I’ve been a member of the UK Kustoms for over a year now and although I had
spoken to some of them by phone and e-mail, I had never met any of them face to
face. The club’s Hangin Dice weekend seemed the perfect opportunity to meet a
few folk and spend a weekend with some great British Kustoms. UKK is a National
club with members all over England (and some outside it too) and it would be
good to have some friendly face at other runs – it’s always better if you
know some other folk.
The drive from Cornwall to Nottingham was made in my daily driver and took about 4 hours but it was a nice day for a drive and I had been looking forward to this weekend.
The club turned out to be a really friendly bunch of folk. I was met on Friday afternoon at the campsite with a cup of tea and a very warm welcome and the hospitality continued all weekend.
Having come in my daily driver was a drag – my Vogue is a wee way off road ready but Alex Leighton (e-group member and excellent photographer – thanks Alex) offered the shotgun seat in his sled for a trip to the local supermarket. We went for paper plates but came back with some beer too somehow. Rolling into the car park, V8 rumbling, in a group of half a dozen kustoms was great.
In the evening, John and Sarah, owners of the gorgeous Koppa Kruiser, provided and excellent chili and everyone else provided their own beer and some excellent company. Koppa Kruiser is probably my favorite Kustom based on an English car. When you first see it, your first thought will probably be ‘isn’t it small’ but the proportions are spot on. Everything on this car looks just right with the top on or off.
Saturday
Two events were planned for Saturday, first off, bowling. A cruise to the
local ten pin bowling alley and a couple of games with prizes, one of which was
a beautiful bowling shirt in black with red trim and embroidered with the club
logo on the front and a lovely ‘Pinstriker 2001’ design on the back. Thanks
guys, it fits a treat. Alex again provided my transport to the event and a
platform for some pretty good cruising video.
On Saturday night, the Beaver Cruise took place. This was the one everyone had been waiting for. An evening cruising Nottingham City centre followed by a couple of beers and half price food at the local ‘Hooters’ bar. Guys trust me, if you haven’t visited one of these places, check it out – but don’t take the Wife! Several folk very kindly let me ride with them during the course of the evening – thanks to all of you. What a fabulous sight it made, kustoms all over the place in the centre of an English city. As for the guy who got pulled over right outside ‘Hooters’, what a shock he got when we all shouted ‘Nick him’!
Sunday was Show’n’Shine day with a show at the local Frankie and Benny’s
American style diner. It was a blazing hot day and with about 25 kustoms parked
out front it was a great show. I love to see this treatment on British cars –
it’s not easy as a lot of cars just have the wrong shape or proportions. I
must be honest though, I loved them all which made it all the more difficult to
decide when I was handed a voting slip.
At about 4, I climbed back into my daily driver and hit the road back south. It was an excellent weekend, spent with a great club. These guys are fun, friendly and best of all, they all like nothing more than to use their cars. It is so much better riding around in them and seeing them mixing it with ‘normal’ traffic than seeing them parked in a field. Some of these cars are just beautiful, Mark and Melissa’s Mercury is perfect ( if the engine was mine, it would live in the front room) but it’s at it’s best cruising through town, low and slow.
So, thanks to the UKK for a great weekend, I’ll see you all
at the Nationals.
Paul Dorrington (for Uk-Hotrods).