Down here in Cornwall, Shows and Runs are pretty scarce, so RTTS is a bit of a godsend to me. It’s the only major event that takes place within about 200 miles of my home, so I try to make it every year. I must admit that although my first modified car was a VW Fastback, nowadays I find that I can only look at so many cars that are basically the same make and model. Having said that, there are usually a few Rods and Kustoms to tickle my fancy and this year was no different.
I
arrived at about 12 and the show area was already full with some very nice
machinery. I made a fairly quick pass of the two rows of Beetles (although one
or two caught my eye) as the rods drew me inevitably closer.
The lowrider posse were there in large numbers with some unusual choices of make and model. It’s very nice to see that some folk are still pushing the boundaries. I’m pretty sure that I would never have thought of a Vauxhall Viva as a base for a lowrider.
Hydraulics
were very much in evidence with many cars parked up on 3 wheels. It took me ages
to find a non-technical explanation for my 8-year old Daughter. I think that
maybe she has some grave doubts about my sanity. As for the black VW Bus that
sat literally on the ground, I still haven’t convinced her that the guy
actually drives it.
My 2 year old Daughter
made an early decision, as we checked out the lower car park, that she really needed
to hug every bus. It turned out to be a good decision, as it meant that we had
to go around the entire car park.
It’s always a worry when going to a show with the kids. I
generally find it easiest to follow them around but that means that you end up
darting from place to place and stopping as you pass something interesting.
Problem is that I am always worried that I am going to miss something.
It was due to this that I missed what I think is Mike Noble’s coupe. Since I was wearing my e-group hat, I hung around for a while hoping to meet him. With the hat on, at least he might recognise me.
No-one turned up
after a while and the Kids wanted to move on, so we wandered up the row and
there was ‘Lemon Squash’. At least, that’s what it used to be called, I’m
not sure if it still is.
This is one of those cars that I remember from years ago. I remember being very impressed when it first appeared in the magazines. It is still just as impressive today, the body mods alone are unbelievable.
Parked almost next door was this very nice Mk1 Cortina. I really like this kind of car – a straight classic shape with a few gentle mods and if it was mine, a hot 302 lump tucked away in there. Very subtle and very sharp.
Custom Car magazine made
an appearance in a black and flamed PT Cruiser. And parked nearby was this very
traditional roadster. I guess that this is the other end of the spectrum from
the Cortina above. There is something about cars like this too. The thing that
surprised me most was the sheer size of it. It was barely shorter than the sled
that was briefly parked next to it.
his was my Wife’s favorite car of the show. Not quite the 51 Mercury that she really wants but it would do in the meantime she told me. I must admit that Kustoms are what rings my bell and for me too this was the car of the show. It was a bit tatty here and there but what the hell – standing in front of it was scary!
After that, there was time for a quick stroll round the car park, which
while mostly VWs did yield one or two nice surprises.
So, there you go – a pleasant afternoon in Newquay. It was made all the more pleasant later in the week when the stories appeared in the local paper of boy racers closing off a road near the local Lidl for most of the night. They raced up and down, brought a PA system and performed burnouts until 4am, harassed a couple of coastguards on their way to an emergency call and generally made nuisances of themselves. It was good to see that the locals interviewed for the paper were at pains to point out that the cars from the car show were not there. In fact they made it clear that there were no VWs involved at all. The Police apparently did nothing for fear of sparking a riot since they were heavily outnumbered.