News & reviews

Pat Ganahl

AS WE WERE GOING TO PRESS ON THIS

ISSUE OF CUSTOM CAR, news broke that Pat Ganahl had died at the age of 75 while racing his instantly recognisable Ike Iacono dragster at Riverdale Raceway in Washington.

A legend among hot rodders, Pat was known throughout the community as a journalist and historian whose wisdom and knowledge was without equal. More than that, though, he was famed for his warmth, humour and sincerity… not to mention his tremendous height.

We mention this because one of the many, many tributes made as the American rodding community was coming to terms with the news stood out for its pithy charm: ‘Though he was eight feet tall, he never talked down to you.’

More than just a writer, Pat was part of the scene. While he did race, and the dragster he restored was synonymous with him, his principal focus was on hot rods rather than competition cars – however throughout both worlds he was held in the highest regard. In the hours after news broke of his passing, US forums were awash with stories told by those whose lives he had touched; whether by taking the time to speak to them at shows, replying unexpectedly to fan mail or helping them in whatever way he could. He was a teacher but also an ally, often using his infl uence to rally support for those who needed it.

It would be easy to assume that for someone so devoted to hot rodding, cars would be Pat’s sole focus. But no scene would be anything without its people, and he never lost sight of this. ‘If you think cars are the most important thing in life,’ he once said, ‘think again.’

In this modern, online world of selfproclaimed experts, humility is the mark of someone truly worth listening to. So too is the willingness, all too rare, to yield the fl oor and listen, which is what Pat would do when the conversation became technical.

And that was Pat Ganahl: humble, human, and a man whose passing robs the hot rod community of perhaps the most knowledgeable mind it has ever had. Our sympathy goes to his family and friends, and to all the very many people whose lives he enriched.

Pat Ganahl, 2 June 1947 – 19 August 2022. Rest in Peace

FANCY A POP WITH A DIFFERENCE? This one has been in the same hands since 1988 and is now for sale ‘to someone who will take care of it and make it their next project.’

Its owner, Mike Leake, says it’s the only Pop-based limousine in existence that he knows of. Its chassis was made by Westbourne Fender Works in Hampshire and it runs Jaguar front and rear suspension – as well as a Jag V12 engine.

A lot of work to be done but you could make something truly unique out of this. Mike’s looking for £5000; give him a bell on 07771 686039.

Unifi ed 50

Webcon has developed a new 50 DCO/SP carburettor that features throttle shafts at both ends, allowing fi tment of a Webcon DCO/SP throttle position sensor. This new unifi ed carb is more suited to installations using mapped ignition systems. £787.19. www.webcon.co.uk

www.customcarmag.co.uk

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EDITORIAL

Group Editor: Alan Kidd alan.kidd@assignment-media.co.uk Art Editor: Sam D’Souza

Contributors

Dave Biggadyke, Mike Pye, Lesley Brown, Alice Fairhead, James Webber, Olly Sack, Keith Lee, Tim Ball

Photographers

Julian Hunt, Matt Richardson, Steve Sharp, Steve Baines, Scott Halliwell, Chris Smith, Laura Ayres, Andy Willsheer

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Every e ort is made to ensure the contents of Custom Car are accurate, but Assignment Media accepts no responsibility for errors or omissions nor the consequences of actions made as a result of these. When responding to any advert in Custom Car, you should make appropriate enquiries before sending money or entering into a contract. The publishers take reasonable care to ensure advertisers’ probity, but will not be liable for loss or damage incurred from responding to adverts Where a photo credit includes the note ‘CC BY 2.0’ or similar, the image is made available under that Creative Commons licence: details at www.creativecommons.org

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Hands-on: hands-o

FOR MORE THAN HALF A CENTURY,

this has been one of the most hallowed editors’ chairs in existence. It has been home to a list of equally hallowed names – names like Tony Thacker, Keith Seume, Tim Baggaley and Kev Elliott. And most recently, of course, Dave Biggadyke.

But not me. I’m not the new editor of Custom Car. I’m not worthy of that.

As most of you know, CC has just changed hands. You know this because last month, its previous editorial team said their farewells in this very column.

I’m well aware that this is an extremely tight-knit community. The guys at the top until shortly before Custom Car changed hands are very much part of it, and I know that an awful lot of you are suspicious about its new owners’ motives – not least because for many of you, those guys are personal friends.

I know some bitterness exists towards the magazine’s new owners, too. I wish I could talk openly about this, but out of privacy and respect I will ask you only to steer clear of jumping to conclusions.

What I can tell you is that we’re not here to plunder Custom Car. We’re here to ensure it has a future.

So, to answer a question many of you have been asking, who are the new team?

Let me name some names. You’ll see in this issue that Dave and his right-hand man Mike Pye are still right on the scene. There’s been a civil, honest dialogue between us from the outset (I know Mike of old, as it happens) and that’s still ongoing, but I hold these guys in the highest regard and my number one priority is for you to still be reading their features month after month.

Other members of the new team? Alice Fairhead, Tony Thacker, Keith Lee, Julian Hunt, James Webber, Keith Harman… so, not new at all. I’ve been in touch with all of them and more to reassure them that it’s business as usual.

As for me, I’ve been doing Land Rovers for most of my career. So, writing about people with a passion for modifying old cars, then… sounds familiar? It’s a scene involving a lot of vehicles whose paint was applied with a roller, though personally I’ve always loved cars as art. I’m not averse to V8 engines, either. I’m absolutely not going to pretend that I’m part of the hot rod scene, but I want you to know that I do, absolutely, get it.

The vehicles, the history, the shows, the people… you don’t need to be a rodder to see how cool it all is. You don’t even need to be into cars (though I am) to catch the vibe.

So, to answer your other big question, Custom Car is going to remain just as you know it. I’m always open to suggestions and, if there are things you’d like to see that aren’t currently in it (or vice versa), please do tell me. Your voice matters. But the message when we announced the change of ownership was loud and clear – you want it to stay exactly as it is.

As I said, I don’t want to be seen as the editor, at least not in the traditional sense. I’ll be doing some of the things editors do, of course (I’ve been one since 1994, so I’m not entirely unfamiliar with the job), but I’m not here to dictate.

What I believe Custom Car needs is someone who will steer the ship while you, the people in the community it’s part of, represent yourselves in its pages. I’m just here to help let that happen. Every one of our contributors is part of the scene; most have been living and breathing hot rods for decades. My job is to dot every I and cross every T while letting them do their thing.

No, then, to bring it back to where I started with this very tricky to write column, I’m not worthy of the editor’s chair. But, since I nd myself sitting in it, I aim to make decisions worthy of this ne old magazine – and the rst of these is to ensure it remains worthy of you, the readers who make it what it is.

Alan Kidd, Group Editor

alan.kidd@assignment-media.co.uk

Custom Car is going to remain just as you know it

Safe to say, Greta Thunberg is not the rst person you expect to see in a world of V8s and smoking tyres. And we’re not here to kick o a debate on everything to do with the environment. Always nice to pop the hood on a 383 stroker and be confronted by an artfully positioned sticker to remind you of your, er, responsibilities, though. Ms Thunberg, who was Time magazine’s person of the Year in 2019, made a surprise appearance at Glastonbury this year. No sign of her at the Supernats, though…

NEAT STUFF

in this issue

Flame-grilled opper (the neat bit is that Kevin Chapman was unhurt)

Lots of glass: lots of class

She said yes!

Superheroes

News & reviews Open Day at Valley Gas

Hot rod enthusiasts from around the south of England fl ocked to Valley Gas Speed Shop on the fi rst Saturday of August, as Jimmy and Ellie threw their doors open to all comers as they prepared to welcome Gerry Gaughan and the Revenge

Reliability Run.

Though Revenge wasn’t due to arrive until early afternoon, a crowd of vehicles was lining the streets outside the company’s

Andover premises from early in the day. Their owners were lured by the promise of tea, coffee and bacon rolls – not to mention the opportunity to poke around the Valley Gas workshop and see the array of vehicles Jimmy’s team currently have in various states of build.

An undisputed highlight of these is the Boston Brawler, the legendary 1933 Willys gasser which Jimmy fi rst built in the early nineties. Famous for its wheel stands and sinuous burnouts, it graced Hockenheim and Goodwood as well as becoming one of Santa Pod’s favourite crowd-pleasers and was also seen at a number of art shows. He sold it around a decade ago, but for the last year or so Valley Gas has been bringing the vehicle back to its best – and with the project now very close to completion, it was on display in all its glory.

After plenty of teasing on social media, visitors were also given the chance to see Truckosaurus – whose cantilever suspension system is such a work of art that you might not even notice the trick exhausts exiting beneath its coil-overs. We stood back and watched as one group of people after another wandered over, took a look in its pick-up bed and gaped open-mouthed at the sheer beauty of it.

There’s a Dodge Stepvan getting the hot rod treatment nearby, too, as well as a Wide-Body Mustang and, on display next to Truckosaurus, a roof-chopped Volvo PV544 that’s going to look super-smooth when it hits the road later this year.

Next door in the main workshop, the array of cars, trucks and vans just goes on. It’s not exclusively older stuff, but mainly the cars on show were exactly the kind you’d expect at a leading rod shop – and the same goes for those outside, with an array of glorious metal baking in the sun.

By the time the Revenge cavalcade rolled in, the bacon rolls might have gone cold but no-one was worried about that. By now, the streets around Valley Gas were packed – but Gerry still managed to fi nd the perfect spot in which to park his iconic C-Cab, placing the NSRA’s ‘Hot Rod of the Century’ among an array of suitably worthy works of art.

With the Reliability Run raising money for mental health charity Mind, this was a hugely worthwhile day all round. You can still donate (visit www.revengereliabilityrun2022. co.uk) – and though you won’t normally fi nd Valley Gas in access-all-areas mode the way it was on its Open Day, check it out on social media for the latest updates on the builds seen here and more.

All eyes were drawn to the Boston Brawler… not that Truckosaurus is going to be a shrinking violet, either. The more you look, the more you see – and people did a lot of looking. Ultimately, though, Revenge was always going to be the star of the day