Custom Car August 2025 by Assignment Media Ltd

News & reviews

UPhoenixrising

nderstandably, devastating horror and trauma were paramount in the initial aftermath of the incident that beset Graham Smith during Santa Pod’s Main Event in May. Graham was making a pass in the Bad Apple Racing Grimhilde ’57 Chevy when the car caught alight. Amazingly, considering the severity of the ﬁre, Graham was given the all clear after a few hours of tests and observation at Northampton Hospital.

We don’t want to dwell on the incident, except for echoing the praise and thanks Graham and his wife Rachel have expressed to those on the scene. Not for the ﬁrst time this season has the track crew and ﬁre / medical teams at Santa Pod come to the fore, and the work they do is greatly appreciated by race teams and spectators alike.

No sooner had the dust settled than the drag racing fraternity stepped up to support

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the cause. Technically, they created the cause as Graham and Rachel hadn’t asked for anything and hadn’t even decided on what future path to take. The emotional calls, messages of support and well wishes were overwhelming, but much more was to follow. The offers of help and support were unprecedented, and Graham and Rachel greatly appreciate every one of them.

While it’s impossible to mention every single one of the generous gestures, the couple would like to publicly express thanks to Andrew Chilton, Jeff and Belinda Bull, Edge Performance Transmissions, Robert, Trudy and Chris Slater, Simpson Race Products and Chris Dilbeck, Toni Webster, Bryan Whitﬁeld, PoleVolt Auto Electrical Components, Martin Hill, Trevor Hirst at ASD Fuel Tech, Design by Binnie, Pete Smith and sponsors Brentacre Insurance and WOSP_WOSPerformance.

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There is another very kind gesture that Graham and Rachel still can’t wrap their heads around, too - the GoFundMe page set up by Victoria Louise Smith and Leah Kellett. At the time of writing, the fund had raised in excess of £17,000, a staggering amount that provides an amazing basis for the Chevy rebuild – now known as The Phoenix Project. The fund is still open, so it’s not too late to show your support.

The amazing support, kindness and generosity shown towards Graham and Rachel make us proud to be part of a very special community. A very special community indeed.

GoFundMe: Help Rebuild Graham Smith’s ‘57 Chevy

Brian Wilson

It would be remiss of us not to mention the passing of Brian Wilson aged 82. Although not known as a hot rodder himself, as the founder member of the Beach Boys his music is associated with hot rodding more than any other. The tunes aren’t to everyone’s liking, of course, most notably John Milner. Many will recall his line in American Graﬃ ti: “I don’t like that surﬁ n’ shit. Rock and roll’s been going downhill ever since Buddy Holly died.”

Whatever your take on the sounds, there’s no denying Wilson’s inﬂ uence. His music will live on forever.

RIP Brian

Celebrating 74 years

Stop by showroomthe today to check it out.

RAISED WHITE LETTER TYRES 13”-15” MOST SIZES IN STOCK NARROW BAND, WHITEWALLS 13’-15”

News & reviews Something for the weekend?

Harleys and Rods

Saturday 16 August is the date for the fifth Hullabaloo at Newmarket Harley-Davidson. The fun runs from 10.00am to 4.00pm, when live music will be performed by The Wigsville Spliffs and Porkys Hot Rockin Band. DJ Alison Bruce will be spinning rockin’ tunes, Dog Tooth Tattoos will be inking skin and Eyeball Mike will be pinstriping. The V8 Hotrods car club is sorting some cool cars to be on show, and food will be provided by GD’s Burger and Grill and the Coffee ’n’ Cakes Airstream trailer. There is no charge for public admission.

Facebook: Newmarket HarleyDavidson

Off your trolley

This 4-Drawer Workshop Tool Trolley from Laser Tools is designed to bring tools, parts and equipment right to the job. The trolley features a lockable top tray and four smooth-sliding drawers, while underneath, an open lower tray offers ample room for bulkier items, and a side-mounted

At the hop

Confirmation has been late coming through, but the Cannibals Car Club – UK is at it again this year. Hot Rod Hop 7 descends on Scald End Farm, Thurleigh, Beds MK44 2DP over the Bank Holiday weekend, 22-25 August. The weekend promises all the usual fun and games and, as is the norm, admission is by pre-booked ticket only. Places are limited, so don’t delay, book today. No tickets will be available at the gate. cannibalscarclub. enginehousetickets.co.uk/

horizontal slotted storage section keeps frequently used screwdrivers and the like within easy reach. Constructed from tough 0.8–2.0mm gauge steel, the trolley features heavy-duty 5” castor wheels (two fixed, two swivel with brakes). Overall dimensions are 865mm (w) x 447mm (d) x 962mm (h). www.lasertools.co.uk

Real steel

Steel City Cruisers is thrilled to announce that due to popular demand, their legendary Weekend Car Show will be returning to Hooton Lodge Farm later this year. The dates for the 41st staging of the Steel City rod run are 5-7 September and the venue’s address is Kilnhurst Road, Hooten Roberts, Thrybergh, Rotherham S65 4TE. The weekend offers cars, camping, live music, food, a DJ and a cruise. Everything you could ask for.

Facebook: Steel City Cruisers

Support for all

The BDRHoF Benevolent Fund was saddened to hear of the fire that ripped through some caravans and a camper overnight at Santa Pod Raceway a few weeks back. This included a number of caravans belonging to the hard-working marshals. It was a relief to hear that despite the severity of the fire, no one was seriously injured. However, five marshals lost their Santa Pod homes, which they use when working at events, along with their belongings inside.

The BDRHoF Benevolent Fund is privileged to have been able to make an offer of financial assistance to all the marshals who were affected.

The BDRHoF Benevolent Fund is in place to assist racers, marshals and those connected with the sport of drag racing in the UK in times of need. The fund can provide assistance following events such as this, as well as illness or injury. Please contact Nicola Marshall with full details should you be aware of a potential recipient or would like to request assistance for yourself. You can help raise vital funds for this worthy cause either by making a donation or planning a fundraising event. A Just Giving Page is now live to assist with fundraising and every donation made via Just Giving from a UK taxpayer is eligible for Gift Aid at 25%.

Facebook: BDRHoF Benevolent Fund

The hills are alive

No sooner had the last of the cars rolled out of the campsite than Craig Dixon announced the dates for the 2026 staging of Hot Rods and Hills. It all happens again at Park Foot Holiday Park in Penrith on 4-7 June, and the park has conﬁ rmed there will be no charge for a second car as long as it’s a hot rod or American. Booking should be made online, if possible, with discounts being applied once the website is updated. www.parkfootullswater.co.uk Facebook: Hot Rods and Hills

Jet Fest

Things are about to get loud at Melbourne Raceway, as on 12-13 July jet-propelled vehicles will be spooling up their turbines to unleash smoke, ﬁ re and thunder. The UK’s formidable jet exponent and BDRHoF member, Martin Hill, will be back in his homeland, where it all began, with one of the FireForce cars. Accompanying him will be Julian Webb’s ear-splitting kids’ favourite Spiderman and Lee Dennick’s Mini Pro Jet Funny Car Reign of Fire (pictured).

All this and more from exclusive track series rounds of American Super Stock, National Street Car Challenge and Six Sixty Championship, all backed up with plenty of RWYB over the eighth-mile Portatree timed drag strip. The venue is Melbourne Raceway, York YO42 4SS. www.straightliners.events

Pic: Mike Burrowes

News & reviews

Block busters

Burton Power now offers brand new Ford OHV Kent blocks explicitly for the 1500 Lotus Twin Cam and 1500 pre-crossflow engines, in addition to another version specifically for the 1600 Kent Crossflow.

Manufactured by Ford, the blocks are based on an all-new grey iron casting that is stronger than the originals ever were. Features include semi-finished cylinder bores to allow the engine

Under pressure

Adjusting the fuel pressure on an EFI system traditionally involves replacing the original ﬁ xed-rate pressure unit with a higher-pressure ﬁ xed unit. Finding the optimum pressure meant having to experiment with different units, but now the Webcon 0-5 BAR Adjustable Pressure Insert easily enables accurately setting the pressure to the most suitable level. The insert is available from stock priced at £112.10 including VAT. www.webcon.co.uk

to be built to desired clearances, reinforced lower bell housing bolt bosses, main bearing webs strengthened in critical areas and a centre main bearing machined to accept SOHC Pinto-type upper and lower crankshaft thrust washers. Cam/jackshaft bearings are also included. The retail price is £3600.00 including VAT. www.burtonpower.com

Blown away

Wireless alarm

Slick ask

Santa Pod Racers Club secretary Ian Marshall has put out a plea for used drag slicks, as supplies for the track’s sled are running low. Collection can be arranged if needed, but they must be drag slicks as street type tyres don’t work with the Pod’s equipment.

www.santapodracersclub. com / email: ir.marshall@ btconnect.com

This new miniature portable smoke alarm from Laser Tools is designed for use across a range of environments, including workshops, garages, homes, and garden sheds. Compact and discreet, the alarm can be easily mounted on ceilings, walls, workbenches, or tool cabinets, with no wiring required — simply twist the base to activate. The alarm features an integrated lithium battery with a 10-year lifespan, and is supplied with 3M double-sided tape, as well as screws, and rawlplugs for mounting www.lasertools.co.uk

Laser Tools’ Flexible Multi-Nozzle Air Blow Gun features a professional-grade air blow gun with two quick-change nozzle extensions, including a useful side-blow nozzle – perfect for multiple cleaning jobs. The extensions are 27.5cm in length, 20cm rigid with the ﬁ nal 7.5cm oil-resistant, ﬂ exible PU synthetic rubber. The gun has a working pressure of 95-110psi and features a 1/4” BSPT air inlet thread for easy integration. www.lasertools.co.uk

Horn types

Webcon has introduced a cast aluminium air horn for the Weber DCNF series of carburettors. This is suitable for most types of 40, 42 and 44 DCNF carburettor (except for the 40DCNF 12 and 13) and is supplied complete with a cork gasket and mounting screws. The price is £86.58 including VAT.

www.webcon.co.uk

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1955 CADILLAC ELDORADO CONVERTIBLE

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CAN BE SEEN DRIVING AROUND THE ISLE OF WIGHT BY IMPORTER

JOHN HENDERSON

It’s known as Mean Streak, but the story of Loz Butcher’s slingshot might better be called generosity of spirit

There’s an old saying: ‘good things happen to good people.’ And the story behind Loz Butcher’s new nostalgia slingshot sums that up perfectly. Here’s a 25-year-old Yorkshire lad with a dragster which, it’s fair to say, surpasses his own wildest expectations.

How it came to be is testament to Loz’s commitment, dedication and hard work. Yet he must have said the phrase “it would never have happened without…” at least three times, if not more, during the course of our conversations for this feature. He’s a humble lad our Loz.

Car mad from day one, the eldest of three boys born to Richard and Emma Butcher, the writing was on the wall from the very start. Insert broad South Yorkshire accent here: “Me dad was always into motorbikes. I didn’t know until much later on, and he’ll not admit it, but he was a pretty successful bike racer.

Words: Mike Pye

Pics: Track shots by Julian Hunt / statics Mike Pye

“Without Phil Proctor, Ian Tubbs, Bryan Whitfield and me dad, the car wouldn’t exist. I’m proud of what I’ve achieved, and I’ve put a lot of hours into it, but I’m not taking all the credit for this”

Loz and his dad, Richard. Both as bad as each other, and we mean that in the very best way possible

But when mum had me, the deal was he’d stop riding his bikes.

“He knew I were into cars, though, so he’d take me all over the place – York, Shakey, the Pod and round the local scrapyards. We went to all the nostalgia events, as many as we could, but always just as spectators.

We didn’t know any of the racers, but we’d go and talk to people, and I’ve pictures of me sitting in cars as a kid. The Villain [Chris Manning’s old short wheelbase slingshot] was basically my favourite car.”

Why didn’t you just buy that when it came up for sale a little while back? I asked. “The

thing about this car is, I didn’t just have a lump of money sitting around.”

Opportunity

There’s another angle to this story in that around 2020/21, Loz had convinced his dad, Rich, to buy a vintage slingshot dragster

Nestled in the tail of the curvaceous aluminium ’chute pack body is a Stroud 400 dragster parachute, released into ﬂight by an old-school

If you think the body looks familiar, it’s because it’s the original aluminium one Jon Webster took the moulds from to make the glass ﬁbre slingshot kits he offers. Think Hephaestus, Grey Vegas, Silberblitz et al. It’s been tidied up a lot since and given a luxuriant coat of candy paint by Bryan Whitﬁeld

Mickey T ET Front tyres

Putting the power to the pavement are a pair of 31x10.5-15 Mickey Thompson ET Drags on 10x15 American Racing TTDs, custom painted by Loz’s brother Isaac (who’s now an apprentice at Roberts Motor Bodies). Just visible through the wheels are the Wilwood four-pot rear brakes

Yeah, it’s reyt good alright. Bryan and the gang at Roberts Motor Bodies not only encouraged and mentored Loz, but laid on the exquisite paint that brings the slingshot to life. And to think all Loz wanted was “something nice”

that came up for sale. It’s another great story, and one we’ll come back to in due course, so for now we’ll just say that Loz had the opportunity to pilot that car at the 2022 Hot Rod Drags. “That were when the idea for my own car really started,” he recalls. “It’s only a small block Chevy on a carb, but it were just the way it felt. I remember thinking if all these people can do it, why can’t I do it?”

A visit to Kim Bishop’s garage, and seeing his Grey Vegas rail up close, sealed the deal in Loz’s head and he started making things happen. He began by selling the ’54 Chevy he’d bought in 2021, on which he had cut his engine tuning and rebuilding teeth. “I did it all on an apprentice wage and got that car down from 16s to a best of 13 dead,” he says with a grin.

Next thing to be sold was the ’65 Dodge Dart which Loz had rebuilt on his drive and taken his first tentative steps into Nostalgia Super Stock with. More correctly, Loz’s fiancée, Holly, took her first steps in competition in that car in 2023, bagging the number one qualifier position at that year’s Nostalgia Nationals.

Now get this. Having collected her winnings, the jubilant couple were wandering round the pits when Loz spotted a bare 427 Chevy block for sale. Sensing Loz’s excitement, Holly donated the winnings and

Filigree front end is as delicate as it is functional. On the ends of the chromed tube axle are Stiletto chromoly ultra spindles and Hayden Enterprises 17-inch spokes with 22.0 x 2.5-17

manual lever

Loz doing his best Bob Muravez a.k.a. Floyd Lippencott Jnr impression

“I remember thinking if all these people can do it, why can’t I do it?”

another piece of the jigsaw was in the bag. Yep, she’s a keeper.

Visiting time

During a visit to Bryan Whitﬁeld’s Roberts Motor Bodies one day, Loz happened to mention that he was thinking of doing a dragster. Bryan listened and, at the end of the conversation, said “I think me and you need to pay Ian [Tubbs] a visit…”

“A good hour and a half sitting at his kitchen table, I’d decided that’s what we were gonna do,” says Loz with a smile. “By the time we left, Ian had got a motor plate and some pistons out of his shed and given ’em to me.” Those pistons are what’s in the engine now.

“I was still learning back then. I’m still learning now, but me and dad were looking at these pistons at home and they were massive, with real high domes. I sent Ian a message saying that and he just replied, ‘I know, perfect for an injected methanol motor’ with a wink emoji.”

That set Loz off on the hunt for a vintage stack or hat injection system. But those don’t come cheap.

The next text he received from Ian had a picture of an old Enderle eight stack injection, with the words: ‘Would you like it?’ Turns out he was at Jon Webster’s shop, as they were doing the High Spirits Altered at

A rather insigniﬁcant looking ‘ball bag’ protects Loz’s crown jewels from the Strange Engineering cast iron centre section with spool that sits inside a narrowed Ford

That

Controls are pretty straightforward, with a foot throttle, handbrake lever on the left and steering butterﬂy with solenoid controls for the trans’ brake and gear shift (though that job can also be done manually via the vintage Frame Works Pro Shifter over on the

9-inch housing.

lot’s attached directly to the two-speed ’Glide by a driveshaft coupler

right, donated by Ian Turberville)

Come race day, the whole Butcher clan get involved. That’s brothers Vinnie and Isaac (kneeling) emptying the fuel at the end of the weekend, while dad Richard is checking the plugs just out of shot

The build

Custom made aluminium fuel tank was designed and laser cut by Phil Proctor and then TIG welded by Loz’s good friend Joel Orwin. Those perfect welds show he’s a handy friend to have

Though he got stuck in helping with the prep, he sensibly left the paint on the body to Sheffield’s answer to Van Gogh, Bryan Whitfield

the time and had spotted it in Jon’s cabinet. Needless to say, Loz’s answer was yes. Seems Ian can be quite persuasive when he wants to be.

’Chute pack

On a later visit to Webster Race Engineering, something else caught Loz’s eye, this time hanging on the wall above the roller shutter door. It was an aluminium ’chute pack body for a slingshot, a bit rough around the edges but right on the money looks-wise.

“I looked Jon straight in the eye and said, ‘will you sell it me?’ I had to get back as I were on shift and I get a text from Jon when I were nearly home saying yes.” Boom. Another bit in the bag.

“I do owe quite a bit to Jon. As well as the body and manifold, I got quite a few other

On the right in this

Here’s the body in its metallic brown mid-layer, which then turned deep red with layers of orange candy over the top

parts off him, and I’ve rung him for advice a few times, too. The fact that one of the most respected people in the game would take time out to speak to a 23-year-old kid who wanted to build a dragster; I’ll always respect him for that.”

When things really took a leap forward though was around Christmas 2023. This time, a text from Ian directed Loz toward an advert for a 175-inch wheelbase, front-engined dragster chassis for sale on Facebook. It was the old Fugitive chassis, the one that used to have a helicopter turbine engine in it, and looked to be pretty much exactly what Loz was after.

After collecting it from Bill Felstead’s Comanche Racecars, it was taken straight to Phil Proctor’s Raptor Engineering for some modifications. “Phil’s probably the greatest

Phil

for his help with the build, forming a new piece of the ali bodywork

Proof, if it were needed, of Loz’s deep involvement, here he is about to squirt some paint on the chassis

last but not least, the

engineer I’ve ever met,” says Loz. “Honestly, without his help this car wouldn’t exist.” Phil made all the body panels fit, did the Dzus fasteners, made new engine mounts, CNC’d a new motor plate, laser-cut the parts for the fuel tank, did the engine turning, made the linear bearing throttle pedal… The list goes on.

Block heads

When it came to building the engine, there was only person for the job. Well, two. First, the block paid a visit to local lad, Andy Mapes, for checking and the necessary machining work, then it was off to Ian Tubbs for assembly. “I owe everything to do with this car to Ian. He’s the nicest bloke you’ll ever meet… and also the most miserable. He’s great.

Here’s

Proctor, one of the guys Loz thanks profusely

The chassis and body as Loz bought them, albeit from different sources. This is the first time the two parts had come together

Starting to get real now, Loz trying his new ride on for size 4.

pic

another one of the main men, Ian Tubbs. Together they watch Dennis at EDA work his magic on the dyno

And

elusive Craig Ainge captured on film, signwriter to the stars in the nostalgia drag racing ranks

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“I paid for it, but he gifted me a lot of parts from his stock, including me crankshaft.

“At this point I was already thinking I’m spending a lot of money here, so I bought a set of cheap cylinder heads off eBay. They’re actually not that bad. We replaced the valves, springs and what have you with proper stuff, but they flowed quite well out of the box.”

As you’ve probably gathered by now, there’s a story to just about every part of this

car. We can’t recount them all, but this is a good one. Or a mint one, as Loz puts it: “Ian told me I needed a Powerglide, and I was in orange camping at Download Festival, hungover, queuing to buy a coffee when I see this ad on Marketplace. It sounded really good but the price were in euros. I started texting the guy and it turns out he were in France. Well, we’ve always gone to France on family ’olidays, so me mum speaks

really good French. So I were texting ’im, then sending the replies on to me mum to translate and we rendezvoused [ooh, very continental] at a car park outside Calais and I bought it out of the back of his car, with me mum translating.” Told you it was a good ’un.

Full circle

All that was really left now was the looks department, and that’s where the story

Engine is a 448ci (427 +100) iron block Chevy with 427 crank, 13.5:1 pistons, hydraulic roller cam, cheap Chinese aluminium heads and a Mallory Super Mag 2 magneto. Those delicious cast ali valve covers were one of a number of items donated to the project by Chris Goodale at Goodale American Speedshop. On a conservative tune, the big lump puts out around 700bhp, but that will increase when the fuelling is properly sorted. Transmission is a built, full-length Powerglide from Transmission Specialties with a Reid tail housing

Above: Throwing the methanol in with gay abandon is a Waterman Sprint cam-driven fuel pump

Left: The bit that puts the nostalgia into it is the Enderle magnesium eight stack injection that Loz reckons to be from the ’65-’75 period. Consequently, it’s a bit old and cranky, so really needs a refresh to get the best out of it. Man, it looks good though

“It’s been completely dead in first gear, but when it gets going at the top of second, it really gets going

Up on the hides in the burnout. Loz is the ﬁrst to admit he’s got a lot to learn, but he’s certainly not shy of trying

Craig Ainge describes himself as a traditional signwriter but he’s more than that to the drag racing community – he’s an absolute master of period lettering and artwork, and his work can be found right across the nostalgia class pits

comes full circle back to Bryan Whitﬁeld. “I just wanted something nice,” says Loz. “I’ve always ’ad cars, and they’ve been alright, but not fookin’ ’ell wow!”

Well, thanks to Bryan and the team, and with a lot of help from Loz, this one certainly ticks the fookin’ ’ell wow! box.

“I’ve never been so tired in my life as when we were painting this,” recalls Loz. “We spent weeks just on the aluminium, Bryan ﬁnding dents I literally couldn’t see, before he said it was straight enough to put some paint on. If I were on lates I’d be at his workshop from 8 in the morning to 1.15, then round to work 1.30 ’til 10. If I were on earlies, I’d be working 6am ’til 2 and then at Bryan’s until 4.30.”

If you hadn’t already guessed, there’s more than a nod to Bryan and Ian’s High Spirits Altered in the paint. Well, when I say a nod, I mean some of the leftover paint. The base layer is High Spirits gold. Over that is a candy brown sourced from Custom Paints in Sheﬃeld, with multiple layers of an orange candy over the top, which turns the brown a glorious deep red. It’s a proper old school candy paint job, ﬁnished off with period perfect lettering by the extremely talented Craig Ainge.

As for the name, that’s another story. Ask Loz about it when you see him.

Community action

There’s no doubt this car has been a labour of love, but also a true indication of the strength of the drag racing community. While Loz is quick to thank all the people that helped bring his vision together, I put it to him that people wouldn’t have been so generous with their time, knowledge and parts if he wasn’t a good guy, someone they believed in. He’s also got another thing on his side – his age. There aren’t many youngsters willing to commit everything to a nostalgia drag racing project, so there’s a great deal of encouragement for those that are.

Make no mistake, he’s done a lot of the work himself, from wiring to plumbing to sorting the parachute system and the brakes – including a proper nostalgia-style handbrake, rather than a foot brake – and the whole family is behind him come race day, getting stuck in and learning how to run, service and maintain one of these machines. It’s a joy to see.

As for how fast is it mister? It’s early days, and the team are having a bit of a battle with the injection system and barrel valve – thought, not unrealistically, to be at least 50 years old. There’s obvious play in the throttle shaft and the valve is proving to be temperamental, so it probably just wants replacing.

That said, a 9.5 at 150mph within just two meetings shows great promise. “It’s been completely dead in ﬁrst gear, but when it gets going at the top of second gear, it really gets going,” says Loz with a grin from ear to ear. “I’ve had some pretty experienced racers tell me with the right fuelling, a bit of tuning – and [laughing] the right driver – it’s got the capability of 7.90s, but I’m not saying anything until I’ve actually done it.”

All in good time Loz, all in good time. CC

“Thanks to Bryan Whitﬁeld, Ian Tubb, Phil Proctor, Richard Butcher, Chris Goodale, Vinny, Isaac and Holly Butcher, Craig Ainge, Jon Webster, Joel Orwin and Kenny Coleman. “I couldn’t have done it without the lot of you!”

■ Words: Olly Sack

■ Pics: Julian Hunt

Nostalgic Vibes

The opening event of the 2025 nostalgia season at Santa Pod, held on the first weekend of May, saw a landmark result as Ray and Harvey Turner produced a unique father-andson double. Now into his fifth decade of racing, Ray is one of the bestknown names in Gasser Circus – and he proved that he’s just as competitive as ever, winning through to the final and taking the top step when Jason Pickett broke out.

Meanwhile in his maiden Nostalgia Superstock event, Ray’s son Harvey was part of a 35-strong field – and, drawing on his many years of experience behind the wheel of dad’s car, he took on and beat

one stellar rival after another to crown his debut with a remarkable victory.

Also remarkable was the number of PBs laid down by the Wild Bunch over the course of the weekend. These included a 10.7806 / 137.39 by Pete Whitfield in Rowell Rail (his first time in both the 10s and 130s) and 8.933 / 135.34 by Ian Armitage – his first in the 8s. Philippa Turton returned with 11.420 / 115.37 in Bitchcraft, while Loz Butcher put 9.853/144.82 on his debut aboard Mean Streak – the first new nostalgia slingshot to be built in many a year, which you can read about elsewhere in this issue.

The Nostalgia Nationals were also notable for the return of Flathead

Meltdown, moved to a new early-season slot after last year for fear of coming up against the VHRA’s Pendine Sands Hot Rod Races. It doesn’t get more old-school than that – definitely a welcome addition to a weekend full of nostalgia racing! Definitely not welcome, on the other hand, is the sight of competitors leaving the Pod by air ambulance. That’s what happened after an accident on Sunday morning in Supercharged Outlaws qualifying, however, when Mick Hannah’s Haggis Hunter slingshot pulled left and hit the wall hard before slewing back across the strip and collecting Jack Williams in the shutdown area. Mick was airlifted off for a stay in hospital but, to the massive relief

Mick Hannah’s Haggis Hunter slingshot had already been ﬁghting him by the time Q5 of Supercharged Outlaws came along, which was when the haggis escaped altogether to take him on a wild ride into the wall then back across the track to collide with Jack Williams in Evil Edna. Cue a track break of almost three hours, during which Mick departed the scene by air ambulance; to everybody’s relief, it was later conﬁrmed that both drivers had emerged intact from what was one of the nastiest looking incidents the Pod had experienced in a long time

Keith Freeman continues to get more out of his 489ci Deuce; a ﬁfth round of qualifying in Supercharged Outlaws on Sunday morning saw his El Loco Deuce putting down a new PB of 8.6845 / 155.21

of all who saw it happen, it was confirmed later in the day that both drivers were okay.

Another frightening incident during the small hours of Sunday saw a fire break out in a motorhome in the camping area at the top of the strip. Santa Pod’s own crew were the first on scene and helped prevent the fire from spreading to nearby caravans until the fire brigade arrived to take over.

As always, this is the kind of event that throws the spotlight on those behind the scenes at Santa Pod. With a world-class track team and safety crews looking after racers and visitors alike, incidents like these are mercifully rare – and when they do happen, the response is as professional as it is instant.

Saturday’s afternoon’s Wild Bunch antics included a new PB of 9.4475 / 137.69 for Ruaridh Hart. He pushed his top speed still further to 139.84 on the very next run

Philippa Turton has been away for a while, but the Wild Bunch welcomed her back to the action aboard Bitchcraft and she was soon on the pace, carding a new PB with 11.4206 / 113.92 and going on to take the class award for Best Burnout

There was a somewhat diabolical sounding new best time of 11.666 for Gavin Meanly in the Charles Bang Special

Amid all the PB action, James Auld and Little Fauss took the overall win in Wild Bunch with an average variance of just 0.06930

An excellent illustration of the racing game’s safety rules in action came when Chris Hartnell blew his engine on the Sunday morning. Diapers are mandatory in Wild Bunch and Chris’ contained almost all the oil that was lost, preventing it from contaminating his tyres and the track alike

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Preparation- Remove all plugs from block & heads, acid dip. Replace all plugs, Core plugs to be brass. Pressure test to check for cracks. Line-bore cylinder block, machine decks parallel to crank centre line, rebore/hone block to pistons, commonly, +.030”. Replace cam bearings. Fit camshaft. Clean & balance all reciprocating p arts. Check clearances- main bearings, conrod bearings, crank end float, conrod side clearance, piston rings & pistons. [some engines have new conrods, others are recircled and fitted with ARP bolts]. Fit pistons to conrods & assemble bottom end. Fit timing gears & chain, time in camshaft. If it is a std engine, then the C.I. heads are fitted with guide liners if required, 3 angle seat job, new valves, springs, seals, rockers, collets. The heads are then installed with new lifters & pushrods.

No Sunday morning cobwebs for Billy Jones in Gasser Circus. A no-show by Martyn Hallam (whose Hemi-engined Willys had thrown a rod through the side of its block) handed him a solo run in E1 but he wasn’t for coasting it, putting 9.9368 / 131.20 on the board to record a new PB

It was a double breakout for Simon Prest and Adam Kruczynski in Gasser Circus Q3, but a run of 10.8221 / 122.83 was a new PB for Adam. His race was run after qualifying, however, as a no-show on Sunday morning sent him out of eliminations and home to take a long look at Not So Mellow Yellow’s transmission

This year’s Gasser Circus saw the return of the late Merv Barnett’s widely admired Ansen Pop – an emotional sight for many. It’s now being raced by new boy Gary Nash, who wasn’t far outside the 10s as he fought his way through to E2

ET for Jim

After 40 years of drag racing, Ray Turner doesn’t need any outside help. He got a little in the Gasser Circus ﬁnal, however, when Jason Pickett broke out

Also new this year in Gasser Circus is Blunderbuss, a Model A Coupe with a Drew Mason-built 350ci Chevy. It will normally be driven by Steph Milsom but a clash of dates meant Tony Pearson, who built its Powerglide tranny, was behind the wheel for its Pod debut

He’s been doing it in Gasser Circus for long enough, but this was Harvey Turner’s ﬁrst time out in Nostalgia Super Stock – and with a perfect (12.09) 12.0902 / 108.69 seeing off Jim Smith in the ﬁnal, he only went and won it. Harvey’s Gasser, Nurse Stoner, which we featured alongside his dad Ray’s Green Onions a few issues back, spent the event in the hands of Emily Latham-Taylor

Perfect

Smith in the ﬁnal round

Nostalgia Super Stock qualifying as he ran 10.2604 on a 10.26 dial, launching him right to the top of the list and on to a roll that took him all the way to the ﬁnal

FLATHEAD MELTDOWN

Having made a long-awaited return to the Pod at last year’s Hot Rod Drags, Flathead Meltdown was moved up the calendar to prevent any clashes with the VHRA’s annual showpiece on Pendine Sands. Hence its appearance within the Nostalgia Nationals, where a good ﬁeld of early hot rods competed in a number of classes. The weekend’s winners were Lee Harris in Street; Steve Cooper in four-pot; Rob Firth in OHV; and Damon Taylor in Competition class.

Three years after his ﬁery stack at the 2022 Main Event, Kevin Chapman was back out testing in the Thermoreg nitro funny. Not exactly nostalgia racing but some high-volume RWYB action as he eased his way back into the swing of things

The ﬁnal qualifying run in Outlaw Anglia saw Nigel Green improve his PB to 9.5111 / 134.03

Rob Brindle and Martyn Payne both lit cherries in the Outlaw Anglia ﬁnal, with Rob’s 9.5506 / 108.97 giving him the win

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When a concept gets into your psyche, the only thing for it is to translate those mental images into something far more tangible

Words: Dave Biggadyke Pics: Alan Kidd

Graham Slater is one of that select group of northern hot rodders who have built multiple feature cars over the years. He’s not known to adhere to convention, however, and is constantly thinking outside the box when it comes to his next project. In recent times, Graham’s impressive portfolio has included the unique Zephigy, based on Jaguar XKR-S running gear, a one-of-a-kind Auburn Speedster and the ’54 Chevy Bel Air he built during lockdown.

That portfolio has recently been expanded with the inclusion of the distinctive Jaguar he debuted at last year’s Hot Rod Supernationals. We’ll let the man himself take up the story as to how it came about.

“Back in 2019, I was toying with the idea of building a car based around a British marque of some description. Internet trawling drew my eye to a Jaguar Mk IX, which gave me a vision of creating a 4-seater version of an XK120 Fixed Head Coupe. I printed off some scale images and set to segmenting the pictures, then reordering the pieces to achieve a design I thought looked right. It worked out well, and I was conﬁdent that with a few tools, some imagination and a touch of enthusiasm, anything was possible.”

Then came the lockdown interlude and the Jaguar project remained on the back burner. Instead, he turned his attention to the Bel Air mentioned previously. “After that, I had an eagerness to build another car,” Graham revealed. “However, we were well

into the build of my good friend Steve Cook’s masterpiece Jaguar Atlantis, which has a completion date of the end of this year.

“Even so, I couldn’t ignore that itch to start my next creation. Casually browsing all the usual sites, I came across an ad for a ’56 Jaguar Mk VII, not at all dissimilar to the Mk IX I had previously toyed with. The Jag was a Californian import that had been left abandoned in a garage for the last 45 years. Admittedly, it wasn’t in the best condition – but it was all original, with very little rot, except for some sections of the ﬂoor due to moisture build-up in the carpet. The sills and door bottoms were in excellent fettle and I was certain it would be a fantastic starter base for a project.”

Parting company

In November 2022, Graham took the decision that the Chevy Bel Air had to go to create some space and free up funds.

“I placed an ad on Unusual Car Sales UK (thanks Nigel) and the car sold in no time at all. By the end of that month, I’d struck a deal and the Mk VII arrived at my workshop. The dilemma, though, was whether to start the build immediately or leave it until New Year.” It will come as no surprise that any doubts were cast aside and the car was dismantled by Christmas.

The plan was to use the running gear from a more modern Jaguar. So the chassis was sold to Sweden, the interior and a few other parts went to Dubai and a chap from Norwich who builds replica C-Type race

Under the engine and ancillary covers lies a 4.2-litre V8 ﬁtted with an Eaton supercharger. The power has been boosted over stock to 500bhp, with Graham telling us it pulls amazingly. The gearbox is an uprated 6-speed automatic with a remote transmission breather mounted on the ﬁrewall

cars bought the 3.4-litre straight-six and overdrive gearbox. Moving that lot on freed up additional space and funds to help move the project forward.

“In January 2023, all the stars aligned,” Graham said with a twinkle. “While searching the internet, I came across the perfect donor vehicle, a supercharged Jaguar STR (S-Type R) which had been owned by an independent Jaguar garage. The garage had invested in some nice modiﬁcations to the engine, rebuilt the gearbox and ﬁtted new Brembo brakes and a stainless steel exhaust system.”

Upscaling

In March that year, Graham started the roof chop on the Mk VII body, after ﬁrst constructing a dolly so he could roll it around. Based on measurements taken from those previously segmented scale pictures, he removed 110mm from the rear of the B-posts and the same amount from the sill sections. Having completed the restyling of

The rear lights are original Jag, again with new internals and modern bulbs, while the overridermounted indicators are aftermarket Harley Davidsonstyle units. The number plate surround is stock but the boot handles are now redundant as it pops open thanks to the STR electronic catch and solenoid

the body with everything welded solid, he applied a skim of bridging ﬁller followed by a couple of coats of primer. The body was then put to one side while he got back on the Atlantis and had a couple of months’ paid work.

Come July, the STR was dismantled, with the parts stashed at a friend’s as the intention was to use as much from the modern Jaguar as possible. After plenty of measuring and planning, the S-Type front and rear suspension chassis sections were welded to the newly constructed C-section rails. Graham formed the new rails using 200mm x 8mm and 70mm x 8mm steel plate, with plenty of added strengthening ensuring maximum rigidity.

With the engine and gearbox mounted, the body was dropped on, channelled 120mm over the rails, and welded into place. The S-Type bulkhead was repurposed and welded in as it already had provision for the steering column, pedal box, fans, air con and assorted controls to be bolted in place.

“Very well received by both the custom and classic car communities”

Within a few weeks, the brakes and fuel system were plumbed in, the exhaust was ﬁtted and the radiators were mounted and re-piped. Graham also fabricated new inner wings, along with a tubular system to which the front wings could be attached. The STR wiring loom was put to good use – and the Mk VII was then able to start and move under its own steam.

Tucked away in Graham’s workshop was a front bumper with Dagmars from a 1950s Buick. Getting it to fit the Mk VII meant the front end would need redesigning but, after fitting the radiators, Graham already knew he needed an extra 60mm of clearance. So he fired up the grinder without hesitation. The resulting reprofiled front end is sublime, a true work of art. The rear bumper was

cut and shut, and machined until it ﬁtted to Graham’s satisfaction, as he’s not one to make do. Everything has to be spot on, and rightly so.

Sitting pretty

Once a new ﬂoor was in place, formed from a combination of fresh sheet steel and the seat mounting panels cut from the S-Type, the interior was next on the hit list.

“The STR seats were fitted first, with their modern mountings proving handy,” Graham explained. “Especially for the rear seats. The bases fit lovely, almost as if they had been designed with the Mk VII body in mind.

“Safety features were high on my list of priorities, as I am a family man, and I utilised as many of these from the STR as I could.

The paint colour that had previously made such an impression on Graham goes by the name of Fantasy Green. The paint used is known as xirallic, which has a unique pigment structure providing a more intense, crystallike sparkle. You need to view the paint close up in bright sunlight to fully appreciate it

As the 18-inch steel smoothies Graham sourced had the wrong offset, he had new centres laser cut from 10mm steel plate. A local engineering company then machined out the original centres and code-welded the new centres in place. With the centres drilled to Jag’s stud pattern, the wheels were then powder-coated. Tyres are by Continental and the rims are enhanced with stainless steel embellishers plus Reliant Scimitar hubcaps ﬁtted with Jaguar spinners

Downsizing

project began with the Jaguar Mk VII body and rolling chassis

Once he’d removed the roof, Graham had passed the point of no return

Left: With the predetermined amount of steel removed from the pillars, the roof was dropped back on, with Graham being satisfied with the way it looked

Right: The rear sail panel and boot opening needed some reworking, though…

With the welds ground down and skimmed with filler, the car’s lines flowed much better

The body shell was firmly attached to the dolly, enabling

Reshaping the roof included splitting the rear section and narrowing it to get the rain gutter moulding in line, and welding the sunroof shut

…which was sorted by the addition of fresh steel. The 2 original fuel filler doors were welded shut at the same time under the watchful eye of Zephigy

The car’s roofline as it was originally, but destined to be reshaped to Graham’s vision

With the roof still off, rolled tubing was formed to strengthen the side window openings and also inserted in the windscreen posts, adding strength once welded in

11.

With their window runners removed, the front doors were rehung and the B-posts shortened and welded back in place to create a rebate… 12.

The size of the previously cut-out rear window aperture was reduced by 60mm in both height and width, with the original two-way curved glass destined to be bonded in from the inside

…and again, with the window runners removed, the rear doors were narrowed by 110mm and welded into place. Note the steel filler pieces added to improve the roof’s rear quarter profile

14. 15.

The Jag’s rear spats were refitted just as they were, but would be enhanced at a later date

As one-piece windows were to be fitted, the top sections of the doors, where the quarter vents used to be, were welded shut. The opening cowl vent was also welded shut

The

parting company

Graham to move it around with ease

The roof edge rebate for the top edges of the windows was first formed in plywood then replicated in sheet steel. Graham also enlarged the rain gutters

Graham cut the front wings apart and sectioned the Buick bumper down by around 400mm, with a few cuts here and there for ground clearance. The bumper was mounted on modified Mk VII hangers…

The rear bumper was tweaked for a better fit. Graham formed a lip on the bodywork to fill the 20mm void behind the bumper once it was mounted on modified Mk VII hangers

The electric flip filler cap and surrounding metal cut from the S-Type were a perfect match for the Mk V11 contours. The later model fuel tank was also made use of

The aluminium window garnishes and dashboard were hand-painted in a walnut finish by the genius that is Steve Cook…

With the front wings in position, it was apparent that the new wheels Graham had sourced would foul on the arches. This was partially resolved by having the wheels modified…

…then blended in. The front grille was remounted with 50mm of slant and the wings were reshaped. The headlights were repositioned by extending them 60mm forwards and everything was blended in

While readying the bodywork for the rear bumper, the idea of four central tailpipes popped into Graham’s head. But he couldn’t just leave them hanging, so they were notched into the underside of the bumper

Making good use of his favourite sculpting tool, the foam gun, Graham formed a fibreglass headliner panel

Having first extensively modified the not very pretty STR engine cover, Graham added ali stacks for improved aesthetics (but masked off for painting in this shot)

…with additional clearance being achieved by cutting the flared arches off the STR, stretching them and then grafting them on to the Mk VII wings

With the bonnet centre joint and trim removed, the two halves were welded together. The resulting onepiece bonnet has been lengthened by around 75mm and the front edge reshaped to suit the slanted grille shell

Not enamoured with the flatness of the rear spats, Graham welded in a new flare to add some curvature

He also widened the STR door panels to fit the Mk VII doors. The panels feature built-in switches and speakers, along with the ECU modules for power windows

…with Graham then coating them with a couple of coats of 2K clear lacquer

The rear door panels from the STR were also modified and fitted, with all the panels and headliner being covered in mole skin

Having cut up the STR steering wheel, Graham made a larger diameter rim. With that welded in place, he made a mould into which he poured a resin cast to create a new rim. Using leftover paint from his Speedster, together with a touch of darker stain, he painted it a colour not far from the leather trim. The centre features the air bag cover, adapted to fit, chrome trim and a Jaguar logo. It’s all in the details, you know

Starting with the removable panels, the Jag’s bodywork was coated in the colour that Graham was so impressed with

Graham admits his joiner’s shop isn’t the best place to paint a car. But once started, he was adamant he was going to see it through to the end

My evenings are not wasted, as that is when I do all the small tasks like wiring and ﬁtting door and boot locks. As any rodder is aware, for every big job there are usually 50 small ones that need doing.

“Many will know that I’m a carer for my son Cody, who is amazing. While I’m on the subject, I’d like to say a massive thank you to my wife Suzy, for putting in more than her fair share when I’m busy in the shed.”

As the guy Graham usually turned to for plating was extremely busy, he ventured over to an alternative company in Birmingham. That proved a result as the work was turned round within two weeks and came in at half the cost.

Attention then turned to the dashboard and window garnishes. Being a church organ builder by trade, you would expect Graham to have fashioned these from wood. Not so: he formed them by hand in aluminium. Even the steering wheel didn’t escape Graham’s attention. “It has now transformed the look of the interior,” comments Graham.

Under the bonnet, “I like things to look just as good, and smooth too. I guess that

“A vision of creating a 4-seater version of an XK120”complete”

stems from me being lazy when it comes to cleaning! Modern engine covers are not the prettiest, though, so I had work to do on that. I also used some steel sections from the STR wings to form engine surround covers located by push-button fasteners.

“Ultimately, the time came for a shiny paint job. My original intention was for it to go black but a few years ago, I painted a friend’s Model A and one of the colours we used left an impression on me. I’m no painter by any distance, but as soon as the panels got some topcoat on, that was it.

“With some help from my mate Steve, we managed to get a nice coat of paint on the car, although a few choice, expletive words might have left my lips in the process…

“It was then time for what is my favourite part of any build. With everything painted, plated and ﬁtted, it was time to take this bad boy for a shakedown run. Just over a mile into it, I could hear a rubbing noise, so I crawled home and got the car into the air.

I couldn’t ﬁnd anything untoward with it, so with the wheels back on, but no embellishers ﬁtted, I went round the block and there was no noise. Turned out it was

the embellishers chattering, so I located them with some 3M tape and hey presto, the noise never returned.

“This proved to be a very enjoyable build. Using all the modern components from one donor car and mating the new with the old eliminated all possible problems created by using mismatched parts. Once again, I would like to thank my buddy Steve for his hindrance, oops I mean help, and to my darling wife Suzy for her support and the odd brew. The car turned out great and has been very well received by both the custom and classic car communities, and there have been some amazing comments.”

Graham is now concentrating on Steve’s Atlantic, something we hope to be taking a look at soon too. However, that doesn’t stop him from working out his next project in his ever-active mind. “I quite fancy a build based around a mid-‘50s American shooting brake. I also have ideas for a Series 1 Bentley, though.”

Whatever he goes for, don’t blink. The Jag Mk VII took just 7 months to complete – so we reckon it won’t be long before we’re heading back to Wakeﬁeld.

An original 1956 Jaguar Mk VII, as designed in Coventry. Compare that to the 2-door coupe conversion featured here, as designed in Wakeﬁeld

The roof has been chopped 65mm at the front and 125mm at the back, with the rear pillars also being widened. Graham formed the dummy shark gill-style front wing vents from welded-on tubing covered in sheet steel. The side trim is shortened, reshaped and rechromed Jaguar Mk VII, while the door mirrors are aftermarket retro Hella 4004GTs

Graham admitted one of the most challenging jobs during the build was fitting the side glass and making the windows actuate using the modern Jaguar motor systems. This was hampered as the electric door locks had already been fitted, necessitating the glass to run at a 20-degree angle. The rear quarter window installation involved Graham designing a rotation system incorporating the electric motors and the STR internal and external window seals were repurposed, having been adapted to fit

The back of the rear seat was too high, with the headrests blocking off the rear window. Graham carefully peeled back the leather, cut the frame height down by 100mm and stretched the trim back on. He then took around 70mm out of the headrests in a similar fashion

The centre console retains its original controls and infotainment system, with the switchgear having been enhanced

Graham ﬁtted the later model Jag’s pretensioning seatbelts on new mountings, along with the side impact air curtains and dash and steering wheel air bags. As the complete modern wiring loom was used, all the ﬁttings just plugged straight in – so if you’ve got them, why not use them?

The instrument cluster is mounted behind a Perspex dome for a retro look, and the STR centre console also made its way to the interior

with stainless steel knobs

YELLOW CARS

n Access from 3pm on Saturday 5th July

n Driver & All Passengers Get in Free

n £1 General Yellow Cars

n £10 Grouped Yellow Display Vehicles

n Grouped Display Vehicles must be booked in advance

n Access on Sunday 6th July 10am-4pm

n Save 20% when you book in advance

n £8 per adult | £4 per child (5-15)

n (On the Gate £10 per adult | £5 per child)

n Free parking

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Real ale and cider tent | Street food vendors and food court | Picnic area

Shop from our many stalls selling everything from car accessories, camping equipment, gifts and novelties | Children’s inflatables and activities

JOIN US FOR A CAR EVENT UNLIKE ANY OTHER IN THE UK

Thousands of yellow cars are coming together for the biggest gathering of yellow cars on record. Bear witness to the spectacleit’s bound to put a smile on faces young and old alike! Take a look around our groups of display vehicles, including Super Cars, Classics, 4x4s and Custom Cars. And look out for some famous cars and faces you just might recognise.

■ Words: Olly Sack

■ Pics: Julian Hunt

Scores on the doors

Doorslammers brought them ocking from all over Europe in pursuit of Santa Pod’s big prize pot

With its street racing vibe and a prize fund like nothing else, Doorslammers has a special place in the racing calendar. As always, this year’s event brought competitors flocking from as far afield as Malta and Poland, Finland and Romania, as a huge field descended on Santa Pod to do battle in eight different categories.

The racing got underway on Friday evening and the pace hardly slackened at all after that under the last of the finals had been run on Sunday evening. PBs were posted, the odd European record was reset and the crowd was kept entertained as everything from weekend warriors to seasoned pros did battle with the strip. The nostalgia cars may have been at a premium, but whatever your taste in racing it was action all the way!

European FWD

Front-wheel drive is on the up in Britain, with a new two-round UK championship having been introduced for 2025. And around two-thirds of the entries in

Doorslammers’ Euro RWD class were from Blighty – though Poland’s Dawid Lamik was the man to beat, having already won the crown twice before.

He made things harder still for everyone else on Saturday morning’s second qualifying run, too, when he laid down a monster PB of 7.6470/178.54 in his Opel Nova. There were several other PBs, including for both Ahmed and Ashad Jamshaid, while Darren Dewhurst

celebrated his birthday with a top ten qualifying spot. Ahmed was third overall in qualifying, behind Petros Taxopoulos

the rest how it’s

Dawid Lamik is the Euro FWD king right now, and he showed

done

he saw off Ahmed Jamshaid in the ﬁnal

Ahmed Jamshaid edged out his brother Ashad in the semi-final of Euro FWD aboard his Honda Civic, before finding Dawid Lamik unbeatable in the final

– who wasn’t going to be stopped by a massive fuel leak of the line in Q2.

Darren came up against Dawid in E1, the flying Pole by now having posted yet another PB. A tall order for anyone, but a red light for Darren turned it from difficult to impossible.

Anthony Mincher slid into the wall later in the same session, having already passed the stripe in his race against Mohammed Munir – who therefore went through to E2, where he was duly despatched by Dawid. Ashad Jamshaid posted new PBs in both the quarter and semi finals, but the latter wasn’t enough as his brother Ahmed progressed – however his 8.3406 / 184.30 was no match for 7.6736 / 190.53 as Dawid Lamik cruised to yet another Euro FWD title.

4-Cylinder

This class isn’t all about Volkswagens (there was even a Tesla in the quarter finals) but after two hard days’ racing it came down to the Golfs of Dannie Highman and Julian Bayer. Julian ran 7.5435/177.84 in his Mk2 GTi but ended up taking the win unchallenged as Dannie’s Mk4 broke.

Taking a bye run in 4-Cylinder E2, Chris Todd launched hard in his Fiesta. A violent swerve around the eighth took him from one side of the track to the other and back again, via the wall. Having done well to keep it wheels-down, he continued off the track with the safety team in hot pursuit

The Golfs of Dannie Highman and Julian Bayer lined up in the 4-Cylinder ﬁnal, with Julian’s Mk2 GTi taking the win as Dannie’s Mk4 broke

6-Cylinder

This class attracts a huge variety of machinery from around Europe. Highlights in qualifying included side-by-side PBs for Dave Henderson and Mike Ball, running 8.3183 / 169.80 and 9.3275 /

True Street

A McLaren taking on a Toyota Yaris?

That’ll be True Street, where (almost) anything goes. The variety of cars is huge, and while most are of the modern variety Arnie Pamment did a sterling job of representing the good old days in his Javelin AMX. He made it all the way to the semis, only to suffer a narrow defeat to the Audi S5 of Patryk Walke.

Oddly, in a mainly British field there were only two Polish drivers present. Patryk was one of them – and he found himself lining up in the final against the other one, Tomasz Drozdz in his BMW M3. Victory went the way of the latter, his 8.5927 / 166.69 seeing off Patryk’s 9.3276 / 149.10.

his Nissan GTR – only to lose out in eliminations as eventual winner Konstantin Dinev set the speed bar yet higher at 215.84

161.33 respectively in their Audi RS3 and Toyota Supra – and, to top the lot, a new European AWD record of 6.6385 / 212.09 for Paul Dziubek in his Nissan GTR. That top speed only lasted as long as the semis, however. Drawn against

Dziubek himself, Bulgaria’s Konstantin Dinev ran a scorching 6.7808 / 215.84 in his Audi S2 to book a place in the final –where a similarly crushing time gave him a clear victory over the BMW 325 of Daniel Schien.

7.60 Heads Up

This category was a big hit when it was introduced last year, so no surprise that it was back again. Same index, same headsup format and a field of 11 comp and street eliminator cars doing battle on the most level of playing fields. A three-run qualifying programme saw John Sleath top the field in his Chevy S10 pick-up, only to break out in E1 and hand a place in the semis to Phillip O’Brien in his mean looking 632ci Camaro.

Mark Turner and Belinda Bull were also presented with places in the last four, courtesy of a breakout by Rob Smallworth and a fluid leak under Nic Williams’ Copo. Joining them was Kevin Perkins’ Oldsmobile Cutlass, thanks to a hardfought victory over Rouven Dawson, also in a Copo. It was Kevin’s turn to get a gift in the semis when Phillip double-stepped his way to a red light, while Belinda won through against a breakout from Mark. In the final, this time it was Kevin who put a cherry on the tree. Don’t take anything away from Belinda’s winning run, though – an outstanding 7.6072 / 179.21 in her 760ci S10 was worthy of winning any final.

Bulgaria v Germany in the 6-pot ﬁnal, with the latter’s Daniel Schien proving no match for the crushing pace of Konstantin Dinev’s Audi S2

There were two Polish drivers in a mainly British True Street ﬁeld, but they ended up meeting in the ﬁnal. It was Patryk Walke who triumphed in his Audi against the BMW M3 of Tomasz Drozdz

Paul Dziubek set a new European AWD record of 6.6385 / 212.09 in 6-Cylinder qualifying aboard

Belinda Bull won through to the 7.60 Heads Up final with some help from a fluid leak under Nic Williams’ Copo and a breakout by Mark Turner. Her good fortune wasn’t finished yet, either, as Kevin Perkins red lit to give her the win. Take nothing away from her, though – Belinda is always a strong competitor in Super Pro ET aboard her 12.5-litre Chevy S10

Pro Street

Hard to pick a favourite from the Pro Street field, with any number of strong competitors lining up to do battle for the prize pot. Rob Carter’s Passat, a previous Street Weekend winner, was first to top the qualifying ladder, but Mark Sheridan was also pushing hard in his Barracuda –as was Matt Southcott, who nicked the top spot in his Plymouth Scamp – only to lose

Pro Doorslammer

This is an incredibly competitive class with a range of strong entries from at home and abroad. the Mustang of Estonia’s Andres Arnover has been the one to beat in recent times, but Dutchman David Vegter and Finn Jere Rantaniemi are rarely far away in their Camaros. Jon Webster’s Mustang and Andy Robinson’s Camaro are normally among the best of the Brits, but there was also plenty of home interest from elsewhere – not least Kev Slyfield’s Thunderbird, back in action for 2025 after it lured him back out of retirement.

It takes a time in the 5s to make a mark in this class and Andres demonstrated that in Q2 with the 5.7048 / 257.66 that was to see him top the ladder. Ironically, that was his only successful run in qualifying, but that’s all it takes. As if to illustrate the strength in depth among the Pro Mod teams, David, Jere, Andy and Kev also qualified in the 5s, as did Michel Tooren’s Camaro and Marck Harteveld’s Superbird. Only a five would do come the quarter finals, except for Michael Malmgren whose 6.6652 / 207.05 got him through

it immediately to Dave Mace in Nuthin’ But Trouble, his Outlaw Street Vauxhall Cresta, who concluded Q1 with a 7.7199 / 175.07. Mark had moved to the top of the tree by the end of qualifying thanks to a mighty 7.4779 / 198.87 run, with Grant Parker’s Golf and Ian Walley’s Cortina out of the show as David Murdoch kept his Firebird in the bump spot despite a

very wayward third run. The car wasn’t fit to continue, however, so Joe Baxter’s Mustang took a bye into the semis.

Matt’s Scamp continued onwards too after Rob red lit, with Dave’s Vauxhall and Justin Woolner’s Camaro joining them. Dave and Matt won through against Joe and Justin respectively, with Dave’s 7.6700 / 177.85 absolutely bossing it in the final.

After a couple of tricky runs early on, Andres Arnover was right on it by the time of the Pro Doorslammers ﬁnal. Jere Rantaniemi pushed hard to his right, but with a time deep into the 5s the Estonian Pro-Mod master won it yet again

when a red light brought Andy’s race to an end. John Tebenham gave it up early thanks to tyre shake but Andres kept his foot down and was rewarded with 5.7487 / 261.12 – a new speed PB as he broke the 260 barrier for the first time. Jere and David joined them in the semis after hard-fought battles with Kev and Bruno Bader respectively.

Andres went still faster in the semi finals, 262.65 keeping him ahead of David. He lined up against Jere in the final, the Finn getting a free ride in his semi after Michael was pushed back. And, as is so often the case, it was the Arnover show here again, 5.7955 / 262.52 keeping him well ahead as Jere could only muster a low six.

Dave Mace’s eyes are a picture of concentration here as he and Matt Southcott wait for the tree in the Pro Street ﬁnal. Dave had already laid down a marker in qualifying, and he saved the best to last with a winning run of 7.6700 / 177.85

Big Bracket

It’s all about consistency here, with the bracket format being a great leveller. Even though it’s not all about outright speed, though, there was a huge variety of extremely capable machines (and drivers) from a range of classes lined up to fight it out in two separate races Saturday and Sunday.

Following a test session which saw a smattering of new PBs across the field, the size of the entry list on Saturday meant six round of eliminations were necessary. Red lights and breakouts aplenty helped sort the sheep from the goats, though the numbers meant the quarter finals took the form of a chip draw, with three of the remaining five competitors given byes while the remaining two lined up for the last place in the semis. Thus it was all eyes on Jack McClure and Thomas Bublitz, with the former giving it away by putting a cherry on the tree.

Thomas’ Chevy Nova lined up against Steve Matthews’ Honky Tonkin’ ’57 Chevy in the first semi, with the German driver getting yet another freebie when Steve red lit. Next up, Collin Morrice’s [8.53] 8.6796 / 132.05 put away Mark Skinner [9.63] 9.8157 / 136.10 to line up a place in Saturday’s final – only for Thomas’ (10.27)

when

exactly what

10.3754 / 125.22 to demonstrate that it was more than just everyone else’s red lights that got him there.

Come Sunday, the slate was wiped clean and the fun started all over again – with an almost completely new set of names in the quarter finals. The only exception was Collin Morrice, who progressed to the semis when Simon Innes broke out. This time there were just the two bye runs here, Lee Huxley and Laurie Bamford being the recipients, while the fourth spot in the semis went to the fabulous ’57 Bel Air of Switzerland’s Christian

Christian’s luck run out against Laurie, or rather Laurie’s continued when Christian red lit. Then came a great battle between Lee and Collin, the latter’s hopes of going one better being dashed as Lee’s (8.58) 8.6043 / 146.15 gave him the win.

That put Lee’s Mustang up against Laurie’s Nova in the final. Laurie produced a run of (9.87) 9.9005 / 126.84 to keep it nicely within the bracket, while alongside him Lee broke out to finish things before they had started.

Schneebli after Bob Molden broke out in his Peugeot.

Laurie Bamford was helped through to Sunday’s Big Bracket ﬁnal by opponents breaking out and red lighting, but you’ve still got to doo it right yourself – which is

happened

it came down to, as he produced a perfect run to take the honours while Lee Huxley broke out alongside him

Big Bracket is all about consistency, and Collin Morrice consistently made it to the semi-ﬁnals on both Saturday and Sunday. He made it one step further on Saturday before losing out to Thomas Bublitz, but Sunday saw him edged out by Lee Huxley

Williams Bros sponsored both days of the Big Bracket races and, though he only made it as far as E1, Dan had already given the crowd some ﬁne wheels-up action by then

Santa Pod owner Keith Bartlett proved that you can mix business with pleasure by campaigning the Roarin’ Rat gasser in both days’ Big Bracket action

Words: Dave Biggadyke

Pics: Tracy Perks

PROGRESS REPORT: PART

This final instalment brings us pretty much up to date with progress on Crusty’s ’28 Model A roadster. At the time of writing, the ‘50s Plymouth brake drums were away being skimmed, while the car’s wiring was being attended to based around a Down To Earth wiring kit which incorporates an under-dash mounted fuse box.

Crusty sourced an Austin Healey soft top and has since heavily modified it to serve as a folding hood frame for the roadster. He still needs to get it upholstered, though. Talking of upholstery, interior trimming

3

is another job on the to-do list, along no doubt with countless other odds and sods.

In a nutshell, Crusty’s not there yet –but he’s getting ever closer to putting the roadster on the road where it belongs. Confident it will debut later this year, we dare wager he will give it its first public outing at the Cannibal’s Hot Rod Hop over the August Bank Holiday weekend. After all, what could be better than unveiling an old school style hot rod at an old school style event?

As for the future, who can tell? All we know for sure is that Crusty still has a hell of a lot of that escalator step left over…

Having

all the

bought

correct pulleys for the 3.5-litre Rover SD1 lump, Crusty set about aligning them

Sourced from Russ Pepper at R&R Hot Rod Imports, the ali ’32 Ford radiator was chopped down to suit the roadster

Preferring the cast look, Crusty spent hours with the rocker covers in his little sandblaster cabinet. One down, one to go. The home-made headers proved a “pain in the arse” to get to clear the steering

to add a heater

Prior to ﬁtting the adapted inlet manifold and 390cfm Holley carb, Crusty took time out to enjoy a healthy chicken and mushroom Pot Noodle

The time spent blasting was justiﬁed when you see the

the

We believe it to be a South Wind Heater, invented by

Crusty’s had the Chevy rocker covers for years, after they originally saw duty on Pete Tyas’ 3-window coupe. They will be mounted on the Rover heads using adaptor plates and 2 gaskets

…with Crusty then just needing the breather backs for the covers he already had

Wary of its vintage internals, Crusty stripped them out and ﬁtted a Rover P6 heater matrix and a 12-volt computer fan inside the casing

ﬁnished product…

Harry J. McCollum and manufactured by Stewart-Warner

Wanting

inside

roadster, Crusty decided to adapt a vintage under-dash petrol heater

An ali mounting ﬂange was fabricated and attached to the back edge of the original heater casing

The dash panel originally saw service in an Austin A40 pick-up, with a couple of switches having been replaced with indicator lamps. It has also been adorned with a pair of discs cut from that escalator step…

A few coats of black paint, some elbow grease on the trim, and it’s looking as good as new

…one housing the ignition switch and the other a horn push. The panel has been painted grey to match the body. A piece of escalator step was also used to form the under-dash mounted housing for a trio of Smiths gauges

Last month, we pictured a bracket Crusty had cut from an escalator step and, as you can see, there is plenty more of the step to be put to good use

There is still further cutting back to do, but Crusty is taking his time with that after admitting to having to respray a couple of areas after getting carried away with the DA

Crusty sprayed the roadster himself using cellulose paint sourced from a shop in Bedford

“Confident it will debut later this year”

The colours are an Audi hue of grey with accents in good old-fashioned gloss black

One of the most tedious jobs of prepping for paint was rubbing down the louvres in the bonnet sides

The aftermarket headlamp switch from Car Builder Solutions is mounted on a hand-formed ali surround attached to the dashboard

One of the most recent jobs to get ticked off the list was to get a piece of laminated glass cut for the windscreenw

Rear lights are the oft-favoured repro ’50 Pontiac units

Double header

The rst weekend in May saw two stand-alone events run side-by-side at Manston Raceway Park (MRP) near Ramsgate, Kent. One was open to all comers, while the other was more specialist. The pairing was complementary, however, and combined to produce a eld of diverse machinery competing over the eighth mile. It was a bit like a football match really – a game of two halves.

■ Words: Dave Biggadyke

■ Pics: Tog for Eurodragster.com

MORE MONEY NATIONALS

Calendar clashes inevitably meant that numbers were down for the second No Prep meet at MRP, staged over the first weekend in May. Despite the lures of Outlaw Street at the Nostalgia Nationals and the BHP Show in Maidstone, however, the No Prep guys still held their own.

Saturday was the busiest day with 5 entries in Big Tyre, 11 in Small Tyre and 3 in Tailgate. It was just Small Tyre on Sunday, with 5 entries competing for class honours. In addition there were plenty of others running in RWYB. The man behind it all, Paul NoPrep, commented: “Our second event is in the books. Many thanks to

everyone who made it so special. The MRP marshals and staff worked so hard.

“It’s great to see young people share such enthusiasm for drag racing. They are the sport’s future. We at MRP are not just here for the racing, but to share the sport with local students and other people. We are an asset to the area and a resource.

‘Psycho’ Phil Drewitt was the man on form on Saturday, with his Pop taking the laurels in both Big Tyre and Little Tyre classes

Power for Phil’s Pop comes from a 540ci big block Chevy with nitrous, and the transmission is a Powerglide

It’s great to see young people share such enthusiasm”

“We are only here for 2025 for sure, so come and enjoy RWYB in your own car, or compete in a racecar. If you don’t want to race, then come and spectate, or even marshal with us. Everyone is welcome.”

No Prep at MRP ran again in early June, and the next meeting scheduled is on 26-27 July.

A regular runner in Sportsman ET at the Pod, Subtle Racing’s Steven Giles piloted his Subaru Forester to the runner-up spot in Big Tyre

A Belgian guy on holiday in the area turned up to run his 100E in the RWYB sessions

James Grew was runner-up in Tailgate, and, as you can see from the windscreen sun strip, has entered his El Camino in Street Weekend in June

TAZ Racing’s Kev Preston put on a show for the crowd in his twin-turbo Austin A60 pick-up

Having taken the win in Tailgate on Saturday, Bill Wilson carried on and won Small Tyre on Sunday. His F100 pick-up runs a nitrousinjected 383ci stroker motor

Thanks from the organisers go to the apprentice mechanic students from Broadstairs Technical College who ran the staging lanes so well

Runner up in Small Tyre on Saturday was Taz Racing’s Chris Skinner in his Chevy V8-powered Fiat 126

Dave Crowhurst put in some test passes in his VWDRC Pro VW Beetle, The Wanger

Moving forward, MRP will introduce a Streetcar Shootout to all its events. This will be free to enter for signed-up RWYB drivers on the day, with 8 spots available on a first-come, first firstserved basis

Steve Bradshaw was running his Pro Street Mk 1 Cortina, a car that was ﬁrst put together more than 25 years ago

While MRP will be a full quarter-mile facility from now on, No Prep racing will continue with tradition and run over the eighth

Velocity Vintage Drags

Velocity Vintage Drags (VVD) was set up after Mark Phillips was approached to develop a vintage ‘40s / ’50s era eighth-mile drag racing event to run in conjunction with No Prep. Saturday was set aside for practice and grudge racing, and with 80 pre-’59 vehicles booked in to run there were plenty of racers vying for bragging rights. There was a cap on racing numbers each day to maximise lane time, and camping for racers was available from Friday onwards.

Things got more serious on Sunday, eliminations day, with entrants participating in three distinct categories. Each category offered a prize pot of £500, along with a guaranteed big grin on the face of everyone who bagged a share of it. VVD would like to express thanks to the sponsors of each category for making those prize pots a reality: 4-Banger – O’Neill Vintage Ford; V8 Flathead – Royal Kustoms; Overhead Valve – Namco American Motor Co. In addition to the prize money, there was also a Gas Money Raffle with 3 lucky people holding the winning tickets for £100, £50, and £25 respectively.

It was a great weekend with vintage hot rods, Gassers and muscle cars running in anger along an old airfield, creating an awesome and memorable atmosphere. It all happens again at MRP on the weekend of 25-27 July, when the format will be the same but without the gremlins.

Website: www.velocityvintagedrags.

Above: A battle of Model As, VVD organiser Mark Phillips in the foreground running against Richard White

Peter Stevens took the win in 4-banger in his ’25 Ford Model T Modiﬁed. Before you ask, yes, that’s the very same Peter Stevens who designed the McLaren F1 and Jaguar XJR-15 among other iconic cars

Brendan Finlon sets off on another run in his fenderless ’33 Ford Model Y

Darren Straker took the Overhead Valve runner-up spot in his Straker’s Speed Shop Ford Pop

Nick Blanche was the winner of Overhead Valve in his 383ci ’55 Chevy Gasser

80 pre-’59 vehicles booked in to run

Ollie Geis running the eighth in his Model A pick-up

Nigel Gibbs and his Ford Model A boat-tail took the VVD Spirit Award

Among the later model cars running at VVD was the ’49 Chevy sedan of Chad White

Harvey Jones bagged the runner-up laurels in the 4-Banger category

The prize money in the V8 Flathead category went the way of Kevin Heffernan’s A-V8 roadster

Runner-up in the V8 Flathead category was Richard White in his ’29 Model A

Laurence Parsons having fun in his ’30 Model A coupe

Clive Griesel’s stock height and fully fendered ’32 5-window coupe

Mark Thomas was running his small block Chevy-powered ’46 Ford coupe in the Overhead Valve category

Martin Smith in his Ford Miller Board Track Racer, a ﬂashback to the times when the sport was at its heyday in the States

One of the trio of Belly Tank racers running throughout the weekend

Custom CORNER Custom

Out & About

Event: Kickback Custom Motorcycle and Hot Rod Show

Date: 12-13 April 2025

Venue: Three Counties Showground, Malvern

The Kickback Motorcycle Show turned 30 this year. To celebrate, the organisers decided to open it up to four wheels too – and thus the Kickback Custom Motorcycle and Hot Rod Show was born.

The event was held on 12-13 April at the Three Counties Showground in Malvern. Cars and trucks took over thee big halls on site, with a further two hosting the motorcycles and scooters. Keeping the public entertained outside was a stunt

area hosting drift cars and bikes and a motorcycle stunt team performing death defying tricks. A few traders were pitched inside, including motoring artist Ian Guy and Goliath Speed Equipment.

Event director Lorne Cheetham emailed me after the dust had settled to let me know how things went. “The organisers were delighted with the incredible turnout of hot rods and custom cars at this year’s event. We had more than 60 stunning vehicles take centre stage in the indoor showcase, perfectly complementing the line-up of custom and classic motorcycles. As well as the incredible stunt bike performances and drift car demos, Harley Davidson added even more energy to the event with their experience tour, giving riders the chance to test out their latest models against the breathtaking backdrop of the Malvern Hills.

Words & Pics: James Webber

“However it was the addition of hot rods, trucks, street rods and custom cars that truly gave the show a fresh and exciting edge, elevating the atmosphere and wowing the 6000 attendees.”

As this was a first time for cars, there were two new awards up for grabs. Best custom/hot rod went to a previous CC feature vehicle, Andy Murrell’s stunning gold Ford Consul, while runner-up went to another Consul, this one Andy Smith’s heavily customised example.

The next event for the team is Cars’n’Bars, held in Gloucester Prison on 6 July. Be sure not to miss that one – and you should definitely put Kickback into your calendar for next year, with word going round at prize giving that Roy Wilding will be bringing some dragsters to the event. Full details can be found at www. kickbackshow.com and on social media.

Cool looking ’59 Apache was slammed and had custom paintwork

No shortage of custom mods on this healthily roof-chopped Austin A35

Model A body is from Argentina; the Volvo 4-cylinder engine is from a little further north

The owner of this Austin built it at home and has had it on the road for many years

Pro-Street Cortina has been around for many years now. Its lady owner wants to drive the hell out of it and run it down the strip. Power is a 427 BBF

Flamed Chevy pick-up was imported in from the States and features a supercharged big block, roof chop and full ICE

Andy Smith and his heavily customised Consul was runner-up in the Best Custom/ Hot Rod award

Mean looking Austin Cambridge has been chopped, 2-doored and smoothed and. It runs a Pinto for reliability

His’n’hers Model Ts. You don’t get to see that every day

This Austin Countryman has had the same owner since 1979 and is in the latter stages of its third rebuild. These days it’s on Vauxhall Omega running gear and air ride suspension

SoCal

Diaries Spring break

Former Custom Car editor

Tony Thacker lives in California these days, and this month he’s been taking time out to go to the races

Ialways try to plan well ahead but this year, with the major refreshment of Geo Stilwell’s 7707 Red Line Oil land speed racer on the bubble and having to deal with the shipping of Lil’ Shitter, I had a lot on my spring plate. However, I hate to miss the RPM Barona Drags.

Barona is the sister event to the RPM Nationals held in September and is timed 1/8mile drag racing for ’63 and earlier, period correct, early-style ohv engines as well, of course, as atheads and bangers. Race cars must be 1940 or earlier and all parts must be period correct and appear pre-’63.

This year, I rode down with Kev Elliott, another ex-CC editor. The weather was decidedly British as it was damp and foggy but it didn’t dampen the spirits of the racers who turned out in force.

Just two weeks later, we headed to El Mirage for the SCTA season opener. Thanks to Scott Campbell, the team at Mick’s Paint and Brits Scott Barnes, Nick Davies and Rob Loaring of I.C.E. Automotive, Geo ’s car was hot to trot and out of the box he set a new PB with a speed of 240.448mph. The dirt track is only 1.3 miles long so you have to get on it hard and get o it harder because the shut down is only one mile. FTD was Brian Hawkings at 280.229mph and 22 records were set.

RPM BARONA DRAGS

Brit Simon ‘Lucky’ Gluckman

debuted his new ’34 coupe, built at Troy Ladd’s Hollywood Hot Rods with a Troy-built 6-71 blown 394ci Olds circa 1959. Some inferior rockers prevented any hard runs, but that’ll be coming soon

SCTA, EL MIRAGE

The UK’s USAutomotive was well represented by Jere Teepen, driving the Hope family’s ’84 turbo twin-cam Dodge Charger. He’s been 197 but gremlins caused Jere to tap out at 185mph

Both events are great fun and if your travel plans include LA in the spring you should de nitely add them to your list. For more info, go to RPMNationals.com and for the SCTA go to SCTA-BNI.org.

Cummins was behind the butter y of Dave Davidson’s legendary 911 Roadster and wheeled it to a new AA/Blown Fuel Roadster record with a speed of 264.062mph

Brit Geo Stilwell driving his

Oil roadster set a new PB at 240.448mph. Scott Barnes from 1320 Mini and Nick Davies and Rob Loaring from I.C.E. Automotive are the y-in crew

chasing the elusive Competition Gas Altered record for a while. He managed a new PB at 202.202 but missed the record by one mph

Brit Colin Walker’s old MGA has nally found a new home with Mike Wagner of Corn eld Customs. Three shake-down runs netted Mike a best of 182 but he was backwards at the time

The other new ’34 at Barona was this Roadster built for Stacie Depner by Brit Jay Dean of Nostalgia Ranch. With a Navarroequipped attie, Stacie came runner up to Jay in the Flathead V8 Street Class

Only a Brit would understand the lettering on the back of Simon Gluckman’s ’34 coupe. Chopped by Mark Dodd, the car was originally athead powered but now sports a big Olds

Racepak engineer Donny

Swede Håken Karlen, driving the old The Deuce Factory 5-window, has been

Fasted speed

the meet went to Brian Hawkings, driving the J&S Racing streamliner with a top speed of 280.229mph – which is haulin’ butt in 1.3 miles in the dirt

7707 Red Line

(left)

After a season or so of engine problems, Jay

After a season or so of engine problems, Jay was out in the Hop Up T Roadster with a new BIG athead (he wouldn’t tell us how big) and cleaned up in Flathead V8 Street Class with a best of 8.2 for the 1/8-mile

Right: A hole shot in the nal of 4 Banger Street Class landed Steve Laugtug from the 313 Garage in the winner’s circle with a 9.557 et and a speed of 69.703mph. Steve hauled all the way from St. Paul, Minnesota

Above: Known only as ‘Shiney,’ the owner of this tri-carbed, Chevy-powered Model A pickup took home the gold in the Overhead Street Class

‘Bad

Rod Riders member Vance Kershner was out in his beautiful ‘American Iron’-engined Roadster and managed 159.485 mph

Except in the height of summer, El Mirage attracts a lot of spectators in hot rods and in May there were several there including this nice Deuce Roadster and a rather sweet ’39

It was great to see this ol’ school blown 354ci Hemi-powered Gasser ‘Orange Peel’ owned by ‘Hothead’ Lou – pure nostalgia right there. Lou ran the ¼-mile at the March Meet in the high 11s

Famoso-and-beyond photographer Kleet Norris, of Portland’s Estranged Car Club, turned out in his roo ess, ruthless ironheaded V8-powered Model A coupe that he built for a customer 20 years ago but has nally acquired

Who says you can’t get a Hemi into a Model A? Certainly not Steve Cha n, who made a superb job of shoehorning one into his chopped and channeled, quad-carbed ’30-’31

Augie Esposito, a member of both the American Hot Rod Foundation and the Pasadena Roadster Club, brought his Caddypowered ’40 ‘Fordillac’ styled after an AMT ’40 Ford “Drag Coupe” kit that he built as a kid

El Mirage is a place when you get dust in places you’ve only ever seen in a mirror. Nevertheless, Robert Sights Jr. in the ‘Udder Delite’ ’27 Roadster managed 126.896mph

You have to be careful driving at El Mo as the public are out there on dirt bikes, quads, land yachts… heck, they even land planes on the lakebed. I’m not sure this cigar chomping rodder cared

Hiding behind Bob’s ’34 is this interesting side-steer, Chevypowered ’26-’27 Roadster owned by Matt, another member of the Aces car Club

driving

on a Sunbeam

134.073mph.

hot rodder Jim

Right:

Bob’ Roades, a member of the Aces Car Club, had to hand his triple 666 ‘Runnin’ with the Devil’ red window’d ve window that was just tough. The Aces were founded in Bell ower, CA in 1952

Legendary

‘Jake’ Jacobs, crewing on the Don Ferguson streamliner driven by Danny Thompson, was out in his famous ‘Jake-O-Page’ tub decorated with old Hot Rod magazine pages

Nathan Stewart

the ‘Skip Pipes Racing’ Blown Fuel Modi ed Roadster, based

Alpine back half, went

What’s ahead of the Alpine body is anybody’s guess.

Legendary

BRENTACRE

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

JULY

4-5 Hangar Rockin St Stephan Airfield, St Stephan, Switzerland. www.hangarrockin.com

4-6 MPH Vintage Sprint. Deenthorpe Airfeld, Corby, Northants www.mphvintagesprint.co.uk

4-6 Rattlers Round Up. The Holman Clavel public house, Taunton, Somerset. Facebook: Rattlers Rod and Kustom

4-6 V8 Brothers Village. Hooglede, Belgium. www.v8brothers.be

5 Straightliners Smeatharpe, Devon. www.straightliners.events

5-6 Big Yellow Car Show Cheshire Showground, Knutsford www.bigyellowcarshow.co.uk

5-6 Summer Nationals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

6 Cars’n’Bars HM Prison Gloucester www.kickbackshow.com

10-13 Goodwood Festival of Speed Goodwood Estate, West Sussex. www.goodwood.com

18-20 Mopar Euro Nationals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod. co.uk

18-20 Rock’n’Ribs Festival Wincanton Racecourse, Somerset. www.rocknribsfestival.co.uk

19 American Car Meet Bird in Hand, Hayle, Cornwall www.propercornishcruisers.co.uk

19 Kustom Kulture

11-12 Mustang Nationals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

12 Only Fools and Motors Meet The Five Bells, Tydd St Mary, Lincs Facebook: Only Fools and Motors

12-13 American Super Stock Revival Rd 4 Melbourne Raceway Facebook: American Super Stock

12-13 Straightliners Race Meet Melbourne Raceway, York. www.straightliners.events

13 The Ford Show. Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

15 VW Air-Cooled Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

18-20 Hot Rod Rumble. The Camp, Ramsey, Huntingdon www.hotrodrumble.co.uk

Jubilee Sports Bar and Social Club, Claywalls Lane, Sheffield. Facebook: Jubilee Sports Bar and Social Club

19-20 American Auto Club UK Summer Nationals Upton Upon Severn, Worcestershire www.american-auto-club.co.uk

20 Carrot Town Garage Car, Bike and Hot Rod Show Stonham Barns, Suffolk. www.carrottowngarage.co.uk

20 Deuce Day British Motor Museum, Gaydon, Warwickshire www.deucesofbritain.co.uk

20 Grand Motorbilia Day Stickney, near Boston, Lincs. Facebook: Mablethorpe and District Motor Club

20 Krispy Kreme Cruise. Krispy Kreme, Shannon Corner, New Malden, . Facebook: Krispy Kreme Cruise Surrey

25-27 Bug Jam Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

26 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

26 American and Hot Rod Day. Weymouth Esplanade www.dorsetcarclub.com

26-27 No-Prep Drag Racing Manston Raceway Park, Kent Facebook: Manston Raceway Park

26-27 Velocity Vintage Drags. Manston Raceway Park, Kent www.velocityvintagedrags.racing

27 Auto Extravaganza Walpole Community Centre, Walpole St Andrew, Cambs. www.kingslynnkruisers.co.uk

AUGUST

1-3 Hot Rod Hayride. Bisley Shooting Ground, Surrey www.hotrodhayride.co.uk

1-3 Ultimate Street Car Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

2 Only Fools and Motors Meet The Five Bells, Tydd St Mary, Lincs Facebook: Only Fools and Motors

2-3 American Super Stock Revival Rd5 Melbourne Raceway Facebook: American Super Stock

2-3 Straightliners Race Meet Melbourne Raceway, York. www.straightliners.events

4 Top Speed Monday Elvington Airfield, Elvington, West Yorkshire. www.straightliners.events

5 Hayling Hot Rods at the Beach. Hayling Island Seafront, Hampshire.Facebook: Hayling Hotrods at the Beach

6 Hot Rod Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

7-10 NSRA Hot Rod Supernationals Old Warden, Bedfordshire. www.nsra.org.uk

8-10 Retrofestival Newbury Showground. www.retrofestival.co.uk

9-10 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

10 American Day RAF Sculthorpe, Fakenham, Norfolk. Facebook: RAF Sculthorpe Heritage Centre

10 Ford Fair Silverstone Circuit www.fordfair.co.uk

10 ‘Normous Newark Autojumble Newark Showground, Newark, Notts. www.newarkautojumble.co.uk

14-18 Hillbilly Hoedown Crystal Lakes Leisure, Huntingdon. www.hillbillyhoedownweekend.co.uk

15-17 Hot Rods in the Borders Lilliardsedge Holiday Park, Jedburgh. Facebook: Hot Rods in The Borders

16 American Car Meet Bird in Hand, Hayle, Cornwall www.propercornishcruisers.co.uk

16 Elvington Modified Nationals Elvington. www.straightliners.events

16 Ford Pop Day Industry and Supply, Weedon Bec, Northants www.industryandsupply.com

16 Hullabaloo Newmarket HarleyDavidson, Newmarket Facebook: Newmarket Harley-Davidson

16 Straightliners Smeatharpe, Devon.www.straightliners.events

16-17 Greenlight Nationals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

17 Krispy Kreme Cruise. Krispy Kreme, Shannon Corner, New Malden, Surrey. Facebook: Krispy Kreme Cruise Surrey

BRENTACRE

19 VW Air-Cooled Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

22-25 Hot Rod Hop Thurleigh, Beds cannibalscarclub.enginehousetickets. co.uk

23-24 Knuckle Busters at the Barns Stonham Barns, Suffolk www.stonhambarns.co.uk

23-25 No-Prep Drag Racing Manston Raceway Park, Kent Facebook: Manston Raceway Park

25 Bay Cruisers CC Drive and Jive Auto Show Whitstable Bends, Kent. www.driveandjive.uk

25 V8 Hot Rods Show Cross Keys, Redgrave, Norfolk Facebook: V8 Hot Rods

29-31 VW Action. Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

26 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

29-30 VW Action Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

29-31 Blue Ridge Runners Weekender West Huntspill, Somerset. www.blueridgerunners. co.uk

30-31 Straightliners Race Meet and American Super Stock Revival Rd 6 and Finals Melbourne Raceway. Facebook: American Super Stock. www.straightliners.events

31 Old Skool Cruisers Meet Anglia Motel, A17, Spalding, Lincs Facebook: Old Skool Kruisers

SEPTEMBER

5-7 The Trip Out Euston Park, Suffolk. www.thetripout.co.uk

5-7 Steel City Rod Run Hooten Roberts, Rotherham, Suffolk Facebook: Steel City Cruisers

6 Only Fools and Motors Meet The Five Bells, Tydd St Mary, Lincs Facebook: Only Fools and Motors

6-7 Petrolheadonism Live Herts County Showground, Redbourn www.petrolheadonism.live

6-7 Straightliners Race Meet Cambeltown, Scotland www.straightliners.events

7 American Car Show Museum of Power in Maldon, Essex www.museumofpower.org.uk

7 Flames’n’Dice Wearmouth Colliery, Sunderland. Facebook: Flames’n’Dice

2 Hayling Hot Rods at the Beach. Hayling Island Seafront, Hampshire. Facebook: Hayling Hotrods at the Beach

3 Hot Rod Night. Ace Café, London. www. acecafe.com

4-7 Euro Finals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod. co.uk

5-7 Kustom Kulture Blastoff Slates Farm, Market Rasen, Lincs. www. kustomkultureblastoff.co.uk

12-14 Goodwood Revival Goodwood Estate, West Sussex. www.goodwood.com

12-14 Hot Rod Drags Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

12-14 Hot Rod Hoedown. Barrasgate Farm, Annan.Facebook: Hot Rod Hoedown at the Steading 12-15 Isle of Man Ford Fest www.iomfm.com

13-14 No-Prep Drag Racing Manston Raceway Park, Kent Facebook: Manston Raceway Park

14 ‘Normous Newark Autojumble Newark Showground, Newark, Notts. www. newarkautojumble.co.uk

27 Straightliners Smeatharpe, Devon. www.straightliners.events

19 Straightliners Santa Pod Raceway. straightliners.events

21 VW Air-Cooled Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

16 VW Air-Cooled Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

18-21 Isle of Man Festival of Motoring www.iomfm.com

19-21 National Finals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

19-21 Normandy Beach Race Sword Beach, Ouistreham www.normandybeachrace.com

20 American Car Meet Bird in Hand, Hayle, Cornwall www.propercornishcruisers.co.uk

20-21 Pistons and Props Sywell Aerodrome, Northamptonshire www.sywellclassic.co.uk

20-21 VHRA Pendine Sands Hot Rod Races. Pendine, Carmarthenshire www.vhra.co.uk

21 Ford Fest. Mallory Park, Leics. www.fordfestshow.co.uk

21 Krispy Kreme Cruise. Krispy Kreme, Shannon Corner, New Malden, Surrey. Facebook: Krispy Kreme Cruise Surrey

26-28 Flat Caps and Ferrets. Elland Cricket Club, Halifax. Facebook: Flat Caps and Ferrets Huddersfield

26-28 Yorkshire American Car Club American, Rod and Custom Show. Fort Paull, Hull. yancs1@yahoo.co.uk

27 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

27 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

28 Old Skool Cruisers Meet Anglia Motel, A17, Spalding, Lincs Facebook: Old Skool Kruisers

OCTOBER

1 Hot Rod Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

4-5 No-Prep Drag Racing Manston Raceway Park, Kent Facebook: Manston Raceway Park

4-5 Malbourne Finals and Fireworks Melbourne Raceway, York. www.straightliners.events

5 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

5 Victory Wheelers Hayling Sunset Funlands Amusement Park, Hayling Island Facebook: Victory Wheelers

6 Top Speed Monday Elvington Airfield, Elvington, West Yorkshire. www.straightliners.events

7 Hayling Hot Rods at the Beach Hayling Island Seafront, Hampshire. Facebook: Hayling Hotrods at the Beach

11 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

12 Straightliners Race Meet Elvington. www.straightliners.events

18 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

19 Krispy Kreme Cruise. Krispy Kreme, Shannon Corner, New Malden, Surrey. Facebook: Krispy Kreme Cruise Surrey

19 ‘Normous Newark Autojumble Newark Showground, Newark, Notts. www.newarkautojumble.co.uk

25 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

25 Flame and Thunder Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

26 NSRA Northern Swapmeet Magna Science Centre, Rotherham. www.nsra.org.uk

26 Old Skool Cruisers Meet Anglia Motel, A17, Spalding, Lincs Facebook: Old Skool Kruisers

26 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

NOVEMBER

5 Hot Rod Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

16 Krispy Kreme Cruise. Krispy Kreme, Shannon Corner, New Malden, Surrey. Facebook: Krispy Kreme Cruise Surrey

18 VW Air-Cooled Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

29 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

DECEMBER 2025

3 Hot Rod Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

16 VW Air-Cooled Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

21 Krispy Kreme Cruise. Krispy Kreme, Shannon Corner, New Malden, Surrey. Facebook: Krispy Kreme Cruise Surrey

27 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

Official Broker of the NSRA

The best classic American experience is just a new set of tyres away. We stock new tyres in period-correct patterns in a huge variety of crossply and radial sizes and styles, including: black wall, whitewall, pinstripe and raised white letter. From chrome and ﬁns to fenderless hotrod, truck, muscle, custom or military – your classic American is even better on the right rubber and thatʼs all we sell at Vintage Tyres. Branches at Beaulieu and Bicester Heritage.