Innholdsfortegnelse for Winter 2023 i Custom Car

ANDY SAUNDERS is nothing short of a legend in custom car circles. Never one to follow convention, his imagination runs riot in the cars he creates – which augment the engineering at the heart of any true build with a degree of pure art few others have dared to embrace. His vehicles have graced these pages many times and starred in magazines around the world. Most recently, his latest show-stopper made its debut at the NEC’s Classic Car Show – to a rapturous welcome. Called Deja, this art deco masterpiece was built using Delahaye wings and grille on the base of a Riley RM. Widely hailed as his best work yet, it came together this year in time to appear on the cover of The Automotive Alchemist – a new…

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Once again, I find myself writing about one of the most incredible, insane and action-packed shows of the year. Organised by Jay Dennison, partner Sam and the incredible team behind the brand BHP, the aptly named Fuel Fest was once again staged at the amazing Westpoint Arena in Exeter. This show is a one-day extravaganza, and for 2022 Jay once again knocked it out the park, upping the ante something fierce to make sure his visitors got plenty for their money. The indoor arena was home to 60 of the best cars in the country (possibly the county, or largely anyway), then outside was home to a heap of clubs and individual cars of all varieties. On top of that, there was a large arena for drifters to put their…

We’ve all seen old hot rods celebrated as ‘survivor cars’. In case you’ve ever wondered what the term ‘survivor’ actually means in this context, it refers to a car that’s relatively unchanged from its original build – something of a rarity in the rodding world, since customised vehicles, and hot rods in particular, tend to evolve over the years from their first incarnation or build style. This can be because of several reasons. Changes of ownership, evolving trends in stye… or, worse, being neglected to the point of decay. This ‘34 roadster isn’t any of these things. On the contrary, it’s a hot rod that has continually changed for the better – those changes having all been made by one man, Johnny Best. Johnny will be well known to long-term…

The surprises came right from the first round of qualifying in this always exciting class when Frenchman Jean Dulamon and Brit Andy Robinson both failed to show due to engine issues. Nick Davies went the quickest of the bunch at 6.116/236, but Bobby Wallace was hot on his heels on 6.160/238. Wayne Nicholson was on form too, 6.301/229, leaving Dutchman Michel Tooren, Key Slyfield and John Webster in his wake. Both Dulamon and Robinson made it round for qualifying two, recording 6.167/223 and a 6.008/216 respectively – elevating Andy into third spot before rain temporarily halted play. On the restart, it was Wallace vs Davies’ side-by-side fives (5.934/241 vs 5.989/242) that really shook things up, moving them into first and second for Sunday’s eliminations. Wallace then continued his good work…

Down on numbers but never down on action, just seven cars signed on for this round of competition, but only six made it to the start line. Colin Millar came out on top after the first round of qualifying, 8.233/167 without gas, with Rob Stone close behind on 8.623/154. Ben Kennedy, Wayne Power, Doug McClure and Barry Woodford, in that order, rounded out the field. Woodford (10.395/130) moved up a couple of spots in qualifying two, but otherwise no change going into eliminations. Sunday morning saw Stone too anxious to get down track and lighting a red, letting Power through, joined by Millar and Woodford. It was Woodford who had to do the work the semis, seeing off Power in a close-run 10.444/124 vs 10.757/126 battle, while Millar took it…

An impressive field of 25 Junior Dragsters kicked off proceedings on the Saturday morning, with some great reaction times and very close racing. As the last pairing ran through, it was Mackenzie Love in top spot, 8.500/75 on a 7.90 index. In numbers two and three were Max Taylor and Lola-Belle Kent. Next time out, Jacqueline Bartlett’s sensational 0.0007 reaction time jumped her into the number one spot, 8.131/76 on a 7.90 dial, while Ted Sullivan and Damion Redshaw made great gains. Chevy Checkett was the star of round one eliminations, posting a perfect 8.960/71 on an 8.96 dial, though his charge ended in round two. By round four, the runners had been whittled down to Harley Coulsell, Damion Redshaw, Luke Fulton and Daniel Weir, but only two could go…

With 38 cars signed on and in the running, it was going to be a very busy weekend in Pro ET. Mason Griffiths set the pace in the first round of qualifying, 9.244/140 on a 9.20 dial in, with Marc Huxley and John Bean snapping at his heels. In session two, though, Allan Schofield fair leapt up the ladder from 18 into the number one spot with a 9.106/147 on a 9.10 dial in. Likewise, Dan Fulton, up 25 places, Ronnie Mercer up 31 and Simon Gough up 30. It was all change again on the final run of the session, though, when Neill Watkins nailed an 11.404/113 on an 11.40 dial in to leave him in the top spot going into eliminations, with five alternates sitting below the 32-car…

Andy Murrell freely admits to having heard the question ‘is this thing ever going to get finished?’ a few times over the years it took for this kustom Consul to come together. Sometimes it will have been in his own head, we’ve no doubt about that, but he stuck to his vision and the finished car is a triumph. Well, it’s a 1962 Ford Consul 375, but you know what I mean. So, let’s rewind to when Andy was a fresh-faced teenager with visions of owning an American car from the 1950s. ‘I couldn’t afford one of those so I bought a Hillman Imp…’ he laughs. ‘It cost me £70, and it was worth every penny of about £70.’ Give him credit, though, he did manage to ‘fix it up’,…

‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ It’s a maxim us car freaks know well enough. The rod’s running fine, no problems at all, but hey, if I just… Cue snapped bolt or stripped thread and a bunch of heartache, maybe even a missed rod run. If you could have just stayed those itchy fingers, you’d be cruising in the sunshine rather than crawling under the motor in the dirt… Hotrods and Hills ain’t broke, and it don’t need fixing. Organised by the venue, Park Foot Campsite in Pooley Bridge, at the northern end of Ullswater, the event has stuck to pretty much its original format all these years because quite frankly it’s a format that works, and works well. Get there on the Thursday (or even earlier) if you…

We’re getting in our time machine this month and heading back to the first weekend in July, the date of the STP Summer Nationals. Traditionally more of a racers’ event than a spectators’ one, it always attracts a huge and varied field. Testing took place on Friday 1 July, and some of the heavy hitters took the opportunity to tweak their set-ups ahead of the weekend’s racing ahead. Of note were Frenchman Jean Dulamon’s 6.174/197 and Brit Bobby Wallace’s high mile an hour 237 on a 6.301 pass. The threatening skies and blustery winds on Saturday delivered one bout of rain in the afternoon, which was repeated on the Sunday, but otherwise the weather remained largely decent throughout the two full days of racing that followed, allowing for the packed…

Another very diverse class, the first round of qualifying saw Spencer Tramm up against Nic Williams in their tidy Camaros, four pot Kev Jenkins in the Escort face off Dan Williams’ Chevelle, Rene Ehrismann’s chopped Shoebox Chevy vs Robin Orthodoxou’s big inch Altered and the Pro Stock-alike Jaguar XKR of Dave Smith through on a single. Ehrismann came out on top (7.496/180 on an 8.02 index), followed by Williams, D (10.036/127 on 10.51), and then Tramm (11.190/114 on an 11.55). Come eliminations on Sunday, Ehrismann earned a bye by virtue of being no.1 qualifier, Dan Williams took out Orthodoxou, brother Nick dispensed with Smith and Tramm saw off Jenkins, leading to a Williams brothers face off on one side of the semis and Tramm against Ehrismann on the other. Despite…

At the end of the first qualifying session, Paul Hudson was on the top of the pile of seven entries, posting an 8.966 at 157mph on the class’ 8.90 dial in. Behind him were Steve Hudson (8.973/142) and Richard Tunstall (8.993/144), while Simon Fulton was back out to play in the Blitzkrieg Falcon. That all changed in qualifying two, though, when Leah Kellett posted a fine 8.933/163 to leapfrog into first place, Tunstall’s 8.950/146 moved him up to second and Steve Field entered the fray. The first round of eliminations saw some super close racing, with three pairings going over the stripe with less than one hundredth of a second between them. Victors were Hudson, Kellett and Tunstall, while Paul Hudson continued alone after Darryl Howells hurt his motor in…

Where the Super Comp guys and girls are aiming for 8.90s, the Super Gas entrants have 9.90s in their sights and, while one second might not seem like much on the face of it, it’s a huge difference on track. Consequently, intimate knowledge of the performance of your car in these classes is everything. In round one qualifying, it was Andy Harrison in the Sierra that ran closest to the class index, 9.904/142, with Pete Cresswell and Jon Giles right behind him. The now sadly departed Jon Morton dipped under it, but the rest of the runners were all in the tens, albeit most by less than one hundredth of a second. Harrison nailed it again round two, a perfect 9.990 at 143mph keeping him in the top spot. Morton…

Though 24 cars signed on, only 18 made it round to the start line for the first round of Saturday qualifying and, when the dust settled, it was returnee, Nick Good, on top in the Lucas Oil dragster, with Daniel Giles and David Russell in the two and three spots. Of note was German, Rene Jaspert, pulling the front wheels in his heavily modified 3-series BMW, the only competitor in the class with less than eight cylinders on board. In qualifying two, Pete Walters moved into the number one position, while Scott Hauser rose from 18 to five behind Mark Bailey. On Sunday morning, Mark Turner and AC Bell both checked themselves out with red lights, Good ran below his dial in to end his own weekend and Jaspert was…

Four months to build a hot rod? Oh, come on. Maybe if it’s a team in a workshop but for one bloke in his garage? Can’t be done. Except Carl Powles has done it – and the result was this show-stopping ‘32 Roadster. Okay, let’s be honest. As you may well be expecting, the preparation took far longer than that. Several years longer as it happens, as I recall first spotting the fibreglass roadster body collecting dust in Carl’s Grimsby workshop what must have been at least 12 years ago. All that parts collecting is key, though, as when the time was right the execution was precise and swift. Very, very swift. In truth, however, this is a build that was never meant to be. ‘I tend to buy parts…

The National Street Van Association’s annual Truck-In event was held this year as part of the International Campervan Show at Stratford upon Avon Racecourse. This meant a bumper attendance was all but guaranteed – and that’s exactly how it turned out. ‘Next year is the National Street Van Association’s big one, our 50th’ With the event being held alongside another big show, there was plenty to see and do all weekend. We had our own area within the show itself, which started filling up from the Thursday onwards. Throughout the weekend, a whole variety of vans rolled in, from 70s’ Chevys to show-winning VW Caddys. It was a Caddy, indeed, whose owner, Mark Webster, turned out to be the holder of the winning ticket in the traditional show raffle –…

The phrase ‘Cal-look’ has long been part of the Custom Car lexicon. Back in the 80s, it seemed like the world was being taken over by generic air-cooled Beetles done in the classic Californian style. We’re not going to get into that debate right now. But we are going to get into another kind of Cal-looker. A 1972 Ford F-250, to be precise. What, you’re wondering, are we on about? We’re on about the California beyond LA and Frisco, beyond Venice Beach and Compton. The Golden State may be the home of Hollywood, hippie culture, West Coast rap and an eye-popping population of porn stars, and most of the world’s wealth might seem to have been sucked into a narrow strip of its coastline like light into a black hole,…

With Dragstalgia the following weekend, it was no surprise to see the Wild Bunch field a skeleton crew this weekend, just Rob Brown, Phil James, Keith Crampton and Bob Hawkins flying the nostalgia flag. That’s not to say they didn’t fly it high, Crampton clocking a PB 9.658/139 in the first round of qualifying and Hawkins piping nitro to the crowd on a 6.959/192 pass on a 6.70 dial in. Hawkins changed his dial in to 6.80 next time out and ran closer to it on with a 6.901/193 to move up to second spot behind Mr. consistent, Phil James, 9.551/136 on a 9.53 dial in. The small Bunch put in a third round of qualifying early afternoon Sunday, where James strengthened his number one position (9.544/136 on a 9.53…

Nine runners turned out for this round of competition, with Andy Bond’s ever-popular Chevy standing ahead of Al McSweeney in the points – and consolidating that position with the quickest and fastest run in round one of qualifying (7.343/205). McSweeney wasn’t far behind though with an impressive 7.662/181 in the Volvo, while Paul Morton put in a strong 9.027/148 for a new PB. In round two of qualifying, just about everyone ran quicker, but Elliot Day (9.333/149) made the biggest improvement. No change in positions on the ladder going into Sunday’s eliminations. With Morton a no show, Ricky Hale went through driving brother Nick’s pick-up, Mark Sheridan set a new PB (8.035/182) and Tony Higgs reached for the stars in his Capri, but still managed to take the win (8.252/165)…

With everything from Caddy vans to Cupras and an electric New Beetle, it was interesting to see Luke Stevenson in this category’s only rail, powered by a turbocharged, 2.8-litre four, post by far and away the quickest time, 8.562/154 on an 8.50 dial in, to take the top spot. Behind him were Charles Roberts in a VW Up! (11.694/121 on an 11.60 dial in) and Graham Fairhead in a Type 3 Fastback (11.357/123 on an 11.20 dial in). Stevenson went quicker still in qualifying two, clocking a new PB of 8.453/155. In round one of Sunday’s eliminations, Jonathan Newell and Jacob Bailey had a superb race, Newell just squeaking it at the finish line, while James Hodson defeated Ian Dale, Fairhead took out Sam Young, Phill Blogg dispensed with Roberts…

The Sportsman classes may not be the most exhilarating races to watch from a spectator point of view, but they’re a valuable stepping stone for racers – some as young as 16-year-old Darren Walsh, who celebrated his birthday this weekend – to hone their reaction times and skills in the sport. In the 23-car VW Sportsman class, Daniel Boucher and his Polo were looking a lot like the ones to beat going into eliminations – and all the way up until he was taken out by Morgan Wilson in round three. The final, though, saw Paul Robinson in an Audi TT line up against Jerry Sadler in a New Beetle, the former taking the win, 14.763/91 on a 14.72 dial vs 15.627/85 on a 15.95 dial. Sportsman ET saw a…

The RPM Nationals has to be one of my favourite events. It’s held at the Santa Margarita Ranch just off US Highway 101, about 100 miles north of Santa Barbara, California and 200 miles north of Los Angeles. The ranch has its own private airstrip which once a year roars to the sound of flathead Fords rather than airplanes. Founded in 2017 and organised by Justin Baas and Russ Hare, the RPM Nats is billed as an 1/8-mile drag race for pre-1936 flathead V8 and four-cylinder hot rods and race cars. Even though the speeds are what you’d expect from 90 to 100-year-old engines, the fun factor is off the scale. If you’re looking to take a trip out west, you could do worse than put the RPM Nationals on your…