Issuu

NOV 2026

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NSRA Supernats • Dragstalgia • MPH Drags • Cofton US Car Show

History Lesson

Built in the ‘30s, rodded in the ‘50s and restored in the ‘20s, Richard James’ intriguing East Coast ‘34

PLUS Big car,

big winner – fresh from its triumph at the NSRA Fun Run, Paul Rutter’s Chevy Suburban rolls in the hay

Contents

is D s 22 ue ec O on ’26 ct s ob al er e

Find us on Facebook at mCarMagazine www.facebook.com/Custo

24 18 Regulars

News & Reviews What’s the DVLA up to now…?

32 Centre Spread The biggest wheelie you’ve ever seen

50 SoCal Diaries Salty stories from Bonneville Speed Week

52 Events Free weekends are a thing of the past

64 Next Month The custom car everyone’s talking about

Features 8

Suburban Cruiser Paul Rutter’s Fun Run-winning Chevy

18 Strombergs on the Dyno BIG97 Tri-Power set-up on the rollers

24 N SRA Supernats If Carlsberg did car shows…

34 Racer Resto Richard James’ reborn East Coast ‘34

www.customcarmag.co.uk

44 MPH Drags A packed weekend at Deenethorpe

54 Cofton American Car Show Custom cars aplenty on the 4th of July

56 Dragstalgia The best race meet of the year? Discuss…

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News & reviews

Special recognition New DVLA rules introduced earlier this month have relaxed requirements around replacement bodies and major components, while also formally recognising historic ‘Specials’. The changes form the second phase of a wider overhaul of how the DVLA deals with historic and classic vehicles, following major reforms introduced last August. Space restrictions prevent publishing the new regulations in their entirety in these pages, so the following is a synopsis of the salient points. The minimum age for major components used in ‘Reconstructed Classics’ has been increased from 25 to 40 years, bringing

the policy into line with the age threshold used for historic vehicle tax and MOT exemptions. Newly fabricated replacement bodies can now be used provided they match the original period specification, while period-correct interchangeable bodies that were offered by the manufacturer are also permitted. The changes also formally recognise historic ‘Specials’, including vehicles built on 1930s’ chassis but fitted with bodywork from the 1950s or 1960s. Vehicles receiving significant structural modifications still have to be declared but can retain their original identity. Previously, such work could have resulted in a vehicle losing its

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original registration number. Reconstructed vehicles less than 40 years old will continue to go through the standard registration process. Acknowledgement must be given to the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC) for continued campaigning and lobbying of Government departments to ensure the new regulations became statutory. A more comprehensive look at the new regulations can be found on the FBHVC website, while the full document detailing changes and registering a vehicle is available at GOV.UK website. www.fbhvc.co.uk / www.gov.uk/ government/publications

Contributors Dave Biggadyke, Mike Pye, Keith Lee, James Webber, Olly Sack, Dan Fenn,

Julian Hunt, Harrison Cantel, Alice Fairhead, Vic Peel, Richard Hair

ADVERTISEMENT SALES Assignment Media Ltd Colin Ashworth 01283 742969 colin.ashworth@assignment-media. co.uk

2 CUSTOM CAR NOVEMBER 2026

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News & reviews

Master Cylinder Adapter Kits Chevy Car 1937-1954 Chevy Truck 1947-1954 Ford Car 1939-1951 Ford Truck 1948-1952, 1957-1962

Raymond John Webber

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23.03.52 – 01.09.26 by James Webber

John Webber (disused Raymond name) was a lifelong engineer who Disc Brake Disc Brake loved all things custom Conversion Bracket Kits Conversion Kits car and drag racing. Chevy Truck 1928-1954 ½ ton Chevy Car 1928-64 Chevy Car 1928-1964 Chevy Truck 1928-1954 ½ ton Ford Truck 1937-1956 Starting out with a Ford Car 1937-1964 Ford Car 1937-1953, 1957-1964 Dodge/Plymouth Passenger Car 105E, he progressed Ford Truck 1937-1956 1937-1941, 1946-1961 $805 - $1370 $261 - $415 to a wild 100E and on to a ‘48 Vauxhall Velox, before family and commitments forced him into a 30-year sabbatical. During the mid-‘70s, streetrodhq.com John had worked at 01-360-835-9799 Santa Pod as the fire-up marshal and in 2009 he was in a Follow us on position to get back into the custom car scene. He went to Scotland to buy a radical Fad T and over the course of the years, up until recently, had various vehicles including a Ranchero pick-up, a Beach Buggy and a ‘34 Ford Phaeton. Custom Car_2025_12_Winter_Chevs of the 40s_QP.indd 1 He recently battled a short illness and died peacefully with his family by his side. He is survived by his sons Daniel and James and two grandchildren. RIP. If anyone has any pics or memories of John from his time at Santa Pod, the family would love to hear from you. Details can be sent to: james_webber_20@hotmail.com

22/10/2025 08:58

Well dressed

The 2026 British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Gala Awards Dinner takes place on Saturday 21 November, at the new venue of Chesford Grange Hotel in Kenilworth, near Coventry. Tickets for the black tie occasion are priced at £79.95, discounted to £59.95 for members. Tickets can be booked online, and menu options selected, at britishdragracinghof.co.uk/gala-bookingform/ For those wishing to stay over at the hotel, it is recommended bookings are made early as the rooms are subject to ‘dynamic pricing’. Reservations can be made online at www.chesfordgrange.com

NOVEMBER 2026 CUSTOM CAR 3 Custom Car_2024_12_Winter_Retro Classic Clothing_FP.indd 1

05/11/2024 10:53

News & reviews

Something for the weekend? Brunch stops

Ending with a bang The Straightliners Fireworks Finale at Melbourne Raceway in York is on 3-4 October. The weekend offers RWYB and Championship racing, with the track open from 9.30am to 5.00pm each day. For further information, call Trevor on 07971 172210 or Helen on 07921 712266. straightliners.events/allevents

The NSRA Sheffield Big Brunch is on Saturday 3 October, from 10am to 2pm. The venue is the Half Moon, Littledale, Sheffield S9 4GP, with breakfast butties from Mad Dowgs and live music on offer. The NSRA South Lincs Big Brunch is on Sunday 4 October from 8.30am onwards. This time round it’s at the new venue of the Hargate Stop Café and Farm Shop (rear parking area), which is on Washway Road (A17) at Fleet Hargate PE12 8AT. The venue for the NSRA Norfolk Big Brunch is The Barrel, The Appleyard, Kenninghall Road, Banham, Norwich NR16 2HE. The date for this one is Sunday 11 October, when all will be made welcome. www.nsra.org.uk

Seaside fun The concluding Hayling Hot Rods at the Beach meeting is on Wednesday 7 October. As the name suggests, the venue is Hayling Island. Funland on the Seafront to be precise. The fun kicks off at 6.00pm

Twin set

With the recent surge of interest in classic car renovations and resto-mod upgrades, Webcon has developed an upgraded quality classic-style linkage featuring twin cables. It gives the classic enthusiast a superb quality billet machined, classic linkage system that is more complete than any similar product available on the market. The recommended retail price is £190.70 including VAT. www.webcon.co.uk

4 CUSTOM CAR NOVEMBER 2026

and all hot rods, customs and American cars are welcome. Facebook: Hayling Hot Rods at the Beach

Northern swapsies The NSRA Northern Swap Meet takes place on Sunday 25 October. The venue is MAGNA, Rotherham S60 1DX, just off M1 Jnc 34. Public entry fees are £5 per person for members and £10 per person for non-members. Trading pitch enquiries should be directed to Andy on 07810 770256. Please note that all goods must be displayed on a tarpaulin. www.nsra.org.uk

Cold Turkey

Monday 28 December is the

date for this year’s Cold Turkey Run to Cromer in Norfolk, with three different starting points and times. Leave Krazy Horse, Bury St Edmunds at 9.30am, with the opportunity to tag on the end in Norwich around 10.30am. Depart Gt Yarmouth seafront at 10.00am for the hour-long drive to Cromer along the A149. The earliest start is at 9.00am from McDonald’s in Peterborough PE30 4LR, stopping off at Sainsbury’s in Kings Lynn for a 9.45am departure. The destination in Cromer is NR27 9PA, where plenty of parking is on offer, together with a donation bucket. Facebook: Bod Here

News & reviews On stream

With Straightliners’ continued excellence in promoting Melbourne Raceway and grass-roots drag racing countrywide, the northern-based promoters led by Trevor Duckworth have released details about Melbourne Raceway’s exclusive YouTube channel: Melbourne Raceway – The Home of Straightliners. The channel will feature exclusive videos filmed by providers and media partner sbpromovids, fronted by Stu Brooks. Stu will also be providing a platform to provide live streaming of Melbourne’s events from early September, using a mix of remote multi-cameras covering burnouts, start line, mid track, finish line and a location in the shutdown area. The live stream will also provide timing data feed via the track’s Portatree Timing System, as well as live

Soldering on

trackside commentary provided by the team of Paul Cumpstone, Shaun Wilson and Jerry Cookston. The stream will also be able to provide online advertising and the promotion of future Straightliners events. It is also envisaged that Elvington Record attempts (Full Throttle Records and Wheelie Records) will be live streamed as well. Click and subscribe to the Melbourne Raceway – The Home of Straightliners on YouTube at www.youtube.com/@ MelbourneRaceway

The new Laser Tools Soldering Clamp with Solder Feed solves the problem of needing three hands by combining a secure wire clamp with an integrated solder dispenser, allowing the user to feed solder using the thumb of the same hand holding the clamp while leaving the other hand free to operate the soldering iron. Housed within the handle, the built-in solder feed accepts a 65mm solder coil, and the thumb-operated feed mechanism gives excellent control over delivery. www.lasertools.co.uk

NOVEMBER 2026 CUSTOM CAR 5

News & reviews

Business quarters Santa Pod’s Burnout to Breakout offers businesses a unique opportunity to put leadership, decision-making and performance under pressure to the ultimate test. It takes business out of the boardroom and puts aptitude to the test on one of the world’s most famous drag racing strips. It’s more than a traditional corporate away day, with the experience combining coached and timed runs on the drag strip with structured briefings and performance debriefs. Every reaction time and result is measured, helping teams turn what happens on the track into practical lessons they can apply in the workplace. The exclusive Executive Performance Day puts up to 16 guests behind the wheel of Santa Pod Mustang race cars for three progressively challenging runs, culminating in a solo timed run. For larger groups, the Corporate Performance Half Day allows up to 40 participants to take their own eligible performance cars on to the strip for professionally marshalled timed runs. Each session includes a focused briefing and debrief, turning the adrenaline and competition of the track into meaningful lessons for the workplace. For further information, visit the Santa Pod Raceway website or contact Laura Triptree at laura.triptree@triptreeconsultancy.com, who is working in partnership with Santa Pod Raceway on the joint venture. www.santapod.co.uk

Trumpeteers

Webcon offers a range of bolt-on air horns for the Weber DCOE and Dellorto DHLA series of carburettors, in both full radius and standard radius formats. This new range is available in a variety of trumpet lengths from 15mm to 100mm, and with or without mesh. www.webcon.co.uk

6 CUSTOM CAR NOVEMBER 2026

Making bacon

Hats off to the organisers and all those who attended and supported this year’s Bacon Bash for raising an incredible £3497.25 for Great Ormond Street Hospital. Organised by Banded Custom Wheels, the bash took place on Sunday 16 August in Maldon, Essex, with thanks going to Mark-Lee Horner and Debbie Horner for allowing the use of their gorgeous home. The day included food and drinks supplied by Andy

‘Potsie’ Potts, who donated the proceeds to charity, and an amazing raffle with the top grand draw prize being worth over £1200.

News & reviews Shrinking price

Hammer heads

Reproducing body components such as wheelarches, dog legs and window and boot edges involves fabricating radius bends combining a curve and angle. The process is simplified by using the Frost Shrinker/ Stretcher Combo set, which forms radius bends and contours in mild or stainless steel, aluminium and copper without requiring relief cuts, heating or hammer-forming. The housings can be clamped in a vice or stand. The set includes two housings, two jaws and two handles. The working capacity is 18-gauge mild steel, 20-gauge stainless and 16-gauge aluminium. At the time of writing, the Shrinker/Stretcher Combo Set was on offer at £169, saving £30 over the standard price. www.frost.co.uk

Steel hammers can easily damage aluminium components, while copper hammers, although softer, quickly deform with repeated use. The Automotive Brass Hammer from Laser Tools provides the ideal balance, combining a durable, dropforged brass head with a high-strength fibreglass handle to deliver controlled striking power without damaging delicate components. Brass is harder and more durable than copper yet remains significantly softer than steel, making it ideal for driving pins and bearings, freeing seized components and working on ali hubs, suspension parts and other precision assemblies. The 2.5lb (1.1 kg) hammer measures 338mm overall and has an 89mm head and 31mm striking face. www. lasertools. co.uk

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29/10/2025 15:28

IN SUBU

It may have taken a somewhat twisted route to get there, but Paul Rutter now has a toy box many a hot rodder would be proud to call their own Words: Dave Biggadyke Pics: Harrison Cantel at HCreative

8 CUSTOM CAR NOVEMBER 2026

BURBIA P

aul Rutter has experienced a great deal of diversity when it comes to the automotive attributes of his life. An Anglia 105E was followed by a Dutton kit car build, with the finished product having to be sold

when his then wife fell pregnant and the proceeds of the sale were needed as a deposit on the couple’s first house. A long period of no ‘toy cars’ then followed, as it does, with the drought finally coming to an end thanks to a Porsche 356

replica painted Guards Red. Ultimately, that found itself languishing in a farmer’s pig shed before finally being sold on many years later. In the intervening period Paul continued with the automotive diversity from Ford Anglias through to a Bentley

NOVEMBER 2026 CUSTOM CAR 9

Continental GT, a car he still owns today, along with an ML Mercedes. Paul’s ‘toy cars’ became more than a hobby pursuit when he spotted a business opportunity. His dad earned a crust as a toastmaster, for weddings among other occasions. Being an entrepreneurial type, Paul complemented his dad’s profession and established a wedding car hire company. It was a focused business, with Paul offering a fleet of five Model A Fords for hire, all completely stock.

“The paint had been applied directly to bare metal”

Collecting cars

Paul’s next diversion came following a visit to a Fathers’ Day show at Audley End House, near Saffron Walden. “I saw a ’40 Ford coupe,” he quipped. “That’s exactly what I wanted. Well sort of, as I ended up buying a ’37, which was close enough. That one is now nearing the end of an extensive rebuild. “I’ve also got a ’55 Chevy 3100 pick-up and a Model A roadster with a Deuce grille shell mounted on ’32 rails and running a small block Chevy. That one was built to run at Pendine, but I can’t see me doing that.” That brings us to the ’50 Chevy Suburban pictured here. “The story with the ‘Burb began around 10 years ago,” recalled Paul. “A good friend of mine, Eugene Franco, bought it from Farm Fresh Garage in Rayleigh, who had brought it in from the States, chopping in a ’55 Series 1 pick-up as part of the deal. It had been found as a complete basket case out there but before reaching these shores had been given a mechanical and cosmetic makeover. “Around 7 or 8 years ago, the opportunity arose for me to purchase it from Eugene, and I couldn’t resist. I took it to Mill Lane Speed Shop in Finchingfield, near Braintree, to be checked over, and it was there that Colin and Ben Turner confirmed its beauty was barely skin deep. The paint had been applied directly to bare metal, with no hint of any primer being used, and mechanically it was due an overhaul.”

Frameless

The only option was a full body off rebuild, with Colin and Ben Turner at Mill Lane handling the mechanicals, and Richard Finch, now of RCF Body Repairs, also based in Finchingfield, tackling the bodywork and paint. With the Suburban stripped down, it was blasted and that revealed a few metalwork horrors. “The worst bits

10 CUSTOM CAR NOVEMBER 2026

Peering from under the rear bumper are additional brake lights and a pair of reversing lights. There’s even a concealed towbar under there

Also in Paul’s collection, his small blockpowered Model A roadster was put together with Pendine in mind. But he has no plans to get it covered in sand and salt water

One of Paul’s business interests is a company that produces printed carpet, primarily for exhibitions, events, and locations. Unique custom-printed carpets can also be produced to cover the passenger and load area floors on a Chevy Suburban

NOVEMBER 2026 CUSTOM CAR 11

were the rear side window frames,” Paul expounded. “Around 20% of the metalwork was non-existent and the original two-piece sliding windows had to be replaced with tinted one-piece fixed glass.” A brief history lesson may be appropriate at this juncture. Based on the Chevrolet Advance Design series of pick-ups, the

third-generation Suburbans were produced between 1947 and 1955. Prior to that, first-generation vehicles appeared in 1933 and were known as a Carryall Suburban, a utility vehicle featuring a station wagon body on the chassis of a small truck. The concept was indeed to carry all, with seating for up to eight occupants and a

rear cargo area. That ethos was retained over the years, and the third-generation variants were fitted with 3 rows of seats, offering a true eight-seater capacity. To offer a degree of passenger comfort, the rear side windows slid in runners to provide ventilation, a feature sadly now lacking with Paul’s ‘Burb.

Later model suspension and a combination of cut-down springs and lowering blocks give the Suburban a greatly improved stance over when it left the Chevrolet plant production line. The wheels are colour coordinated steels, fitted with beauty rings and hubcaps and wrapped in 215/70R15 rubber, all supplied by North Hants Tyres

Left: The dressed 350ci small block Chevy is topped off with an Edelbrock carb and 4-branch tubular headers feed the balanced exhaust system. Paul was insistent that the engine bay be kept as clean and uncluttered as possible, with no unnecessary wires or pipes on show

Right: With the Suburban offering a full 8-seater capacity it took plenty of Tobacco leather to retrim all 3 rows, along with the side, door and kick panels. The seats are mounted on Transit floor track bracket rails, enabling them to be removed easily should the need arise. Note the front seat is split, with the outer squab sliding forward to allow access to the rear seats. Also note the expansive new headlining

12 CUSTOM CAR NOVEMBER 2026

Underwear

Before it travelled across the Atlantic, the Suburban had been treated to a Camaro front clip and rear axle. By now, though, the running gear was showing its age, so it was all repurposed by the guys at Mill Lane. The front end offers power steering and disc brakes, the latter boosted by servo

assistance. The rear axle retains its original drum brakes, fully rebuilt of course, and is hung from leaf springs with a pair of adjustable shocks controlling the bounce. A complete re-plumb completed the running gear refresh. That just left the power plant. The small block Chevy was treated to a few new

ancillaries, dressed a little and mated to a 700R4 transmission from Shaun Hopper. The wiring was all renewed and a towbar fitted so Paul can haul his caravan for those weekends away. With the intention of clocking up the miles in the Suburban, he was insistent on a comfy interior and called upon Lee Kiley at Enigma Automotive

“It had been found as a complete basket case out there”

Right: It’s no surprise the Suburban shares its dashboard layout with pickups of the same era. Paul has installed additional safety warning lights and a period radio is mounted centrally. A repurposed period Chevy heater and demister is operated by the original controls, a wood-rim Banjo wheel tops off the steering column and the original foot-operated parking brake lever is still functionalforward to allow access to the rear seats. Also note the expansive new headlining

NOVEMBER 2026 CUSTOM CAR 13

““It’s clocked up 10,000 miles since its last MoT” in Kings Lynn. With 3 rows of seats and a lengthy headlining, the interior trimming involved a lot of stitchwork. With the comprehensive rebuild completed, the Suburban was back on

the road three or four years ago and since then Paul hasn’t stopped driving it. “It has clocked up 10,000 miles since its last MOT, returning 20mpg,” he said with a grin. “It’s well used and has been seen all over

the country from Krazy Horse and Redgrave in Suffolk, to Pendine in the west, and the NSRA Fun Run on the Isle of Wight – where it won Participants’ Choice – along with many other shows.

Paul’s unsure if the visor is an original Fulton, but it looks genuine to us. Either way, it’s a perfect period accessory for the Suburban. The colours of the two-tone paint are non-specific. Paul describes them as Sky Blue and Beige, almost Buttermilk

Another of Paul’s toys is this Chevy 3100 pickup. Under the bonnet there’s a 350 Chevy with a 5-speed Tremec bolted to the back of it

14 CUSTOM CAR NOVEMBER 2026

This was the last of Paul’s Model A wedding cars to be sold on, a ’28 phaeton that had been imported from Uruguay

Paul’s ’37 has now undergone a complete rebuild with fresh running gear and a respray in cream. Power comes from a blown 350 Chevy mated to a 4-speed manual ‘box. We might take a closer look at the coupe when Paul has got it all back together

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To advertise in Custom Car, please contact Colin Ashworth Tel: 01283 742969 email: colin.ashworth@assignment-media.co.uk 16 CUSTOM CAR NOVEMBER 2026

Above: The Suburban before it was given a makeover in the States. It looks like the rust had already taken hold by then Right: This is how the Suburban looked before being shipped to the UK. Fresh blue paint, nice brightwork and rolling on “fat rims and tyres,” as Paul described them

“The only minor issue I’ve had was when a fuse blew and caused it to overheat. It drives lovely and is a great cruiser at 50-60 mph. It will never be a racecar, and it can get a bit wobbly if you take it over 80, so I tend not to. “I’ve no real plans for it as I’ve already done it all. I intend to fit stays on the back doors over the winter, but that’s all. In saying that, I would dearly love to convert it back to sliding rear side windows, but the parts simply aren’t available.” Paul’s ‘toy car’ collection still includes the First Series Chevy pick-up and the Pendine compliant Model A roadster. Then, to keep him tinkering, there’s that ’37 coupe he has to finish putting back together. It sounds to us like he’s content with life in suburbia. CC

Even the ear of corn hanging from Paul’s mouth is colour co-ordinated

“Thanks to Colin and Ben Turner at Mill Lane, Richard Finch at RCF, Lee Kiley at Enigma, Harrison for the photoshoot, Paul and Tim the Chuckle Brothers for the use of the farm as a backdrop and all my mates for taking the mickey and calling it an ice cream van. With special thanks to Mr. Whippy.”

NOVEMBER 2026 CUSTOM CAR 17

Tri, Tri and Tri again 18 CUSTOM CAR NOVEMBER 2026

Stromberg’s 97 carb is a long-time rodder’s favourite. The company recently fitted its latest BIG97 Tri-Power package to a 383 Chevy and took it to Knight Racing Services for a series of runs on the dyno Words and pics: Tony Thacker

t’s hard to believe in these days of 3D printing, AI, robotics and other modern manufacturing methods that there is a business – a good business – building a carburettor first introduced 90 years ago in 1936. Such is the story of Stromberg Carburetor, which re-engineered the hot rodder’s favourite Stromberg 97 model back in 2006. Of course, if one 97 is good then two must be better. Which means three must be better still, and so on ad infinitum. Sadly, it doesn’t work quite that way, but multiple carb assemblies of up to six or even eight can be hugely beneficial in flowing more fuel and air – especially when you use the Stromberg BIG97, which flows 250cfm. Six of those and you’re flowing 1500cfm, and that’s the equivalent of two 750s. Due to the increasing demand for multi-carb assemblies, Stromberg owner Clive Prew put together the company’s 750cfm BIG97 Tri-Power package. This is designed specifically for the bigger overhead valve V-8 engines. More recently, he assembled a 383ci Chevy equipped with an old Edelbrock cast aluminium 3x2 intake to prove them out.

After all the testing, the Tri-powered 383 was dropped into Clive’s ’46 Ford for further road and reliability proving. Fuel lines and linkage are likewise Stromberg

The 383ci Chevy engine built by well-known UK drag racer Ray Irish arrived at Knight Racing Services in Daventry, where it was installed on the company’s SuperFlow dyno

NOVEMBER 2026 CUSTOM CAR 19

To facilitate the testing, the engine was taken to Peter Knight at Knight Racing Services in Daventry. Founded in 1997, Knight specialises in V-8 engine development and racing in particular for historic sports cars such as Cobras, McLarens, Lolas etc. The company has completed more than 1000 engine builds and has racked up thousands of test hours on its SuperFlow dyno. For these test purposes, Clive purchased a tired 383 race engine and had Ray Irish build a fairly stock unit using a crank reground by Jeff Bull Racing Engines in Colchester. The rods are stock, the pistons are TRW +60 with premium rings and there’s a CHS 288/288-14H grind Bullet Racing Cam. Atop

Stromberg’s Rick Pearmain looks on as Matt removes the bolts that were used to secure the engine hoist straps. It’s always good to put those bolts in properly

Matt installed a T-Nut Link drive V-belt, which is easily adjusted for infinite engine applications. These are available from companies such as Fenner for around £60

Jacob installed a pair of Schoenfeld Sprint/ Dyno headers fitted with sensor ports in each tube that allow Knight to measure critical data such as air-fuel or exhaust gas temperature

Following the installation of the V-belt, the coolant hoses were connected between the block and that large, black coolant tank that acts as a radiator

20 CUSTOM CAR NOVEMBER 2026

Jacob hooked the collectors up to some flexible exhaust pipe. Note the 02-sensor mounted part way along the collector that measures the amount of unburned oxygen in the exhaust gases

For this test, Clive also wanted to test Stromberg’s new e-Fire drop-in electronic distributor, which was designed specifically with vacuum advance for small and big-block Chevys Right: Jacob installs and connects a generic coil that Knight supplied. Since this test, Stromberg has introduced its own E-Fire 1.5-ohm coil and old school coil bracket

As the engine had only been run for a few minutes on a stand at the shop, Peter ran it through the usual cam break-in procedure to warm it up for the real dyno pulls

Clive has also developed several multi-carb linkage kits, including progressive kits for his Tri-Power set-up. He also has linkage kits for 4x2 and 6x2 as well as 2x2 assemblies

Jacob previously filled the Moroso 22459 Race Oil filter with 15W50 Driven BR Break In mineral oil, which provides high levels of zinc and phosphorus for flat-tappet engines

Left: After the run-in, Clive (left) and Peter Knight went into the cell, just for a last look to make certain everything was good and there were no leaks before the first real pull

NOVEMBER 2026 CUSTOM CAR 21

Below: Best Run table, maybe done alongside it like Polaroids or something like that? At the end of the day, Peter added two more degrees (24 degrees static and 36 total), resulting in 368.6bhp at 5100rpm and 411.1lbf.ft of torque at 4500 rpm, with a real strong flat curve from around 3000rpm upwards

Peter used a paint marker pen to enhance the timing mark on the pulley, just to make timing easier. He set the static timing to an initial 22 degrees but later reset it to 24 degrees

After setting the static timing to an initial 22 degrees, Peter adjusted the e-FIRE distributor’s internal centrifugal advance mechanism to add just 10 more (crankshaft) degrees

the short block is a pair of Air Flow Research 180cc L98 street heads, the aforementioned Edelbrock intake and three BIG97s. It’s just your basic daily driver street engine – and it performed better than expected.

Summary In summary, the 383 made 368.6bhp at 5100rpm and 411.1lbf.ft of torque at 4500rpm. Clive and Peter were very happy with that, and it was in line with other BIG97 Tri-power dyno testing they have done. You may be wondering why max figures occurred at what are pretty low revs for a small-block Chevy with such good heads. That’s basically because those old dualplane 3x2 intakes run out of flow at around 5000rpm, due to the turbulence from all the twists and turns in the intake tracts. Yes, they could have made more from a big 4-bbl on a modern single plane intake, but Clive wanted a traditional Tri-Power in a useable road going hot rod (his project ’46 Coupe) – and that’s exactly what he got. Note: On a previous trip to Knight’s, they saw a hot 283 Chevy period race motor hit more than 430bhp with six new Stromberg 97s on an Edelbrock X1 intake. But that’s a story for another day…

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Game Warden n Words and Pics: Dave Biggadyke

At 9am on the first Thursday in August, the gates to Old Warden Park were thrown open to welcome NSRA members and their guests to the 35th staging of the Hot Rod Supernationals. It wasn’t a moment too soon, as many early bird arrivals were already queuing and chomping at the bit to set up camp and get on with enjoying every single minute of the next four days.

And there was plenty for them to enjoy, with the programme being packed with even more entertainment than ever before. Maybe too much for some as, with the main stage acts kicking off in early afternoon, it was impossible to take it all in. The choice of which acts to catch was extensive, from tributes to the likes of Pink, Ed Sheeran, Cher and Slade through to rock and roll and rockabilly, country

music and even Mariachi performers. The programme listed 16 different live acts and these were boosted by karaoke, an eating competition, rock ‘n’ roll bingo and the separate party tent venue offering a rock ‘n’ roll disco, a Northern Soul night and the Supernats party night. It’s exhausting just thinking about it. Thankfully, the massage and reflexology sessions, and Macmillan Cancer Support Bagged and bare-metalled ’46 Chevy pick-up had a for sale sign in the window. The asking price was £32k

The ‘Remembrance’ 100E. Wearing a coat of whitewash, the car was a canvas on which participants could write a message or simply the name of someone no longer with us. Almost every inch was covered by the end of the weekend

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Such was their enjoyment of the Fun Run on the Isle of Wight earlier this year, Steve and Lorraine Bond still displayed that they were there while cruising the Supernats site in their ’56 Chevy

The Supernats was the final leg of a US and European tour for Ulf Kajgård and Laila Gustavsson in their ’32 coupe. The adventure lasted around 18 months and covered more than 11,000 miles, and it was crowned with Ulf being presented with the Best in Show trophy

cream teas and cakes with treasurer Anne Owen, were of a more relaxing nature. There’s far more to the Supernats than what happens on the stage, of course, and this year the event excelled in every aspect. The big screen provided the backdrop, with participants sharing their snaps throughout the weekend for all to see. Hundreds of vehicles took part in Saturday’s cruise and a couple of tech talks took a more serious look at aspects of the NSRA and hot rodding in general. Young rodders were well looked after with movies, a weekend-long colouring competition, a kid’s party disco and a circus skills demonstration. The weather also did its bit and played a major role in making sure the entertainment factor was set at maximum all weekend. Pre-event, the main point of conjecture was the announcement of the introduction of a completely new judging format – and quite rightly so, perhaps. Us hot rodders are a fickle bunch in many ways. There is nothing we like better than being different but if change is imposed upon us, that’s a

Restored by Colin Wood, Fanta-C was originally built in the ‘70s using a ‘glass C-cab body, ’69 Ford running gear, a Zephyr rear axle and a V6 engine topped off with a dummy blower. The judges chose it as the recipient of the Survivor Award

Proudly displayed on the Hamilton Racing stand was this ’53 Mk1 Zodiac. Having owned the car for 20 years, Steve Bullock commissioned Michael Hamilton to complete the build. The 351 Cleveland-powered Pro Street car scooped the Engineering Excellence award

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“If Carlsberg did a car show, it would be the 2026 Supernationals” completely different scenario. Like many, I admit I was sceptical, and talking to the selected judges on the Saturday a number of them were as well. At the end of the day, though, we should have put our faith in the NSRA committee’s decision. The judging panel got it spot on… apart from interrupting a private photoshoot late Saturday afternoon, that is. But, and it’s a big but, there is still scope for a voted Participants’ Choice award alongside the new format. I’m sure the committee will get an ear-bashing at the AGM about it, so hopefully that one trophy will be reinstated. It is engraved (literally) in the event’s heritage, after all. One final note related to the judging is the slickness of the prizegiving. It too was spot on. Behind the scenes, I noticed Hannah and Glyn Thomas, and Coline Ayres, ensuring it ran smoothly, and I understand Lee Picton had a hand in it too. Thanks to all for that. On a personal note, although one shared by many others, there was one more thing eerily non-existent throughout the weekend.

That ‘voice’. John Price, we salute you and all you have contributed to hot rodding and drag racing for many years, After such a momentous weekend, it’s only right that we leave the closing words to NSRA Chair Trevor Gardiner. “Well, what can I say? What an amazing Supernationals. The committee arrived the weekend before and we all worked together to prepare the site for the Thursday morning opening. “There must have been 200-plus hotrodders waiting at the gate and they all happily greeted the morning gate crew as they swung into action and got everyone in as quickly as possible. Then a steady stream continued, the site filled up and the 2026 Supernationals was on. And the non-members arriving on Friday continued the trend. Four days of friends, new and old, enjoying the hot weather, varied music, a cruise and the Sunday show and shine. “A week flew by, and now it’s time to reflect on what the committee, blue crew and helpers have achieved. If Carlsberg did a car show, it would be the 2026 Supernationals.”

Tetanus, the heavily modified ’37 Cord 812 Winchester sedan, was just one of the Andy Saunders creations to be found at this year’s Supernats

Pub Shutters members were proudly wearing their new club T-shirts, First time for years that the Street Odyssey Pop has been seen at the Supernats, eh Lee?

Left: Ryan and Brett from the Oak Swamp YouTube channel brought along a couple of their builds, a pre-war hybrid Austin / Crosley single-seater race car and a ’37 Rover 10. The guys have since published a number of online videos from the weekend

Brian Sega cruising in his ‘60’s vibe small block-powered Model A. The coupe rolls on 12-spoke spindle mounts on the front and ali American Racing 5-spokes at the back, wearing Radir 31x10.5 whitewall slicks with hand-cut treads

The most impressive trade stand of the weekend was undoubtedly the pick-up corral created by the team from Essex-based Farm Fresh Garage

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Ian Burton is the current custodian of the ‘46 Ford Woodie built by the late Steve Fletcher, and even covered in campsite dust it looks as good as when it graced the cover of our September ’06 issue

Strippers

We pictured the ex-Jerry Denning ’32 roadster in our feature on Deuce Day, where it was the big winner. As if to prove new owner Jeff Willett is making full use of it, here’s a pic of it at the Supernats, this time without the roof

Organised by the Cannibals Car Club UK, Saturday’s midday cruise was a 32-mile trip through the countryside to the Mopar Euro Nationals at Santa Pod Raceway. Around 200 cars set off from Old Warden and, despite a few casualties along the way, most made it to the track. Gratis admission to the facility had been pre-arranged, as had privileged parking. Once parked up, cruisers were free to stay as long as they liked, taking in the track action and checking out the activity in the pits.

Pic: Steve Wilson Many will have missed the ‘27 Willys Whippet recently completed by Gareth Davies, as it was sold on the Friday. The running gear includes an MGB front end, Volvo rear and an MX5 1.8-litre engine with a 5-speed manual ‘box. It’s booked in for a full feature

Aptly pictured on the cruise, Dave Newman’s Rover 10 was selected as the recipient of the Driven not Hidden award. Check out our May ’20 issue for the full feature

One of the knockout cars of the show was Trevor Springall’s 2.5 litre Daimler hemipowered Fordson. The judges chose the van for the Commercial Crown award, Mid Surrey Roadsters picked it for the Tony Robinson Award and we’ve already lined it up for a full feature

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Buenas noches Unsurprisingly, Steve Cook’s Jaguar Atlantis caught the eye of the judges, who gave it a Special Award. Steve also collected the trophy for Shuttleworth Pick

Towards the front of the show field was a dedicated area for the display of vehicles owned by Under-29 members. The quality and variety was impressive

Among the Under-29 lineup was Chae Pinney’s Chevy pick-up, which was noticed by the judges who selected it for a Special Award. In the same line was the Next Generation (Under-29) awardwinning Model A pick-up of James Black

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At 8pm on Saturday, a group of Mexican impersonators gathered in the campsite. Without delay, they made their way past the Mansion House and furtively regrouped behind the stage while the Krazy Kat Trio finished the set they were playing. It was then time for the much-awaited Beato Burrito to step forward for a sound check. With the sound engineers happy, the aforementioned impersonators made their move and took over the stage. Yet more appeared, some with dogs, and staked their claim to the area in front of the dance floor. Thankfully, the occupation was shortlived and Beato Burrito returned to entertain the crowd in true Mariachi style

A suggestion by Callum Kennedy resulted in an informal gathering of most of the Willys on site, which produced quite a lineup. From left to right are Keith Killick’s ’38 coupe; Dave Spreadbury’s ’39 sedan; Brian Arliss’ ‘38 pick-up; Andy Crockett’s ’41 coupe; Paul Kennedy’s ‘33 coupe; Charlie Thornborough’s ’41 coupe; and Tracy Chantry’s Fat Rat 2. Also pictured on the far right is Ian Dawes, who imported three of the cars and is widely regarded as the guy who kick-started it all in the UK. Top-notch paint jobs, gleaming engine bays, racecar pedigree or a real deal body with bashedin roof and bullet holes – these cars had it all

“It’s exhausting just thinking about it”

Pic: Mark Woodhouse Model: Melanie Bond

Mark Barrett’s unique channelled ’37 Chevy pick-up graced the cover of our December ’23 issue. Power comes from a Chevy 383 stroker backed up by a TH350 transmission

Pic: Mark Woodhouse Model: Melanie Bond

Having sorted out a few minor issues, Russell Pepper brought along his recently acquired Buick-powered ’32 sedan

Mark Belcher’s 6.0 litre Chevy Vortec LS1-powered ’38 Chevy Master Sport Coupe rolls on 6x17inch and 8½x20-inch American Racing Salt Flat wheels

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The latest in the line of Ray White’s Pro Zephyrs is Lethal 3, a build that was appreciated by the judging panel as it was selected for a Special Award

Colin Parkinson’s swoopy ’33 roadster impressed the judges so much they awarded it the trophy for Best Street Rod Left: NSRA Chair Trevor Gardiner presents a Hall of Fame Induction Certificate to Keith Andrews, the only one of the most recent inductees able to attend. Keith was inducted in the Individual category in recognition of his lifelong contribution to hot rodding.

Left: The newly finished Volvo Amazon custom of Mick Anderson was a justified recipient of the Kustom King award

Dave Spreadbury’s ex-CC featured ’39 Willys sedan was among the list of trophy winners, having been selected as Best Hot Rod (pre-’49)

Graham Weekes collected a brace of awards for his Model A – Home Built Hero and Interior Excellence. The coupe is another feature we have in the pipeline

Thanks to an introduction from Tim Horsfall, I was privileged to take this shot of Jill, the widow of original builder Mickey Bray, alongside Pinball Wizard resplendent in its new paint

The Pop Festival attracted many variants of Ford UK’s finest. Pops, Anglias, 100Es, 300Es… the list went on

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An ecstatic Mia Smith was the lucky winner of the Away Resorts voucher in the Prize Draw Programme

Pic: Mark Woodhouse Model: Melanie Bond

Clive Hardy drives on to the dance floor to collect a Special Award for his multi-trophywinning chopped ’52 Chevy 3100 pick-up

We ran the feature on Garry Bennett’s hammered ’34 coupe in the June ’22 issue. Dominating the front profile is a GMC 6-71 blower bolted to the 30 thou over 354ci Chrysler Hemi Alison Milward presents a Special Award to Pete Harris for the legendary Pinball Wizard Ford Pop

Another double trophy winner was Jason Hinson, who scooped Paint Perfection and the ClassicLine Insurance Award with his Chevy C10 pick-up Right: A smiling Andy Crockett receiving the Engine Bay Elite trophy for his blown big blockmotored ’41 Willys coupe

It was a special moment when Alan Martin presented the Pop Festival Choice award to Julie Armstrong

Clive Hardy drives on to the dance floor to collect a Special Award for his multi-trophywinning chopped ’52 Chevy 3100 pick-up

The trophy for the Best Tot Rod went to 6-year-old Albie Birchall. Walking behind is grandad Michael Shepherd, who built the incredible pick-up with its scaled-down blown Hemi. The attention to detail throughout the build is outstanding

Ladies and gentlemen, the NSRA Committee of 2026

The famous five, or should that be the infamous five? The judging panel fLeft: rom left to right comprised Johnny Morris, Nick Butler, Andy Thatcher, Phil ‘Ginner’ Middleton and Ben Montgomery

There’s no doubting the judging panel did a great job. Hats off to them

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Pic: Julian Hunt

SLIGHTLY AWKWARD Rebuilding a 1950’s hot rod without introducing a 2020’s aesthetic is a tough gig to pull off, but Richard James’ ’34 walks the line perfectly Words: Mike Pye Pics: Alan Kidd

s it is with old race cars, restoring an old hot rod is a tricky business. They all evolved over the years, so you just have to pick a moment in time and stick to it. But when you’re talking about a 1930s’ car that was hot rodded in the 1950s, an awful lot of water has passed under the bridge. Where a car was built with a gas axe and a stick welder, today we have plasma cutters and TIG welders. Chassis crossmembers made from thin-wall tube and Dexion don’t cut it any more, while speed parts that were once commonplace have since become unobtanium. If you’re fortunate enough to dig up an old picture of a car you’re restoring, then you at least have a reference point. But sometimes that can add to the confusion. It’s a delicate balancing act. With respect, Richard James’ ’34 is not a ‘known’ car. It’s from the east coast for a start, which automatically means it had less chance of being picked up for a magazine feature than those built on the west coast, where almost all the magazines of the day were based. But it is undoubtedly a historic hot rod; thought to have been built in the early 1950s, occasionally raced, perhaps even shown at some point. It’s an intriguing one, for sure, and we’ll return to why shortly.

Nelson’s conduit

“A guy called Rick Nelson saw a picture I posted on Facebook of the car and recognised it,” Richard tells us. “He’s in his 80s now but in the early ’60s he lived down the road from Dick Hobbs in Maryland, who at the time owned the ’34, and they became good friends. Rick was able to tell me a bit more about the car and has been

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emailing all sorts of people on my behalf, so some more of its history might still come to light.” Rick kept the car for many years, taking it with him when he moved his family to California, but eventually sold it to hot rod and custom bike builder Dan Collins at Old Gold Garage Company in Ventura, CA, in around 2012. Next in line was our old friend Steve Neimantas, who bought the car from Dan in 2014 and shipped it to the UK. He started collecting parts to rebuild it but then had a change of heart and Richard bought it in February of 2017. Why this car in particular? “I’d just always wanted a ’34. It’s sort of my ultimate hot rod. It was basically a sitting car, engine hung in it, rolling, but it was utterly fucked. I suppose its biggest selling point was that I could afford it,” Richard laughs. On the plus side, it was an original ’34 Ford hot rod, UK registered, and came with a very early 331 Chrysler Hemi, LaSalle transmission (which has proved to be the bane of Richard’s life ever since) and a bunch of valuable spares. Work didn’t start on it for a couple of years but eventually, it made its way round a Gloucestershire bend into Pete Ayres’ workshop. That’s when the true reality (read: horror) of what he’d bought very quickly became apparent. “The body was leaded to the frame in places, there was no floor, the cruciform in the chassis had all been cut out and what passed for crossmembers were made from gas pipe and Dexion,” Richard recalls. “It was inevitable I was going to end up going to town on it, as that’s just how I like doing things, but God almighty it was a lot of work.”

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“My feeling is the body was a much nicer level of build than the racecar it ended up as”

Reverse gear

Before any of the structural issues were addressed, Richard bought himself a set of old chrome reverse and a pair of cheater slicks. There’s nothing like having the wheels and tyres for a project in stock to keep your spirits up. Asked how he decided how far to go with the car, Richard was refreshingly honest: “I wanted to keep as much of the car’s history as I could. But I wanted it to be the sort of ultimate… [pause] background car. Something you’d see in the background of a shot of the 554 car or something. You know, one of those really nice cars that didn’t receive the same sort of press. It all got a bit carried way, but I think I stuck to that idea.” Once the body had been prised off, Pete stripped the chassis down to two bare frame rails, which turned out to be bent and needed straightening, and built it back up from

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there. The rear crossmember is essentially Model A, but heavily modified and sited so the rear wheels play nicely with the body. A new cruciform structure was fabricated from scratch but mounted an inch and half lower than stock. Richard wanted initially to run the car with a full bonnet and no bulge, so the engine was moved back significantly and now sits on a combination of original Hurst Hemi engine mount adapters and Pete-made motor mounts. The suspension has been vastly improved, though the ’32 heavy axle was retained. The split bones are now a combination of Model A and original ’34 front yokes, bolted up to the old mounts, relocated. In place of the brutalist, welded L-section trailing arms at the back, Pete made some new ladder bars, and even the pattern of the drilled holes in the webbing is considered. “I saw this Lea Francis racing car and everything was drilled

in the style I used on my car – one big hole, with four smaller holes around it.” Where once there was a ’34 Ford steering box, now there’s an early F-100 box, again moved back to work with the driving position and the exhaust headers.

Fever dream

Talking of which, here’s another nuts detail: not wanting to run modern silencers, Richard took a leaf out of the pre-war Rolls-Royce playbook and demanded 2mm wall thickness mild steel be used in their construction. Oh, and he wanted the pipes sand bent, not fabricated. “It’s a trick RollsRoyce used to keep their cars quiet, so I thought it would take the edge off things. It didn’t,” he laughs. The side exit pipes, cut up into the body, aren’t how the car ever ran in period but have become one of its defining features under

1951 was the first year of production for Chrysler’s legendary Hemi. Though a stock 331 FirePower only made about 180bhp stock, it set in motion a chain of events that ultimately led to the mighty 426. This one had an Isky cam, Jahns pistons, ali flywheel and zoomie headers when Richard got the car, but needed a full rebuild. It now has an Eagle crank, Ross 10:1 pistons, Molnar forged rods, Isky B777 solid tappet cam and is fired by the same old Mallory Magspark ignition. The heads are from a later 354 and were heavily ported by a Mini specialist local to Richard before going back on. The only thing left to sort now is the induction system Left: In the period race shot Richard has of the car, the same 331 is wearing a six-carb log manifold, and Richard has a Weiand Drag Star with six Strombergs. But he knows that will likely cause him headaches, so his preference to replace the modern 750 Holley is a rare Edmunds dual quad manifold with early Corvette WCFBs that came off a Kurtis race car. It’s far from a bolt-on fit, but we have faith in Richard making it work

Richard’s stewardship, inspired by an image of an old Bonneville racer with its exhaust exiting through the cowl. “Yeah, that was another fever dream that someone probably should have stopped me on.” Returning to that comment we made earlier about the intriguing history, Richard expands: “There was lead over some of the original gas welds on the chassis, so at this point I’m pretty convinced it was a really nice street rod at one stage, with a Flathead. For a car built in the early ’50s, the chop is pretty good, all the door shuts were leaded and done nicely, there’s a leaded aerial hole and the rear wheelarches had bits of fender leaded into the body. We sort of replicated that idea but tidied it up a bit, with a little flick Beany [Adrian Smith at Buckland Automotive] made added to them. “My feeling is the body was a much nicer level of build than the racecar it ended up as.”

Despite Richard and Pete’s Rolls-Royce efforts to quieten things down, the exhaust registered 111dB at idle, so a set of Harley baffles were added. It still sounds like a fighter plane taking off

The car’s low slung stance necessitated the grille shell be sectioned 2½ inches (by Pete Ayres) for ground clearance, before it was rechromed by S&T Electroplate in Yate. Genuine Moon tank sits behind it, though the motor mainlines from the boot. Note the random hole pattern in the ’40 Ford backing plates. Again, kept as part of the car’s history

The fuel tank in the boot has been colour matched to the noxious green aircraft paint on the steering column supports. You need a licence to use the stuff but, by all accounts it’s good shit. Fuel filler cap is Bentley Mark VI, while all the fasteners on the car are imperial, mostly aircraft grade

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The Build

2. 1. Here’s what the chassis looked like when the body was removed. Rough would be one word for it. Bent is another

4. Back on its wheels, with the engine mounted, F-100 steering box in place and troublesome exhausts fabricated. Note the lengthy cast-in bellhousing on the 1951 vintage Hemi, which now sits with about a nine inch setback

Pete Ayres put an awful lot of work in between that first shot and here, stripping the whole thing down to its component parts, straightening the main rails and then fabricating the new centre crossmember, ladder bars and a whole lot more

New floors and rear crossmember, which uses a Model A centre section. Note the new Winters quickchange replacing the old ’50 Packard axle

First fit of body back on the rebuilt chassis. Although all new body mounts had to be made, the positioning and attitude to the frame was kept the same

Working out the seating position and controls. The floor is recessed into the chassis and the seat pans are lower than the forward sections

Left: Richard rebuilt the 331 Hemi himself, but not before…

…the 354 heads that came on it were given a thorough port and polish job by a local Mini engine builder

10.

9. With fresh candy red paint on the chassis, some newly chromed parts and a garage built at home, Richard could start on re-assembly

The not so good bits included the truck rim cut in half for a scatter shield, the ’50 Packard back axle (one of Dick’s family was heavily into the marque), the full floating bearing conversion that had been done to the motor and the LaSalle transmission.

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Pic: Steve Russell Photography

Though the Hilborn mechanical injection will likely never be used on this car, it sure makes for a pretty picture at the build-up stage

Because, old car

There were certain things Richard didn’t want to touch because, old car. He could have made his life a great deal easier by changing tha confounded LaSalle trans’, for example, but didn’t as he feels it’s part

of the car. Likewise, the chop, frameon-frame kick-up and oddly drilled ’40 Ford backing plates. Though the body was remarkably solid and was prepped extensively before paint, there are still dents, extra holes and old chrome on the

windscreen frame. He wanted to keep all that, to retain some of the car’s soul. Talking of paint, this bit made me smile: “I bought the front wheels; they’re early Merc, or early F-100, 15 x 5s, so they look like ’40 Ford wheels but they’re 15-inch. They had this really thick old paint on them, so I just polished them, had the paint colour matched and that’s the colour of the car. “I’m revealing my slightly weird, obsessive personality there, but I quite like the fact the whole car is painted to match some old steel wheels.” While we’re on the obsessive thing, have a look at all the fasteners on the car when you next see it. It’s all old imperial stuff, mostly zinc-plated, fillister-head, drilled for lock wires, bought from an aircraft supply store in the States. Similarly, all the brake line clips are new old stock, cad-plated, Air Ministry parts held on by 2BA (British Association) thread screws. “It makes me happy there’s no metric on the car. Most people just look at me like I’m mad. With good reason.” Despite all the obvious efforts to retain parts and only fit items that could have been used in period, there were certain things Richard also wanted. One of those was a quickchange back axle. Weighing up the cost

Pace Frith made a fantastic job of the lettering, replicating what was on the car in period on the doors and adding this nod to Richard’s occupation on the boot lid. The ‘awkward’ flames are hand painted. “It was just a different aesthetic back then,” says Richard, “and that’s what I’ve tried to capture with the rebuild”

5.60-15 Pro Tracs sit on old-paint Mercury 15 x 5-inch rims. Richard liked the colour of them, so had the paint for the car matched to it. For reference, the rear tyres are 9.00-15 BFGoodrich one-inch whitebands on old chrome reverse

With the plan being to run the car at Pendine, its old gas pipe roll hoop would never do. So Pete bent up a new one. Trouble was, the revised seating position meant there was no headroom, so the answer was to stick it through the roof, with a quiff vent to cover it

“The idea is it’s the details, rather than any one piece doing the work”

The chop is approximately four inches, with the A-posts left at their stock angle and the roof extended, giving the car a definite 1950’s hot rod profile. Or, as Richard puts it, “a slightly awkward vibe”

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Memory lane

The grainy image at the top is the only picture Richard has so far of the car racing. Compare it to the ‘now’ pic and you’ll see some fundamental changes, notably the engine set back and the relationship of the rear wheels to the radiused wheelarchesMemory 3: And here’s how it looked on the day it arrived at Richard’s workshop, having been through a couple of hands after Dick finally decided to sell it. Note the funky ’arch extensions

Rarely do we get the opportunity to hear from someone who knew a historic hot rod in period but, through a wonderful quirk of fate, an old pal of Dick Hobbs, Rick Nelson, recognised Richard’s ’34 from a picture he posted on Facebook and got in touch. We’re delighted to be able to share with you some of his recollections, as told to Richard: “Dick and I were neighbours in Takoma Park, Maryland. He was a few years older and we didn’t get together much until probably around 1960, when he owned Hobbs City Line Sunoco and I purchased a basket case ‘32 Ford roadster with a yet to be assembled 400ci Caddy and LaSalle ’box that I had no business buying. But Dick ‘took me in’ and taught me what I could do, and then helped or did the rest, while I ‘paid’ him by pumping gas and doing oil changes. “At that time, in the early ’60s, Dick had your chopped ’34, looking very much the way you’ve restored it now, just with a different carburation system and slicks. It was not registered for the street. He also had a channelled ’36 pick-up service vehicle and an

of buying and working with a fragile original piece against a new Winters unit, the latter won out. On top of all this, he had to teach himself about early Hemis in order to rebuild the 331 that has been in the car for most of its life. That was an experience in itself. And one that continues to give.

Early Ford buffers will no doubt have spotted the dash is a commercial version, chosen for its flatter bottom to better suit a new steering column arrangement which uses aircraft aileron supports and a lot of Pete Ayres’ handiwork.Gauges are all flat-face Stewart Warners, with an NOS mechanical tach on the column that has been converted to electronic

There’s so much excellent detail in the cabin, we’ll just let you study the pictures and take it all in. We will however draw your attention to the vintage Maserati race car buckets, chromed roll hoop and diamond stitched panels, inspired by a vintage Deist fire suit

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Artistic licence

The one area of the car Richard didn’t have to teach himself about was the interior. He is an accomplished automotive trimmer, after all. Except rather than stitch up a pair of period looking seats himself, he bought a pair of (allegedly) 1950s / ’60s Maserati race car buckets from eBay and had Pete mount them in exactly the right place for a comfortable driving position. He did, however, allow himself a bit of artistic licence when it came to the silver diamond stitch that covers various parts of the cabin. It took some effort finding the appropriate material, and Temu came to his rescue in the end, but he wanted something that looked like an old Deist fire suit. That’ll do. Further carefully considered interior details include vintage lap belts, flat-faced Stewart Warner gauges, Bugatti fuse boxes, aileron control rods for steering column supports, aircraft circuit breakers, Schroeder steering wheel and quick release hub, replica

This one, believed to have been taken some time in the 1990s, shows how the car was stored for decades at Dick Hobbs’ place in California

unchopped ‘33 3W with an overhead Buick and 3 or 4 on the floor that he drove most every day. All three cars were painted white. “In 1965, a movie company approached Dick about providing some cars for a movie being made entitled Hot Rod Hullabaloo. Dick built a Pontiac frontengined dragster that blew up in the movie as it went over a cliff. He also supplied the ’34 for a run or two down the 1/8th mile track in Manassas, VA. I never saw the movie, but I understand the ‘32 and ‘33 were also used in some shots. So, know that you also have a ‘movie car’!

Ansen swing pedals, Delco rear view mirror and an enthusiastic wash of chrome. “The idea is it’s the details, rather than any one piece doing the work, if that makes sense?” That line pretty much sums up Richard’s approach to this car. Yes, it’s an old hot rod, so it’s a restoration – of sorts – but he’s brought his own art to the party. And known when to stop, too. “You can have brilliant ideas with a car like this, but they’re not necessarily the right ideas. There are still a

The body is channelled the depth of the chassis at the firewall, and there’s a frameon-frame kick up at the rear, strengthened with ¼-inch chequer plate wrapped round the joints, which Richard was adamant should be reinstated during the rebuild

“Maybe around 1966 or so, Sunoco wanted to rebuild Hobbs City Line Sunoco and told Dick he could continue in the station after he vacated it for demolition and rebuilding. Dick was married to Joyce by then and had six kids, so they decided not to wait for the new station but to move to California. Before he left, he sold both the ‘33 and ‘34 coupes…” Things get a little confusing here as it seems the deals on the cars didn’t all work out, resulting in Dick keeping the ‘34. Fast forward almost 50 years… “I spoke with Dick in August 2012 and he told me he’d sold your ’34 to Dan Collins in Ventura, CA. I dropped a note to Dan and he responded saying he’d bought the car from Dick but had to then sell it to buy some land. He went on to say he sold the car to a guy in England and then it changed hands to the current owner, who spent years getting it to what it is now… I’m very happy that he honoured its history.’ “From the pictures I’ve seen of how you’ve restored the car, it’s very similar to the

And here’s how it looked on the day it arrived at Richard’s workshop, having been through a couple of hands after Dick finally decided to sell it. Note the funky ’arch extensions

If you think it didn’t look too bad, this shot of the interior might convince you otherwise. The chassis was in a bit of a state

original. Nice job! As I recall, the only thing missing from the current lettering job is the word Sunoco. I don’t recall the exhaust coming out behind the doors, but that may be a failure of my memory. “Finally – and believe me, I’m not criticising Dick as, to my recollection, his workmanship never missed the mark – I’m not sure if he originally built the car as he had it when I first started working with him. I don’t recall him doing much, if any, modifications to it while I was there for a few

years. If he didn’t build the ’34, I’m not sure who did, or if I ever knew. Later, after a few more back and forth emails between Richard and Rick, Rick was moved to comment: “Now you’ve got me smiling even more. I had no idea the amount of restoration and modification that little 5W underwent. Great choices, and an even greater result. Clearly you achieved your goal of keeping the overall spirit and look of the car. Neat also that you have it tagged for street use.”

few things I’d like to do and, if I can win the fight with the gearbox, I’ll treat myself to another area of pain and suffering.” Maybe, he says, that will happen this winter. As it is, then, for now the finishing touch was the flames on the bonnet. As Carl Frith’s Alchemist ’34 coupe was the car that made Richard want a ’34 in the first place, when it came to adding the all-important lettering Carl’s son Pace (who studied under Neil Melliard but has

developed a distinctive style of his own) was the obvious man to call. “It’s that awkward aesthetic again, isn’t it?” says Richard. “It took a while to get Pace to understand how I wanted the flames to look. It had to be right, not perfect, like somebody did it as a favour, and he got that.” So they’re hand painted, not sprayed, and slightly clumsy, and that’s entirely the point. “None of it is perfect, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s just an old hot rod.”

Yes, it’s been rebuilt from the ground up, and a whole lot of stuff has been improved along the way. But Richard – with help from a select few very talented individuals – has managed to tread that wobbly tightrope between restoration and preservation with aplomb. There’s no doubt it’s a lot better built now, but none of that takes away from what it was – a slightly awkward, early to mid1950s East Coast street rod turned race car. It’s a bit special, though, isn’t it? CC

“None of it is perfect but it doesn’t need to be. It’s just an old hot rod”

NOVEMBER 2026 CUSTOM CAR 41

Untitled-1 1

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5:20:33

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Turn back time n Words: Dave Biggadyke n Pics: AF Photography

Over the Independence Day weekend, 3-5 July, Deenethorpe Airfield near Corby, Northants, once again took a step back in time when it played host to MPH Drags. Organised by Chris Caine and Sid Newbon, this was the fourth staging of the increasingly

popular nostalgia racing and lifestyle weekend event. With on-site camping, clean showers and proper toilets, it’s a welcoming place. Live music came from Blasting Caps and Hicksville Bombers on Friday, with Moonlight Sirens and Craig Shaw and the Excellos following

them up on Saturday. In between the live sets DJs Strop and Raye Newe spun the tunes to keep the atmosphere flowing. Racing took place on both Saturday and Sunday, with the full allocation of 100 racer tickets being sold out in advance. As always, the action took place over an eighth-mile

Chris Taylor in his Supernats winning 3WC, proving there’s far more to hot rodding than picking up silverware Mark Gee in his real deal 3-window Deuce coupe

John Kellett is a regular runner at vintage sprint events in his Model B roadster

A close pairing of Richard Rimmer in the roadster and Chad Pearson in the chopped coupe Rudy Persy travelled from Belgium to run his English-bodied Deuce Tudor

Ricky Dunn’s chopped Model A sedan runs as well on sand as on tarmac

44 CUSTOM CAR NOVEMBER 2026

“Heads-up racing the way it used to be”

MPH Drags co-organiser Chris Caine owns this cooler than a polar bear’s toenails ’32 roadster

Darren Straker was the winner of the Originals 32 Car Shootout in Muttley, his fenderless Pop, bagging him the trophy presented by the Originals Car Club

strip with flag marshal starts. It was old school, with no fancy timing lights, just heads-up racing the way it used to be. A dedicated show area, traders and caterers supported the track action and, as has become the norm of late, the weather more than played its part. Roll on MPH Drags #5.

Mal Stein was running strong in his chopped Deuce coupe, and making full use of the exhaust cut outs while he was at it

Passenger posing when hitching a ride in Steve Newey’s Flatheadpowered pick-up

A Wild Bunch pairing of Gavin Meanley in the Charles Bang Special and Pete Ayres in the Charlie Banger

Andy Park was running his Model A coupe. His subtle racecar, if there can be such a thing

Drew Ramsay has the jump on Chris Peters’ heavily channelled Model A coupe

When it comes to car production, five years can make a significant difference. Here’s Dan Parker running his ’39 Ford sedan against Simon Phillips in his ’34 coupe

NOVEMBER 2026 CUSTOM CAR 45

Beverley Tyrell smokes the ’32 roadster’s tyres away from the startline

Flying the flag and adding the drag. Well, it was 4 July. Steve Newport-Hall in his Flathead-powered ’32 Ford phaeton

As with many nostalgia sprint events, flag starts play a major part in MPH Drags. It adds to the spectacle and the atmosphere, and the ladies entrusted to take on the role certainly put everything into it

While the dedicated show area undoubtedly had the largest assembly of vehicles of all descriptions, it wasn’t exclusive. A walk around the pits and campsite turned up some equally impressive machinery, whatever time of day it was

46 CUSTOM CAR NOVEMBER 2026

38506

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CL SE

To ch

1 R C

Di Ad

I tig &

CL &

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CTJ3000GB 020113032 Model CTJ2250LP* CTJ3000GB CTJ2QLP

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Built for tough daily use Full steel frame

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IG2300 010612302 Fuel Runtime Tank @ 3/4 load Weight KG 10L 8 hrs 22 2L 2.8 hrs 13.4 5.6L 5 hrs 20 5.6L 6.25 hrs 21 10L 6.25 hrs 52.8 26L 8.25 hrs 114

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Air Disp. 7cfm 7cfm 16.9cfm

Dims LxWxh 3.6x3.6x2.5m 4.5x3x2.4m 4.9x3.7x2.5m 6.1x3x2.4m 6.1x3.7x2.5m 7.3x3.7x2.5m 9.7x4.3x3.65m 12x4.9x4.3m

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275

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145 Bar 2100 PSI

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Tank Model Cap. CW2D 10Ltrs CW1D 45Ltrs CWM20 22.5Ltrs CW40 75Ltrs

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BARNSLEY, S71 1HA BIRMINGHAM, GT. BARR, B43 6NR BIRMINGHAM HAY MILLS, B25 8DA BOLTON, BL3 6BD BRADFORD, BD1 3BN BRISTOL, BS5 9JJ BURTON, DE14 3QZ CAMBRIDGE, CB4 3HL CARDIFF, CF24 3DN CARLISLE, CA1 2LG CHELTENHAM, GL52 2EH CHESTER, CH1 3EY COLCHESTER, CO1 1RE COVENTRY, CV1 1HT CROYDON, CR2 6EU DARLINGTON, DL1 1RB

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2 2Ah

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CES680F 020110122

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Model Capacity CES340 340kg CES450 450kg CES560 560kg CES680F* 680kg

inc.VAT £95.98 £142.80

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CLARKE ENGINE CLARKE 18V ½" STANDS IMPACT WRENCH

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MM3 Custom Car 275x200 pg3.indd 1

09/09/2026 10:16

Bonneville Speed Week 2026

SoCal T Diaries

Former Custom Car editor Tony Thacker lives in California these days, and this month he’s been out there getting baked on the salt

Wrapped in its protective reflective foil cover, the JCB Hydromax looked like a giant hot dog surrounded by a sea of mustard-clad minions. A 368.347mph pass was none too shabby and it went on to set a new FIA world record of 406.32

he 78th running of the annual Bonneville Speed Week was a weird one. Temperatures, like the rest of the world, were high – 45 degrees on the start line, where Brit Geoff Stilwell waited eight hours for his first run (and he wasn’t alone). The salt was as thin as I have ever seen it, appearing about a quarter of an inch thick. Entries were low, at a little more than 200 – down from the highs of around 500 in the mid 2000s. And the Nugget car show, which is usually a highlight, was moved and failed. Nevertheless, Brits made the pilgrimage in good numbers both to spectate and to participate. Geoff, of course, was there with the 7707 Red Line Oil Land Speed Roadster and ran a strong 282mph out of the box. Harry Hunt was there in a Mitsubishi, Bill Cleyndert was there in his Modified Roadster and Neil Campbell was there on a bicycle. The big news, of course, was the arrival of the JCB Hydromax, with Wing Commander Andy Green OBE, the world’s fastest man, doing the driving. Like their previous 350mph Dieselmax effort in 2006, the Hydromax was top shelf and within a few shakedown runs Andy had pushed the hydrogen-powered streamliner to 368.347 mph. The JCB team of 45 then stayed on the salt to establish a new FIA world record. A first run of 400.623mph was good and a second of 412.135 was even better, and the average of 406.32mph now stands as the fastest a vehicle burning hydrogen in an internal combustion engine has ever travelled.

Twenty years after he raced the 350.092mph JCB Dieselmax, the World’s Fastest Man Wing Commander Andy Green OBE (763.035mph) concentrates on the target

Originally built by Jeff Brock, the 136.173mph ’52 Buick Super Riviera Bombshell Betty is now raced by Danielle Cash and the Utah Valley University automotive technology programme

The Strasburg Wolfe group campaigned this amazing AA/ Blown Fuel lakester and Mike Strasburg managed a top speed of 382.528mph before launching the screw blower

This beautiful Model A-based D/Blown Fuel Roadster was campaigned by the Bass, DeRuvo and Eshenbaugh team. With Brian Bass driving, they qualified at 252.34 and set the record at 247.345mph

Below: Respected Brit rally driver Harry Hunt was behind the wheel of this Team Ikuzawa Mitsubishi this year, but the best he managed before mechanical gremlins put him out was 178.138mph

With soaring gas prices and record temps, there seemed to be a lot less frolicking on the salt his year. Nevertheless, these two young dudes appeared to be having buckets of fun in their roadster

Brit Geoff Stilwell came to bump his 289mph record but despite a valiant effort, suffered an un-fixable mechanical problem that put him on the trailer after a 282mph out-of-thebox run Left: It’s gonna get rusty after a few days on the salt, so you might as well go on rusty. In the foreground, that Hemi-powered chopped Model A says all you need to say about a salt flats fanmobile

50 CUSTOM CAR NOVEMBER 2026

Now billed as the World’s Fastest 750cc Suzuki GSXR-powered Blown Modified GT Almquist Sabre, the Sabre Racing entry was driven by Tom Kubiniec to a top speed of 189.267mph

The salt was damp and a bit sticky this year (sometimes it’s dry, sometimes it’s wet), all the more reason not to take these kandy kolored koupes out on the lakebed

My favourite America’s Most Beautiful Roadster entry of all time must be Stanley Chavik’s blown Ardun powered Deuce that he just drives the snot our of and never mind the salt

Scuffed is a bare metal finish that some people like and on this big-block Chevypowered chopped Model A coupe it seemed to work well – especially with the addition of a lick o’ flames

The Rolling Bones never disappoint, and nor did this new 3-window. Bones owner Keith Cornell also ran a Deuce Roadster in the C/American Iron Roadster class with a top speed of 193.678mph

My kind of hot rod is something you can take on the salt and not worry about rust, hence this banger-powered ’27 T tub with a Deuce grille and a suicide front end

There purely to tech and not to run was Doug Herbert, with his twin-Viper powered streamliner and a 500-mph goal. Doug was the first driver to run over 300mph during NHRA eliminations

I love these Torino Talladegas and Larry Wilson’s C/Unblown Fuel Altered Coupe is one of the coolest and fastest with a speed of 232.143 and an exit speed of 234.532mph

Best piece of book advertising ever is Jim Lindsay’s 185mph flattie-powered Blown Fuel Lakester, with ads for his books The Little Bastards and The Sniper. Photo by Mitzi Valenzula

Pretty much everything on the salt is for sale, including this Deuce C/Street Roadster called Impatient Bastard. It’s (for now) owned and driven by Tom Hill, who went 186.926 on a licensing pass

Fastest man of the meet and winner of the Annual Hot Rod Magazine Trophy was Danny Thompson, driving the Don Ferguson Racing A/Fuel Streamliner, with a speed of 396.949mph

Brit Bill Cleyndert from Dereham sadly had some engine issues with his C/Gas Rear Engine Modified Roadster but nevertheless managed a strong 233.080mph

Just before we arrived, Guinness World Record Holder (at 175.89mph) Brit Neil Campbell attempted to set a new pushbike slipstream record of 200mph. The truck was not quite fast enough, but he’ll be back. Photo by Anthony Brown

NOVEMBER 2026 CUSTOM CAR 51

BRENTACRE CUSTOM CAR & HOT ROD INSURANCE

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 editorial@pistonpublications.co.uk

SEPTEMBER 2026 25-27 National Finals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 26 All American Cruise In Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 26 Drag’n’Drift Dakota Raceway, Smeatharpe Airfield, Devon. www.straightliners.events 26-27 Sywell Classic: Pistons and Props Sywell Aerodrome, Northants www.sywellclassic.co.uk 27 American, Rod and Custom Show Fort Paull, Hull. yancs1@yahoo.co.uk 27 The Drink Hot Rod Meet The Artisan, Tring Facebook: The Drink Hot Rod Meets

28 The Station Wheels Wisbech St Mary Cambs. Facebook: Wisbech St Mary Station Bar Restaurant

OCTOBER 2026

18 Breakfast with the Reapers Boar Inn, Moddershall, Staffs 07928 214543 / 07976 655636

3-4 Firework Finale Melbourne Raceway. www.straightliners.events

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

4 Sunday Breakfast Hop Barley Farm, Eccles, Manchester Facebook: Breakfast Hop

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

4 Victory Wheelers Hayling Sunset Hayling Island. www.facebook. com/groups/VictoryWheelers

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

5 Full Throttle Monday Elvington Airfield, West Yorkshire www.straightliners.events 6 Hayling Hot Rods at the Beach. Hayling Island Seafront, Hampshire. Facebook: Hayling Hotrods at the Beach 7 Hot Rod Night Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 10-11 King of the South Manston Raceway Park, Kent www.manstonracewaypark.com 11 Restoration Show and Spares Market Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire. restoration-show.co.uk

52 CUSTOM CAR NOVEMBER 2026

17 Spur Gear Car and Bike Meet The Spur, Slindon, West Sussex Facebook: Spur Gear Car and Bike Meets

25 Newbury American Auto Jumble Woodside Farm, Newbury. Facebook: Newbury American Auto Jumble 25 Straightliners Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 31 All American Cruise In Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 31 Flame and Thunder Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 31 Whitby Kustom West Cliff School, Whitby. Facebook: Paul Kustom 31-1 Nov Halloween Fancy Dress Special Manston Raceway Park, Kent www.manstonracewaypark.com

NOVEMBER 2026

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

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

28 Cold Turkey Run Cromer, Norfolk, Facebook: Bod Here

8 Sunday Breakfast Hop Barley Farm, Eccles, Manchester Facebook: Breakfast Hop

FEBRUARY 2027

15 Breakfast with the Reapers Boar Inn, Moddershall, Staffs 07928 214543 / 07976 655636

19-21 Race Retro Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire. www.raceretro.com

MARCH 2027

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

19-21 Classic Car and Restoration Show NEC, Birmingham. www.necrestorationshow.com

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

26 Wheels Day Newbury Showground, Berkshire www.surreystreetrodders.com

21 British Drag Racing Hall of Fame Gala and Awards Dinner Chesford Grange Hotel, Kenilworth, Coventry www.britishdragracinghof.co.uk 28 All American Cruise In Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com

DECEMBER 2026 2 Hot Rod Night Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 13 Sunday Breakfast Hop Barley Farm, Eccles, Manchester Facebook: Breakfast Hop 15 VW Air-Cooled Night Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 20 Krispy Kreme Cruise Krispy Kreme, Shannon Corner, New Malden. Facebook: Krispy Kreme Cruise Surrey

APRIL 2027 11 Kickback Show Three Counties Showground, Malvern www.kickbackshow.com 30-3 May River Run Croft & District WMC, Darlington Facebook: North East Rod & Custom

MAY 2027 15-16 Duchy Ford Show Watergate Bay Touring Park, Newquay www.duchyfordclub.co.uk

JUNE 2027 10-13 Hot Rods and Hills Park Foot Holiday Park, Ullswater www.parkfootullswater.co.uk

20 BHP Fuel Fest Westpoint Arena, Exeter, Devon. bhpshows.com

JULY 2027 15-12 Goodwood Festival of Speed Goodwood Estate, West Sussex. www.goodwood.com 16-18 Rock ‘n’ Ribs Festival Bath and West Showground, Somerset. www.rocknribsfestival.co.uk 18 Deuce Day British Motor Museum, Gaydon, Warwickshire Facebook: Deuces of Britain 23-25 Bug Jam Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

AUGUST 2027 5-8 NSRA Hot Rod Supernationals Old Warden, Bedfordshire. www.nsra. org.uk

SEPTEMBER 2027 17-21 Isle of Man Festival of Motoring www.iomfm.com

AUGUST 2028 TBC European Street Rod Nationals Old Warden, Bedfordshire. www.esra-rod.euk

NOVEMBER 2026 CUSTOM CAR 53

Out & About

Independence Days

Words and pics: James Webber Event: American Car Show Date: 3-5 July 2026 Venue: Cofton Holiday Park, Dawlish Independence Day was a big one this year, as the 4th of July marked the 250th anniversary of the momentous event. And Cofton Holiday Park hosted its annual American Car Show over the weekend of 3-5 July to make it an even more special weekend. With a lengthy spell of glorious sunshine in full swing, many people took the opportunity to head up earlier and make a long week away with friends and club members. Officially, though, the show started on Friday evening with entertainment provided by Cofton Live and Glen Darren and The Krew Cats. Saturday saw the annual cruise leave the venue at 10am, albeit with a slight change this year. Instead of driving and parking up at Dawlish Warren, the cruise left the camp site and headed for the local seaside town of Teignmouth before heading back through Dawlish. More than 100 cars went out on the cruise, with members of the public waiting outside waving flags and cheering. A few of the police cars put on their twos and blues, as is tradition, with horns being blasted along the way. The entertainment kicked off at 1pm with Scott McGowan followed by a dog show at 3pm, then from 7pm some real American music began: first line dancing, then Neil

54 CUSTOM CAR NOVEMBER 2026

Diamond and Elvis tributes before a big firework display. Sunday was the official show and shine day, with American car and hot rod owners arriving early to get their pride and joy polished up and ready for a great day of Americana. Around 150 cars (including a couple of interlopers) filled Cofton’s fields and a variety of vans, American classics, hot rods and trucks were all out in force. Around 3pm, it was time to hand out the awards. This year, the special guest judge was legendary customiser Andy Saunders, who was there help hand out the trophies.

The winners were:

Cofton Choice: Barrie Lewis (1976 Ford Econoline) Best Custom: Karl Harris (1932 Roadster) Best Hot Rod: Mick Day (Austin) Best in Show: Gerald Carpenter (Chevrolet Camaro) Cofton Choice: Ford Mustang (didn’t catch the owner’s name, sorry…) This show really is one of the best weekends away, with Cofton’s full camp site facilities on offer. You should definitely put it in your calendar for next year – keep an eye at coftonholidays.co.uk.

NOVEMBER 2026 CUSTOM CAR 55

Words: Mike Pye Pics: Julian Hunt and Mike Pye

Nitro and nostalgia In the year Santa Pod celebrates 60 years, Dragstalgia enjoyed its 15th birthday. Here’s a snapshot of the action from the hottest drag racing weekend of the year

t’s hard to believe 2026 marked our 15th visit to Santa Pod for the annual Dragstalgia extravaganza – without doubt our favourite drag racing event of the year. Billed as “a weekend where we step back in time to enjoy all things nostalgic, from drag racing to music,” it offers a whole lot more than a regular race

meeting at the Pod. That said, we were only really there for the cars and the racing. Consequently, we missed the majority of the laid-on entertainment, which included 1950’s-style rock ‘n’ roll from The Boulevards, The Who and Rolling Stones tribute bands as well as a whole load of other live performances. Likewise, we didn’t

The Wild Bunch formed in 1995 but held its first race series in 1996, so this year is officially their 30th birthday. Congratulations one and all. As usual, the class ran its own time trial format, with 38 teams vying to run most consistently close to their dial in. The top three this time round were 20-year-old Harley Coulsell in Ballbreaker (0.271 average variance), Marie Mills in her ’23 T (0.421 av) and…

56 CUSTOM CAR NOVEMBER 2026

have our hair done in the Pamper Pod, take part in the jive classes or spend any money in the curiously empty Vintage Hub. However, we did sample the Beer Festival, support the Fueler’s Bar, talk to dozens of racers in the pits, check out the Show & Shine, thoroughly enjoy the attractions in the Historic Display Marquee and watch a whole lot of excellent nostalgia drag racing,

…fittingly, Rob Brown in Wrathchild (0.450 average variance). Fitting as the slingshot is also celebrating 60 years, the original version having first raced at Santa Pod in 1966

Jedd Guy set out his stall early doors with a storming 7.070 / 173.07mph pass to bag the number one spot in Outlaw Anglia early on, but then seemed to be suffering nitrous burps on subsequent runs. Made for some great pictures though

Ever the showman, Colin Millar drove through the Santa Pod boards by the Christmas tree in OA Q3 on Saturday afternoon but emerged unscathed, going on to win the Dragstalgia round of Outlaw Anglia with an 8.102 / 173 pass when Albert Carter red lit in the final

bathed almost continually in glorious British sunshine. Man, it was hot in the bleachers. The extreme heat made tuning difficult for the racers, too. But there was nowhere we’d rather have been. Four-wheeled (occasionally!) classes in attendance were Gasser Circus, Nostalgia Superstock, Wild Bunch, Supercharged Outlaws, Willys Wars, Outlaw Anglia and Billy Mills turned up with something a lot special under the hood of his NSS small block ’68 Barracuda. Car ran 9.939 and 9.989 at over 130mph, but then a component failure took out the NASCAR block and a whole lot more before Bill had a chance to realise its full potential

OSCARs, along with Old School Stockers and the NSA Bike Shootout on two wheels, and a bit of Run What Ya Brung for good measure. The cherry on the top, however, was Dragstalgia Cannonball, which this year attracted a huge 20-car field, comprising a heady mix of Altereds, Nostalgia Funny Cars and slingshot dragsters, many of them running on nitromethane. Yeah, that

was what we were there for – and it most certainly didn’t disappoint. Throw in the Great War Display Team up in the sky (though unfortunately so far away that only those with telephoto lenses could actually see them), the Saturday night Cracklefest, Cyclekarts, the Spiderman jet car, the BDRHoF auction and various award ceremonies for inductees into the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame, along with Keith Bartlett’s acceptance of the Peter Crane Spirit of 76 award, and there was never a dull moment. We absolutely love Dragstalgia and hope to still be making our annual pilgrimage to the Pod to be part of it another 15 years from now. There’s too much going on over the weekend to cover it all in a few pages, so sit back and enjoy a few of our personal highlights and a snapshot of what you missed if you didn’t make it. Do yourself a favour, though, and don’t miss it next year.

NOVEMBER 2026 CUSTOM CAR 57

Robin Read and the team had a hell of a weekend at Dragstalgia, running 6.80s and 6.90s in the 2.5 Daimler on nitro ‘Little Car’ and making it to the Cannonball final alongside Erik Wallinder. The cherry on the cake was the public announcement of Robin (and the team’s) induction into the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame. Very well deserved

Over from Italy for the weekend to race with the Wild Bunch, Luca and Simona Givoni with the Fast Forward Altered. These guys looked like they were having more fun than the rest of the racers at Dragstalgia put together!

After years of rumours, Ozzie’s old Head Hunter Willys finally re-emerged, now in the ownership of Steve Pickett and looking wildly different to when we featured it in 2008, thanks to what is now quite an old Bryan Whitfield paint job. Oh, and a 417 Donovan in place of the old blown BBC

Sean Milsom is the first to admit he’s on a steep learning curve with his new blown and injected Chevy-powered Dorset but, with a wealth of winning experience in Gasser Circus competition, it surely won’t be long before this is running as consistently as his Ain’t Misbehavin’ Morris Z van Left: There was a lot to check out in the Nostalgia marquee but we were drawn to Jon Webster’s re-imagined Hot Lemon Moggy, this version due to join the OSCAR ranks very soon. We’d seen some build pics but this was the first opportunity to see the car for real. We love it

For model geeks, the display of David Haggas creations in the marquee was well worth checking out. The detail work in his drag racing models is, pardon the pun, off the scale

There was a huge amount of good stuff on offer in the BDRHoF auction, from books and paintings to old race parts. Place your bid and hope for the best – it’s all for a good cause

Swamp Rat 21 is Don Garlits’ successful 1975 entry, which was then sold to the then owners of Santa Pod Raceway in 1976. It competed here and in Europe, with Dennis Priddle in the hot seat, before being returned to Garlits in 1979. It’s now back over here, on loan to the Santa Pod Collection

58 CUSTOM CAR NOVEMBER 2026

Pic: MP Originally built in 1967 by Dennis Priddle and Rex Sluggett, the Tudor Rose slingshot racked up a list of achievements and firsts unlike almost any other British dragster. It was rebuilt in 2022 to 1968 spec and is up for sale. Our feeling is it deserves to be part of the Santa Pod collection

Richard Colby’s Taste of Evil Topolino Altered is one fine looking beast, and improving all the time. Best time this weekend was a stonking 7.959 at 180mph

Winner of this year’s Willys Wars was Alan Rimell, who triumphed over Guy Davenport in a double breakout final, 13.841 / 97 vs 14.520 / 95

Gasser Circus honours this time round went to Jason Pickett, 9.993 / 128 on a 10.02 dial in when Nick Hewison pulled a cherry alongside

Also over from Sweden to compete in the Cannonball was Fredrik Larsson in the Psychotic Express Topolino. 28.778 cumulative was enough to put him in the D final (for the seventh and eight fastest runners), but a breakage left the door open for Bob Hawkins in Time Traveller II

Everything about the Swedish Tre Kronor outfit was slick. No drama, no errors, just solid work, and it all paid off when Erik Wallinder took the 2026 Dragstalgia Cannonball title. To get there, he posted the lowest cumulative elapsed time over three qualifying sessions (19.860) and then planted a 6.478 / 212 on Robin Read’s diminutive Daimler in the final. Respect

NOVEMBER 2026 CUSTOM CAR 59

Taking the C final win in Supercharged Outlaws over Ian Merryweather, Keith Freeman wrung a 9.327 / 145 out of El Loco

The final Swedish entry into the 20-car Cannonball was Torbjörn ‘Tobba’ Jansson, wheeling the Nitro Punk T Altered. A 25.401 cumulative was good enough for ninth spot but we think damage put him out of contention for the E final

Kane Bodiam’s brutal looking ’73 Mach 1 Mustang, Void Reaper, was running strong all weekend, eventually winning the Supercharged Outlaw B final in style with 9.122 / 146 over Mark Fairhurst’s ailing 11.521 / 121

After supercharger issues spoiled some of their fun at last year’s Dragstalgia, it was fantastic to see Simon Hayward and the Houndog team getting things together this year as they successfully checked off the necessary licensing runs to get ever closer to some full power passes

Safe to say the Venom crew were happy when the numbers 5.917 / 237.32 came up on the timing board in the first round of Cannonball qualifying. Superb work. Tony Betts went on to win the C final, beating Mark Luton 6.902 / 238 vs 6.937 / 198

60 CUSTOM CAR NOVEMBER 2026

Things finally came together for Paul Harris and the Chi-Town Hustler team this weekend. Problems in the early rounds of the Cannonball meant he was well outside the top 10 in cumulative time, but he then pulled an astonishing 5.986 / 222.19 out of the bag to defeat Andy Raw in the E final. That was brilliant to see

Congratulations to Nick Davies and the No Quarter crew for not just another PB but for making the smokescreen Topolino the first OSCAR car into the sixes, with a magnificent 6.908 / 218mph pass on the Sunday. And the crowd went wild

Jim Tucker was hauling ass in his CC cover star ’33 Ford coupe, running consistent 8.4s, though that wasn’t enough to overcome Luke Watts in the Supercharged Outlaws A final, when Watts posted a rapid 8.060 / 164 to Tucker’s 8.367 / 162

Below: Another fresh out car was this sweet 460-powered ’57 Ford of Originals stalwart John Kellett, one of many who took the opportunity to indulge in a bit of RWYB action at Dragstalgia

With a monster 62 cars signed on prior to the weekend and a 52car field for the first round of eliminations, just keeping track of the Nostalgia Super Stock ladder was a mission. After the usual hard fought battle, John Sleath emerged victorious, breaking out slightly less than Paul Smail in the final, 9.871 / 136 on a 9.88 vs 10.087 / 123 on a 10.10

NOVEMBER 2026 CUSTOM CAR 61

We didn’t think anyone was going to get close to beating Christian Zulauf’s immense wheelstand in ‘The 32’ Bantam, running in the Cannonball this weekend, but…

…we were wrong. Andy Bloomfield practically launched his Outlaw Anglia into orbit on this pass. Coming down hard, door flying open and then immediately planting it and still running the numbers. Maximum respect from the crowd

62 CUSTOM CAR NOVEMBER 2026

Robbie Grabham had Freddie’s Revenge on kill, clocking just a 21.241 aggregate after three runs in the Cannonball. Mark Flavell was one rung further up the ladder with 20.991 and the pairing comprised the B final. Flavell ran the quicker numbers, 6.908 / 198 vs 7.026 / 192, but a holeshot meant Grabham lit the win light

Pic: MP

Pic: MP Pic: MP

Pic: MP

Saturday night’s on-track Cracklefest was complemented by a number of fire-ups of Tudor Rose and Yesterday’s Dreams outside the historic marquee over the course of the weekend

NOVEMBER 2026 CUSTOM CAR 63

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