Indholdsfortegnelse for July 2021 i Custom Car

The mantra of No Quarter AA/FA drag racing is simple: ‘No Quarter’ – asked or given. A tribute to what some consider the golden years of Fuel Altered racing. When too much was just about enough… This new British drag racing class, for historic-style Fuel Altereds, is set to hit the track in 2023. Initial class regulations have now been agreed upon, including a maximum wheelbase of 110 inches, maximum engine setback of 25%, minimum weight of 4.5lbs per cubic inch, minimum crankshaft centreline height of 13 inches, maximum blower size of 8-71, maximum wheelie bar length of 36 inches, mandatory clutch and no wings, unless it is an accurate recreation of a known car. The latest member of the newly formed Old School Classic Altered Racers club (OSCAR) is…

Australian drag racer, John Willard, ran the first full pass in his blown 451 Hemi-powered Aussie Outlaw Anglia at Sydney Dragway in December. He made quite an entrance as the timing board displayed 6.938 / 201.49. Then, on 15 May this year he topped that with a storming 6.798 / 204.94. The gauntlet has been well and truly thrown down. John is familiar with Outlaw Anglia racing in the UK as not only did he crew for Mick Taylor at the Summer Nationals and Dragstalgia in 2018, he ordered the GRP body for his car from the Flyin Fyfer himself, Colin Millar.…

The Spring 2021 edition of HOFtalk, the magazine of the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame, has been compiled by BDRHoF director, Jerry Cookson. Sadly, the issue went to print before the death of Dennis Priddle, but the next edition will be a tribute to his tremendous contribution to British drag racing. The Spring edition includes an article by Tony Thacker on Merek Chertkow who, as a 19-year-old driver of the Moonshot AA/FD, visited Britain’s Drag Fest in 1965, as well as an interview Eurodragster.com editor, Simon Groves, conducted with South African fuel dragster pioneer, Arthur Christy, who competed at Santa Pod’s memorable 1971 International meeting. www.britishdragracinghof.co.uk…

The year was 1972, the month July, and on the cover we proclaimed “All you ever wanted to know about hot rodding and never dared to ask.” A bold claim, even then, but imagine the social media uproar an article like this would cause today. So how did we fare? Well, we used Glynn Dobinson’s Shotgun T as the cover car, and that alone was a radical move as, let’s face it, there aren’t very many people – then or even now – capable of making their own chassis and body out of steel. Glynn did though, mercilessly beating the thing out of flat steel sheet. “The result… is a damn sight more accurate than the greater majority of plastic bodies we’ve seen so far,” was how we described his…

Dad’s Day out If you’re looking for somewhere to go on Father’s Day, Sunday 20 June, head for the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu. Held in association with Solent Renegades, the Hot Rod & Custom Show brings together hot rods, customs, American cars, classics and bikes, along with live music and a Vintage Pop-Up, offering everything from fashion to homeware and motoring memorabilia. Visitors are welcome to enjoy Beaulieu’s grounds and gardens, and tickets must be purchased in advance to conform to Covid requirements.  www.beaulieu.co.uk/events/hot-rod-and-custom Inside and out This is a final reminderr to order tickets for the National Hot Rod, Custom and American Car Show at Peterborough Arena. The dates are 2-4 July and the weekend offers indoor and outdoor show areas, trade stands, lowrider demos and live music. We…

Dave Rowlands Track marshal and former Wild Bunch racer, Dave Rowlands, passed away suddenly on 6 May. Dave ran the Destiny’s Angel Altered from 2007-2011, before then sharing driving duties with his son, Warren. When he retired from racing, Dave joined the track crew at Shakespeare County Raceway and then, when Shakey closed down, Dave and his partner, Angie, transferred to Santa Pod Raceway to continue their track crew involvement. Dave will be remembered for being a great guy and a true gentleman, ever alert to racers’ safety, and loved doing what he did. He will be greatly missed by all in the racing community. Our condolences go to Angie and Warren and all their family and friends. RIP. Phil Smith (Words by Adrian Sidwell) Phil ‘Ziggy’ Smith passed away…

Onceuponatime, there wasadrag racemeeting celebrating the sport’s history and heritage called Dragstalgia. Then along cameawicked pandemic and blewitallaway. But fear not! Stout vaccine leapt forth to vanquish grim old Covid, andplucky Dragstalgiawas restored to its rightful placeonthe Santa PodRaceway calendar, after onlyayear in hiding. Nonsense aside, that’s the kernel of the matter. Lockdown lift-up is due to happen on 21 June and, as long as the Indian (or Galapagos / Greenland / Guinea, or whatever else passes for the next new) variant doesn’t spoil matters, Dragstalgia will take place from 9-11 July. Expect a full complement of heritage drag racers in the paddock, together with a full complement of heritage drag racing enthusiasts lining the grandstands and spectator bank, all eager to witness the nitro revival. What’s more, it will…

Santa Pod’s deferred start to the 2021 season will have kicked off with the Springspeed Nationals by the time this issue hits the newsstands. We’ll be bringing you the lowdown on that next month and, with that in mind, we got to thinking about when we last had any coverage of racing at Santa Pod in CC. Checking back, it transpires the last race meet of the depleted 2020 season was the National Finals, which we featured in the February ’21 issue, some six months ago now. We did run a piece on Flame & Thunder in the March ’21 issue, but that is more of an exhibition event than actual racing. a welcome platform for racers to come out of hibernation As it’s been so long, we thought it…

I’ve been into rods since my teens, and dreamed of one day building my ultimate Model T. It’s taken a while, but there comes a time when you know you have to realise your dream because suddenly you are older and time becomes more important than money. So for me it was a case of do it or forget it. Ever since I sold ‘Katie’, my ’23 Model T Doctor’s Coupe, 14 years ago there has been an emptiness in my life that I knew could only be filled by another Model T. So I made the decision to throw my life savings at building a new, improved version. From the outset, I decided on three maxims: no restriction on budget, no compromise on quality and to build the very…

Thanks to the kind generosity of long term CC reader, Paul Bibby, my magazine collection has recently received a very welcome boost. Paul’s input goes much further than that, and I will let you know the full details on that front as things develop. For now, though, I will concentrate on the 16 copies of National Drag Racer magazine that now occupy shelf space in my office. The oldest copy Paul gave me is from April-May ’72, issue five of the then bi-monthly publication edited by Mike Aitken. Working backwards, I deduce issue number one therefore arrived around August-September 1971. It then went monthly from issue 10, cover dated February ’73, and the most recent copy I have is issue 21 from January ’74. A notice on the inside front…

We mentioned last month that the NSRA will be attending the Yorkshire Motorsport Festival, with a display of vehicles arranged by Nigel Lockley. The exhibits will range from a blown Chevy pick-up through a blown big block-powered ’41 Willys coupe and a freshly rebuilt ’32 Ford roadster to the steam punk-inspired ’24 Singer known as Automatron. The festival promises three days of closed-road hillclimbing and a vast display of vintage and classic vehicles, both on show and competing. Sarah Crabtree from the TV show Bangers & Cash will be just one of the celebrities attending the event, which takes place on 25-27 June near Holmfirth, Yorks. For more information, look up www.ymsf…

Returning to Eagle Field Runway in Firebaugh, California after four years reminded me so much of my first trip to Santa Pod in 1966. You arrive through farmland as far as the eye can see and the decommissioned pilot training base looks so much like the Podington airfield of 55 years ago. Eagle Field, some 250 miles north of Los Angeles, was purchased in 1980 by Joe Davis to preserve its history. Then, in 2009, Rocky Phillips came along with the idea of running flagstart, eighth-mile drags on what’s left of the original runway. Though short and narrow, the strip is in fairly good condition, but the rest of the Field is, well, dirt. The dust is not for everybody (they do hose it down) but, if you love ol’ timey…

anything from a basic service to turnkey custom builds Though they started out working mostly on VWs, CC readers may recognise the name as it was these boys who painted Richard Hartley’s recently featured ’32 coupe, as well as Treve Flamank’s Morris van. Proprietor, Anthony Fryett, started the business in 2007 after being made redundant. From initially offering just prep and paint services himself, Autostyl now has six fulltime staff members and can undertake anything from a basic service to turnkey custom builds, with air ride a speciality, being an authorised Air Lift Performance dealer. To give you some idea of the scope of work undertaken, recent projects through the door include a Mercedes 319 fire truck, a Chevy 3100 pick-up and an Aston Martin DBS. If you are interested…

Back issues: £4.99 per issue, including postage & packing (UK delivery only) April 2020 Flathead roadster Buick rag top 700bhp pick-up Wild Weekend Grand National Roadster Show May 2020 Daimler-powered Rover Bagged Chevy pick-up Tubbed Metropolitan Downtown New York Detroit Autorama June/July 2020 Naked Willys Chopped Mercury Nailhead-powered coupe Willys Wars NSRA Swap Meet Summer 2020 50th anniversary issue Al’s Gasser Mustang Pro Mod The Duster story Stripped down Modifieds August/September 2020 Period perfect roadster A Minor influence The sport truck phenomenon Popular front Custom DeSoto October 2020 A Woodie like no other On Track at Santa Pod Custom Buick coupe Ford Maverick history RIP Stu Bradbury November 2020 VXR8-influenced '34 coupe '46 Ford Panel Van 50th US Street Rod Nats Road trip in a '37 coupe Nostalgia Drags December…