Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2023 i Custom Car

The destiny of the 2023 staging of Popstalia has now been confirmed. Initially, there was uncertainty, and then came the announcement it wasn’t going to happen. Now though, much to the delight of sit-up- and-beg fans comes the news it is on after all. For this year though, it’s gone on a diet. Popstalgia Lite takes place at Industry and Supply, Weedon BEC, Northamptonshire on Saturday 23 September. Yup, just one day this year. Don’t let that put you off though, it will be just as much fun as ever, just crammed into a few hours – from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm to be precise. Along with the cars, there will be merchandise, food, drink and music. Entry is free, but the organisers would appreciate people pre-booking so they can…

“I wanted mine to look like a high school hot rod that was built on the drive and then went to the drags every weekend” Storming the dirt oval at the Hayride, kicking up sand at Pendine, screeching round the bends at Prescott, storming down the quarter at the Pod or chasing down a BMW M3 on the motorway, that’s where you’ll see Ben Barnett’s Model A, not sitting still in a barn like this too often. In fact, it’s taken us about three years to pull this shoot together because if he’s not out spanking it, he’s in the garage fixing it due to the aforementioned spanking. Two gearboxes, at least two sets of rear end cogs, new wheels, tyres, bits of paintwork – you name it, Ben’s been…

This story starts with Neil Hill doing Route 66. 6 years ago. If the car was a ’58 Plymouth Fury, you’d have to worry. Fortunately, it’s a ’55 Chevy. It’s not called Christine and to the best of our knowledge, it’s not possessed by the devil. If it is, at least, it’s playing the long game. It was while he was cruising the Mother Road, on the way through New Mexico, that Neil spotted a collection of rat rods and hot rods in a deserted garage. ‘I rang the phone number on the fence, made him an offer for two of them and had them shipped back.’ Thus raising his custom car game to that of a man who knows how to import old cars from America, which is no…

Uprooting any event and moving it to a new venue is always a daunting task, even more so when it involves indoor exhibition facilities. That, however, was what Mark and the team behind the National Hot Rod, Custom & American Car Show were faced with this year following the sale of the East of England Arena for housing redevelopment. In reality, this was the tip of the iceberg as the show piggybacks the highly popular Modified Nationals which attracts tens of thousands of exhibitors and participants. So, did the move 60 miles north to the Lincolnshire Showground work? On the whole, I think it did. Understandably there were teething problems and the weather, especially on Saturday, did nobody any favours. The main difference in my opinion was that the 2…

It was all about who reached the line first, nothing else Take it at face value and it’s so simple. Find an old wartime airfield in the depths of the countryside, add a few hay bales and it’s job done. An instant eighth-mile sprint track. That’s just what the team at MPH Vintage Sprint did, only they did far more than that, and they did it exceptionally well. The organising team consisted of Chris Caine, Sid Newbon and Mark Phillips, and the venue they came across was Deenethorpe Airfield, near Corby, Northants. Formerly home to a USAF 401st Bombardment Group operating B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft during WW2, it is still an operational airfield, albeit on a more subdued basis these days. The date was set as the last Sunday in…

If ever there was an event of two halves, it was this year’s NSRA Nostalgia Nationals. Actually, if you include the Friday test day it was an event of three thirds. It all started well with the track opening at 9:30am as planned, but soon things went awry as only 6 cars had run before rain stopped play. Fortunately, it wasn’t set in for the day and the track reopened early afternoon. It was a case of fast and furious from then on, race teams and track crew keen to make up for lost time. Albeit very light, the rain reared its ugly head again around 5 pm but as that was the scheduled time for the track to close it was of no real consequence. The rain returned with…

The end of another fantastic season of Nostalgia drag racing is almost upon us, and once again the NSRA Hot Rod Drags serves as the backdrop for the curtain call. Now in its 35th edition, the Hot Rod Drags remains the original must-attend nostalgia meet at Santa Pod. Santa Pod’s famed quarter mile once again takes centre stage, with the track open for Run What Ya Brung. Anyone with a pre-1973 retro, classic, hot rod or American car will be able to test their mettle on the track. Alongside them will be a number of invitational nostalgia race classes, including the loud and proud Supercharged Outlaws, Wild Bunch, Outlaw Anglia and Gasser Circus. Make sure to keep an eye out for some of the classes within the RWYB sessions as…

‘I love everything that has been done to it and the stance when she’s fully aired out is just where I want it’ Bagged and patinated trucks are not to everyone’s taste. But they obviously tick a whole lot of boxes for a whole lot of people, because they’ve become one of the most common trends on this side of the Atlantic. Everything from Fords and Chevys to lesser-known brands, original or faux patina, massive 20” to standard steel wheels, it’s all been done and many T-shirts have been bought. While the trends are always there to spot, each vehicle is unique. In this case, you’ll see varying shades of patina, dents and battle scars left on show – but in true rat style, all the running gear has either…

Event: Custom and American Show Date: 18 June Venue: National Motor Museum, Beaulieu More than 5600 visitors headed for the National Motor Museum on Father’s Day for the annual Custom and American Show. Organised in association with the Solent Renegades club, the event featured an impressive display of 406 custom and American cars and bikes, transforming the Beaulieu site into a colourful exhibition of automotive history. From pre-war to the present day, visitors were treated to a captivating assortment of 1970s’ muscle cars, 1950s’ sedans and more. Highlights included a wide variety of customs and hot rods, as well as oddities like a military Humvee and towering US trucks that loomed large over the show. With this being very much a family event, one of the busiest attractions was a…