JUL 2023
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Contents
is Au su gu e s 6 on t ’2 Ju s 3 ly al e
Find us on Facebook at mCarMagazine www.facebook.com/Custo
Regulars
48
2
News & reviews We’re all waiting for the hammer to fall
32 Centre Spread
No, not this month. Please spare our lives
48 Readers’ Rods Jim Stewart’s distinctive ‘32 Vicky
56 Auto Focus
50 years of floppers in the UK
58 Events
Still got a free weekend? Not any more
64 Next Month
16
Another Valley Gas masterpiece incoming
38
Out and About 36 Drive It Day
How they did it down Devon way
54 Offset Show Rods shine among the modern metal
Features
6
54
6
NSRA Spring Rumble Big-time road trips around the nation
16 Truckasaurous The ultimate apex predator
26 Meat Wagon A catering van done Paul Bacon style
38 Festival of Power
26
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A highlight-packed weekend’s racing
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JULY 2023 CUSTOM CAR 1
CC Contents July.indd 1
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News & reviews
Hammer time donations, so a good array of auction lots will already have been amassed. Further donations can be dropped off at the NitroFM radio station behind the start line, or, if you prefer, by arrangement with Phil who can be contacted at phil. cottingham@britishdragracinghof.co.uk All Donations will be gratefully received, and remember to check out the lots on offer and place your bids during the Dragstalgia weekend. www.britishdragracinghof.co.uk
2
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Former Santa Pod announcer and British Drag Racing Hall of Fame director Brian Taylor passed away at the end of April. Working at John Woolfe Racing, Brian’s career expanded into journalism, writing and editing automotive aftermarket trade journals. He then became involved with drag racing and started commentating at Santa Pod in the 1970s, together with hosting custom shows. The legacy Brian leaves behind includes Crazy Horses - the History of British Drag Racing, an authoritative account of the sport published by Haynes Publishing. Brian became CEO of the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame and helped develop the institution and its annual gala awards. Brian also steered the group of enthusiasts that restored Europe’s first dragster, the Allard Chrysler, as raced by Sydney Allard from 1961. Having written blogs for Acceleration Archive and Eurodragster.com on the restoration, Brian was preparing a book on the car titled The Machine that Changed British Motorsport, which has not yet been published. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. RIP Brian.
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Brian Taylor
Pic: BDRHoF, Auction 202
T
he British Drag Racing Hall of Fame will hold its third annual Grand Auction during Dragstalgia on 7-9 July. The format will be of a silent auction that takes place in the pitside marquee, by kind permission of Santa Pod Raceway. The Hall of Fame is a not-for-profit organisation run pro bono by volunteers to celebrate the history of British drag racing and to recognise significant figures who have contributed to the sport. The Dragstalgia auction raises essential funds to enable the Hall of Fame to carry out its activities. If there are any items out there – great or small, old or new – which their owners would be happy to offer towards the Hall of Fame’s good works, they will be greatly welcomed, Used parts, team apparel or memorabilia - anything that might be of value to a potential bidder. Auction items are not limited to tangible objects. ‘Experiences’ will be welcomed too, such as being present during a pits warm-up or a passenger ride on a Street Eliminator cruise – the list is endless. HoF director Phil Cottingham, pictured, will have been at large during the Main Event collecting
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Help if you can
MANY READERS WILL BE FAMILIAR with the name Halfass Kustoms, Brent Hoitink’s personal garage located in Southern Manitoba, Canada. Brent has a love of ‘30s through to late ‘50s rods and customs, with all his cars being used as daily drivers. Brent has been uploading YouTube videos of his builds for a number of years now, but whilst away at the Lonestar Roundup a few weeks ago disaster struck. A fire started in the workshop and virtually everything was destroyed. That’s cars, parts, tools and equipment – we can only imagine how devastating that must have been. Brent’s stepson, Mathew Sierks, has set up Go Fund Me page and if this tragedy has touched you please donate if you can. GoFundMe Halfass Kustoms
VISIT O
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Essex bits
DESPITE BEING OLD SCHOOL THESE DAYS, a number of hot rods are still powered by 2.5 / 3.0 litre Essex V6 engines. Recognising such engines are still in service, Buton Power now offers Reinz head gaskets for a multitude of applications priced at £30 each including VAT. In a similar vein, Webcon offers a faithful reproduction of the carburettor ‘W’ plate, essential to ensure the fuel / air mixture is evenly distributed to all six cylinders. The price is £113.88 including VAT.. www.burtonpower.com / www.webcon.co.uk
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JULY 2023 CUSTOM CAR 3
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News & reviews Fast Ts
cast
The latest happenings at the home of UK drag racing – Santa Pod
Experience the ultimate nostalgia event at Santa Pod Raceway this year – Dragstalgia 12. From 7 to 9 July, immerse yourself in the timeless allure of Drag Racing. Whether you’re a seasoned fan or new to the sport, Dragstalgia offers an unforgettable experience both on and off the track! In honour of drag racing’s golden era, Dragstalgia will showcase an impressive line-up of drag racing classes. The spotlight will shine on the exhilarating Dragstalgia Cannonball, featuring a fierce battle between Nostalgia Funny Cars and Fuel Altereds, all vying for the prestigious Cannonball Trophy. Adding to the excitement, a supporting cast of Nostalgia classes, including the electrifying Supercharged Outlaws, the captivating Outlaw Anglia, and the adrenalinepumping Nostalgia Superstock will compete for both bragging rights and championship points! An extraordinary gathering of international talent will touch down at Dragstalgia, with David Pertué’s Jet Slingshot Green Monster from France, John Willard’s 6-second Aussie Outlaw from Australia, and joining from the land down under will be former ANDRA champion Paul Stephen with the Double
Trouble blown methanol Altered. An undeniable highlight of the weekend will be the legendary Cracklefest on Saturday evening. The mesmerising sights, sounds and smells of these machines as they ignite their engines are truly a sight to behold! The festivities extend beyond the quarter mile with the Vintage Hub at the heart of the action, playing host to the Hotties Vintage Village Fair and Beer Festival, making it the perfect place to indulge in great drinks and incredible bargains all weekend long. The Live Stage and Fuelers Bar will also feature an incredible lineup of nostalgic entertainment to keep you jitterbugging until your feet hurt. There will be no shortage of automotive marvels to admire during the weekend, from captivating show cars in the Autoglym Show & Shine competition to delving into the rich history of hot rodding in the Blast from the Past Marquee and don’t miss the iconic exhibits in History Display Marquee. 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.
THE INAUGURAL MPH 1/8TH MILE VINTAGE SPRINT takes place at RAF Deenethorpe, Corby, Northants on Sunday 25 June. Race entrants must be pre-booked and numbers are limited to 100 – 60 cars and 40 bikes. All entrants qualify to purchase an exclusive Racer T-shirt. Spectators don’t miss out though, as they can pre-order limited edition black event T-shirts in sizes from small through to XXXL. The shirts, priced at £20, can be collected on the day, and when they’re gone, they are gone. www.mphvintagesprint.co.uk
Jive time
WE ALL KNOW NOT TO DRINK AND DRIVE, but what about drive and jive? You can do that on Bank Holiday Monday 28 August at the Drive and Jive Auto Show. It takes place at Whitstable Bends, Whitstable CT6 8BH and customs, hot rods, American cars and bikes are all welcome. Along with the show vehicles, there will be stalls, refreshments and, of course, live music. www.driveandjive.uk
Gigantic rally
STONOR PARK IN HENLEY-ON-THAMES RG9 6HF is the venue for this year’s Rally of the Giants. It takes place on Sunday 30 July and along with show cars, there will be trade stands and entertainment including Elvis tribute artist Craig Jefferson. Admission is free for AAAC members and £17 per show car for others, with all entries including
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Something for the weekend?
Wheels and more
American-themed The Stars & Stripes Car Show has been running for more than 30 years and it returns to Tatton Park, Knutsford, Cheshire on 1-2 July. Celebrating all things American, hot rods, pick-ups, classics and muscle cars are all welcome. Mixing it up with the cars 2 CUSTOM CAR MARCH 2023 are specialist traders, parts suppliers, insurance companies and autojumble stands. Dotted around the site, food and drink vendors will never be far away, and the beer tent offers live music as well as a mix of ales. www.tattonstarsandstripes.com
Fast Festival This year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed takes place on 13-16 July. As is the norm, all manner
of motorsport will be represented, either in static displays or in action on the Hillclimb and the Forest Rally Stage. It’s not just about motorsport though. We know of several hot rods that will be taking centre stage It all happens at Goodwood House, Chichester, West Sussex and as tickets are limited it’s best to bag yours now. www.goodwood.com
Memorable day Sunday 16 July is the date of the Grand Motorbilia Day being staged at the Car Boot Venue, Main Road, Stickney, Lincs PE22 8AG. Hosted by the Mablethorpe & District Motor Club, the show welcomes vintage and classics, hot rods and customs, American cars, modified and cars of interest, exotic and supercars and so much more. There will also be trade stands and an autojumble area. Entry is free for display vehicles, with visitors charged at £5 per person which includes a complimentary raffle ticket. www.mablethorpedmc.co.uk
access to the house, parks and gardens. www.allamericanautoclub.com
Hosted by Coffee N Cars, the Weekend of Wheels takes place at Moorgreen, Notts NG16 3 QZ on 29-31 July. Attractions secured so far include a show and shine, live music, DJs, bar, caterers and trade stands, with the organisers working on adding more to the mix. Prices are £25 per person for the weekend including camping, or £10 per person for a day ticket. Facebook: Weekend of Wheels
free and attractions include a car boot sale, caterers and stalls. Camping is available so why not make a weekend of it? www.kingslynnkruisers.co.uk
Knuckling down
Extravagance The Kings Lynn Kruisers Auto Extravaganza is on Sunday 30 July at Walpole Community Centre, Walpole St Andrew, Norfolk PE14 7JW. Show cars and drivers are admitted
Summer Bank Holiday weekend, 25-28 August, once again marks the staging of Knuckle Busters at The Barns. As you may have guessed, the venue is Stonham Barns in Suffolk, and the weekend offers live music, jive dancers, DJs and the voice of John Price. Show car drivers are admitted free, as are children under 12. Sunday is show day and camping is available from the Friday. www.stonhambarns.co.uk
Idle air CONTROLLING IDLE AIR IS CRITICAL when fitting an aftermarket EFI system and Webcon offers a universal external idle air motor and housing to do just that. The black anodised billet aluminium housing contains Webcon’s own OEM quality, four-pin-idle stepper motor. Universal mounting is made easy with the provision of 2 x M7 mounting holes, and the price is £93.24 plus VAT. www.webcon.co.uk
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Rumble on PART 1
F
■ Words: Dave Biggadyke
ollowing a Covid-induced deferral, the NSRA Spring Rumbles hit the streets in 2022 and boy was it a hit. Spawned by husband Glyn and subsequently championed by the undisputed Queen of the Rumble, Hannah Thomas, the theory and execution have been a recipe for success from the off. Pick a date, decide on a start point, settle on a finish point, invite others along, and jump in your cars and drive. Can there be a better reason for hot rodding? Aided by a working group of Lee ‘Pikko’ Picton, Keith ‘Roasty’ Elliott and Dave ‘No name’ Biggadyke, the wheels were set in motion. This time round though the time scale was extended. Thanks to some Charlie getting coronated, Bank Holiday free weekends in May proved few and far between. Extending the Rumbles throughout June was the simple solution. The result was 28 Rumbles and well over 500 participating vehicles pre-registered. Here’s a look at the first 8 of these driving experiences. CC
Scottish West Clyde Coast Pics: David Benstead
Date: Sunday 7 May Organiser: David Benstead Distance: Approx 100 miles Numbers of vehicles: 16 Start Time: 9.30 am Starting point: West Coast Harley Davidson, Glasgow Stop-off points: Greenock Esplanade for photos, Largs Yacht Haven for Lunch Finish point: Cars on Campus car show in Kilmarnock
Left: A misty morning and docks in the background were the perfect mix for moody photography. Rumble organiser David Benstead poses in his event T-shirt with his Flathead-powered ’32 coupe.
The Rumblers met up at West Coast Harley Davidson. That’s Ray Ramsay’s Olds-powered ’38 Ford sedan in the foreground. Left: Tim Mansell’s ’40 Chevy pick-up lurks behind Andy Lamb’s Model A. Tim travelled from Wales to take part in the Rumble.
Hot rods for as far as the eye can see.
Castlebay Filling Station in Largs has never sold so much E5 in one hit.
Above: Robbie Greig surprised everyone with a slick paint job on his previously patinated ‘37 Ford Slantback (see November ’22 issue p10). Right: Cars on the Campus is staged at St Joseph’s Academy Campus in Kilmarmrnock and the organisers welcomed the Rumblers with open arms.
Above: David Gray’s ’51 Mercury parked up on Greenock Esplanade.
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West Norfolk
Pics: Paul Gibbs plus others
the best at the start It’s fair to say the weather wasn’t ’t stop a Rumble. of the day but a little bit of rain doesn
’The view from Kevin Jolliffe’s Plymouth coupe as the Rumble wends its way through the Norfolk countryside.
Date: Sunday 7 May Organiser: Paul Gibbs Distance: Approx 30 miles Numbers of vehicles: 11 Start Time: 8.30 am Starting point: C&A Superbikes, Kings Lynn Finish point: RAF Sculthorpe Heritage Centre, Fakenham, Norfolk
It wasn’t countryside all the way but that did give locals the opportunity to see the cars driving by.
Mel Garrard in the Plum Crazy Forsdon, Elliott Garrard in the Pop, Charlie Jarrett in the ’62 Cresta and Mark Bracking in the Outlaw Anglia Pop parked up at the Heritage Centre.
Although not participants in the Rumble, Richard and Sue Tidd were parked up at the Heritage Centre in their ’55 Chevy. Far Left: This particular USAF fire truck is actually stationed at RAF Mildenhall which primarily supports United States Air Force operations. Left: This is the cockpit from an English Electric Canberra XH135 built in 1959 and remained active with the RAF until being into storage in 1982.
Right: It’s not all about aeroplanes at RAF Sculthorpe, there were a few soldiers knocking about too. Far right: Exhibits at the RAF Sculthorpe Heritage Centre include an array of scale model planes, most of them of military origin.
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Nottinghamshire / Lincolnshire
Pics: April Sheppard, Dave Biggadyke Date: Sunday 14 May Organisers: Bob and April Sheppard Distance: Approx 36 miles, plus 62 miles on East Lincolnshire Rumble Numbers of vehicles: 6 Start Time: 9:10 am Starting point: Welcome Break Services, A1, Balderton, Notts Stop-off point: Tesco in Horncastle to join East Lincolnshire Rumble
Reece Proctor’s 100E was an early casualty, running pretty sickly by the time it reached the starting point in Newark. Aided by co-pilot Charlie Turner, the crap in the carb problem was sorted and the duo caught up with the Rumble in Skegness.
Thanks to the very nice people at East Lindsey Property and Car Parks Administration, the Rumblers had a reserved parking area right near the beach in Skegness.
East Lincolnshire
Pics: Dave Biggadyke and April Sheppard Date: Sunday 14 May Organisers: Dave Biggadyke and Scott Halliwell Distance: Approx 62 miles Numbers of vehicles: 13 Start Time: 10:30 am Starting point: Tesco, Horncastle Stop-off point: Skegness seafront Finish point: We’ll Meet Again Museum near Boston, Lincs, with the option of a further stop at Coffee, Paws and More at Langrick Bridge
Mark Needham left Newark with his Dodge Wayfarer running fine, but was feeling deflated by the time he got to Horncastle. The nice people at Quickfit fitted a new valve in his offside front wheel and all was well again.
Colin and Sue Ayres cruising the main drag in Skegness in the ’55 Chevy pick-up they drive everywhere in, even more so now they’re retired.
Carl Powles has given Paul Birkinshore’s ’32 Vicky a totally different look in recent times. Coming next is a change of wheels when Paul can find what he wants.
What’s more, it was complimentary. That means more dosh for fish and chips and ice cream, not to mention the 40p a shot to spend a penny.
Linda and Robin Cook were late entrants for the Rumble as they had arranged to go to the Knuckle Busters bash at Stonham Barns. That was cancelled due to waterlogged grass so they went Rumbling in their ’72 Plymouth instead.
One-year-old Mabel checks the tyres are in order on grandad Alex Lawrie’s Pop before they head off with mum Niamh to the next Rumble destination. Far left: The museum offers a virtual reality experience of piloting a Lancaster Bomber simulator. The Rumble organisers donated a couple of flights as prizes and Colin ‘park on the grass’ Ayres went first…
The Rumble cars parked up in formation at the rear of the We’ll Meet Again Museum at Freiston Shore, just outside Boston.
Maybe this would make for a great caption competition. Let us know what you think. Who knows, the publisher may even come up with a prize.
Left: …followed by Richard Cropp who completed the flight from RAF Coningsby to Humberside Airport without any undo drama.
It just so happens that 19 vehicles is the ideal number to stretch the full length of the grass area allocated to them. The optional final stop-off was at Coffee, Paws and More in Langrick, where host Lesley Wilding kept the coffee and cake flowing and the Rumblers did what they do best when they’re not driving – pose for the camera.
Contrary to what you might think, not all the roads around Boston are completely flat. Amongst other vehicles, Bob’s toy store contains a Model A pick-up, a brace of Mustangs, a ’46 Plymouth, a ’55 Ford Crown Victoria and this blown Model T.
John Proctor had a close encounter with a pothole on the journey home from Lincolnshire. A very close encounter as it turned out with the damaged steering arm just holding out for the rest of the trip, but only just.
Those who made it over to Langrick found the door to Bob Wilding’s toy store was open, and everyone felt the same – it would be rude not to step inside for a nose around.
Subtle and classy, the nerf bars on the front of Richard Cropp’s ’36 Ford coupe really suit the profile of the wings and grille.
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Ray’s Classics
San Carlos CA since 1980
California Collector Car Export Sales Specialist 1963 FORD RANCHERO FACTORY V8/4SPD P/S, GT RALLY WHEELS ,ON THE BUTTON $9,850
1959 CHEVY APACHE SHORTBED STEPSIDE, V8/4SPD, GOOD SOLID CAB NON RUNNER PROJECT $12,450.
1963 MERCURY COMET 2 DOOR HARDTOP $9,250
1950 CHEVY BELAIR 2DR HARDTOP $14,750
One former owner, new gas tank/sender, fuel pump, rebuilt carb, new tyres, runs & drives great.
Complete new painted chassis, Mustang 2 power steering disc brakes, excellent solid body mounted on the chassis with all now mounting pads.
1965 FORD THUNDERBIRD 390ci/AUTO,P/S, PDB, WIRE WHEELS, P/W, A/C, ONE CALIFORNIA OWNER , EXCELLENT RESTORED CONDITION - $22,750
1949 CHEVY 3100 PANEL VAN - $22,750
6cyl/3spd , one California family owned since new, documentation since 1949, bone stock, runs and drives excellent.
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North East Pics: David Archer
Date: Sunday 14 May Organiser: Dave Cox and Bill Little Distance: Approx 50 miles Numbers of vehicles: 25 Start Time: 9.30 am or 10:00 am Starting point: Shell Easington West Services, A19 at Seaham or BP Wolviston Services in Billingham Stop-off point: Stokesley for refreshments Finish point: NY500, the petrolhead-friendly community near Pickering
Wolviston Services was the start point of choice for those travelling from the South of the region, and from the word go the diversity of cars on the Rumble was apparent.
Tea, coffee, scones and cakes were provided on route by Bryan and Suzanne Chemmit. Fortunately, their neighbours are a good bunch so parking wasn’t an issue…
When the scenery is as great as this there is no better reason to pull up for a photoshoot. Up front is organiser Bill Little’s ’40 Ford pick-up. Despite his inside knowledge, word is that Bill was the only person to get lost.
…which is fortunate as there were a lot of vehicles to fit it. That’s Simon Sargeant’s ex-CC featured and Rover V8-powered Thames E83W in the foreground.
Another CC feature car, only it looks a bit different here. As the sun was shining Nick Williams was running his ’32 Ford 5-window coupe bonnetless.
Right: Nostalgia Superstock cars get everywhere these days, and that doesn’t just refer to the race track. Daz Chandler is the man behind the wheel of this ’67 Plymouth. Far right: Trevor Ostle’s super clean ’57 Chevy goes by the name of Blue Thunder and judging by the exhaust cut outs underneath it probably does thunder at times. …which is fortunate as there were a lot of vehicles to fit it. That’s Simon Sargeant’s ex-CC featured and Rover V8-powered Thames E83W in the foreground.
A Ford Vicky isn’t the most common of body styles, yet two of them were out rumbling on the same day. After all these years we’re still loving the colour of Colin Young’s Model A.
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Bristol Pics: Andy Henshall
Keith Harrison joined the Rumble in his traditional style ’29 Model A 5-window coupe.
The Bristol Rumble wasn’t all about old Fords, there were some more up-to-date models as well such as Colin Fox’s ’62 Ford Anglia van.
Rumble organiser, Andy Henshall’s ’37 Ford sedan was sporting a for sale sign. Assembled in the UK the car is a rare right-hand drive model.
Chris Brumby’s ’52 Chevy Styleline De Lux sports some neat pinstriping, and a 350 TPI under the bonnet.
Now here’s some rare British tin (above), the ’36 Vauxhall saloon of Nigel Hibberd.
Date: Sunday 7 May Organiser: Andy Henshall Distance: Approx 30 miles Numbers of vehicles: 25 Start Time: 11.30 am Starting point: The Griffin, Warmley, Bristol Finish point: Atwell-Wilson Motor Museum, Calne, Wilts
We pictured this ’38 Chevy sedan delivery in our Wheels Day feature last month, but we now know it’s Loving the stacked headlamps on owned by Darron Kevern. Julian Freeman’s ’66 Ford Galaxie LTD.
Maybe some would find Ian Mallin’s Beach Buggy a bit contentious for an NSRA event, but we’re loving it.
North Worcestershire
Pics: Julian Atkinson, Ian Armstrong, Andy Murrell
Far from contentious is Steve Woodley’s ’34 coupe, a regular at NSRA events the length and breadth of the country.
Starbucks in Kidderminster was one of the two starting points on offer…
Date: Saturday 13 May Organiser: Julian Atkinson Distance: Approx 72 miles or 55 miles depending on the start point Numbers of vehicles: 21 Start Time: 8.30 am or 9:45am Starting point: Starbucks in Kidderminster or the Filling Sation Café in Malvern Stop-off point: Clee Hills, near Ludlow Finish point: Huxley Motorsport in Worcester
Rumbling through the North Worcestershire countryside. That curvaceous rear belongs to Geoff Moore’s Buick Super Eight.
The Rumble stopped off at Clee Hills for a leg stretch. John Reeve’s Austin was the oldest piece of British tin on the Rumble.
The stop-off offered local pubs or simply the opportunity to take in the magnificent views over Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Shropshire.
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Kent Pics: Jamie Webster Date: Monday 8 May Organiser: Ian Dunlop Distance: Approx 75 miles Numbers of vehicles: 27 Start Time: 10:00 am Starting point: Headcorn Aerodrome, Ashford, Kent Stop-off point: Bewl Water for a comfort break and refreshments Finish point: Detonators Hop Up at Westerham Brewery
The sign may well say Aero Legends, but a ’69 Ford Mustang Fastback is pretty legendary too.
Dave Knight’s Ford Pop sports appropriate personalised numb an er plate. Well, the letters at least, we’re saying the numbers have any relevnot ance.
Right: One of the beauties of the Spring Rumbles is the mix of people they attract, and that means the mix of cars they arrive in.
Mixing it up on the Kent Rumble was David Ward in his ’61 Ford Falcon. Note the custom front grille.
Surely by now, Jonathan Sutherland’s ’37 Ford Model Y Tudor sedan has been a hot rod for at least as long as it was left a stocker.
And talking of a mix of vehicles, it’s not that often you come across a ’48 Dodge coupe like this one owned by Geoff Wild.
The finish point was Westerham Brewery for the Detonators Hop Up, with the Rumblers giving it a wholehearted thumbs up.
A couple of former CC feature cars that were out on the Rumble were Geoff Caves’ ’35 Ford coupe…
-up of
…and the ’40 Ford pick Pat Miles.
…along with the arty shot of what’s following on behind.
…the other being the Filling Station Café in Malvern where parking was at more of a premium.
Friendly hospitality was the order of the day at Huxley Motorsport, along with tasty treats from the Taco Banditos chuck wagon.
The view from the passenger seat in Andy Murrell’s V6-powered ’62 Ford Consul…
Power parking at Huxley Motorsport were Gareth Moreton’s Zephyr, Dave Brown’s Phaeton, Ian Armstrong’s Pop and organiser Julian Atkinson’s Model A.
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utocross is big news now in the States. Companies like Hotchkis, QA1, Reilly Motorsports and others offer complete bolt-in suspension systems to transform most popular American-made cars into corner carvers that can stop and turn on the proverbial dime. The sport is nothing new, we’ve been steaming round cones in car parks in the UK since the dawn of the automobile, but the level of technology going into today’s cars far surpasses what were commonly largely stock production saloons. That was the appeal of the sport, though. It was cheap and accessible to anyone with a car. Modern Autocross cars are anything but cheap to build, but infinitely more fun to hoon around in. But when Chris Brown popped his head into Valley Gas Speed Shop one afternoon, saying, “I’ve just bought a ’42 Ford truck and would like to do something different with it, are you interested?” it’s safe to say a hardcore Autocross machine probably wasn’t in his mind. The pick-up already had the ubiquitous 350 / 350 combo, and sat a bit lower over tired springs, but was otherwise stock, wearing a healthy coat of what’s now called patina. Chris is ex-RAF and was driving a Porsche 911 at the time, which puts his comment, “It’s too slow and drives bloody terribly,” into context. In fact, he was going to buy a new Aston Martin to replace the Porsche with, but was so disappointed by the build quality that he started looking at the old Ford instead, figuring he might spend less having something more interesting built from scratch.
Plugging away
Valley Gas head honcho, Jimmy Hibberd, is well known for being enthusiastic about old Fords, so asked Chris what he wanted to do with the car and, upon receipt of some images by ’phone of what he describes as mud plugger-type trucks, he suggested they get a motor, ’box, 9-inch and some decent suspension and see where they go from there. “I had some tickets for Goodwood, so he came there with Ellie and me and I could see he was buzzing about the circuit racing stuff,” remembers Jimmy, “so I said, why don’t we do something more circuit racing inspired?” When Chris moved from a village near Valley Gas to the border of Wales, with Shelsley Walsh in his sights, he pondered, “Maybe I could do some hillclimbing with it, too?”
“I’ve just bought a ’42 Ford truck and would like to do something different with it”
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A 1942 Ford pick-up might not be the first thing that comes to mind to go hillclimbing in, but then Truckosaurous is no normal pick-up Words: Mike Pye Pics: Matt Richardson
There are more tricks in the body than you first realise. The cab is channelled, but the wings and bonnet sit at stock height and the bonnet has been pancaked. It’s also lost its side spears. The rear wings have been widened, ventilated and the tail lights semi-frenched into them
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The build...
1.
2.
1. How the truck arrived at Valley Gas. A wellused hauler that had its Flathead and 3-speed swapped for a 350 Chevy and TH350. Being GM stuff, Jimmy immediately banished it from the workshop.
4.
2. Truck was stripped to a bare cab and frame, all the unwanted bits bought back by Paul at Coltech Classics.
5.
4. The front section of the original chassis was retained and boxed, then a new tube chassis built up from that.
5. Once you get past the cab though, it’s all tubular, with the roll cage and suspension integrated into the design.
8. 8.Fabricated fuel cell sits right at the back, along with a fire extinguisher, to add some much-needed rearward weight balance.
3. 3. It had to be Ford in a Ford, and the 351 Windsor-based stroker came from Ford Performance Parts.
6. 6. Looking at the underside on the rotisserie, you get a better understanding of how the tubular meets the box section.
9. 9.Exhaust starts out as Hooker headers, but then goes into…
10. 7. 7. Mustang II-based IFS started life as a Kugel Komponents kit, but Jimmy has since modified it for additional adjustability.
10. …NASCAR-spec oval tubing, twin Borla mufflers and upswept pipes that exit out the bed.
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Above: The 8-stack EFI is a copy of the Borla / Inglese systems and uses a FAST ECU for a basic level of self-learning. It took a little bit of setting up but the motor now starts on the button, the throttle response is crisp and the look of that orchestra of trumpets is hard to beat. Right: Ford Motorsport-built engine is based on an iron 351 Windsor block but stroked to 427ci, with ali Z2 heads, Scat forged bottom end, roller rockers, 242 / 248-degree hydraulic roller cam and 10.5:1 compression. The specs are 535bhp at 5,600rpm and 545ft.lbs out of the crate. Custom made cooling pack was provided by Serck Services.
With that, and a 427ci Ford Motorsport engine, Tremec 5-speed ’box and a Currie 9-Plus back axle on order, the stage was set. Everything that came off the truck went back to Paul at Coltech Classics who sold Chris the truck in the first place. Jimmy, meanwhile, put his thinking cap on. “I designed the chassis myself, incorporating some of the tricks I’m building into my own car [a take on Ford’s legendary Thunderbolt]. Chris would come over, I’d show him things, we’d discuss bits and he’d say yeah, let’s do it. He was just a great customer to work with, and we’ve become good friends since.”
The tubes
As you can see from the build pics opposite, the chassis is largely a tubular affair, though it does retain two lengths of original Henry c-section, now boxed, from the front crossmember to under the channelled cab. From these sprout 1 5/8-inch CDS tubes that add rigidity and form the front damper pick-ups, before moving through the front bulkhead and merging with the rollcage, then continuing out through the back of the cab all the way to the tailgate. The bit that catches everyone’s attention is the exposed cantilever rear suspension with its AFCO three-way adjustable coilover dampers with remote reservoirs mounted up high for all to see. Then you notice the twin upswept exhausts exiting between them and some curious fluid tanks that you wouldn’t expect to see where they are. Continuing the circuit race theme, the braced, baffled and LSD-equipped Currie
There are many neat details on this truck, but we love the recessed intakes for the 8-stack induction in the bonnet.
Below: There’s a lot going on in the pick-up bed. The braced Currie 9-Plus back axle has an oil evacuation system that, when turned on, pumps a percentage of the oil out of the housing and stores it in an external reservoir, reducing hydrodynamic friction in the rear end. It’s an old Stock Car trick Jimmy picked up from Lee Holman, son of John Holman of Holman & Moody fame.
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Berkshire Bodyshop gets the credit for the paint job, but it’s not necessarily indicative of the quality of work they are capable of as thew whole idea was that the truck remain looking like it’s just been pulled out of a field. Consequently, some of the worst dents were knocked out, others were left alone, and the fresh paint deliberately aged.
9-inch is located by a traditional 4-bar, but also with Jimmy’s own design of Watt’s link that has its pivot points on the chassis and its links on the axle, rather than the other way round, as is more commonly seen. This, Jimmy says, gives more travel and a greater range of adjustment. Drawing on his NASCAR Euro Series experience, NASCAR-spec splined antiroll bars feature front and rear, while the back axle has a neat semi-dry sump oiling system that can be switched on or off from the dash. When it’s off, the diff’ sloshes about in the regular amount of oil, when it’s on, it reduces that to the bare minimum to reduce friction losses.
Stack ’em high
After seeing the quad Weber 48IDAs on some of the GT40s racing at Goodwood, Chris asked if they could do similar on the truck, then promptly turned up with an 8-stack EFI system for Jimmy to fit. It took a bit of head scratching, not to mention a custom-made manifold adaptor and a set of eight machined spacers to raise the throttle bodies so the fuel rails clear the distributor but, hey, this isn’t a one-sizefits-all kind of car. It’s the crowning glory on an already impressive motor that started at 535bhp, so is probably closer to 550 now, and can torque forever.
Given some dimensions to work with, Chris chose the 8 x 18-inch Rota wheels himself, basing his decision largely on what you wouldn’t expect to see on a ’42 Ford pick-up. They set the tone for the big Wilwood discs and four-pot calipers behind each one, while the Yokohama asymmetric rubber ensures the truck grips as well as the suspension is set up to do. The Kugel Komponents double A-arm IFS features more of Jimmy’s handiwork. Though it’s based on the popular Mustang II architecture, he’s altered it to make it more adjustable for camber, caster and roll centre. “I worked it all out on my car and then just transferred the same thinking to the truck.
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More race car-inspired details on the front in the form of a handmade aluminium splitter, brake cooling ducts and ‘added lightness’ in those grille bars.
It’s much more adjustable than a basic Mustang II IFS so you can really dial it in the way you want it.”
Test drive
“Honestly, it handles incredibly,” Jimmy enthuses. “Chris had a Porsche before and when he went for the first test drive in it, we normally go for about an hour’s drive, and take the customer for some lunch, but we were gone pretty much all day. “I was following in his M-series BMW 4x4 and he kept losing me on the country lanes. He was absolutely on it. When I finally caught up with him, he had stopped at the side of the road and was just laughing.”
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Left: Heavy gauge aluminium adjustable rear wing has in-built Gurney flaps and, in theory at least, should work in concert with the front splitter and rear diffuser. Above: Cantilever rear suspension is of Jimmy’s own design and utilises pushrodoperated AFCO remote reservoir dampers and a chassis-mounted, splined anti-roll bar. Check out the NASCAR-spec flattened oval exhaust tubing, designed to improve ground clearance. Right: Not the kind of interior you might expect to see in a ’40’s Ford pick-up, but it’s combination of all-out race with a little bit of luxury and style is perfectly in keeping with the overall feel of the truck. Eric at Trimmania stitched the aged leather inserts that add a level of comfort to those aluminium race seats.
Right: AiM MXP Strada digital dash / data logger sits in front of the original instrument cluster and relays all the necessary information to Chris on the move. The other screen higher up on the dash isn’t a sat nav, but the control screen for the FAST ECU that runs the fuel injection system. Below: Check out the genuine WWII leather ammo pouch on the door. Jimmy picked it up at a flea market and knew the perfect place for it, though these days it’s more likely to hold Chris’ mobile ’phone.
Above: Custom drilled ali shifter has Hurst top and integral line loc button. Valley Gas made a one-off ratchet handbrake to match that can stand to attention or relax horizontally and has fly-off capability should Chris decide to go drifting. Diamond stitch transmission tunnel cover and saddle leather floor mats are a classy touch.
Below: Lexan windows with sliders may not be the most practical window treatment but, well, because race car.
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“People see it from afar and are drawn to it, like moths to a flame” Turns out Chris is pretty handy behind the wheel, having done some rallying and co-driving in his time. He’s also a selfconfessed adrenalin junkie, and a boring old production Aston was never going to sate his appetite for four-wheel thrills. “I told him we’d have it back to fine tune the set-up, but he said ‘I can’t believe how well it handles. It’s bloody crazy. My driving skills aren’t enough to out drive the car so let’s just leave it as it is.” And with that, he took it home, and to a car show the very next day where it picked up a trophy for Best Engineered. Happy with that.
Attention grabber
Jimmy says in the planning process the idea was to have something that looked like just
an old truck sitting in a field, but then… why has it got those wheels? And what are those holes in the bonnet? Then you notice the front splitter… and the rear diffuser… And by all accounts that’s exactly what happens whenever Chris takes the truck out. People see it from afar and are drawn to it, like moths to a flame, and then the questions start. Why has it got those wheels? What are those holes in the bonnet… Speaking to Jimmy about the build, it wasn’t a straightforward one, but he’s clearly been in his element. He might be best known to all of us reading this as a hot rodder, but Jimmy’s interests in motorsport are wide and varied. He’s built hot rods, built and raced drag cars, gone round the bends at speed on circuits and competed in the European NASCAR series – an experience
he describes as thrilling, scary and the hardest racing he’s ever done. This truck is like a combination of all those things, and Chris is the beneficiary of that distilled experience and knowledge. He said right at the start that he wanted something different, and in Valley Gas Speed Shop he definitely picked the right place to bring Truckosaurous to life.
Thanks
“Berkshire Bodyshop for the paint, Eric Giddings at Trimmania for the interior, Serck Services for the rad’ and cooling pack and The Unhinged Crew in the shop for all their hard work and dedication.”
Rota MXR wheels weigh in at 8 x 18 inches all round, wrapped in sticky Yokohama Advan A052 asymmetric rubbers, 255/40-18s all round. Behind them are Wilwood disc brakes, four pot calipers on each corner.
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When it comes to stuffing everything, including the kitchen sink, into the confines of a custom built van it has to be a case of…
Words: Dave Biggadyke Pics: Richard Hair
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I
n contrast to the norm, this feature doesn’t focus on chassis and drivetrain upgrades, but instead on the vision and eye for detail of the builder. His intention was to create a functional and practical workhorse housed within a uniquely styled body. A contemporary mix of Airstream, Art Deco and Jules Verne springs to mind, with a hint of Roman warrior headgear for good measure. The man behind it is builder extraordinaire Paul Bacon, a man all too familiar to CC readers. Over the years quite a number of his diverse creations have appeared on these pages, namely Dualatron, Cosmotron, Automatron, the not-so-standard Standard, and most recently the WTF-1 pick-up. Adding to that list is what is affectionately known as The Meat Wagon.
Peter Coverdale, a friend of current Cosmotron owner Alan Hull, was hankering after a mobile catering van, one that would stand out in a crowd. Alan introduced Peter to Paul (this is starting to sound a bit biblical), at a time when the WTF-1 build was reaching fruition. Ideas were discussed, drawings were sketched and, getting straight to the meat of the matter a plan was formulated.
The chosen one
In fairness to readers, whilst I will give mention to catering hardware such as a coffee machine and deep fat fryer as they are what this unique creation is all about, it will only be in passing. Not least of all because I would find writing about the finer points of a Fracino Contempo a daunting challenge. That’s a coffee machine in case you’re wondering – oh yes, you won’t find a kettle and a bottle of semi-skimmed in the back of this wagon. Paul did question if a vehicle fitted with a deep fat fryer is a CC first? Such was his jubilation when I admitted it was, he immediately insisted he is known as the ‘fryer messiah’ from this day forth – you know what these creative types are like. So, where do we start with a vehicle such as this? Maybe with what’s under that patina steel and weathered ali cloak, not that that’s what the cloak is made from. Carrying on in the same vein as WTF-1, the base vehicle is another humble late nineties Carbodies Taxi with an indestructible 2.7-litre Nissan diesel under the bonnet. In almost less time than it would take to hail such a cab, it was stripped down leaving just the front of the cab perched on the original rolling chassis. We’ll come back to that, but first, in true CC fashion, let’s look at the grubby side of things. You know, the underbody stuff that really sets a hot rodder’s heart racing. One of the sketches Paul was working to in creating The Meat Wagon’s distinctive body.
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Left: What Paul refers to as the meat hatch was formed in fibreglass with internal strengthening and angle iron ‘glassed in on the top edge to provide mounts for the gull-wing opening hinges. The hatch frame was covered in Dibond then fibreglass and flexible angle strips formed by cutting down square profile downpipe were riveted to the van side and topped off with a rubber seal. Mounted behind the door window is the fuel filler flap with a wing nut handle and above that the fresh water tank filler connector. Note the rivets on the filler flap trim ring and painted over chrome trim tape. Left: Dressing up the engine was limited to pressure washing all the dust off, the underbonnet metal work was coated in roofing top coat though. That’s the enormous leisure battery mounted behind the front grille, with a detachable tow hitch mounted on top of it. Either side of the battery is an air ride pump and the threaded bar and wing nut to the front is the locking device for the melon barrow air jack.
Wheely trick
The rear chassis rails were lengthened and outriggers were added to better support the oversize body which was to be channelled over them. In anticipation of the increased payload, Paul fitted 4-ton Ford Transit air bags to the rear axle using custom laser cut 8mm steel plate bracketry and converted the axle to a dually. When we say converted, we actually mean it’s the original axle with an extra pair of wheels bolted on inside out. Neat trick Paul. The Taxi fuel tank was relocated and mounted on its edge in the void behind the bench seat and cab rear panel. The brakes were fully rebuilt and replumbed, and a new brake master cylinder was fitted. To fuel the workhorse side of The Meat Wagon an LPG tank was fitted under the floor, a fresh water tank was mounted in Luton-style roof void above the cab and a waste water tank was mounted under the floor with an outlet tap in the offside front wing. Following initial road testing the ride height was raised around 2 inches at the front by adding a cup
to the top spring mounts. At the same time, new front shocks and lower ball joints were fitted, and an anti-roll bar was fitted at the rear. For the times when the Meat Wagon needs to be heard a solenoid-actuated exhaust cut out was fitted with the stainless pipe exiting through the side skirt and down through the running board.
Flowing lines
Paul has an incredibly sharp eye when it comes to knowing what looks right. He instinctively knows what works, and just as importantly what doesn’t, and simply defined the lines of the body side panels using 5-metre lengths of UPVC window mouldings. Okay, it wasn’t quite that simple and he did rely on input from his equally astute wife, Kirsty, and between them they got those mouldings to flow in just the right way. We could now wax lyrical about the processes involved in transforming those outline shapes into actual body panels but that has all been covered in the past with Paul’s builds. If you need to know the ins
Above: The front wheel arches have been widened, and that’s the LPG tank filler mounted in the wing. Paul bought the lorry wheel trims at an autojumble and cut the outer flange off a couple of them for the Taxi front wheels. Laser cut steel mounting plates were welded to the wheels and tubular spacers added to lift the wheel trims off the tyres, with chrome finish edging strips completing the job.
and outs, and there are a lot of them, you can tune into the excellent Kustom Worx video clips on YouTube. A word of warning though, that will result in a lot of hours of your life you will never get back. In saying that, you will learn a lot. I know I did. To keep things simple, if that’s an appropriate word in a build such as this, let’s just say that firstly a box section framework was welded across the void at the back of the cut-down cab to tie the b pillars together. The formula for subsequently hand crafting the channelled body sides for The Meat Wagon featured Dibond composite ali sheet, marine ply, expanding foam filler, sticky stuff, wooden batons, plastic downpipe, aluminium tape, chrome trim tape, rivets, fibreglass matting and resin, plaster and, believe it or not, foam swimming pool noodles. There was one more major constituent throughout the build, dust, and a hell of a lot of it. The end product is far more than the technicalities of how it was achieved though. It is quite simply about the vision of the man who created it.
A buck for the grille teeth was formed from Dibond and polystyrene, painted in 2k gloss and coated with release agent. The mould taken from that then produced a full set of gnashers. Wanting the headlights to protrude from the ply backboard Paul cut down a couple of stainless steel mixing bowls and bonded on a Dibond mounting flange. The grille was prepped and sprayed with 2k high gloss black and left for over a week to cure, before being coated in Chromium Extreme from Custom Creation Paints. Paul told us the trick when spraying this is to use lots of air and not much paint, and it should only be applied in a warm environment. Next came a sealer coat finished off with clear.
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The meat of the matter
More box section was added to lengthen the chassis and form outriggers for the enlarged body. Note the air bag rear suspension.
The Taxi was stripped down to leave just the rolling chassis, cab bulkhead and doors, with box section strengthening added behind the b pillars.
A new floor was formed from marine ply. The carpentry isn’t what you can call refined at this early stage, but it will get tidied up.
The rear body sides were formed, based on rough sketches and what is inside Paul’s mind. Marine ply and timber bracing form the flat base for the full-length roof section.
The ‘basic’ roof in situ. The rear wings and running boards are more bi-products of the WTF-1, and the Taxi cab doors have been extended down to match the body channelling. The ‘glass Ford F-series front comes from the same mould as the one on the WTF-1 pickup, with the grille aperture widened to better resemble a ’51 F1.
The door window edges were reprofiled by the addition of shaped pieces of Dibond and all the panel gaps were fettled.
A cut down top from a patio heater was used for the dummy continental kit, whilst wooden strips create the distinctive fluting and UPVC window cloaking forms the Art Deco waterfall.
The aged look in its infancy. Only a mind like Paul’s can visualise the finished product at this early stage.
All interior body seams were fibreglassed over before the panels were covered with 40mm household insulation and then lined with 4mm marine ply.
How many styling cues can you pick up on when studying the mind-blowing contours of the roof?
With the van housed in Paul’s marquee shelter, the roof received several coats of Silver Chrome on top of gloss black.
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Swage lines were added to enhance the van’s side profiles, whilst Dibond plates were brush coated with a mix of clear coat, atomized iron powder and hardener and attached to cover the gaps between the running boards and body sides. Push button door handles, modified to provide an extended reach, are attached to the doors on steel mounting plates.
“A Mediterranean pizza perched upside down on top of the van” With the body sides crafted to Paul’s liking, and a side entry door cut into the offside panels, he formed the top edges using shaped pool noodles which, along with the joints, were ‘glassed over. A woodenedged marine ply mounting ring was then bonded on top of the van sides to form a base on which the roof would sit. A duplicate mounting ring was formed to enable Paul to craft the roof off the van and on the floor, essentially because with the roof fitted The Meat Wagon would be too tall to fit inside the workshop. There’s no end to the hurdles this car building lark can throw up.
Big top Not your normal Custom Car feature interior. The edges of the engine-turned sheet are finished with stainless steel angle. The galley is fully equipped with a griddle plate, deep fat fryer, fridge and more besides.
The roof that topped off this unique body had to be something special, very special indeed. It was laid out by eye once again and didn’t look too bad sitting on the workshop floor, but when placed on top of the wagon it became a totally different story.
Paul readily admits to getting it wrong. “It was especially bad,” he confessed, “an absolute abomination. It looked like a Mediterranean pizza perched upside down on top of the van.” That was the first time around though and the resculpted Mk2 version ticks all the boxes, and more besides. The more you study the roof the more influences you pick up on, just as it should be with a true work of art. With the roof sorted, next on the list was the rather mundane task of cladding the interior with marine ply. Not at all sexy but very necessary. It did get a bit juicier when it came to the nearside rear corner panel though as there was no way plywood would conform to those contours. Ever versatile, Paul turned his attention to a beach ball which he inflated, covered in masking tape and layed on fibreglass matting. Once cured the ‘glass panel was prized from the masking tape, trimmed to size and voilà, a
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Above: The Buick / Cadillac-style front bumper was formed in Dibond with a pair of Model A headlamp buckets forming the basis of the Dagmars, with everything then covered in fibreglass matting. The bumper was painted in base coat black, then Chromium Extreme from Custom Creation Paints and water-based stabilizer followed by 2k clear. The bumper is finished off with heavy-duty 5mm steel skid plates on the bottom edges, screwed and bonded on and painted on the inside but bare on the outside and left to rust. To achieve the desired weathered look, both the bumper and front grille were coated in Paul’s rusty metal potion.
Above: The centre section is 5 inches higher than the rest of the roof, not just for looks but to maximise headroom inside the wagon. Mounted just ahead of the Art Deco waterfall is an oh-so-essential extractor fan. Left: A couple of cut down metal roasting trays were used to enhance the look of the door mirrors which were bonded inside and embellished with a riveted-on Dibond frame. Tubular top supports attach to the mirror backs inside larger diameter tubing, with everything treated with that rusty metal potion. The bullet running lights were formed from lengths of plastic soil pipe tapered into the roof with filler and adorned with shaped Dibond fins. PlastiKote Fleckstone spray gives the bullets a textured finish as if they have been sand cast. A cast clear resin bullet lens finishes off the pointy end.
Left: A duplicate serving hatch was formed on the offside above the side door. This not only aids easier access it also provides plenty of ventilation when the heat is on inside the wagon. The light box panel was formed from Dibond and expanding foam (what else?) then ‘glassed over, coated with filler and sanded smooth. The panel houses the LED lighting with spells out the trading name of Good Lads.
perfect fit interior panel. Plywood was used to fabricate the worktops and cupboards, with the interior then being clad in stainless steel sheet.
Magical potions
Paul’s rationale for the van was for it to have the external appearance of having been left in a field for years then dragged out, slammed and put back on the road. “If this thing is following you down the road I want it to look like it’s going to bite you in the ass.” If only there was a need for a burger van in a Mad Max movie, eh? To achieve that look the body side panels were painted in green base coat, with certain areas dusted in with a darker shade of green and others with black. The pseudo trim was painted in an even lighter shade of green. Next came Paul’s special mix rusty paint potion - matt clear with incredibly
fine atomised iron powder, 2k hardener and thinners - sprayed over certain areas and then sanded to fog it out. The van was then left outside to speed up the ageing process, the panels then being coated in 2k clear tinted with black, with more coats applied in certain areas to make them darker. In contrast, the roof was painted gloss black, left for a few days to fully cure then machine polished. Silver chrome came next, which was clear coated with the edges blacked in by brush and then sanded over to create the weathered aluminium look. Finally came a few coats of 2k clear again tinted with black gloss. To complete the aged and neglected look the faux chromework, such as the grille and bumpers, was treated with Paul’s secret rusty metal potion. Its exact formula is a trade secret, read it’s stored somewhere in Paul’s overactive brain. All we can tell you
is that it’s a mix of table salt, liquid peroxide and distilled vinegar. It’s sprayed on with the excess being immediately wiped off, and if the weather isn’t warm enough it needs to be force dried. Along with many other jobs, Lee Cox handled the wiring and all was looking good until it came to MoT time. The front bumper proved too low for the van to fit on the brake test rollers. Not wanting to raise the ride height Paul came up with what sounds like a Harry Styles song; the melon barrow air jack. Essentially, it’s a 2-wheeled cradle made from a pair of Taxi radius arms that pivots on the underside of the front crossmember. Release the safety lock wing nut under the bonnet, clip an airline on the Schrader valve and a compressor lowers the barrow and raises the front end – strictly only for use at MoT test time. Hey, it is a Paul Bacon build after all.
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Left: The ‘glass dashboard cover is another WTF-1 bi-product. It’s been painted with matt 2k clear with added iron powder, which was stipple brushed on in some areas and then sanded down. Green graffiti paint came next which was sanded through in some places and brush painted black on the edges and corners which was wiped off straight away to just leave a residue. It was finally treated with rusty paint potion and left overnight before being screwed into place. The central flap opens to reveal the heater controls and other switches. The Taxi plastic door cards were covered in hessian sacking which was covered in fibreglass resin and then coated in matt 2k clear. Left: The bench seat is from a ’74 Rolls Royce Siver Shadow. It was cleaned up with thinners, patches were stuck over the damaged areas, and the leather was coated in green 94 graffiti paint, a product Paul swears by. The alloy bracket above the seat back supports the section of rigid headlining that moves to allow the coffee machine to be retracted into its operational position.
The meat is on The Meat Wagon is now in the hands of North East-based Peter Coverdale who will soon be trading under the name of Good Lads. If you run an event in the area and are on the lookout for a tasty caterer with a high performance coffee machine you can find him on the other end of 07713 613955.
The mad scientist himself. You just know that Paul Bacon’s head is stuffed full of lots more potential projects. This is far from the last time we’ll be paying him a visit.
Along with that piece of paper from the Ministry, the van also needed to secure a Gas Safety Certificate – another first for CC – which it bagged at the first attempt. With the paperwork all in order, The Meat Wagon was ready for collection which pretty much brings this feature to its conclusion. We are, however, conscious that some of you lust after the technical data side of things and thought it only fair to quote performance figures - the Fracino Contempo produces up to 400 cups of coffee per hour. It takes some beans to do that. Paul has other builds on the go which you can check out on his YouTube channel, with the latest twist being that the car that kicked it off as Dualatron has returned to meet its maker. You can also view Paul on a different channel, NBC, as he’s a guest builder on the new series of Hot Wheels Ultimate Challenge which was scheduled to debut on 30 May. I just hope the producers knew what they were letting themselves in for…
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Left: Looking through the serving hatch provides the view that customers will get. A hydraulic ram opens and closes the hatch, the mechanism incorporating a microswitch that turns off the gas when the hatch is shut. The holes in the frame are finished off with small saucepans with the handles cut off – Paul has got a thing about cookware you know. The coffee machine is in its operational position in this shot, but when the wagon is on the move a motorized slide with manual lock-off moves it rearwards behind the serving hatch.
Right: The wrap-round rear bumper was formed in pretty much the same way as the front bumper, with an old headlight bucket being cut down, re-profiled and used as a buck for a mould for the ‘glass Dagmars. Consideration was given to making the bumper pivot due to the possibility of it grounding out at times, but that was deemed an unnecessary over-complication. Instead, it too was treated to steel skid plates on the underside. Rear and number plate lights are Taxi originals whilst the aftermarket fog light is an MoT must.
Thanks “Hot rod legend Lee Cox without whom The Meat Wagon still wouldn’t be finished, and Kirsty for her fibreglassing expertise and design input”
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Shut up and Drive
Out & About
Words and pics: James Webber Below: Richard Enriquez runs this 1970 Plymouth Sports Satellite with 318ci power
‘Anyone is welcome to take part’ Sunday 23 April saw the annual Drive it Day across the whole of the UK, with various car clubs organising cruises and runs out. Down in Cornwall, the big one was organised by Gary Down of Launceston Retro Rides. The route started with members in the north of the county meeting at the local Co-Op in Launceston then cruising down to a big service station on the A30 to meet anyone from the south and mid-county. From here, route details were passed out and the cruise proper began – heading into Newquay and up the coast, with hills, tight curves and narrow sections making it a great driver’s road. A 45-minute stop was held at Trevone Bay Café, who kindly turned off their parking cameras for the group. From here, the route continued to follow the coast road as far as possible before merging onto the A39 and heading to a final stop at Widemouth Bay in Bude. Here, the guys at the Black Rock Café kindly allowed a big field out the back for parking, at a reduced rate of £2 all for those taking part in the cruise. The weather for the day was a mixed bag. It was okay to start with but started to pour down as the convoy was arriving in Newquay (guess who got soaked taking
John Lobb recently finished building this 3.5-litre Rover V8 powered 105e Anglia Estate
pictures…), then the sun finally came out as they pulled ion to Widemouth Bay. In total, around 72 cars went out on the cruise. A few either headed for home midroute or had other engagements to attend, but there was still a big gathering at the end. The great idea with Drive it Day, and the Launceston Retro Rides club in general, is that anyone is welcome to take part. Even dailies are fine, if the second car is off the road or not suitable for wet weather – it’s all about having a great day and raising money for charity (Drive it Day
plaques are purchased prior and money goes to the NSPCC). Check out Launceston Retro Rides’s group page on Facebook for photos of the cruise and other meets in the South West – and why not sign yourself up for next year’s Drive it Day, or even organise a cruise yourself? CC
Pair of Trans Ams out on the cruise
Above: Tony and Kay Bonnick drive around in this Chevy C10, named ‘Peanut’
Above: Tod Davies drives a custom Beach Buggy with a 3.5 Rover V8 hanging out the back. You’ll probably never see another one…
…oh!
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FESTIVAL OF POWER T ■ Words: Mike Pye ■ Pics: Julian Hunt he re-scheduled Festival of Power (formerly known as the Spring Speed Nationals) took place over the weekend of 29 April to 1 May and was blessed with largely favourable weather and excellent track conditions, flying in the face of the incessant rain we’ve been suffering so far this year. A massive field of close to 300 car and bike entries provided something
for everyone and the spectator bank was consequently packed. Billed as “an action-packed weekend for the whole family featuring the famous annual Jet Car Shootout”, it didn’t disappoint. Add to that multiple drag bike classes, monster trucks, stunt displays and a broad selection of Pro and Sportsman race classes, there was plenty to keep the expectant crowd entertained.
For our money, though, the highlights were the two Top Fuellers piloted by Ida Zetterstrom and Susanne Callin, the Nitro and Nostalgia Funny Cars, the muchanticipated return of the Russo’s Rat Chevelle – now in the very capable hands of Chris Goodale – and the Pro Modifieds, with Wayne Nicholson in particular having a stellar weekend, recording his first ever five to rapturous applause from the crowd, and all the teams in the class.
Jet cars
Old timers at Santa Pod might not be as excited as the youngsters by the jet cars but you only have to watch the crowds run for the banking when they’re announced over the loudspeakers to know these are still a hugely popular attraction. And it doesn’t get any better than side-by-side fives. Julian Webb put the new Spiderman Fireforce 3 vs Firestorm car through in 6.013 seconds at 253mph at lunchtime on Saturday, but the crowd was up on its feet for the multiple side-byPerry Watkins side fives by Roger Goring in Firestorm and Martin Hill in Fireforce 3 (5.050 / 241 vs 5.645 / 230 and 5.038 / 241 vs 5.051 / 237). Hill then improved to a 4.697 / 202 Sunday afternoon and Webb to a 4.994 / 238, improving his mph further to a PB 266.79 on Monday morning, while Perry Watkins put in multiple 150mph passes in Julian Webb the Oklahoma Willy VW pick-up.
Susanne Callin
Top Fuel
First time out on Saturday afternoon, Ida Zetterstrom suffered tyre shake and dropped the laundry early, leaving Susanne Callin to go through on a 7.591 / 75. That cycle repeated on Sunday in session two, though this time Callin made it to half Ida Zetterstrom track before lifting, recording 4.967 / 140 as Zetterstrom idled down track without drive alongside. Callin put in a full pass in session three but unfortunately no time was recorded, Zetterstrom clearly still having trouble, but it’s still early in the season for these monster machines.
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Fuel Funny Car
Running in a time trial format, Kevin Kent was first round to the line in the West Ten Motorsport Monte Carlo, scorching off the line but up in smoke at 200ft, yet still going through in 5.240 seconds at 143mph. Despite losing cylinders in both cars, session two produced a good pairing, 5.112 / 159 for Jason Phelps in the Gladiator Toyota and 6.841 / 96 for Kent in the Chevy Monte Carlo-bodied machine.
Kevin Kent
Jason Phelps
In session three, the duo improved to 4.824 / 206 vs 5.863 / 117 respectively and Kent went quicker still in session four, 4.351 / 273, but hurt his motor in the process, meaning only Phelps was running on Monday (5.064 / 171 half pass)
Nostalgia Funny Car Cup Despite lots of talk of new cars – some of which have already broken cover – only three cars made it to the line this weekend in this always dramatic and unpredictable class. Of those, Tim Garlick and the Apache Firebird was the only one able to cover the quarter consistently over the weekend, coming first in qualifying and staying there with the 6.2s at around 225mph we’re so used to seeing from this outfit. Wendy Baker is still having trouble in the Time Warp Mustang, but put a straight half-track pass in early evening Saturday (9.210 / 82) while Tony Betts’ team were still wrenching on the Venom Camaro, and another on Sunday evening, 8.701 / 110. Come Sunday, all three cars were shut off on the Tim Garlick start line in qualifying three, though Garlick was re-fired and put in another 6.22 at 224mph. Wendy Baker In the final, Garlick did the usual (6.233 / 223) while Baker drifted through the blocks alongside (7.561 / 154). Betts failed to qualify, but came round for a late time trial, only to Tony Betts
have the throttle fail on launch. In the final pairing on Monday evening, Garlick weaved down track to a 6.245 / 222 while Betts at least put in a pass, though not without incident (8.787 / 109)
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Motorsport UK Pro Modified
Wayne Nicholson
Five cars turned out in the UK’s fastest and quickest doorslammer class and, despite strong performances from all of them, it was definitely Wayne Nicholson’s weekend. But we’ll come to that in a moment. Qualifying one saw Frenchman, Jean Dulamon, pushed back and Bobby Wallace go 6.240 / 190 in the nitrous car to lead the table early, staying there through qualifying two until Nicholson unleashed the beast within, carding an astounding 5.889 / 243mph PB. Andy Robinson, meanwhile, clocked a 5.996 / 243, but struggled to get to grip with the track in the Anger Management Camaro, damaging a piston in qualifying and choosing to swap in the team’s spare engine on Sunday afternoon, only to have an errant cable tie cause a red light, ending their weekend. Bobby Wallace Dulamon also had engine problems, but seemed to resolve them by Sunday evening when he was the only one who came to the line for session six, 6.191 / 226. David Smith, meanwhile, continued his licensing runs in the Stranger Thing ’55. Eventual round winner was Bobby Wallace, who started the weekend by recording the quickest time by a Pro Mod on Friday’s test day (6.793 / 156) and never looked back, going 5.979 / 243 in qualifying four, 5.947 / 242 in qualifying five, defeating Dulamon in the first round of eliminations (5.954 / 242 n Jean Dulamo vs 6.888 / 161) and Nicholson in a contender for race of the weekend final, 6.169 / 240 vs 6.149 / 183 with a whole lotta Andy Robinson shaking goin’ on.
TrackWorx Comp Eliminator
Steve Lloyd
Steve Lloyd put in a few runs on test day, recording a best of 11.176 / 118 in the ex-Williams Bros 327 Impala, but come qualifying on Saturday, the screaming four pots of Kev Jenkins (8.747 / 161) and Ahmed Jamshaid (8.726 / 174) proved the quickest of the bunch, though neither couldn’t topple Nic
Ahmed Jamshaid
Williams from the top of the tree. Jenkins improved to a 7.918 / 172 in later sessions, Jamshaid to a PB 8.676, bettering that to 8.602,
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Be FastR Super Comp Just six entries in Super Comp this weekend, with only Steve Hudson (9.251 / 144 on a bye) keeping it the right side of the 8.90 index for the class in qualifying one, the rest going quicker. Things had settled by qualifying three, though, with Leah Kellet, Richard Tunstall and Steve Field all running within 0.16 of the class index, 8.937, 8.954 and 9.063 respectively. Hudson leapfrogged the lot on Sunday morning with an 8.901 / 145, setting himself up nicely for the mandatory bye in the first round of eliminations, Leah Kellett with Stuart Doignie bringing up the rear. When Doignie failed to show in round one, Tunstall went through on a flying 8.464 / 149, while Kellet saw off Field in a squeaker, 9.015 / 145 vs 9.051 / 146, giving her a bye into the final against Hudson, having despatched Tunstall in round two (8.850 / 140 vs 8.838 / 148). Another great race saw Kellett emerge victorious this time, 9.021 / 150 vs 9.185 / Steve Hudson 143. Great racing. Richard Tunstall Steve Field
and Spencer Tramm proved solid, holding a podium position on the ladder through to eliminations. Round one saw Lloyd, Dan Williams, Jenkins and Tramm go through, but Lloyd was then over eager in the semis and red lit, while a broken fuel pump drive sidelined Jenkins, leaving the door into the final open
Spencer Tramm
Kev Jenkins
for Williams, who lined his second generation Camaro up against the first gen version of Williams Bros team mate, Tramm. At the stripe, it was to be Tramm’s day, 11.079 / 115 on an 11.70 dial in vs 10.831 / 118 on an 11.25 dial in.
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VP Lubricants Nostalgia Super Stock
We’ve seen over 50 cars on the bill for this hugely popular class, and expect to see that again later this season, but at the Festival of Power numbers were down to 16. That didn’t mean the racing was any less frantic, though, and all eyes were on Chris Goodale in the freshly restored Russo’s Rat Chevelle. Packing an EDA-built 548ci BBC, he didn’t disappoint, pulling the front wheels and clocking 9.859 / 134 straight out of the box. However, it was old hand, Dave Billadeau, at the top Spencer Tramm of the tree (9.815 / 137) at the end of qualifying one. Spencer Tramm bagged a perfect ET (11.170 / 115 on an 11.17 Ash Rawson dial) and number one spot in qualifying two, with Neil Frances in the Rust Bucket Savoy right behind. Right up until Mick Sharpe in the Detroit Hustle Dart (10.604 / 123 in a 10.60 dial) usurped him in qualifying three, only to have the same done to him by Don Scott on the first Sunday session (9.701 / 136 on a 9.70 dial). Come eliminations on Monday, over eagerness got the better of Pete Dodd, Chris Layram and Adrian Portelli, then Stuart Thompson was pushed back with a fluid leak in round two before more red lights appeared in the lanes of Pete Wiseman, Dave Billadeau and Steve Lloyd, though the latter was happy to see his first ever 10-second timing slip (10.993 / 118), meaning the semis featured Goodale, Simon Rickwood, Ash Rawson and a very on-form Spencer Tramm. Tramm continued his relentless march, forcing a red light out of Rawson in the final to take the event win (11.070 / 115 on an 11.090 dial vs 10.249 Simon Rickwood / 131 on a 10.18).
Chris Goodale
VW Pro 16 on the entry card but only 10 made it to the line for the first round of qualifying, with dial ins ranging from 10.50 for Graham Fairhead’s 1800cc Type 3 Fastback down to 12.80 for Abi Tether in her off-the-showroom-floor Golf R, with a selection of more radical air and watercooled VAG products in between. Danielle Coppin Chris Waterhouse
The round win went to another Golf R, that of Danielle Coppin, but special mention goes to Chris Waterhouse for pushing his modified Audi S3 into the nines for the first time in qualifying five (9.936 / 141 on a 10 dead dial), then bettering that with a 9.841 / 142 with a cherry on top in eliminations one.
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Junior Dragster The Junior Dragster class is a serious entity these days, with some beautiful engineering evident in the cars and 27 runners Liam McDonald Freddie Taylor entered for this event. They always get to kick proceedings off too, and Freddie Taylor set the pace with an 8.067 / 77 pass on a 7.90 dial in, with Ellie May Brown and Max Taylor hot on his heels. Liam McDonald and Luke Mugridge made big gains in round two and then Jake Cooper leapt into number one spot in qualifying three, running 9.025 / 68 on an 8.90 dial in with a cat-like .0023 reaction time. Come Sunday morning, Teddy Howe joined the podium positions, vaulting up from number 21 with a 12.819 / 50 on a slower 11.90 dial in. Grace Smith showed the boys how to do it in qualifying five, Ada Cassisi posting a 0.0002 reaction time and a 9.201 / 70 on an 8.90 dial to bag pole going into Monday’s eliminations. Smith capitalised on that by psyching out Kai Cooper on the line in round one and gaining a bye in round two. Joining her in round three were Freddie and Max Taylor, Ada Cassisi, Emmy Crundwell, Mugridge and McDonald. Break outs and red lights were the story of eliminations three, leaving only Cassisi, Freddie Taylor, McDonald and Crundwell standing. That reduced further to a Grace Smith Teddy Howe McDonald vs Cassisi final, which went the way of McDonald, 8.160 / 74 on an 8.10 dial vs 10.126 / 63 on a 10 dead.
Outlaw Flat 4
Sportsman class winners
Only three runners turned out to contest the Outlaw arm of air-cooled VW racing, Darren Shephard, Adam Lowe and James Wotton, the latter recording a PB 9.388 / 146, which kept him ahead of the pack all the way to the final, where he beat Lowe 9.872 / 145 vs 11.019 / 117.
Winner – Gary Lake (14.368 / 82 on a 14.10 dial in).
James Wotton
Hutchinson & Dibley Sportsman ET Runner-up – Steve Mellors (17.416 / 72 on a 15.i5 dial in).
Gary Lake (near lane) vs Steve Mellors
Sportsman class winners VW Sportsman
Winner – Caitlin Wilson (17.278 / 70 on a 16.94 dial in). Runner-up – Jon Crawford (16.382 / 80 on a 15.99 dial in).
Caitlin Wilson
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Tony Morris Carburetors Super Gas 12 cars on the entry card for the fiercely competitive 9.90 class, and a couple of new faces in the seat of some familiar cars. Outlaw Anglia campaigner, Jedd Guy, was the hot shoe in the Tunstall roadster this weekend, while Dan Page (son of Gary Page) was piloting the ex-Jon Morton No Hair Camaro. Mark White put the Vega on top spot in qualifying one, 9.928 / 132, with Simon Fulton Marc White right behind in the Blitzkrieg Racing Falcon and Wayne Hiscock in third place. Page and Dave Fulton stepped up in qualifying two, but Andy Harrison nailed it in round three, 9.913 / 142 with Jedd Guy a .0014 reaction time. It was all change again come Sunday, though, with White back in contention, but Dave Fulton, Stuart Morrice and Stuart Doignie weren’t giving up without a fight. The racers had to wait until 4pm to be called for the first round of eliminations on Monday, which saw a bunch of red lights and break outs, leaving White, Guy, Tim Moore, Marc Huxley, Doignie and Morrice on the ladder.
Peter Nee Super Pro ET Quickest on test day was Nick Good (6.899 / 195) but Darren Peart entered the class this weekend in the Wildcat Cortina, as did Ron Bartlett in his 584ci Anglia, while Ashley Bell was out campaigning a new 540ci Chevelle (straight into the eights, 8.984 / 146, in qualifying five) and Brian Pateman, Colin Morrice and Pete Walters all made welcome returns. Steve Saunders in the Altered-style ’32 ended qualifying Alan Didwell vs Ron Bartlett one at the bottom of the ladder after a big breakout but well pleased with a new 8.388 / 155 PB. Top of the ladder was AC Bell (8.773 / 155 on an 8.77 dial), but Alan Didwell, Scott Hauser and Matt Peters were all coming on strong. A bunch of red lights, no Tom Atkinson shows and break outs in round ers one saw Peart, Hauser, Bell, Saund Steve Pateman, Saunders, Marston and Dave Russell all fall by the wayside, and by the end of round three the ladder was down to Tom Atkinson, Didwell and Bartlett, the former disposed of in the semis by points leader Didwell. After all that, the final was something of an inauspicious affair, Bartlett lighting a cherry on his way to an 8.298 / 164 on an 8.24 dial, while Didwell rolled casually through for the win with a 22.605 / 24 pass on a 7.65 dial in. A C Bell
Ashley Bell
Pete Walters
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It was Morrice’s turn to red light next, while Moore squeaked past Doignie and Guy crossed the line just 0.0002 seconds ahead of Huxley. White then got the bye into the final and Moore took the win over Guy who ran under the class index with a 9.897 pass. White capitalised on his fortune, taking the laurels with a 9.878 / 133 run to Moore’s losing 9.770 / 145.
Marc Huxley
Wayne Hiscock
Stuart Doignie vs Tim Moore
ModUrStang Pro ET With 30 cars on the qualifying ladder, this was the most buoyant Pro class this weekend and, though Pete Dodd was quickest on test day, 9.194 / 148, it was Dave Fulton in the Nova who came through on top (9.474 / 141 on a 9.47 dial) in the first round of qualifying, closely followed by Mason Griffiths and Jessica Bishop. John Dalrymple was back in the class, running strong in his Full Tilt Willys and Simon Fulton was Leigh Morris vs Dave Fulton double classing in his Falcon, running strong and consistently in the eights (best of 8.913 / 149) in the preliminary rounds, while Ronnie Mercer was playing with gas for the first time in his subtle, but very quick Pop. In round two, Simon Rickwood, Amy Watkins Marc Huxley and Simon Innes made big gains, Ronnie Mercer then it was the turn of John Bean, Brett Featherstone and Amy Watkins. Pete Dodd made a big jump to the number Laura Baynton three spot in qualifying five so it was Dave Fulton, Bean and Dodd going into eliminations, the first round of which was broken by rain on Sunday evening. Points leader, Leigh Morris, upset Fulton’s apple cart, Darren Huxley ran right on his dial in and Jess Bishop took out Harley-Jay Darby before the round was halted when the meet was called, to be completed early Monday morning. At the end of round two, the runners were distilled down to Morris, Amy Watkins, Stevie Gates and Nick Mugridge, which reduced further to a Morris vs Watkins final. Once again, it was Mr. consistent, Leigh Morris, in the E-Type who took the laurels, Jess Bishop defeating Watkins, 10.101 / 129 on a 10.08 dial vs 9.473 / 142 on a 9.43 dial.
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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 Box PO Ltd, ia Assignment Med file size you have available sending digital pictures, use the largest
Wheels of Fortune
J
im Stewart has been into hot rods all his life. As have many of us, but he’s been fortunate enough to have owned a long list of rare and cool cars over the years.
Words and Pics: Steve Edwards
suspension from various Granada and Cortina parts. Jim had trained as a mechanic after leaving school, so it was only a matter to time before he built his own car from the ground up. The first was a VW-based Willys
It held up well on the Autobahn and broke into three figures He got his first ’32 Ford, a Tudor sedan, when he was just aged 24 – and that cast the die. It was running a Corvette engine and rear axle and Jim built his own front
coupe, which was powered by a 1600cc Beetle engine. From there, he moved on to a Ford Pop into which he threw a three-litre V6 lump.
Then he was jammy enough to discover a ’40 Ford coupe that had been parked in a barn after being imported from South Africa. It came to Jim complete with a Flathead V8, so he did the decent thing and restored it to its former glory. They say you make your own luck, and Jim was blessed by good fortune in another area too. His wife Kathy has always tolerated his love of cars – and when their family grew, she was happy when he bought a sensible family motor. By which I mean a four-door ’57 Chevrolet Station Wagon in turquoise and white.
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S from a ’93 Corvette, sends The 5.7-litre V8 engine, which came 4 Turbo Hydra-Matic auto 700R a via ls whee the 300bhp back to a Vette, this one dating from also is box. The axle putting it down back to ’69 rear axle
When that was eventually moved on as the kids got older, Kathy got a Eurobox while Jim got behind the wheel of a Model T sedan. Bit of an imbalance there, you might say – an it would appear that Jim was feeling the same way after a while, because next thing he did was replace it with a pair of Harley Davidsons so Kathy could enjoy the fun too.
a ’32 Roadster which they would take to shows, occasionally one each but usually one or the other.
This was all good, but Jim and Kathy had always liked the look of the ’32 Victoria body style. In fact, they liked it so much they
His’n’hers
Four wheels are always better when they’re all attached to the same thing, though, and not long after this the couple found themselves back in cars rather than bikes. That’s cars plural – a Model A Pickup and
Front suspension mates Carerra coil-overs with Heidts polished ally wishbones. Jim says the result is a particularly smooth ride
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The yellow steels went on in time for the 2019 Supernats, which for Jim and Kathy were an event for which rain stopped play. Liking the way they looked, however, he left them on – and by the time of our photoshoot they were still there
even named their daughter after it. Which brings us to the one you’re looking at here. The car was built in New York State, but Jim wasn’t its first British owner. That honour fell to Brian Bignall, who used to spend a few months at a time in Arizona and spotted it on eBay out there during one of his visits. Brian had the car shipped out west (the journey it took would have
followed Route 66 for a good bit of the way) and kept it stored there when he returned home to England. We’re not entirely sure what happened in between, but next thing you know the ’32 was gracing the NASC Street Rod Nationals in Ipswich with a ‘For Sale’ sign in the window. It was spotted by one of Jim’s buddies, Chris, who gave him a call as he knew it was right up his street.
Obvious enthusiasm
Wasting no time, Jim took to the internet forums to track down the owner. He then took to the A14 and soon he was viewing the car in person while failing to disguise his obvious enthusiasm. By the time he set off for home, a deal had been done. What did he get for his money? Well, there’s an original ’32 chassis under there – though the body on top is of a later vintage, being made from fibreglass. Beneath the split hinged hood lurks a 5.7litre V8 from a ’93 Corvette, which is mated to a 700R4 Turbo Hydra-Matic auto box and a ’69 Vette rear axle. The rear suspension consists of a transverse leaf spring
damped by a pair of Carrera gas shocks, while coil-overs from the same brand are accompanied by Heidts polished aluminium wishbones up front – which makes for a really smooth ride. On the inside, a custom bench seat made by T’s Design is finished in red vinyl – a material that has been used throughout, although the rear seat has been dispensed with and a sub and amp installed in the rear wall of the car as there is no boot lid. A Wabbit’s Woodworks dash was installed when the car was built and a set of Classic Industries gauges sunk into it. These do a bang-up job of letting Jim know what’s going on under the hood, while still looking right for the period of the vehicle. Also installed into the Texas-made dash are the controls for a Vintage Air air-con unit. We mentioned the speakers set-up, and the music it plays comes from a CD player mounted in a custom-made overhead console along with an art deco style interior light. To top things off, Jim added an original 1940 steering wheel that he had lying around, as you do, to the car’s ididit custom steering column. The rear lights,
An ididit steering column is topped off with an original 1940 wheel which, in yet another example of the good fortune he seems to be blessed with, Jim had lying around
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eathe r B e n i g r En ree Flowing Intakes Let You our F Discover ies d throttle bo Individual aspirated Normally duction Forced in
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meanwhile, have been upgraded to LED bulbs and for additional safety there’s now a high level rear brake light too.
An ill wind
Jim had installed a cool set of Torq Thrust D wheels but switched to the yellow steels you see here for the 2019 NSRA Supernationals. Sadly he didn’t actually make the event due to the dismal weather and high winds, but as it turned out he liked the look of them so it’s an ill wind that blows nobody good. Literally, in this case. Jim and Kathy are not shy about driving the Victoria and have attended various events both up and down the UK – even venturing into Europe with some pals. Here, they had the opportunity to see what the rod would do, opening the taps on the Autobahn and taking it as fast as they dared. It held up well and broke into three figures, says Jim, before they decided they’d seen enough and didn’t want to push their luck too far. Ah, luck. Back to that subject again. Jim has been fortunate with his dealings in the hot rod market, owning pretty much every model he’s ever yearned for – and this ’32 is where it’s all been leading to. He might not have built it from scratch the way he has with some of his previous cars, but he’s made it his own – just as he made his own luck in the journey that’s brought him to this elevated point in his hot-rodding career.
Above: Classic Industries gauges were installed into a Wabbit’s Woodworks dash when the car was built, back in its days as a New Yorker. Beneath them are the controls for a Vintage Air air-con unit Right: T’s Design made an unusual looking custom bench seat with separate backs. Like the rest of the interior, it’s trimmed in red vinyl
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Leicestershire, England
New parts for Model A and Ford V8 Tel: 01530 839902 www.OneillVintageFord.co.uk
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Out & About Words and pics: James Webber The Offset Show is now into its third year. And to celebrate, for 2023 Brad Stone and the team at Wagon UK decided to evolve it into a weekend event. Held on 15-16 April at the Royal Cornwall Showground, the forecast of good weather meant that this was shaping up to be the best yet – even if, as it turned out, Yanks and customs were a bit thin on the ground. With show sponsor Immerse Detailing offering pre-show valeting, exhibitors started rolling in early on the Saturday afternoon to set up and get their cars looking their best. Then at 4pm, the gates opened to anyone with a camping ticket – ahead of a pumping Saturday night show featuring a host of top drum’n’bass DJs including Tommy Wise, Danny Peart, DJ Brett Grey, Finlay C and headline act Ben Snow. The party atmosphere was aided by a licensed bar, as well as burger and noodle vans to line the stomachs (and,
New for this year was a military section, along with the emergency services and RNLI
Something for the weekend This bagged and patinated C10 was a new car to me. I didn’t catch the owner, though – but I’m certainly hoping to see it again during the summer
afterwards, for those late-night munchies). For the kids, and big kids, dodgems were up and running. Let the carnage begin… Sunday saw a full influx of show vehicles, followed shortly afterwards by a full influx of the public. Traders this year included Bristol Detailing Supplies, who had their own little paddock area with a set of cars on display; Deadly Brand clothing, who had produced a limited edition show shirt; Sonax detailing, who sponsored the show paddock and the awards; Toyo Tyres; and Jay and Sam from BHP events, promoting their upcoming Performance Show and Fuel Fest.
Bristol Detailing Supplies did a great day’s trading, thanks to a decent spot and a great selection of reps’ cars including this custom Baja Buggy
On top of this, there were about 37 clubs on display around the site and, in total, more than 1000 cars. The quality was second to none – no pressure for the judges, then… Also new for this year was a military section, along with the emergency services and RNLI who had displays and talks throughout the day. Putting on displays throughout the day, Extreme Bike Battle had BMX and trials bike demos inside and FMX riders outside. Come 3.30pm, it was time for the awards to be handed out. Andreas Christopheros won Top 3 Best in Show with his wizard roadster and Macaulay Godden won Most Honourable after blowing up his engine then spending all night rebuilding it just to make the show with his custom Harley. The Offset Show is about all makes and styles of cars, not just bagged and wrapped Audis and Golfs with pops and bangs remaps. And Brad is always wanting to vary the indoor section. So the shortage of rods, customs and American metal can only be remedied one way – over to you! ‘This was definitely our busiest show yet,’ Brad told me afterwards. ‘I’ve been rushed off my feet both days. I couldn’t do it without the support of the Wagon team, Lucy my partner, Luke, Sean and everyone else who helped.’ Sounds like a man who deserves to have your car at his show next year, doesn’t he? CC
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Above: Carl Joscelyne was invited back as last year’s main winner with his lowrider VW 412 Left: After some teething issues, Wayne Wills’ Mk3 Zephyr is now running well and showing up everywhere at the moment No need to get your knickers in a twist, this isn’t going to be the first of many Nissan Micras appearing in Custom Car. But if you like ‘em built not bought, respect is due to 19-year-old Josie who put it together herself (save for the wrap), proving chequebooks aren’t everything Not content with winning at the Fitment show last year, Macaulay Godden returned with a custom Harley Davidson 1200 which he built all himself. He did well to be there at all, having blown his engine up on the way and rebuilt it overnight just to make it for the Sunday. Now he’s concentrating on his twin-turbo Dodge Coronet 500, which we’re looking forward to rather a lot… more-door ’57 Chevy
Andreas Christopheros (the man behind the revival of Run To The Sun) brought his Wizard Roadster and came away with Top 3 Best in Show. Readers may recognise the car from an episode of Car SOS which also featured legendary former CC editor Keith Seume
Above & right: What’s not to love about a sleeper 100e with a Rover V8 in the engine bay?
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Auto focus ■ Words and Pics: Keith Lee
50 Years on
T
his year’s much awaited Dragstalgia event at Santa Pod is fast approaching. It has extra significance, in that this July’s meeting will mark the 50th anniversary of the launch of funny car racing in Europe. Before CC is hit by complaints that the Glow-worm Capri, and the Hillbillies Transcontinental – not to mention the Swedish Roaring Viking car – preceded this date, it should be pointed out that there was no recognised class for the funnies. A spectacular change to that state of affairs was signalled at the Peterson Publishing International Series in July 1973. This was such a memorable event; in large part due to the effect that the American visitors Don Schumacher and Paula Murphy had on the huge crowds attending. With the Santa Pod promoter purchasing both cars, it would prove to be the catalyst for the genre – and these would be the first of a line of top American machines to grace Europe’s premier facility. Staged over three weekends, the series saw two events at the Pod sandwiching a one day 1000 foot event at Gosport. I still wonder if that might have actually been the first ever thousand foot drag race staged? On the third and final event of the series, Liam Churchill would make his first appearance in his blown 354 Dodge-powered Capri, which would become known as The Sting. Based over here, US serviceman Ed Shaver was competing in a rear-engined ‘almost’ funny car, which was constructed by Mark Stratton. The almost tag refers to the fact that the Vauxhall VX 4/90 body shell was not quite complete, so the odd looking car was actually competing as a
Above: Bootsie Herridge carrying the front end of Stardust, which he drove to 6.6s times in the two years he drove this car. Left: This shot captures why race fans loved the funny cars! Full bore smoky burnouts, which totally filled the inside of the car. Below: One of the very earliest Stardust v Houndog matchups, before the Duster was given a full repaint.
very short wheelbase dragster instead! The handling was best described as somewhat alarming. Shortly after, it would reappear in completed form as the Castrol GTX funny car. Dennis Priddle won the overall series in the Top Fuel dragster eliminations, over a field which included US racers Tony Nancy and Norm Wilcox, and for which he received
the impressive Peterson Trophy. He would soon be battling Stardust and the other emerging entries in the funny car wars, as he would enter competition within three months, in an Avenger-bodied car which was under construction down in Yeovil. The effect of seeing these cars perform was like nothing seen before. Ultra long burnouts filled the driver’s compartment with smoke, which was compounded by the sound assaulting the eardrums! These short wheelbase nitro machines instantly became the must-see cars of the sport, and their popularity did appear to threaten the very existence of the dragsters within a few short years, as the floppers won Left: Now in the familiar Houndog livery, Owen Hayward lights up the slicks, and is watched over by the late Nobby Hills, wearing his trademark flip-flops.
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Above: Ed Shaver, pictured at Silverstone, also ran the rear-engined funny car at Santa Pod in this unfinished state. It looked like the ultimate go kart! Above left: Thanks to ex-Dennis Priddle crewman Graham White for this picture, which shows the Avenger funny car in its unraced guise, as Shell pulled out due to the oil crisis at the time. Dennis would lead the charge against the two import funnies.
favour with both fans and promoters. That race series, fifty years ago, has left indelible memories for those who attended. It also showed off Allan Herridge’s versatility. He started the first event driving the wayward Firefly fuel dragster. I addition to that, he had to step in to drive Stardust at the second meet, as Shumacher’s US replacement driver Mart Higgenbotham did not appear. Bootsie instantly impressed. When I asked him what it was like to drive a funny car, he simply said to me; “Hairy – but we’ll get used to it.” That was before he then went on to take part in the final match race against Paula Murphy in the STP Duster, as the showpiece race. Allan needed instruction from Paula’s crew chief in how to reverse Stardust – having
never experienced the vagaries of a Lenco transmission! What a spectacular finale at the Pod it was. The experienced Murphy led out, and set a strip record of 7.18s/173mph, but Stardust was close behind - and recorded an amazing 7.35/199 - but was less the roof, which was launched high into the air as the supercharger exploded before the finish line! It was a salutary lesson in just how much fuel was consumed in those super long burnout routines! He got a heroes welcome when the convertible Cuda was towed back down to the start line. This one race showed us all just how volatile nitro racing could be, as this sort of destruction was previously something only seen in the likes of Hot Rod magazine! Stardust would be superbly reinstated by FGR, and came back to initially match race the STP car, which was taken over by the Houndog team. Owen Hayward was chosen as the pilot for the ex-Paula Murphy machine,
which he bravely ran at the Brighton Speed Trials when he had hardly had any time to acclimatise to driving the fearsome new car! Funny car racing would here to stay, as the field of cars gradually increased. Happily, the spirit of that momentous start to funny car racing lives on with the nostalgia cars of today, which will be strutting their stuff at Dragstalgia. It was very sad news, in the early part of this year, that we lost the flamboyant Nobby Hills, who was such a legendary figure in the sport, with a long history of building memorable funnies. Hopefully Simon Hayward will be able to complete the build of the tribute Duster funny car, which his father Owen drove for Nobby in those first years of the class, and which so captured the imagination of race fans. It is a shame that the Stardust chassis was stolen a while back, as it would have been quite something to see that car resurrected to display condition. Paul Harris will be one of those out there in the Dennis Priddle tribute Monza, while Robbie Grabham should be sat in an Avenger, with a body that has history dating back to the first one that ran all those years ago, in 1973.
Above: The spirit lives on, in the form of the Avenger bodyshell fitted to the Grabham and Carter machine, West Country Shaker. With links to both the Hillbillies and Dennis Priddle, this car will hopefully be out on track at Dragstalgia. Above left: The Stardust car remains on show at a Dragstalgia event. Sadly the chassis was later stolen. Houndog would be lost to a crash back in 1977, when the car rolled several times after a half shaft snapped! Left: Liam Churchill after just completing his first ever run in a blown 354 Capri-bodied funny car.
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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
JUNE 8-11 Hot Rods and Hills Park Foot Holiday Park, Pooley Bridge, Cumbria. parkfootullswater.co.uk 9-11 Retrofestival Newark. Newark Showground, Newark, Notts. www.retrofestival.co.uk 10 Classic Car Breakfast Meet Jack’s Patch, Kirton Lindsey. Facebook: Bomber County Classics 10 Run What Ya Brung Saturday Night Special Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 11 American Truck Nationals Shotley, Suffolk. Facebook: American Truck Nationals UK 11 Bespoke Show West Malling, Kent. bespokeshows@gmail.com 11 BHP Fuel Fest Westpoint Arena, Exeter, Devon. bhpshows.com 11 Bromley Pageant of Motoring Norman Park, Bromley. www. bromleypageant.com 11 Hot Rods and Harleys Hull. Facebook: Bridge County Cruisers 16-18 French Rod Nats Saint Pourçin sur Sioule. www.fsra.info 16-18 Sportsman Nationals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 17-18 American Speedfest Brands Hatch. www.brandshatch.co.uk 17-18 MotorFest Chelmsford, Essex. www.motorshowevents.com 17-18 Pendine Sands Hot Rod Races Pendine, Carmarthenshire, South Wales. www.vhra.co.uk 17-18 Straightliners Race Meet Melbourne Raceway, York. www. straightliners.events 18 Back to our Roots Aubourn Hall, Lincoln. www.aubourngardens.com 18 Custom and American Show Beaulieu. www.beaulieu.co.uk
18 Retro Show Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 19 Top Speed Monday Elvington Airfield, Elvington, West Yorkshire. www.straightliners.events 20 VW Air-Cooled Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 24 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 24 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 24-25 Top Speed Meeting Machrihanish Airport, Campbeltown, Argyll. www.straightliners.events 25 Fast Show Reloaded Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 25 MPH 1/8th Mile Vintage Sprint RAF Deenethorpe, Corby, Northants. www.mphvintagesprint.co.uk 30-2 Summer Nationals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk
JULY 1-2 Stars and Stripes Car Show Tatton Park, Knutsford, Cheshire www.tattonstarsandstripes.com 2 Alan’s T Party. In memory of the late Alan Spittle. Stoke Prior. www.justgiving.com/page/alanstparty 2 Festival of the Dead. Burghley House, Stamford, Lincs. www.festivalofthedead.uk 2 Wheels on the Waterfront Sovereign Harbour, Eastbourne. Facebook: The Waterfront Eastbourne 3 North Yorkshire Custom Show. Northallerton. Facebook: North Yorkshire Custom Show 4 Hayling Hotrods at the Beach. Hayling Island, Hampshire. Glenn: 07889 710189 5 Hot Rod Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com
6 Krazy Horse Late Nights Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. www.krazyhorse. co.uk 6-8 Västerås Summer Meet Västerås, Västmanland, Sweden. vasterassummermeet.se 7-9 Dragstalgia Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 7-9 The Weekender Bardwell, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. www.krazyhorse. co.uk/pages/krazy-horse-festival 8 Classic Car Breakfast Meet Jack’s Patch, Kirton Lindsey. Facebook: Bomber County Classics 8 Drag & Drift Dakota Raceway, Honiton, Devon. www.straightliners. events 8 Spitfire Raceway Drag’n’Drift. Parranporth Airfield, St Agnes, Cornwall. www.perranporthdrivingcentre.com 8-9 Historic Vehicle Gathering Powderham Castle, Exeter, Devon. historic-vehicle-gathering.info 8-9 Kernow Old Vehicle Rally Penhallow. KOVC Facebook 13-16 Goodwood Festival of Speed Goodwood Estate, West Sussex. www.goodwood.com 15 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 15-16 Straightliners Race Meet Melbourne Raceway, York. www. straightliners.events 16 Ford Show Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 16 Grand Motorbilia Day Stickney, Lincs. www.mablethorpedmc.co.uk 17 Top Speed Monday Elvington Airfield, Elvington, West Yorkshire. www.straightliners.events 18 VW Air-Cooled Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 21-23 Bullfrog Bash Coach and Horses, Billinghay, Lincoln. bullfrogbash@hellsangelsmc.co.uk
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21-23 Bug Jam Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 21-23 Rock’n’Ribs Festival Wincanton Racecourse, Somerset. www.rocknribsfestival.co.uk 22-23 National Hot Rod and Custom Show Lincolnshire Showground, Lincoln. www. hotrodandcustomshow.co.uk 22-23 Carrot Town Garage American Car Show. Stonham Barns, Suffolk. www.stonhambarns.co.uk 22-23 Straightliners Race Meet Llanbedr Airfield, Llanbedr, Gwynedd. www.straightliners.events 23 Deuce Day Gaydon, Warwickshire. www.deucesofbritain.co.uk/deuce-day 28-29 Weekend of Wheels Moorgreen, Notts. www.coffencars.club 28-30 KLK Extravaganza Walpole St Andrew, Norfolk. www.kingslynnkruisers.co.uk 28-30 Hotrod Hayride Bisley Shooting Ground, Woking. www. hotrodhayride.co.uk 29 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 29-30 Mopar Euro Nationals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 29-30 Ten Of The Best Elvington Airfield, Elvington, West Yorkshire. www.straightliners.events 30 Auto Extravaganza Walpole St Andrew, Norfolk. www.kingslynnkruisers.co.uk 30 Rally of the Giants Stonor Park, Henley on Thames. www. allamericanautoclub.com
AUGUST 1 Hayling Hotrods at the Beach. Hayling Island, Hampshire. Glenn: 07889 710189 2 Hot Rod Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 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
12 Best of British Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 12 Drag & Drift Dakota Raceway, Honiton, Devon. www.straightliners. events 13 ‘Normous Newark Autojumble Newark Showground, Newark, Notts. www.newarkautojumble.co.uk 13 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 15 VW Air-Cooled Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 18-20 Greenlight Nationals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk
6 American Car Sunday Hooters, Nottingham. www.hootersnottingham. co.uk
19-20 Passion for Power Classic Motor Show. Tatton Park, Knutsford. www.tattonpassionforpower.com
6 Wheels on the Waterfront Sovereign Harbour, Eastbourne. Facebook: The Waterfront Eastbourne
25-27 GOW! Speed Hill Climb Prescott Hill, Cheltenham, Cotswolds. www.vhra.co.uk
7 Top Speed Monday Elvington Airfield, Elvington, West Yorkshire. www.straightliners.events
25-27 Knucklebusters Car Show. Stonham Barns, Suffolk. www. stonhambarns.co.uk
10-13 NSRA Hot Rod Supernationals Old Warden Park, Biggleswade. www.nsra.org.uk
25-28 Hot Rod Hop. Thurleigh, Beds. Facebook: Cannibals Car Club UK
11-13 Huccabilly Run Hexworthy, Devon. facebook.com/TheAbbotsCC 11-13 NSVA Truck-In Drum and Monkey, Gloucester Road, Upton on Severn. Facebook: NSVA 11-13 Retrofestival Newbury Showground. www.retrofestival.co.uk 12 Classic Car Breakfast Meet Jack’s Patch, Kirton Lindsey. Facebook: Bomber County Classics
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
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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 1-3 VW Action Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 2-3 International Autojumble Beaulieu. www.beaulieu.co.uk 2-3 Jurby Drag Racing Jurby, Isle of Man. www.straightliners.events 3 Brooklands American Day Brooklands Museum, Weybridge, Surrey. www.brooklandsmuseum.com 3 Wheels on the Waterfront Sovereign Harbour, Eastbourne. Facebook: The Waterfront Eastbourne 5 Hayling Hotrods at the Beach. Hayling Island, Hampshire. Glenn: 07889 710189 6 Hot Rod Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 7 Krazy Horse Late Nights Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. www.krazyhorse. co.uk 7-10 European Finals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 8-9 Hindenberg Dirt Track Races www.hindenberg-dirt-track.com 8-10 Goodwood Revival Goodwood Estate. www.goodwood.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 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, Devon. www.straightliners. events 30 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk
7 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 7-8 Straightliners Race Meet Melbourne Raceway, York. www. straightliners.events 9 Top Speed Monday Elvington Airfield, Elvington, West Yorkshire. www.straightliners.events 14 Classic Car Breakfast Meet Jack’s Patch, Kirton Lindsey. Facebook: Bomber County Classics 14 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 15 Straightliners Race Meet Santa Pod. www.straightliners.events 17 VW Air-Cooled Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 21 Run What Ya Brung Saturday Night Special Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 22 ‘Normous Newark Autojumble Newark Showground, Newark, Notts. www.newarkautojumble.co.uk 22 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 28 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 28 Flame & Thunder Show Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 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
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