The air ride system features a 4-way controller for all-round adjustability, with Dave having mounted the valves and solenoids in full view rather than hiding them away. The compressor is concealed, however, mounted under a cover to the side of the boot. Even more concealed is the Dax Cobra fuel tank mounted under the boot floor

who had been working at So-Cal in California and had already shipped the engine to the UK. That proved to be suitable for mock-up only, however, with Dave ultimately sourcing a second block and pistons from a guy in Norfolk. He then swapped a ﬂoor-mounted pillar drill for a tired 2-speed Powerglide transmission and had it rebuilt locally. Together with a slightly higher stall torque converter, it performs perfectly.

With the Hemi attached to the rails using one-off machined ali mounts, Dave fitted the body on the chassis and then fabricated a new recessed bulkhead from 18-gauge sheet steel. The exhaust system came next, with Dave having the header flanges laser cut from ⅜ inch thick stainless steel plate. He then fabricated the full-length headers, collectors and 2½-inch diameter exhaust system with polished Magnaflow silencer boxes himself. Planning ahead with the air ride in mind, he wisely ran the stainless pipes through the chassis rails to avoid possible clearance issues.

Doorman

With the rolling stock sorted, it was time to tackle the body. “It’s got too many doors,” Dave commented. To remedy this situation and relieve the sedan of its rear access openings, he ﬁrst internally braced the ‘shell before removing 3½ inches from the width of the rear doors. With these suitably narrowed, he tackled the painstaking task of relocating the B pillars 3½ inches rearwards, reﬁtted the narrowed rear doors and welded

Reshape and modify a ribbed item of stainless steel kitchenware, add a pair of custom end caps, mount it on a couple of fabricated brackets and you have the makings of a faux Moon tank. Finish it off with a genuine tri-bar cap and the job’s a good ‘un

them firmly shut. The front doors were cut and widened by the same amount to fit their enlarged openings and the freshly formed rear side windows were reprofiled by cutting the body towards the rear of the car. This effectively lengthened the window apertures to make them proportionally correct to the widened front door windows.

This does rather oversimplify the work involved in two-dooring the sedan, a challenge that Dave rose to and got spot on in our book. The proportions are just right and give no indication that the bodyshell didn’t look like that when it rolled off the production line in 1939. To complete the fresh look, Dave removed the rear part of the

“The ‘shell was in excellent condition”

drip rail as he was never keen on the original, which flowed down below the rear window almost reaching the top of the boot lid. By contrast, the remainder of the bodywork was a breeze, with Dave telling us the ‘shell was in an excellent condition. The headlamp pods needed work and he added his own twist to their design as well as repairing them. He also made the rear lights and door mirrors, both of which feature ’37 Ford tail light housings and Art Deco detailing. Not being a fan of the lack of flow between the running boards and wings, Dave fabricated a fresh pair from 18-gauge sheet steel and modified the wing edges to suit.

The two-door conversion combines with a few subtle body mods and the lower stance

factory cruiser

“Dave had his heart firmly set on an early Chrysler Hemi”

The baby blue paint is a Fiat 500 colour. Understandably as the car has been converted to a two-door, new glass has been ﬁtted all round. Dave designed and crafted new running boards and modiﬁed the wings for improved aesthetics

Thanks

A ’46 Chevy pick-up bumper came by way of Dave’s friend Andy Thatcher, with the original Willys bumper overriders added after being reproﬁled and mounted upside down. Flanking the overriders are a pair of period Notek blue dot spotlights.

Remember Dave admitting he prefers to make things if he can? Well, that was certainly the case with the faux Moon tank mounted behind the front bumper. Drawing inspiration when on a shopping trip to the local John Lewis store with his wife, Dave made a purchase of his own in the kitchenware department. Vision and improvisation is all it takes.

Added mastery

The Willys has been painted twice, the same colour each time. The ﬁrst coat showed reaction issues in a few areas, so it was resprayed last year by Chris Newham.

To ﬁnish off the build, the sedan needed wiring and interior trimming. The electrics were sorted by Steve, a friend who Dave describes as a wizard, and the trimming was handled by another friend, Tom Tidey.

Tom also worked some magic of his own, especially on the headlining. “Dave wanted a one-piece headlining,” he explained. “That meant we needed to source an absolute dinosaur of a hide, with specialists Martrim in Sandbach coming up trumps with that.”

Old Sharkey, as Dave has named the car thanks to its shark-like front-end metalwork, scored an MOT ticket and was on the road the week before last year’s Supernats. Just like 27 years previously, the Willys was well received and was voted into a Top Ten spot by Dave’s peers.

“Shout-outs go to my wife Lyn for all her patience during the build, Andy Thatcher, Dave Bird for engineering parts, Chris Newham, Steve for the wiring, and Tom Tidey”

“It’s a real pleasure to drive,” Dave beamed. “It’s not harsh, it doesn’t bang and the ride can only get even better as I’m still playing around with the air ride settings. There have been no issues with the car, but I do plan to ﬁt a new hard fuel line and a larger radiator. I also want to switch to a retro-style alternator like the one Adam Sayers has on his Model A. I really like the look of that, and the painted one I have ﬁtted at the moment is tucked away out of sight.”

The manufacturer’s badge may be the same, and the original production dates only two years apart, but this Willys is far removed from the one built by Dave in the late ‘90s. His coupe was brash and in ya face, while the sedan is a far more reﬁned affair. Both have true hot rod pedigree though, and thanks to the Spreadbury touch both stand out from the crowd CC

With the sleepy-eyed ’39 headlight pods needing work, Dave incorporated a redesign changing the overall look with the addition of peaks. He also manufactured new lenses, taking moulds from a pair of one-year-only glass originals and casting replacements from US-sourced resin which doesn’t yellow. The detail is amazing, right down to the Fresnel lens fringes and manufacturer’s lettering

The Dave-fabricated rear illumination is based around ’37 Ford lights with custom stanchions and base plates, garnished with an Art Deco touch. The teardrop flush mount fuel filler flap is clearly visible, unlike the Dan Fink rear number plate housing which lowers via air actuators when the ignition is switched on.

The smile says it all. Dave took his time, got the build right, and is now reaping the rewards

Wheels are 15-inch diameter Radir Tri Ribbs, 6-inch wide at the front and 8-inches at the rear. BFGoodrich Silvertown wide white tyres add to the period look

Auto focus

Equality Rules

Ireceived one of the regular press releases from Santa Pod recently, focused on an initiative by a group called More than Equal. In collaboration with Santa Pod Raceway and Women in Motor sports North America (WIMNA), it has released a white paper highlighting the lessons other motor sports can learn from drag racing’s success in female representation. The group’s aim is to find the first female F1 champion.

■ Words and Pics: Keith Lee

surely it is only right that they are able to fight for that chance.

it surprises many people that female drivers have excelled in this top echelon.

Sometimes, it can be a worry when people advocate positive discrimination. But when you consider that the last female F1 driver was 40 years ago, one can understand that the system is pretty skewed. If there are women who can compete with those deemed good enough to run in the top classes, then

One thing that drag racing undoubtedly has in its favour, in its own division of world motor sport, is that female participation in the very top ranks has been something it can proudly point back to as being a matter of fact for two generations now. It dates back to the early days of fuel car racing in Europe – some seven years after the first proper UK fuel dragster appeared.

Forget the stereotypes, though –everyone is an individual, with different capabilities. And our sport is all the richer for it.

Drag racing is helped by being a family friendly affair, which is evidenced by the Junior driver and rider ranks. Of course, many have progressed from here and gone on to join the senior classes.

When looking at the stats on both sides of the Atlantic, it is remarkable to note the number of female drivers excelling in drag racing’s quickest class, Top Fuel Dragster. The sheer amount of power produced by the quickest cars is in a totally different league to all other motor sports, which may be why

It all started back in 1966, when Paula Murphy successfully completed her licensing passes in California, enabling her to compete in Funny Car competition. She was not the first woman in drag racing but for her to gain a fuel licence was a big step for equality in this power sport.

For the record, a name I remember well from reading Hot Rod magazine was that of Shirley Shahan, who was the first female to win an NHRA National Event title. Driving her hemi Stocker, Shirley was a real force in the class.

You could say it was fitting that Paula Murphy was keen to visit the UK with her Duster fuel funny, as she must have inspired more than a few to realise that they could perhaps do likewise. Interestingly, it was only a month later that Roz Prior would end up in the cockpit of the Age Machine injected Chevy slingshot, starting our own age of major female participation behind the wheel. From initially venturing out as a replacement for her then husband Dave, who did not prove to be a good fit, the diminutive Roz drove the machine like she stole it!

Roz Prior is small in stature but was happy to drive anything. This was her ﬁrst drive – the exBruce Brown Age Machine Chevy dragster

Paula Murphy was the ﬁrst female to receive a fuel licence, allowing her to drive her STP backed funny car in the US. She is pictured here when I interviewed her back in 2016

Above: Suzanne Callin has hit 320mph in the Slick Tricks dragster at Santa Pod in a female dominated European Top Fuel class

This was billed as the ﬁrst ever all-female nitro race, at Blackbushe in 1975. In reality, Liz Burn (nearest the camera) was still learning to drive the Donovan powered fuel car. Roz Prior was effectively on a solo run

Indeed, there was swift progress to come for Roz. Following a successful test run in the Revolution 3 dragster, the team bought Dennis Priddle’s record-setting Mister Six car for her to move up to Top Fuel in 1974. Fittingly, in 2006 she was the first female driver to be inducted into the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame.

Over in the US, it was only one year before Roz that Shirley Muldowney had her licence signed off by Don Garlits to become the first ever female Fuel Dragster pilot. This feisty character claimed a first ever NHRA championship for the fairer sex as she blitzed the competition in 1977.

Another first was notched up by Melanie Troxel, who took victories driving in both of the NHRA fuel categories. Melanie did visit the UK in 2010, and shook up the Pro Mod ranks by recording the first ever 5 second Pro Mod time in Europe when she appeared at Santa Pod driving a Camaro.

in the NHRA series. This has resulted in the JCM racing team she drives for announcing that Ida, alongside Alexis DeJoria, will partner in an all female 2-car Top Fuel and Funny Car line up for 2025.

With Susanne Callin always a major threat in the Slick Tricks entry, it is actually their male counterparts who are perhaps more under pressure at the sharp end of drag racing! As for F1, it will be interesting to see how this push for female participation unfolds. That branch of motor sport, like almost all others, has a long way to go to catch up with drag racing in this respect…

It is one thing being able to compete, but winning events and championships is quite another. One has to look no further than the now retired Anita Makela when looking for winning performance. The always strong competitor from Finland won no less that three FIA Top Fuel championships during her illustrious racing career.

Anita is the most decorated female fuel driver in Europe. But given that she was succeeded by another Finn, Ida Zetterström, as 2023 champion, followed by the current Swiss title holder Jndia Erbacher, there is very clearly no shortage of talent at the top level.

Ida has since started to turn heads in the US, where she is now competing against the very best

would be the poorer without the BUGs.

is also an equal opportunity position – but I don’t think many guys have the style

Unlike in the dragster ranks, female funny car drivers are not so proliﬁc in in numbers. Steph Milam was one of them – she’s pictured here driving the She Devil Top Methanol entry in 2013

Right: In a change of focus, drag racing would be the poorer without the BUGs. This

of Evela Romanowska!

Many of the bike classes can boast female riders, but this interesting shot from Long Marston in 1984 shows the quickest rider in the world – the late American ace Elmer Trett. His team comprised his wife and eldest daughter, who kept the bike going, and back home they received the Pro Mechanics of the year award

The ever-smiling Anita Makela, shot in 2009, is a 3-time FIA champion in the blue riband class. She was always popular with the fans, as the Finnish star never failed to run full bore

Eva Kjellin from Sweden, another early European female fuel pilot, is shown at Santa Pod in 1978

Animal instinct

The late John Prescott may not have enjoyed his “Johnny two Jags” nickname, but Dave Bird loves a low fat cat so much he’s built two of ’em

Words: Mike Pye Pics: Alan Kidd

Here’s how Dave’s Jag’ made its first appearance, in the rain at the 2021 Hot Rod Drags. The motor then was a built 540ci Chevy with Littlefield 14-71 blower and Enderle Bug Catcher injection. Man, this thing looked, and sounded, like it wanted to start a fight. Pics by Mike Pye

There are few things in the world of Custom Car I like more than turning up at a show and seeing a new car – one that we didn’t know was in the works and hasn’t been shared in some form or another on social media. And so it was, while wandering through the pits at Santa Pod in the rain at the Hot Rod Drags a few years back, that I saw Dave Bird’s Mk 10 Jag’.

I’m easily old enough to remember Dave’s old Jaguar, which had its moment in the CC sun in November 1999, so there was deﬁnitely something familiar about the car.

At the same time, there was something very different. It took a while for me to penetrate the crowd surrounding it, and it was immediately clear from the chat going on that something wasn’t right.

I stood there for a while just looking at the car, somewhat in awe of the Littlefield blower and Enderle Bug Catcher injection poking through the bonnet. Surely this couldn’t be a street car with that big ole’ huffer on it? Not to mention the fixed, flush-fit windows, no windscreen wipers and mass of ’cage inside. A new entry in the Supercharged Outlaw ranks perhaps then?

It did have a radiator though, along with treaded tyres on its Weld Pro Stars, and suspiciously similar colour paint. So part of me was wondering if Dave’s old Jag’ had come back out to play, only now as a strip car rather than a street car? But then what should rumble up but Dave’s old Jag’? I’ll admit it was only then I noticed that Dave’s new Jag’ is a two-door. Chopped, too.

Hell on wheels

This all happened four years ago, in 2021, and Dave readily admits that what he’d built at that point was a bit of an animal.

Keeping the engine cool is a shrouded aluminium rad’ with twin fans. Note the Dzus fastener mounts and the quick release connectors on the wiring that allow Dave (and a mate) to remove the huge bonnet for access

Left: Engine sits on a motor plate at the front and breathes through full length tubular headers into fourinch drainpipes that exit just ahead of the rear wheels. Front struts are Escort, with rally-spec vented discs and Wilwood calipers

Right: As far as Dave knows, the engine is a stock 454 Chevy. He paid just £500 for it and the TH400 gearbox, cleaned them up and did a top end freshen on the motor as he suspects it suffered head gasket failure at some point. Carb is a 750 Holley on a dual plane manifold, ignition is by MSD

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When he did get it ﬁred up, the built, 14-71 blown, 540ci big-block Chevy sounded like hell on wheels, its choppy idle hunting between 1000 and 3000rpm, which led to some anxious faces among the big grins.

The problem was quickly traced to a split in the injector’s barrel valve, which was letting a load of additional fuel in the door, so it was promptly switched off and that was the end of that. The vision remained long after though.

“I actually bought the blower off Jeff Bull before I started the car,” Dave recalls. “He didn’t want to sell it to me, saying it would

be too much, but I had a vision – and a bucket of resin – and I knew what I wanted to do. It was always going to be a street car, but one I could race. That engine was just too much, though, and the visibility was terrible. I thought if I drive it on the street like that, I’m going to kill someone.”

Dave didn’t want to give up on the supercharger idea completely, so he ended up buying another blower casing then hollowing it out and putting a carb’ inside just so he could take the car to the Supernats. That caused some confusion, I can tell you.

In the end, Dave ended up selling that hellacious motor (but keeping the blown induction set up), and the car now packs a naturally aspirated 454 BBC for the street. But it’s still a bit of an animal at heart.

Double take

Now, if you’re wondering what makes someone build essentially the same car twice, let’s take it all the way back to the beginning. “I sold the ﬁrst Jag’ to Keith Smith within a couple of years of ﬁnishing it, so some 22, 23 years ago now,” Dave explains. “He’s still got it now and we’ve

“I’ve still got the moulds laying about, so I can knock another couple of these out if people want them”

A Pro Street car is always best approached from the rear, and the style really suits low, wide cars. At the time of its introduction in 1961, the Mk 10 Jag’ was the largest car on British roads, and Dave has emphasised that dominant presence by chopping his by three inches and two-dooring it. It’s what the factory should have offered, isn’t it?

There’s not much room to work inside, but Dave and Jon Webster planned it all carefully so the tunnel is removable, as is a panel in the ﬂoor. That way the transmission can be either lifted out the top or dropped out the bottom

always kept in touch. He’s just looked after it and steadily improved it.

“I had to sell it as I was getting ready to chop it about and turn it into a race car, something to go into Street Eliminator. I’m mates with Brian Pateman and I thought I was going to kick his arse,” says Dave.

“That car was too good to just cut up, so I sold it and, within a month, I’d bought another Mk 10. I just love the low and fat look of them.”

Interior is much racier than the previous version, which retained its luxurious diplomatic vibe and hid things like its MSD ignition module out of sight. Dave went all-out race with this one, leaving all the electronics on show and making his own dash, with carbon-effect covering, then ﬁlling it with Auto Meter and Smiths clocks

This time round, the car was going to be a race car from the beginning, not least because it was too rusty to justify the cost of restoration. Which was handy, because Dave had always wanted to see what a two-door Mk 10 would look like. “I knew it would work. All cars look better as a two door,” he says.

Mould maker

Which leads us to the main difference between the two Jags. The body. Clearly,

they’re both based on the British company’s luxurious diplomatic barge from the 1960s, albeit a couple of years apart in manufacture, but where the ﬁrst was basically a restored original body over a Dave-made chassis, this one is a Jag’ in silhouette only. And that entire silhouette is made out of glass ﬁbre, not steel. But only after Dave chopped, two-doored and repaired that rusty body, at least to a state where he could take a set of moulds from it

If, like me, you’re wondering how Dave gets the rear wheels off, here’s the answer: “I have to drop the shocks, disconnect the prop’ and get the wheelarches 32 inches up off the ﬂoor. Then the axle drops down and I can get ’em off. Easy.”

“I had a vision – and a bucket of resin – and I knew what I wanted to do”

to make a complete glass fibre replica, with a difference.

“I’ve still got the moulds laying about, so I can knock another couple of these out if people want them,” he laughs.

Asked how much lighter this car is than the previous one, Dave couldn’t remember. Though he did say you can pick up one of the doors on this one with two fingers, whereas it took two people to lift a fully built up Jaguar door. He’s not joking, either.

An engineer by trade and a hot rodder by inclination, Dave has always done his own work. “I’ll have a go at most things, and I actually really enjoy doing fibreglass work. The only thing I won’t do is wiring, and I paid Jon Webster to do a few bits on this one, mainly because I needed it out of the way for a bit while I built an extension. Trouble was, he sent it back with all the floors, tubs and bulkhead made about six weeks later!”

Left: Not much room for shopping in the boot these days, the space being largely occupied by the Jaz fuel cell, twin Optima red-top batteries and the rear section of the ’cage structure – complete with parachute mount, should he ever feel the need

Exposed carbon was a new trend when Dave started, but he didn’t want to pay the money being asked for carbon seats so, ever the resourceful fella, bought some Lotus Elan buckets, extended them top and bottom and made his own hybrid glass fibre / carbon chairs

Hoops of joy

Jon also helped out with the ’cage, coming round to measure the bare body up and then delivering a perfectly fitting main hoop, along with a bunch of bends and lengths to Dave’s dimensions for him to weld together. It’s a substantial structure, going forward through the bulkhead to upper coilover pick-ups that support Escort struts with 400lb springs and narrowing at the rear to squeeze between the massive wheel tubs,

“Pro Street is my thing. I hope it never goes away”

terminating in a central parachute mount. While he had the welder out, Dave also made the lower front A-arms and the 4-link / Panhard rod rear suspension from a Chassis Engineering kit.

can’t remember what I had for breakfast, and I did that years ago. It’s probably the same, but I honestly can’t remember.”

I noted from the old CC feature that Dave’s previous Jag had the wheelbase stretched by two inches, so asked if he’d followed the same route here? “No idea,” he replies, “I

What he can recall is that one used a hybrid Ford 9 inch / Volvo 740 back axle – which, incidentally, is still going strong under the car to this day, even with the twin Prochargers it now wears – but this one is all Ford, courtesy of a John Webster-built

9-inch with LSD, 3.50 cogs and Strange halfshafts. British-made adjustable coilovers with 160 or 180lb springs keep the rear end off the deck, though that’s all due for a winter refresh.

For the brakes, Dave used Mercedes discs at the rear and Escort rally-spec vented discs up front, with Wilwood calipers doing the work all round.

Asked about the cowl induction hood, Dave laughs and says he just needed something to cover the big hole in the bonnet after he took the blower off. He does also say that he’d really like the car to have a more stock looking bonnet on it. He’ll probably make one…

Lightweight, ﬂush-mount door handles are off an MG / Rover 25, chosen after a mate found a door in a skip! They’re plastic so they could be bonded into the ’glass door. Though it looks like all the glass is ﬁxed, the door windows actually drop down on aluminium channels.

You can count the number of original Jaguar bits left on the car on one hand. Well, a few hands, as the brass bars in the grille are the originals, though in a ’glass surround that forms part of the bonnet Dave made. He even made the mouldings the headlights sit in, as

Here’s one I made earlier

Cast your mind back to 1999, the Supernats to be precise, where the talk of the show ﬁeld, and no doubt the bar too, was ‘that tubbed Jag’. It wasn’t Dave Bird’s ﬁrst custom car, he’d had them featured in CC before (you might remember his splash graphic’d and 350 Chevy-powered Sierra XR4 with 18-inch wide back tyres), but I think it’s fair to say this is the one best remembered.

What started life as a late ’60’s Jaguar 420G (that’s the higher trim level version of the Mk 10) underwent a full body restoration in Dave’s hands, but underneath was an owner-built box section frame, stretched two inches, with 15 x 15 Weld Pro Stars and 18.5 x 29.5 x 15 Mickey Ts stuffed up its ample arse. It was one of the best loved of the 1990’s British Pro Street cars and truly embraced the fat bottom style.

Open any one of the four doors and you were presented with a white leather interior, lush blue carpets and even the original walnut dash, but lift the huge, forward-tilting bonnet and in place of the E-Type-derived straight six was a 396ci (and later 454ci) big block Chevy, which let out a deep V8 growl that no Jag’ of the period could ever produce. It took the British motor manufacturer until 1997 to come up with its own V8, but the cars that came off the production line with it ﬁtted were nothing like Dave’s big ole’ bruiser.

That car was sold soon after completion and quickly replaced with another Mk 10, but this time Dave took a very different route with its construction. The result is what you see here. Proof, if it were needed, that there’s more than one way to skin a cat.

Decade of diversion

“It looked like a car after about 18 months,” remembers Dave, “but then I left it for 10 years. I built an extension, then did my ’57 Chevy Stepside, and then something else before I got back into it. All my mates were taking the piss, saying I needed to get it ﬁnished, and now I have I don’t ﬁt in it quite as well as I did when I started it,” he laughs.

That goes some way to explaining why Dave hasn’t put a whole lot of miles on the car in the last three years, though it has been to the Supernats and to a few local classic car meets, just to put the wind up the Jag’ in tweed brigade. “I set out to build a race car, and I did, but since I’ve sold that engine, it’ll be run what you brung at the most. We’ll see.”

The change of engine may have taken some of the animal instinct out of this low fat cat, and a change of converter has made it less feral but, like all felines, you still have to treat it with respect.

“It’s a lot nicer to drive now. You have to look ahead and watch out for bumps in the

road because it’s so low, but it drives one handed, you don’t have to hang on to it. And it deﬁnitely gets a few looks,” says Dave.

That’s no doubt in part due to those huge tubs we mentioned earlier, which neatly cover a pair of massive 21.5 x 33 x 15in Mickey T Sportsmans that do more than just ﬁll the rear ’arches, they overpower them, in all the right ways.

“Pro Street is my thing, I hope it never goes away,” says Dave, “though I think the cost of the tyres now is maybe putting some people off. I’ve always had big meats on the back of my cars though, having said that, my next one, a ’56 Nomad, is going to be on 8 x 15s all round. I bought the car about seven years ago, and I just started pulling it apart last month. That one should be done in a couple of years…” CC

Thanks to all those that helped, you know who you are.” Not many words, but they’re to the point.

Looking underneath, you can see the full tube chassis with the black powder coated ali ﬂoor sitting on top of it, Dave made the chassis, Jon Webster made the ﬂoor.

Braced and narrowed 9-inch holds the mighty rubbers apart. Rear suspension is a Chassis Engineering 4-link kit with diagonal track locator and Gaz adjustable coilover dampers.

Getting the hots

■ Words: Olly Sack

■ Pics: Julian Hunt

It was actually quite chilly for the Hot Rod Drags back in September. But even if the air was cold, the action was roasting

With summer turning to autumn, the Hot Rod Drags takes place at a time of year when you can wake to anything from glorious sunshine to frost on your windscreen. Given the all-round washed-out state of 2024, it’s probably no surprise that September’s climax to the nostalgia racing season was grey, damp and miserable – but that was very much only the weather. On the strip, the action brought forth a feast of closely fought racing as multiple championships approached their conclusions – not to mention PBs without end and plenty of thrills, spills and wild rides.

There was also an element of frustration over the weekend as a large number of oil downs led to something of a stopstart pattern in the action at times. And, while the rain did mainly hold off, come Sunday there was enough of it about to be a menace. All this did of course mean the crowd was treated to a masterclass in track prep courtesy of the Santa Pod team, though by the end of play it had thinned out to the point where the destination of 2024’s Gasser Circus championship was decided with just a few souls left in the grandstands and no-one at all on the bank to see it. No blame on those who left early

but to say the teams deserved better would be to state the obvious…

The big news ahead of the event was the return of Flathead Meltdown after far too many years away. This added vintage rods and customs to the usual combination of NSRA cars and nostalgia dragsters, giving Santa Pod more than a touch of the Pendine vibe. It’s not the fastest racing you’ll see but it’s very easy to love, and that’s exactly what everybody did; the good news is that it’ll be back for 2025, albeit earlier in the year as part of the Nostalgia Nationals in order to keep plenty of space between it and Pendine.

Luke Watts did incredibly well to keep his big-block ’57 Chevy in its lane and out of the wall after an apparent ﬂuid down sent him on a very wild ride that ended just short of the gantry. One of the best saves you’ll see – the crowd loved it

Notable achievements over the weekend included a huge slew of PBs, in particular among the Wild Bunch. And talking of huge slews, Luke Watts lined up alongside his dad Paul but ended up running solo in his ’57 Chevy – which was just as well, because the second part of his run was a monumental battle to keep control after his traction was thrown by what appeared to be a fluid leak. He only just crossed the centre line, to be fair, and did an astonishing job of keeping out of the wall, but definitely not a scene you’d want to be sharing with anyone else. If there was an award for save of the season, he’d be favourite for sure.

There would always be competition for a wheelie of the season award, on the other hand, and with some of the masters of the art giving it everything there were some monsters to behold. Simon Devos was on fine form in the new Outlaw Outkast class, though over in Nostalgia Superstock Chris Goodale suffered a heavy landing in Russo’s Rat, putting both car and driver out of action for the rest of the weekend.

Russo’s Rat was one of many previously CC-featured vehicles strutting their stuff at the Drags. For those who stuck around until last knockings on Sunday, their reward was a masterclass from one of the most recent

as Bryan Whitfield pulled a perfect, arrowstraight run out of the bag in High Spirits. That, and a dramatic finale to the Gasser Circus championship when the title came down to the final run of the season, brought the Drags to a fittingly epic climax. With September already a distant memory, thoughts have long since turned to the 2025 season. Every drag fan has their fingers crossed that the rain will stay away this year, the car parks will stay dry and the Santa Pod track team will have any easier time of it – leaving the drivers to put on a show that keeps the crowds enthralled from beginning to end.

The ﬁrst qualifying session in Supercharged Outlaws saw one wild ride after another towards the top end. Mick Hannah won his race against Brian Watson in Haggis Hunter, the 417ci slingshot, but came perilously close to the wall after crossing the stripe

Andrew Clifford led the Wild Bunch standings after Q1 thanks to a PB run of 8.7138 / 151.10 in the Snake Eyes slingshot

With Flathead Meltdown back on the agenda, Santa Pod played host to a long list of hot rods from the very earliest days. Nic Rossano’s Model A roadster, which we featured in the July ’24 of Custom Car, was one of many Pendine motors taking to the strip

Another PB for Roy Wilding aboard the Chariots of Fire slingshot in Supercharged Outlaws, with a Q1 time of 6.8935 – on the weekend that also saw him and Elaine Southworth announce their engagement

Simon Devos is renowned for his crowd-pleasing performances in Frankenstien. Running in the new Outlaw Outkast class, he was in ﬁne form with wheelies and burnouts alike

Chris Goodale is excellent value for a wheelstand in Russo’s Rat, and he pulled out a monster one in Nostalgia Superstock Q2. Unfortunately the landing was a mighty one, bringing him up midtrack and putting the ever-popular ’69 Chevelle out of the rest of the event

The Avro Lancaster from the Battle of Britain Memorial ﬂight is a well visitor to the skies above Santa Pod. Hard to believe there were cars racing at the HRD that were already 25 years old when it was built

Rob Stone won the Outlaw Anglia ﬁnal with an 8.3399 / 158.49 run when Colin Millar put a cherry on the tree

Last knockings on Sunday saw Bryan Whitﬁeld put in an arrow-straight solo run aboard the High Spirits altered, posting 7.659 / 195.46 on the board

Robbie Grabham and Freddy’s Revenge put in a good early run in Supercharged Outlaws, with 7.4501 / 145.22 on the timing slip, but it all went a bit pear-shaped at the top…

The return of Flathead Meltdown to the Hot Rod Drags brought belly tanks back to the strip. Brett Pillinger was fresh from setting a new V8 F/S record at Pendine; going side by side with him here is the P38 drop tank of Jamie Williams, also a Pendine ’24 winner in the V8 BF/S class

The Mooneyes and Dos Palmas dragsters were shipped over from America to spend the 2024 season on display at various Santa Pod events. The Hot Rod Drags gave the British public one ﬁnal chance to see these priceless historical artefacts before they returned home

Above: On page 20 of this issue, Keith

does an excellent job of highlighting the gender equality that’s always been

The ﬁnal in Nostalgia Superstock saw Stuart ‘Kiwi’ Thompson defeat Stewart Arthur with a time of 9.8043 / 137.69 on a 9.76 dial

Lee’s Auto Focus column

present in drag racing. Here’s Niamh Frances Smith proving the point in Gasser Circus, along with the instantly recognisable Ain’t No Saint Volvo which was driven by Sarah Grace Johnstone on Saturday and Eleanor Jones on Sunday

Ruardiah Hart (above) kicked off his Wild Bunch challenge with a new speed and ET PB of 10.4107 / 125.94 in Bravehart. Later in the day, he trimmed the ET ﬁgure down further to 10.3045

and Sean

to take the title. With Simon’s

The weather meant the bank was empty by the time of the Gasser Circus ﬁnal, which was a shame because with everything riding on Simon Prest’s duel with Paul Dominey it was a race that deserved a full house. Simon lined up in third place in the championship – but knowing that victory would see him leapfrog Steve

10.9935 / 115.92 playing Paul’s

10.7650

114.34, it was a close one at the stripe – though by then, a red light on Paul’s side of the tree had already handed it to the new champion

The Wild Bunch posted loads of PBs posted during the course of the weekend. Just a couple of these came from Lee Hartnell, with 8.862 / 148.09 in Backdraft, and Terry Robbins, with 10.145 / 136.54 in Soultown Shaker

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5 MINUTE APPLICATION

This 1954 GMC 100 pick-up has been brought back to its former glories – and ﬁnished off in homage to what appears to have been the job it did way back when it was new

Words and Pictures: James Webber

Pick-ups have become sought-after commodities in recent years –and very popular indeed in the custom world. And yet way back when Ford, Chevy, GMC and others were building these their vehicles, their purpose was to be workhorses and nothing else.

Much like the white van image we have in Britain, trucks were used, abused and, once done with, either scrapped or sold for a newer version. As it is with the vans used by

businesses, utilities and tradespeople today, there was no sentiment towards them – a truck was a tool, pure and simple.

as you’re going back through the layers of paint, if you can coax that history out of it you’ve instantly got a vehicle with something special to make it stand out from the crowd.

Yet today, that same purity of purpose is one of the things that makes these trucks so appealing. Especially if their history is known. Whether it’s classic or customised, an old pick-up has stories to tell – even if it’s just a faded photo from a Texan ranch with the same truck in the background, or some hidden signwriting that comes to light

The 1954 GMC Pick-Up you see here is one such pick-up, in that it has revealed a little to its owner about its previous life. More on that later, though – ﬁrst let’s take a look into the rebuild.

The owner in question is called Phil, and he’s always been around one sort of motor

or another. He’s been riding motorbikes since he was eight and later on in life he drag raced a ’72 Mach 1 Mustang. Add in a variety of pick-ups, a Jag XKR and some Land Rovers and you’ve got a man with petrol in his blood. A couple of years ago, he was on the lookout for his next project and, after scouring the auction sites, he came across the ’54 – which, helpfully, was local to him in

Right: When Phil took on the truck, its rear bed was so rotten he could lift it up with one hand. The same can’t be said of its replacement, on account of it’s made from good metal, but he liked the idea of being able to raise it up and show off the suspension underneath so he put it on a set of gas struts. There’s an air ride kit under there that lets him drop it just enough for a nice low stance at shows, and looking under here also gives you an eyeful of the exhaust he fabricated

Cornwall. “I arranged to go have a look,’” he says. “The owner had shipped it in a while previously and hadn’t really had any takers, so we made a deal and I arranged to have it transported back to my place.”

What happened next is something you hear all too often. “Once I got it in the garage, I had a good look round it and realised that whoever had done the previous work should

have never been let near it – everything looked rough and dodgy. I tried to drive it down my drive to get a feel but immediately realised that it was unsafe.

Favours the brave

“Luckily I’ve always been good at engineering and making things – I’m fortunate enough to have a qualification in

Left: Phil describes the 5.2-litre Chrysler V8 as ‘a nice cruising engine,’ though he had to do a bit of work to get it there. The carb, seals and aluminium rad are all new and wherever a hose can be braided, it is. He also fabricated an entire stainless steel exhaust from scratch, using resonators instead of silencers and adding about six feet of exhaust wrap from the headers down to keep it from cooking everything in its vicinity

mechanical engineering. So I put her back in the garage, locked the doors and started to rebuild her.

“Starting with the gearbox, I pulled it out, serviced it and plumbed in an oil cooler. Next, I looked at the back axle, which kept making a strange squeaking sound. The culprit turned out to be a rogue bolt which had got itself lodged inside! I had to get

creative in finding a way to retrieve it – in the end I made a tool just to reach it and get it out.”

The truck was built with a Jag XJ6 front clip, which is good but for the state of it.

“Everything needed servicing or replacing. The discs, new plumbing on all the brakes, I also added a brake booster. It came with a master cylinder but I had to send that up

north to an Aston Martin specialist who resleeved it due to serious pitting.

“The motor is a Chrysler 318ci 5.2-litre unit which came with the truck and had apparently been rebuilt. I put on a fresh carb, new seals, new ally rad and braided hoses just about everywhere. Touch wood, so far it’s proven to be a nice cruising engine. I completely fabricated a new stainless

Having decided on the moonshine theme, Phil started scouring the markets and boot sales (plus the inevitable dark alleys online) – a search which yielded an antique still, malt shovel, ammo box and wooden crate. They all go together to help give the truck its identity, and to make sure Phil is never short of conversation at shows! The gas tank, meanwhile, is a 120 year old brass and copper 10-gallon marine unit

steel exhaust system with resonators (no silencers here!) and used about six feet of exhaust wrap from the headers down to keep the temperature cool.”

If you’re getting vibes of a nice truck that had been done badly, that’s how it sounds. There was a lot to sort out. Well, Phil did say he was on the lookout for a project…

As we all know, projects often involve dealing with rust. There are degrees of rottenness, though. In this case, the plight of the pick-up bed such that it was held down by gravity.

“You could lift it with one hand,” says Phil. “But I liked the idea of doing that and being able to show off the rear suspension and chassis work, so I made a new rear bed and framework which utilises gas struts.

“I bought a basic air ride kit and plumbed that all in. I’m not all into the slam-it-into-theweeds style but it’s a nice system that gives me a decent ride height and sits at a decent stance at shows.”

Phil replaced the wiring throughout the entire vehicle, at the same time adding electronic ignition. Inside, he says, “I refurbished what I could” –which involved ﬁtting new carpets, a new bench seat, new headliner, new door seals and new window rubbers. Just a few bits, then. “I replaced the steering column for a new one and added a Lokar cable shifter which gives me three on the tree,” he adds.

He also made a custom visor and ﬁtted Caddy bullet lights at the rear. The truck rolls on 15” steelies shod with 195/80R15 Dunlop AT20 Grandtreks up front and 255/70R15 Cooper Cobra Radial GTs out back.

Shine on

So he’s brought it up to scratch in the present and given it a future. But what of its

It took a lot of time and effort, but Phil eventually dug down to the truck’s original colour – which he could then match to a GM code in order to have the paint specially mixed. The sun visor is less authentic – Phil simply made it up himself

past? As you can see, Phil has gone for the whole moonshine theme in the way the truck is presented, and historians of vehicles and prohibition alike might be too busy fussing to be able to see the whimsy in that, but there is a link there to what it told him of its early life.

“When I got the pick-up she was in red oxide,” Phil explains. “So I started to sand

If you’re not hearing the tune from Deliverance, you’re not listening hard enough…

back and on one of the doors, I found remnants of an old stencil with what appeared to be the name and address of a whiskey company from back in the day.

“I haven’t been able to find any history to say she did work for them, but it seems right for the age. Okay, she’s too modern to have been involved with moonshine and bootlegging but it was still interesting, so I

decided to have a new stencil made up of something similar to what was there.

“As I sanded, I got to her original colours. I cross-referenced them with GM codes, had paint specially mixed and made her what she is now. To keep in with the distillery and moonshine theme, I hunted online, at car boot sales and in flea markets and found things such as the crate and the still – which

195/80R15 Dunlop AT20 Grandtreks are wrapped round 15” steel rims up front. At the other end, the same wheels wear a set of 255/70R15 Cooper Cobra Radial GTs

make a great display in the rear and are always a talking point.”

In between taking pictures of the ’54, I asked Phil how long it had taken him and how he felt it had turned out. “From buying her to finishing took me 10 months of solid full-time work in the garage, nearly seven days a week,” he told me. “Once I get going, I get stuck in!

“I like creating and making things and this was perfect for that. I’m really pleased with how she has turned out. It’s pretty much exactly as I envisioned the look, with the style and all the unique bits – such as the fuel tank, which is a 120 year old brass and copper marine 10-gallon tank. In the future, I may possibly fit a four-speed box but other than that, I just enjoy driving her and taking her to shows. I was dead chuffed to win first in class at the 2024 Plymouth Motor Show in June.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could find out whether the truck ever did work for a whiskey company – or if it didn’t, what its actual history was. Even if it was just hauling loads on some Prairie ranch, there’s a dignity to the labour these old stagers put in that makes the most mundane past seem heroic now. From shoot-outs to barn dances, from drive-ins to fleeing encounters with cougars and bears, what stories these old pick-up could tell. Maybe they’re not so much like our white vans after all… CC

“I refurbished what I could,” says Phil rather modestly about the cabin. He fitted new carpets and installed a new bench seat and headliner as well as door seals and window rubbers. He replaced the steering column, too, also adding a Lokar cable shifter giving him three on the tree

fresco Out & About

Words: Dave Biggadyke / Whiff Smith & Pics: Surrey Street Rodders

Event: Surrey Street Rodders Picnic

Date: 13 October 2024

Venue: Godalming-Tilford

When looking back through memorabilia from years gone, up popped the flyer for the first ever Hot Rod Picnic hosted by Surrey Street Rodders. The venue was The Cricketers public house in Kingsley, near Bordon, and the year was 1996. The plan was devised by the

then SSR chairman, the late Mike Payne, and the picnic’s longevity is a fitting memorial to someone who put so much into our sport.

This year’s picnic was not much different from Mike’s original idea, as the day had quickly evolved into a run out for the drivers and passengers culminating with a free picnic / BBQ at the end. The rationale behind this was to thank some of the more local Wheels Day supporters. The latest picnic was contrived by Gary ‘Ned’ Davis, with SSR members helping / getting in the way (delete as appropriate).

With 30 rods and customs descending upon The Jack Phillips in Godalming, a full English was followed by tea and chats. Sheets were handed out, and part one was underway.

As with many previous picnics, the day was dry although somewhat dull. Some 50 miles of country roads, lanes and outof-the-way places followed, featuring views, a few even narrower lanes, a pub, and a museum along the way. Hopefully something for everyone.

After a lunchtime pub stop at the Noah’s Ark Inn, the steady stream of cars and

Mid Surrey Roadsters member Gary Fransham came along for the ride in his blown Model A sedan

Trevor Newton, a regular SSR Picnic participant in his ’34 Ford sedan, waves his approval of this latest outing sedan,

trucks wended its way to the financially struggling Rural Life Living Museum in Tilford for a complimentary BBQ. With everyone fed, SSR made a £1000 donation to the museum, backing up the same sum previously gifted from the SSR 50th Anniversary Party which was held there. Following the event, the excellent news is that having reached its fundraising target, the museum has been saved. What better way to celebrate than to check out the museum’s website at www.rural-life. org.uk for details of the breakfast runs being held there this year.

Sometimes things are so perfect there’s no need for words. The rear rubber protuberance on Ben Barnett’s Zetec-powered Model A sedan (see our Oct ’23 issue) is

sublime

The diversity of the vehicles attending the picnic is evident even from the rear. Predominantly American pick-ups, sedans, coupes and roadsters, with a smattering of British tin for good measure

The SSR member affectionately known as Choirboy Bob travelled from his home in North Wales just to attend the Picnic

Kieron Smith leads a group of cars under the Charterhouse Bridge in his ’37 Ford Humpback (see our January ’23 issue), as did…

…Pat Miles in his ’40 Ford pick-up. The Victorian Gothic bridge used to be the gateway to Charterhouse public school in Godalming

Crossing the line

The village of Ebernoe, near Petworth in West Sussex, has a unique claim to fame –a tarmac road running through the middle of its cricket pitch. The road has a white line running across it, traverse it at your peril – you may get knocked for six

“A tting memorial to someone who put so much into our sport”

Left: This year’s picnic came courtesy of SSR member Gary ‘Ned’ Davis, the man behind the wheel of this super clean Ford F1 pick-up

The Noah’s Ark public house in Lurgashall was the lunchtime stop-off point, with rods, customs, and pick-ups filling the available parking spaces

give us a call.

REPAIRS

Carried out on all those damaged bumpers and overiders etc.

POLISHING

Aluminium rocker covers and carburettor dash pots etc.

BLAST

CLEANING

For all those unplated parts such as carburettor bodies

Words: Dave Biggadyke

Pics: Terry Gardiner

PROGRESS REPORT: PART 2

It’s fair to say progress on Trevor Gardiner’s ’78 Ford D series project has been steady in recent months. It is moving forward though, with Trevor devoting as much time to it as he can. That’s not always easy, however, as he has to juggle his hours between working on customers’ cars at Gardiner Fabrications and serving on the NSRA committee, along with the odd bit of family life thrown into the mix from time to time.

The basic rolling chassis is assembled, the cab has been painted, the wiring is done and the interior is being worked on. Trevor has a goal of getting this hot rod transporter ﬁnished and on the road before the end of the upcoming rodding season. There’s still a lot to do and, like most of us, he has to work within available time and workshop space constraints. To help with the latter, he already has the

tent so he will at least be able to keep dry when working outside in the cold and dark. The cab will soon be reunited with the upgraded rolling chassis so it will begin to look like a lorry once again, albeit one with an extra pair of wheels. There will still be plenty for Trevor to attend to before the project is finished, not least of all the fabrication and fitting of the bed. With the plan being to put the wagon through the IVA test, some of the finishing touches may be more involved than usual to ensure they are compliant with the latest regulations.

With the heavy-duty chassis stripped back to the bare rails, it was ready for shot blasting…

Knowing Trevor, he’ll rise to the challenge and achieve his goal. We’ll pop back to check on his progress in the near future.

If you’re on the lookout for someone in the Suffolk area to help with your project, search Gardiner Fabrications on Facebook or drop Trevor an email at digger61uk@gmail.com.

…after which it was liberally coated in semigloss black paint

The axles, all three of them, were aesthetically enhanced in a similar fashion

Lack of workshop space dictates the project is being worked on outside, and with paying work taking precedence Trevor often has to work in the dark

…before giving everything a thorough clean and a lick of paint

The chassis had been left out in the cold during fabrication, resulting in the new bracketry and suspension components being coated with surface rust…

Part-way through the reassembly of the rolling chassis, with the front beam and drive axle installed

The hydraulic pump for the tilt bed is mounted in front of the drive axle. The wagon will ultimately be ﬁtted with a ﬂatbed rather than a beaver tail

The tanks for the air bags are mounted between the two rear axles. The pumps are destined to be mounted in the same area

…so they too were blasted and painted

Each axle installation features 4-bar location, 32ton truck air bags and a pair of shock absorbers. The wooden blocks are a temporary ﬁxture

Having been assured it was all in good order when he bought it, Trevor simply removed the ancillaries from the 6.2-litre Chevy V8 diesel and TH400 transmission…

The Ford’s cab was painted by Reynolds Restorations, which is conveniently located next door to Trevor’s workshop

Above: As Trevor likes to see where he’s going in the dark, he’s ﬁtted aftermarket LED headlights. The currently dangling connectors will plug into chassis-mounted terminals to connect the electrics

The dash-mounted screen is for the sound system and sat nav, the aftermarket switchgear is IVA compliant and the three holes beneath them will house air pressure gauges – one for each axle. The trans’ shifter is from a ’69 Corvette, suitably lengthened to give it a proper ‘big truck’ appearance

“Finished and on the road before the end of the upcoming rodding season”

With the rolling chassis sitting in the yard, this was the stage the project had reached in early

That was a few weeks ago now, though, and things will hopefully have progressed since then

The wiring was sorted from scratch by Mick Blackburn, with this panel being located in the passenger footwell

The headlining is a true family affair, ﬁtted by Trevor after his mum had stitched it up

January.

The removable panels beneath the windscreen provide access to the wiper motor and brake master cylinder

The cab’s interior has been liberally covered with soundprooﬁng material

Right: The cab paint colour is nothing fancy, just white. The mounts are fancy, however, designed so the cab will tilt forward for access when mounted back on the chassis

Above: The steering wheel is of unknown origin, with the rim painted blue to contrast with the white body colour. The dash pod houses aftermarket digital gauges

BRENTACRE

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

FEBRUARY 2025

16 Krispy Kreme Cruise. Krispy Kreme, Shannon Corner, New Malden, Surrey. Facebook: Krispy Kreme Cruise Surrey

16 ‘Normous Newark Autojumble Newark Showground, Newark, Notts. www.newarkautojumble.co.uk

18 VW Air-Cooled Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

21-23 Race Retro. Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire. www.raceretro.com

22 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

22-23 The Speed Show. Elvington Airfield, York. www.straightliners.events

23 Huddersfield Auto / Retro Jumble. Brook Street, Huddersfield. www.phoenixfairs.jimdo.com

MARCH 2025

1 Only Fools and Motors Meet (TBC) The Five Bells, Tydd St Mary, Lincs. Facebook: Only Fools and Motors

2 NSRA Southern Swap Meet North Weald Airfield, Essex www.nsra.org.uk

5 Hot Rod Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

6 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

8 Dial In Day Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

16 Krispy Kreme Cruise. Krispy Kreme, Shannon Corner, New Malden, Surrey. Facebook: Krispy Kreme Cruise Surrey

18 VW Air-Cooled Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

21-23 Classic Car and Restoration Show NEC, Birmingham. www.necrestorationshow.com

22 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

22 Straightliners Smeatharpe, Devon.www.straightliners.events

23 Straightliners Santa Pod Raceway.www.straightliners.events

23 Huddersfield Auto / Retro Jumble. Brook Street, Huddersfield. www.phoenixfairs.jimdo.com

24 Top Speed Monday Elvington Airfield, Elvington, West Yorkshire. www.straightliners.events

29 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

29-30 Springspeed Nationals Santa Pod Raceway www.santapod.co.uk

30 ‘Normous Newark Autojumble Newark Showground, Newark, Notts. www.newarkautojumble.co.uk

APRIL 2025

1 Hayling Hot Rods at the Beach. Hayling Island Seafront, Hampshire. Facebook: Hayling Hotrods at the Beach

2 Hot Rod Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

5 Only Fools and Motors Meet The Five Bells, Tydd St Mary, Lincs Facebook: Only Fools and Motors

5 Run What Ya Brung – Saturday Night Special Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

6 The Fast Show Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

12 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

12-13 American Super Stock Revival Rd 1 Melbourne Raceway Facebook: American Super Stock

12-13 Kickback Show Three Counties Showground, Malvern kickbackshow.com

12-13 No-Prep Drag Racing Manston Raceway Park, Kent Facebook: Manston Raceway Park

12-13 Spring Nationals Melbourne Raceway, York. www.straightliners.events

14 Top Speed Monday Elvington Airfield, Elvington, West Yorkshire. www.straightliners.events

15 VW Air-Cooled Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

18 Wheels Day Newbury Showground, Berkshire www.surreystreetrodders.com

19 American Car Meet Bird in Hand, Hayle, Cornwall www.propercornishcruisers.co.uk

18-20 Festival of Power Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

20 Grumpy’s Classic Bash Longport, Stoke-on-Trent Facebook: Grumpys Classic Bash

20 Huddersfield Auto / Retro Jumble. Brook Street, Huddersfield. www.phoenixfairs.jimdo.com

20 Krispy Kreme 20th Anniversary Cruise. Krispy Kreme, Shannon Corner, New Malden, Surrey. Facebook: Krispy Kreme Cruise Surrey

21 Easter Bonnet Parade. Banham, Norfolk. Facebook: Iceni C.A.R. Club

26 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

26 Straightliners Smeatharpe, Devon.www.straightliners.events

26 Gathering of Geezers IV Whitewebbs Museum of Transport, Enfield. Facebook: Whitewebbs Museum of Transport

MAY 2025

2-4 Nostalgia Nationals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

3-5 No-Prep Drag Racing Manston Raceway Park, Kent Facebook: Manston Raceway Park

4 BHP Show Kent Showground, Detling, Maidstone. bhpshows.com

4 ‘Normous Newark Autojumble Newark Showground, Newark, Notts. www.newarkautojumble.co.uk

6 Hayling Hot Rods at the Beach. Hayling Island Seafront, Hampshire. Facebook: Hayling Hotrods at the Beach

7 Hot Rod Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

10 Only Fools and Motors Meet The Five Bells, Tydd St Mary, Lincs Facebook: Only Fools and Motors

10 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

10-11 American Super Stock Revival Rd 1 Melbourne Raceway Facebook: American Super Stock

10-11 Melbourne Mayhem Melbourne Raceway, York. www.straightliners.events

11 Classic Ford Show South of England Showground. Facebook: Classic Ford Show

16-18 Doorslammers Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

17 American Car Meet Bird in Hand, Hayle, Cornwall www.propercornishcruisers.co.uk

18 Classic Wheels Rutland Showground, Oakham www.classicwheelsrutland.co.uk

18 Krispy Kreme Cruise. Krispy Kreme, Shannon Corner, New Malden, Surrey. Facebook: Krispy Kreme Cruise Surrey

20 VW Air-Cooled Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

22-25 Elvington Speed Week Elvington Airfield, Elvington, West Yorkshire. www.straightliners.events

23-26 Run to the Sun Newquay. www.rtts.co.uk

23-26 The Main Event Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

26 – 1 June NSRA Fun Run. St Ives, Cornwall. www.nsra.org.uk

30-1 June Rods’n’Rockers Dunnington, York. Tel 07736 668925

30-2 June VanJam Fir Tree Farm, Warmington. www.vanditos.co.uk

31 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

31 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

JUNE

2025

3 Hayling Hot Rods at the Beach. Hayling Island Seafront, Hampshire. Facebook: Hayling Hotrods at the Beach

4 Hot Rod Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

5-8 Hot Rods and Hills. Park Foot, Pooley Bridge, Penrith Facebook: Hot Rods and Hills

7 Only Fools and Motors Meet The Five Bells, Tydd St Mary, Lincs Facebook: Only Fools and Motors

7-8 No-Prep Drag Racing Manston Raceway Park, Kent Facebook: Manston Raceway Park

7-8 Players Classic Goodwood, West Sussex. www.players-show.com

7-8 Sportsman Nationals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

7-8 Straightliners Race Meet Elvington. www.straightliners.events

8 ‘Normous Newark Autojumble Newark Showground, Newark, Notts. www.newarkautojumble.co.uk

13-15 Street Weekend. Santa Pod / Melbourne. www.santapod.co.uk

14 American Car Meet Bird in Hand, Hayle, Cornwall www.propercornishcruisers.co.uk

BRENTACRE

29 VHRA Swap Meet Ramsey, Cambridgeshire. www.vhra.co.uk

27-29 Dragstalgia Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

27-29 National Hot Rod, Custom and American Car Show. Lincoln Showground, Lincolnshire www.hotrodandcustomshow.co.uk

28 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

JULY 2025

15 VW Air-Cooled Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

18-20 Hot Rod Rumble. The Camp, Ramsey, Huntingdon www.hotrodrumble.co.uk

18-20 Mopar Euro Nationals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

18-20 Rock’n’Ribs Festival Wincanton Racecourse, Somerset. www.rocknribsfestival.co.uk

19 American Car Meet Bird in Hand, Hayle, Cornwall www.propercornishcruisers.co.uk

14-15 American Super Stock Revival Rd 1 Melbourne Raceway Facebook: American Super Stock

14-15 Race the Waves. Bridlington, East Yorks. backfireinfo.weebly.com

14-15 Street Car Weekend Melbourne Raceway, York. www.straightliners.events 15 Krispy Kreme Cruise. Krispy Kreme, Shannon Corner, New Malden, Surrey. Facebook: Krispy Kreme Cruise Surrey

16 Top Speed Monday Elvington Airfield, Elvington, West Yorkshire. 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

21-22 Duchy Ford Show. Watergate Bay Touring Park, Newquay www.duchyfordclub.co.uk

7-8 Straightliners Race Meet Cambeltown, Scotland www.straightliners.events

22 BHP Fuel Fest Westpoint Arena, Exeter, Devon. bhpshows.com

22 Custom and Classic Show. Royal Gunpowder Mills, Waltham Abbey, Essex www.customandclassicshow.co.uk

22 Summer Brighton Run. Redhill to Brighton Facebook: The Brighton Run

1 Hayling Hot Rods at the Beach. Hayling Island Seafront, Hampshire. Facebook: Hayling Hotrods at the Beach

2 Hot Rod Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

4-5 Hangar Rockin St Stephan Airfield, St Stephan, Switzerland. www.hangarrockin.com

4-6 MPH Vintage Sprint Deenthorpe Airfeld, Corby, Northants www.mphvintagesprint.co.uk

4-6 V8 Brothers Village. Hooglede, Belgium. www.v8brothers.be

5 Straightliners Smeatharpe, Devon. www.straightliners.events

5-6 Big Yellow Car Show Cheshire Showground, Knutsford www.bigyellowcarshow.co.uk

5-6 Summer Nationals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

10-13 Goodwood Festival of Speed Goodwood Estate, West Sussex. www.goodwood.com

11-12 Mustang Nationals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

12 Only Fools and Motors Meet

The Five Bells, Tydd St Mary, Lincs Facebook: Only Fools and Motors

12-13 American Super Stock

Revival Rd 1 Melbourne Raceway Facebook: American Super Stock

12-13 Straightliners Race Meet Melbourne Raceway, York. www.straightliners.events

13 The Ford Show. Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

19-20 American Auto Club UK Summer Nationals. Upton Upon Severn, Worcestershire www.american-auto-club.co.uk

20 DeuceDay British Motor Museum, Gaydon, Warwickshire www.deucesofbritain.co.uk

20 Krispy Kreme Cruise. Krispy Kreme, Shannon Corner, New Malden, Surrey. Facebook: Krispy Kreme Cruise Surrey

25-27 Bug Jam Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

26 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

26-27 No-Prep Drag Racing Manston Raceway Park, Kent Facebook: Manston Raceway Park

Official Broker of the NSRA

Chevy Shortbed Fleetside, V8/Manual, fresh paint, arrow straight body, new oak bed/polished stainless strips, new suspension, new Halibrand wheels/tyres, California rustfree, one year only small window cab, all work recently completed with only a handful of miles

1959 EDSEL VILLAGER LONG ROOF WAGON, V8/THREE ON THE TREE $12,250

Factory V84bbl/3spd manual, p/s, p/b, a/c, same family since new sold in Monterey california, parked in 1972 and there it sat until recently, very solid rustfree car, original owners manual, a/c unit instruction book and warranty card, many old ca registrations, original hubcaps, starts and runs, currently has no brakes, unrestored survivor

vintage slot mags, new screen & rubber, built from new as a camper, recently used by a local handyman, camper equipment removed, on the button driver

Rustfree sunbleached body and underside, new brake & clutch hydraulics, rebuilt fuel pump, runs and drives, excellent original chrome, sold new in the USA, not to be confused with the usual UK welded patched nightmare, not the cheapest but certainly the soundest original one you'll ﬁnd outside of Australia

6 Cylinder/Manual, put into storage 1999, recently removed, none of the usual corner, fender, hinge pocket rot, excellent cab ﬂoor, requires no patch panels or welding vintage camper shell, chrome steel Wheels, refurbished original seat, currently a non runner

Original V8/Automatic car, new top and top rams, new carpet, very straight rustfree body, California car since new, on the button driver

Black plate California rustfree van, factory V8/Auto,