Custom Car Winter 2026

At the Double

Rothwell

News & reviews

On track

The start of the 2026 drag racing season may still be a few months away yet – but as always at this time of the year, anticipation is beginning to build. With four tracks having already announced dates, it’s clearly going to be a full-on season.

We will bring you the dates at Manston Raceway Park in a future issue, as they hadn’t been announced at the time of writing, but for now here are a few dates to be putting in your diary as the coming year’s calendar starts to fill up:

www.customcarmag.co.uk

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Santa Pod Raceway, Northants

Full details of the extensive list can be viewed in our Events section starting on page 60, as well of course as Santa Pod’s own website. But those events likely to be of particular interest to Custom Car readers include…

April: 3-5, Festival of Power; 18-19, Springspeed Nationals

May: 1-3, Nostalgia Nationals; 15-17 Doorslammers; 22-25, The Main Event

June: 4-7, Street Weekend; 13-14, Sportsman Nationals; 26-28, Dragstalgia

July: 10-12, Summer Nationals

August: 7-9, Mopar Euro Nationals; 22-23, Greenlight Nationals

September: 10-13, Euro Finals; 18-20, Hot Rod Drags; 25-27, National Finals www.santapod.co.uk

Melbourne Raceway, York (Straightliners)

29 March: Spring Shakedown Test & Tune

11-12 April: Spring Nationals

9-10 May: Melbourne Mayhem

6-7 June: Street Weekend

11-12 July: Jet Fest

8-9 August: Mid-Summer Nationals

5-6 September: Bracket Bonanza

3-4 October: Firework Finale www.straightliners.events

Dakota Raceway, Smeatharpe Airfield, Devon (Straightliners)

21 March: Drag ‘N’ Drift

25 April: Drag ‘N’ Drift

4 July: Drag ‘N’ Drift

15 August: Drag ‘N’ Drift

26 September: Drag ‘N’ Drift. www.straightliners.events

Elvington Airfield, West Yorkshire (Top Speed Events)

28 February-1 March: Straightliners Speed Show

30 March: Full Throttle Monday

13 April: Full Throttle Monday

11 May: Full Throttle Monday

8 June: Full Throttle Monday

13 July: Full Throttle Monday

10 August: Full Throttle Monday

17-20: September Elvington Speed & Wheelies Week

5 October: Full Throttle Monday. www.straightliners.events

Excited yet? There’s a couple of other Straightliners dates to mention at other venues, too…

2-3 May: Pendine Sands Speed Weekend, Pendine Sands Raceway, Carmarthenshire

20-21 June: Argyle Mile, Campletown Airfi eld, Scotland www.straightliners.events

Celebrating 74 years

Stop by showroomthe today to check it out.

News & reviews

Ooh la la

For those who like to travel across the channel in their cars, the dates for next year’s European Street Rod Nationals are 9-12 July. The event takes place Sillé-leGuillaume, Sarthe, in the region of Pays de la Loire in north-western France. www.esra-rod.eu

Sabbatical

The organisers have announced that Autosport International will be taking a sabbatical next year – but will return with a vengeance in 2027. “As the industry continues to evolve, Autosport International is committed to leading that change,” is the opening gambit of the official statement. “Autosport International will return in 2027 with a bold new direction…” www.autosportinternational. com

Wire works

Road show

The A602’s Autorama returns to Fairlands Valley Showground in Stevenage on Sunday 6 September 2026. As always, the day offers a show and shine, live music and trade stands. Admission is just £5 per car.

Facebook: A602’s CC Autorama Show

Scaling down

The Pistol-Grip Pneumatic Needle Descaler from Laser Tools is designed to deliver effortless heavy rust and scale removal in confined areas. Unlike grinders or wire wheels, the descaler attacks corrosion and weld spatter mechanically with 11 specially shaped needles that chip away scale without excessive heat or material removal. www.lasertools.co.uk

The new Laser Tools compact automatic wire stripper gives professional, repeatable results when preparing wiring for new connectors or repairs. Ideal for classic car restorations and racecar harness work, the tool removes insulation cleanly from 0.2–4.0 mm² wiring and, with the facility to set an exact strip length, every termination is identical. The stripper auto-adjusts to the cable diameter and the built-in cutter handles wires up to 2.5 mm². www.lasertools.co.uk

A boo-boo

In last month’s feature on the KLK Extravaganza, we referred to Bomber and Mary Stevenson’s Model A as being Jago-bodied. That would prove difficult as Jago never produced ’30 Model A bodies – so to put the record straight, we can confirm this one is 100% steel. At least our faux pas allows us to publish another pic of it.

Swap stop

After a year of conjecture, it has been confirmed that the NSRA Southern Swap Meet is not on the move. Well, not for 2026 at least. The date is Sunday 8 March and the venue remains North Weald Airfield. Full details to follow. www.nsra.org.uk

Same stuff, different place

Industry & Supply opened its doors at a new location on Saturday 1 November. The offerings are just the same: dog-friendly, good coffee, bacon and sausage rolls, cake and a heated café area, along with exclusive merch. Now, though, scenic views are on offer. Cars, bikes and trucks are all welcome, and the place to head for is Heyford Hills Farm, Furnace Lane, Northampton NN7 3JB. Facebook: Industry and Supply

More and more

Following a period of uncertainty, the good news is that Manston Raceway Park (MRP) will be back for the 2026 season. Full details will be announced soon but MRP will be bigger and better. There will be more equipment, more dates and more great memories to be made.

Facebook: Manston Raceway Park

Ten years after

Congratulations to Martin Hill and team for finishing the season with a PB for Fireforce 3 at Flame and Thunder in October. Clocking a 5.64-second quarter broke the car’s previous PB of 5.65 seconds, which was run in Iceland 10 years ago.

AUTHENTIC, ETHICAL, ORIGINAL FASHION, THAT SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT YOU!

NEW DROPS

News & reviews

No show

The Blacktop Kings Traditional Indoor Kustom Show, scheduled for Saturday 10 January at the South of England Showground, has been cancelled. Please help spread the word.

Vintage dates

The ever-busy people at the VHRA have announced details of 3 of their events in 2026. First up, the third running of THROTTLE will take place at Bicester Motion, Oxon, on Sunday 24 May. Track time is strictly for VHRA members only but all are welcome to come along and spectate. If you arrive in or on something interesting, you can take advantage of preferred parking.

The Camp, in Ramsey, Cambs, is the venue for the VHRA Swap Meet on Sunday 19 July. The event is open to all to sell and buy (hot rod, early Ford and Vintage American only), and you can even arrive the day before and enjoy a couple of cold ones in the summer sun.

The Pendine Sands Hot Rod Races are being held on 12-13 September. As always, access to the pits is restricted to VHRA racers and their crews but it’s free to spectate from outside, with the action kicking off around 10.30am on both days.

www.vhra.co.uk

Carding it

Christmas is almost here, but not everyone wants to send physical cards these days. Buying 20 cards with 2nd class postage can cost on average £25, and then there’s the environmental impact. This year, consider instead a donation to the BDRHoF Benevolent fund to help assist racers, marshals, and crew affected by hardship. To donate, simply type this link into your browser: www. justgiving.com/campaign/ bdrhofchristmascards2025

The BDRHoF Benevolent Fund would like to thank Linda Cook of lincrafts.com for providing the wonderful campaign picture, along with Disturbed

Historical report

The Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC) has released its 2025 National Historic Vehicle Survey (NHVS) – the most comprehensive study ever conducted into the UK’s world-leading historic vehicle movement. Understandably, this contains far more information than we have space to publish here. We would, however, like to highlight a few salient points.

The sector contributes £7.3bn to the UK economy each year, supporting

tens of thousands of skilled jobs. The number of historic vehicles registered with the DVLA has risen to 1,934,178 and on average, owners spend £4567 per year maintaining and enjoying their vehicles.

With the average age of an owner rising to 66, the report highlighted the importance of engaging younger enthusiasts – a bit like with the NSRA’s Under-29 membership scheme.

The full report can be viewed online by paying a visit to the FBHVC website.

www.fbhvc.co.uk

Photography for the original image used for the artwork. Should you like a copy of the non-watermarked picture to email to friends and family instead of cards, please send an email to nikki.marshall@ britishdragracinghof.co.uk with

evidence of the donation you have made.

For those who still want to send physical cards, Linda Cook has drag racing and hot rod-inspired Christmas greeting cards available to purchase online at the Lincrafts website.

Deuce of a day

■ Words: Dave Biggadyke / Dave Hodge ■ Pics: Dave Hodge

The fourth staging of Deuce Day once again took place at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon, Warwickshire. The outlook was promising, with the owners of more than 60 Deuces having confirmed their intended attendance – which would make for a record turnout. However, a few days before the gathering, things took a turn for the worse with the sunny skies changing to dark clouds and heavy rain. Despite that, on the day 34 hardcore Deucers made it to the event. Amazingly, there were quite a number of roadsters in attendance, some of them without hoods. A group of 6 open hi-boy Deuces drove up from the South West, making for quite a sight when they all arrived together.

Deuce Day isn’t just about ’32 Fords, though. The museum is a great venue offering plenty of exhibits of interest – and as it plays host to both the Old Ford Rally and Rootes Day at the same time, visitors get three shows for the price of one.

Quite a few Deuce Day exhibitors travelled to the area the day before and stopped in hotels or took advantage of the on-site camping at the museum. It has now become a tradition to arrange a Deuces of Britain curry night for those arriving on Saturday, when laughs and banter are very much part of the evening.

Although the day itself started off wet, the weather did eventually brighten up – before the rain returned again in the evening, making for an interesting journey home for many.

As is the norm, the event artwork depicts the previous year’s winner and at least one other British Deuce. As a memento of Deuce Day, each exhibitor receives a posterquality copy of the artwork, with one lucky person taking home the original.

Hats off to Dave and Kim of Deuces of Britain for pulling it all together, and to the participants for making it such a great day.

Below: Nick Openshaw was the recipient of Deuce of the Day and was presented with the original, framed event artwork featuring Dave Robbins’ coupe and Dan Boone’s roadster. The artwork is by the talented Mick Smith

Half of the organising duo, Kim Leonard, brought along his 5-window, which he’s recently fitted with wings and running boards. Kim first got the coupe on the road in April last year

The other joint organiser is Dave Hodge, and he joined the party in his sedan. Dave imported the car, which has a proven hot rod pedigree Stateside, in early 2024 and has been putting his own mark on it ever since

A European twist in a sea of bodies designed across the Pond. Maz Woolfall’s English-bodied sedan is a regular sight at events all over the country, accompanied by her fellow Pub Shutters members

Alan Smart’s Brookville-bodied 3-window coupe, put together by Jon Golding, has a rear arch and tyre relationship to die for

Richard Rimmer runs this Flatheadpowered roadster, a car he regularly runs in VHRA events such as Pendine Sands Hot Rod Races and Throttle at Bicester Heritage

Now owned and rebuilt by Graham Rawlings, this 3-window is based around a rolling chassis put together by Jerry Denning, with power coming from a 283ci Chevy

Mick Tebbs is clocking up the miles in the Merv Barnett-built roadster that graced the covers of our January ’82 and December ’22 issues, and he’s loving every one of them

Channelled 5-window is a genuine US race car from the ‘60s. It was imported and rebuilt by Julian Atkinson, maintaining the car’s original appearance with a well-detailed rolling chassis

The work done to this original steelbodied sedan has been extensively documented in a series of Mart’s Garage YouTube videos

Originally built by Jim Rutter, this roadster pick-up has recently been repainted in a custom mix colour by owner Gaz Buttery

no bonnet sides, the

Hans Peter Wurmli’s Datsun straight-six-powered roadster is another former cover car, appearing as it did in the March ’08 issue

A North East pairing of coupes, Dave Cox’s 3-window and Nick Williams’s 5-window. Both cars travelled to the Swedish Street Rod Association’s 50th Anniversary bash earlier in July

John Unsworth braved the rain in the late Mike Key-built stock height 3-window. We featured the Brookvillebodied coupe in the April ’17 issue

Another Pro Street ’32. This roadster was put together by Simon Date and runs a Rover V8, Mk2 Jaguar rear axle and a 4-inch dropped I beam

Above: Tim Fairgrieve’s 3-window features a Jerry Denning-built chassis and a Rodline body finished in grey gel coat. Under the bonnet there’s a Rover V8, and the coupe rolls on 15-inch diameter Vintique steels

Richard Church recently imported this black and flamed 3-window from across the pond. The running stock includes a 350 / 350 combo, Ford 9-inch rear axle and Pete & Jake’s front suspension

The 832 Flyer runs an 8-litre Caddy motor and Mustang II running gear. It was built in the States and is owned by Mark and Ann Marie Oram

Jim Stewart’s Vicky runs a 1994 vintage Corvette LT1 engine and a 700R4 gearbox linked to a Corvette rear axle. The front suspension is Heidts independent with adjustable gas shocks

Remember the orange Pro Street coupe on the cover of the December ’86 issue of Street Machine? This is it now, fresh from an extensive rebuild completed by owner Rob Shipley. We’re warming up the cameras for it right now

Paul Hanley’s roadster runs a 383 Chevy, 700 R4 trans’, 9-inch Ford rear axle and 4-inch dropped I beam. First UK registered in 2003, the car has been previously owned by Mike Mitchell and Paul Mattimore

Simon Ringham is the man behind the wheel of the small block Ford-powered Dearborn ‘convertible’, a car we featured in the July ’11 issue when it was owned by Nikki Daniels, who had commissioned the build in Connecticut

COMING FROM A CALIFORNIA PRIVATE COLLECTION SOME OF THE LOWEST PRODUCTION MUSCLE CARS FROM THE GOLDEN DAYS OF HORSEPOWER WARS

1969 PONTIAC TRANS AM

$175,000

Here’s one you will not find everyday the original trans am, 400ci ramair, 4 speed manual, matching numbers nut and bolt rotisserie restoration, one year only model with a mere 570 built with a 4 speed manual gearbox flawless condition throughout zero miles since restoration.

california collection and another documented rotisserie nut and bolt restoration of a genuine rustfree car fully documented with Marti report, previous history/ownership, zero miles since restoration.

1956 CHEVY CORVETTE - $150,000

Flawless body o restoration of this two top dual quad manual gearbox 56 vette, arrow straight black coachwork with silver coves, step inside the cabin to find the stunning red interior , show quality car ready for route 66 .

Usa spec lhd car, if you like patina look no further the New Mexico sun has created a natural patina that cannot be fabricated, all new braking system from master cylinder to drum , new clutch master cylinder and slave cylinder, rebuilt fuel pump and carb, gas tank out cleaned and reinstalled, its on the button running driving, excellent original chrome very solid car as you would expect from a dry american state, radial tyres on stock wheels have plenty of tread but are old and should be replaced.

Here a restored harley servicar that in a former life cruised the streets of San Francisco rescuing sfpd cruisers and issuing citations, on the button electric start , original metal shin guards included original Motorola two radio and mic .recently restored in poly gas station colours to resemble the american version of the once seen everywhere in the uk RAC and AA motorbike/ sidecars.

Fully loaded ragtop 265ci/auto, p/s,p/b, p/w p/seat p/top flawless condition inside & out, original convertible owners handbook, restored to perfection and ready to cruise first year if the iconic small block chevy that went on to power many a street racer and still doing it today.

Family

likeness

Don’t be fooled into thinking this is a certain well known Husky re-done. Again. It’s a brand new one – yet there’s a lot of familiarity, too

Words: Mike Pye Pics: Alan Kidd

If there’s one thing Dave Rothwell is well known for, it’s doing things his way and not following the crowd. That said, he does have a penchant for certain cars.

The Hillman Husky (or Commer Cob, as the factory-built panel vans were called) is one of them. However, trying to trace the lineage of some of the better known ones on the UK custom scene is a task that would give Miss Marple a headache. It’s safe to say

that Dave’s had a hand in several of them. And so has Chris Hay.

A quick spin through my magazine archive tells me the infamous Rapid Plumbing Husky first appeared in Str**t M*ch*n* in October 1983, then again in ’88 before transferring allegiance to CC in January 1995 and again in June 2000. By 2007, the one in the background of the Jan ’95 cover shoot came to the fore, largely built by Dave but

finished off by Chris. Confused?

This time around, there’s another Rothwell in the frame and it’s Dave’s son, Harvey. Cast your mind back to the feature on Dave’s first Hanomag, in December 2014, as that’s when Harvey’s name first appeared in CC. He was only 15 then, but we noted that he had his eye on his dad’s motor for when he was old enough to drive.

Rear lights are, as you’d expect, hand made by Dave, cutting the lenses from two big lamps he had lying around. There are two sets of bulb holders behind each one so there’s plenty of light at the back to warn following drivers

The dash is original Husky but with the centre gauge binnacle removed and additional ribbing for pleasure. Behind the cut outs are the stock BMW clocks; there isn’t a lot of room back there, what with the ECU, wiper motor and linkages and most of the loom also crammed in there. Steering wheel is an eBay special

The speaker boxes in the immaculately painted load area are functional, but they also unscrew to reveal the battery under one side and the remote brake servo under the other

Seats are from some Japanese car or other. Dave doesn’t know exactly what it was as they were given to him by Chris Hay many years ago. They’ve since been retrimmed in grey vinyl and Alcantara by his good buddy, Alex the trimmer

Father and son

That car was subsequently sold on, to that man Chris Hay no less, and Harvey grew a few years older. He’s 26 now and has finally got his own Rothwell creation.

“The whole intention was to do this car together,” Dave explains, “but there was no interest from him there. He likes the cars, but the process of building them isn’t for him. That’s okay, he’s busy with his own stuff, but he always liked my old orange, Cosworthpowered Husky.”

So much so, Dave tracked the car down and tried to buy it back, but the current owner vowed he’ll never sell it. No problem, thought Dave, I’ll build one just like it.

“When I had a bit of spare time at work I’d do something on the Hanomag, and then I’d go home and do the same thing on the Husky… I never stopped”

In some ways, it should have been straightforward. After all, he’d done it before. More than once. But then Dave is never one to take the easy route. For starters, he had his own car to build, which is the Hanomag you’ll find starting on page 22 of this issue of Custom Car

“It took me seven years to do the pair of them. I had the Hanomag at my unit and the Husky at home. When I had a bit of spare time at work I’d do something on the Hanomag, then I’d go home and do the same on the Husky. I worked on Friday nights, Saturdays and Sundays, I never stopped. Blimey. “I know,” he chuckles, “you’re talking to a madman.”

Scrap value

Times have changed, though. Where once you could pick up British tin over here for the change in your pocket after a night out, Dave had to give a friend of a good friend a grand for this Husky. “Honestly, it was scrap,” recalls Dave. “It should have been £50, but you just can’t buy them for that any more. The only decent panel on it was the roof. It was that bad, when I was strapping it down on the trailer, the wheels were pulling apart because the chassis was so rotten. The first job, then, was to put it on the jig just to pull it back into shape.”

In essence, the little Brit was given a full body restoration. No pancaked bonnet this

time, but the same Ford Transit ’arches that were used in the orange one, and a similar smoothing over. It’s not an exact copy of the orange one but it’s pretty close. One subtle difference is this one has a removable slam panel – a lesson learned from the first – which makes removing and re-fitting the engine a whole lot easier. That engine, incidentally, also has an extra two cylinders, though no turbo this time.

“I wanted this one to look more like a Hot Wheels car, so that’s why I went more extreme on the wheels,” explains Dave. He’s not wrong there. We all know that he likes to stuff big’uns under small ’uns, but this one takes that look to the extreme.

“It’s just a really good system, though I think I’m about done with BMWs now”

It’s only 84-inch wheelbase, and has 20-inch wheels all round. You do the math, as they say in America.

Organ donor

Having successfully transplanted the majority of the running gear from an E36 BMW 328i into the previous Hanomag, and been pleased with the results, Dave decided to go the same route with the

Husky. And the Hanomag for that matter. What Dave recalls being a “very, very clean” 1997 manual convertible 328i donated its innards to the Husky, while a ’97 automatic, two-door coupe version was dismantled for the Hanomag. “I broke one at the unit, and one at home,” he recalls. “I gave a thousand pounds each for them, but you can’t pick one up for less than three or four grand now, they’ve become quite collectable.”

The reason for the two different drivetrain configurations was that Harvey didn’t want an automatic. Interestingly, though, having now driven both cars, he admiits that he’s no longer quite so sure.

“The auto’ ‘boxes are just great in these cars, they’re so smooth and effortless,” says Dave. “With the manual, it makes you drive it harder. You feel like you’ve got to thrash it a bit more.”

There’s always one thing on a Rothwell car that takes my breath away, and in this case it’s the front grille. Taking inspiration from a Hillman Californian, Dave cut and shaped each bar individually out of 6mm stainless steel, then drilled and tapped them so the whole lot bolts together, and to the body. Not the work of five minutes, probably more like five days

235/30-20 front and 255/40-20 rear tyres stretch agonisingly over 7.5 x 20 and 8 x 20 Kahn RSC wheels. Trust Dave to pick a set of painted wheels and then sand and polish them by hand. “I’ve got 10 hours in each one of them,” he says with a grin. Or a grimace, I can’t quite tell

Essentially, both cars use the Bavarian company’s engines, ECUs, gearboxes, cooling systems, front and rear suspensions, brakes and a lot of the associated electrics. It’s not all entirely stock, for obvious reasons. The rear axles have been narrowed as much as physically possible, with Dave making a jig for the job so he could replicate his work accurately for the other car. The other significant change from factory configuration is Dave has used lower wishbones both top and bottom at the rear, the upper ones narrowed, and with the top mountings now also acting as the coilover pick-up points. Even the factory anti-roll bars are under there, but narrowed and sleeved as they couldn’t be cut and welded.

“Honestly, it was scrap… The only decent panel on it was the roof”

The reason for the use of plurals in all this is both the Husky and the Hanomag have identical set ups.

System addict

“It’s just a really good system,” Dave explains, “though I think I’m about done with BMWs now.”

It’s a similar story up front. The cast BMW trailing arms, struts and brakes are all in there though, as per the previous Hanomag, Daewoo Matiz inserts have been dropped into the struts and the coils replaced with 2¼-inch diameter ones on adjustable platforms for ease of setting the ride height.

The BMW props were cut down to size, with their centre bearings removed and

converted to slip joints at the gearbox ends. Even the downpipes on the engines are stock BMW ones, though Dave made the rest of the exhaust systems in stainless. “I used a Focus ST back box on the Husky and it’s a bit droney on a run, but Harvey likes the noise. The Hanomag has got two middle silencers on it, so it’s a bit quieter.”

The one issue that came to light with the Husky when it was finished was the steering felt too heavy. As per pretty much all of Dave’s cars, the steering rack is Hilman Imp on both, but on the Husky it’s now got GPS-based electrical assist from a Peugeot 108. The reason for the GPS link is that the amount of assist reduces automatically as speed increases. It’s clever stuff.

Above: One-piece door windows add immensely to the Husky’s smooth, simple appearance and, unusually for Dave, he used an off-the-shelf electric window kit from the States. “I don’t really like to do that,” he says. “If you can buy it, it’s too easy. You’ve got to make life difficult for yourself, haven’t you?” Vitaloni Baby Turbo door mirrors are a throwback to the original Straight Paint Husky

Left: The hot rodding roots run deep in the Rothwell family and, having grown up with Dave’s creations all around him, Harvey now finally has one of his own

Surprisingly, even with the huge wheels and tyres, that wasn’t an issue on the Hanomag, so that’s one difference between the two cars.

A similarity is the lack of turning circle. “A lot of people look at [the Husky] and say that thing can’t drive with those wheels, but it does, and it seems to handle okay. It’ll go round a roundabout fine but the lock is a bit

limited when you’re trying to park, or do a really tight turn. Everything is a compromise though on cars like this, isn’t it?”

Budget buster

Talking of compromises, budget clearly came into play during the double build, and so the interior on the Husky is a little simpler than the Hanomag. The seats are

“I wanted this one to look more like a Hot Wheels car, so that’s why I went more extreme on the wheels”

of unknown origin, other than that they came out of a Japanese car. They’ve been re-trimmed in grey vinyl and Alcantara by Alex the trimmer from Preston, who also added the black carpet underfoot and made the door and matching upper side panels that reduce the tin can effect you get driving an empty metal van.

As Dave has driven both Hanomags, and the Husky, he seems best placed to comment on the experience: “The Husky definitely feels quicker. It’s an animal that thing. So much so, I’m quite frightened when Harvey takes it out.

“The BMWs are very low geared, so you really have to use the gears, but it does pick

its feet up well. In fact, it’s a bit frightening because of that, but it gives you a good adrenaline buzz.

“The Hanomag, being automatic, is much lazier. You can just sit back and forget about it. It’s a much more relaxing drive because of that.”

So, with BMWs now out of his system –and possibly Huskys and Hanomags, too – what can we expect to see roll out of the Rothwell workshop next? It’s not a secret that Dave bought his old ’37 Vauxhall back a while ago now, and he’s busy breathing new life into that as I write this. It’s more of a restoration job on his first rod that one, but he’s also got a Model Y sitting patiently in

the corner of the unit and you can guarantee he’s got a plan for that, too.

A plan is all it is for now, though. “I’m not building two cars at the same time again, that was too much. So I won’t start the Y until I’ve finished the Vauxhall.”

Rest assured, we’ll be there when he does.

“Thanks to Michal Michalski, my brainbox and my best bud; Edric Smith for letting me use his workshop; Neil Wood, who helps me religiously every Friday; Alex the trimmer, and my friend Eddie”

Hannover grand

Don’t be fooled into thinking this is a certain well known Hanomag re-done. Again. It’s a brand new one, yet most people still have no idea what it is

Words: Mike Pye Pics: Alan Kidd

Phil Whear has been around hot rods, customs, classics and VWs for years. We’ve featured a number of his previous rides in CC, but it was still a slight surprise to hear him say “I’ve had over 100 cars in my time.” Even for someone approaching the end of their seventh decade on earth, that’s an impressive number of rides, which suggests the inventory of his garage regularly changes.

That said, he seems quite attached to what shares space with this rare Hanomag on his farm in Cornwall at present: a steel ’34 Ford 3-window, an American-built Grumman with an LS3 and a 1950 Buick wagon with an LSA and Tremec ’box sitting on an Art Morrison chassis. Oh, and a gnarly, but all the better for it, Aston Martin

DB5 that he’s owned for the best part of 30 years. Yep, Phil has an eclectic taste in cars, which goes a long way to explaining how he has ended up with this, the second BMWpowered Hanomag built by the talented Dave Rothwell.

“I like to go to the Supernats, sit there with a beer, and think what would I like to take home. There are always cars that have amazing paint, or a great stance, or whatever it is, but to be actually something you’d want to get in and drive home, there’s not many cars that do that for me. Some years there might not be any.”

A couple of years ago, though, there was this ’39 Hanomag 1.3 litre, parked up alongside another ’39 Hanomag 1.3 litre. Not a sentence you’ll see very often.

“The turning circle [is] about the size of a supertanker, because of the huge wheels and tyres”

this shot of one

Oddly familiar

When Dave built the first one as a quick stop-gap between two other projects, it blew our minds. Partly because we were oddly familiar with the unfamiliar vehicle, but also because we never expected anyone to do what Dave did with one. Dropping an unrestored body over a VW floorpan is one thing, but fitting a BMW straight six, modern running gear, big-inch wheels and subtly improving the body’s wonderfully flowing lines is quite another.

We featured that car on the cover in December 2014. Some time after, Chris Hay prised it out of Dave’s garage, going on to change the colour from solid grey to silver and purple, add big-inch steels in place of

235/35-20 front tyres ride on 7.5 x 20-inch Mobtown Smoothies (now D-Town Smoothies from Detroit Steel Wheel Co) but even those are dwarfed by the 8.5 x 22s and 285/35-22s on the rear. And if you think these were a straight bolt-on fit, think again. They’ve been cut apart and the centres re-made flatter to perfect the fitment. The Hanomag badged centres are offset weighted and run on bicycle bearings so they stay horizontal in motion

The two-post ramp in Phil’s well-equipped workshop gave us the ability to photograph the underside of this Hanomag, which features all the suspension, running gear and brakes from the donor BMW. Fuel tank was made to fit the space and Dave made the exhaust to fit around that. Oh, and the bumpers, too

the Kahn Design five spokes and re-do the interior. Yep, it’s the same car.

So, when Dave let slip in conversation that he’d bought another Hanomag – a feat in itself as they’re not exactly thick on the ground, particularly not in the UK – we were really interested to see what he’d do with one the second time around.

Turns out, pretty much the same thing, but there’s a good reason for not deviating

Front end is largely all BMW 3 Series as well, but with a Hillman Imp steering rack – Dave’s favourite for this kind of car as they’re the narrowest unit you can buy off the shelf. Phil made the laser-cut bracket at the front that doubles as a number plate mount and a towing eye, while Dave made the painted one at the rear that gives Phil a safe place to jack the rear of the car up

from the path he’s already trodden once.

“I was building the Husky for my son (it’s on the preceding pages, so you may already have read about this by now) and figured I’d do this at the same time, using all the same parts that I’d used on the other Hanomag.”

I know, right? We struggle to keep on top of one car project at any one time, let alone building two side by side, but then we’re not Dave. The man’s a one-off.

So here it is, the long-awaited second Hanomag, and it’s another Rothwell classic.

What is it, mister?

“I’ve had a lot of different cars, but this one gets more people wandering over, asking ‘What is it?’ than anything else I’ve owned,” says Phil. “I first saw it at the Supernats. They were both there. I didn’t know exactly what they were, but thought it was either a

“The organ donor was a 1997 BMW E36 328i coupe”

Like the Husky, the grille trims on the Hanomag were hand-made by Dave out of stainless steel, each one subtly different to the next. Porsche 356 / early VW Beetle headlamps feature again, along with MGA rear lights. Hey, Dave liked ’em the first time round, so he saw no need to look for something different for this one

Rear end treatment is subtly different to Dave’s previous Hanomag. The boot lid has been narrowed in the same way but this time a hand-formed number plate light that also incorporates a manual boot release picks up on the swage lines in the body. This one also got a set of hand-made bumpers, which were painted in spray chrome but went black after it flaked off

DKW or a Hanomag. I didn’t know Dave, but I knew of him; that he’s one of the better, more subtle rod builders around.

“I got talking to his son. I told him I loved it, that it was one of the most interesting things here and left my number – you know, just in the unlikely event he ever wanted to sell it.”

By the time Phil managed to buy it, and it turned up at his place in Cornwall on a trailer,

If you’ve noticed the similarities with the later Volvo PV series cars, it’s no coincidence. The forward-thinking Hanomag 1.3 of 1939 / ’40 was said to have been studied in depth by the Swedish auto maker, but if you’re familiar with the Volvo PV36 of the mid-1930s, you might wonder who was influencing whom

he realised he’d never even seen under the bonnet, let alone driven the thing, or crawled around underneath it.

“I’d got him down a bit on the price during our negotiations, but I actually ended up bunging him a good drink when I’d had a chance to properly look around it as it was much better than I expected. It was absolutely spotless, as clean underneath as on top. I was well impressed.”

Interestingly, Dave says this one is a better build than his previous Hanomag, largely because that one was so rotten he had to make a lot of it up as he was going along. “This one was a much cleaner ’shell, so it’s got the original flared sills, which I didn’t even know existed when I did the other one. The front grille is also removable. That’s how they were, but I didn’t know that so I made it all one piece on the other one. It

certainly made getting the engine in and out a lot easier.”

Quick learner

Phil’s the first to admit he didn’t build the car, and consequently doesn’t know all the minutiae of its specification, though he’s had to learn quick.

“I’m not bitching, because I’m from the real world, but I think it’s fair to say I bought

the teething problems. You have to do those first few hundred, maybe a couple of thousand, miles in a car like this to iron out the little problems.

“It was nothing major, just things like the radiator, the water pump, the odd oil leak. Maybe a few more bits could have been new, rather than re-using everything, but it’s just the way it is with a car like this. The important things were really good, and the

more I looked around it, the more really nice design and fabrication work I found.”

Quite wisely, as Phil put it, Dave used as much of the donor car’s running gear as he could. In this case, the organ donor was a 1997 BMW E36 328i coupe, pretty much the same as he cannibalised for the construction of his previous Hanomag. “That means the engine, gearbox and diff’ are all nicely balanced, which isn’t a bad idea.”

Engine in the Hanomag is the same basic unit as is in the Husky elsewhere in this issue – a 2.8-litre straight six out of a 1997 BMW 328i. The donor was an automatic this time, though, so it offers a very different driving experience to the more aggressive manual Husky

The Hanomag 1.3-litre was a marked departure for the Hannover, Germany-based steam locomotive and heavy vehicle manufacturer, Hannoversche Maschinenbau AG. It was produced for just over one year, 1939 to early 1940, before the company was forced to turn its attention to the war effort

So, what’s it like to drive? Is it quick enough for you? The reason I added that last bit was that when writing the feature on Dave’s previous Husky, in 2014, Dave noted that the car wasn’t quick enough, and that it really needed chipping to make the most of the BMW motor.

Straddling speed

“When you tell people it’s got a 2.8-litre straight six, they say, ‘ooh, that must scoot along then’, and it does, but it’s a funny thing. It’s absolutely fine in modern traffic. You’re not holding anyone up, and it certainly doesn’t embarrass you, but it doesn’t particularly make me want to go quick in it. The track is so narrow for a start. I’m used to straddling the speed bumps around where I live, but with this I go between them.

“It drives nicely and, because it’s an auto’, it’s just an easy, lazy old thing to drive around in. Maybe that’s me just getting old and not wanting to drive in the way I used to.

“You know the worst thing about it?” he continues. The word ‘visibility’ was on the tip of my tongue, but Phil beat me to it.

“The turning circle. It’s about the size of a supertanker, because of the huge wheels and tyres. But that’s just a case of form over function. I’d have perhaps gone for smaller wheels and tyres for a bit more of an oldy look, but that’s just personal preference.”

Despite the small niggles, it’s clear Phil has an affinity with the little German car and, at present, has no intention of selling it. Even the fact he can’t see the BMW gauges mounted behind the custom dash without hunkering down and looking through the

steering wheel doesn’t spoil his fun. And the colour fits neatly into his field of preference.

“All I’ve done is fiddle and fettle it really. And I’m not gonna do much more if I’m honest. I might put a parcel shelf in it as there’s nowhere to put your ’phone, and that would tidy up under the dash a bit.

“Maybe one day I’ll go mad and put another mirror on it, or a second wiper, but not much more than that.”

As Phil put it to me earlier when talking about his visits to the Supernats: “It’s the more unusual, subtle builds, the ones with more individuality, they’re the ones I tend to gravitate towards.”

And that’s why he ended up buying one of Dave Rothwell’s creations. That one previous sentence pretty much sums them up. And it’s why we love ’em, too. CC

“I’ve had a lot of different cars, but this one gets more people wandering over, asking ‘What is it?’ than anything else I’ve owned”

The interior is based around the original Hanomag seats, though all that’s left is the frames as the springs have been replaced with high-density foam over Dave-made wooden bases. His good friend, Alex from Preston, gets the credit for the trim on both cars, using a

Raining champions

The

31st Mopar Euro Nationals will be

remembered for bad weather, but there was a whole lot of good racing going on in between the downpours

The summer of 2025 will forever be remembered for the long series of heatwaves Britain experienced. And one of the hottest of the lot was just coming to an end as the nation’s muscle cars were heading to Santa Pod for the 31st Mopar Euro Nationals. Unfortunately, coming to an end is exactly what it did, in the early hours of Saturday morning. After a fantastic day’s RWYB on the Friday had culminated in an early round of qualifying sessions, brought forward in a bid to beat the incoming weather, the teams were given an early wake-up call as the rain started coming down around dawn. And unlike Magnus

Magnusson, once it had started it didn’t finish. All morning.

There is, however, only so much moisture that the planet’s atmosphere can hold. And all of it had finally deposited itself on north Bedfordshire by the middle of the afternoon, with racing finally able to get underway at 4.30pm. A few weekend punters had given up and gone home by then, while most of the Saturday daytrippers had turned their attention instead to getting a credit for their ticket, but the racers themselves are never ones to pass up a crack at a freshly dried strip and so even if it was just for a few hours, the Pod finally rang to the sound of V8s at full chat.

Sunday could hardly be any wetter than that, and indeed it wasn’t. This time the rain relented in time for the action to kick off at 2.30pm instead. Once again, the reward for those who stuck it out was a mere three hours of racing, but as always at Santa Pod the action comes thick and fast so everyone did get what they came for. This was the fourth consecutive year in which rain has interfered with the Mopars to some extent. So surely we’re due nothing but sunshine in 2026? This coming year’s Mopars is a little later in the summer, on 7-9 August – and you can be sure that it’ll be the same chilled-out celebration of American muscle as ever. Come rain or shine!

■ Words: Olly Sack

■ Pics: Julian Hunt

Gasser Circus

After a first qualifying round on Friday night for those who had made it to the Pod by then, a couple more followed once the bombardment of rain finally packed up on Saturday afternoon. And they were to reach a remarkable conclusion.

Santa Pod’s own Keith Bartlett had led from the start, with 10.3512 on a 10.35 dial looking like it was going to be pretty hard to beat. And indeed it was, keeping him at the top of the ladder – until Ray Turner

pulled out an even closer ET, 10.8809 on 10.88 in Green Onions.

So now 0.0009 led 0.0012, and surely that was going to be that. But no; in the penultimate pairing, Keith himself lined up alongside Jason Pickett – who piloted Cherry Bomb to a still better 0.0006, with 10.0306 on 10.03.

After all that, all three of them went on to break out in eliminations, Ray handing it to Gary Nash in E1 while Keith and Jason lost out to Sean Milsom and Billy

Jones in E2. Adam Kruczynski got a gift in his first elimination race, too, when the transmission let go in Nick BrookeLangham’s Pop, while Graham Barton failed to make it to the pairing lanes after an under-bonnet fire in the pits.

A further series of breakouts and red lights in E2 and E3 finally ended up with John Gibson and Billy Jones lining up for the final. A green light race saw Billy playing catch-up after a slower RT, but John held him off to take the win.

Wild Bunch

Round four of the Wild Bunch season, the Summer Showdown, was hosted by the Mopar Euro Nationals and saw 13 teams sign on for the fray. If you’re superstitious, that’ll be where all that rain came from…

The baker’s dozen included the return of the ex-Mick and Lorraine Hillier Texas Ranger altered, now in the hands of Kev and Louise Osborne. They spent Saturday working on the car after a Friday afternoon checkout run pointed up some issues, but to be fair working on your car was what everyone else spent most of that day doing as well so it was all good experience – and

Nostalgia Eliminator

an opportunity to see the legendary drag racers’ camaraderie in action when fellow competitor Dave Shoemark helped them get over a failed fuel pump.

Wild Bunch is all about recording the lowest average variance in your times, and Dan Wilson’s 0.283 took the win ahead of James Auld’s 0.597. But both will have been looking over their shoulder at Loz Butcher in his recently CC-featured Mean Streak nostalgia slingshot; he’s been recording new PBs at every outing as he gets used to the car and, with a new MSD ignition box in place, he blew his previous times away

with a best of 8.683 / 151.58mph. And that was his first time in the 8s… Loz took third place overall, which is not too shabby a way to celebrate your birthday, as well as spot prizes for Driver’s Choice, Commentator’s Choice and Most Improved ET. Pete and Rob Brown got the Best Burnout award, with Pete also recording a new PB with an ET of 8.319, while Dave Shoemark and his crew, all in their matching shirts, were Best Appearing Car and Team. No small achievement in a category where so many cars would be as at home on a show field as they are on the strip.

Nostalgia Super Stock

An impressive entry list of 46 cars lined up to do battle for NSS honours here in the heartland of muscle car competition. So there was a lot of pressure on for the organisers, with three rounds of qualifying and five of eliminations to fit in to the precious little time the weather allowed. Fair play to them, though: they nailed it. As did Lee Chiles, with a perfect ET in his third run to top the list going into the show. At the other end of the ladder, one casualty

Supercharged Outlaws

in qualifying was Michael Deakin’s Nova, lunching its propshaft on the way off the line in Q1.

Don Scott is a perennial front-runner in Nostalgia Super Stock and his distinctive 572ci Plymouth Superbird was flying throughout Sunday as he despatched first Paul Smail then Neil Frances and Rob Cawthorne en route to a semi-final meeting with another NSS heavyweight in the shape of Dave Billadeau. Dave was back in his

Challenger after debuting a new Duster at last year’s Mopars.

In the event, Dave lit a cherry to give Don a free ride into the final – where victory would be enough to clinch the 2025 NSS title. Craig Elliot had other ideas, however: having qualified seventh and kept it steady to defeat Paul Fleckney, Dave Tidesley, Jim Smith and Andy Bosomworth, he ran 11.1438 / 117.43 (11.08) in his ’64 Savoy to steal the weekend’s crown.

A line-up of 14 drivers contested the Street Eliminator Try Outs, with Anthony Higgs’ 540ci mighty Capri topping the qualifying list by a long chalk with Justin Woolner’s Camaro. A gaggle of no-shows in the first round of eliminations ended with Piggsy taking a bye run into the semis, where a dominant performance saw off Darren Scannell to set up a final showdown with Justin following his win over Chris Skinner. Anthony was travelling a lot faster by the time the two cars reached the strip, but on this occasion it wasn’t enough as a far better RT gave his opponent a holeshot win

Every event at Santa Pod is more than just a race meeting, but the Mopar Euro Nationals in particular is a celebration of American muscle. In addition to the action on the strip, there’s a Friday night cruise and on Sunday, a huge show’n’shine in the car corral. Needless to say, this year’s weather, and the need to race whenever it wasn’t raining, got in the way of those plans somewhat. But there was cool Mopar metal, and more besides, everywhere you looked – in the pits, around the camp sites, you name it

WHOLE LOTTA

Individuality, personality, creativity… just some of the words you could use to describe John Grocock’s ’51 Ford F-3 pick-up. But there are many more besides

Words & Pics: James Webber

Thanks to the landowners for the use of the area around Lake Wazzapamani for the photoshoot

Pick-ups have become almost the norm in the custom world. Once utilitarian workhorses worked into the ground, these day’s they’re highly sought after. Even in the classic world, owners will spend thousands on restoring them to their former glory – while in the custom scene, they’ve long since become part of the rodding mainstream.

In the main, there are a couple of dominant trends in the game when it comes to pick-up

trucks. So when you see one which has been built a bit differently, the spidey senses spring into action.

It also helps in this industry when you have friends with benefits (not that sort, regrettably). So when a good contact of mine sent me a pic of this particular truck on the back of his recovery vehicle, along with a message saying ‘I’ve passed your details on to the owner – you will be interested in this one,’ I wanted to know more.

A phone call to the owner and a quick chat about the truck confirmed that both my spidey senses and said contact were right. I instantly organised a day for a photoshoot.

The owner is John Grocock, a company owner in Devon. His previous vehicles include (sorry about this bit) a BMW 335 Touring, a BMW 535 Touring, a BMW X3M 40D and his current BMW Alpine B5 estate. You can wake back up now, though: he had always had a hankering for a ’51 Ford pick-up.

LOTTA ROSIE

Why ’51? The grille was a one-year option only and he had always admired that. Reason enough, you’ll agree.

“I was looking on eBay, as you do, and this one came up,” explains John. “It had been in Kansas from new and was believed to have lived and worked on a farm all its life. It was for sale around the £13k mark. It needed some work, which I wasn’t unprepared for, so a deal was done.”

But then it arrived and, as is so often the case, ‘needed some work’ turned out to be

like saying the Titanic had experienced some listing and was sitting low in the water.

“I quickly discovered that it drove brilliantly in reverse,” says John, “but not so much forward. Then I was attempting to get the rear wheels and drums off one day and caught the bed – and next thing, the whole bed, or what was physically left of it, completely fell off. It looked like the seller had quickly tried to do a quick weld to hold it on for transportation.

“So I realised that this wasn’t going to be a quick fix, as my son and I had hoped to do

so we could use it to haul some logs around. Instead it turned into a complete strip down and go for it, come hell or high water.”

Well spent

Now, with this being his first American car, John literally knew nothing or no-one in the industry. So step one was to make some phone calls and spend plenty of time on Google before making any decisions. And it was time well spent, because he definitely make the right ones.

recognise the

“First thing was the engine. It was the original flathead V8 and I liked it. After some research and a phone call, my mind was made up that Jim at Royal Kustoms was the man to rebuild it.

“He did so by re-grinding the crank and adding newer internals to increase cubic capacity, new Navarro heads and new carbs. He was planning to put a blower on it too, until the news came in that they were not readily available. I did tell him however that if one were to come up, I’d have it.

“The 3-speed manual was ditched as I would like to use the truck, and I bought and fitted a 5-speed Tremec gearbox. The rear axle we believe was originally a dually, so that was ditched in favour of a Ford F-1 axle. The front suspension is original but fully refurbished. Wilwood discs were fitted all round, headlights converted to LED and custom indicators and running lights in the bezels were all added to make it mine.”

So it’s coming along nicely here. But in all of car culture, there are two key elements

that make or break a car: wheel choice and colour choice. Once again, one with a little persuasion, John gave way to the rule book.

“The wheels are 18x9” Vision 405 Korupt in gloss Red with a gloss Black lip. I got the whole set for $1200, so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. They run on 255/55R18 Goodyear F1s all round. The colour of the wheels then got me thinking about the colour the truck was going to be painted.”

Before all that, however, John had to address the issue of the missing bed.

There’s more going on here than first meets the eye. The old headlights were chucked for a set of LEDs, with custom indicators and running lights in the bezels to make it unique

Some more research in Canada turned up a replacement, with shipping costed in, at a reasonable price, so he pressed the button and a few weeks later he was triumphantly bolting it on… only to find that there was now a gap between the cab and the bed.

“It was 100% planned,” he laughs. “But I needed something to fill it in. So I decided to be a bit different and after designing a template for some exhaust stacks like the ones you see on American big rigs, I contacted Projexe in Exeter who fabricated them in mild steel. I then had them chrome plated by a company in Bristol.”

Just say no

Now, back to the aforementioned colour choice – which, having seen it up close, I can confirm was well and truly the right one. “I originally wanted TVR chrome flare purple and green,” says John. “I’ve known the guys at Smartworld in Exeter for nigh-on 40 years, so I was only ever going to trust them with painting the truck. However, when I told them about the TVR choice, the firm response was a resounding no!” I suspect many of you will have thought the same thing…

“Looking at the wheels and looking at cars on the road, Mazda do a metallic Ruby

red which really stood out,” John continues.

“I took this to the gang as Smartworld.

‘That’s nice,’ they said, ‘but we can do better.’

After they had played around with different formulas and mixtures, they provided me with five swatches to choose from.

“Coincidentally, we both picked the same one. The actual colour is called Flaming Goose, after the main sprayer who laid it on.”

Attention then turned to the interior. John didn’t want to muck about too much with this, just keep it usable and add a few personal touches. “The seat is original, just retrimmed. The gauges are electronic, with the speedo

“It turned into a complete strip down and go for it, come hell or high water”

“I’d like to thank everyone involved,’ says John. “Thanks to my son for a helping hand, Anthony Lee at L-V-L transport for moving the truck and various other bits over the years, the team at Smartworld in Marsh Barton, Exeter, Jim at Royal Kustoms and Projexe. I’m very proud of what they have accomplished – it’s exactly as I had envisioned.”

being GPS driven, there’s a heater fitted and the switches are in the roof. If like me you’re a fan of Top Gun, you’ll understand the design. I was going to wire it using a well known kit but when it turned up it wasn’t all it seemed to be, so I made up my own custom loom and 16-panel fuseboard.” Makes that sound like a five-minute job, the way he says it so casually, but safe to say it wasn’t.

There’s no such thing as a finished project, but now John had a truck worthy of the name which he could drive backwards AND forwards and work on without bits falling on the floor. He hadn’t gone down either of the

main customising routes but he had created something that bucked the trend and lest we forget, that’s what customising is all about.

“She was running on 14 June at approximately 5.45 in the afternoon,” he says. “The following weekend, I took her to Cofton American show and then shortly after that to Powderham – where, incredibly, she won best in show.

“I’m over the moon with how she’s turned out. Not bad for a first attempt! I have got a few more plans and a few bits to do, such as fitting electric power steering – but other than that, I just want to drive her now.” CC

Rain rain go away Out & About

Words & Pics: Mick Anderson

Event: North East Rod and Custom gathering

Date: 19-21 September 2025

Venue: Wham Cottage Farm, Durham

North East Rod and Custom ran its first gathering back in 1977. After a pause, the events were resurrected in 2023 by Chris and Andrew Waller; this year’s was their third – and it was a brilliant weekend.

Held at Wham Cottage Farm, near Bishop Auckland in County Durham, the gathering was blessed by rather mixed weather. It was a bit damp at times, to say the least, but that didn’t stop it from being a great success with £1113 raised for Parkinsons

UK – including a generous donation of £140 from by Martin Howe, who travelled up to Durham to sell some memorabilia from the NASC Nationals.

That brings the total amount raised by the three events so far to more than £3000. A cracking effort.

The whole weekend has a 70s feel about it with lots of music, fancy dress, raffles and great banter. Friday was set-up day and then into the barn for a game of musical bingo and a couple of bands for entertainment, followed by karaoke for anyone who could stand the pace!

There’s usually a cruise out on the Saturday, however this had to be abandoned due to torrential rain. So everyone made use of the indoor facilities

until the music started at 4pm, with a variety of bands culminating in a headline act by the well known local group Harris Tweed, who had the dance floor packed ’til the end of the night.

Sunday by contrast was a lovely sunny day, giving everyone time to look around the field before packing up to go home. An old survivor hot rod, Gordon Holliday’s ’67 Corsair Cherry V, was there for people to reminisce over and see how things were built in the 70s, with lots of metalflake paint and button tufted draylon on display.

Andrew and Chris are already planning next year’s event and there are lots of rodders looking forward to another great weekend. Keep an eye on North East Rod & Custom on Facebook for details.

Auto focus

Al and the Gasser

When it comes to popular cars and drivers, one only has to say

Al’s Gasser to elicit a smile - and plenty of memories of Al O’Connor’s time on and off track.

like me, that makes it difficult. I’m 77 now, so I don’t know how much longer I will be able to race.”

Al lives locally, and he knew the Podington airfield facility before Santa Pod even existed, as he used to ride over the site on his way to school. He also got into American cars at an early age, which led him down the path of becoming a mechanic.

Al managed to lose his licence after some enthusiastic racing around the streets, wisely moving it to the track after that. He first raced in the Street Altered class in a tweaked Ford Zephyr called Rocky 2, completed with a flame paint job.

Psycho’ Pop from the Gleadow family and repaired its blown Chevy 302 motor, he reworked the car from a Competition Altered to a street based runner. The body was then refinished in what would become Al’s trademark black and flame look.

Although Al’s Gasser was not his first race car, it was the one that made his name. The wild-haired character quickly became a crowd favourite. Having bought the ‘Motor

It first ran in Street Altered, before moving into the Modified ranks. The wild Pop and its equally wild driver always entertained with wheelie launches, and Al well remembers being told off by the Race Director on a few occasions for popping wheelies down the fire-up road! This first version was quite tall, being based on a stock chassis, with an open spool diff: “I never knew where it was going to go.”

For Al himself, it was that seventies period he enjoyed the most. “There were a lot of parties at night, but I had to get family oriented in the end. The money side has gone through the roof now and for people

Al is very appreciative of everyone in the drag racing family who has helped him over the years. He counts himself lucky to escape his crash at the 1978 September International, which wrote off the first car in the final of Top Modified against Dave Stone in Tender Trap. It was a scary sight, as we saw Al’s crash helmet fly out of the car after it flipped at high speed! Luckily, after being rushed to hospital, it turned out that all his hair must have cushioned him as all he suffered was concussion.

Following the incident, a blanket collection, carried by fellow racers among the crowd, helped greatly with the rebuild.

Someone who Al got to know well in the early ‘70s was Allan ‘Bootsie’ Herridge, who had just started working for Santa Pod. The

Now running in Top Modified, back in 1977, when hard rolling burnouts were in vogue. The car was now sporting a pair of wheelie bars

pair used to drink together at Rushden’s Railway Inn and when the Gasser crashed, Bootsie offered to build him a proper chassis. This was constructed in one of the Pod workshops, using leftover tubing bits from the jet cars he was building.

That was the first door car chassis he built. Al still smiles when he relates how Bootsie said it would cost him a bottle of Southern Comfort. When the new chassis was completed, Al thought it was too cheap: “So I gave him two bottles!”

One of Al’s memorable years was taking the Gasser out to the States in 1988, to have a go at running in some 20 events with the NHRA. It was a great experience for him and Lesley Digby. “The Americans thought I was mad bringing a Super Gas car to go racing, as there were so many good ones over there.”

Prior to the trip, he reworked the set-up to left-hand drive as the NHRA rules only allowed for that configuration. Using a clutchless Liberty 4-speed at the time, it was a useful change, as the box was something of a pain to use in the original RHD set-up.

Once there, he was told that he needed an auto to be successful, but Al acquitted himself well on his travels. That trip, and a following one to drive an American race car in 1990, taught Al all about running a Powerglide, thanks to TCI.

More recently, 2017 was a trying year. At the Main Event, the Super Gas series was sponsored in the name of Al’s Gasser – but at that first round, Al got caught out by the wind at the top end, which flipped the car over. Unlike the 1978 crash, Al was securely cocooned in the safety cage and was totally unharmed. The Gasser took a hard hit on to the wall, however, and Al figured it was retirement time.

He reckoned without his racing friends having a different idea. With Phil ‘Ginner’ Middleton leading the rebuild, Dave Eady and Wayne Allman joined in to get Al get back to the track. There were also many others who donated parts to keep the Gasser rolling, which gives a good indication as to how Al is regarded.

He also developed razor-sharp reaction times. When he returned, reaction time readouts were just being introduced at Santa Pod – so Al was way ahead of the game for a while and enjoyed a successful period in Super Gas!

Al’s Gasser is not among the quickest cars running in Outlaw Anglia, as Al now only comes out three times a year for the nostalgia events. He has never wanted to put a wing on the gasser and electronics do not feature in his domain. “The car has stood the test of time. It was good for Super Gas, and I like to drive it around at the top end. All I ever wanted was a 9-second car.” When you watch him launch and run, you can appreciate just how well Al knows his car – and he is still razor sharp on the lights!

That chassis his late friend Bootsie built for him in 1978/9 has served him well over the years, and is still at the heart of the ever popular car with which Al O’Connor has carved his place in drag racing history. With a little help from his friends – and a soundtrack by Motörhead!

A mission to compete at Rømø becomes a 5000-mile epic in a ’55 Pontiac. Not just any old ’55 Pontiac, though

It started as an insane plan to race The Lil’ Shitter, my barn-find hot rod, at the 2026 Rømø Motor Festival in Denmark and the VHRA Pendine Sands Hot Rod Races. It may have been insane but it did turn out to be possible – though only when Clive Prew at Stromberg said I could borrow Poncho, his Pontiac wagon, to use as a tow barge.

Clive’s offer came with a caveat, though. “It needs a tow hitch.”

How hard could it be?

First, though, I had to get said Shitter to England. That was easily accomplished, though, by Brit John Reid who slipped it into California Shipping’s last container before they closed shop. The paperwork was handled by Kingstown Shipping, which did a

bang-up job as always. The car landed in the spring of 2025 and was kindly stored by Nick Davies of I.C.E. Automotive Racing Engines until my scheduled arrival in August, after Bonneville Speed Week.

While the Shitter was quickly and easily insured for Europe through Classic Line, Rømø is the small mater of a 500 mile drive from the Hook of Holland. And I don’t have the all-weather fortitude of Phil Wells who, with co-pilot Jamie Taylor, drove his banger-

“The Pontiac just kep’ on chuggin’ and eventually reached the summit”

powered ’23 T there and back. So instead I blagged a trailer from Nick and planned to join fellow traveller Peter Stevens in the towing lane.

Meanwhile, Tom Palfrey at Palfrey Motor Repairs of Wetheringsett, Suffolk handled the tow hitch fabrication, installation and wiring. All done in a matter of days, and for less than £400.

My only concern was Poncho. “The last time I saw that, it was on fire,” said Clive

Griesel. Super. He was not wrong but like a pig at breakfast, I was committed. Thankfully, as I was about to leave Clive’s I found a penny lying heads-up in the dirt. Anybody that knows me knows I like to find coins and this was an omen – at that point, I knew Poncho wouldn’t let me down. And it didn’t. In almost 5000 miles, mostly towing and some in torrential rain, the car never failed to start, never even hesitated and never let me down. Thanks, Clive.

Custom CORNER Custom

“The progressive tri-carb set up looks fantastically ol’ school”

Towing a loaded trailer with original drum brakes, I wasn’t always the fastest rig in the convoy and it didn’t always stop without twofooting the pedal and pulling on the wheel. But it plodded on relentlessly, returning about 15mpg when towing.

Clive purchased the Chieftain 870 Deluxe back in 2013 in Oregon, for under $3800. Last registered in 1976 (and still sporting the blue tagged plates), it had less than 60k on the odometer and came with those cool chrome Buick Wildcat wheels that Clive fitted with Coker whitewalls. With the help of Stromberg fabrication maestro Rick Pearmain, Clive soon had Ponch’ up and running on the tiny 2-bbl carb, having flushed out the cooling and fuel systems. It was at that point Clive digressed and updated the induction system.

Big ‘uns

As most of you will know, Clive is the manufacturer of new Stromberg 97 carbs and he also makes a 250cfm BIG97, also available as a BIG97 3x2 Tri-power. Wondering how the 287ci iron Indian would run with three big ‘uns, he obtained an original Offenhauser tri-power intake and installed it on the engine, freshly reconditioned by Nigel Woodhouse at N’s Auto Services of Woodbridge, Suffolk, using all new internals from California Pontiac Restoration in Santa Ana, California.

The progressive tri-carb set up looks fantastically ol’ school, helping Poncho run up to the speed limit on just that one middle (primary) carb and returning about 20mpg at the same time. Pushing the throttle a little more to bring in the two outer carbs really unleashes the horses (all 200 of them) to easily keep up with motorway traffic.

Speaking of which, Clive has recently built and dyno’d a 368bhp BIG97-equipped 383ci Chevy for his ‘46 Ford coupe, which will be the subject of an upcoming tech article. There’s also talk that classic sports car circuit racers now have FIA approval to run six Stromberg 97s on their Chevy and Ford V-8s.

With the mechanicals sorted (brakes and steering rebuilt and Fatman 2.5-inch lowered front spindles fitted), Clive turned his attention to the exterior and interior. He opted to leave the paint pretty much as it was albeit for some judicial Scotchbriting and period lettering by Neil Melliard, in the style of a fifties race car support vehicle.

The red and cream tuck-n-roll interior that was in the car when purchased was in

reasonable condition after a good clean, however, the front bench was recovered in the same style by Neil Tadman. New carpet is in place, and door seals are on the to-do list to as, incidentally, are disc brakes. Now he tells me…

After filling me in on the car’s foibles, Clive said: “The original spare is under the rear floor but I don’t know if it holds air. And because the car is lowered, I don’t know how

“The last time I saw that, it was on fire”

you’d fit it at the side of the road anyway. Just don’t get a flat.”

With that encouragement, off I went to I.C.E. in Milton Keynes to pick up Nick’s trailer, and the Shitter, before heading back to Harwich to rendezvous with the group for an uneventful six-hour ferry to Holland. From there, it was a three-hour drive up through Holland to our overnight stop in Bad Bentheim in Lower Saxony, Germany. Unfortunately, a booking error meant that Peter and Jamie slept in the parking lot, Jamie in the back of the Poncho. No matter, it meant an early start the next morning.

Ferry ‘cross the Elbe

We had planned to take the arduous route through Hamburg, where they have been working on the roads since the end of the war or, so it seems, but somebody told us about a little-used ferry across the Elbe at Glückstadt. That detour turned out to

be a major mistake as we waited three hours to get on the ferry, resulting in an extremely tiring 11-hour driving day that got us into Rømø well late – missing the first of several parties.

Poncho was parked and I didn’t touch her for three days, until it was time to head home. Nevertheless she fired right up and the journey was uneventful, apart from a 90-minute delay getting through Hamburg where the temp gauge climbed a tad but never reached hot, hot, hot. The gas gauge kinda works – it moves up and it moves down – but there is no real indication of volume and my failed attempt at mentally converting litres to gallons and kilometres to miles just did not compute.

Consequently, I made a lot of stops and fell behind the others. Still managed to arrive ahead of them, though. Go figure.

From Harwich, it was on to Santa Pod for the NSRA Hot Rod Drags, where I was

providing tow-car duties for Nick Davies’ new AA/Fuel Altered ‘No Quarter.’ Towing Nick’s awesome Altered was actually a lot more fun than draggin’ the Shitter. Much as I enjoyed them, the beach races at Rømø had already alerted me to the fact the Shitter was a 60mph slug and my first race against Maze in her 350-powered British ’32 Tudor proved it. She killed me, so I parked the Shitter and concentrated on towing duties.

Again, the Pontiac performed and never once failed to tow Nick’s Fiat to the line or back from the finish, even after Nick did a little ploughing beyond the end of the strip.

The Stromberg demonstrator and the sixtiesstyle fuel Altered made for great nostalgia photo ops.

After the Pod, I was away down to Wales for the VHRA Hot Rod Races at Pendine. The journey down was uneventful until we hit the unexpected steep hills on the A465 north of Merthyr Tydfil. I had not anticipated the

climb that went on and on and just when you think you’ve reached the top it goes, well, on and on some more. Notwithstanding the incredible long and steep grade, the Pontiac just kep’ on chuggin’ and eventually reached the summit.

From there, it was plain sailing into Pendine – where it rained so much of the time during the first scheduled day of racing that Lil’ Shitter started to splutter. We tracked it to soaked plugs.

Worse, I realised that I had screwed up and Lil’ Shitter had to be at Southampton on the Monday after Pendine. I’d miscalculated, so rather than race on the sunny Sunday I trailered my way back to Southampton.

True to form, Poncho continued her reliability run. Never complaining, just steadily moving forward, eating up the miles. It was a truly amazing journey and I cherish that lucky penny – and the ‘just one hitch’ Pontiac. CC

BRENTACRE

NB: We advise you to double check with organisers that the event or show as listed is still going ahead, to avoid any wasted journeys. To submit an event, email editorial@pistonpublications.co.uk

NOVEMBER

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

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

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

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

FEBRUARY 2026

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

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

DECEMBER 2025

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

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

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

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

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

JANUARY 2026

4 New Year Autojumble. Whitewebbs Museum of Transport, Enfield. www.whitewebbsmuseum.co.uk

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

10 Blacktop Kings Traditional Indoor Kustom Show South of England Showground, West Sussex blacktopkingscarshow@gmail.com

18 Huddersfield Auto / Retro Jumble Brook Street, Huddersfield. www.phoenixfairs.jimdo.com

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

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

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

20-22 Race Retro Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire. www.raceretro.com

22 Huddersfield Auto / Retro Jumble Brook Street, Huddersfield. www.phoenixfairs.jimdo.com

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

28-1 March Straightliners Speed Show Elvington,West Yorkshire. www.straightliners.events

MARCH 2026

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

8 NSRA Southern Swapmeet North Weald Airfield, Essex www.nsra.org.uk

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

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

20-22 Classic Car and Restoration Show NEC, Birmingham. www.necrestorationshow.com

21 Drag’n’Drift Dakota Raceway, Smeatharpe Airfield, Devon. www.straightliners.events

22 Huddersfield Auto / Retro Jumble Brook Street, Huddersfield. www.phoenixfairs.jimdo.com

22 Straightliners Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

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

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

29 Spring Shakedown Melbourne Raceway. www.straightliners.events

30 Full Throttle Monday Elvington Airfield, West Yorkshire www.straightliners.events

APRIL 2026

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

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

3-5 Festival of Power Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

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

11-12 Spring Nationals Melbourne Raceway. www.straightliners.events

12 Bernie’s V8s and Historic Outlaws Silverstone Grand Prix www.berniesv8s.com

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

13 Full Throttle Monday Elvington Airfield, West Yorkshire www.straightliners.events

18-19 Springspeed Nationals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

19 Huddersfield Auto / Retro Jumble Brook Street, Huddersfield. www.phoenixfairs.jimdo.com

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

21 Drag’n’Drift Dakota Raceway, Smeatharpe Airfield, Devon. www.straightliners.events

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

23-26 Isle of Man Ford Fest www.iomfm.com

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

26 The Fast Show Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

26 Gathering of Geezers. Whitewebbs Museum of Transport, Enfield. www.whitewebbsmuseum.co.uk

MAY 2026

1-3 Nostalgia Nationals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

2-3 Pendine Speed Weekend Pendine Sands, Carmarthenshire www.straightliners.events

3 BHP Show Kent Showground, Detling, Maidstone. bhpshows.com

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

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

9-10 Melbourne Mayhem Melbourne Raceway www.straightliners.events

11 Full Throttle Monday Elvington Airfield, West Yorkshire www.straightliners.events

15-17 Doorslammers Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

16-17 Bernie’s V8s and Historic Outlaws Thruxton (British Truck Racing Championship) www.berniesv8s.com

25-31 NSRA Fun Run Whitecliff Bay Holiday Park Isle of Wight. www.nsra.org.uk

16-17 Duchy Ford Show Watergate Bay, Newquay, Cornwall www.duchyfordclub.co.uk

17 Classic Wheels Rutland Showground, Oakham www.classicwheelsrutland.co.uk

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

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

22-25 The Main Event Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

24 Throttle Bicester Motion, Oxon. www.vhra.co.uk

29-1 June VanJam Fir Tree Farm, Warmington. www.vanditos.co.uk

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

JUNE 2026

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

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

4-7 Hot Rods and Hills Park Foot Holiday Park, Penrith www.parkfootullswater.co.uk

4-7 Street Weekend Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

6-7 Bernie’s V8s and Historic Outlaws Brands Hatch (Speedfest) www.berniesv8s.com

6-7 Street Weekend Melbourne Raceway www.straightliners.events

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

8 Full Throttle Monday Elvington Airfield, West Yorkshire www.straightliners.events

13-14 Sportsman Nationals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

BRENTACRE

19 Ford Show Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

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

19 VHRA Swap Meet The Camp, Ramsey, Cambs. www.vhra.co.uk

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

19-21 Hot Rod Rumble

The Camp, Ramsey, Huntingdon www.hotrodrumble.co.uk

20-21 Argyle Mile Campbletown Airfield, Scotland www.straightliners.events

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

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

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

26-28 Dragstalgia Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

27-28 Bernie’s V8s and Historic Outlaws Donington Park GP www.berniesv8s.com

JULY 2026

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

3-4 Hangar Rockin St Stephan Airfield, St Stephan, Switzerland. www.hangarrockin.com

3-5 MPH Vintage Sprint Denethorpe Airfield, Corby. www.mphdrags.co.uk

3-5 National Hot Rod, Custom, & American Car Show Lincolnshire Showground, Lincoln. www.hotrodandcustomshow.co.uk

4 Drag’n’Drift Dakota Raceway, Smeatharpe Airfield, Devon. www.straightliners.events

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

9-12 European Street Rod Nationals Sillé-le-Guillaume, Sarthe, France. www.esra-rod.eu

9-12 Goodwood Festival of Speed Goodwood Estate, West Sussex. www. goodwood.com

10-12 Summer Nationals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

11-12 Jet Fest Melbourne Raceway. www.straightliners.events

13 Full Throttle Monday Elvington Airfield, West Yorkshire www.straightliners.events

17-19 Rock ‘n’ Ribs Festival Bath and West Showground, Somerset. www.rocknribsfestival.co.uk

18 In the Mood, Presenting Wings & Wheels South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum Doncaster Facebook: Mick Tebbs / Les Andrews

18 Mustang Nationals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

18-19 American Auto Club UK Summer Nationals Upton Upon Severn Worcestershire www.american-auto-club.co.uk

19 Deuce Day British Motor Museum, Gaydon www.deucesofbritain.co.uk/deuce-day

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

24-26 Bug Jam Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

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

25-26 Bernie’s V8s and Historic Outlaws Snetterton USA 300 www.berniesv8s.com

AUGUST 2026

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

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

6-9 NSRA Hot Rod Supernationals Old Warden, Bedfordshire www.nsra.org.uk

7-9 Mopar Euro Nationals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

7-9 Retrofestival Newbury Showground. www.retrofestival.co.uk

8-9 Midsummer Nationals Melbourne Raceway www.straightliners.events

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

10 Full Throttle Monday Elvington Airfield, West Yorkshire www.straightliners.events

15 Drag’n’Drift Dakota Raceway, Smeatharpe Airfield, Devon. www.straightliners.events

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

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

22 Bernie’s V8s and Historic Outlaws Oulton Park US Autoshow www.berniesv8s.com

22-23 Greenlight Nationals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

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

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

SEPTEMBER 2026

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

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

4-6 The Trip Out Euston Park, Suffolk. www.thetripout.co.uk

5-6 Bracket Bonanza Melbourne Raceway. www.straightliners.events

6 A602’s Autorama Fairlands Valley Showground, Stevenage. Facebook: A602’s CC Autorama Show

10-13 Euro Finals Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

10-13 Race the Waves Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire. www.backfireinfo.weebly.com

11-13 Goodwood Revival Goodwood Estate, West Sussex. www.goodwood.com

OCTOBER 2026

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

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

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

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

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

12-13 Pendine Sands Hot Rod Races Pendine, Carmarthenshire. www.vhra.co.uk

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

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

17-20 Isle of Man Festival of Motoring www.iomfm.com

17-20 Speed and Wheelies Week Elvington Airfield, West Yorkshire www.straightliners.events

18-20 Hot Rod Drags Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk

19-20 Bernie’s V8s and Historic Outlaws Brands Hatch GP www.berniesv8s.com

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

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

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

NOVEMBER 2026

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

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

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

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

DECEMBER 2026

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

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

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