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Contents
is Oct s o 31 ue be Au on r ’2 gu sa 3 st le
Find us on Facebook at mCarMagazine www.facebook.com/Custo
Regulars
26
2
News & reviews This year’s BDRHoF inductions
32 Centre Spread
Another treat for your eyeballs
52 Readers’ Rods Robin Deacon’s trad-style ‘31 Tudor
58 AutoFocus
The spotlight falls on Geof Hauser
60 Events
The summer is still young
64 Next Month
36
58
Neil Hill’s roofless ‘55 Chevy
Out and About 50 Pirates and Planes
East Anglian show with added wings
Features 8
Liquid Gold Mark Belcher’s stunning ‘38 Chevy
50
52
18 Spring Rumble Concluding our three-part coverage
26 Contra Mundum A Cali T-Bird with a visionary paint scheme
36 Street Weekend Street, strip and pineapples
46 Sportsman Nationals
8
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The business end of Street Weekend
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SEPTEMBER 2023 CUSTOM CAR 1
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News & reviews
Fresh induction
Pics: BDRHoF
In keeping with tradition, the latest inductees to the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame were announced at Dragstalgia.
Roy Wilding
Eric Teboul WHILE BEST KNOWN FOR HIS ROCKET BIKE, Frenchman Eric made his debut in Top Fuel Bike in 1995. Eric first ran his Rocket bike at Santa Pod in 2003, carding a slowing 6.17 / 181.26. Later that year he ran 5.96 /183.18, the first 2-wheel 5-second pass outside of America. In 2013, Eric took the bike Stateside, stunning the fans and setting a world quarter-mile record of 5.21 / 264.39. In 2022, Eric had one last goal in sight before retiring his aging bike – a 4-second pass. He came close with a 5.12 / 261 at Hockenheim, then closer still with a 5.06/263 on Saturday at Santa Pod’s European Finals. It was a case of last chance saloon for Eric the following day, and history was made when the scoreboard flashed up 4.976 / 290.51.
Rod and Anne Pallant ROD FIRST STARTED RACING BIKES IN 1974 and debuted a twin-Kawasaki engine machine in 1978, the first sporting the LA Hooker name. Three years later, Rod unveiled a Rover V8-powered bike which he rode to 8-second quarters. A fresh twin-engine bike appeared
for the 1982 season which achieved 8.25 second times before being converted to a blown single-engine machine, with Rod campaigning in Top Fuel Bike. During this time, Anne took on the role of BDRA race secretary, and then treasurer until the club closed. Rob became president of the BDRA in 1988, with a freak accident at home ending his racing career a few years later. The couple subsequently emigrated to Spain and passed on the dormant BDRA funds to the BDRHoF to set up junior racer awards at the Gala evenings.
Roger Gorringe ROGER STARTED SNAPPING TRACKSIDE AT SANTA POD in 1972, his name first appearing in print in Drag Racing News a couple of years later. Despite having no experience of publishing, Roger bought the publication and became editor and publisher in 1978. The magazine closed in 1989 due to escalating costs and Roger became a freelance contributor for a number of other titles. Reporting from racetracks across Europe and in the US began in earnest in 2001, Roger travelling with one of his best friends, photojournalist Andy Willsheer.
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ROY GOT INTO CUSTOMISING IN THE LATE SEVENTIES and soon started running his V6-powered Pop on the strip at Long Marston. Next came a Buick Nailhead-powered slingshot, Chariot of Fire. Roy upped the ante with a 430ci Nailhead in Chariot of Fire II which knocked on the door of a 9 with a 10.002 at 147mph. With nostalgia drag racing becoming increasingly popular, the Wild Bunch was born, with Roy as chairman. Finding himself building many race cars for others, he then took the plunge and opened the doors to Roy Wilding Nostalgia Race Cars. Having handed over the Wild Bunch reins, Roy’s interest in blown cars came to the fore, as did the formation of the Supercharged Outlaws. Confident there is yet more to come, Roy has run his blown 550ci slingshot to a best-to-date of 7.16 at 199.1mph. Official inductions will take place at the BDRHoF’s 2023 Gala Awards Dinner on Saturday 18 November at the Oatlands Park Hotel in Weybridge, Surrey. Full details of the evening will be announced shortly, and everything BDRHoF can be found on their new look website courtesy of Peter Walters Race Design. www.britishdragracinghof.co.uk
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He was regularly contributing to numerous international publications and websites, and began editing Santa Pod event programmes in 1999 which he carried on with for over 20 years. Roger has been honoured with several awards over the years, and in 2021 clocked up 50 years as a trackside photojournalist.
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Record breakers
Pics: Julian Hunt
WE’LL BE BRINGING YOU THE FULL LOWDOWN on this year’s Dragstalgia in a future issue, but there were a couple of passes worthy of mention before then. We mentioned John Willard’s stonking run at the Sportsman nationals last month, and on Dragstalgia Friday he carried on where he’s left off with an OA ET record-breaking 6.7132 / 197.18. On Sunday afternoon, in the final Dragstalgia Cannonball session, Tony Betts ran 5.9645 / 237.46 in Venom. Not only was that his first 5, but it was also reportedly a new Nostalgia Funny Car ET track record and the quickest in Europe. Awesome runs guys.
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HEAT PROTECTION SPECIALIST DEI is now producing its popular Heat Shroud Kits in AN sizes, in line with many stainless steel braided hose suppliers. The shroud protects fuel lines, hoses and wires from excessive heat. It can easily be trimmed to length and has a convenient Velcro-type fastening along the opening edge. www.nimbusmotorsport.com
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SEPTEMBER 2023 CUSTOM CAR 3
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News & reviews
Something for the weekend?
Dirty business The Hindenberg Dirt-Track Races take place on 8-9 2 CUSTOM CAR MARCH 2023 September at Hindenberg Speedway in the east of Germany. The event focuses on pre-’59 cars and bikes, with racers being admitted free and spectators driving qualifying vehicles receiving discounted admission. The action takes place on the half-mile track, with only minimal silverware on offer as this harks back to mid-20th century racing in the USA. The gates open for racers at 4.00pm on Thursday and 2.00pm on Friday for spectators. Camping is available and live music is on offer on both the Friday and Saturday nights. www.hindenberg-dirt-track.com
Revival circuit The gates open at 7.30am for this year’s Goodwood Revival, which takes place on 8-10 September. The ethos is to recreate the glamour of motor racing from years of old and it
all takes place at Goodwood Motor Circuit in West Sussex. Billed as an immersive celebration of iconic cars and fashion, the Revival offers F1, sportscars, touring cars, rally cars and so much more. To help mark 75 years of Goodwood motorsport, the Beast of Turin will be returning to the circuit. Tickets are limited so grab yours now.www.goodwood.com
Period goods The Camp in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire will once again play host to the VHRA Swap Meet on Sunday 10 September. The former wartime army base provides an excellent backdrop to the period wares on sale and display. The only condition for trading is that goods must relate to traditional hot rods and customs, early Fords, vintage Americana or the lifestyle that goes along with it. There’s no pre-entry, simply pay at the gate on the day, either as a trader or a shopper. Along with the Swap Meet, there will be a show area for vehicles manufactured prior to 1963. www.vhra.co.uk
Exclusively American In association with the Knuckle Busters Car Club, The American Car Show returns to Stonham Barns in Suffolk on Sunday 17 September. As the name suggests, the show is restricted to American vehicles only, however all cars, trucks and hot rods meeting that criterion are welcome. John Price will be the compere for the day and in addition to the show vehicles there will be rock and roll bands, DJs, walkabout characters, show ring displays, trade and club stands, an autojumble and food and drink vendors. Admission also provides access to all the Stonham Barns attractions. www.stonhambarns.co.uk
Ferrets and all Hosted by Huddersfield Hotrods and Horsepower, Flat Caps and Ferrets returns for Sunday 24 September. That is show day, but if you want to make a weekend of it you can arrive on
Friday 22 September and enjoy three days of entertainment. The venue is Lepton Highlanders, Huddersfield, and weekend admission, including camping, is a very reasonable £25 per person, with under 16s admitted free. Sunday show car admission is £5 per vehicle, limited to two occupants. Anyone interested in trading at the event should call Les on 07745 211544. Facebook: Flat Caps and Ferrets Huddersfield
Classical combination The Sywell Classic Pistons and Props will be held at Sywell Aerodrome in Northamptonshire on 23-24 September. The two-day event combines historic racing cars, motorbikes and hot rods with classic aircraft and vintage music. On-the-ground action takes place on the Racing runway and the Sprint Strip, while a variety of aerial displays and aerobatics will fill the skies. Under 15s are admitted free, and adult advance tickets are priced at £20 for a single day and £35 for the weekend. Add £5 for on-the-gate prices. Camping for thee nights costs £40 per pitch. www.sywellclassic.co.uk
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News & reviews Bad behaviour
The pressure’s on
ON 29 JUNE, THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE was posted on the Ace Café London website and social media platforms. ‘As a consequence of illegal and unacceptable behaviour, the Ace will close on Fridays at 6pm until further notice. Thanking you in advance for your support and understanding.’ As always, a case of the mindless few spoiling things for everyone else. We hope the situation soon gets resolved. www.london.acecafe.com
WEBCON HAS INTRODUCED TWO NEW fluid-filled fuel pressure gauges designed for setting up fuel systems, not for permanent fixture. The EFI system gauge reads from 1 to 8 bar, has a 1/8 NPTF thread and retails at £30.34 including VAT. The carburettor systems gauge reads from 0 to 15psi, also has a 1/8 NPTF thread and retails at £26.52 including VAT. www.webcon.co.uk
Synchronisity
Super deal
BALANCING TWIN WEBERS or twin throttle bodies used to be a bit of a black art only known to a handful of engine tuners. In reality though, it’s not that difficult if you have the right tools. The Webcon Synchrometer is calibrated from 1 to 30 Kg/h on an easy-toread scale, and retails at £68.95 including VAT. www.webcon.co.uk
THE NSRA HAS ANNOUNCED a new friendship with ACE WAX, with the company sponsoring the Hot Rod Supernationals and handing over one of their kits to the winners. ACE WAX is also offering NSRA members a 20% discount on polish product purchases through the company’s website. The NSRA has also opened up online advance ticket bookings for this year’s Supernats at Old Warden Park on 11-13 August. www.acewax.co.uk / www.nsra.org.uk
SEPTEMBER 2023 CUSTOM CAR 5
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Pic: DB
News & reviews
Liquid assets
READERS OF A CERTAIN AGE will undoubtedly consider Billing Aquadrome to be the spiritual home of hot rodding in the UK. The NSRA staged its first event at the site in 1973 and since then countless memories have been made of weekends spent at the holiday park, both in the dry and the wet. Understandably the site has changed a great deal over the years. And further change may be about to happen again as the park’s owners, RoyaleGroup, has announced that Billing Aquadrome has been placed in administration. The end of an era? Who knows?
Throttle it
WEBCON’S UNIVERSAL THROTTLE WHEEL KIT is designed to suit Weber 32/36 DGV/DGAV and 38 DGAS/DGMS carburettors. The kit facilitates the connection of a car’s throttle cable to the carburettor regardless of the installation, and includes throttle wheel, cable clamp, return spring, and outer cable support. The price is £51.32 including VAT. www.webcon.co.uk
Unlock the vapour
HOT STARTING AND ROUGH IDLING PROBLEMS are often associated with fuel vapour lock on carburettor equipped cars. DEI’s new Vapor (note US spelling when Googling) Block Fuel Line Sleeve provides a low-cost solution, designed to greatly reduce heat in the fuel line thus keeping the fuel cooler and below the evaporation point. There is no need to disconnect the fuel line to install, simply wrap Vapor Block around the line, remove the adhesive release liner and press the adhesive back flap into place. The sleeve is available in 36-inch lengths with a 10mm inside diameter at an RRP of £13.35. www.designengineering.com
cast
The latest happenings at the home of UK drag racing – Santa Pod
The final round of the FIA and FIM-E European Drag Racing Championships touches down at Santa Pod Raceway this September. Regarded as one of the most prestigious drag racing events in Europe, the weekend boasts an incredible lineup of high-octane action. Evening qualifying sessions kick off on Friday with Top Fuel Dragsters, Funny Cars and Jet Cars all taking centre stage to create a spectacular nitro-powered flame show. The four-day racing extravaganza delivers an impressive lineup with 18 thrilling drag racing classes, including 300mph Top Fuel Dragsters and the vibrant and fiercely competitive Pro Mods, who will be battling it out for the prestigious title of FIA Pro Mod European Championship winner. With an array of exhilarating races and fierce rivalries, the on-track action provides an unforgettable experience for all. The track will also provide a triple dose of intense jet action as it becomes the battleground for three ferocious Jet Cars. Be sure to have your earplugs at the ready as these mighty jet engines show no mercy when it comes to their
thunderous start line take-offs. A sensory experience like no other, the symphony of power and noise simply cannot be matched. In addition to thrilling on-track action, be sure to keep a look out for other exciting attractions around the site throughout the weekend. The Live Action Arena will play host to an abundance of astonishing stunt shows, from the incredible skills of Terry Grant
and Lee Bowers to the synchronized drifting precision of Team Maximum Lock and a scorching performance from the Jet Mini, plus double the trouble with Podzilla and Swamp Thing Monster Trucks – you won’t want to miss a thing! With a whole host of kids’ entertainment, helicopter pleasure flights around the site, live music, fireworks and so much more, The European Finals is set to be a fantastic weekend for all the family. Get your tickets online now at santapodtickets.com, or by phoning the Box Office on 01234 782828. More event information can be found online at Santapod.com.
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SEPTEMBER 2023 CUSTOM CAR 7
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Okay, so we stole the headline from Renault, but it perfectly sums up Mark Belcher’s latest street rod that’s been built with the open road in its sights Words: Mike Pye Pics: Alan Kidd
I
t’s in the blood, isn’t it?” says Mark Belcher in reply to my question about what got him into hot rodding in the first place. I knew he had form from previous cars he’s owned and built, but didn’t realise how far back it went. “I started building a Pop when I was 19 after seeing a programme on television with Janet Street-Porter around the time Hot’n’bothered was around. It was the usual sort of thing – y’know, blown V6, Jag IRS –
but it never got finished because I needed the money to buy a house. Then there was the business, kids and I ended up having about a 20-year gap.” A visit to the NASC Nationals in the mid’90s re-ignited his passion for hot rodding and a two-tone blue Model A sedan was the result. That then gave way to the eye-catching magenta and gold ’36 Chrysler you may be more familiar with. Mark’s son, Josh, then decided he wanted in on the act
and a two tone, red and gold ’34 coupe was the result. After that, Mark started on a glass ’32 3-window, but, well, we’ll come to that in a minute. If you wanted to pigeonhole Mark’s cars, they would all fall under the broad heading of street rod. But he’s certainly not one to just follow convention. “That’s what this hobby is all about, isn’t it? It’s about being a bit extrovert, doing something a bit different.”
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The price is right
Which you might think explains his choice of a ’38 Chevy Master Sport Coupe for his latest build, though in fact there’s a rather simpler explanation than that. “You’ve probably noticed that there’s a little bit of ’36 Ford in the car now, and I’ll admit that’s what I’d have really liked, but they’re out of my price range,” admits Mark. Besides, this car already happened to be sitting in a good friend’s workshop, that
friend being well-known chopper and hot rod builder, Roy Pitter. It took a bit of prising out of Roy’s hands as it was a project he’d started for a customer but, for whatever reason, had then taken over for himself. But after dropping numerous hints, the call he’d been hoping for finally came. “Roy said he wanted to build it for himself, so I’d started work on a ’32 3-window instead and, would you believe the week before he
called asking if I was still interested in the car, I’d had Colin Jeffries on the ’phone asking if I wanted to sell the ’32.” It’s like it was all meant to be. With the three-way deal concluded, the ’glass Ford went out the door and the steel Chevy took its place. It already had a Mustang II front end bolted in place, a Ford 9-inch and the crossmembers cut out, and came with a fuel tank and radiator, but that was as far as things had gone.
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Dash has a five-gauge panel in place of the original sweep speedo and a tapered extension below that houses the modern stereo, heater controls and air ride gauges and switches. The handmade steering wheel was trimmed by Whiff Smith’s grandson Finn
Right hooker
“There were a lot of things I liked about the car, but also a few things I didn’t like, so that’s what I’ve changed. I liked the fact it was right-hand drive [a South African model you see] – I’ve only ever had right-hand drive cars and have never wanted a left-hand drive one so that was good. But I’ve never liked the ’38 grille, so I’ve tried to make it look a bit more like a ’37. Mind you, if you put it next to a ’37 it doesn’t look anything like one, so I suppose I just wanted to make it look a bit different.”
Wiring is all Mark’s own work as well, using a kit bought from the States, while the whitefaced gauges, with GPS speedo, are from UK supplier egauges.co.uk
Porsche seats were retrimmed by Whiff Smith then topped and tailed by a beige wool cloth headliner and honey carpet. Note the windlace around the door apertures, bear claw latches, seat belts and electric window controls. This is a street rod built for the street
The main modifications take place at the front, the grille being lowered by two and a half inches and raked back by one and a half. That necessitated shortening the bonnet and, while he was about it, Mark made it one piece. The old side panels were then cut about and used as templates for the louvred replacements – an idea suggested by good friend Dan Boone and executed by Buckland Automotive Engineering. Changing the headlights from ‘ears’ poking out of the grille sides to upright,
wing-mounted units is another small but significant change. Likewise, extending the doors and quarters to take up the unsightly factory gap between them and the running boards was a necessity for Mark. “Yeah, that was a lot of work for a very small thing, but it really niggled me.” After that came the tidying up and deletion of badges, trim, handles, cowl vent and hinges for a smoother street rod appearance – again a lot more work than went into writing that sentence.
“That’s what this hobby is all about… being a bit extrovert, doing something a bit different”
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Where ’36 Fords were once largely only a dream of many hot rodders, we seem to bump into a new one at just about every show we go to these days. The same cannot be said for ’38 Chevys, and Mark does like to be a bit different with his cars. Liquid Gold is a sublime pearl colour Renault reserves for its high-performance models, but was an inspired choice (by Tony Gabriel) for this car
A 4½-inch kick up in the rear and Mustang II-based IFS get the car this low, while a simple front / rear air bag system lifts it to a driveable ride height
Mark’s ability to see a use for something completely different on his hot rods rivals that of Andy Saunders. See those wing mirrors? Porsche 356 arms with billet mirror sections picked up for a song at the Early Ford Store in California. The division bar for the split windscreen? Morris 1000. So much cheaper than the ‘correct’ part. We like that kind of thinking a lot
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The build 1. 1. The ex-South African Chevy as Mark first saw it in Roy Pitter’s workshop
5. 5. Built to be a driver, the rear air bag mounts and fuel tank cage are solid and well thought out
9. 9. …so he started cutting away metal…
13. 13. Front wings are stock, but everything else has been modified for better visual flow
17 17. Mark’s a mechanic by trade, so everything is thoughtfully sited to make the car useable and reasonably easy to work on and maintain
2. 2. And on the way to his house for the stalled project to continue
6. 6. Front suspension is Mustang II by design, but can you spot the origin of that front mount steering rack?
10. 10. …and more metal…
14. 14. Mark wasn’t a fan of the original ’38 grille, or the way the headlights stick out like ears, so he set to changing all that
18 18. The Chevy LS1 motor is LQ4 spec, which means ’99-2007 truck application. It makes over 300bhp and is utterly dependable
3. 3. Early mock up with the first set of ARE Salt Flat wheels. Note unsightly gap below the doors
7. 7. Though the base car looked reasonably solid, an awful lot of new metal went into its construction
11. 11. …and then making a whole new boot floor, new wheel tubs and new sealing lip
15. 15. When he did finally source a boot lid, it needed a week’s work to sort out and some modifications of the body to fit
19 19. Bar the louvred bonnet sides, Mark did all the bodywork himself. But he called on Tony Gabriel at Bodytone, to splash the colour
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4. 4. Chassis modifications under way, with Speedway tubular crossmember and kickedup rear
“I also didn’t like the dickie seat and wanted to give it more the look of a Master Business Coupe,” says Mark. What he didn’t realise when he started cutting out metal was how hard it would be to find the full-length decklid to fill the hole. “I found one eventually, but it cost me more money that I want to remember to get the rusty lump over here, and then I had to put 30-40 hours into repairing it. “Still, it looks better now I think,” he adds with a grin. “Oh, and I had to put a complete new floor in it as well.”
Low rider
8. 8. Things weren’t looking quite so clever round the back, and Mark didn’t want to keep the dickie seat anyway…
12. 12. When he then found full-length coupe boot lids are anything but common, he turned his attention to the front end
Wanting the car to sit as low as possible, Mark settled on air bags as the answer, but the car had to be lowered before the bags could pump it up again, so the rear was kicked up around four and a half inches over the axle. A Speedway Motors tubular crossmember kit, bought second hand off Mark Hanley, was fitted to strengthen the original rails, but even that had to be straightened so it didn’t hang down below the rails – no good if you want to lay frame, or come close.
All the air ride equipment – two tanks, twin compressors, switches, gauges, lines and bags front and rear – were sourced through Ray Ramsey at Rayvern Hydraulics, someone Mark has a lot of time for. “Ray’s brilliant. He’s so knowledgeable and always there to help,” he enthuses. It’s not a fancy schmancy digital set up, just your basic front / rear kit, because that’s all Mark wanted. It uses the latest valves and pumps so works much quicker than the system he had on his Chrysler, and is adjustable on the go, too. His one bit of advice when it comes to air ride? “Don’t over complicate it.” His second? “And set all your geometry at the ride height you’re going to drive the car. If you do all that at the lowest setting, and then drive it higher because the roads are so bad, the geometry will be all over the place and you’ll be knocking tyres out in a couple of thousand miles.”
Smiles per hour
“You’ve got to enjoy driving these things, and that’s what I like to do with my cars, both here and on the continent. I put 38,000 miles
“The Chrysler was a really nice car to drive, but this one actually feels a bit better” This is the car’s driving height. Sure, it looks a little bit cooler scraping the floor, but it’s street is neat all the way for Mark. He put 38,000 miles on his previous rod and plans to do similar with this one
16. 16. Compare this shot to the first one in this panel and you’ll see how different the front end is now
20. 20. On the home stretch now, but still a long way to go. The build took around seven years in total
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Headlights are generic aftermarket ones, but the modification to their placement and the lowering and re-angling of the grille really changes the look of the front of the car, making it more reminiscent of a ’36 Ford
Above: Chevy LQ4 truck motor (also known by the rather more glamorous title of Vortec 6000) is a 6.0-litre LS1 with a steel block, ali heads and 9.4:1 compression. They make 300350bhp and 360-370lbf.ft of torque in stock form, but Mark ditched the factory induction, plastic covers and smog equipment, changed the sump and added HPC-coated headers and FiTech Ultimate LS 500 EFI, which also includes auto’ transmission control Below: Where once there was a dickie seat, now there is a full boot, with the fuel filler hiding within. As you can see from the build box elsewhere in this article, it was a lot of work to convert one to the other, but it improves the flow no end and makes the car more useable on long journeys
on the Chrysler in the 13 years I had that. I like to think this one will do the same.” Mark is a mechanic by trade – 36 years on the spanners and counting – and that often leads to a bit of ingenuity in a build. Take the steering rack for example. Wanting to keep the car right-hand drive limited the aftermarket options, so Mark looked around for an alternative. BMW Z3, that looks like it’ll work. And it does, very nicely thank you. Now for some track rod ends. Hmmm… Let’s try these Mercedes Vito ones. “I couldn’t believe it. They fit straight into the rack and into the A-arms with no modifications whatsoever.” Shock absorbers? What about these Ford Transit units? “I had them on the Chrysler
You might think removing the quarter lights and converting the car to one-piece windows would be fairly straightforward. Not so, as it turns out the Chevy door tops are subtly curved in the vertical plane and had to be straightened so the glass would go up and down smoothly. The black section around the windows is what Mark describes as ”a bit of a modern touch that really lends itself to tinted glass, and adds a bit of mystique”
and they worked really well. I figured this car was a similar weight, so I’d try them on here as well. “It’s all just worked out really well. The Chrysler was always a very nice car to drive, but this one actually feels a bit better. Maybe it’s because that one had Jag IFS and I think the Mustang set up is just that little bit better.” The second-hand LS1 motor was bought from the States, shipped in by Russ at R&R Hot Rod Imports and has proved good as gold, as has the FiTech EFI Mark has added: “It’s a good system, I’m very pleased with it, and it looks a whole lot better than the old truck intake that was on there before.
Their tech department’s really good too, I’ve nothing but praise for them.” Behind the engine is a GM 4L60E fourspeed auto ‘box that is also controlled by the standalone ECU on the engine, and that connects to the 9-inch rear end via a Propshaft Services prop. Intake apart, the only modifications Mark has made to the engine are an external oil cooler conversion and a sump better suited to its use in a low-slung hot rod, rather than a high-riding truck.
Angel Gabriel
When it came to choosing a paint colour, Mark freely admits he took the advice of his
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The front end of the body has seen a lot of subtle modification work, and you really need to see it alongside a stock ’38 Chevy to fully appreciate it. The addition of a row of tapered louvres is both functional and aesthetic
Tail lights are of unknown origin, other than they were the ones Mark had on his previous Chrysler street rod. He changed them before he sold that car and was going to sell them, but then held them up to the Chevy one day.
Behind the 17x6 and 20x8.5-inch American Racing Salt Flats wheels are GM vented discs up front and a Wilwood rear disc brake kit with internal handbrake, which works in conjunction with an E-Stopp electric handbrake
“Some people like ’em, some people don’t, but that’s alright by me”
good friend and painter extraordinaire, Tony Gabriel. “I was looking at bronze colours originally, but then Tony suggested the Renault Liquid Gold. I saw one in a car park and thought, yeah, he’s right.” The satin finish wheels were never going to work with the glorious two-stage pearl, not least because they arrived as two different pairs, one black and one grey, and Tony rightly noted “they’ll look shit on the car like that.” A rich brown with a bit of flake in it proved the perfect foil. “Some people like ’em, some people don’t,” says Mark, “but that’s alright by me.” Bringing the whole package home is the classy brown leather and wool cloth
interior, based around a pair of Porsche 924 / 944 tombstone seats. This time Mark has Grahame ‘Whiff’ Smith to thank for the exemplary work, which included a surprise re-trim by Whiff’s grandson, Finn, of the satin finish steering wheel Mark picked up at a Goodguys show in Scottsdale, Arizona many years ago. Having covered all the technical details on the car, our conversation turned to future projects, as it does. “I’m 64 now so I don’t think I’ll be doing another one,” confides Mark. “Even though I don’t have to pay any labour, I’m not sure I could face the cost of a decent paint job these days.
“Cost aside, it’s too early to start thinking about another car. Though I did just buy a ’32 grille shell off eBay, so I might collect a few bits as I go along and see where I get with it…”
A massive thanks to Tony Gabriel and all the guys at Bodytone for going all the way with the paint, Grahame Smith and Finn for the interior, all the Brack Pack for their input – some of it good, some of it bad – and to anyone else I might have forgotten who helped out. Finally, the biggest thanks of all to my long-suffering wife, Debbie. SEPTEMBER 2023 CUSTOM CAR 15
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COOLING & CNC Fabrication Serck Motorsoport have been manufacturing cooling systems for the custom car and drag racing market for over 40 years. Built to the highest standards in both Aluminium or Copper Brass Construction we have supplied to all levels of performance from Drag Racing to Custom Cars, Classic and Muscle Cars. We can also help you design your Cooling System from scratch with our CAD Software programs. We have recently added a new 5 Axis CNC Machine to our manufacturing department supported by the latest design software to enable us to meet your requirements for any parts machining or cooling solutions. We are also the official UK Distributor Setrab Oil Coolers with a huge range in stock from Diff Coolers to Transmission and Engine Coolers all instock and featured on our growing website. From Colin Millars 6 Second Ford Pop to Mark Todd’s 2000hp Street Legal Aston Martin to Paul Morton’s MK1 Zephyr Zodiac and many many more we have the perfect Cooling Solution for all Custom and Race applications. PERFORMANCE PARTS We have over 35,000 listed parts featured on our growing web site with a huge stock for quick and efficient delivery times for over 30 high quality brands in the market today, from Race and Road Tyres, Race Wheels to Water Pumps to Nitrous Kits to Turbos to Performance Oil to Fuel Injection Systems.
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www.serckmotorsport.co.uk Custom Car_2023_03_Mar_Serck Motorsport_DPS.indd 2
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Rumble on PART 3
T
■ Words: Dave Biggadyke
his is the final installment in our round-up of this year’s NSRA Spring Rumbles. We’ve covered the length and breadth of the country, just as many of those taking part in the Rumbles have. Imagine the miles travelled, the sights seen and the laughs everyone had along the way. We can’t think of a greater reason to be a hot rodder. If you took part in just one, or even several, of the Rumbles, then it’s hats off to you. Likewise, if you organised a Rumble in your locale. Each and every one of you represents what it’s all about – the enjoyment of driving your cars in the company of kindred spirits – and we applaud you for that. Praise must also be given to the man who came up with the idea in the first place, Glyn Thomas. Without the inspirational seed he sowed and the subsequent support of the Rumble Working Group, none of the Rumbles over the last couple of years would have happened. That really is a remarkable legacy for all those involved in pulling things together CC
Lincolnshire
Pics: Richard Lyon and Gavin Moore Date: Saturday 27 May
Organiser: Richard Lyon Distance: Approx 80 miles Number of vehicles: 14 Start Time: 10.30 am Starting point: Humber Bridge Garden Centre, Barton-upon-Humber Stop-off points: Wright’s Ice Cream in North Willingham, Biscathorpe Ford for photos, We’ll Meet Again Museum near Boston Finish point: Boston Bowl
Rumble participants assembled in readiness for the off with the unmistakable backdrop of the Humber Bridge
The stop-off not only offers ice cream, there is also a play area for both small and big kids and some great views over the Lincolnshire countryside
After the photo opportunity, it was back on the road again, heading for the We’ll Meet Again WW2 museum just outside Boston
Michael White ventured down from Yorkshire in his ’29 Model A sedan delivery to sample what Lincolnshire has to offer
Understandably the Rumbles approached the stop-off point at Biscathorpe Ford with some degree of caution
Rumble organiser Richard Lyon’s ’57 Chevy at the first stop-off point, Wright’s Ice Cream
The final stop-off was Boston Bowl, well known in the area for hosting monthly modified car meets
The owner of Boston Bowl kindly gave the Rumblers a tour of his workshop…
Left: …which is home to the Vauxhall Astra his daughter, Fiona Leggate, raced in the British Touring Car Championship
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South East Kent Pics: Peter Kemp Date: Sunday 28 May Organiser: Peter Kemp Distance: Approx 70 miles Number of vehicles: 15 Start Time: 10.00 am Starting point: Evegate Business Park, Ashford Stop-off points: East Kent Railway Museum near Dover, Solley’s Ice Cream Parlour near Deal Finish point: Spitfire & Hurricane Memorial Museum, Manston Airport
The Rumble lineup at the railway museum made for an impressive sight…
…just as it did at the Spitfire & Hurricane Memorial Museum later in the day
Another example of the eclectic mix of Rumble vehicles. That’s Geoff Wild’s ’62 Humber Super Snipe in the foreground
If it wasn’t for the lack of planes, this shot could be a clue to a 1987 comedy film starring Steve Martin
One of the great things about the Rumbles is the diverse mix of vehicles that take part, such as this smoothed-out Chevy pick-up and ’32 roadster
Spot the difference. Nigel Gibbs’ ’28 Model A Speedster is wearing different boots to when it was running at the MPH Vintage Sprint
Fords through the decades. Ignore the Humber and how many blue oval model years can you spot in this lineup?
Right: It always happens, just as you’re about to press the shutter, photo bombers get in the frame. That’s Steve Ostridge’s ’32 sedan on the right Far right: One of the cars flying the Brit tin flag was Dave Knight’s Ford Pop
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North Wales Pics: Ian Armstrong
Date: Saturday 10 June Organisers: Chris and Ali Taylor Distance: Approx 100 miles Number of vehicles: 8 Start Time: 10.00 am Starting point: OK Diner, Oswestry Stop-off points: National White Water Centre near Bala, Denbigh Finish point: Mold
It wasn’t one of the larger Rumbles, but that’s not what it’s all about. Having a good time with like-minded individuals is the name of the game
That man Mansell was at it again. Pretty local for him and Julie this time though, as they only had to venture into North Wales
Great scenery, open roads and hot rods. What more could anyone ask for?
Another who has been clocking up the miles to take in Rumbles in different parts of the country is Adrian Sidwell in his ’33 Ford sedan
Right: Out on the road enjoying the North Wales countryside Right middle: The almost obligatory arty shot when on a road trip, this one looking behind through the door mirror on Ian Armstrong’s Mk3 Cortina Far right: They say a picture paints a thousand words, and this shot perfectly captures the thinking behind the NSRA Spring Rumbles
Left: Danny Davies’ ’72 Chevy G10 and Tim Mansell’s ’40 Chevy pick-up keeping Chris and Ali Taylor’s ’32 roadster in check
Right: It begs the question, where the hell has everybody else gone?
Bedfordshire Pics: Tim Bate Date: Sunday 11 June Organiser: Tim Bate Distance: Approx 50 miles Number of vehicles: 11 Start Time: 11.30 am Starting point: Shuttleworth Collection cafe Stop-off points: Wrest Park in Silsoe, Turvey House near Bedford Finish point: Brewpoint in Bedford
And the Rumblers made the most of each and every one of those opportun ities
Privileged parking was allocated at Shuttleworth, mainly so the Rumblers didn’t forget where they’d parked their cars
The stop-off points were carefully selected to give some ideal photoshoot opportunities
Even when stopping for liquid refreshment in the village of Turvey, the Rumblers managed to create photo opportunities
Parking was at a premium in Turvey, but everyone found a spot, such as Paul Sharman in this ’34 Ford…
Thoughtful parking utilised every inch of the space that was available
Left: It’s serious stuff this Rumbling, even when you stop off for a refreshing pint
…and Dave Brown in his ’31 Ford Phaeton Left: The final destination was Brewpoint, a state-ofthe-art brewing facility with the opportunity to take a tour, with those who weren’t driving sampling the brews along the way
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Essex / Herts Border Pics: Mia Smith Date: Sunday 11 June Organisers: Mia and Jason Smith and Terrie and Dave Cowler Distance: Approx 35 miles Number of vehicles: 23 Start Time: 10.30 am Starting point: Birchanger Green Services Stop-off point: Gosfield Lake, Halstead Finish point: Colne Valley Railway
Having passed through the villages of Bran End, Duck End and then Finchingfield, reportedly the most photographed village in Britain, the Rumble stopped off at Gosfield Lake Meeting at Birchanger Services meant there were plenty of food and drink outlets to hand
With the day proving to be the hottest of the year so far, the weather was conducive to chilling and chatting As the organisers had got their hands on one of the NSRA anniversary year banners, it made sense to pose with it at every opportunity
Apparently, a couple of the Rumblers weren’t seeing things eye to eye at times…
…thankfully the tiff was short-lived, and the status quo was soon restored
Elaine and Kim joined in on their Harleys…
Dedicated Rumble parking was provided at Colne Valley Railway… …took a ride on a train before finishing the day off with a drink at the pub next door. Forward planning pays off, eh?
Leicestershire
Pics: Mike Garratt and Nigel Lockley Date: Sunday 11 June Organiser: Mike Garratt Distance: Approx 65 miles Number of vehicles: 11 Start Time: 10.30 am Starting point: Sapcote Stop-off point: Sywell Aerodrome Finish point: Sapcote
If you didn’t know differently, this shot could have been taken on the other side of the Atlantic The Rumble started and finished in a layby on the B4114 near Sapcote, Leicestershire
The Rumble row fitted in well with the environment once parked up at Sywell
Once at Sywell Aerodrome, photo opportunities in front of the amazing Art Deco building were jumped at… In the black corner were Rupe Chamber’s chopped Hudson and Nigel Lockley’s Chevy pick-up
That’s Ian Baker’s distinctive ’52 Ford F1 pick-up in the foreground
Ford Pops were provided by Ant Ward and Rumble organiser Mike Garratt
…once all passengers had vacated their cars, that is
Whatever way you look at it, the Aerodrome building makes for an amazing backdrop
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Suffolk
Pics: Alice Fairhead Date: Sunday 28 May Organiser: Kev Bridges Distance: Approx 35 miles Number of vehicles: 65 Start Time: 10.30 am Starting point: Krazy Horse, Bury St Edmunds Stop-off points: Bottisham Airfield Museum near Cambridge Finish point: Judes Ferry public house, Bury St Edmunds
Ready to Rumble. Cars and trucks lined up at Krazy Horse in readiness for the 10:30 am departure time
The Rumble out on the open road heading towards the first stop-off point
The Rumble route took the cars through Newmarket past the Jubilee Clock Tower
Trio of early Fords heads the lineup (left) as the Rumble approaches its first stop-off point… …Bottisham Airfield Museum, where designated parking ensured the group kept together
Right: Judes Ferry not only offered a carvery, BBQ and live entertainment, it also gave the Rumblers a large grass paddock for exclusive parking
After a nose around the museum exhibits, it was back on the road again with a trio of Rumblers heading up the pack in a ’54 Ford Crestline
Rumble organiser Kev Bridges gives the thumbs up as he arrives at the final destination, Judes Ferry in Bury St Edmunds
Left: Spending a Sunday afternoon at a countryside pub on the banks of a river with a host of like-minded friends. What more could you ask for?
Surrey Pics: Richard Agar, Graeme ‘Whiff’
Smith, Martin Hubbard, Jason Nicklen, Kieron Smith
Date: Sunday 28 May Organiser: Whiff Smith Distance: Approx 74 miles Number of vehicles: 30 Start Time: 10.00 am Starting point: Crown Court Car Park (The Jack Phillips public house), Godalming Stop-off points: Box Hill, Stepping Stones Westhumble, Devil’s Punch Bowl, Frensham Great Pond Beach Finish point: Broadwater Community Centre, Farncombe There are options when you need to cross a ford in a Ford. One way is gently does it like Kieron Smith in his ’37 Ford…
…another option is to give it a bit of welly like Pat Miles in his ’40 Ford pick-up…
…but our favourite by far is the sod-it attitude of Gary Fransham in his Ford Pop
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Scottish Central Pics: Nick Grant Date: Saturday 3 June Organisers: Mark Dunn, Ray Ramsay and Brian Daly Distance: Approx 130 miles Number of vehicles: 31 Start Time: 10.00 am Starting point: Nick Grant’s house in Dunblane Stop-off points: Loch Katrine, Callander Finish point: TJ’s American Diner in Tyndrum, with an optional additional 25-mile journey to the Falls of Orchy
Breakfast was supplied at Nick Grant’s house, where a charity donation bucket raised funds for St Mary’s Primary School in Dunblane
With everyone fed and watered it was time to venture out on the open road
With careful parking, it’s amazing how many hot rods can fit on your drive and front garden
The first stop-off was at Loch Katrine, where the Rumblers took over a fair chunk of the car park
We can only assume that Nick Grant gets on well with his neighbours. He is a likeable chap after all
The Loch is home to the Sir Walter Scott steamboat, but the Rumble schedule didn’t allow for time to take a trip Above: Some had to complete a few laps before finding a space large enough to park up in Far left: There’s no denying that when Scottish hot rodders get together, they do things in style Left: Taking a break from the racetrack, Colin Millar joined the Rumble in his ’35 Ford 3-window coupe
Richard Howell rumbling through the Surrey countryside in his ’39 Chrysler Royal
Chevy panel van only joined in for part of the route
Terry Newton in his ’34 sedan en route to one of the numerous stop-off points to take in the views…
…as were Steve and Dee Young in their ’32 roadster
In the foreground is Mark Belcher’s ’38 Chevy, which you’ll find the full feature on in this very issue
Early Fords in the form of a roadster, 3-window coupe and roadster pick-up
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I
t feels like it was only yesterday that I was in high school. That because as of late, my memories are seemingly taking me back more and more to days gone by. Why? because we are currently living in some very strange times and the kid inside me is thinking back to the days when having fun was what life was all about. I remember riding my BMX to school, grabbing bags of custard cream sweets from the tuck shop, playing Solitaire in my computer class and joining chess club just because that way I’d get to be first in the lunch queue and have
the choice of the best slices of pizza. Those were the days of fun things I did at school and it clearly wasn’t the maths and science lessons that come to mind! When I was 14 years old, my hobbies were collecting video games machines, die-cast cars and filling my bedroom walls with posters of legendary vehicles like the Lamborghini Countach. That to me was my real education and is the reason that today, I’m an automotive photographer and search
the world for the best custom cars. For the owner of this eye-popping Thunderbird, on the other hand, when he was in his early teens his hobby was to actually customise cars after school. Eric Michaud is from a family in which the passion runs deep, and it was instilled in him by his father. This was Eric’s real education
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When you know deep inside that customising cars is your calling in life… your education starts in the garage Words: Tony Matthews Pics: Tony and Carmen Matthews
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‘When you live in California and see the most beautiful custom cars and lowriders on Whittier Boulevard, it’s hard not to fall in love with the custom culture’
Eric wanted the car’s front end to be reminiscent of custom designs from 1960s. He sectioned and moulded the factory front bumper, then welded it to the body to create a restyled opening – which he then filled with a custom grille made from fine steel mesh with drawer pull knobs bolted to it
– and thanks to his dedication to perfecting his passion, he now runs his own custom car business in California, Edog Kustoms, where he specialises in painting, pinstriping and much more. As he grew up, you see, Eric always had a love for the old-school late 1960s’ and 70s’ style of cars. The time period here is literally between the latter part of the crazy car customising era and the beginning of lowrider culture; the Bellflower Blvd era of custom cars.
‘When you live in California and see the most beautiful custom cars and lowriders on Whittier Boulevard, it’s hard not to fall in love with the custom culture,’ recalls Eric. So when came home from school each day, he would become the student and the teacher on how to become a master in the art of creating these magnificent vehicles. Eric bought his first car, a ‘58 Volkswagen Type 2, at the age of 15. He started working on the bodywork to fix the dents and rusted panels, learning as he went along. ‘A lot of
mistakes were made and many lessons learned,’ he recalls.
Inexpensive Thunderbird
Later on, he was searching for a car that fitted the confines of a build starting with the time frame of Larry Watson’s 1950s’ Chevrolet, Grapevine, and Jesse Valadez’ Gypsy Rose Chevy Impala lowrider. He chose the ’66 Ford Thunderbird because he was looking for an inexpensive American car to customise and a friend of his was selling
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The Thunderbird’s cabin was originally trimmed for Eric by Henry Toro at The Upholsterers in Riverside, California, using Mexican blankets. Things evolve, as you see here. The Mooneyes steering wheel remains, though – as do those super-cool foot pedals from the same source
Eric moulded and welded the original rear bumper, then rounded off the corners of the trunk lid to create a custom tail light surround. Into it went a grill made of perforated steel sheet which was chromed and mounted in a frame bent up from 3/8” round rod
it for his wife. The car was 100% factory original when purchased it and was running and driving really well. ‘I built the car pretty much myself,’ recalls Eric. ‘Except for the interior. That was done by an old school upholstery guy in Riverside, California, who goes by the name of Henry Toro. He did an amazing job for me, as I wanted to give the interior that touch of my Mexican heritage. So I asked him to cover the original seats in genuine Mexican blankets and to also apply them to the centre
console into the dashboard. I feel that the colour of the blankets complements the kandy green/purple and white in the cabin. I then installed a Mooneyes steering wheel in purple and also those cool Mooneyes foot pedals. ‘I did all the bodywork, modifications, customising, paint, graphics, pinstriping, air ride and all the mechanicals. Starting at the front of the car, I wanted the front grille to have a more 60’s custom vibe. I created the opening by sectioning and moulding in
‘Contra mundum,’ reckons Eric. It translates as ‘against the world’. The paint colours are definitely not a case of following the herd, but we think he might actually find that more of the world is with him than he realises
the factory front bumper and welding to the body to create a new restyled opening. The grille itself is perforated steel mesh with drawer pull knobs bolted to it. ‘For the rear, the tail light surround is the factory rear bumper welded to the body and moulded, with the trunk lid corners rounded. The rear grille was built out of 3/8” round rod and perforated steel sheet, which was then chrome plated.’ Under the hood, the Thunderbird still runs its original factory engine, a 6.4-litre Ford
SEPTEMBER 2023 CUSTOM CAR 29
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‘I’ve questioned myself countless times over this craft that I’ve spent a lifetime teaching myself’ Ford’s 390 FE is original to the car, though the chrome on it isn’t. Nor are the mild road cam, Edelbrock carb and Offenhauser four-barrel intake manifold helping get the best from its 6.4 litres of V8 goodness
Eric had always wanted to flame an entire car – not a job to take on lightly, but with the skills he’s built up over the years he pulled it off superbly. He created the green colour by mixing several House of Kolor kandy tones over a flake base, then added multi-coloured pearl flames and pinstriping on top. Add in a purple kandy roof and you have something a visionary gamble that looks nothing short of sensational
390 FE. This has been warmed up with a mild cam, Edelbrock carb and Offenhauser four-barrel intake manifold; behind it is a C6 transmission with shift kit and Lokar floor shifter. The wheels it turns are 15x7” Astro Supremes from Truespoke, wrapped in Coker tyres. Underneath, Eric built a custom three-bar rear suspension with a panhard rod to keep the axle centred. Makes it sound so easy, doesn’t it? Naturally, it was all done with air in mind; on went Slam Specialties bags, with Viair pumps supplying the good stuff, and now he had himself a low-low.
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I want kandy
‘When it came to the paint,’ continues Eric, ‘I had always wanted to flame an entire car from the front to the rear and I just came up with the colour. I created the custom House of Kolor ‘antifreeze green’ by mixing several different kandy toners over a flake base, then added multicoloured pearl flames and pinstriping and a complementary purple kandy roof. It was a very brave choice, but I think that the colours work well together.’ Once again, he makes it sound so very simple. But dig a little deeper and he’ll
confirm that it was anything but. ‘It’s been 28 years of blood, sweat, sacrifice, devotion, dedication and at times tears from the pure frustration of custom painting. It’s not an easy thing to learn.’ Not easy, but worth it? Hell, yeah. Though the car was built almost a quarter of a century ago, it was still looking as fresh as ever when we caught up with it to take these pictures – and seeing it in person, Eric really did do a superb job with the overall combination of colours and custom modifications. I’ve not seen another Thunderbird like this one – yes, it is brave to
go wild with the customisation, but this is a stand-out example of what happens when you do it well. Makes me wish I’d paid more attention in school, really… or that they’d offered lessons in buildings cars rather than just the usual maths and English. Though even then, it takes a special kind of pupil to get this far. ‘I’ve questioned myself countless times over this craft that I’ve spent a lifetime teaching myself,’ concludes Eric. ‘I’m a hundred percent self-taught and determined to succeed.’ This Thunderbird is proof that he’s doing exactly that.
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32-33 Centrefold Sep.indd 32
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Melbourne Raceway on Saturday and then a third back at the Pod on Sunday. The track conditions differed each day, with the first day’s runs being part of the Sportsman Nationals Test Day. It was then an 1/8-mile challenge on a no-prep track at Melbourne, followed by a full championship-prepped track at the Pod on Sunday. There was also the not insignificant matter of driving the 400-mile round trip between the two tracks. Drivers were given suggested routes for the journeys, but these weren’t mandatory. There were, however, four compulsory checkpoints that had to be visited. These were Crowden car park off the A628, Engine Data Analysis, Darkside Developments and Straight to the Point Racing near Nottingham. Teams could drive between the tracks at a time of their choosing, the only stipulation being that they submit photographic proof of the car visiting each checkpoint.
■ Words: Dave Biggadyke ■ Pics: Julian Hunt, and as credited
Something for the weekend Although run in conjunction with the Sportsman Nationals and a round of the Straightliners Championship, Street Weekend was a stand-alone event in its own right. The rationale behind this new
competition for 2023 was to find out who really is the king of the street. The format was a nod to Hot Rod Drag Week in the States, with competitors setting a time at Santa Pod on Friday, another at
Checkpoint Charlies
Racers had to submit the time slip of their choosing for each day, with the Street Weekend winner being the driver with the lowest combined ET from all three days. Simple… well, on paper anyway.
Andy Bond out on the road in Ugly Sister, towing a trailer stuffed full of all you need for a weekend away. Mainly tyres really
Pic: Mackenzie Kelly
Pic: Mackenzie Kelly
In case you were wondering, the cat’s now out of the bag. Yup, this is Andy Bond’s personal refueling point of preference. Other brands of takeaway beverages are available
Pic: Roxanne McCarthy
Rob Slater piloting the Code Red ’57 Chevy with all-round crew chief, his son Chris, presumably giving his driving a thumbs up
Pic: Mackenzie Kelly
Alan Sweeney joins the convoy, and he too travels light. What more does a man need than a spare pair of rubbers?
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The rationale behind this new competition was to find out who really is the king of the street
Pounding the tracks and clocking up the road miles took its toll on some of the cars. None more so than the Vauxhall Chevette of Scott Linacre, which suffered engine damage on a run at Melbourne that
Pic: Roxanne McCarthy
necessitated a bottom end rebuild. Spanners were duly wielded and the job was finished in the early hours of the morning – and, after a short nap, Scott headed back to the Pod for a sedate
pass later in the day. Top effort, and well deserving of the £250 Spirit of Street Weekend award. Talking of prize pots, £1750 went to the overall winner, £750 to the runner-up and £250 to third place. Prizes were also awarded to the quickest diesel powered, quickest front and all-wheel drives, quickest turbo equipped, quickest Ford, quickest Outlaw Street member and the Fastest Time at Melbourne. The bar has now been set. The only question being, can the newly crowned king be dethroned next year?
Pic: Roxanne McCarthy
The driving didn’t stop when darkness fell as all drivers were on a mission to reach the next track. We can only guess what Graham Smith has stashed away in that trailer
Another driver giving it the thumbs up whilst out on the open road was Graham Smith behind the wheel of the Bad Apple Racing ’57 Chevy Pic: Rhys Griffiths
One of the southbound checkpoints was at Darkside Developments in Barnsley... Pic: Rhys Griffiths
…where race teams soon entered into the spirit of things with an impromptu game of spot the pineapple
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Pic: Kai McSweeney
Rob Carter cruising in his 427ci-powered VW Passat, not a sight you’ll come across all that often on the M1
Pic: Bradley Haywood
If only the cashier at this service station was paid on a commission basis, having this lot arrive all at once would have brightened their day
Pic: Bradley Haywood
Tom Semper and crew took the opportunity of the checkpoint stop at Engine Data Analysis in Castleford to carry out a little maintenance Pic: Bradley Haywood
All credit to Justin Woolner for driving his Chevy pick-up from Santa Pod to Melbourne Raceway and then back again
Pic: Bradley Haywood
Mark Bracking and Raych Hamilton eating up the miles in Mark’s Outlaw Anglia. Mark’s car was selected as the recipient of the award for Well Turned Out Car at Melbourne
Pineapple chunks
■ Pics: Santa Pod, and as credited
In order to ensure fair play when it came to visiting checkpoints, James Forster came up with a cunning plan – give each team a pineapple! It actually makes far more sense than you may first think. Take a pic of your car at each checkpoint, ensuring the pineapple is in the frame. Mayhem ensued, pineapples got named and dressed up, and the nice people at the Pod gave a trophy and £100 for Most Creative Photo. The winner was Ray Beaumont, whose team submitted numerous shots, the most revealing of which is shown here.
Pic: Team SW69
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40 CUSTOM CAR SEPTEMBER 2023
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STR WEEKEET OVER END WINNALL ER
Andy Bond
Ugly Sister Chevy 210 – 7.8626 / 6.52 / 7.4598 – Total 21.8424
2ND PLACE OVERALL
Alan McSweeney
3RD PLACE OVERALL
Rob Carter
Evolution Volvo 162E – 7.9800 / 6.46 / 7.9057 – Total 22.3457
427ci VW Passat – 8.2766 / 7.2 / 9.2732 – Total 24.7498
Justin Wooler
Scot Linacre
Blown big block Vermin’s Diner Chevy pick-up – 9.9654 / 7.58 / 9.9065 – Total 27.4519
Stinky 1809cc Vauxhall Chevette – 11.4248 / 10.01 / 28.4309 – Total 49.8657
Pic: Tog for Eurodragster.com
Tom Atkinson
’65 Chevy Nova Oreo Speedwagon – 11.1568 / 8.74 / 11.3545 – Total 31.2513
Paul Mander
Petter Lundgren
Jack Hale
Chevy El Camino – 10.3407 / 7.13 / 10.6305 – Total 28.1012
6000cc Volvo 780 coupe – 10.2159 / 8.2 / 10.8738 – Total 29.2897
7100cc Mercedes 280CE – 10.7924 / 7.3 / 10.6867 – Total 28.7791
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Pic: Tog for Eurodragster.com
Mark Wallington
Blue Meanie Ford Mustang – 13.3266 / 9.06 / 12.9180 – Total 35.3046
’32 roadster – 17.4144 / 10.29 / 16.6482 – Total 42.3526
Dave Smith
Rouven Dawson
6200cc Chevy 3150 pick-up – 11.6381 / 7.84 / 11.7410 – Total 31.2191
QUICKEST
FORD
WINNER
Ian Walley
Ford Cortina – 10.2070 / 6.78 / 9.5560 – Total 26.5430
Rob Slater
Phil Walker
Code Red ’57 Chevy Bel Air Sports Coupe – 9.9153 / 7.48 / 9.5130 – Total 26.9083
Pontiac Lemans – 14.7083 / 9.81 / 14.6676 – Total 39.1859
Pic: Tog for Eurodragster.com
Paul Carlin
5000cc Reliant Scimitar – 13.3463 / 8.93 / 12.9692 – Total 35.2455
Neil Lalouette
Super Heavy Chevy C10 – 11.6604 / 8.11 / 11.7678 – Total 31.5382
Rhys Griffiths
Ford Mustang - 11.8728 / 8.08 / 11.7945 – Total 31.7473
Stephen Gilmour
2000cc ’56 Ford 100E – 12.3036 / 8.32 / 12.3722 – Total 32.9958
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Joe O’Brien
Ford Cortina estate – 15.0953 / 10.13 / 15.3290 – Total 40.5543
Mark Bracking
Pic: Tog for Eurodragster.com
Andy Blackett
Ford Anglia – 10.2171 / 7.45 / 10.2616 – Total ’68 Chevy Camaro – 14.2093 / 9.58 / 15.4360 – Total 39.2253 27.9287
Pic: Tog for Eurodragster.com
QUICKEST
Scott Barmby
OS
WINNER
Z28 Camaro The Nightmaro – 13.1698 / 8.55 / 13.1544 – Total 34.8742 Graham Smith
Arnie Pamment
Bad Apple Racing ’57 Chevy – 10.3798 / 8.01 / 9.5839 – Total 27.9737
AMX Javelin – 9.4358 / 7.02 / 9.0197 – Total 25.4755
Dominic Dromey
Ford Falcon – 12.5731 / 8.81 / 12.7046 – Total 34.0877
James Murray Pic: Tog for Eurodragster.com
Nick Gunby
Fox on the Run Ford Mustang – 13.3482 / 8.35 / 12.3774 – Total 34.0756
5,300cc Cortina Estate – 10.0176 / 7.28 / 10.0433 – Total 27.3409
Tom Semper
2100cc Ford 100E – 12.6870 / 8.16 / 11.9504 – Total 32.7974
SEPTEMBER 2023 CUSTOM CAR 43
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Sporting times
T
he Sportsman Nationals was part of an action-packed weekend at Santa Pod Raceway in mid-June. Staged
alongside Street Weekend and the Retro Show, this was a National Drag Racing Championship round. Action on the strip was provided by no less than seven car classes and even
7.60 Heads Up As the name of this new class infers, this is heads-up racing with all cars running to a 7.60 index. After four rounds of qualifying Mark Turner topped the ladder with a nigh-on perfect 7.6006 / 171.75. Beneath him were Belinda Bull 7.6852 / 180.69, Billy Gane 7.8036 / 173.00, Darren Peart 7.8113 / 172.39, Brendan Clancy 7.9555 / 169.88, Ron Bartlett 8.0361 / 171.75 and Paul Marston 8.3407 / 161.35. In eliminations Peart ran 7.7258 / 175.06 to see off Marston, Bull lost out to Clancy’s 8.2516 / 151.13, Gane ran 7.8887 / 171.72 to overcome Bartlett and Turner put in a 7.8026 / 175.08 bye. The next round saw Gane run 7.8031 / 177.09 with no time recorded in Turner’s lane, whilst Clancy ran 7.6654 / 175.76 to see off the 9.9372 / 173.06 from Peart. Gane then ran a 9.1976 / 106.26 in the final, but lost out to an 8.1623 / 150.19 from Clancy.
more for two-wheeled competitors. Interspersed with those were passes from the two-seater thrill ride and the FireForce 2 jet Funny Car. Off track there was the usual mix of evening entertainment, stunt
Brendan Clancy
Darren Peart
Paul Marston
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Modified 100E Challenge
■ Words: Dave Biggadyke ■ Pics: Julian Hunt
Mister consistent Stuart Flitton put in a string of mid-10-second passes, the best of these being a 10.5107 / 128.09, before running an uncharacteristic 11.6256 / 100.29 on his last pass. Meanwhile, Scott Colin was trying to run the numbers although a 10.3501 / 116.24 amidst a string of low 11-second passes wasn’t really cutting the mustard. He had saved the best until last though and carded a 9.4665 / 149.52 on his final run. Sharon Carver kicked off with a 14-second pass, but by the end of the weekend she’d run three 11-second runs, the best of which was an11.7207 / 116.25. David Mott was another consistent runner with all his timing tickets beginning with the number 13. His quickest was a 13.0401 / 103.56 bye, so close to a 12. Stuart Flitton
Scott Colin
David Mott
Sharon Carver
shows, trade stands and even vintage garden games. Here’s a look at just some of what happened CC
Track action was provided by seven car classes Billy Gane
1ST CLASS WINNER
Ron Bartlett Mark Turner Belinda Bull
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Supercharged Outlaws The seven-car Supercharged Outlaw field included a specially invited guest, Australian John Willard in Aussie Outlaw. Willard repaid that invitation in the only way he knew – a storming 6.7374 / 206.05 with crowds erupting at the spectacle. Needless to say, he was the number 1 qualifier at the end of the day. Paul Dale was part of that experience as he was running alongside Willard on that run and came oh so close to a 7 with an 8.1533 / 169.80. He edged even closer on Sunday with an 8.0950 / 169.16. Arron Windridge was also running the numbers and put in a trio of 7-second passes the quickest being a 7.7608 / 172.50 which made him the number two qualifier. The next spot was bagged by Ian Merryweather who was consistently running very low 8-second passes, the best of which being an 8.0495 / 171.74.
Paul Dale
6.7374 / 206.05
Arron Windridge
John Willard
Ian Merryweather
Simon Glenn
Gasser Circus Things were looking good for Niamh Frances Smith during testing on Friday. A PB 12.52 was followed by a 12.9, but things went pear-shaped next time out with the rattling noise that developed being traced to a broken big end bearing. Simon Glenn, however, was faring much better with his fresh blower installation. A string of PBs culminated in a best of 10.48 at 128mph, and he qualified in second spot but then dropped water after the burnout in the first elimination round. Steve Matthews qualified at the top of the ladder, Ray Irish took the third qualifying spot, Nick Hewison the fourth and Jason Picket the fifth. Andy Cobb was running his Bad 2 The Jason Pickett
CLASS WINNER
ith
Niamh Frances Sm
Bone Model A coupe and qualified on the bottom rung with a 14.2976 / 108.17. In the second elimination round, Jason Pickett defeated Matthews, Harvey Turner overcame Chris Layram, Simon Prest was too strong for Adam Kruczynski and John Gibson saw off Hewison. Prest then ran 11.0830 / 120.13 against Gibson’s 10.8085 / 121.53 to book his ticket to the final, whilst Pickett booked his passage with a 13.2130 / 78.14 as Turner fouled. Prest then also fouled in the final run leaving Pickett to take the laurels with an 11.0207 / 110.01.
Andy Cobb
Simon Prest
Steve Matthews
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Plane Sailing
Out & About Words and pics: Alice Fairhead Every year, the East Coast Pirates Car Club goes above and beyond to organise Pirates and Planes, a fantastic little event at Flixton Aviation Museum on the Norfolk-Suffolk border. This is open to anything that wishes to attend, so you can be pretty sure that there’ll be a wide variety of interesting cars to look at. This year’s was set for 14 May, so as always we travelled early to claim a parking space among the planes. Just as well we did, too! I arrived not long after 9am, thinking that would give me plenty of time to park up and start snapping away – only to find that half the museum grounds were already full. By the time it got to 10am, when the event was intended to start, the main site was packed and the overflow field was open, with people arriving throughout the morning. As the day went, on the sun got brighter and it started to feel a little like summer. Then, for everyone’s viewing pleasure a Spitfire made a flypast early afternoon. The museum café was open and proving very popular, too; if there’s one thing even better than a field of good cars, it’s a field of good cars with tea and cake. Flixton Aviation Museum is within Flixton village, down the road from where the WWII airfield operated. It’s volunteerrun and relies on donations, so days like
Father and son Gary and Ben made the trip out in their Pontiac
Rob Blyth’s hot rod will be no stranger to regular CC readers
When was the last time you saw a Chrysler Windsor?
this do wonders to swell the coffers. If you’re ever in the area, Flixton is well worth a stop to have a look round. A great venue for the event – and of course, we can’t thank the East Coast Pirates enough for making the effort every year. Why not look them up on Facebook and make a date in your diary to head for East Anglia yourself next year? CC
“For everyone’s viewing pleasure, a Spitfire made a flypast early afternoon”
Or a Roller looking like this, for that matter?
’26 Studebaker packs Chevy V8 power and looks seriously mean
50 CUSTOM CAR SEPTEMBER 2023
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S D O R ’ S R E D A RE post to Custom Car, alan.kidd@assignment-media.co.uk, or Email photos and details of your car to details – and when t DE14 9PR. Please include your contact Tren on on Burt 2, 863 Pox PO Ltd, ia Assignment Med file size you have available sending digital pictures, use the largest
A steel Tudor body, not chopped but channeled to sit low on an original chassis, leaves the car with a real period look. No need for fenders and a hood where we’re going…
Built not bought
O
wning a hot rod or custom car is one thing. Building it is another. That’s what prompted Robin Deacon to create this baremetal ’31 Ford Tudor. He had plenty of experience as the owner and driver of a wide range of rods, customs and classic American, but the itch was strong to do one of his own. ‘I’ve been into American cars, hot rods and Harleys for a good few years now,’ says Robin. ‘I’ve owned many classic cars and trucks.’ These include a ’62 cortina, ’61 Pontiac Bonneville, ’53 Chevy truck and ’63 Chevy Nova wagon. Right now, he’s going about in a stock ’46 Ford coupe and has a ’64 Chevy C10 truck which he says is ‘another massive
Words: Olly Sack Pics: Alice Fairhead
project and possibly my last.’ We’ve heard THAT before… ‘I did also own a 1930 Model A coupe hot rod,’ he continues. ‘But I always wanted to build my own car. ‘So with this in mind, I bought a pile of parts and two cars, which we transported down to Bedfordshire from the far north of Scotland.’ This was around eight years ago.
It’s a steel
A pile of parts and two cars should be enough to get any petrol-head salivating,
whatever corner of the hobby they happen to pursue. In this case, car number one was a glass-bodied sedan which, in Robin’s words, ‘loosely sat on the original chassis with a four banger engine and box.’ The second was a 1931 Model A Tudor sedan with a steel body on a home-built chassis and a blown small-block Chevy hanging between the rails. ‘Both of these were basically parts cars,’ says Robin. Maybe, but some distinctly wantable parts. So now he had his project, and the ideal
“I really wanted an original style hot rod, channeled but not chopped”
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Front end uses 5.60x15s and a dropped I-beam to keep it in the weeks
SEPTEMBER 2023 CUSTOM CAR 53
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350ci Chevy V8 was rebuilt by Hauser, minus the supercharger that was on it when Robin bought the donor car. It spins the 9” Ford back end via a TH350 trans
starting point from which to build a car of his own. ‘I really wanted an original style hot rod, channeled but not chopped,’ he says. ‘So we decided to use the steel body and channel it over the original chassis, which was boxed for extra strength.’ The 350ci Chevy engine was rebuilt by Hauser Racing, a company whose heritage is the subject of Keith Lee’s Auto Focus column in this issue. Robin had decided to split the blower from it, though – in fact, he swapped it out in payment to the guy who transported the cars back from Scotland. Quite a result all round. Behind the engine, a TH350 tranny turns the diff in a 9” Ford back
axle, while a dropped I-beam takes care of things up front. The 9” rear axle was sourced from a 1980 Ford day van. ‘The late Steve Lang was a massive help with importing parts and a few bits of engineering I needed,’ says Robin, ‘including narrowing the rear axle.’
Sale away
Of course, turning two cars into one is going to leave you with, well, one car’s worth of stuff you don’t need. So Robin set about turning it into some of the stuff we all need. ‘I sold a huge amount of parts including the home made chassis, fibreglass body and
countless other items – which helped pay for a lot of new parts I needed. ‘I found the complete front end and salt flat wheels on Rods’n’Sods, only a few miles from home, from another hot rodder who was taking his already built car in the opposite direction to me, all shiny paint and chrome. And US Automotive and John Woolfe Racing, which are both close to me, came in handy for a lot of the smaller parts.’ So if shiny paint and chrome was the opposite direction to where Robin was going, you’d pretty much already be able to picture the end product even if it wasn’t already illustrated on these pages in all its
54 CUSTOM CAR SEPTEMBER 2023
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Our product is a bespoke engineered electric car for 6-12 year old children 1.0 -1.5 metres tall. A purpose made chassis in either black powder coat or stainless steel polished, with tough fibreglass body. Running all main components from 125 kart series, hydraulic brakes, positive steering, 48volt 2 speed, reversible motor and 40Ah rechargeable Lithium-ion battery, these cars are engineered to the highest standard. Capable of a maximum speed of 45kph, with control to restrict at 20kph. Full leather interior and paint scheme finish the car to your own taste delivering a total unique gift for generations to come. Shipping possible anywhere in the world. €9,500
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Inside the cabin, it’s very spartan indeed – though that’s by design. Robin trimmed the panels, doors, roof and seats using old coffee sacks, keeping it real to the bare-metal image of the exterior, and contented himself with just a few details like the gauges and Mooneyes shifter to add little splashes of visual appeal
glory. ‘The ’31 Tudor body was in such good condition rot wise, I decided to bare metal and spray it with 1K matt clear lacquer,’ explains Robin. ‘Inside, it’s pretty much a bare bones hot rod interior with recycled coffee sacks on the seats.’ As you can see, anyway, by combining an original chassis and a proper steel body Robin has created a rod whose channelednot-chopped style has a real period look to it. It’s a classic home-brew with no end of nice touches and an image that says it doesn’t need to try too hard. Low
Expectations is the name Robin dreamt up for the car – and if that’s what he had when he started out, the results must have come as a very pleasant surprise indeed. We can’t wait to see what he makes of that ’64 Chevy…
“I always wanted to build my own car”
56 CUSTOM CAR SEPTEMBER 2023
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Auto focus ■ Words and Pics: Keith Lee
Geof Hauser
T
he drag racing community is blessed with some very committed characters in the speed equipment world – especially those who are involved in racing their own cars as well. One of the most respected people in this field is Geof Hauser. Geof has been around since the late sixties, and he has immense knowledge on what it takes to go racing. Thinking back, the first time that I remember noticing him was when he penned some articles in the National Drag Racer magazine, back in ’72. His interest in all things souped up predictably started by reading Hot Rod magazines in his local Harrow newsagent. Unlike most of us, though, his first experience of live drag racing came on a family holiday in Canada, back in 1967, when young Geof embarked on a long trek to the nearest strip. Geof would not generally be known as having driven himself until around 1980, but he had a lot more knowledge of race cars before driving a Dodge Challenger. His first trip down the quarter was actually as a nervous passenger in the late NDRC chairman Alan Wigmore’s Chevy Viva – clinging on to the the roll cage! His first actual drive was in Mike Aitken’s Pro Stock Capri. He recalls the dash falling out and hot water spraying through the bulkhead as he drove it in 1973! Geof’s further education resulted in him going to Harrow technical college alongside
Above: Busy firing up the original Sting funny car of Liam Churchill
Above: Scott and father Geof in the workshop. A speciality of the company these days is as a top supplier of US car axle parts for street and strip Left: A degraded picture from 1970 of NDRC chairman Alan Wigmore blasting off in the Itsaviva altered, watched by a young Geof Hauser on the right Below: A rather dishevelled Geof checking out the fuel system on Jim Read’s slingshot. Jim offered him a drive of the ex-Priddle slingshot as a thank you
Phil Cornish, as they studied for their engineering qualifications. Phil went on to become mechanic for Clive Skilton, which led to Geof being invited to join the team. This period included a drive for Geof in the Revolution 3 fueller. The Age Machine dragster of Roz Prior was another car in which he was offered a run. During this time, when so much practical knowledge was absorbed, the two friends helped out other teams with their cars, as fuel car knowledge was thin on the ground – and with Skilton also a race promoter, it led to improved racing. One of the racers the young race engineer assisted was Liam Churchill. Geof moved on to work on Liam’s Capri funny car when Clive cut back on racing. Liam let Geof
drive the Euro Sting car when he was not well for a Wroughton event. For someone who was not a racer, Geof had experienced first hand what went on in a real variety of potent machinery! Clive Skilton emigrated to the US and bought a fuel dragster to go racing against the best. He called Geof to ask him to crew for him in 1977, which resulted in a packed few months in the heat of battle. Racing in the UK then restarted with Sylvia Hauser Racing, as his then wife would prove herself well capable in the driving stakes. Geof would handle the car preparation and they became a successful combination – and imported a Paul Rossi Dodge Challenger, making it a two car team as Geof took on the driving chores of the other car.
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Above: Sylvia Hauser launching the ex-Paul Rossi Dodge Challenger in the early eighties Left: Liam Churchill’s Euro Sting up against Clive Skilton in the Vauxhall funny. Geof, in the background, keeps an eye on events at Snetterton Below: Guiding the Euro Sting back after the burnout. Geof would also get behind the wheel of this car
Geof went into full time business in 1983 when he founded Hauser Race Cars, after moving to Rushden a couple of years earlier. A Super Gas Ford Sierra was the first in house ride to come out of the new business. A heavy crash in 1986 marked the end of Sylvia’s racing days, but the car’s solid construction saved her from injury. A replacement car was then built, which would see Geof in the hot seat. A move up to the new Pro Mod class would prove very successful: in 1989 he became the first competitor in the class to break into the sevens, and he went on to take the championship win. The following season continued the winning streak at Easter, but a fearsome crash at Avon Park wiped out the car in slippery conditions. Once again, the integrity of his self-built cage meant Geof could walk away from it. However that accident led to him retiring from racing, as he devoted his attention into developing the business instead. A prominent entry to be fabricated by Hauser was a new Top Alcohol dragster for Barry Sheavills. It proved to be a very
successful build, and Barry recorded the first ever fivesecond time at Santa Pod for the class. When proposals to introduce a Junior Dragster class into the sport were formulated, Geof was actively involved in establishing the construction standards. Hauser Racing constructed many of these neat little dragsters in the early years, which have been responsible for introducing young boys and girls into the sport. Among those who came in via this route to competition were Geof’s sons Jay and Scott. Both of this second generation won National championships. Scott made the jump into adult competition, in a dragster which he and Geof built together, and runs in the very competitive Super Pro ET class in the rearengined Hauser entry. Watching Geof keeping an eye on the car as it prepares to race, it is just the same as
in the early days. Hardly noticeable, as he hovers in the background, he is focused on all aspects of how the car runs. At a time in his life when one might expect him to be taking it easy, Geof is always kept busy helping out racers. Scott is also fully involved in the variety of work going through the workshop at Finedon, not far from Santa Pod. Geof credits Scott for carrying out virtually all of the build on Julian Webb’s impressive new Spiderman jet car. After so many years, the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame member still enjoys going to the drags. As he said to me, ‘I enjoy being with the people.’ You can be sure that so many of those very people he likes to see are also very pleased that he is there to help them out so often with the parts and much appreciated advice they need to get them back out there running again. Far left: Junior Dragsters are constructed to the best safety standards to protect our up and coming competitors Left: Scott burning out in the current Hauser Super Pro dragster
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BRENTACRE CUSTOM CAR & HOT ROD INSURANCE
NB: We advise you to double check with organisers that the event or show as listed is still going ahead, to avoid any wasted journeys. To submit an event, email alan.kidd@assignment-media.co.uk
AUGUST 3 Krazy Horse Late Nights Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. www.krazyhorse. co.uk 4-6 Ultimate Street Car Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 5-6 Festival of Wheels Trinity Park, Ipswich. www.motorshowevents.com 5-6 Straightliners Race Meet Melbourne Raceway, York. www. straightliners.events 6 American Car Sunday Hooters, Nottingham. www.hootersnottingham. co.uk 6 Wheels on the Waterfront Sovereign Harbour, Eastbourne. Facebook: The Waterfront Eastbourne 7 Top Speed Monday Elvington Airfield, Elvington, West Yorkshire. www.straightliners.events 10-13 NSRA Hot Rod Supernationals Old Warden Park, Biggleswade. www.nsra.org.uk 11-13 Hot Rods in the Borders Liliardsedge, Jedburgh. Hotrodsintheborders@hotmail.com 11-13 Huccabilly Run Hexworthy, Devon. facebook.com/TheAbbotsCC 11-13 NSVA Truck-In Drum and Monkey, Gloucester Road, Upton on Severn. Facebook: NSVA
13 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk
7 Krazy Horse Late Nights Bury St Edmunds. www.krazyhorse.co.uk
15 VW Air-Cooled Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com
7-10 European Finals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk
18-20 Greenlight Nationals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk
8-9 Hindenberg Dirt Track Races www.hindenberg-dirt-track.com
19-20 Passion for Power Classic Motor Show. Tatton Park, Knutsford. www.tattonpassionforpower.com
8-10 Goodwood Revival Goodwood Estate. www.goodwood.com
25-27 GOW! Speed Hill Climb Prescott Hill, Cheltenham, Cotswolds. www.vhra.co.uk 25-27 Knucklebusters Car Show. Stonham Barns, Suffolk. www. stonhambarns.co.uk 25-28 Hot Rod Hop. Thurleigh, Beds. Facebook: Cannibals Car Club UK 26 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 28 Drive and Jive Auto Show. Whitstable Bends, Whitstable, Kent. www.driveandjive.uk
SEPTEMBER 1-3 Blue Ridge Runners Show West Huntspill, Somerset. www.blueridgerunners.co.uk 1-3 VW Action Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 2-3 International Autojumble Beaulieu. www.beaulieu.co.uk
11-13 Retrofestival Newbury Showground. www.retrofestival.co.uk
2-3 Jurby Drag Racing Jurby, Isle of Man. www.straightliners.events
12 Classic Car Breakfast Meet Jack’s Patch, Kirton Lindsey. Facebook: Bomber County Classics
3 Brooklands American Day Brooklands Museum, Weybridge, Surrey. www.brooklandsmuseum.com
12 Best of British Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk
3 Wheels on the Waterfront Sovereign Harbour, Eastbourne. Facebook: The Waterfront Eastbourne
12 Drag & Drift Dakota Raceway, Honiton, Devon. www.straightliners. events 13 ‘Normous Newark Autojumble Newark Showground, Newark, Notts. www.newarkautojumble.co.uk
5 Hayling Hotrods at the Beach. Hayling Island, Hampshire. Glenn: 07889 710189 6 Hot Rod Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com
8-10 The Trip Out Euston Park, Suffolk. thetripout.co.uk 9 Classic Car Breakfast Meet Jack’s Patch, Kirton Lindsey. Facebook: Bomber County Classics 9-10 Straightliners Race Meet Melbourne Raceway, York. www. straightliners.events 10 VHRA Swap Meet Ramsey, Cabridgeshire. www.vhra.co.uk 11 Top Speed Monday Elvington Airfield, Elvington, West Yorkshire. www.straightliners.events 15-17 Hot Rod Drags Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 15-17 Isle of Man Festival of Motoring www.iomfm.com 16 Spitfire Raceway Drag’n’Drift. Parranporth Airfield, St Agnes, Cornwall. www.perranporthdrivingcentre.com 17 American Car Show. Stonham Barns, Suffolk. www. stonhambarns.co.uk 17 ‘Normous Newark Autojumble Newark Showground, Newark, Notts. www.newarkautojumble.co.uk 19 VW Air-Cooled Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 22-24 National Finals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 22-24 Flat Caps and Ferrets Lepton Highlanders, Huddersfield. Facebook: Flat Caps & Ferrets 23-24 ACU/UKITA Records Elvington Airfield, Elvington, West Yorkshire. www.straightliners.events
60 CUSTOM CAR SEPTEMBER 2023
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23-24 Sywell Classic: Pistons and Props Sywell Aerodrome, Northants. www.sywellclassic.co.uk 30 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 30 Drag & Drift Dakota Raceway, Honiton. www.straightliners.events 30 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk
OCTOBER 1 Wheels on the Waterfront Sovereign Harbour, Eastbourne. Facebook: The Waterfront Eastbourne 3 Hayling Hotrods at the Beach. Hayling Island, Hampshire. Glenn: 07889 710189 4 Hot Rod Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 5 Krazy Horse Late Nights Bury St Edmunds. www.krazyhorse.co.uk 7 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 7-8 Straightliners Race Meet Melbourne Raceway, York. www. straightliners.events 9 Top Speed Monday Elvington Airfield, Elvington, West Yorkshire. www.straightliners.events 14 Classic Car Breakfast Meet Jack’s Patch, Kirton Lindsey. Facebook: Bomber County Classics 14 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk
15 Straightliners Race Meet Santa Pod. www.straightliners. events 17 VW Air-Cooled Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 21 Run What Ya Brung Saturday Night Special Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk
25 NSRA AGM. Venue TBC. www.nsra.org.uk
22 ‘Normous Newark Autojumble Newark Showground, Newark, Notts. www.newarkautojumble.co.uk
25 Spitfire Raceway Drag’n’Drift. Parranporth Airfield, St Agnes, Cornwall. www.perranporthdrivingcentre.com
22 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk
DECEMBER
28 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 28 Flame & Thunder Show Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 29 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk
NOVEMBER 1 Hot Rod Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 19 ‘Normous Newark Autojumble Newark Showground, Newark, Notts. www.newarkautojumble.co.uk
6 Hot Rod Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 10 ‘Normous Newark Autojumble Newark Showground, Newark, Notts. www.newarkautojumble.co.uk 19 VW Air-Cooled Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 30 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com
MAY 2024 24-27 Run to the Sun. Newquay. www.rtts.co.uk
21 VW Air-Cooled Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 25 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com
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