Innholdsfortegnelse for Winter 2025 i Custom Car

British drag racing pioneer Gerald Cookson passed away peacefully in his sleep on Monday 14 October aged 94. Having visited the International Drag Festivals at Blackbushe in 1964, Gerald entered the third meeting of the newly opened Santa Pod Raceway, driving a self-built and designed, BMC-powered slingshot dragster called Minor Leaguer. He designed his next dragster, Trouble Shooter, with a more traditional American slingshot look about it, but still using the dependable BMC engine from a 998cc Mini Cooper. Gerald never wanted bigger engines, instead preferring dependable British ingenuity that he could pull off the shelf, modify and develop from race to race. Race wins started to come until an untimely incident in the Santa Pod fire-up lane ended Trouble Shooter’s days when the push bar broke. A year later,…

Being married to a hot rodder gives rise to a couple of life choices. You can grin and bear it – or grasp it with both hands and get a hot rod of your own. Fortunately for us, Christine Thurley chose the latter option. Actually, she pipped husband Andrew to the post, as he was still building his ’34 Ford Sports Sedan when her Anglia was bought as an already built and on-the-road hot rod. That was back in 2007, and the spec sheet read Ford 1600cc Crossflow, 4-speed manual ‘box, Cortina rear axle and Viva independent front. “It was an older build and to be honest it was pretty diabolical underneath,” Andrew readily admitted. “I gave it a thorough check-over to ensure it was safe and we ran it…

As this isn’t a cookery magazine, we’re going to assume the words Green Onions mean just two things to you. The brilliant ‘accidental’ instrumental by Booker T and the MGs, and Racin’ Ray Turner’s ’55 Chevy. Likewise, as this isn’t a music magazine, we’re going to focus on the latter here. Doing the research for this article has been a joyful experience. If you know Ray, or have ever spoken to him, you’ll know he’s one of the nicest, most modest racers around. He’s literally seen it, done it and bought the T-shirt, but his genuine deference is a delight to behold. If you’re wondering why we’re only getting round to featuring Ray’s ride now, after all these years, it’s because 2024 has marked the 40th anniversary of his time…

Event: NSVA Truck-in Date: 16-18 August Venue: The Drum and Monkey, Upton upon Severn August saw the 51st running of the National Street Van Association’s Annual Truck-in. This was was once again held in the grounds of the Drum and Monkey in Upton upon Severn, amid glorious weather. The weekend had all of the usual activities and attractions. These included live airbrushing by Nimbus Airbrush Art – who donated a raffle prize won by Dave Watts, who had his van bonnet airbrushed. There was also a Saturday night van light show, as well as fancy dress and various raffles. One of the raffle prizes was a very special vanning quilt, handmade by Sheila Attrill from several old van T-shirts. Further attractions included Titan Wolf selling various items of merchandise and…

There’s always a story behind how a modified car came about. It’s what makes our lives interesting. But when Mark Robinson, the owner of this radical 1970 Mustang Grande coupe, told me it was toss up between a VW Camper, a TVR Cerbera or a 1960’s/’70’s muscle car, you know it’s not the usual story. “I’ve always been into cars,” says Mark cheerfully, “and I’m eclectic in my taste for them. But back when I bought the Mustang, in 2009, I just really wanted a project. My girlfriend at the time, now my wife, was working a lot in the evenings and at weekends and I was bored, so I sat down and made a list of the cars I’d like to own. After some deliberation – and knocking quite…

If you’ve ever been to one of the meets put on by Hayling Hotrods at the Beach, you’ll know Glenn Blake. It’s him who puts on the Tuesday evening get-togethers which bring rods, customs, Yanks and classics flocking to Hayling Island once a month from April to October. Among the cars that showed up to join the regular crowd down there during the course of 2024 is Ritchie Gee, whose fabulously rock’n’roll Lincoln Premiere appeared in these pages a couple of months back. It was Glenn who alerted us to it via Hayling Hotrods’ Facebook page – and while we were chatting to him about it, he mentioned that he happened to have a kustom of his own that we might be interested in. A couple of photos later and…

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 NOVEMBER 2024 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 Hot Rod Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 8 ‘Normous Newark Autojumble Newark Showground, Newark, Notts. www.newarkautojumble.co.uk 17 VW Air-Cooled Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 28 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 28 Cold Turkey Run. Peterborough to Cromer, Norfolk. Facebook: Bod Here 29 Huddersfield Auto/Retro Jumble. Brook Street, Huddersfield. www.phoenixfairs.jimdo.com JANUARY…