Innehållsförteckning för April 2023 från Custom Car

British drag racing pioneer Nobby Hills, who has died of natural causes aged 87, became involved with European drag racing at the very start. Witnessing Sydney Allard and Dante Duce racing in the early ’60s inspired him to build a race car of his very own. The first of the Houndog cars appeared in 1964 and, with Nobby focusing on the engineering side of things, was driven by a number of hired-in drivers. Nobby built six front-engined dragsters, the first having Jaguar power and the last a Chrysler Hemi. Houndog 6 regularly ran mid 7-second quarters in the early ’70s. Things then turned Funny for Nobby in 1973 when he purchased the ex-Paula Murphy STP sponsored Plymouth Duster flopper. Owen Hayward drove the car, renamed Houndog 7, running a best…

Free for all Sunday 30 April is the date for the Wakefield Classic and American Car and Bike Show. It will run from 10:30 am in the city centre (postcode WF1 1HG). All rods, customs, classics and bikes are welcome, in fact the organisers will welcome any vehicle deemed to be of interest. The show is organised by Wakefield BID and it’s totally free for both exhibitors and visitors. www.wakefieldbid.co.uk Firing up Seems the guys behind Flat Caps and Ferrets have itchy feet and can’t wait until September, as they’re organising an early season warm up. Details are still sketchy but it will be known as Spring Fire Up. The dates are 5-7 May and it will take place at the same Huddersfield venue as the late season event. Facebook:…

By the time you get to this page in this month’s issue of Custom Car, chances are you’ll already have cast your eyes over Kelvin Helsdown’s stunning ’57 Oldsmobile. It has spent the last while in the workshop of dreams that is Valley Gas, which is where we went to meet up with the guys there prior to doing our photoshoot. Naturally, it wasn’t just a case of turning up, fetching the car out of the yard and setting off to do our thing. With so many exciting projects on the go, declining the opportunity to take a nose round would be little short of criminally negligent – especially when so many of them are earmarked for future CC features. In particular, one of them – a ’41 Ford pick-up…

I’M HALF A YEAR IN TO WRITING THESE COLUMNS NOW. Hardly seems like five minutes, but there you are. Something I’ve really noticed is that more or less every month, our news pages have included at least one obituary. Pat Ganahl, John Baldoccino, Jon Morton, Tom Hoover, Jeff Beck, John Bennett… and now this month, Nobby Hills and Chris Adams. It’s no secret that this scene is ageing. Many within it, whether on the racing or rodding side, talk of the need to bring in new blood. An awful lot of people who do rods and customs/kustoms got into it in the 1970s and never left, having found that nothing else comes close – and not even the best cars in the world can hold back the sands of time. Every…

After several abortive attempts to start the event during the pandemic, Street Weekend finally takes off in 2023 – and to say the response has been immense would be an understatement! Truth be told, a final entry of 20 cars would have been considered a success. However, at the time of writing, the number of confirmed entries has already nearly doubled that goal – with dozens more hard at work to get their vehicles ready in time to be part of this historic occasion. The UK’s first official Drag and Drive competition will certainly be one to remember! The concept of Drag and Drive is simple. You set the quickest time you possibly can at one track, submit your timeslip, drive your race car on the road to the next…

Seaside bash If you haven’t already pre-entered, you’re now too late to participate in Race the Waves on Bridlington beach over the long weekend of 20-23 April. However that doesn’t mean you have to miss out on all the fun. Tickets for the Drivers Bash on Saturday 22 April are now available to all comers. It takes place at Bridlington C.Y.P. (YO16 4AY) and runs from 7pm to 11pm. The evening’s entertainment will be provided by a disco and live music and admission is by ticket only. The closing date for early bird tickets has already passed but regular tickets, priced at £13.75 per person (including booking fee), are available until the end of March. From Saturday 1 April, this will switch to last minute tickets priced at £16.50 per…

About time, quarantine is over and we can play cars and attend indoor shows again. Meanwhile, ARP Racing Products has stepped up to sponsor both the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster Award (AMBR) and the Al Slonaker Memorial Award at the 73rd O’Reilly Auto Parts Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS). Each award comprises a substantial trophy and a cash prize of $12,500, as well as the prestige of winning what has become the world’s most significant custom car and hot rod show – the ‘Grandaddy of Them All.’ Of course, $12,500 is but a drop in the bucket of the guesstimated $1 million or more it takes to build a show-winning contender. Cost notwithstanding, there were nine entries up for the AMBR and 11 contenders for the Al Slonaker Award. That’s a…

MARCH 18 Drag & Drift Dakota Raceway, Honiton, Devon. www.straightliners.events 19 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 21 VW Air-Cooled Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 24-26 Classic Car and Restoration Show NEC, Birmingham. www.necrestorationshow.com 25 All American Cruise In. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 25 Run What Ya Brung Saturday Night Special Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 26 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 27 Top Speed Monday Elvington Airfield, Elvington, West Yorkshire. www.straightliners.events APRIL 1 Run What Ya Brung Santa Pod Raceway. www.santapod.co.uk 1-2 Straightliners Race Meet Santa Pod. www.straightliners.events 2 ‘Normous Newark Autojumble Newark Showground, Newark, Notts. www.newarkautojumble.co.uk 2 Wheels on the Waterfront Sovereign Harbour, Eastbourne. Facebook: The Waterfront Eastbourne 5 Hot Rod Night. Ace Café, London. www.acecafe.com 7 Wheelsday Rushmoor Arena, Aldershot. surreystreetrodders.co.uk 7-9 Festival…