Last year I didn't get up till about 9am which lets face it is early enough for anyone on a Sunday isn't It? But after I had polished my motor it was nearer 10am. The Show field was almost full and I was stuck at the back. So when I heard my first V8 motor fire up in the camp site at 7.45am this year, I forced my self to get up and get in that field for a decent spot. I heard Kev Reilander start up his Ponty about 8am and that put me in even more of a panic, I was gonna have to hurry if I was to be in a decent spot this time *Sad Git*. It was now about 8.10am So loaded up with cleaning and polishing stuff I sped to the show field excepting to see it getting filled up rapidly.....
Err apart from a Volky I was the first one there Ha Ha I couldn't believe I was to have a prime spot but to be honest I felt a bit embarrassed all them great Rods that were to be arriving soon and my 34 was to be power parked.... Oh Well eh! I said good morning to the two happy souls in the Volky I got a subdued response ? I tried to make some pleasantries about the show field etc but I think they were to involved in polishing their Beetle to be bothered with me Hey Ho!
I do feel real poncy when I get the California duster
out and start dusting my car off. But it is so easy and effective it just has to
be done. Man if my Banger mates could see me now I always think as I dust
away!.... An hour or so later and the car was as good as it was gonna be without
me going silly, it was never gonna win owt so I felt no need to polish anymore..
Gary O'Connor's Peach 49 Chevy Truck came and parked next to me
, so I had a proper look at
it and it is just so Bl**dy perfect and sits soooo right!. Gaz proudly showed me his Caddy Air cleaner
complete with B&Q top and his also B&Q supplied gear knob which look as good
as any Billet stuff and you would never know, don't tell him I told ya where he
got em from eh Ha Ha!! *cheapskate* :>)
Soon the field was bursting and there
was more polishing going on, than a Saturday night down Soho!
Then
Phil who built the Uk-Hotrods chat room (every Thursday night 9pm Chat
Room plug) introduced himself and what a sound chap he is, we got on great.
Soon we were joined by a familiar face it was Mike Key and his misses. I just couldn't
believe it Mike Bl**dy Key was talking to me *we are not worthy* He was asking
about the colour of my 34 as he had been looking at Phil Rutherford's 34 and
compared it to the colour of mine Hee Hee.. I have arrived eh! He asked what
did it drive like and he said how neat he thought it was. All the time I am
saying in my head Mike *F***ing Key likes my Rod and is talking to me whoo whooo!.
The conversation went on. He said he was looking for a new Rod. "oh have ya
sold ya Deuce" "yes the A" he replied. I thought nothing of it.
All the names in our Hobby he knew, this even more convinced me who he
was............ !"Did it go to America your Deuce them?" I enquired..
"The A no it went to a guy in Nottingham" or some where I forget where
he said... Hey I was after all talking to the biggest name in our Hobby! I was
trying to stay cool the conversation went on and on. I was in my element and couldn't
wait to tell people who I had been talking to and how he loved my Car! "
"Oh I loved your write up's on your trip across America" I grinned. He
looked at me blank "huh? I have never driven across America" I looked
at him and thought Hell Mike Key must be loosing his marbles he cant even
remember driving across America let alone writing about it!..... Then I felt
this overwhelming Rush of embarrassment as I notice he had no camera....... and
why would Mike Key be on about buying a Rod! loads of little things from our
conversation started flashing back to me............ er.............. he did
keep saying A every time I said 32................ !!!!!! Sh*t it aint Mike key
it is just someone who looks like him ...... but even his misses had a
look of Mikes misses aswell.........?????
She started to walk away as I guess she thought I was some kind of
nutter..... He sort of brushed round what I said and said "I did ride a
motorbike across America once" Ahh I said that's it *trying to get out of
the hole I was in*..... He must of thought who's this guy he knows all about me but I have
never seen him before..... so from being on a high, I was now floundering and
feeling a total Numpty..... wondering how I could get out of this. After a few
garbled nonsensical things we said our goodbyes he left pretty quickly, & I
had a Fag!! but Hey ya gotta laugh haven't you!!!! 
Then my mate Bakey (Pete) arrived, and to make matters worse he had been talking to John Golding the real one ;>) as he was staying at the same hotel as Pete. Pete had no idea who he was, he was just a guy with a nice 32 he thought. When I told Pete who he was he gasped and said it's weird if I had known all that about him I may have been to intimidated to talk to him..... weird in it!!!!!!
After I had scoffed a full Monty English Breakfast back at the caravan and told a few about my meeting with a Mike Key look-alike which caused much amusement. I was full of the joys of spring and started the enjoyable task of looking round some of the assembled Rods and Kustoms... I later saw THE Mike Key and to be honest he looked nothing like the guy I was talking to so I guess I must of been in Laa Laa Land at the time from the polishing Wax fumes.... eh !Terrr... Apparently the Dude I had been speaking to is a mate of a mate so our paths will cross again soon and I may have to retell this tale to him and his misses just so's they know why I was a bit flustered and confused.... over a beer of course..
The Man himself The affable Kev Rooney chewing the fat with like minded
people on a sunny day at Drayton with his peach Kev Reilander painted Kapri.
*neat*
Keith
Atkinson had now parked up in the beauty flamed 32 next to John Golding's very
neat Coupe. Now I love a nice pair don't you and what a finer pair could you
wish to see than these! There were some very Cool looking Rods about and it just
made me feel so very satisfied that I have joined into such a great scene, full
of great people and great cars.....I do still look at our scene with rose tinted
glass's I freely admit and I am probably a little naive with enthusiasm yet, I know there are some Tulips in our scene but I have been lucky so far I
have yet to meet one to dampen my spirits and quash my enthusiasm.. so till then
Rock on Rodding!
Me and Pete where loving it, as it was fulfilling
a life's long dream for us, to be at a Rod run in our Rods. I mean what
more could you really want out of life. The Sun was blazing, we were surrounded
by some of the Top Rods in the 
country
we had our cars in the show, we had met some great people and really felt part
of it all... it was Heaven Man!
I met Mike Hughes later and checked out his exquisite 34 which has had a fresh new look
given to it by the way of some Galloway style flames.. Must be a buzz driving this mustn't
it. Keli who owns the Radical blue Mini and Tracey Ward he of the blindingly
Cool yellow 37 Cabriolet fame came by ... together *wink*...... it is like a real
live soap opera is Rodding ya know! We had a good crack then said our goodbyes
as there were still hundreds of Rods to look at! This
49? Chevy? always blows me away as it is shear perfection I know nothing about
it other than I love it the interior is amazing so is its stance wheels paint
Man the works it is Ace. I guess it must be a well known Rod as it is to good to
not be. Though I have never seen it up at the award ceremony's, maybe I have
missed it as this is a worthy winner of best of show every time for me! And gets my
vote for most like to drive home award... mind you I may of just been thinking
of lugging that great caravan back to Cumbria that makes me see the advantages
of such a big luxurious Rod!!
Kev Reilander had put a lot of effort into setting up a Lowrider Dance off
Competition! He was expecting 15 minimum. But was very disappointed when only 5 made
it to Drayton! Though as an outsider to the Lowrider scene I was pretty much
entertained and impressed by the few that did make the effort! The Impala is of
course the epitome of the Lowrider scene as we have got to know it through the
American mags. But I suppose the British Lowriders should do their own
interpretation of the scene. So a Volvo, a Merc, a Honda Prelude and a
Nissan though not what you would expect to be used as a Lowrider basis they
worked well and gave a great show. The Merc was pretty cool as it made a loud
hiss as it did its tricks which added that bit extra to the raising and lowering
of its hydraulics. The Honda I thought moved so quietly and with such finesse it
was a classy conversion. Nissan will be a good choice but does need that loud
lowrider paint job same as the Volvo that did move extremely well. The Impala
was the most impressive with the way it jumped and the right choice of vehicle
so he was the deserved Winner of the dance of Competition.... But when Kev
Reilander made his Pontiac do its stuff you could see just how much work and
effort Kev has done to emulate the California Chicano Lowriders Kevs is phenomenal!!
So round of applause for Kev Reilander for setting up such a show for us and
hats of to the British Lowrider Guys and Galls that came to show us their
cars and not just a static display Hoorah!! ;>)
So
after the excitement of the Lowrider show it was off to check out the Motors I
had not yet seen! This Purple Pro Street Kustom has had plenty of work done on it since last year, its now on the road it
just need's the interior finishing to be one frightening looking Monster.
Imagine
seeing that in ya rear view mirror doing 70mph down the motorway officer
;>)...
The finish now on Rod's and Kustoms is superb and can only do the hobby good,
gone are the tatty anything will do days thank goodness or have they??? If
anyone saw the trailered Capri in the car park you may not agree.. I try never
ever to slag of another mans wheels as lets face it is to personal and also we
all have different tastes so just cus you don't like it it doesn't mean its crap,
it is just you don't like it and that's it final.... That was until I saw the previously
mentioned Capri. I feel a bit sad for the dude who had built it as it was Bad
and if allowed on the show field would of knocked the scene back about 30yrs....
I do hope he had a good look round the field and saw just how customizing has
come on..... or was the Car a P*ss Take? Anyone have a pic of it?
Four really Nice Rods built just to show how they should be
done and why our scene is so vibrant how can anyone not drool over these!
And my biggest regret not hanging on till Gary McCormack
was selling this 40's Ford Pick-up as this is more me than my 34 but one
day eh one day!!
I can see me and my Bull Terrier driving round in it now !!
It was all over to soon such a big build up to the fist Run of the season and it's just over in a flash... I had the unenviable job now of lifting my cars suspension, fitting the tow hitch and dismantling camp for the long journey home. All in all a Fantastic weekend I loved every single minute of it and hoped to do a few more Runs this year if they are only half as good as Drayton we are in for a fantastic season in 2002... Yehaa!!!
Great Cars, Great People, Great weather, Great Venue and a Great Time.... Great eh!! :>)
The drive home
After meeting two more great guys from the uk_hotrods e-mail group, Shane
and Sean, It was time to leave. With a strong desire to just stay I had to
wrench myself and Car away from the still buzzing Drayton Springnationals
*tear* But I had the drive home to look forward to which is always a Buzz when
you are in a Rod even if it is loaded to the hilt and lugging a bl**dy great van
on the back!!
Pete my mate with the Red Anglia cruised back with us and we stopped at
most services to check oil and water let the teenager in the back stretch their
legs and generally take it easy on the way home there was no rush! As we approached
Manchester we got in some heavy traffic and along side drew a Neat Graffiti
style coupe with roof height Gear lever and it looked Cool along side us we
acknowledge each other and as the traffic cleared he sped away!! Only for us to
catch him up as the traffic got heavy again.... But soon he had some clear road and
he showed the coupe its head and he was away never to be seen again!! Next was a
Matt Black Coupe same mile high gear lever and this Rod looked real mean as it
slowed to wave then sped off like a scolded cat into the distance Man this Hobby
is Cool!!
We decided at the last services to miss out a couple and gets some miles done and then stop for some food nearer home as we was all getting a bit Hungry but needed to do some miles.... All seemed well oil checked water checked etc so of we went on our merry way..! A few miles off our scheduled stop my 34 started to get a bit hot so I switched on the fan and it seemed to settle down... no worries I thought! Then I could hear a bit of pinking so I backed off the throttle and it disappeared *hum?* We soon reached Forton services just an hrs drive away from home!!! Time for some food we were all starving!! As I pulled up I could hear a knocking sound from the engine Bay Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr I thought!! I lifted the bonnet and the noise seemed top end Bloody Camshaft I thought Grrrrrrrrrrrr. I was so mega P*ssed off I cant even begin to tell ya!!
I looked at Pete who was looking quite sympathetically toward me and I looked at my misses who could see I was Blazing Mad!!! I said "that's Fu**ing it, I am not fixing the tw*ting thing I am just gonna stick it in the Garage I am going back to Bangers and I may even cut the sodding thing up I am sick of it" :>) Happy oh yes.. I was delirious with happiness in fact I was so happy I couldn't smile wide enough!!! 9 months of torture rebuilding just about everything on the Car steering, axle, wiring, interior, suspension, rad, engine and so on ya know what its like....... I had been broken by Rodding I was a shadow of my former self Ha Ha!! And I was still Hungry!!! hard work being a Fat lad so we just left the Rods and tried to console ourselves with some decent grub.
The restaurant was heaving, my daughter was pestering for a Burger King I was just numb really and so foolishly agreed. one gulp and it was gone... I was unsure whether to carry on with the Rod or call the RAC..... I checked the water and it had used a bucket load but no sign of a leak???? Some guys came over impressed with our cars but sadly I was in no mood to exchange pleasantries.. Anyhow it was decided to fill it up with water and drive it slowly to the Barrow turn off and check the water again... I got to the turn off and the temp gauge was reading quite cool, so I decided not to stop and carry on. We had one mega steep hill to negotiate and then it would be plain sailing to Ulverston in Cumbria and Home!!!
It drove a dream really with a little tap tap in the engine bay now and then but nothing more major happened! So relief..... My mate Pete stayed with us all the way which was good of him because he had to get up early the next day but he would not of seen us stuck True Mate, True Rodder!!
Once home we unloaded all the stuff from the caravan. I chucked the 34 in
the garage looked at my Stihl Saw sat there, wondered should I, should I??......
Na have a sleep and see how ya feel tomorrow! All day at work it was on my mind.
I felt sick, but I have booked and paid for the ESRA Run to Belgium in June I
just have to fix it...... I phoned my mate Nige the best mechanic I know.. We
stripped the top end, bar taking the heads off.. it still did sound Cammy but Nige had
a suspicion it was top end slap.. We put it back together and I left it for another
day... Next day I just couldn't rest so I had another mate check the head
gaskets before I started to take the cam out they were Ok.
Phoned my mate Smax who told me
how to check everything and to cut a long story short two Pistons had picked up
in the bores not the cam knaked or a sticky lifter as I hoped *wha wha* So hopefully it will be just a hone and two pistons but
we still have to work out why they nipped up??? Hey what Fun But I am doing the
Belgium Run even if I have to fit pedals to the F**ker!!
To get something positive
from this negative I am getting a 4speed auto from Smax to fit in it aswell..so at least taking the
engine out will not be a total waste of time and Hey at least I got over me depression
and have been able to use my engine lift and stand again.
Ha Ha Happy Rodding
Folks!!
The End.