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Contents

D is ece s 27 ue mb O on er ct s ’2 ob al 2 er e

Find us on Facebook at mCarMagazine www.facebook.com/Custo

Regulars 2

News & reviews

54 SoCal Diaries

Who knew a lake might have water in it?

58 Events

Still plenty of good stuff going on

60 From the archive

When we sent LJK Setright to Santa Pod

Out and About 36 32nd Street

The star attraction of the Supernats

39 Seconds from the supernats Yet more glorious cars

40 Drive Newquay

A new show for a famous old venue

Features 6

Fender amender Model A whose look never stands still

14 It’s your Custom Car

Tell us what you want to see in the mag

20 Unibody shop truck Rare F100 becomes a thing of beauty

28 Best-of-everything ’37 Now, that’s what you call green motoring

42 Dragstalgia

The must-do race meet to beat all others

Custom Car may be under new ownership, but the magazine itself will only change if you want it to. So here’s your chance to tell us what you think about a wide range of subjects, from what we put in it to the paper we put it on. Don’t hold back – we really want to hear from you!

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Gas News & reviews

Pictures: Julian Hunt

Santa Pod falls silent RACING WAS BROUGHT TO A HALT AT SANTA POD ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE FIA EUROPEAN FINALS, after the death of Queen Elizabeth II was announced. At 11.30 the following morning, then again

at 1.30 on Saturday afternoon, the Santa Pod crew and oﬃcials gathered at the startline to observe two minutes’ silence in Her Majesty’s honour, with the years of her life (1926-2022)

displayed on the scoreboards at the end of the strip.

THE FORMER OWNER OF A CUSTOMISED MUSTANG is appealing for information on its whereabouts today. Geoff Schofield won the car at a show in Shipley, West Yorkshire, in 1978 – having paid just £1 for four tickets in a charity raffle which had seen it transported around a series of events around the country. The sweet taste of victory was to turn sour when the car turned out to be more of an unfinished project than anything else. But Geoff decided to keep it because he loved Mustangs. ‘Somebody from the charity took me to one side,’ he says, ‘and explained to that due to the car being taken all round the country, the work had not been finished and they would rather offer me some money instead. I said I’d rather have the car I won – not knowing how much work had not been done on it! ‘I was given the keys and told the MOT would be posted to me. A few days later, I got the test certificate – showing a full 12 months’ MOT, even though the car was already in my garage by that time! I started to inspect it and there was a big hole under the driver’s carpet with a plate laying over it as opposed to having been cut out and welded in. I found lots of things that should have been done but hadn’t and was not pleased at all.’ In the 18 months that followed, Geoff sank a load of money into bringing the Mustang up to scratch – but, he says, it still didn’t come up to the standard it should have been at when he won it. He finally sold it on, seeing it on the road once more after that – and now here he is, 45 years later, wondering what came of it. ‘The Mustang was left-hand drive with the 6-cylinder engine and three on the floor, and as far as i remember was blue and gold buttoned dralon inside and metalflake gold on the body,’ he says. ‘I know it was a long time ago but I hope the builders see this and give me a ring so they can tell me more about it.’ Got any info? Geoff is on 07855 492559 – he’d love to hear from you.

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10/12/2021 23/10/2020 09:00 15:28 12:30 12/05/2021 03/12/2021 14:07 14:52 29/04/2022

News & reviews

Jon Morton THE DRAG RACING FAMILY IS MOURNING THE LOSS OF ONE OF ITS MOST GREGARIOUS MEMBERS, following the sudden death of Jon Morton on Thursday 8 Septembert, the ﬁrst day of the European Finals at Santa Pod. Jon suffered a heart attack in the pits shortly after completing a 9.8491-second Super Gas qualifying run in his famous yellow No Hair Camaro and passed away despite repeated attempts by the emergency crews to revive him. The tragedy happened shortly before the passing of Queen Elizabeth II was announced, which added to the sombre note of what became a diﬃcult event for everyone involved. Jon suffered some major setbacks along his drag racing journey. But he always had a sense of fun and would go out of his way to help out others, both inside and outside of the sport. He was a bike man at heart. A traumatic bike smash in his early years was overcome, and he encouraged and crewed for riders who would go on to become major names in the sport he loved – most notably Brian Johnson. Jon then went racing himself, under the Mortsport banner, and achieved success in the competitive world of Pro Stock Bikes before trying his hand at Funny Bike racing. In what would have been a major step forward, he had a state of the art Top Fuel bike constructed – but before he was able

to ride his new machine, he suffered his ﬁrst major heart attack. Although Jon would forever be a bike man, he also had a passion for American motors and enjoyed owning several nice examples over the years. These, included the red 1940 Ford, sporting a Chevy V8, with which he’s pictured above. With his health issues preventing him from competing any further in the Pro Bike arena, he would make his return a couple of years later – this time on four wheels. Driving a Camaro, he homed in on the Super Gas class – where he proved himself to be a top runner with many victories since 2003. It was a wonderful sight on the morning following Jon’s passing, when his stepson

Dan Page, who Jon always credited for so much of his success, staged a poignant ﬁnal qualifying ‘run’ against their good friend Mark ‘Chalky’ White. If you didn’t see it, this is one to watch on the Santa Pod TV stream. Dan will be campaigning Jon’s No Hair Camaro in 2023 in his name, which is a ﬁtting tribute to this popular character. In July of this year, Jon was chuffed to bits when it was announced that he was to be inducted into the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame. It’s so heartbreaking that he will not be able to be there in person to hear the cheers for him at November’s gala – but the drag racing family will raise the roof for him! Jon Morton, died 8 September 2022 Rest in Peace

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Some people change their cars quite frequently; others prefer just to change the way their car looks Words: Dave Biggadyke Pics: Nick Grant

he hot rod world in which we live is an ever-rewarding place, I’ve met Robert Grieg in the past but I would never have said I know him. However, that has changed over the last week or so as I set about writing this feature. We chatted on the phone, emailed

each other, exchanged stories and, most importantly, laughed. If you ask me now, I would say that yes, I do know Robert Greig. During our last telephone conversation, he mentioned that he was beginning to detect a definite Scottish twang in my voice. So maybe

now, then, our newly found friendship has reached its peak. Seriously though, I now have an affinity with this man from Glasgow and respect the fact he has owned this ’31 Model A coupe since 2002. Only now he doesn’t, own it that is, but we’ll come to that later.

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Robert recalls his first foray into the world of modified cars came in 1979 when he got his hands on a Vauxhall Viva. Local to him back then was a speed shop that went by the name of Grand Prix. I guess that’s akin to the John Brown Wheels outlet not far from me in Lincolnshire at that time, located

at the aptly named Speedway Corner. I digress. Robert made the most of Grand Prix, and his Viva soon sported wider wheels with spacers behind to shove them out that bit further. That wasn’t enough for the Scottish hot rodder though, with the Viva making way for

a 302 Ford-powered Ford Pop. Then it all came to a halt, with the oh-so-familiar story of family life taking over and hot rodding being put on the back burner. That lasted until the mid-1990s when Robert’s flame was rekindled with another small block Fordpowered Pop.

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‘I drove it back to Scotland, with the top speed limited to 45mph. It wasn’t that the car wouldn’t go any faster, more the time it took the rod-operated brakes to bring it to a halt’

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Good company

Then came what Robert describes as a fantastic time in his life. ‘I shared garage space for around 18 months with three other local hot rodders.’ Sharing a workshop with like-minded souls is always great for motivation and encouragement, not to mention that extra pair of hands you often need. When you hear the names of the trio sharing floorspace with Robert though, you will appreciate why that was such a special time in his life: David Murdoch, who went on to race a ’33 Willys coupe in Street Eliminator; Davie Marshall, who crewed on the Rat Trap racing team when the Altered ran at Dragstalgia in 2014; and Originals member Archie Paterson, whose small block Chevy-powered ’30 Model A was featured in the April ’98 issue of CC. Esteemed company indeed. Possibly influenced by Archie’s coupe, Robert went out and bought himself a stock Model A in 2002. Like so many others, he looked across the water to source a car. That water wasn’t the Atlantic Ocean though, but rather the Irish Sea. Seamus Sorohan had shipped the car to Ireland from California a year earlier but, not having touched it since, had decided to move it on. ‘I slapped on a pair of trade plates and drove it back to Scotland, with the top speed limited to 45mph. It wasn’t that the car wouldn’t go any faster, more the time it took the rod-operated brakes to bring it to a halt. When you work out how many actual road miles we travelled, the journey wasn’t as bad as it sounds.’ Robert drove the car just as it was for the next year or so, allowing for plenty of braking distance as he did so. He then took the plunge and bought a TCI chassis from Trevor Cockburn, who at the time was

The Caprice engine originally ﬁtted has made way for a different Bowtie lump, sourced by Steve Ricketts and shipped over in a container with a car that was heading for these shores. With everything seeming okay with the new engine, Robert left it alone and just swapped over the headers and ancillary items. He did treat it to a brand new four-barrel Edelbrock carb though

running Reality Hot Rods. A Chevy Caprice donated its engine, transmission and rear axle, while Kerry Tate supplied the dropped I-beam front axle complete with GM rotors and disc brakes. To dramatically improve the coupe’s allround braking performance, Robert grafted a pair of VW Golf discs and calipers on to the rear axle. Not a common conversion, but one that was still working almost two decades later.

Right: The wheels are by Billet Specialities, while the whitewall tyres are from Coker

Under the front end lies a dropped I-beam hung from a transverse leaf spring and located by 4-bars. Rear axle is also located by a 4-bar set-up, with a pair of adjustable coilovers completing the installation. Devil’s horn rear light bezels are different to the norm, but it’s all about the ali diff cover

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Winging it

Above left: The stock Model A that Robert bought in 2002 Above right: Come 2006, the coupe had become a hot rod, ﬁnished in Subaru Blue and rolling on lowrider-esque multi-spoke wire wheels Below left: Three years later, the coupe was fenderless, painted ‘hearing aid beige’ and rolling on steel wheels Below: The custom-fabricated sidepipes run outside the chassis, just underneath the body line

The Model A debuted as a fully fendered hot rod in 2006 and such was the reception it received, Zane Llewellyn invited Robert along to exhibit the coupe in his display at the Helsinki American Car Show in 2008. The British contingent’s cars were shipped over to Finland in containers, with Robert and his son, along with Nick Brooke Langham, Steve Lang, Pete Moore and others, flying out sometime later to be reunited with them. It will come as no surprise that Robert told me he had a fantastic time. The following year Robert fancied a change and set his sights on a fenderless hot rod. Unbolting fenders and running boards was the easy part, though; he also decided on a change of paint colour at the same time.

Left: Come 2105, the fenders and running boards had been painted to match the body and bolted back on Above: Robert took the coupe along to the 2016 Ignition Festival in Glasgow

Above left: The coupe took an 18-month sabbatical between 2017 and 2019 while Robert and his son Ryan put together this ’51 GMC pick-up – which ultimately donated its paint supply for the Model A Above right: Robert’s current ride is this ’37 Ford slantback sedan, complete with its polish-free patina ﬁnish

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The bench seat and door cards have been retrimmed in black vinyl, with the grey piping being a nod to the current body colour. Note the rev counter and pair of ancillary gauges mounted under the dash The dash panel has been kept original, with Robert having used his phone when he wanted to check how fast he was going. The Flaming River column and steering wheel were supplied by Trevor Cockburn, who now runs Highway Hell Hotrods

That was sorted with a few coats of what Robert refers to as ‘hearing aid beige.’ Custom fabricated sidepipes were also added at the same time, helping to fill the void created by the lack of running boards. ‘It was great to drive the car looking like that,’ Robert says. ‘Eventually, though, the appeal of that look wore off and I bolted the fenders back on in 2015.’ Good job he had enough of that hearing aid coloured paint left over. The coupe was then laid up for around 18 months while Robert helped his son, Ryan, build a Chevy pick-up. The project

was completed but unfortunately proved too expensive for Ryan to run and was sold on. A legacy of the build, however, was the left over VW / Audi Nardo Grey paint the truck had been coated in. Yup, there was just enough paint to give the Model A yet another makeover. It would have been rude to waste it, after all. So in 2017, the coupe body turned a particular shade of grey, with its wings and running boards being painted black. Robert’s philosophy is that changing the paint colour over the years, along with running it both with and without fenders, has

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Above, left to right: Robert bolted the fenders back on in 2015. Good job he had enough of that hearing aid coloured paint left over; Minor body rot had manifested itself since the coupe ﬁrst hit the road, so he wisely replaced the lower door skins; Fresh steel was also grafted into the lower cowl sides; The steel rims were painted black and wrapped in new whitewall tyres Below, left to right: A hole had already been cut in top of the swap meet sourced aftermarket diff cover, but Robert reckons there’s little chance of anyone noticing it; When the fenders went back on, the sidepipes were modiﬁed to run inside the chassis rails; At the 11th hour of the latest reincarnation of the coupe, a set of billet rims came up at the right price and Robert couldn’t resist

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Unbolting the fenders and running boards was the easy part; Robert decided on a change of paint colour at the same time kept it fresh. ‘That’s why I kept it for nigh on twenty years. But nothing lasts forever.’

Different Slant

While it may seem a pretty insignificant occurrence, an oil pipe calling it a day while Robert was en route to Fort William proved to be the catalyst for change. Make no mistake, we’re no longer talking about fresh coats of paint here – the coupe was destined to go, and he was on the lookout for a completely different set of wheels. Robert turned to the net, which led him to Stoker’s Hot Rod Factory in California. A ’37 Ford slantback sedan was up for grabs. Based around a TCI chassis and powered by an LS6 engine, it was so different from the Model A that Robert had to make it his.

Steve Ricketts arranged the shipping and in December 2020, Robert collected the ’37 from Tilbury docks and, once again on trade plates, drove it 400 miles home to Glasgow without a hitch. It’s great to drive, he tells us, ‘but so was the Model A, even with a beam axle. I did have to keep washing and polishing it though, unlike the ’37.’ Robert listed the Model A on eBay and three months before the ’37 landed on these shores (not long after our photoshoot in fact), he sold it to a guy in Germany. More recently, it has been listed for sale in the Netherlands, still looking pretty much the same as when Robert sold it. It must soon be time for the coupe to take on a fresh look, though – maybe a change in ownership will sort that out.

Top: The rumble seat negates what little luggage carrying capacity the coupe may have offered Above: Opening the front screen allows for plenty of fresh air ﬂow during those hot summer drives Below: Shades of a Steve McQueen movie. You know, the one they made in Glasgow…

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How do you want y

o, Custom Car is under new ownership. More or less everyone who reads these words will have known that already, but to give you the full gen it’s now the property of Assignment Media. We’re a very small family company which also publishes a couple of 4x4 titles, and we’re only the third owners in Custom Car’s history. And we certainly know that what we’ve got on our hands is an icon among motoring magazines.

What matters in a car? I’ve met a good few of you guys since we took over, and I keep asking this question. The answers I’ve had tend to suggest that a hot rod is 50% car, 50% art. And, I’ll tell you, I love that. In the world I’ve inhabited for many years, an off-roader tends to be 50% car, 50% baked-on mud. Paintwork tends to have gone on with a brush, or a roller; rather than appreciating good presentation, a worrying amount of people sneer at it.

Custom Car has had many incarnations. Many of you have been along for almost the whole ride and will know that to start with, it was trying to be like everyday car magazines but with a sense of fun. It used to include road tests on new cars and vans as well as stuff about tuning and the odd article on way-out subjects like kit cars and, would you believe, off-roading. Hot rods and drag racing were far from being its main subject until much later. I love cars, and I love art (I used to collect paintings, back in the days before I started collecting children instead). So the hot rod scene has turned out to be a natural ﬁt for me. The creativity here is an absolute vibe. Anyway, less about me. Obviously, some cars will tend more in one direction or the other. But even the gnarliest race motor or rat rod will still have a strong element of presentation to it and the most lavish of street machines still wants to avoid the dreaded all-show-and-no-go label. Now, I’ve been editing enthusiast motoring magazines for more than a quarter of a century, and one thing nobody has

It went through a phase of being loaded with Volkswagens, flirted with bodykitted Escorts and so on, had a spell where it was trying to be as madcap as possible at all costs then finally settled into what it is now. And that’s what these words are about. What it is now, and where it goes from here. I explained in last month’s issue that I don’t see myself as editor in the traditional sense, because I’m not worthy of a role that’s been filled by so many experts down

ever said to me is ‘I want to see more trailer queens.’ So when we were sent an article recently about a spectacular artwork with four wheels, a big old V8 and chrome in all the right places, but no seats or steering wheel, my reaction was that it’s cool but it doesn’t have a place in Custom Car. Was I right or wrong? So, which matters more: the way it’s built or the way it’s presented? It’s always going to be a balancing act – where should the balance fall?

Rich Adams’ F150 (left) and Carl Powles’ Deuce (above) will both be appearing in future issues. Two very different vehicles in every way – except that each is a perfect example of the car as art

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your

the years. I want to let the scene represent itself in Custom Car, and with such a strong team of contributors, all of whom are dyedin-the-wool hot rod enthusiasts, it’s in very safe hands. But obviously, there are certain parts of the editor’s job that someone needs to do, and that someone is me. One of those is to establish what the magazine’s readers want from it. So what I’m going to do here is throw out a series of questions on subjects that seem to crop

up a lot. To be absolutely clear, this is not me telling you what we’re going to do: it’s a whole bunch of subjects that have come up while I’ve been out and about meeting readers over the last couple of months, and I’m asking for your views about them. We can keen the magazine exactly as it is, we can tinker with it or we can change it completely. It’s entirely up to you good people. No babies will be going out with the bathwater, but my mind is competely open.

If you want to make your opinions known on some or all of what follows, or anything else, my email address is at the end of this article. Please don’t hesitate to drop me a line; whatever your feelings on the magazine, I really want to know about them. Thank you for being a Custom Car reader; I’m here to help this grand old magazine have exactly the future we all want for it! Alan Kidd Group Editor

Street or strip?

currently doing that you wish we were? When we run a race report, you were probably there and you might even spot a picture of your own car in it, but do you yearn for more? Custom Car used to cover all sorts of motorsport, including rallying and circuit racing. Do you want us to go back there? And what about good ol’ boys doing rednick motorsport around the world, stuff like the Sarina Mud Drags or Pig’n’Ford racing at Tillamook? Or, an equally valid question, are you happy with the way we do it right now? After all, our current format of race reports was created by people who live and breathe drag racing. We won’t change things just for the sake of it!

Other events

This is at the heart of it. To some people, the mag should be all about street rods; others place much more emphasis on drag racing. Do traditional race reports interest you? The results were online within seconds and we’re telling you the same stories weeks or months later, so do you read them in full or do you just look at the pictures? Or do you skip them and wish there had been another vehicle feature there instead? Or, if you’re from the racing side of the street-strip divide, is there stuff we’re not

Custom Car and drag racing go together like bacon sandwiches and HP Sauce. But does our traditional form of event coverage do enough for you? And are there other forms of motorsport you’d like to see in our pages? After all, some people think bacon sandwiches go with tomato ketchup. Weirdos. Pic: Julian Hunt

In keeping with a lot of other magazines, Custom Car has traditionally run show reports which tend to be a brief intro followed by several pages of pictures of the cars that were there. Obviously people have always tended to respond well, or this kind of stuff would have been ditched, but we all know that as with race reports, this is another case of the mag giving you something you’ve already had online. In this case, chances are those pictures had already appeared on Facebook while the show was still on. Once again, then, do you want us to stick with this kind of material? Or do you ﬂick through it in a few seconds where a vehicle feature or an interview with someone who’s been building hot rods since The Doors were still together would keep you engaged for half an hour? Or are show reports a great opportunity to spot cars you know out and about and see your mates’ motors in print?

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What’s in, what’s out? There’s a lot of debate on what kind of cars we should be featuring. Obviously, the broad deﬁnition is modiﬁed old vehicles, but then there’s that distinction again – rods or racers? Should we concentrate on street machines or should we be looking at outand-out drag cars too? And does there need to be a cut-off date? Somewhere in the 1970s, a few people have said, but then others have pointed out that cars from the mid-90s are more than a quarter of a century old too now. I’m not talking about Euroboxes here, just to reassure you. And in the same vein, I don’t for a minute think that people want us to turn Custom Car into some sort of homage to what Max Power used to be. Modern stance casualties are not our bag, and nor are tuned-to-the-max four-pots that rev twice round the clock. Chips are things you dip in curry sauce, thank you.

Custom characters Custom Car readers are a fascinating lot. Whether you do street rods or racers, mild kustoms or wild one-offs, it’s a scene full of people who’ve been doing it for decades. Most of you who I’ve met so far have built and/or owned more cars than we’ve all had hot dinners; you’ve got a box full of photographs telling the story of a life lived from rod to rod and you can talk all night about legendary characters of the scene and the stuff you’ve all got up to together. Having done off-road magazines for so many years, I’ve met no end of people who have had some unbelievable experiences. Yet the very ﬁrst Custom Car reader I visited for a photoshoot had stuff to talk about that left me pretty much speechless. No small amount of it was completely unpublishable, but that’s a different story… I’m not talking about the ‘celebs’ of the rodding and racing scenes. I’m talking about everyday guys and girls who love the cars, the meets, the cruises and have been doing it since time immemorial. The cars are why the scene exists, after all – but it’s the people who build and own them that make the scene what it is. It strikes me that letting you lovely people tell your stories in the pages of this lovely magazine could be a pretty cool thing. Do you, dear readers, want a bit of that? After all, an awful lot of those stories might end up being about you…

Still, take a look at this Chevy SS10 that’s going to be appearing in a future issue. Yeah, it’s more modern than what you’ve been used to seeing in Custom Car. But when we feature it, will you read about it or turn up your nose in disgust? Overall, the term ‘custom car’ covers an enormous spectrum of vehicles. From old to new, from mildly modded to scratch-built, slammed, lifted, ugly, fugly, drop-dead

gorgeous… hell, some people think we should knock back Deuces if they’re not made of steel. Others think there’s no such thing as a bad custom, because any custom is better than no custom at all. What would you include and what would you leave out?

The shock of the new… We mentioned that back in the 70s, and indeed for a long time after that, Custom Car used to carry road tests on new vehicles. We don’t have any intention of turning it into something like Evo or Top Gear, and rodding will always be at its core, but having visited a bunch of readers’ homes over the summer to photograph their cars I’ve learned that almost all of you have something modern as a daily drive – and more often than not it’s something a bit tasty. In particular, I’ve been surprised by the number of you who go about in German stuff. One of CC’s aims back in the day was to give its readers road tests that were more fun than the corduroy-clad, pipe-smoking, clipboard-sniﬃng facts and ﬁgures you used to get from the big motoring mags. A road test of mine was once voted the funniest of all time (he said modestly), and before my contract with

To represent new cars, our ﬁrst instinct was to reach for a pic of a Mustang. But from what we’ve seen, CC readers are more likely to have a quick Merc as their daily. The Hennessey Mammoth might look out of place here, but it actually ticks a lot of boxes

Top Gear was ended I used to get people grumbling that my jokes were too naughty, so if you want that kind of entertainment just say the word and brace yourself… Aside from road tests, take a look at this thing, the Hennessey Mammoth 6x6. It’s wild, it’s American, it’s blown and it’s putting out more than 1000bhp. What if that appeared in a news story in Custom Car; would it be interesting or out of place?

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Are Volkswagens the devil? There used to be loads of Cal-look Beetles and other air-cooled Dubs in Custom Car. They got so popular that the publisher at the time launched Volksworld magazine as a spin-off title, and the rest is history. Same question as before. if you were to open up a future issue of Custom Car and ﬁnd this here Beetle in it, how would you react? It certainly ticks a lot of the boxes (it’s old, it’s lowered, it’s a piece of fourwheeled art) but it’s not a hot rod. And, crucially, even though it’s an old Volkswagen (we’re not talking about boy-racer Golfs here), it’s still a Volkswagen. Does the badge matter?

‘The very ﬁrst Custom Car reader I visited for a photoshoot had stuff to talk about that left me pretty much speechless. No small amount of it was completely unpublishable, but that’s a different story…’ In the workshop This is yet another area in which the scourge of internet has largely put paid to what magazines used to do. It’s been a long time since anyone got their spanners out and did a job following the step-by-step instructions in a magazine. The odds of the job you need to do being published just when you need to do it are slim at best, after all, and when you can ﬁre up YouTube and search for a tutorial video instead you can see why here’s-howit’s-done stories have largely been

replaced in magazines by here’s-how-we-gotsomeone-to-do-it-to-ours-in-return-for-anarticle stuff. So do you approach magazines looking for anything technical at all these days, or is it more about just checking out other people’s cars and reading the stories behind them? Assuming that magazines’ days as a kind of Haynes-manual-lite are indeed in the past, would a monthly section of workshop updates from around the scene ﬂoat your boat instead?

Worldwide motors

Something I’ve been made very well aware of is that the UK scene is really strong. I know because I’ve met some of you and marvelled at your cars. It’s harder to gauge where Britain stands on a global scale, but people whose opinions I trust all say we’re right up there. And ultimately, it’s the UK scene that Custom Car is here to represent. That’s why in recent times (with the exception of during lockdown, when the editorial team couldn’t go out to get features), you’ve not seen many overseas builds in these pages. Are you happy with that? We certainly don’t need to go abroad just to ﬁnd enough cars to write about, but do you want to see more stuff from America, Europe, Down Under…? And if so, are we talking the absolute top motors or the down-home stuff that won’t ever win a badge but might be easier to relate to?

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Paper quality Thorny. When the ﬁrst issue following our takeover of the magazine was published, we heard you loud and clear on social media. We’ve gone down by a weight on our paper and plenty of you commented on the fact. I’m not angling for sympathy here, but managing costs is critical to every magazine’s survival. We only have so much to spend and the less we do on paper, the more we’ve got for those expert writers I was talking about.

The thing is, paper prices have gone up about half a dozen times in the last year or so, and each time it’s by something like 10-15%. Eventually, something has to give. We absolutely get the point so many of you have made (not just pathological moaners, either; we’ve had people saying ‘I love the magazine but please improve the paper’) and it’s something we hope to be able to remedy, but there’s only so much we can do without upping the price you pay. The same goes for the number of pages in the mag.

It’s a balancing act. Talking of which, we put the new issue on the scales in ye olde editorial kitchen and it was only 27g lighter than the previous one. In old money, that’s about a dozen average Maltesers. Still, I’ll take it as read that you’d like CC to be on thicker paper. But would you still want that if it meant paying a bit more for it? We could go all the way to the top of the scale and turn it into a highly premium publication on lush art paper, but that would probably mean doubling the price. Talk to me, folks: the customer is always right…

Our tone

And ﬁnally…

As I mentioned at the top, back when Nixon was President and Heath was the new boy in Number 10, Custom Car was launched as a hippyish alternative car mag that was going be more fun than the usual fare. It sort of created the territory that Top Gear came along and nicked a couple of decades later. Its humour got pretty wild at times, and from what I’m told so did what went on in the editorial oﬃce. Well, it was in Croydon and you need to get your kicks whatever way you can down there. There’s also the small matter of Custom Car having spent many of its formative years as the soft porn mag you could get away with buying as a kid because it’s about cars, really, honest Mum. I can tell you categorically that we won’t be going back to the era of girls putting it all on show. But some of you have told me that you miss the days when Custom Car

It can be quite hard to describe what you’re looking for in a magazine without saying ‘why don’t you make it like this other magazine I read,’ or words to that effect. If that helps you get your views across, go for it. The ﬁrst rule of plagiarism is that there is no plagiarism, just research (if you know your Tom Lehrer, you’ll know where we plagiarised that joke from), and the staff at our local WHSmiths are well used to us showing up with a wheelbarrow. Most importantly, I also want to know what you don’t want us to change. As I said above, the magazine we’ve taken on has been crafted by people to whom street rods and drag racing are a way of life. We’re not here to change things for the sake of it, but there are some very polarised opinions out there so I really need to hear from as many of you as possible to give me a true picture of what you do and don’t want to see.

was a bit naughty. What sort of tone do you want from us? Dry and authoritative, chilled out, playing it full-on for laughs?

And with that, then, over to you. I want to hear your answers to any or all of these questions – or indeed anything else about the magazine that I’ve not thought to ask above. Drop me a line at alan.kidd@assignment-media.co.uk. I look forward to hearing your views, and thank you – what you tell me really WILL help shape the future of this ﬁne old publication!

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NOVEMBER 2022 CUSTOM CAR 19

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It’s easy to say you’re going to keep your next build plain and simple. Actually keeping that promise once you’ve made it to yourself is another matter altogether Words: Dave Biggadyke Pics: Matt Richardson

ohnny Morris is a quiet, unassuming guy. He’s not one to expound endless details of what he is or isn’t going to build next; instead, he gets stuck in and brings each project to a pretty rapid conclusion. That

probably explains why the pick-up depicted here wasn’t even on my radar. Photographer Matt Richardson was on assignment at Johnny’s earlier this year snapping his TorqStorm supercharged, small block Ford-powered Zephyr sleeper

when he rang me: ‘Johnny’s just shown me his new work truck. He admits to getting a bit carried away with the build and I have to say it is rather nice. Do you want me to shoot it while I’m here?’ Knowing that Matt has a keen eye for such things and that

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ked after Mark The F100 as it loo with it g ﬁnished tinkerin y nle Ha Pic: Mark

Johnny is a no-compromise builder, it was a no-brainer. I knew the pick-up was a Ford F100 but that in no way prepared me for the images Matt sent through. An early ‘60s unibody: what a rarity that is.

Hanley had

‘You know me,’ quipped Johnny when I caught up with him. ‘When I build something new, I like it to be that bit different! ‘The bonus is that these trucks are around 18 inches shorter than a conventional separate bed pick-up of the era. Perfect for

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‘The story was that the pick-up had previously been owned by Boling Brothers Early Iron in Lindsay, California. So I contacted them and they confirmed it is indeed their old shop truck’ finding a parking space at Tesco when doing your weekly shop… the downside being they tend to rot out like hell. ‘I’m always fiddling about with something or other and when I’m building a car, I’m

already thinking about the next one. I needed a new work truck and a unibody F100 suddenly popped into my head. ‘Problem was, finding a solid one was proving a more daunting task than sourcing

the proverbial rocking horse shit. With that, though, one popped up on Facebook. Mark Hanley had it for sale and it supposedly had some hot rod credibility from when it was still in the States. The original plan was to

Main picture: Year dating fourth generation F100 pick-ups is made easier as only ’61-’64 models have indicators mounted in the front grille, and the unibody was dropped mid-way through 1963, with the 1964 models then sporting an all-new Styleside bed Left: The pick-up rolls on vintage style steels from North Hants Tyres, painted green to match the body panels with gold pinstriping by Dean Maudsley, who also striped the bodywork. The rims measure 8.5x16 all round, the fronts wearing 235/70 rubber and the rears 265/70s Right: Johnny spent a good number of hours sketching out his plan for the paint scheme before he hit on the ‘60’s vibe he was after. It was then down to local painter Danny Sherratt to replicate the design in Old English White and a made-up shade of green. There’s no change in ride height for everyday driving: jump in, select drive and enjoy the ride. That’s what it’s all about, after all!

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Johnny bought the 347 small block Ford, a stroked 302ci, from Jason Hollamby and then had it rebuilt by local engine guru John Wright. Ceramiccoated Patriot headers feed a Johnny fabricated 3-inch stainless exhaust system. Backing up the engine is a rebuilt heavy-duty Ford C6 tranny, with a custom fabricated propshaft linking it to the rear axle Top right: Hidden underneath the air filter is a FiTech GO EFI 4 self-tuning fuel injection system rated at 600hp. Johnny simply describes this as mega efficient, adding: ‘It runs beautifully, and the more miles you clock up the better it gets’ Above right: Fuel delivery to the GO EFI is taken care of by a FiTech Command Center, plumbed in using braided lines. This is ideal when changing from carb to fuel injection as it eliminates the need for an external regulator and constantly circulates fuel to and from the existing tank

keep things simple but, as Matt told you, I did get a bit carried away…’

Jamming

Before revealing the extent of that getting carried away, let’s look at what makes these particular trucks such a rarity. Originally referred to as integrated pick-ups, Ford introduced unibody F100 and heavier payload F250 models in 1960. With the cab and bed being of one-piece construction, production costs were reduced as the design required fewer stampings and therefore less complicated assembly. The marketplace, however, did not take kindly to the fresh design approach and, amid rumours that overloading the bed could

result in the doors becoming jammed shut, the unibody pick-ups were dropped mid-way through 1963. A fresh yet more conventional Styleside bed was introduced for 1964 year models, together of course with the resultant increase in overall length. Curious about the Stateside hot rod credibility of this particular unibody, I contacted Mark Hanley to find out more. ‘I purchased the truck from a guy in Kent,’ he explained ‘From what he told me, he basically built it using a Ford Mustang as the donor for the IFS, steering column, gauges and more modern wheels. It wasn’t roadworthy though, so I had it trailered home. ‘The story was that the pick-up had previously been owned by Boling Brothers

Early Iron in Lindsay, California, so I contacted them and they confirmed it is indeed their old shop truck. I bought it as something to tinker with and drive while I was building my ’40 Ford cabriolet. ‘I spent a week removing overspray, bled the brakes, got it running properly and had the tracking done. One of my pet hates is exhaust pipes that exit just before the rear wheels so I redid the system so the tailpipes exited at the rear of the car. ‘I painted the rear bumper and grille, switched the fuel sender unit to the correct one and fitted new door rubbers. Lots of silly little jobs really, after which I drove it as it was for a while. The gearing was way off though, so it was revving its nuts off on the

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Above left: In case you don’t think the pick-up is equipped for towing, here’s the detachable towbar that slots in in place of the rear number plate Above: The inside of the bed is Raptor coated for practicality and durability. Mick Payne crafted the wooden in-bed storage chest, only for Johnny to then clad it in ali. Mick was not best pleased. If those tailgate latches look familiar, it’s because they are. Check out the top latches on the ﬁre doors next time you visit the hospital… Left: While Johnny sorted the carpet himself, his mate Shaun retrimmed the original bench seat in hard-wearing vinyl. Mick Payne sorted the door panels and headlining and Ididit supplied the tilt column and steering wheel, with the long shifter being by Lokar Below: Johnny fabbed the dash insert panel, which houses a complement of black-faced gauges contrasting with the white-faced Auto Meter oil pressure gauge, while the under-dash mounted panel houses the on / off switch and Viair pressure gauge used for raising the rear suspension when he’s towing

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‘I’m really happy with how it’s turned out. It’s comfortable and drives well – bit like a Jag, really!’ motorway. Apart from that, it drove pretty good, as I recall. ‘I was spending too much time tinkering and driving it, though, and that was slowing the build on my ‘40. So I sold it to Johnny. Big mistake, really, as he has taken the pickup to where I was heading with the steel wheels and, I guess, a better rear axle ratio. ‘It’s now a cool-looking truck. Well done to him.’

No compromise

A nice compliment from Mark, but what exactly has Johnny done to transform the unibody into such a cool-looking truck? He bought the ’62 Ford F100 already fitted with a Mustang II IFS and a Ford 9-inch rear axle hanging from leaf springs. On the face of it just what he wanted – trouble was, it wasn’t put together to ‘Johnny’ spec. Not being one to accept a compromise, he stripped it all down, had everything blasted and set about rebuilding the rolling chassis to what he refers to as ‘a nice spec.’ Heidts double A-arms, coilovers, drop spindles, an anti-roll bar, power steering and

GM-based disc brakes and calipers all went in the mix at the front end. The rear axle was stripped, rebuilt and remounted using Chassis Engineering 4-bars, a Panhard rod, adjustable shocks and airbags. Rear brakes are rebuilt Ford drums. The thankfully minor areas of rust in the bodywork were cut out and replaced with fresh steel, after which the body and panels went off for paint. Johnny gave the painter the brief for a satin finish – it is a work truck, after all. Apparently, the message didn’t get through as it came back nice and shiny. Despite all the cleaning this entails, Johnny’s still really pleased with it. In keeping with the shiny paint, new glass, rubbers and seals were fitted, including a tinted front screen that Billy MacDermid at Topspeed Automotive brought in when nobody else would. With Johnny wiring the pick-up with a scratch-built loom, the build was finished. All that’s left is for him to clock up the miles to let the fuel injection system get the measure of how heavy his right foot is.

Planning ahead

‘I’m really happy with how it’s turned out,’ is Johnny’s verdict. ‘It’s comfortable and drives well – bit like a Jag, really. I’d gladly jump in it and drive to Wales if I had to, and it’s easy to find a parking space it fits into.’ With no plans to change anything on the F100, I was understandably concerned that Johnny would find himself kicking his heels with nothing to do. He did recently manage to put together the 600bhp big block-powered ’55 Chevy he debuted at the Peterborough show last May though, so he hasn’t exactly been idle. ‘Right now I’m building a Chevy truck for Steve Billingham, and you know that means ideas for the next build for myself are bouncing around in my head. I just don’t know what it will be yet though. It’s got to be something different and I quite fancy taking on a flagging project and finishing it off.’ Let us know if you’ve got something that fits the bill languishing in your garage and we’ll pass the details on to Johnny on your behalf. We can’t let his hands stay still for too long, after all.

A change in styling cues saw the unibody’s bonnet line, door window sill and bed side height being in harmony. With the cab rear and bed front being one and the same, the overall length was reduced yet the payload area was increased

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People fall in love with cars for all sorts of reasons. In the case of this ‘37 cabrio, one look at its paintwork was enough to ﬁnd it a new home Words and pics: Dan Fenn

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’m sitting in Fred Wilkins’ living room. His ’37 Ford cabrio is parked outside and we’re talking cars. Well, he’s talking and I’m listening. When someone who’s had as many of them as Fred talks cars, it’s a good time to listen. ‘I’ve had hundreds of Yanks,’ he says. ‘Thousands. There’s not a lot I haven’t had.’ He’s in his seventies now, and still as enthused as ever by whatever his next car is going to be. ‘I’d like a ’68 Charger,’ he tells me. ‘That’s why I bought this one, really. It was at the right money and I reckoned it would be very part-exchangeable. If I can get what I think it’s worth, it’ll help me get to the sort of money Chargers are worth.’

There’s plenty of show here, but no shortage of go either. The 383ci Chevy stroker runs zinc-coated headers and exhaust, an alloy rad and fan and, most importantly, a Greta Thunberg. Despite the latter, Fred says his neighbours tell him they love hearing his car go past

Head ruling heart? Not a bit of it. Fred has spent his life around cars; he was a trader for a spell, dealing in all sorts of everyday stuff as well as imported American motors he bought straight from the quayside as they arrived in Rainham. So yes, he’s a whole lot better at selling them than your average rodder. But he loves his cars, too. ’To be honest,’ he says, ‘I had already bought the ’37 the moment I saw it. I saw the colour and I thought “I like that.” I had never seen one like it before.’ He goes on to describe how, having fallen for the car, he went on to look for where the seller was based… only to find that it was something like a 700-mile round

Fred waxes lyrical about the custom grille, whose design makes it look from some angles as if it’s ﬂoating in the air. It’s wonderfully delicate and goes well with the LIL38 identity… which appeared on the car because a previous owner already had LIL37 on a ‘37 Business Coupe

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The car was born in 2006 as the result of a best-of-everything build based on a chassis from Pete and Jakes. Independent front suspension arms and rear trailing links were all fabricated from tube and ﬁnished in chrome before they ever got to see the underside of the vehicle. The rear axle is the classic Ford 9” and is equally classic in that it was built to heavy-duty spec by Currie Enterprises before ever going in place. Suspension is by coil-overs all-round and braking is by Wilwood solid discs, with a separate caliper handbrake

exhaust as well as

trip to get there. Undaunted, he was there the next day. ‘I left my money, came home and booked a transporter.’ Obviously, this isn’t a story about a man who built his car. To some extent, actually, it’s a story about the cars that built the man. But the car itself was built, and it was built with no expense spared.

Odd numbers

Its history goes back to 2006, when a UK-based punter with a man-sized car collection and a matching taste for anonymity placed an order for an all-steel ’37 whose rotisserie-stripped body sits on top of a chassis from the rodding legend that is Pete and Jakes in Missouri. Let’s pause there for a moment. You’ll have noticed the number plate: LIL38. But it’s a ’37. ‘It’s not because this was the closest I could get,’ says Fred. ‘It’s because a previous owner also owned LIL37, which he had on a ’37 Business Coupe.’ So, rest assured this isn’t one of those plates… Behind LIL38’s custom grille, a 383 Chevy stroker runs zinc-coated headers and

an alloy rad and fan. Bolted to the back of it is a Turbo 350 box which in turn spins a Currie-built 9” Ford back axle, and billet alloys measure 17” at the front and 18” at the rear. Braking is by Wilwood discs all round, with a separate handbrake caliper added to keep the MOT man from throwing his toys out of the pram. He might spend a while searching for the lever, though, because it’s basically flat to the floor beneath the seat. All the suspension is tubular, with the front A-arms and rear trailing links fully chromed. If Fred ever mows you down, the last thing that goes through your mind will

simply be ‘wow.’ Not all of this was done at source, with the vehicle being shipped to Britain (flown, actually – rather a container it arrived in Blighty aboard a cargo plane) in a part-built state before being finished off by a combination of two distinctly A-list names. Jimmy Hibbard at Valley Gas needs no introduction whatsoever, and nor does Tim Hammond Engineering, who between them took care of finishing the car to GB spec and, well, just finishing it full stop. And as always, the details in the finish count for so much. The cabin has been

If Fred ever mows you down, the last thing that goes through your mind will simply be ‘wow’

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trimmed in leather and fitted with VDO instruments, an Alpine remote stereo and an air-con system that Fred says he still hasn’t worked out how to operate, thanks to all the switchgear being hidden down below the dash. You could argue that it’s not really necessary in a cabrio, but since Fred tends not to put his top down he might as well be driving a sedan. In fact, he admits to not really liking cabrios at all. And yet, we point out, he bought one. In response, he asks how many other hot rods we’ve seen in this colour. The man’s got a point. It’s a Candy Green from House of Kolor in Ohio and, he’s found, getting a match for it is like trying to nail jelly to the ceiling. As in, those companies who specialise in being able to match absolutely any paint colour in existence were putting their scanners on it and their

scanners were coming back with twisted melons. This is when you know you’ve got something unique.

Mixed grille

Also unique is the aforementioned grille, which was handmade and is pretty good at playing tricks on your eyes, especially when you view it from side on – when it takes on the most amazingly delicate appearance, seeming almost to float like a net curtain in the wind. The tail light clusters trick the eyes of all those who gaze upon them, too. Or make that cluster, singular, actually. It’s a single full-width LED strip, frenched in to the rear panel below the trunk, and it covers tail, brake, indicator and hazard functions while also being more or less completely invisible while it’s switched off. As with the

grille, Fred remarks that he’s never seen another one like this. Which means something, when you remember the number of cars he’s owned. And not just hot rods and classic Americans, either; he’s had more Land Rovers than your average Land Rover collector, too. But the story we’re not going to forget in a hurry dates from when he was living in London – at a very familiar address. ‘I used to live in Albert Square. There are two of them in London – mine was in Stratford. The one in Eastenders is sort of based on it, but we would still get coach tours coming to visit! The pub used to be called The Albert, before they changed it into The Queen Vic. There’s apartments in its place now. ‘When I lived there, I used to watch to see which of my neighbours didn’t have

It’s trimmed in leather inside, and the dash features a bank of VDO instruments – neatly distracting attention from the complete absence of switchgear. It’s all hidden away underneath the lower part of the dash, which looks cool but less than an ergonomic treat; Fred told us that he still hasn’t ﬁgured out how to make the air-con work

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The tail light cluster is a full-width LED affair which becomes invisible when it’s not in use. It takes care of all the car’s needs in the way of position marking, braking, indicating and warning other drivers of a hazard ahead, which is a mealy-mouthed way of saying it does everything. The ﬁnish under the trunk lid is so good you could eat your dinner off it

cars, and I would ask them if it they didn’t mind me parking one in front of their house. So when you went into Albert Square, you would see American cars everywhere, all over the place in every direction you looked. People who didn’t know about me must have wondered what was going on!’ Among those cars was a ’67 Camaro he used to race in RWYB at Santa Pod, and a 57’ Chevy which started life tearing up the strips of the US under the name of Super Pumpkin. This was brought to the UK in the mid-70s by Pete and Maggie Devlin before moving on to Dave Mingay, who renamed it Hellraiser. Fred took it on after it had reached the point where its weight was preventing it from going any faster and reimagined it as a street rod running the engine from an Iso Grifo; it’s now in Sweden, in the hands of owners who are restoring it back to its Super Pumpkin days. He also owned a ’68 Chevy truck which went on to appear in the original Superman movie (‘I had sold it to a friend, then before he even had it the production company came along wanting to hire it… they needed the cabin to be a different colour, so they offered to retrim it for him, and the paint was likely to get damaged during shooting

so they said they’d respray it as well!) and a ’63 Thunderbird which appeared in the Netflix feature Blood Diamond.

Voracious

Many of us are, to put it tactfully, better at buying cars than we are at selling them. Fred is good at selling them, too, having done it so many times – but the difference is that he still has a voracious appetite for buying them, too. As we’ve already mentioned, a ’68 Charger is on his to-do list, but in his own words ‘I do need more nice Yanks I’ve never owned before I die. A nice ’67/68 Caddy Eldorado, or perhaps another ’41 Willys or ’32 Ford… or maybe another Tri Chevy… or possibly a ’64-’66 fastback Mustang…’ Not to put too fine a point on it, he ain’t slowing down. But for now, what he’s got is this little green giant, which has brought home a gong from every show it’s been to and gets approving comments from everyone who sees it. And hears it, too: ‘The ladies who live in my street always say they love hearing my car going past!’ Having cost someone upstairs of $100,000 when it was new, this ’37 was a best-of-everything build in 2006 and today

it’s a car you could take down the shops – if you didn’t mind arriving home with words of praise echoing in your ears and your shopping defrosting itself into a sorry mess beside you. ‘It’s the kind of car you see at hot rod shows being driven by old men who’ve been doing it all their life and this is where they’ve got to,’ concludes Fred, and that describes it pretty much perfectly. It’s the kind of car people spend their lives aspiring to one day own. And once they do, they tend to want to keep them forever. Unless they’re Fred Wilkins. He loves all things American… and in his quest to have owned, literally, all things American, LIL38 is destined to become yet another hot rod that’s fast-moving in more ways than one.

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32nd Street

Words: Dave Biggadyke Pics: Dave Biggadyke and Steve Baines (as credited) The 2022 NSRA Hot Rod Supernationals was one of the biggest and best events Britain has

ever seen. The site was teeming with superb vehicles and no end of special car displays – of which

by far the largest was 32nd Street – a celebration marking the 90th anniversary of the legend that is the 1932 Ford. Pulled together by the NSRA’s Chris Smith, the display overcame a few unfortunate last-minute no-shows to boast a staggering total of 110 Deuces representing the full range of body styles – roadsters, sedans, pick-ups and coupes, some with more windows than others. These included a number of new builds – while others in the line-up were first rodded way back in the 1980s, making this a display of historical significance in more ways than one. Pic (left): Steve Baines

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Some of the cars are familiar, others aren’t. Some of the names are familiar, others aren’t. That was the beauty of the all-embracing 32nd Street. The effort that went into staging this display was immense, both before the event and on the day. Well done to all involved, however small a part they played

Front left is Jon Golding’s ZZ4 motivated 3-window coupe, a car he has owned for 22 years. It won Best in Britain at the Donnie Show in 2002 and was subsequently shipped to California where Jon used it for more than three years before bringing it back home Pic: Steve Baines

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The amazing display in 32nd Street begs one question: Was this the largest collection of ’32 Fords ever assembled outside of the USA? Pic: Steve Baines

Above left: The oldest UK hot-rodded ’32 parked on the ‘street’ on Sunday was the 383 Chevy stroker-powered roadster built by Merv ‘Magoo’ Barnett in 1978. The car graced the cover of the January ’82 issue of CC and has now been fully rebuilt and is owned by Mick Tebbs Above right: The most recent build of the ‘32s on display must surely have been K Heywood Clough’s 383 Chevy-powered roadster, as it made its debut on Sunday. According to the show board, it was built with help from mates over the last 12 months Below left: Exhibitors voted for the Top 5 in 32nd Street, which are pictured here. From left to right: Richard Just’s small block Chevy-powered 5 window coupe; Chris Smith’s S.Co.T. blown 8BA Flathead-powered 3 window coupe; Mike Bull’s blown small block Chevy-powered and ex-CC featured roadster; Simon Phillips’ small block Chevy-powered and ex-CC featured roadster; Jean Francois Gross’ supercharged Corvette LS1-powered roadster Below right: It was ‘Doctor’ Bob Jeffries who pulled round in his 3 window to collect the King B award. Amazing to think the ex-CC featured small block Chevy-powered coupe first saw the light of day in 1999

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Even though we gave the 50th Anniversary NSRA Hot Rod Supernationals a huge 12 pages last month, we still couldn’t ﬁt everything in. Here’s the rest of the pics we had to hold back until this issue…

Pulled together by MisteR Tee himself, Maurice Takoor, the T Party returned to the Supernats with aplomb. Pick-ups, buckets, roadsters, modifieds and deliveries – if it was Model T-based, it received a warm welcome Main picture: Several Model Ts in attendance on Saturday formed a chevron of honour to mark the arrival of Revenge Pic: Steve Baines Right: If there was ever any doubt that Steve Hudson actually drives his T bucket, the eight ESRA Nationals number plate toppers displayed in his windscreen ought to settle the debate. France, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland… the list goes on Below: Distinctive contrasting swage line paint on this French registered ’34 roadster instantly draws your eye to the car Below right: Andy Tipping has owned this ’69 Chevelle SS396 for 27 years now. Originally put together by Roy Giles, the Chevelle featured in the December 1986 issue of Street Machine under the banner: ‘Pro Street UK – It’s Arrived!’

Below left: Together with his Mercury, Teri Smith also brought along his chopped and 283 Chevy-powered ’35 cabriolet. The car features a lift-off, Carson-style top and graced the cover of the March ’22 issue. Surprisingly, it didn’t feature come prizegiving Below right: Andy Saunders’ ’37 Cord, Tetanus, was selected by the team at ClassicLine Insurance as their pick of the show

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Out & About

Newquay, new show

Words and pics: James Webber When a new show is launched, how refreshing it is not to be having to look for hotels or plan a journey. Drive Newquay is the work of Anthony Fryett and his good friend Fil, who used to run the Bristol Tattoo Convention – and the venue was literally a ten-minute stroll from my house! The purpose of the show was to bring the custom and retro scene back into Newquay after the demise, many years ago, of the famous Run to the Sun. Now, the people behind that event say they’re going to be bringing it back next year – but for now, Anthony and Fil have managed to demonstrate that the demand for shows like this is as strong as ever. The venue was Newquay Sports Centre, which had a big field for the cars and

‘It shows that car enthusiasts and the people of Newquay want these sort of events to take place’ traders – as well as a long entry road, always a help in preventing traffic queues from stretching back on to the main road. Anthony and Fil put in a huge effort to publicise the show on social media, as well

as swamping the surrounding areas in flyers and posters, in a big to get as many cars to attend on the day… and they got their rewards! Show cars had been asked to pre-enter, just to give a rough idea of numbers, but I don’t think that prepared the guys for what was about to ensue. Having put vast amounts of blood, sweat and swear words into laying out parking spaces, trading areas and catering facilities, they were as ready as they could ever be – and even with the gates not opening to the public until 10am, show vehicles were already piling in in their masses from 8am onwards. As always, a show like this depends on a team of volunteers, and as always the organisers are very grateful to them for turning up and making the effort. Less so when they DON’T turn up, though… and a few no-shows on the day meant Fil and partner Emma were stuck on the gate taking money from the punters while Anthony was left directing traffic. Next time you go to a show and fancy a moan because it’s not perfect in every way, stop to think about what you might not be able to see going on behind the scenes… Anyway, the show field was filled by more than 150 show cars, ranging from rods to classics to retro to a few modern modifieds. Traders included Tyres and Tides, Empacombe Classic Panels and Pasty Stickers. To entertain the public, the worldfamous Demon Drone put on regular deathdefying stunts, Axe Heads brought the art of axe throwing and renowned pinstriper

Tootall Paul was striping everything from cars to tool boxes. Come prize-giving time, awards went to: Furthest travelled: Lee Belcher, VW Beetle, from Exeter Best Rat: James Sowden, VW Squareback Best VW: David Bond, Mk1 Golf Best Retro: Mark Tregoning, bagged Audi Super 90 Best Yank: John Pastor, ’58 Cadillac Eldorado Best in Show: Jon Buss, ’71 Camaro After staying behind to help the guys clear up, I had a chat with them and asked how it went. ‘For a first show,’ said Fil, ‘this blew all our expectations. The quality of cars in Cornwall and the South-West is second to none, the public all seemed to love it and it can only go forward from here. We had 150 cars in the field plus a few stragglers parking in any space available. As kids were free, we can’t count a total but certainly over 2000 people came through the gates, which is far more than we could have expected. It shows that car enthusiasts and the people of Newquay want these sort of events to take place.’ Anthony and Fil would like to thank the hardy band of volunteers and supporters who helped out on the day and supported the event on social media: these are Fil and Anthony’s partners Emma and Sarah, Evy Everson, Dave Godfrey, Pete and myself! Check out Drive Newquay on Facebook and Instagram for updates on next year’s show.

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Jon Buss has owned Eddie, his ’71 Camaro, for four years, during which time he’s treated it to an extensive programme of work culminating in an engine rebuild last summer. An hour’s cruise from Devon brought him to Newq uay – and for his troubles he set back off for home clutching the Best in Show award

The Grumman LLV is definitely a rarity here, especially when it’s been bagged. Being a mail van, it’s right-hand drive as standard – and with the entire US Postal Service fleet of more than 100,000 scheduled to be replaced over the next decade, it might soon start to become a more common sight at shows like these. This one was far from being the only interesting commercial vehicle at Newquay – this gasserstyle Dodge A100 runs a 360 V8

Left: Among the traders was James McMahon, who runs Empacombe Classic Panels near Mount Edgecumbe, across the bay from Plymouth, and makes hand-made panels in steel and aluminium. With a louvre press in his arsenal, he currently has a couple of big projects on the go Right: James Sheardown’s ‘48 Chevy Fleetmaster Coupe runs a 383 SBC, Holley carb and Mustang 2 front clip. As we were going to press, it appeared for sale at a tempting £20,000

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dragstalgia

nd back at Santa Pod we were again in early July, under glorious blue skies, for arguably our favourite drag race meet of the year. It may not have the Top Fuellers and visiting Scandinavian racers of an event like the recent Euro Finals, but Dragstalgia has a unique vibe all of its own and those who are into it make sure they never miss it. In many ways, there’s too much to cover in a show report like this, as a big part of the fun of this event is just being amongst it all, milling about in the pits with the 57-car Nostalgia Superstock field, checking out the new Nostalgia Funny Cars and restored vintage slingshots, or former CC feature cars, that were on display. Or just listening to the friendly banter amongst the Gasser Circus, Wild Bunch, Willys Wars and Outlaw Anglia crews. If vintage drag bikes are more your thing, the NSA Bike Shootout, compered by regular CC contributor, Keith Lee, brought some of the most famous (not to mention oldest!) names in the sport out

■ Words: Mike Pye Pics: Julian Hunt

to play. The old warhorses may not be as quick as the Old School Stockers in attendance, but present were some of the guys that helped pioneer the sport of drag racing in this country. Highlights of the three days of non-stop track action for us included Colin Millar’s long-awaited first six in his Outlaw Anglia on Friday evening, the 14-car Dragstalgia Cannonball, the restored

It’s more than a race meet, it’s a celebration of UK drag racing past and present

The Commuter rail from 1966 and Gonzo the Great screaming back into the sevens. CC was brought back into the frame at the last moment with the return of the Custom Car Invitational, plus the crowd enjoyed a lengthy pre-1980 RWYB session on the Friday, a ‘Cracklefest’ (no, that’s not a typo) on the Saturday night (though no fire burnouts this year due to circumstances outside SPR control), live music, a vintage market, a huge show ’n’ shine courtesy of the NSRA and even a beer festival on tap, literally. We’ve kept this year’s coverage to a race report, and even then there are dozens of cars we just don’t have the space to show. The best advice we can give then is not to miss Dragstalgia 2023. It’s more than a race meet, it’s a celebration of UK drag racing culture past and present, and we wouldn’t miss it for the world. CC

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Lee Johnstone

Custom Car Invitational After initially saying there wouldn’t be a CC Invitational this year, plans changed close to the event and one was included in the programme. Consequently, several of the entries had made other plans. However, of those that did participate, special mention should go to Lee Johnstone in the Ain’t no Saint Volvo who, after dumping parts of his diff on the track on Friday, performed a late night replacement in the pits and then bagged his first ever nine on Saturday afternoon, 9.964 at 134mph. Similarly, Dave Mahoney was another one celebrating, scoring his first eight in the same session, 8.972 / 151. Dave Mahoney

James Bull

Willys Wars Quickest of the 14-car field in session one time trials of this heads up, jus’ for fun class was John Dalrymple, carding 9.609 at 137mph in his chopped ’41 pick-up. He went on to prove unbeatable throughout the weekend, improving to 9.344 at 149mph to stay ahead in the first round of qualifying and never looked back. Elliot Day and Mick Payne were both in the nines, hard on his heels, while Damian Bacon, Paul Murphy and Matt Hollins all saw 10s on their timing slips. To show the diversity of this class, though, Steve Paul Murphy Matt Hollins Young brought up the rear at right around half the leading car’s speed, 18.272 at 71.68mph, also in a ’41 pick-up, albeit one with half the number of cylinders. Come session two, Andy Crockett showed he isn’t scared of the ex-Gerry Treit ’41 coupe, nailing a creditable 10.48 to the mast on his first run in it to leap into fourth position, while Dalrymple Mick Payne switched the gas on and produced a fine 8.806 at 154mph, underlining his command of this Damian Bacon year’s Wars.

Elliot Day

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NEM Plant Nostalgia Superstock It was a battle of the breakouts on the first qualifying session for the 57-car field in this hugely popular class, with no less than three double breakouts and a further ten cars running quicker than their chosen index. The end result was Jake Cawthorne in the number one spot, just .0043 off his 11.75 dial in at 11.754 / 113, but that was just the beginning. Catching our eye was the beautiful, multi-coloured Challenger from the Watts Shop team, being driven this weekend by daughter Shelby Watts. 11.09 / 112 in practice showed their potential, but Shelby was a long way down the field in qualifying. Round two on Saturday morning saw Dave Billadeau (9.781 on a 9.78 dial) perform the biggest leapfrog of all, Spencer Tramm from number 48 to top of the ladder. Paul Singer, Richard Granger, Dan Williams and Simon Rickwood, among others, all made considerable gains, keeping the competition wide open. Next it was Dan Sanderson’s turn in the number one spot, thanks to a spot on 13.770 on a 13.77 dial with a 0.007 RT. To give you some idea of how competitive this class is, the top 36 cars, running between 9.5 and 13.8 seconds (the class cut offs are 9.0-14.99) all ran within 0.1 second of their dial ins, so there was still everything to play for. In session four, James Oliver nailed it, 9.2300 on a 9.23 with a .017 RT, putting him on top of the pile. But Stuart Thompson and Adrian Portelli were charging, climbing the table to fourth and sixth positions respectively. Into eliminations on Sunday and some very close racing saw the fi eld reduced to 26 runners, and then further still to 16, with a few Dave Billadeau exciting moments when a couple of the quicker cars, Duncan Watts’ and Dave Simcock’s Challengers, stepped out of line at the start. Into the quarters and James Oliver despatched his Williams Brothers Racing team mate, Nic Williams, with a holeshot 9.337 / 129 on a 9.29 vs 11.002 / 116 on a 10.97. Stuart Doignie did the same against Dave Billadeau (12.185 / 104 on a 12.15 vs 9.866 / 138 on a 9.85), while Simcock’s over eagerness at the tree let Spencer Tramm through. The final four were made up by Pete Dodd on a bye. A red light from Dodd saw Tramm through into the final with an easy 12.249 / 72 pass, while Doignie held it together and ran closer to his dial in despite Oliver going much quicker alongside (12.165 / 108 on a 12.15 vs 9.315 / 136 on a 9.27). After all that, the final was a bit of a damp squib, Tramm’s 12.129 at just 71mph being way under what he’s capable of but a great deal closer to his 11.01 dial in than Doignie’s 17.927 / 59 on a 12.15. That’s racing for you, though, and takes nothing away from both drivers’ excellent efforts to reach that point. Don Scott

Dave Simcock

James Oliver Jake Cawthorne

Shelby Watts

Adrian Portelli

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Dan Wilson

Ruaridh Hart

Springbridge Direct Wild Bunch Team Cooper were on a roll this weekend, Bradley setting a new PB in the family rail on Friday, 11.099 at 120mph, and then clocking his first ever 10 (10.832 / 119) on Saturday morning. That’s hugely impressive from Flathead V8 power. It was great to see some European interest in this class, too, with Luca Govoni from Italy (10.726 / 121), new cars from the likes of Alan Skipp (Chasin’ Time slingshot), a new team running the Sonic Attack 2 slingshot, with Steve Garlant at the wheel, and of course some much-loved oldies too, including Alan Loten’s Paranoia, Allan Schofield and the Rough Diamond crew (PB 8.409 / 155) and Ian / Alan Lloyd’s Gonzo the Great. Alan hasn’t seen a seven on the gantry for a while, but healthy doses of nitrous had the screaming small block-powered Topolino back where it belongs, 7.863 / 163 on Saturday morning. Proving you don’t have to have a V8 to join in the fun, Liz Malcolm is indeed just having fun in her neat slingshot, running consistent high 10s with a 122ci inline four onboard her dragster. In session three, Mark Hartnell took his Metal Mistress to a PB of 9.598 / 138 and Ruaridh Hart brought his fresh out, flip-bodied Opel GT, Braved Hart, round for its first checkout pass. What a cool looking car. There were PBs for Chris Hartnell, Robert Wright, Allan Schofield and Steve Garlant that evening before Sunday’s qualifying rounds. Wild Bunch operates a different race structure to other classes, the winner of an event being the racer who has the lowest average difference between ET and their dial in. At the end of play on Sunday, that honour fell to Dan Wilson in Antique Toy with a 0.038 average, while Alan Lloyd bagged quickest ET and fastest mph of the weekend. Finally, spare a thought for James Auld’s Little Fauss dragster, which is celebrating 50 years as a race car in 2022. There can’t be too many British drag cars still around that can claim that sort of pedigree.

Bradley Cooper

Luca Govoni

James Auld

Lee Hartnell

Liz Malcolm

Steve Garlant

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Nostalgia Cannonball

Ricky Gowen

Adam Clayton

Ricky Gowen had the Dragstalgia crowd on its feet when he pulled round to the start line in the ex-Don Prudhomme Plymouth Arrow NF/C, The Cannonball. It was running on methanol, not nitro, but still looks every inch the nostalgia flopper it really is. This is the chassis in which Bill Sherratt won the first ever Cannonball event at Santa Pod in 1981. Talking of Bill Sherratt, his grandson Adam Clayton was behind the wheel of the Topolino-bodied Firecracker Altered, with Bill himself on the team. As you can see from our pictures, the car was like a bouncing bomb each time it came out, but credit to Adam for clocking a 7.91 at 153 on the Sunday. Meanwhile, Paul Harris put in a solid 6.88 /181 in the first round of qualifying in the Priddle lookalike Monza, while Bob Hawkins and Joe Bond put on a fantastic side-by-side show, 6.81 / 197 vs 6.53 / 208 respectively. With Tim Garlick and Robin Read also in the sixes, it was shaping up for a great battle ahead. That continued in the second round, with Bond, Garlick, Hawkins and Tony Betts in the Venom F/C all putting in six-second passes but, come the third session on the Sunday, Garlick’s consistency, and outright pace in the Apache Funny Car saw him creeping ahead on the class’ aggregate ET ladder. Hawkins had it all to do to beat Joe Bond into second place – and he delivered the goods, just, with his 6.73 / 193 pass being

John Hales Christian Zulauf

Adam Gleadow

Robin Reed

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enough by a mere Paul Harris 0.003 of a second! Away from the podium battle, the revival of the old Motor Psycho ’34 Altered, brought back out to play by Adam Gleadow, had the crowd smiling, as did Robin Read in his original Daimler-powered dragster, clicking off a screaming 6.966 at 189mph in qualifying one. It was also great to see Christian Zulauf over from Switzerland to pilot his Jon Webster-built, 554ci slingshot Silber-blitz. A solid 8.036 / 200 in practice on Friday, though that was way off the pace of the other runners in the Cannonball. Storied US Nostalgia Funny Car racer John Hales was behind the wheel of Rob Elsom’s Dirty Deeds Camaro for this meet. 7.957 / 124 on a getting-used-to-the-car pass on the Friday developed into a 6.479 / 222 in the last round on Sunday. Happy with that. At the end of play, it was Tim Garlick in Apache that lifted the crown, clocking a strong 6.317 at 223mph to defeat Bob Hawkins in Time Traveller II (6.717 / 170) in the final. Congratulations Tim and team.

Bob Hawkins Tim Garlick

Des Taylor

Good Vibrations Supercharged Outlaws Undoubtedly one of the most diverse and entertaining drag racing classes, Supercharged Outlaws opened its account on Friday evening with some rapid runs, notably Jim Usher’s 8.027 / 164 and Gary Parkes’ 7.472 / 171 (number one qualifier). Come lunchtime Saturday, the drama continued with a major engine explosion mid-track in Steve Wright’s Fugly Pacer, which was swiftly brought under control by the fire crew. Jim Tucker then laid down an 8.834 / 152 PB in his ’34 street car, while Jim Usher was back in the sevens and Leo Knight clocked a new PB of 7.727 / 155.76 in the Pennzoil Altered running against Paul Watts’ ’57 Chevy, putting him into second place, ahead of Roy Wilding. James Charman was out getting some seat time in Norm Wheeldon and dad Nigel’s new SBC slingshot Gotavit. After a tentative 10.824 / 73.61 on Friday, an 8.797 / 108 was a great improvement in what is still a very new car. Gary Parkes maintained his lead through session two (7.446 / 178), while out of nowhere came Aaron Windridge on a 7.719 / 171 flyer, straight into second place. Next time out, it was Roy Wilding’s turn to shine, a fine 7.720 / 189 nudging him up to third spot, while Charman certainly proved he can drive Gotavit, getting his money’s worth of the track on the way to a further improved 7.488 / 175. Des Taylor made it into the sevens in the fifth session (7.954 / 164), while Wilding improved to 7.593 / 188 for second position on the 13car ladder, Parkes holding the top spot ahead of him through to the end. Roy Wilding

Leo Knight

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’37 Ford Cabrio ‘LIL 38’

A best-of-everything uk build in 2006

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16/09/2022 17:40

Colin Millar

Ben Rushforth

Barn Levy

Lee Taylor Wayne Power

Renegade Outlaw Anglia One of the highlights of the weekend’s racing was surely Colin Millar’s Friday night flyer in the Flyin’ Fyfer, storming through to a 6.985 at 194.56mph in the first qualifying round to bring racing to a close in spectacular style. Nice one Colin, and a well-deserved winner of this year’s Spirit of Dragstalgia award, too. With 23 runners in the class, a brand new car in the shape of Lee Taylor’s stunning The Outlaw pick-up doing checkout runs, and two entries now capable of sixes, it was going to be an epic battle. Simon Barlow was back, his sights set on 200mph in the Orange Pop Racing Fordson, and also brought his nephew Nathan Barlow over from the States to race at the event. Paul Watson was another welcome returnee with Grumpy’s Toy 2, and it was great to see Barn(Stormer) Levy over from Ireland and Phil Middleton back out (8.522/ 159), and backing up at his usual rapid rate of knots. Monster burnouts obviously work for Ben Rushforth, who ran 8.611 / 157, later upping his PB to 8.449 / 160 as well as bagging the Best Appearing Car award. We’re not about to argue with that. Paul Hensher was on a nitrous-assisted charge (8.664 / 157) into fourth place on the ladder, improving to 7.512 / 169 to move up to second spot on Saturday afternoon, with Simon Barlow in hot pursuit on 7.899 / 169. Guy ran so close to another six (7.009 / 191) in the next session while Barlow, Rushforth and Middleton all improved, along with Gary Bird, Ronnie Mercer, Martyn Payne and others. It’s incredible that a solid nine-second car can only secure up to 15th position in this class these days. Come eliminations on the Sunday, though, Millar was out with engine damage, Hensher was a no-show for similar reasons and so the top order changed once again. In the quarter finals, Guy dispensed with Middleton, Barlow took out Rushforth, Mercer showed Garry Hill his tail lights and Rob Nixon went through on a bye. A red light by Barlow in the semis left the door open for Ronnie Mercer to face Jedd Guy in the finals. It was a big ask for Mercer and he gave it his all, clocking a storming 8.702 / 149 – but it wasn’t enough, Guy’s 7.068 / 190 taking the win .

Jedd Guy

Ronnie Mercer

Simon Barlow

NOVEMBER 2022 CUSTOM CAR 49

READ THROUGH + DO ITALICS 8pp Dragstalgia.indd 49

16/09/2022 13:55

Gasser Circus Overall points leader Sean Milsom set out his stall as the man to beat from the beginning, cutting a dashing 0.008 light in round one of qualifying and running closest to his dial-in (10.121 on a 10.11) to secure the top spot on what was to become a 16-car ladder. At the bottom, 20 cars later, was Santa Pod owner Keith Bartlett, running 0.314 seconds quicker than his 10.82 dial, which gives you a good indication of how competitive this class is. It was all to play for. Nick Hewison was out with a new entry into the Circus, his tough-looking black ’48 Fordson Short Fuse in the low Ray Irish 10s from the start. Steve Matthews wasn’t holding Honky Tonkin’ back either, banging out a solid 9.737 at 135mph on a 9.71 dial in to move into the number one spot, with Billy Jones, Martyn Hallam and Lee Pike behind, in that order. Next time out, Milsom also ran down into the nines, 9.979 / 133, but broke out in the process and was deposed from the top spot when Jones ran a cracking 10.528 on a 10.52 dial in. Patrick Hobbs also made a sudden charge, up from 22 to fifth position, carding an 11.400 on an 11.37 dial. Next it was Katie Booth’s turn on top, 10.387 on a 10.38 dial, though Jason Darling received the biggest round of applause for his epic burnout (and a trophy at the end of the weekend for it, too). Simon Prest Come eliminations on the Sunday, however, it was all change. Milsom, Booth and Matthews all went out in round one, two of them as a result of seeing red. In round two, Brian Gibson did the same thing against Jones, with Irish, Simon Prest and Tom Margesson also going through to the semis. A 0.01 red light there put an end to Jones’ charge and Margesson broke out, pitting new boy Prest in The Rocket up against Gas Junkie, Ray Irish, in the final. There Irish took the win, surprisingly his first ever round Billy Jones win, 10.175 / 128 on a 10.06 dial vs 11.078 / 120 on a 10.94. And that was round four of the Gasser Circus Showdown in the bag. Oh, while we’re here. If you want to get involved in this colourful class, Lee Pike has put Honky Tonkin’ II up for sale. Just sayin’… Keith Bartlett Nick Hewitson

Sean Milson

50 CUSTOM CAR NOVEMBER 2022

READ THROUGH + DO ITALICS 8pp Dragstalgia.indd 50

16/09/2022 13:55

WORKBENCH WITH PEGBOARD

ENGINEERS HEAVY DUTY STEEL WORKBENCHES • Sturdy lower shelf • Durable powder coated finish FROM ONLY DOUBLE.00

269EXC.VAT

Shown fitted with optional 3 drawer unit ONLY £154.80 INC VAT

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INCLUDES SINGLE LOCKABLE DRAWER

Model CWB1500D CWB2001P CWB2000D

Dims. LxWxH (mm) 1500x650x985 2000x650x865 2000x650x880

exc.VAT £269.00 £299.00 £339.00

inc.VAT £322.80 £358.80 £406.80

Easy to assemble, providing valuable working space and plenty of additional storage capacity.

65SUPERSTORES NATIONWIDE

Available in Red or Galvanised Finish

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Corner units in stock

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159 DOUBLEEXC.VAT 259.00 FOOTER £191.94 inc.VAT

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HEAVY DUTY & PROFESSIONAL

CHESTS/ CABINETS

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289

32 PIECE SET HUGE CHOICE OF HAND TOOLS

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Desc. 3 Dr step up 5 Dr chest 9 Dr Chest 10 Dr Chest 5 Dr Cabinet 7 Dr Cabinet

LxWxH (mm) 667x310x249 710x315x420 661x305x418 710x315x475 758x468x815 676x461x958

exc.VAT £84.99 £144.95 £159.95 £169.00 £259.00 £289.00

NB Overall length includes handles

EXTRA LARGE EXTRA HEAVY DUTY

189 DOUBLEEXC.VAT 259.00 FOOTER £227.98 inc.VAT

inc.VAT £101.99 £FROM ONLY .99 DOUBLE 54 EXC.VAT £173.94 DOUBLE FOOTER £65.99 inc.VAT £191.94 PRO378 £202.80 £310.80 PROFESSIONAL £346.80 1/2" DRIVE

SOCKET SET

SEE WEBSITE FOR PACKAGE DEALS WITH TOOLS Model Desc. CLB600 6 Dr chest 9 Dr chest 1 CLB900 CLB200 2 Dr step up 2 CLB1007C 7 Dr cabinet

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Model 1 CBB306 2 CBB315 CBB228B CBB224C CBB231B CBB230B

LxWxH (mm) 660x305x365 660x305x475 672x310x195 676x461x955

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239

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Model Desc. LxWxH (mm) MECHANICS RANGE 6 Dr chest 600x260x340 1 CTC600C CTC900C 9 Dr chest 597x257x380 CTC500C 5 Dr cabinet 675x335x770 CTC800C 8 Dr chest/cab set 610x330x1070 7 Dr cabinet 616x330x880 2 CTC700C CTC1300C 13 Dr chest/cab 620x330x1320 PROFESSIONAL RANGE 3 CTC103 3 Dr step up chest 672x310x250 CTC109 9 Dr chest 662x305x421 5 Dr cabinet 685x465x790 4 CTC105 CTC107 7 Dr cabinet 685x465x950

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exc.VAT £129.95 £154.99 £64.99 £259.00

inc.VAT £155.94 £185.99 £77.99 £310.80

FULL EXTENSION ROLLER RUNNERS FOR SMOOTH OPENING ACTION

259

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DOUBLEEXC.VAT 259.00 FOOTER £310.80 inc.VAT

£FROM ONLY .99 DOUBLE EXC.VAT DOUBLE FOOTER £105.59 inc.VAT

Simple fast assembly in minutes RED, BLUE, GREY, SILVER & GALVANISED using only a hammer STEEL Strong Strong 12 mm 9mm fibreboard fi breboard KG KG shelves shelves

399

£ FROM ONLY .00

DOUBLEEXC.VAT EXTRA LARGE 259.00 FOOTER £478.80 inc.VAT DRAWER PULLS

Dims. LxWxH Size Desc. (mm) exc.VAT inc.VAT 36" 6 Dr Chest 910x305x47 £189.98 £227.98 36" 5 Dr Cabinet 927x416x985 £399.00 £478.80 41" 8 Dr cabinet 1126x468x1000 £549.00 £658.80 41" 14 Dr chest 1045x415x486 £359.00 £430.80 56" 9 Dr chest 1460x615x490 £589.00 £706.80 56" 13 Dr cabinet 1503x622x1011 £879.00 £1054.80

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£ DOUBLE .99

1.5M TALL

exc.VAT inc.VAT £87.99 £86.99 £139.98 £139.98 £159.98 £189.98

£105.59 £104.39 £167.98 £167.98 £191.98 £227.98

£72.99 £134.99 £239.98 £279.00

£87.59 £161.99 £287.98 £334.80

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159

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“Very sturdy. Ideal for any workshop or garage. Ample storage”

See www.machinemart.co.uk CHOICE OF 5 COLOURS

* Except on CBB231B & CBB230B

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FULL DETAILS SEE IN-STORE OR VISIT WEBSITE

GREAT LOOKING, BIG 5” INDUSTRIAL CHROME SPOKED WHEELS FOR EASY MOVEMENT*

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154 DOUBLEEXC.VAT 259.00 FOOTER £185.99 inc.VAT

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Combines premium quality with fiercely competitive pricing & super smooth ball bearing roller drawers

• Extra heavy gauge double wall steel construction

RUBBER GRIP SIDE HANDLES

DOUBLE EXC.VAT FOOTER £43.19 inc.VAT

150

350

PER SHELF

Dims exc. inc. Model WxDxH(mm) VAT VAT 150kg 800x300x1500 £35.99 £43.19 350kg 900x400x1800 £54.99 £65.99

EXTRA LONG

1700mm WORK TOP

319

.00 CWB1700P £ FROM ONLY DOUBLEEXC.VAT DOUBLE £382.80 FOOTER inc.VAT

32480

MM1 Custom Car 275x200 pg1.indd Mart_3pgs.indd 1 Custom Car_2022_11_Nov_Machine 1

05/09/2022 09:27 13:36 07/09/2022

DRILL PRESSES

TURBO AIR COMPRESSORS 8/260

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exc.VAT £119.98 £139.98 £169.98 £189.98 £249.00 £319.00

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Rotates through 360˚ Fully tested to proof load

MODEL XEV16/100 (OL)†* XEV16/150 (OL)†* XEV16/200(OL)†* XEV16/150(400V)† XE18/200 (OL)†* XE36C200† XE29/270†* XE37/270 (OL)†* SE46C270†

DISP CFM 14 14 14 14 18 30 28 36 40

MOTOR (HP) 3 3 3 3 4 7.5HP 2X3HP 2x 4 10HP

AIR RCVR 100ltr 150ltr 200ltr 150ltr 200ltr 200Ltr 270Ltr 270ltr 270Ltr

EXC.VAT INC.VAT £499.00 £598.80 £559.00 £670.80 £615.00 £738.00 £619.00 £742.80 £689.00 £826.80 £1099.00 £1318.80 £1249.00 £1498.80 £1329.00 £1594.80 £1898.00 £2277.60

AXLE STANDS Ratchet action ONLY for quick height £FROM .49 DOUBLE adjustment DOUBLE 16 EXC.VAT FOOTER inc.VAT Sold in pairs £19.79

Model CAX2TFB CAX3TPB CAX-3TBC CAX6TP CAX-6TBC CAX3TAB*

Min/Max Height exc.VAT 235-360mm £16.49 325-490mm £29.98 300-430mm £27.99 333-500mm £39.98 400-615mm £41.99 295-395mm £59.98

inc.VAT £19.79 £35.98 £33.59 £47.98 £50.39 £71.98

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ALS

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Model Disc (mm) Motor exc.VAT CAG800B 115 800W £28.99 CON1150 115 1150W £32.99 CAG2350C 230 2350W £64.99

*Aluminium Max Tons 2 3 3 6 6 3

exc. Model Capacity VAT inc.VAT £66.99 £80.39 *Folds for CES340 340kg £79.98 £95.98 storage 450kg Model Description exc.VAT inc.VAT CES450 £98.99 £118.79 560kg £36.99 £44.39 CES560 CMC36 Car creeper £129.98 £155.98 CES680F 680kg CMC45 With adjustable headrest £49.98 £59.98 £69.98 £83.98 CMC50 Car creeper & seat BATTERY CHARGERS CMC60 Car creeper reclining seat & mechanics seat £47.99 £57.59 /ENGINE STARTERS Ammeter BC210C ANGLE GRINDERS Multi-position charge regulator INC. DISC CON1150 Overload & HANDLE protection on charging FROM ONLY cycle £ DOUBLE .99

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inc.VAT £298.80 £358.80 £526.80 £658.80

DIAGNOSTICS

DOUBLE EXC.VAT FOOTER £35.98 inc.VAT

PRO EOBD FAULT CODE READER * WAS £41.99 inc.VAT Model exc.VAT inc.VAT £29.98 £35.98 EOBD Fault Code Reader Professional Engine Diagnostic & £79.98 £95.98 EOBD/OBD ll Fault Code Reader

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B = Bench mounted F = Floor standing

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115 EXC.VAT

DOUBLE £115.00 FOOTER inc.VAT

exc.VAT £115.00 £109.98 £189.00 £179.98

inc.VAT £138.00 £131.98 £226.80 £215.98

BIG

£FROM ONLY .98

inc.VAT £107.94 £107.98 £187.20 £210.00

DOUBLE 74 EXC.VAT DOUBLE FOOTER £89.99 inc.VAT

CP185

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Start Boost 180A 200A 300A 350A 400A

150MM PAD DIA.

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PLS265B

CAN DRAW OWN WATER

Model

Peak Boost 360A 400A 500A 500A 800A

exc.VAT £39.98 £54.99 £66.99 £86.99 £99.98

inc.VAT £47.98 £65.99 £80.39 £104.39 £119.98

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Model Tiger1800B Tiger2600B Tiger3000B PLS195B PLS220 PLS265B PLS360

Pressure Engine BAR/Psi HP exc.VAT inc.VAT £259.00 £310.80 110/1595 3 £339.00 £406.80 180/2610 4 200/2900 6.5 £389.00 £466.80 180/2640 5.5 £479.00 £574.80 £639.00 £766.80 230/3335 9 £719.00 £862.80 225/3263 13 £939.00 £1126.80 248/3600 13

539

£ FROM ONLY .00

DOUBLEEXC.VAT DOUBLE £646.80 FOOTER inc.VAT

HARRY 2 HOT WEIGHS ONLY WASH 27KG

INTELLIGENT BATTERY CHARGER/ MAINTAINERS FROM ONLY

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Model IBC4 IBC7 IBC15 IBC20 IBC25

2103 psi

Max. Charge 1A/4A 7A 15A 20A 25A

Volts 6/12V 12/24V 12V 12/24V 12/24V

model XR60 XR80 XR110 XR160 XR210

145 Bar

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inc.VAT £23.98 £59.98 £59.98 £71.98 £107.98

SANDBLASTERS Heavy duty steel construction sandblasters for the quick removal of surface rust, paint, dirt/grease etc. CPSB100B

Foot operated hydraulic powered Adjustable for springs up to 400mm dia. & 520mm in length Adjustable spring retainers Inc. spring retaining guard

FROM ONLY HEADER

.98 169EXC.VAT

£203.98 inc.VAT

Model

189

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10 TONNE BODY REPAIR KIT

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.98 169EXC.VAT

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FAST ACTION PUMP

CS10SBRK

Ideal for garage mechanics

320

INC 17, 19, 21, 22MM SOCKETS & CASE

SSC1000G

STRUT SPRING COMPRESSOR

INCLUDES SANDBLASTING GUN, DELIVERY HOSE, 4 CERAMIC NOZZLES AND SAFETY HOOD

18V ½" IMPACT WRENCHES

3 forward and reverse gears

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Model

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inc.VAT £101.99 £119.98 £227.98 £286.80 £357.60 £358.80 £886.80

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JSM200

180MM loop backing PAD DIA.

pad and wool polishing bonnet

exc.VAT £84.99 £99.98 £189.98 £239.00 £298.00 £299.00 £739.00

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Motor (W) Speeds 350 / 5 350 / 5 450 / 12 450 / 16 550 / 16 550 / 16 1100 / 12

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model CDP5EB CDP102B CDP152B CDP202B CDP352F CDP452B CDP502F

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MICRO

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AWD1

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CTJ1250AC

inc.VAT £107.98 £130.80 £167.94 £202.80 £191.98 £215.98 £262.80 £286.80

High quality tungsten steel Supplied in metal storage case (except 16pce)

DOUBLE EXC.VAT FOOTER £46.79 inc.VAT

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£ DOUBLE .99

Quick lift Non-marking nylon wheels Rubber contact pad - helps protect vehicle undersides

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Model BC125 BC190 BC210C BC410E WBC180 WBC240 WBC400 BC520P

Msx Amps Charge/Boost 20/120 38/180 25/200 35/400 35/180 45/240 60/350 50/510

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Model CTJ1250AC CTJ1500QL CTJ1800AB CTJ2500QLGB 32600LH

£ DOUBLE .99

BRIGHT WHITE INTERIOR

Ideal for use as a garage/ workshop Extra tough triple layer cover Heavy duty powder ZIP CLOSE DOOR coated steel tubing *NEW Ratchet tight tensioning Model size (LxWxH) exc.VAT inc.VAT CIG81212 3.6 x 3.6 x 2.5m £259.00 £310.80 £289.00 £346.80 CIG81015 4.5 x 3 x 2.4m CIG81216 4.9 x 3.7 x 2.5m £329.00 £394.80 £359.00 £430.80 CIG81020 6.1 x 3 x 2.4m CIG81220 6.1 x 3.7 x 2.5m £399.00 £478.80 CIG81224 7.3 x 3.7 x 2.5m £499.00 £598.80 CIG1432* 9.7x4.3x3.65m £1159.00 £1390.80 £3250.00 £3900.00 CIG1640* 12x4.9x4.3m

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CAR RAMPS

• Lift cars safely and quickly FROM ONLY • Tough £ DOUBLE .99 34inc.VAT EXC.VAT angled DOUBLE PER £41.99 steel PER PAIR construction Model Capacity exc.VAT inc.VAT CR2 2000kg £34.99 £41.99 CRW25 2500kg £42.99 £51.59

Peak Amps exc.VAT £89.95 900 £89.98 1100 1500 £156.00 2000 £175.00

STANDS JUMP DOUBLE 66 EXC.VAT FOOTER £80.39 inc.VAT

£ DOUBLE .99

CES680F

.00

Starting Boost 400 500 700 1000

Model 910 JS1100C STARTS VEHICLES 4000 UP TO 6L JS12/24

BEST

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Provides essential home, garage and roadside assistance Integral work light 910 includes air compressor Long life battery

FROM ONLY £ DOUBLE .95 DOUBLE EXC.VAT FOOTER £107.94 inc.VAT

Top quality belt driven air compressors for industrial & commercial users inc; garages, factories, workshops and farms. 10 bar/150psi max working pressure

FROM ONLY HEADER

.98 119EXC.VAT

FROM ONLY £ DOUBLE .99 DOUBLE EXC.VAT FOOTER £101.99 inc.VAT

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2 2AH X

Model Desc Batteries exc.VAT CCIW160 Cordless 2X 2AH £89.98 LI-ION CIR18LIC Cordless, 2X 2AH £119.00 Brushless LI-ION

ONLY HEADER

.98 219EXC.VAT

inc.VAT £107.98 £142.80

£263.98 inc.VAT

Fully tested to proof load

Folding and fixed frames available Robust, rugged construction Overload safety valve

CFC100

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Model Little Devil II Devil 700 Devil 900 Devil 1600 Devil 2100 Devil 4000

Max. Output kW 10.3 15 24.9 36.6 49.8 131

FROM ONLY

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PROPANE GAS FIRED

DOUBLE EXC.VAT FOOTER £107.98 inc.VAT

IN STOCK FROM £214.80

exc.VAT £89.98 £109.98 £149.98 £179.98 £259.00 £449.00

inc.VAT £107.98 £131.98 £179.98 £215.98 £310.80 £538.80

DIESEL/PARAFFIN HEATERS

DOUBLE £239.70 FOOTER inc.VAT

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NORWICH 282a Heigham St. NR2 4LZ 01603 766402 NORTHAMPTON Beckett Retail Park, St James’ Mill Rd 01604 267840 NOTTINGHAM 211 Lower Parliament St. 0115 956 1811 PETERBOROUGH 417 Lincoln Rd. Millfield 01733 311770 PLYMOUTH 58-64 Embankment Rd. PL4 9HY 01752 254050 POOLE 137-139 Bournemouth Rd. Parkstone 01202 717913 PORTSMOUTH 277-283 Copnor Rd. Copnor 023 9265 4777 PRESTON 53 Blackpool Rd. PR2 6BU 01772 703263 SHEFFIELD 453 London Rd. Heeley. S2 4HJ 0114 258 0831 SIDCUP 13 Blackfen Parade, Blackfen Rd 0208 3042069 SOUTHAMPTON 516-518 Portswood Rd. 023 8055 7788 SOUTHEND 1139-1141 London Rd. Leigh on Sea 01702 483 742 STOKE-ON-TRENT 382-396 Waterloo Rd. Hanley 01782 287321 SUNDERLAND 13-15 Ryhope Rd. Grangetown 0191 510 8773 SWANSEA 7 Samlet Rd. Llansamlet. SA7 9AG 01792 792969 SWINDON 21 Victoria Rd. SN1 3AW 01793 491717 TWICKENHAM 83-85 Heath Rd.TW1 4AW 020 8892 9117 WARRINGTON Unit 3, Hawley’s Trade Pk. 01925 630 937 WIGAN 2 Harrison Street, WN5 9AU 01942 323 785 WOLVERHAMPTON Parkfield Rd. Bilston 01902 494186 WORCESTER 48a Upper Tything. WR1 1JZ 01905 723451

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MM1 Custom Car 275x200 pg1.indd Mart_3pgs.indd 1 Custom Car_2022_11_Nov_Machine 3

05/09/2022 09:28 13:40 07/09/2022

The Imperfect Storm

SoCal Diaries T

Former Custom Car editor Tony Thacker lives in California these days, and this month he’s been enjoying the weather out there…

he concept of lakes racing is not supposed to be taken literally. It’s supposed to be fast and fun, if a little dusty or salty depending on the venue. This year, however, despite global warming, nature put the kybosh on Bonneville Speed Week with a flood of biblical proportions. I woke up to the sound of rain, rain in my room as water poured out of the light fittings. Brit Geoff Stilwell’s record-holding 7707 team gathered in the hotel lobby only to be told nobody on the lake today – it’s a lake. And it was. When we finally drove out, it was axle deep for a couple miles and the pits were ankle deep despite being on higher ground. All we could do, along with ex-CC editor Kev Elliott, who was there with his roadster pickup now owned by Bruce Wanta, was clear up the salty mess and beat a retreat. More than 350 teams from all over the world were left kicking their heels by the unexpected but not unprecedented storm. The not-for-profit Southern California Timing Association, which organises Speed Week, was equally devastated by the conditions that they were tasked with cleaning up. It was a mess but, as Geoff Stilwell said, ‘I’ll be back.’

I’m not sure I’d be taking my bare metal Deuce Roadster to the salt but hey, hot rods are for driving, right? Note the laid back Stanley Wanlass windshield and the exhaust exiting through the side rail

There was a time when the US was littered with beaten up farm trucks but today the pickin’s are slim. Nevertheless, this pair of slammed Chebbys, a ’59 small window and a ’53-55 3100 from LTS Customs, Carbondale, Colorado had the look This shot taken on the flooded lake bed gives a whole new meaning to the words belly tank and lakes racing. Sadly, this is about as far as anybody got

Shades of days gone by and a flashback to the Pete Chapouris’ SO-CAL inspired ‘New Traditional’ look complete with laid back Stanley Wanlass windshield, ET mags and black n’ flame paint ‘UnLucky’ Burton has been dragging this beautiful Stromberg-sponsored coupe to Bonneville since 2019 but because of the weather and Covid has yet to make a decent pass despite tons of exposure on YouTube

Chris Garcia of Los Angeles’s Bedlam car club drove the 700 miles from LA in his banger-powered ’31 coupe. That’s a long way on four cylinders

Oilers car club member Jeremy Baye drives and races this radical back-motored, flat-powered ‘con-T-raption.’ Check out the driving position jammed up against the cowl. Al Clarke of Go Devil Garage built the engine

There’s no real disrespect in trailering a car to Bonneville as it is in the back of beyond, and who could diss this impressive rig comprising a ’50 Chevy pickup towing a flathead-powered, A-framed, deuce-grilled, ’23 T turtle deck?

It was rough alright but this heavily hammered and nosed ’33 is a survivor as it raced on the salt back in the fifties as the South Omaha Coupe. Discovered and resurrected by Tom Secora who searched for the car for 30 years

54 CUSTOM CAR NOVEMBER 2022

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16/09/2022 14:03

Left: By far the wildest car on the street was Cedric Meek’s Wayne-equipped, straight-six GMC-powered ’34 5-window with louvered lid, red plexiglass hood, 12-spokes and no front brakes – bless him Below: How can you not like a bullet-nosed Studebaker even when it has a high-heeled, fishnet-clad leg waving at you? 1950-51s were never as popular as the Lowey-designed ’53-55, but this one hacked into a convertible had some kerb appeal

It has a ’28-29 Model A grille and cowl but back of that I’m not sure what it is – maybe homemade? Either way, the small-block Chevy-powered ‘White Lightning’ roadster was kinda cute

If one Hemi is good, two must be better, and if two B&M blowers is good then four must be better still. Not my cuppa but you have to admire the builder’s ingenuity – and he drove it all over town

Brit Jonathan Suckling is in partnership with Ken Schmidt of Rolling Bones on this radically hammered, Hemi-powered ’34 coupe, but they didn’t even get on the salt this year and spent the weekend parked up at the Nugget

Most people recognise the name Bill Niekamp from his 1950 America’s Most Beautiful Roadster, but this was Bill’s ’27 T-based lakes modified – the first modified to break the 200mph barrier in 1955, with George Bentley driving

I don’t want to own it but I love looking at weird and wonderful American commercial vehicles such as this Spongebob-styled 1952 Fageol Super Freighter moving van that makes a perfect race car hauler

Typical of the current trend, this ‘bitsa’ Model A appears to be assembled out of bits of this and bits of that. It’s powered by an 8BA flathead fitted with a vintage 2x2 Navarro and a couple of Strombergs

Above: Americans are very patriotic and there’s nothing wrong with that, in fact it’s quite endearing. So it’s impossible to fault this flamed and flag’d ’57 two-door hardtop from the Old Farts Racing Team out of southern California Right: Transplanted Scot Shug Hanchard has been lakes racing 30 years and this was to be his last lap. Unfortunately, mother nature had different plans for Shug and wife Irene seen here exiting Lake Bonneville

NOVEMBER 2022 CUSTOM CAR 55

2pp SoCal Diaries.indd 55

16/09/2022 14:03

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56 CUSTOM CAR OCTOBER 2022

Classified.indd 56

16/09/2022 16:58

HILL SHIPPING ARE RAYS CLASSICS UK AGENT FOR OUR U.S. & AUS IMPORTS

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1949 CHEVY 3100 PANEL VAN, 6CYL/3SPD BONE STOCK AND ONE CALIFORNIA FAMILY OWNED SINCE 1949, DOCUMENTATION INCLUDING ORIGINAL 1949 CALIFORNIA REGISTRATION PAPERS, EXCELLENT CONDITION, RUNS AND DRIVES AS NICE AS YOU WILL FIND FOR A STOCKER

1953 CHEVY 3100 STEPSIDE, VERY SOLID SHEETMETAL, LATER OPEN DRIVELINE REAR END, NO ENGINE/TRANS, A BLANK CANVAS TO BUILD HOWEVER YOU CHOOSE $8,750

1951 AUSTIN A40 DEVON LHD CALIFORNIA CAR, RUSTFREE EXCELLENT PAINT, COMPLETE RESTORED LEATHER INTERIOR, ALL NEW WINDOW/DOOR RUMMER, RECHROMED BUMPERS REBUILT ORIGINAL ENGINE $10,250

1965 THAMES 400E LHD CALIFORNIA VAN, ROCK SOLID BODY, NO ENGINE TRANS $5,850

1980 DODGE SHORTY VAN V6/5SPD, CODDINGTON WHEELS, KEEP ON TRUCKING $9,450

1953 STUDEBAKER COMMANDER 2 DR HARDTOP V8/AUTO, STRATS AND RUNS, NEEDS RESTORATION $6,850

1964 1/2 MUSTANG F CODE COUPE, 260CI V8/AUTO P/S, ORIGINAL CALIFORNIA BLACK PLATE CAR, FACTORY BLACK STRIPPED TO BARE METAL, RUST-FREE, NEEDS RESTORATION $9,850

1960 DODGE PHOENIX, V8/3SPD O/D GOOD SOLID BODY , STARTS &RUNS GOOD ,COMPLETE NEW BRAKING SYSTEM DUAL FLOWMASTER EXHAUST , NEEDS CLUTCH LINKAGE TO BE A DRIVER $9450

1963 MECURY COMET 2DOOR HARDTOP, 6 CYLINDER/AUTO, NEW GAS TANK AND SENDER, NEW FUEL PUMP, REBUILT CARB, ON THE BUTTON DRIVER $7,540

1978 FORD RANCHERO GT 251CI/AUTO, P/S,PB,P/W, A/C, ON THE BUTTON , ROUGH RUSTFREE RESTORATION PROJECT OR PARTS CAR $4,250

1949 CHEVY FLEETNIE 2DR FASTBACK , 235CI6CYL/3SPD MANUAL, SAME FAMILY OWNED SINCE NEW , LOTS OF SERVICE HISTORY , COMPLETE NEW BRAKING SYSTEM , NEW FUEL TANK AND SENDER, REBUILT CARB , APPROX 23,000 MILES ON REBUILT ENGINE ROCK SOLID CAR $12,750

1955 PLYMOUTH BELVEDERE 2DR HARDTOP, V8/AUTO GOOD SOLID BODY , ALL NEW BRAKING SYSTEM, RECENT NEW DUAL EXHAUST, STARTS AND RUNS GREAT WILL BE A DRIVER VERY SOON $12,750

1959 OPEL OLYMPIA 2 DOOR STATION WAGON 4CYL/3SPD, LHD US SPEC RUSTFREE CAR, TWO OWNERS FROM NEW, VERY GOOD CONDITION INSIDE AND OUT, SOME EXTRA PARTS, RARE CAR ON BOTH SIDES OF THE POND $16,250

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www.customcarmag.co.uk 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

OCTOBER 1 RWYB. Santa Pod Raceway. www.rwyb.com 1 Drag & Drift. Dakota Raceway, Smeatharpe, Devon. www.straightliners.events Helen 07921 712266 2 Victory Wheelers Hayling Sunset. Funland Amusement Park, Hayling Island PO11 0AG. www.victorywheelers.co.uk 8 RWYB. Santa Pod Raceway. www.rwyb.com

22-23 RWYB. Santa Pod Raceway. www.rwyb.com 23 ‘Normous Newark Autojumble. Newark Showground NG24 2NY. www.newarkautojumble.co.uk 29 Flame & Thunder. Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 29 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 30 RWYB. Santa Pod Raceway. www.rwyb.com

NOVEMBER

8-9 Duck-All Prep. Melbourne Raceway, York. www.straightliners. events Helen 07921 712266

11-13 Classic Motor Show. NEC, Birmingham. www.necclassicmotorshow.com

15 RWYB. Santa Pod Raceway. www.rwyb.com

19 Mustang O.C. Meet. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

20 ‘Normous Newark Autojumble. Newark Showground NG24 2NY. www.newarkautojumble.co.uk 26 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

DECEMBER 11 ‘Normous Newark Autojumble. Newark Showground NG24 2NY. www.newarkautojumble.co.uk 18 Christmas Toy Run. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 26 Cold Turkey Meet. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 31 All American Cruise In / Frozen Fins. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

58 CUSTOM CAR NOVEMBER 2022

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16/09/2022 15:38

Custom Car_2022_11_Nov_Wildest Cats Xmas Party_FP.indd 1

15/09/2022 11:57

From the archive

The late LJK Setright was famous for his dress sense, his engineering prowess and his immaculate use of English. And, in particular, for his opinions. Half a century ago, Custom Car’s editorial team didn’t think he would care for drag racing at all. So they sent him to Santa Pod to ﬁnd out…

LJK AT THE DRAGS

50 years ago: Custom Car, November 1972

What I used to think of quarter-mile sprints has fortunately not been recorded, not because my thoughts were unprintable but because I have recently had cause to change my mind somewhat. I used to think that emphasis on acceleration from standstill over such short distances as a quarter mile was likely to have a bad influence on the design of cars and motorcycles, because of the importance of initial acceleration in achieving good results. Of course the standing quarter is not nearly as bad as the vulgarities of 0-50 or 0-60mph times; but so long as we are talking about ordinary cars such as might only reach 80 or so by the end of the 440 yards’ sprint, the urgency of good initial step-off must militate against good practical fast-driving capability. What really matters for fast road work is the acceleration beyond 80mph. Have I changed my mind about this ? Not really. I still maintain that it is acceleration from high speeds to higher ones that really counts on the road. What my eye-opening visit to Santa Pod taught me was that my old objections were irrelevant. Sprinting, I now see, has absolutely nothing to do with road driving. It is a science, and it is a sport. That is all it should be; better still, it is very nearly unspoilt by commerce (presumably things are different in the USA, where the sophistries of the professionals have a way of degrading an activity in proportion to the splendour of its

organisation and presentation), and the spirit evident among competitors and spectators was a refreshing one. Best of all, it is not yet a too popular sport: crowding and friendliness do not go together. There are one or two things about drag racing and rod-heating that I dislike; but this is no more than the old crusty Setright showing through the new open-minded postPod Setright. The Funny Cars and Altereds for instance, and all the inept applications of production bodies (anything from Ford Model T to GM Camaro, including Fiat 500 Topolino) to chassis that are entirely irrelevant and unrelated, strikes me as not only tasteless but also pointless. I can see a lot of merit in decorating a T body with finely finished paint and calligraphic handlining; and I can likewise see the beauty of a well engineered sprint chassis. What I cannot see at all is the point of putting the one upon the other. It is a monstrous denial of aesthetics and of ethos, an inharmonious affront to logic, a shock to that system which is better called reasonable than conventional. The administration of a shock to the convention-bound, so that they might become aware of alternative possibilities, is a popular kind of therapy and one of great antiquity (try the Book of Job, for instance); but unless there be some virtue awaiting admittance to the consideration of the recipient, the shock were better not delivered.

60 CUSTOM CAR NOVEMBER 2022

4pp Archive Nov.indd 60

16/09/2022 14:48

People say that these follies are art forms, not to be judged by the tenets of an engineering school. Of course they have a right to be called art forms; but there is a difference between good art and bad art. A dragster is a work of art, but the driving of it is a necessary part of the art form: for only when it is in motion does the gormless-looking contraption become the coherent expression of purpose. It is not merely an objet d’art, a piece of art; it is a work of art – and by definition work demands force and movement. When a dragster is exerting all its force, and moving with all its ability, it is fulfilling itself, justifying itself, coming to life as a kinetic sculpture. When it is static, it is merely an assembly of raw materials required for the artistic creation that follows the green light. The pure dragster that leaps away from the lights is a satisfying thing to see. The pure dragster surmounted by a Tin Lizzie or a Ford Popular body is no less admirable from the ground to the girdle; but from the waist up it is something else, something inconsistent with the objects of the exercise, something that is wholly at odds with the kinetic existence of the vehicle. The funny body is a static thing, for there is about it nothing to suggest dynamism. In terms of art, it is as ludicrous as a silk topper on Michelangelo’s David. Doubtless there will be those who disagree with me. Them I bid consider how the cult of the funny cars started. It had little to do with engineering, or art, or sport; it was a strictly commercial venture, a means to a strictly commercial end. Of course its protagonists spread a compelling new gospel to make it appear attractive; and of course, since those proponents were professionally glib people, their audience accepted the gospel with characteristically thoughtless gratitude. As Samuel Butler the Latter observed: ‘The public buys its opinions as it buys its meat, or takes in its milk, on the principle that it is cheaper to do this than to keep a cow. So it is, but the milk is more likely to be watered.’ My own unpopular opinions are strictly home produce. They are not watered; on the contrary, they are pretty thick – and I must face the possibility that they have turned sour. Am I too strict in my strictures? Could it perhaps be that these follies are innocent and harmless? Admittedly they have no bearing, harmful or otherwise, on the sport of drag racing; blatantly, they have nothing to do with its science. If one accepts the theory of a kinetic art form, they are as a cocktail that blurs the

palate, unaesthetic and unethical, antipoetry in motion. That does not sound harmless; that sounds like a waste of money and effort. Mark you, some of the purer forms of kinetic sculpture displayed motions that were superfluous. The spurious quiverings of a long, slender, unsupported steering drag link or suspension radius rod are as desperate a detraction from the beauty of the event as from the functionalism. Event? I use the word because that is what a dragster is: being meaningful only when making its run, it is (like oversteer or understeer, though that is a digression) not a state of affairs but an event, something transient. That is why the beauty of a good run is something special in art, something ephemeral that can never quite be repeated. It has the evanescent quality of music – especially improvised music. Looking at some of the steering gear and suspension linkages of the cars at the Pod, it was easy to see why there was so much flutter. The variations in castor angle that must occur with a suspension deflection on some of the dragsters must be highly prejudicial to good order and navigational discipline. Add a bit of camber (positive or negative) and a measure of king-pin inclination, as they all do, and you have a frontal geometry that does the most untoward things when the steering is turned. It is a good thing that steering deflections seldom exceed a couple of degrees during a run: if a car were thrown a bit sideways by bumps or asymmetric traction, correction could be fraught with all sorts of hazards. Consider for example what would happen if the steering were turned hard left. The two

front wheels would be steeply cambered so that the tops of both wheels would be tilted over to the left. You can see this quite clearly when a dragster is turned round from the paddock lane into the starting boxes at Santa Pod. The castor angle alone is sufficient to produce this effect, but the kingpin inclination in the transverse plane adds further peculiarities in reducing the amount of steering trail of one front tyre while increasing it for the other. The overall effect could be quite alarming at the precise time the driver needs most reassurance: should it be necessary to supply a fairly full measure of steering lock in order to correct a rear wheel skid, then the adverse camber and erratic trail will produce most alarming variations in cornering force and self-aligning torque. So long as the rear wheels continue to slide, the action of the front wheels may be sufficient to check them; but once those at the rear have recovered their bite, the anomalous situation at the front of the car may initiate further upsets. This is surely one of the principle reasons for the vicious counter-skid that sometimes follows over-correction of an initial rearwheel skid. The only saving grace in dragster operation is that the front tyres have so little capacity for generating cornering force or self-aligning torque or anything else. Once the device has gone out of line they can probably be ignored. Nevertheless the regulations insist on a measure of positive castor in the steering, sufficient to ensure adequate directional stability. It is one way of doing it, but not the most attractive. Stability can be assured by other means, including aerodynamic aids. The wings seen on one or two dragsters are not the sort of aids I have in mind. They probably help to keep the wheels on the ground and to maintain steerability and amplify traction at the finishing end, at some cost in drag; but they do nothing to assist traction or to prevent wheelies at the start. Where ultra-long wheelbases cannot be used, initial traction is evidently sought by location of the engine and driver high enough for weight transfer to increase the loading of the rear tyres at getaway. The theory of this is unimpeachable, and some of the bigger bangers thus built certainly moved away from standstill very smartly indeed. Thereafter, things are not so good: the drag, inseparable from large frontal area, grows as the square of the speed – and once the finishing line is passed and braking begins, weight transfer changes direction

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and loads the front tyres, despite which it remains the rears that have the brakes! Of the two, it is the drag that worries me more; retardation from high speeds can be done aerodynamically (as it is by parachutes), or for that matter by retro-rocket. But the sublime lack of concern for aerodynamic drag in sprinting surprises me. Maybe that is why it is called drag racing… But designers really ought to bear in mind that acceleration is not a function of the ratio of power to weight, but of surplus power to mass. Let us postulate two cars of equal mass, say 500kg, and equal power — say 200kW. Both are geared in the same way, but one has a skimpy body presenting a frontal area of only 0.93m2, and a drag coefficient of 0.6, while the other is nicely streamlined to bring the drag coefficient down to 0.2 at a cost of increasing the frontal area to 1.4m2. At the start there will be nothing to choose between them; but by the time they are halfway up the course and doing perhaps 160km/h they will be faring very differently. The high-drag job will by then encounter a resistance to motion of about 127kgf (or 1245 Newtons, if you want to be one of these comme-Sl moderns) while the slippery one suffers just about half as much opposition. This means that the high-drag car needs 55kW at that speed, the low-drag car only 27.5. Even if they had ideal transmissions giving constant-power characteristics over the whole effective range (an ideal that the DAF Variomatic transmission closely approaches), which would minimise the difference between them, the high-drag car would have 172.5kW to spare and would therefore acceleration, but the low drag car would have 172kW to spare and would therefore be accelerating 19 per cent faster. By the time they were at the finish, the discrepancies would be greater: the streamliner would arrive sooner, with a higher terminal velocity and still accelerating faster than its rival. And do not fob me off with that old rot about streamliners being necessarily heavier, for it simply is not true. Perhaps our current drag racers do not really care. From the look of their machines, and the performance of the drivers, I gathered the impression that the men who build cars for the drags are concerned entirely with the mechanical and styling aspects of the vehicle. Those who explore the chemical benefits of oxygen-rich fuels (such as nitro) go a bit further, but not much. Structurally, most of the cars and motorcycles were pretty

palaeological—and, to go from the whole to the part for illustration, I did not fancy a steering arm composed of one slender bar bent in two planes, chromium-plated to put the surface under stress, and banded with all the colours of the heat-treatment spectrum. I wonder, how quickly was it cooled after its frolic with a ﬂame-gun ? Was it annealed, hardened, tempered or embrittled ? In fact, it is probably too early for the chaps to set about exploiting the possibilities of better shapes, structures, transmissions and suspensions. Before they spend time and money on these, they could improve their results a lot by attending to themselves. Time after time I saw precious ages being squandered on the starting line, as the message of the green light sank slowly,

like some elemental particle declining in its Brownian motion through Silurian ooze, into the goggled and helmeted consciousness sitting there at the wrong end of the clutch mechanism. A delay of 0.8 second was not at all unusual – and if some vehicle capable of running a 9.08 seconds quarter, which is equivalent to 1g acceleration all the way, were to suffer such a delay, it would be equivalent to 98 metres lost at the other end of the course. After spending pounds and pounds on tyres and nitro and engine rebuilds, and after planning to squander it deliciously at the rate of more than £1 per second (which is what high-class drag-racing must cost, with the big rails running probably five times dearer, or even ten), why reduce the whole affair to bathos by fluffing the start? Attention to technique at the lights is probably the most pressing technical requirement for most competitors. But my goodness, when they are good they are very good indeed! To see the fuss-free competence with which Mr Warne defied his personal power-to-weight ratio and shot off on his 650 Triumph, or the lightning reactions of Mrs Cheesman in her Escort GT estate, or the beautifully polished performances of the various GM cars in the street class, was to see as nice a combination of art and science and, perhaps above all, sheer good-natured sport as can be seen in any kind of motoring competition today. Adding to the pleasure is the variety of machinery – in contrast to the stereotyped designs filling the programmes of any other kind of events, from hill-climbs to Grand Prix. It is as much because of their elementary approach to problems, as because of their refreshing and progress-promoting freedom from unnecessary and stultifying regulations, that there is so little unanimity among sprinters. Some go for power, some for lightness, some for single-gear trans-missions, some for multiples; some move off the line with the consumptive smooth-ness of a converter coupling to aid them, others affect the sort of sudden-death clutch that will give you either a record for the long jump or a broken neck. Some of the tyres used have low-resilience tread polymers as tacky as treacle, others are un-expectedly hard. I like to see this sort of exploratory approach, encouraged by regulations open enough to admit the passage of a carriage and four. It is this deliberate anything-goes policy that fosters new discoveries and makes motor sport a fertile pleasure-ground rather than a febrile scratching for loopholes.

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Another thing that makes it pleasant is the blessedly low danger factor. Drag racing is not without its hazards, but they are nothing compared with what road-racing or rallying can muster in the way of threats to personal welfare. It is not without its hazards to the spectator, too: there is always the risk that rain may enforce cancellation of the meeting. Even here we may see the workings of an egalitarian principle, for Podington is sufficiently near the centre of England for nobody to suffer a much longer wasted journey than anybody else. I must go again. Part 2: Notes on some of the cars Revolution 3 arrived at the start with so many forward-and-back shuffles, such a lot of frenzy from the public address (which had clearly been in desperate need of something to get frenzied about), so many hangers-on, pushers, observers, ministers and support vehicle crews, as to create an extraordinary air of excitement. This, I thought, must be the prelude to that under-7 seconds run that has been confidently forecast. This, I hoped, would be a noise really worth hearing. Then the monstrous thing puttered away up the road from a rolling start, just running in and checking out for the morrow. So I feel it has cheated me—but even before, when I looked at it in the paddock, I could not see what all the fuss was about. It has the usual hilarious front suspension and steering, and a couple of little airfoils that would look lost on a Formula 2 car of a quarter the power, a tenth of the size, and a couple of dozen times as much grip. The 6.4 litre engine looked thoroughly well prepared, though, and earned my full approval: Chrysler V8s must be good, otherwise Bristol would not use them. The same approbation goes to the Chrysler engine of Revolution’s rival, Mister Six. The essential difference between these two cars is that the former carries its driver before the engine, the latter places him behind. We have grown accustomed to the idea of the engine being behind the pilot of a high-performance car in order to aid traction by superior weight distribution; but whereas the driver of Rev 3 sits well ahead of the rear wheels, he of Mr Six sits behind them. The distance from engine to axle is much the same in each case, so if all other things are equal (which may not be the case) Mr Six should be the better of the two. On the other hand the driver of Revolution 3 can see where he is going, can breathe and is probably in a healthier location should some

incendiary mishap occur. The thought occurs to me that, since a V8 is so short, sooner or later somebody may put one behind the ﬁnal drive to create a king-size VW – a Kaiser-wagen, perhaps? The rails that I liked among the dragsters were the little ones, notably those with weeny BMC engines. Looking as if it were faintly related, but called Competition Altered because of its idiosyncratic accoutrements, was a device powered by an equally weeny Ford engine called Pony Express. I wonder how much diﬀerence the full enclosure of the rear wheels makes to the speed and traction of this car at the fast end of the strip? The big rear tyres of a sprinter must be the major sources of drag, their rotation making matters far worse than the frontal area of the tyres (itself considerable) might suggest. When the car is travelling at 120mph, the top of the tyre is doing 240 in the same direction – and the boundary layer of air is being jetted forwards at that velocity, against the resistance of the ambient air. So a naked rotating tyre is bigger and faster and more drag-worthy than it looks. Hide it inside a body and you eliminate the bound-

ary-layer complications in terms not only of drag but also of lift, which can be considerable at high speeds and can impair stability as well as traction. Apart from which Pony Express is pretty, anyway. Another Competition Altered of some noteworthiness was a hulking great brute of a thing called Slo-Mo-Shun. Some of the vehicles’ names are wonderfully evocative and poetic: Shadowfax, Penetration, Odin, Medusa… even Sibernought, though I suspect it of trickery. But some others are quite excruciating bits of word-mangling, and this is one of them. As for iron-mangling, it was on an altogether higher plane, subject to what I have already said about high-placed engines and their effect on load transfer at each end of the strip. Anyway, with the big V8, which I believe was a lot bigger even than the 6-litres stated in the programme, it went off the line very well. Of all the Comp Alts, Stripteaser was the most intriguing. One does not expect to see a Mini in such company; and when it squats on huge rear tyres, makes the nicest noise of the day and goes like stink, there is clearly some justification for thinking it peculiar. But how neat, how reasonable, how antilogically obvious to put a Jaguar engine inside! And how well it went, seemingly one of the very fastest four-wheelers because at any given speed it would cover its own length in less time than any of the longer cars. It was nice to see the Jaguar ohc six (which powered six dragsters and comp-alts) so popular, and interesting to see how small it looked – especially from the front – when shorn of all its ancillaries and accoutrements as used in production cars. Presumably these burdens remained in their customary festoons around the engine of Red-E, for this was a Street-class E-type Jaguar that looked and sounded just like the E-type that I always wanted – a really crisply tuned 3.8 in a car that has been tweaked and tautened and tyred for hard driving. The programme said it was 3.9 litres, and I hope the difference was worth the effort. But the 3.8 was always a lovely engine, safe and smooth up to 6000 rev/min, whereas the later 4.2 litre Jaguar was lumpy and rough at 4500 and definitely unsafe at any sustained rate above 5. This never stopped Jaguar claiming (which was true, as far as it went) that the 4.2 gave as much power at 5400 as the 3.8 gave at 5500. How long before we see the V12 on the strips?

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          

 Front wings 64-68 ......... fr£170.78 Bolt & clip kit, top ............ £18.90 Splash shields 64-68 ........ fr£23.15 Rad panel 64-68 ............ fr£177.79 Front valance 64-68 ....... fr£61.70 Fr frame rails65-70 ......... fr249.67 Rr fraim rail 65-68 ....... fr£292.78                                                                                 

                       

          

                 

                

                

 HD 3cor US rad64-6 ........ £450.30 Rad hose kits 64-8 ............. £30.88 Heater seals 64-66 ............. £17.63 Htr plenum 64-68 .............. £25.58 Heater cable set 64-6 ......... £20.06 Heater rads 64-73 ........... fr£45.18 Htr core end caps 65-8 ...... £11.09 Therm housin 64-73 ...... fr£19.01 Shroud-fan-steel 64-6 ........ £30.59

             

                                                       

        

            

              

        

                                        Rack & pinion kit, manual, 65-66 ......................................... *£981.00 Power rack&pinion conv kit, 6570 inc pump .............. *fr£1423.42

 V/reg inst panl 64-8 ........ fr£38.95 Park light kt 64-66pr ........ £76.90 Reverse lt kit 64-6 ............. £72.32 Numb plat lit 64-70 ........... £33.71 Indicator switch 65-6 ........ £31.30 Dipswitch 64-73 .................... £7.74                                                           

                                                                

                                                              

                        Latch or lock 65-68 ....... fr£59.23 Door lk knob 64-7pr ......... fr£5.48 Chrm gromet 65-68 .......... pr£4.42 Door card clips 30 ........... fr£14.84       



    

                                                                                     

KEY: An asterisk [*] indicates the Gold Card club price is being quoted.

  

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03/05/2022 15:59

Custom Car - November 2022

Articles inside

SoCal Diaries

Best-of-everything ’37

Seconds from the supernats

Unibody shop truck

Drive Newquay

32nd Street

It’s your Custom Car

News & reviews

Fender amender