Table of contents for September 2021 in Custom Car

The Kestrel Brewing Company is the new official sponsor of the left-hand lane at Santa Pod Raceway. An offshoot of the deal is that draught and canned Kestrel beer will be introduced to the facility’s bars as soon as possible, making it a win, win situation. The Kestrel Brewing Company recently unveiled The Flying Kestrel, a 1935 Riley Kestrel 9 transformed by Webster Race Engineering into a land speed racer. With a turbocharged, 2.5-litre Audi engine making 900bhp, the car has already topped 175mph and secured seven official land speed class records.…

Dear CC, I realised I had not answered Dave’s question about National Drag Racer magazine, although you have no doubt been informed on that score. It started with bi-monthly issues, the first being the July/Aug ’71 issue. It later became a monthly publication, before becoming Drag Racer in June 1975. The final edition was number 44, cover dated February ’76. Two issues did not appear in 1974, but that didn’t affect the issue numbers. I did write for them, but ended up doing too many race reports, so stopped doing that one. A great magazine of that era. Keith Lee, via email Dear CC, National Drag Racer magazine started out as a bi-monthly with the July/August ’71 issue. It went monthly from the February ’73 issue and I do, of course,…

Dear CC, I have just bought the latest issue and am thinking about embarking on a project. Hopefully it won’t be too expensive, and perhaps you could help me with that. For many years I have been a big fan of F1 Stock Car racing, and would like to build my own car running an American engine. Do you know of anyone who could give me instructions, measurements and some idea of the cost? When the car is built, I plan to take it to shows, along with advertising boards clearly stating which companies the car is sponsored by. Nigel Deeley, Beeston, Notts > Firstly Nigel, let me thank you for the old school, hand-written letter. Such a rarity these days. A quick Google about F1 Stock Car regulations turned…

Ex-pat and former CC editor, Tony Thacker, lives in California these days, and this month gets reunited with an old time drag strip We haven’t had a Holley National Hot Rod Reunion since 2019, and we’ve missed it. Not the heat and humidity, but the action on a track that was built in 1951 and has suffered little modernisation in the years since. Beech Bend Raceway Park, Bowling Green, Kentucky is still one of the coolest strips in action. It’s hard to be certain as it’s such a vast venue, but the field seemed a little down this year, no doubt due to the pandemic. Nevertheless, the action was fast and furious, from the swap meet and the show field through to the strip and the Cacklefest. the action was…

Exhibition runs throughout the weekend included the first passes from Martin Hill in the Fireforce 5 jet dragster since last October, the best being a 5.318/220.87. Hill also piloted the Fireforce 3 jet Funny Car to a best of 5.863/247.65. Andy Raw was getting more track time in his Nitro Bug, carding a best of 8.638/99 at half track before an early parachute deployment saw the car get loose and cross lanes, curtailing his fun on Sunday. Saturday also saw a couple of demo runs from Simon Barlow in the Orange Pop Fordson, the best being a 7.516/188.11.…

SAVE 14% and get a worth £51.48* when you subscribe to CAR MECHANICS SAVE 14% + GET A FREE SCREWDRIVER SET Just £48.60 for 12 ISSUES** A set of 6 screwdrivers for slotted, Phillips and Pozi drive heads. The screwdrivers feature TT-MV PLUS steel blades and ergonomically designed bi-material handles with hanging hole and T-drive facility for added torque and comfort. The screwdrivers are supplied in a full colour display box with PS tray. Visit: shop.kelsey.co.uk/CMETENG21H Or call: 01959 543 747 and quote CMETENG21H Hotlines open: Monday-Friday 8.30am-5.30pm. Calls are charged at your standard network rate Full terms and conditions can be found at shop.kelsey.co.uk/terms **Offer applies to UK subscribers only when paying by direct debit. *RRP of Screwdriver Set. Gift is subject to availability. Offer ends December 31st 2021. Please allow…

Festival time The dates are 21-22 August, the place to be is Peterborough Lions Rugby Club (PE3 8ED), and the name of the game is Peterborough Festival of Wheels. The show’s motto is ‘Where there’s a wheel, there’s a way’ and this year it all kicks off with a quiz and curry night on the Friday, followed by a rock ’n’ roll Saturday night and a charity MusicFest on the Sunday. Plus a load of wheels of course. www.pbfow.co.uk Knuckle down The last Bank Holiday of the season sees a return to Stonham Barns in Suffolk for the Knuckle Busters at the Barns on 29-29 August. Weekend tickets, including camping, are £40 per person, and Sunday-only tickets £10, though show car drivers benefit from free admission on Sunday only. Weekend…

How To Build Affordable Hot Rods by ex-CC Editor, Tony Thacker, pretty much does what it says on the cover, though obviously ‘affordable’ is a subjective term directly related to an individual’s disposable income. In all fairness, references to the likes of The Deuce Factory, Hollywood Hot Rods, SO-CAL Speed Shop and Roy Brizio Street Rods aside, this publication does offer some sound advice, tech tips and lots of guidance on doing things yourself. Available from Car Tech for $36.95, a copy of How To Build Affordable Hot Rods is well worth your investment. We found it listed on Amazon for just under £20, and one shrewd purchase, or making just one part yourself instead of buying it, soon recoups that outlay.…

www.customcarmag.co.uk Coronavirus (Covid-19): With events still being cancelled or rearranged due to the ongoing pandemic, these listings should only be regarded as provisional. Please adhere to current government guidelines, and always check the status of events before travelling. AUGUST 6-8 NSRA Hot Rod Supernationals. Old Warden Park, Biggleswade, Beds SG18 9EA. www.nsra.org.uk 6-8 Ultimate Street Car. Santa Pod Raceway. www.ultimatestreetcar.com 7-8 North vs South Shootout. Melbourne Raceway, York YO42 4SS. www.straightliners-events.co.uk 8 FordFair. Silverstone Circuit, Northants NN12 8TN. www.fastcar.co.uk 12-15 Drag Racing Championship. Tierp Arena, Sweden. http://tierparena.com/ 13-15 Retro CarFest. Bicester Heritage, Bicester OX26 5HA. www.carfest.org 13-15 Retrofestival. Newbury Showground RG18 9QZ. www.retrofestival.co.uk 13-15 Rock n Ribs Festival. Henstridge Airfield, Somerset BA8 0TN. www.rocknribsfestival.co.uk 14 RWYB. Santa Pod Raceway. www.rwyb.com 15 Classic Car Show. Stonham Barns Park, Suffolk IP14 6AT. www.stonhambarns.co.uk 15…

Back issues: £4.99 per issue, including postage & packing (UK delivery only) June/July 2020 Naked Willys Chopped Mercury Nailhead-powered coupe Willys Wars NSRA Swap Meet December 2020 Far from Standard Vanguard Hot Rod Drags Scooby-powered Dauphine Old time hill climb Chopped and painted Deuce April 2021 Reborn Pop race car V8 Morris Oxford Blown Ford Pilot Progress reports Remembering Mike Key Summer 2020 50th anniversary issue Al’s Gasser Mustang Pro Mod The Duster story Stripped down Modifieds January 2021 '55 Chevy Gasser Phantom '37 Ford pick-up Full on kustom F-100 Updated '70’s Model A Not The Euro Finals May 2021 Chopped and channelled '32 sedan Swedish custom Econoline '40 Ford taildragger Dead Man’s Curve Drive-In Australian reliability run August/September 2020 Period perfect roadster A Minor influence The sport truck phenomenon…

Qualifying runs was the name of the game with the Supercharged Outlaws, with seven of them clocked up throughout the weekend. PBs came from Mick Checkett with a 7.262/189.70, Simon Boot who ran a 9.637/138.56, and Des Taylor who wrung a 7.941/177.14 out of Thundergod. Meanwhile, Andy Hadfield was sidelined when Twister suffered blower issues. Come the end of racing on the Sunday, the top three rungs of the ladder were occupied by Rob Grabham on 7.055/193.69, Mick Checkett on 7.262/189.70 and Roy Wilding on 7.467/171.11.…

No sooner have Covid restrictions been relaxed, allowing us to get out and enjoy our cars to the full, than another hurdle seems to be trying to smack us in the face. This isn’t the first time we’ve mentioned that E10 fuel, with a higher ethylene content than the current E5, will be hitting the forecourts later this year. Well, it would appear that later is a lot sooner than we thought. We encountered one racer at Dragstalgia draining E10 from the fuel system in his car as it was refusing to start. Comments posted on forums in recent days include, “Glad I looked up to see the small E10 sign above the unleaded nozzle before filling up, so I chose the super unleaded E5.” “Old rubber hoses get eaten…

In the fast-moving world of drag racing, things do some times move at aclip. The pandemic has played havoc with strategic planning, and trying to figure out any kind of long-term programme has proved next to impossible, so scheduling on the hoof has become the model of the moment. You, dear reader, will read this Pod cast about a month after it is written, and the events it concerns are due to take place in another month or so’s time. Trouble is, the calendar two months from now is still up in the air, and you, from your August vantage point, may find yourself better informed of goings on than your writer here in July. But, adopting a positive outlook, here is the lowdown on what might – or perhaps…

Dear CC, here’s one for your Jago search. I have what I believe to be a Jago chassis and body resting, but not festering, in the garage. I bought it 30 years ago and it’s never been on the road, but will soon be built into a lakes Modified now I’m retired. I’m gradually acquiring bits for it. Neil Stark, via email > How many others are there I wonder, with cars sat in their garages for decades? Me for one… It’s great to hear with your new found spare time you’ll be getting stuck into the build Neil. Don’t forget to keep us updated with your progress. Ed. Write to: Custom Car Mail, Kelsey Publishing, PO Box 978, Peterborough PE1 9FL E-mail: cc.ed@kelsey.co.uk Fax: 01733 557235…

Another event scheduled for last year that had to be postponed due to Covid was the one-day gathering organised by Plus Four Four Automotive, a car enthusiast group that also sells a range of clothing. The event, known simply as The Show, was originally to be staged at the Atwell-Wilson Motor Museum in Calne, but last minute fears that the ground would be waterlogged saw the museum pull out and the Plus Four Four team on the brink of throwing in the towel. Come the eleventh hour, though, a new venue was found at Melksham Football Ground in Wiltshire and the day went ahead on the May Bank Holiday Monday. The team did a tremendous job of organising, marshalling and utilising the space available, and it being entirely outdoors meant…

The top three rungs of the qualifying ladder went the way of Nick Barnett (11.44 index) on 11.447/117.59, Graham Barton (10.69 index) on 10.698/123.51 and Steve Matthews (9.69 index) on 9.712/136.86. Barnett then ran a bye in the first round of eliminations, whilst Barton knocked out ‘Nervous’ Nick Brooke-Langham and Matthews lost out to Billy Jones. Barnett, Barton and Jones then progressed through to the semis, along with Jason Hollamby. The penultimate pairings both featured break outs, with Nick Barnett (11.40 index) and Graham Barton (10.70 index) taking wins with respective times of 11.410/117.63 and 10.748/123.72. Barton then ran 10.739/124.84 in the final, but Barnett took the win with an 11.428/108.04. Of note in the Circus was Tom Margesson running his photogenic new Ford Pop, The Tinseltown Hustler.…

Many of the Wild Bunch racers enjoyed the RWYB action on the Friday and Saturday before competing in the class Q&E Combos on the Sunday. Combo four saw the final passes of the day, the results of which were: Graham Rawlings (9.70 index) 9.720/135.66 defeated Steve Heaven; Matt Hollins (10.22 index) 10.255/131.41 won over Andy Stones; James Tanner (9.45 index) 9.186/151.12 beat Phil James; Danny Jones (10.20 index) 9.811/136.13 triumphed over Rob White and the Pete/Rob Brown team (11.05 index) ran an 11.185/125.84 bye. Of note was Steve Heaven’s earlier PB and Danny Jones’ first ever nine, 9.932/134.17.…