Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2024 i Custom Car

Eager to avoid the post-Christmas blues and get out and have some fun in our cars, the guys at the Iceni C.A.R. Club came up with the idea of the Brass Monkey Run. That was not long after the turn of the century and the idea was simple but effective. A suitable date between Christmas and the New Year would be chosen to meet up at the starting point of The Ram public house in Brandon on the Norfolk/Suffolk border. Engines would start at 10.00am, when the cruise headed off to Waitrose in Swaffham. After a short comfort break, it would be back on the road at 11.00am, heading to the final destination of Wells-Next-The-Sea on the Norfolk coast. The plan proved popular and, with others joining in along the…

The ever-enterprising people at Valley Gas Speed Shop have been in touch to let us know of a new partnership resulting in them becoming the sole UK supplier of ACES Fuel Injection systems. Based in Tennessee, ACES specialises in developing and manufacturing state-of-the-art engine management systems and ignition components. The product range is extensive and the branding is slick, with fuel injection systems carrying playing card-related names such as Royal Flush and Jackpot. Valley Gas will be installing an ACES EFI on one of the projects they have in hand and will be announcing exactly which build that is in the near future. www.valleygasspeedshop.com…

Whichever way you look at it, Tri-Chevys are iconic automobiles. They transcend the boundaries of hot rod, custom, race car and classic. Even lowriders. Whatever genre of modified vintage American car you’re into, you’ll find a Tri-Chevy version of it. And such is their enduring popularity that there are complete reproduction bodies available these days, as well as a healthy aftermarket ready and waiting to sell you just about any part you might require for one. All three variants have their followers. The classic brigade tend to prefer the ’57 and the racers the ’55, while the ’56 sits somewhere in the middle – though they’re by no means mutually exclusive. When it came to choosing which Tri to go for, the three people behind this car, Richard Ward, Dean…

Email photos and details of your car to alan.kidd@assignment-media.co.uk, or post to Custom Car, Assignment Media Ltd, PO Pox 8632, Burton on Trent DE14 9PR. Please include your contact details – and when sending digital pictures, use the largest file size you have available When the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame announced this year’s inductions at Dragstalgia in July, a popular inclusion in the list was the Huxley family. Their history goes back to 1979, when father of the clan Brian started racing aboard a street-driven ’69 Mustang he had prepared himself. Brian’s sons, Lee, Darren and Marc, have all followed in his footsteps in one way or another. Lee, the eldest of the three, drove in partnership with his dad as the family became a dominant force in…

Event: Hot Rods and Hills Date: 6-9 June 2024 Venue: Park Foot Holiday Park, Ullswater This year’s Hot Rods and Hills was a little different to normal, due to a clash of events. With Street Weekend and Truckfest on at the same time, a lot of key players were missing in action – and good on them too, as it’s the diversity of events that keeps this hobby of ours alive. Hot Rods and Hills never disappoints in its unique format. It’s not a show and shine event – you drive your car, not sit and polish it. Despite being a little quieter than it has been in the past, it was still full of the diehards who’ll always be there. It just made a change that when we got…

Displayed in the National Motor Museum’s In Focus Gallery, Burnout marks the 60th anniversary of the 1964 British Drag Racing Festival. The exhibition recounts the first large-scale event to bring the sport to the UK. The exhibition, which runs until 2 February 2025, is a community collaborative project. The National Motor Museum Trust partnered with the British Drag Racing Historians (BDRH) who researched and curated items for this exhibition from its members’ private collections and other archives recommended by the group. It is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and members of BDRH, particularly John Hunt and Nick Pettitt, organised and managed research for the project. As well as the special exhibition, which is included in the Beaulieu attraction ticket, visitors to the National Motor Museum can also see…

In his early teens, in the late ‘70s, Jon Gurney developed a fascination for cartoon-esque cars after a friend brought a hot rod magazine into school. It all made sense to him and he was hooked. But his parents would not allow him to bring Custom Car magazine into the house back then (can’t think why?) so he had to settle for other publications available at the time. That second choice reading matter did Jon no harm though. “The thing with hot rodding is there are no rules, and no following the pack,” he said. “It’s about expressing your personality within a piece of mobile artwork that is entirely your own. “My focus was heavily on the wacky American show rods of the ’60 and ‘70s, and I would spend…

All was looking good for the 33rd NSRA Hot Rod Supernationals at Old Warden Park over the first weekend of August – apart from it clashing with the Hot Rod Hayride, that is. The stage was set – literally – and the weather gods were onside. So, did it live up to the billing? It pretty much did, by all accounts. The programme for the weekend was sort of jam-packed from start to finish – maybe a little too packed in terms of the live music, but that is just my own viewpoint. Friday, I felt the daytime was a little flat, but again that could just be me – and there certainly was plenty going on in the evening. Saturday was an entirely different story. An enjoyable cruise out,…

Event: The Trip Out Date: 6-8 Sept 2024 Venue: Euston Park, Norfolk Yet again, the Trip Out proved the best event of the year for so many people. Regulars and newcomers alike revelled in the warm, friendly, laid-back, welcoming atmosphere that it has become famous for. We were treated to the usual central show field full of hot rods, customs, classic Americans, restored British tin, endless custom vans and of course an array of fabulous bobbers, choppers and classic bikes. There are no formal arrangements as such – you just ride or drive on and park where you like, the amphitheatre effect of the rolling site giving the perfect backdrop whichever way you look. Surround that with a whole bunch of eclectic trade stalls and food vendors, with the huge…

NB: We advise you to double check with organisers that the event or show as listed is still going ahead, to avoid any wasted journeys. To submit an event, email alan.kidd@assignment-media.co.uk OCTOBER 2024 25-27 California Hot Rod Reunion Famoso Raceway, Bakersfield, CA www.famosodragstrip.com 26 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 26 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 27 Huddersfield Auto/Retro Jumble. Brook Street, Huddersfield. www.phoenixfairs.jimdo.com NOVEMBER 2024 6 Hot Rod Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 19 VW Air-Cooled Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 23 British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Gala Dinner. Oatlands Park Hotel, Weybridge, Surrey. britishdragracinghof.co.uk 24 ‘Normous Newark Autojumble Newark Showground, Newark, Notts. www.newarkautojumble.co.uk 30 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com DECEMBER 2024 1 Huddersfield Auto/Retro Jumble. Brook Street, Huddersfield. www.phoenixfairs.jimdo.com 4…

After around 16 years in the hot seat, the very hot seat, Wayne Nicholson announced that 2024 was the Lucky Devil Racing team’s last season racing in Pro Modified. In the early days, the team’s Corvette was running a 510ci Chevy, with Wayne clocking 6.6 second quarters. Things got more serious with the switch to a blown methanol 521ci Hemi though, which powered the car to 5 second quarters. Team members have come and gone over the years and Wayne would like to express his thanks to Carl Wattam, Ken Coleman, Andy Kirk, Lee Kirk, Andy Marshall, Richard Harker, Sandy Cockram, Adam Nowak, Tony Underhill and anyone else he’s unintentionally missed out. Thanks also to the current team of Joe Nicholson, Gaz James Nicholson, Tim Asquith, Andrew Wright and Dale…

After 9 years of dedication and devotion as chairman of the Nostalgia Superstock committee, Don Scott has decided the time is right to stand down. When Don took on the post, the class was in its infancy with only a handful of cars running, but he spearheaded its growth and now a 60-car field is a regular occurrence. Always fair, considerate and good-humoured, Don has continually striven to do what’s right by the racers and has done an excellent job of communicating with them and the people at Santa Pod. Somehow, he has managed all of that on a voluntary basis whilst still managing to race his Plymouth Superbird. Thanks for all you have done Don. You will be a hard act to follow.…

Jack Edmunds says he’s ‘mad about pretty much anything with an engine.’ Sounds familiar, right? But that extends to some stuff without an engine, too – where he’s taken the hot rodding game into new territory. Jack’s a mere 24 years of age. He had some tough stuff to deal with when he was little, and he found that model-making gave him a way to cool off and relax. ‘I stated making model tanks and planes,’ he says. ‘Painting them and trying to make them look as good as I could.’ Planes and tanks do have engines, but Jack is particularly into custom cars and bikes. ‘I have always loved them, because of how different they can be – I just loved that!’ But there was a problem. ‘As we…

The drag racing bug can bite deep, as many have found. That is certainly the case for Doug Bond who, along with friends Martyn Hannis and Lawrence Osborne, have racked up 50 years involvement in the sport. Most aspiring drag racers start out with a reasonably manageable first car – but the three friends from Cheltenham instead got involved with the only working rear-engined funny car in the country! Doug, Martyn and Lawrence all used to ride around on bikes off-road, and Doug helped Martyn get a job with him at a motorcycle dealer. Another friend of the trio was Pete Barnett, who had gone to a couple of drag races with Doug. When they saw a small advert for the Castrol GTX funny car in the latter part of…

Event: V8 Hot Rods meet Date: 26 August Venue: The Cross Keys, Redgrave, Suffolk Now in its fifth year, the V8 Hot Rods annual August bank holiday Monday meet is getting bigger all the time as it attracts people from far and wide to take over Redgrave’s village green and gardens. Every year, the event starts earlier and earlier. I arrived at 9.15, thinking it was silly to be there so early – but instead found a lot of people already parked up for day. Open to anything pre-’72, the meet attracts a lot of locals as well as people now coming from afar, including Rob Drage in his gorgeous black Chevy all the way from Nottingham. The Cross Keys pub kept us all fed and watered all day, with…