Innehållsförteckning för January 2024 från Custom Car

Len Marriner’s involvement in the custom car scene dates back to the early ‘70s, the pinnacle coming when he exhibited his Mk3 Cortina at the Rod and Custom Show at Belle Vue. Known as The Sting, the ‘Tina sported paint by Clive Miles of the Custom Car Centre in Boscombe, Dorset, the man who is possibly best known for having also painted the multi-award-winning E-type Jaguar called The Egyptian. Len’s passion for custom cars was then put on hold when his family came along. The car bug never leaves us though, but instead merely lies dormant until the time is right. When that time came, it took a more classic approach, but at least Len was back among old cars. The next twist saw him behind the wheel of a…

Last time we ventured into Mark Hughes’ garage, it was in Barnsley, not Lincolnshire where he lives now. It also contained a very sweet 1960’s-style Model A coupe, not the tail dragging custom Plymouth you see here. As it turns out, a lot has happened in Mark’s life in the interim, some of which we’ll share. Suffice to say, he’s back up and running again now and already deep into his next build, but we’ll come to that in a minute. Asked when the change came that saw him move from hot rods into customs, Mark was quick to reply: “I’ve always been into customs. I used to get into trouble at school because I’d be busy drawing chopped Mercs and flame jobs when I should have been doing school…

The team behind Run to the Sun relaunched the notorious custom car festival in May 23, with a scaled down version of the three-day event. It was 10 years since the last RTTS in 2013 – which at the time the team had named the Final Chapter. Now it’s back, with a new focus – on the cars. And not just any cars. Run to the Sun is once again about the custom cars that built the event in its early years. In 2013, it was no secret that RTTS had become more about the boy racers and all-night raves. It was wild! It had started out as a custom car event but it took the view that anyone should be accepted – anyone with that passion, that fire in…

Friday at this year’s Hot Rod Drags was a glorious sunny day. Shame I spent most of it sitting in traffic trying to get to the Pod to watch the RWYB racing. It was, by all accounts, rather good, with over 120 people signing off for the RWYB, so it was disappointing to miss the majority of it. Still, Saturday dawned nice too, and a great day’s racing was enjoyed by all, topped off with the traditional ‘Cracklefest’, fireworks and live music in the marquee. Knowing heavy rain was forecast for Sunday afternoon, we got up bright and early in the morning and watched a good few hours’ racing until the predicted deluge arrived bang on time around 3 o’clock. As we all knew it was in to stay, the…

Event: Mike’s Motor Mayhem Date: 10 September Venue: Perranporth Airfield, Cornwall At the end of April 2023, Mike Allen, a local petrolhead who helped out at drag and drift events in Cornwall, went on a night out with his mates and, tragically, never came home. A victim of knife crime, his loss left his family and the community totally devastated. In his memory, his family set up Mike’s Trust to raise awareness of knife crime and put on events in the area to raise money that would support victims. As Mike loved his cars, it was only fitting that a car show would be on the cards. And so plans for Mike’s Motor Mania were put in motion. The event was initially scheduled for the summer – but thanks to bad…

IT’S OFTEN SAID that the people with the best cars are the ones who don’t boast about them. The guy with a humdrum kit car he thinks is a hot rod will be quick to open his mouth and tell everyone why he’s right (and they’re wrong) – while the other guy, who’s built a world class custom car, will stand quietly by and let his work do the talking. Andy Saunders is a very well known name in the scene, and indeed beyond. But seldom has there been a better example of someone who lets their cars do the talking. It’s an approach that’s writ large in his book, The Automotive Alchemist, which was published last year to great acclaim. A feature of the customising game is that there’s…

Event: Hot Rods and Hills Date: 8-11 June Venue: Park Foot Holiday Park, Ullswater The Lake District is such a quiet, peaceful place. But once every year, it becomes the Mecca for some of the best vehicles you will ever see – turning a nice, quiet village into a V8 full-force zone of noise and beautiful things other than the wildlife and hills. Actually, some would say that it still is wildlife viewing… it’s just that the wildlife in question is, well, a little different… Hot Rods and Hills is held at Park Foot Holiday Park, in the foothills of Ullswater. It’s one of the most iconic weekends of the show season – yet one big, big thing that sets it apart from all the rest of the shows is…

Beach buggies are just plain cool, full stop. They make onlookers smile – and a lightweight body on top of Beetle running gear, plus a fairly hearty motor, can only make for a thrilling drive. So what happens when you decide to come at this from a different angle, by creating your own body and deciding that a flat four out the back and trying to keep the wheels firmly on the ground just isn’t enough? Enter Tod Davies – who, as you can see, felt a flat four definitely wasn’t enough… and decided to put a hearty 215ci Rover V8 out the back! Tod isn’t scared of driving this crazy contraption, either. Far from it, he’s been out in it in the wind, rain, you name it – this…