Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2023 i Custom Car

Sedanism In an all too familiar scenario, Kieron Smith had to sell on what non-essential cars he had when kids came along. Things change over time though, and around 15 years ago he found himself in a position to start collecting parts for a fresh project, a ’32 Ford sedan. Progress was slow, however, and as his family got older he realised he needed another car right then and there. A temporary fix was found by returning to classic Volkswagens until the reality hit that wasn’t a place he really wanted to be. House stuff then got in the way for a while until once again Kieron got back into building that ’32. After a change of jobs, he felt the need to have a car on the road far…

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It’s hard to believe the Outlaw Anglias have been entertaining the crowds with their heads up racing spectacle for 30 years now. In recent times, a couple of drivers have run 6-second quarters so the big question is, who will be the first to clock 200mph? That question wasn’t answered at the Hot Rod Drags – but there’s always next year, eh? Of late, the class has introduced bracket eliminations for those drivers who get knocked out in the early rounds. Rather than load your car on the trailer, you pick a dial in and have another go. Beats getting home in time to mow the grass on Sunday afternoon.…

This month, Keith catches up with drag racing stalwarts Glen and Tim Read Drag racing is very much a family sport. And while at the recent British Drag Racing Hall of Fame gala, I caught up with Glen Read and his brother Tim who were there to enjoy seeing their old rivals and friends, the Stones team, inducted. Their late father, Jim Read, made his mark in the sport both on and off track. There were four sons in total, with Steve and Robin being the other two. All of them were, and still are, involved in the drags, even though they are in their senior years. The Readspeed legacy all emanated from the family business, which was situated at the amusingly named Frogs Island in Oxfordshire. Jim’s family tree…

One of the very biggest decisions any car builder has to make is what colour the finished work is going to be. Sometimes, it’s because you happend to have a few pots lying around, but more likely you’ll have a particular reason for deciding on your chosen hue. In Mel Garrard’s case, it’s because he wanted to mimic the colour milk goes when you put it on Coco Pops. Well, it’s a Pop, right? Makes sense to us, and even if it’s not the first thing we thought of when we clapped eyes on the car, it sure is sweet……

In mid-November, a good many people switched their race suits for dinner jackets or evening dresses and headed off to the Oatlands Park Hotel in Weybridge, Surrey for the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame gala. Over 200 guests attended this, the 16th ceremony of welcoming new inductees to the Hall of Fame. Comperes for the evening were John Price and Colin Theobald, and this was the first occasion for a number of years that no Americans were in attendance. Now retired from quarter-mile racing, Ron Hope of Rat Trap Fuel Altered fame did send his apologies, and ex-CC editor Tony Thacker forwarded his best wishes. The evening kicked off with a drinks reception during which BDRHoF director Bev Bradbury presented trophies to the junior drag racing winners. The focal…

Having visited the V-Ate Pit Stop Diner back in May, we brought you coverage of their All American gathering in the September ’22 issue. Such was the success of that inaugural Sunday afternoon event the man behind it all, Bob Wilding, had to introduce ticket-only admission for future themed car meets. That was purely to limit the number of vehicles attending though and there was no charge for the tickets. As such, come the All American and Hot Rod Meet on the last Sunday in September only those with valid tickets could gain access to the privileged parking area. Despite all tickets being allocated well in advance of the day, there were some empty spaces. I can only presume that was down to people applying for tickets but then not attending…

After the success of the Offset show back in April, Brad and his team from Wagon UK came back with a bang in the autumn with their second show, Fitment. Once again, the event was held at the Royal Cornwall Showground in Wadebridge. However this time, the team wanted to get a different selection of cars from Offset – the aim being to illustrate the diversity and variety of cars either freshly built and new to the scene or which are not often seen at these events as the owners can sometimes feel that some types of shows are not ‘their scene’. As a result, there was an enormous diversity of both cars and people at Wadebridge – including a great variety of rods and Yanks, as well a lot…

With a mix of Altereds, dragsters, sling-shots and Funny Cars, the Wild Bunch proffered a field of 32 cars for the class’ final RWYB-type event of the season. As always, the racing was close and exciting and PBs abounded. Great job guys.…

Gary Brady bought his first Ford Pop back in the mid-80s. It was light blue and it was powered by a V6 that had a blower strapped to it. The car had been stood in the seller’s garden for a while and needed to be extricated before Gary could drive it home – which he did, much to the seller’s surprise. But what happened next wasn’t a surprise to anyone. As an avid reader of both Custom Car and Street Machine, and a member of Charnwood Cruisers, a car club that was set up in 1975 and is still going strong all these years later, Gary was keen to get the Pop ship shape. And some six months later, it was. Of course, being a car fan means that they…

There was something in the air at the Hot Rod Drags this year. Actually, in reality was it was more a case of nothing in the air, with the density altitude being significantly lower than at recent events. That could only result in one thing – really quick times. Much to the delight of racers and spectators alike, that proved to be the case at the Hot Rod Drags in mid-September. The Pod was buzzing all weekend Although cold at times, especially overnight on Friday, the weather pretty much played ball. Many PBs were run, one new record was set and the Pod was buzzing all weekend. With plenty of added entertainment away from the track, this really was a great weekend – a fitting finale to a season of…

The Supercharged Outlaws fielded a pack of 14 cars competing in 3 scheduled sessions on both the Saturday and Sunday. Wheelstands, PBs and even a new record were the order of the day. There was also an instance of body switching, then switching back again. As always, the racing was close and exciting with a few edge-of-seat moments thrown in for good measure.…

Baikonur, 8 January: The USSR’s Luna 21 Moon mission blasts off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It lands a week later in the Le Monnier Crater after two days orbiting the lunar surface and deploys its payload, the eight-wheeled Lunokhod 2 rover, which goes on to beam more than 80,000 pictures back to Earth over the next four months. Lunokhod 2 is finally abandoned on the Moon after being rolled into a crater in what must surely remain the only ever extra-terrestrial road stack. Paris, 23 January: The Paris Peace Accord signals the USA’s agreement to withdraw from Vietnam. Following years of sometimes acrimonious negotiations, Henry Kissinger and North Vietnam’s Le Duc Tho reach an understanding which will, in the words of President Nixon, bring ‘peace with honour in Vietnam and…