Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2022 i Custom Car

Following its re-scheduled staging last year, the National Hot Rod, Custom and American Car Show returned to its traditional last weekend in May slot for 2022. Staged at Peterborough Arena, the format was as expected, with indoor exhibits in the Meguiar’s Pavilion, an outdoor show field on both Saturday and Sunday, and the Low rider Nationals and other exhibits in the surrounding barns. The show is, of course, run in tandem with the Modified Nationals, affectionately known by hot rodders as the dark side. That provides a number of diverse attractions, with its own main show hall, extensive outdoor display areas and a drift track. If you still wanted more, there was the Ink and Oil Tattoo Convention, live music, an array of trade stands, funfair rides and FTGU Wrestling…

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Special thanks to Mark Wilson and all at Navy Wings, Yeovilton, for the photo location, (and tour). www.navywings.org.uk If you’d spent your working life in the production of state-of-the-art military helicopters, and your weekends crewing on one of the UK’s quickest drag race teams, you’d want something pretty special, and quick, to drive on the street, wouldn’t you? We cover Brian Savidge’s involvement with drag racing in the biography that follows the main feature, so here we’ll just say it all started in the ’60s when he and some friends decided to turn his first car, a 1939 Austin Ruby, into a Competition Altered, powered by a multi-carb’d, Wadeblown, 3.4-litre Jaguar straight six. That car, called George is Draggin’ after the driver, George Gillet, proved a steep learning curve for…

The Chevy Impala might grab all the headlines but, if you were a serious drag racer in the ’60s, you bought the base model Biscayne. Cheaper, lighter, but with all the same powertrain options available, it was the racers’ choice. That’s why if you do some digging, you’ll find such oddities as a ’61 spec’d with the hi-po 409 and four-speed transmission that required an accompanying letter from a local speed shop promising sponsorship to get it through the ordering process, but GM built it, and a gentleman by the name of Allen May raced with great success. Steve Neimantas’ car here, though it began life as a basic small block car, also had a mighty fine 409 fitted between the frame rails when he bought it, together with a…

National Championship drag racing returned to Santa Pod over the weekend of 30 April to 2 May. The STP Spring speed Nationals offers a variety of race car classes, along with quite a few on two wheels, with around 250 vehicles taking part in total. around 250 vehicles taking part in total Apart from a little drizzle mid-morning on the Sunday, the weather played ball and the racing was pretty much non-stop. Not to mention exciting and very close at times. Very, very close. Away from the track, all the attractions we’ve come to expect at the Pod made for a true family weekend. Here’s just a taster of what went down the quarter mile over the three days.…

Ronnie Mercer (8.82 index) came out top in qualifying after running an 8.222 / 149.09. Marc Huxley (10.00 index) was second, thanks to a 10.006 / 131.65, and John Bean’s 9.499 / 145.28 on a 9.49 index was enough to secure third place. Marc Huxley then lost out in the first elimination round to Daniel Fulton and Amy Watkins ended Mercer’s racing for the weekend. Bean progressed to round two, along with Alan Medley, Lee Huxley, Bob Molden, Neil Watkins, Dave Cherrett, Allan Schofield, William Clark, Dan Holloway and Tom Kaye. In the next round, Amy Watkins and Schofield both pulled reds as Holloway, Cherrett, Bean, Neil Watkins, Kaye and Huxley all netted wins. It was then Cherrett’s turn to light a cherry in round three as Huxley (9.55 index)…

After five rounds of qualifying, Darryl Howells topped the tree of this 8.90-second index class on 8.922 / 123.40. Next came Leah Kellett on 8.928 / 165.48, with Richard Tunstall third on 8.950 / 129.07. In eliminations, Kellett ran 9.001 / 148.57 to defeat Allan Schofield, Howell’s 8.962 / 120.14 saw off Steve Field, Steve Hudson’s perfect ET 8.900 / 130.19 defeated Andy Clifford and Paul Hudson saw red as Tunstall clocked 8.872 / 136.17 alongside. Howells then broke out with an 8.869 / 128.72 against Tunstall’s 9.012 / 126.67, before Hudson did similar, going 8.896 / 137.32, allowing Kellett through on 8.938 / 164.86. Kellet’s final runwas another break out – 8.896 / 163.68 – meaning Tunstall took the class win with an 8.949 / 132.84.…

We’re heading over to the dark side twice this month, firstly Dave venturing into the Modified Nationals hall at Peter borough, now me picking an issue from 1985 to look back (some might say with anger) upon. The cover looked promising. The familiar silhouette and graphics of the Eliminator coupe sharing space with that man Badoo kicking up the dust in a UVA Fugitive rail. Not just any old Fugitive either, but to one assembled by the staff at the time, with a little help from some friends, and one you could win and drive off into the sunset in. All good so far. But cast your eyes lower down the page and you’ll see the words Nova, Astra, Camaro, Fiero. Okay, one of those is okay, though it’s a…

If there’s one race event on the Santa Pod calendar that you come to this year, make sure it’s Dragstalgia. Held from the 8-10 July, Dragstalgia 11 will pay homage to everything good and great about the sport of drag racing. With plenty to see both on and off track, it’s high time youdust off your best ’50’s dress, or overalls, and come on down to the Pod. Ina nod to the heyday of the sport, there will be 10 drag racing classes on show. Headlining the on-track action will be the Dragstalgia Cannonball, where both Nostalgia Funny Cars and Fuel Altereds battle it out for the coveted Cannonball Trophy. A full supporting cast of nostalgia classes including the wild Supercharged Outlaws, Out law Anglia and Nostalgia Superstock will all…

Organised by Mia and Jason Smith, and Terri and Dave Cowler, this 30-mile route attracted 20 vehicles on Sunday 1 May.We had a superb drive through the countryside around Harlow and Waltham Abbey and, miraculously, everyone managed to stay together, for most of the time at least. we learnt how to make things explode The final destination was the Lea ValleyWhitewater Centre, where we enjoyed a nice lunch and watched more energetic people than us paddle the slalom course. Then came an added bonus, with most of us taking our cars just up the road to the Royal Gunpowder Mills. There we learnt how to make things explode, before being taken on a cattle truck around the vast ex-Ministry of Defence site, which dates back to the 17th century. We…

In 1965, I attended the second International Dragfest at Blackbushe. I was a 16-year-old apprentice toolmaker at the time, and had persuaded another apprentice, who had an Austin A40 Somerset, to drive us there. It rained most of the weekend but I was immediately hooked on drag racing. We bought a running Ford Pilot with the idea of stripping the body from the chassis and mounting one of Geoff Jago’s T-bucket bodies on it. We then decided to build a 4 x 2 steel tube chassis instead, but ended up selling all that on. What a waste. I then persuaded George and Kevin that we should build a Junior Fueler with a fuel injected 283 SBC motor, after reading about these dragsters in Popular Hot Rodding magazine. We laid out…

On his first qualifying run, Collin Morrice clicked off a 0.009 reaction time and picked up a Eurodragster.com / Team Twister Perfect ET award for his 9.900 pass in this 9.90-index class. That superb run put Morrice in the top qualifying spot, followed by Andy Dibley on 9.903 / 148.15 and Tim Moore on 9.906 / 144.89. All three progressed through the initial qualifying round, along with Andy Harrison and David Fulton. Dibley then carded 9.924 / 144.85 in defeating Harrison by a margin of 0.015 second, Moore ran 9.914 / 145.22 as Fulton broke out and Morrice put in a rapid 8.816 / 152.10 bye. Dibley was on a bye in the semis and produced a 9.873 / 148.63, with Morrice defeating Moore 9.981 / 143.97 vs 9.986 /…

AC Bell qualified in pole position, thanks to a perfect 8.780 ET on an 8.78 index. Second was Ron Bartlett (8.21 index) on 8.213 / 166.63, while Alan Didwell (7.62 index) bagged third with a 7.627 / 177.06. Bell earned a bye in the first elimination round, with Bartlett and Didwell taking wins, along with Peter Walters, Mark Bailey, Scott Hauser, Bob Doyle, CollinMorrice, Joe Kellett and Billy Gane. In the second round, Walters (7.58 index) ran 7.584 / 175.75, which defeated Bell by a margin of just 0.013 second. Doyle then saw red, leaving Gane (8.54 index) to progress with an 8.538 / 161.31, while Hauser’s 7.526 / 152.07 on a 7.42 index was enough to see off Bailey. Didwell then bumped through stage as Morrice (8.93 index) clocked…

Pete Dodd (9.15 index) qualified top of the class on 9.154 / 147.15, Don Scott (9.67 index) was second on 9.681 / 136.50 and Stuart ‘Kiwi’ Thompson (9.84 index) third with a 9.857 / 137.80. That trio made it through to the second qualifying round, together with Adrian Portelli, Chris Goodale and Robert Main. However, with Main and Portelli then breaking out and Goodale lighting a cherry on the tree, it was the top three qualifiers who progressed through to the semi-finals. Scott broke out of his 9.65 dial in, 9.639 / 140.72, but Thompson fouled alongside, while Dodd put in a solid run on a bye (9.144 / 147.96 on a 9.14 dial in). It was then Scott who went too quick in the final, his break out 9.620…

There are very few body styles that have truly stood the test of time among drag racers. The Ford Popular / Anglia is one, but a tiny little import from Italy, in the shape of the diminutive Fiat Topolino, has proved itself a versatile favourite for Altered class drivers on the strip for decades. Large numbers of them were used by American racers in earlier times but over here, a lot ended their days on oval circuits in Stock Car racing. Happily, the versatile little body type has also been used by British drag racers to build some great cars over the years, and remains as popular now as it has ever been. I was up at Santa Pod for last year’s NSRA Hot Rod Drags, and was confronted by…

Sam Stockman is a self-confessed truck-a-holic, having owned half a dozen pick-ups before this ’40’s GMC COE (Cab Over Engine). “Around nine months ago, I had just sold on the last of those pick-ups and was on the lookout for something else,” he expounds. “I really like things that are different to the norm, and I also have a thing about cab overs. So it was sort of fate really. I came across the for sale ad for this COE by chance. It wasn’t being marketed that well and, as the guy needed a quick sale to help fund a house purchase, the price was right.” “It was only a two or three-year-old build but the guy selling it had only had it for a few months. I studied pictures…

Now a firm staple on the classic car calendar, the Classic and Vintage Vehicle Rally was once again held over the Easter Friday and Saturday at the Royal Cornwall Show ground. This is the event’s seventh running on the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, with the same team also organising a similar event over the August Bank Holiday. Both have grown year by year, with regulars returning and newbies popping up for the first time to check them out. The Rally is open to any pre-’95 vehicle, and camping is available for those wanting to make a weekend of it. On-site caterers keep everyone fuelled, whilst a collectables fair provides plenty of potential purchases to browse through. The Rally is open to anypre-’95 vehicle Best of all, entry for show vehicles…

A week later, organised by Mont Mongomery, Ian Rattan, Ken Amos and Emma Kilby, the Cambridgeshire Rumble began at Costa Coffee in Hampton, Peterborough. Drivers and passengers of 14 vehicles were rewarded with fabulous weather, and a pleasant morning was spent driving a vaguely circular route through the Fens and associated villages. acrocodile and a black bear on their Rumble The 35-mile journey was completed at a leisurely pace with everyone keeping mostly together and, as always, we put a smile on many faces as we cruised by. The final destination was Johnsons of Old Hurst, a butchers, farm shop, cafe and mini zoo in Huntingdon, where everyone had a chat and catch up in the sunshine. How many other participants will be able to say they saw a crocodile…

British drag racing and Nostalgia Funny Car fans will be well aware that Paul Harris owns the Priddle tribute Monza Funny Car that appeared at last year’s Dragstalgia meet. Here’s how that came about, and Brian’s involvement in the project: “Paul had been a huge fan of Dennis since watching him in the ’70s at the Pod, and approached him several years ago asking if he would build him an Avenger bodied Funny Car to run as a Dennis Priddle tribute. Dennis wasn’t in the best of health at that time and so politely declined, telling Paul the cost would be huge. “Paul still had the desire to drive a F/C, though, so looked for a complete car and bought the Chi Town Hustler from Troy Martin, with the intention…

Qualifying for the three-car field saw Keith Crampton back into the nines with a PB 9.839 / 122.72, before re-setting his PB again with a 9.757 / 136.50 pass. That was enough to put him in second spot, sandwiched between Peter Brown (8.54 index) on 8.587 / 153.62 and Bob Hawkins (8.66 index) on 11.294 / 64.89. Crampton then lifted in eliminations as Hawkins (6.85 index) ran 8.029 / 134.95 alongside, while Brown clocked an 8.741 / 152.55 bye on an 8.54 dial in. Hawkins kept his dial in the same but saved his best pass for last and crossed the line in 7.401 seconds at 140.71mph in the final, leaving Brown in his wake, 9.096 / 151.64 on an 8.65 dial in.…

The Williams brothers qualified in first and third places, Dan (10.61 index) on 9.868 / 118.34 and Nic (11.40 index) on 10.873 / 118.32. Sandwiched between them was a car prepped by the brothers, Spencer Tramm’s Camaro, 10.939 / 118.84 on an 11.55 index. All three made it through to the second elimination round, along with Lloyd Perkins, but with both Robin Orthodoxou and Andy Hone no shows, Tramm then had an easy ride through to the final. Perkins saw red as Nic Williams (11.40 index) went through on 11.108 / 99.83, Tramm’s bye was a sedate 11.919 / 77.88, but not as much as Dan Williams, who carded 12.067 / 75.99 in his bye on a 10.61 index. The Williams brothers then ran side by side, Dan pipping Nic,…

www.customcarmag.co.uk NB: We advise you to double check with organisers that the event or showas listed is still going ahead, to avoid any wasted journeys. To submit an event, email cc.ed@kelsey.co.uk, or write toCustom Car Events, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent ME186AL. JUNE 23-26 Goodwood Festival of Speed. Goodwood House, West Sussex PO18 0PX. www.goodwood.com 24-26 Yorkshire Motorsport Festival. Holmforth, Yorks. www.ymsf.net 25 RWYB. Santa Pod Raceway. www.rwyb.com 25 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 25-26 Duck-All Prep. Melbourne Raceway, York. www.straightliners.events/ Helen 07921 712266 26 The Fast ShowReloaded. Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk JULY 1 Summer Nationals Test Day. Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 2-3 Summer Nationals. Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 2-3 Stars&Stripes. Tatton Park, KnutsfordWA16 6QN. www.tattonstarsandstripes.com 2-3 Great Yarmouth Wheels Festival. Great Yarmouth seafront, Norfolk.…