Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2023 i Custom Car

I was instantly drawn to Kelvin’s ’32 roadster when I came across it in the 32nd Street line-up at the Supernats. I can’t put my finger on why though. Nothing leaps out at you, it’s more that what is there works so well. Maybe that’s the secret, everything working in discreet harmony. That, and panel gaps to die for. The hand-scrawled show card in front of the roadster simply stated: ‘Built with help from mates over last 12 months.’ Impressive as that may sound, the car’s standing soars when you find out this is Kelvin’s first ever hot rod build. Having decided he really needed a hot rod in his life, Kelvin took on an unfinished project. But that never materialised into anything more than a collection of parts. ‘It…

In 1969, the combined staff at Motor Trend magazine voted the Plymouth Road Runner its Car of the Year. It had only come on stream the previous year, largely in response to the huge success of Pontiac’s GTO, but was a hit from the off. The theory was simple: a low-priced, two-door sedan with the highest output motors in the range available. Plus, a cartoon animal to give the marketing department something to play with, and a funny sounding horn. In a review of Plymouth’s new model, Car and Driver put it beautifully succinctly: ‘If you like the taste of whisky, you drink it on the rocks, right?’ In planning the concept, Chrysler executives focused their attention on the vast sea of blue-collar workers who liked a bit of stop…

Imagine Peter’s surprise when his younger son Niki, who had until then always preferred fast, modern cars, announced that he fancied buying himself a Pop. Admittedly, he had always modified those other cars, lowering their suspension and generally making them look cooler and go faster than ever, but an old hot rod? This was a turn up for the book. And a good one at that! He had seen an iconic looking rod on Facebook which already had a Jag rear axle, an HA Viva front and a 2.8-litre Ford Cologne V6 installed. Good specs, those, but it was definitely what you’d call a project, with a load of rust needing to be dealt with before it would be in any condition to hit the streets once more. In fact,…

Back after a two-year sabbatical for the C-word, and now in its fourth year, the annual Children’s Hospice Run took place on 10 December. Organised again by Sue Watts, with help from John Lobb, the plan was simple. Meet at 10am at a local car park then, once everyone was there, head off and cruise the short distance to Little Harbour Children’s Hospice in Saint Austell, park up, let the children come out to see the cars and hand over presents to the children and staff. Some participants decorated their cars and dressed up in festive costumes to make it more fun for the kids, too. John Lobb’s 58 Apache van was kitted out as a travelling grotto and carried the gifts up to the hospice. A minimum £10 donation…

Back in the 1970s, Peter Gething spent a lot of his time building and modifying custom cars. Not all of it, though, because in addition to things like a C-Cab called Temptation, he also emerged from that era as the father of two sons, Jody and Niki. It was when Jody, his eldest, came along that Peter decided it was time for a more sensible form of transport. So he bought a 1947 Bentley Mk6. Which maybe wasn’t quite as sensible as it first appeared, because from there the cars kept on coming and going – until finally he settled on a yellow Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II, which turned out to be a keeper. Hardly surprisingly, car shows were a regular part of Jody and Niki’s childhood. As they grew…

A sweet piece of RS Jon Buss has a relationship with Camaros that goes back a long way. Several years and, indeed, several Camaros. His first example of this particular form of all-American icon was a third-generation version, with the uniquely free of soft edges styling of the 1980s. Definitely not a look for everyone, though a Camaro’s a Camaro for all that. Anyway, he swapped it for a ’79 which he went on to restore, giving him a toe on the first rung of serial ownership and putting him in the mood for more. The engine rebuild was a chance to stuff it full of cool bits Which is what you see here. A Camaro may indeed be a Camaro for all that, but this one’s a ’71 Camaro…

Hellzapoppin’ was a celebrated surreal comedy released in 1941, but what’s the phrase doing on the back of Jody Gething’s Anglia? Turns out it’s a nod to his grandad. Jody and his brother Niki had found a picture of him when he served in the Army in Egypt, with a lorryload of ammo and ‘Hells a Poppin’ written up the side. Grandad explained that if the whole lot went up, that’s what would have happened – and now here it is on the back of his grandson’s rod! Oops #1 LAST MONTH’S COVER got loads of attention. And so it should, because a cool pic of a cool car doing cool stuff is always going to be, indeed, cool. The car in question is Keith Freeman’s Deuce. Which is all…

American cars are great, and American diners are great too. Put them together and you have greatness guaranteed. Introducing Sam’s Diner, which is located next to Par Market in St Austell. And guess what? It’s great. Established since 2016, until the dreaded lockdown came along it used to host monthly car evenings. After things got back to normal, Sam’s manager Sarah was interested in having a show at the diner. Enter the dynamic duo that is Jason and Emma Goss. They help organise regular events and rallies down here in Cornwall and also run the South West Classic Events Calendar page on Facebook, which posts event details to keep you up to date with what’s going on. The date was set, with the time from 1pm until evening. As the…

Jody’s experience of modified motors started early in life. His second ever car was a Ford Prefect 107e with a 2.0-litre Pinto engine, which served as his daily driver. Although it was very cool, however, the Prefect didn’t sxratch that itch he had for the sit-up-and-beg style of a hot rod. He’d seen a 1953 Ford Anglia locally and asked the owner if he could have first refusal if he ever decided to sell, and the call eventually came a few years later. As it happened, the call coincided with Jody and his wife Glynis saving up for the deposit on a house. Obviously, the house purchase was put off for a while. Priorities, right? Glynis is a very understanding person, to be sure. The Anglia already had a desirable…

Considered by many to be the poorer relation to many events staged at Santa Pod Raceway, the STP UK National Finals is in truth the grand finale for the National Drag Racing Championships. Headlined by the Pro Mods, the meeting attracted an impressive field of 328 vehicles. Hardly a poor relation, then. Talking of the Pro Mods, the event’s test day on Friday more than hinted that these guys meant serious business. A 6.2290/238.92 from Kev Slyfield, followed by a 6.2999/232.46 from Jon Webster, more than proved that. Throughout the weekend, Paul Brown was the chauffeur in the Pod’s 2-seater dragster, providing the thrills with a number of sub-8-second passes at over 170mph. Paul’s girlfriend, Zoe Sparrow, was a passenger on one of those occasions, which takes the term ‘back…