I love the Springnats, but this year because I didn't have a Rod or my Truck done I really didn't want to go. I was going to be one of the people I used to feel were Hot Rod groupies... ya know love the scene, want to be part of it, but no way are they going to be stoopid enough to own a Rod... and I was to taking up valuable Rod camping space, in my std modern factory car... but as I do this web site and my wife seems to enjoy this one so much, I reluctantly pre-booked but it just didn't feel right... I was along with my best mate Pudzz and his family the caravan club at a Rod Run!!!
Ray Austin in his 4 pot powered 35
But strange enough we were not made to feel at all unwelcome none the less, we paid an extra £20 cus we were not in suitable vehicles but given it back once we parked off camp??? no idea why? we should of been made to pay £20 and not given it back for being in none run cars.. but that's how I feel about Rod runs and what should be allowed on site. Try and go to a Ferrari meet in your Merc and say I want to spend the weekend with you guys I love Ferraris but I aint got one "yeah right" you would be made welcome ;o)
This will be me next year I hope.... oh now I dream of this Cool!
Real nice matt black Pop also I don't remember seeing this real bitchin yella
32 before. but my memory is crap so you gotta excuse me.
Update: 32 is owned by 'Delbert' from
Riverside Rod & Custom in the Black Country and was, I believe, the first 34
Corner/Rodline full height body.
34 pick up painted a new colour from last time I saw it. Some cool rods sat
amidst the trees
We camped and had a good look round, the settings of Drayton is fantastic and idyllic with its huge trees and surrounding countryside, the Theme Park with its wild rides just make it look like I imagine a real American Rod Run is ..... er ... ish ;o)
Me old mate Odgie and his bazzing F1 Truck
Saw my old Mate Odgie with his massively cool F1 Truck, for those that don't know Odgie, he was into the Rod scene in the 70's and went into custom biking with a stint editing Back Street Heroes and his own mag AWOL... but he is ready for the quieter life of Hot Rodding now ;o) if you have ever been to the Bull Dog Bash (big UK Biker do) you will know what I mean..
Extra Camping ground
This year there was some extra camping space available in a field at the bottom of the wood and this looked superb and if it was going to be sunny this would be the place to be. Down in part of the camping area were some great Cars and it was great to see Dave Brown had come along in his amazing A40 Van (sorry photo cock up so no photo of it here). I love to see peoples reactions to it, some no matter what, refuse to look at it, which I find highly amusing and I wonder if they are into the scene really or just passing through. I showed Odgie it who knows nothing of it. I told all I knew about it and he was in awe at its workmanship and Odgie is a true Rat Rodder he did Rat Rods and bikes before anyone I knew did and he could appreciate the passion and work that has made this Rod exist. There was also a neat looking pop with a wild induction set-up Cragar fuel injection craazzyyyy... then on closer inspection and enlightenment from its owner, the injection set up was in fact an elaborate hoax and really and air filter cool eh.. There were loads of nice tin in this area and I took loads f photos and cocked them all up sorry ;o(
Faux fuel injection set-up on a neat pop... Dusty pretending not to notice.
Boom box Rodder Cool looking 32 sat real nice wonder what style of music
booms out of that rear sub woofer looks like a rap lover to me ;o)
Update this is Ade from the Acton Hot Rod Association and he assures me it
weren't no Rap booming from his cool 32 just Old Reggae and Ska.
Back up in the wooded area was Mike Noble and Louise in their his an hers unfendered 32's, a whole bunch of the Hot Rod Gazette Street Car challenge guys and cars, a contingents of Scottish rodder's to name but a few... The place was rammed.. a cool 36 stands out in my mind to.. again cocked up photos sorry... I must get a new camera.. just hard to find the dough as I need it all for my truck!
Camping Gaz O'Conner fettles while Frank ( Karma Kustoms) offers advice and
encouragement while Martin (Dooster) hides soon as I got the camera out he was
off. Just look at that carb set-up.. yum-yum..
By us was Gaz O'Conner and the Moon Truck, he was trying to fettle his new 6 x 97's induction set up. He had boxes of jets and was swapping in some smaller ones to give that a try, as it had been popping back on the way down. He had even changed them in a lay-by on the way to Drayton earlier that day. Once changed it was road test time, I jumped in the passenger seat, and he nailed it proper Jimmy White style, and Man did it feel strong... and me with no video camera grrrr. The noise is magnificent with the whole car vibrating with Hemi fire power, you feel every bump and notch in the road surface and the body panels drum wildly, add to that the V8 roar and whoooo hooooo you cant beat it.
There is a shopping complex a couple of miles away and that's
were everyone heads for their provisions for the weekends barby's. Also just a
mile or so away from Drayton is an Indian Restaurant, a chippy and Chinese take away for those who
don't like the work of a barby oh and for them not wishing to leave the complex
you could always eat on site at the Drayton Restaurant.
The was the site that greeted me each day what more could you want.
We did a barby Friday and a Chinese Sat, best of both worlds. We being me and my wife, Pudzz and most of his family, Dally from scouse land his family and Dusty Laugher. We have got to know each other through the ukhotrods e-mail group. So we camped together and had a great crack all weekend .. mind you the weather was so cold tea would of gone down better than the cold beer we had brought.
Wild Mk1 Cortina now sporting a new spoiler and suits it better than any chav
chariot ever will. Apparently owned by Roy Walker who is an MOT tester, I was
wondering what he was doing after catchphrase ;o)
My crazy mate Pudzz points at big Shane's missing breather cap.. This is Shane
Knighton's latest ride, a cool 55 Chevy. He swapped his nasty big blocked F100
for it last year. The crate motor threw a fart and blew the breather cap out the
cover on the way down. The choke had been sticking on all was soon sorted with a
new cap from pop parts for £6 and a bit a wire to stop the choke coming on.. We
had a good laugh with Shane, his lad and Shane's mate all weekend.. Pudzz got em
on shag shandies sat night more later!
Kool Kustom not afraid to be used either from the look.
I am mad I have lost a load of photos no idea why one was of a cool white Chevy (55?) Truck camped behind us. I was peering in the back seeing how he had done the bed floor, trying to get some ideas for when I finally get to do mine. When a voice says "Dave Holmes?" "er yes " I said. Now I have one of the worlds worst memories... I looked and my hard drive was not bringing me the information I required to recognise this face... I am terrible people speak to me and I have no idea who the heck they are and I feel awful.. Turned out it was Bob Booth who is building one of the coolest A coupes in the country (in my opinion). To prove my crap memory he enquired what the cool A coupe was that I had said was to début at Drayton and could I remember could I heck as like, mind you when I did finally remember it was probably taken to Hemsby or maybe it hasn't debuted yet as I was guessing ;o) Its Gold anyway that's all I will say.. You'll know which one it is, when you see it, I guarantee.
The entertainment on the Friday was DJ Malt and got everyone up dancing.. even me.... well Gaz O'Conner's miss's actually got me up or I would of sat all night or talked to mates as dancing aint my thang ... but hey it cant be all us can it, gotta keep them women happy. It was a great night with some cool acrobatics by Dally. Now Dally don't drink much or so he says, but thought it cool to down a bottle of Vodka to get in the mood before we had even started drinking that is whooooo boy was he in Laa Laa land.
He climbed onto the table and did a full nose dive without putting his hands out, for a reason best known only to himself. Mind you he also did a real Pete Kay impression with a full speed knee slide, to shame all the kids on the dance floor, who looked in admiration at this old bald fella doing it far better than any of them could.. His wife Mad Sonia tried to give him a wizzer later by holding his legs cartoon style... what a bad idea that is, when you are in the company of nutters like my mate Pudzz.. Pudzz goes I'll give him a whizzer.. duly grabbing Dally by the ankles and spinning round at such a rate of knots centrifugal force lifted Dally off the ground ready for release ;o) but luckily for Dally Pudzz lost his grip before full velocity had occurred and a spinning pissed bald bloke just made it to the edge of the dance floor and not through the speakers as was intended only giving minor injury to one person stoopidly using the dance floor to actually dance on nutters! :o)
Pudzz told Shane about a drink we named shag shandy. The tale is when we all went on a weekend break a while back, my wife told me (yes told me not asked me) to get my daughter and her mate a drink. They were sat with 2 lads, so I enquired what they wanted, 2 pints of lager and 2 Smirnoff ice's please... I came back put the two pints in front of the lads, and the two alky pops in front of the girls. They girls immediately took the pints off the lads sipped a bit and proceeded to pour the alky pops into the lager..... Huh!!!!! The 4 drinks were for the girls so I proceeded to explain how dangerous it was to drink such a potent drink when so young.... so was born Shag shandy.
Pudzz had now talked Shane into getting him and his mate one to try .... to be honest they had one which you can sup like pop and had to go to bed.. cus the drink was living up to its name... cus it fuked them Ha Ha To go one further Keef tried one in his 9% Lager whoooo boy super shag shandy!!
All to soon it was last orders and back to the Caravan for a night cap or two before crashing out..