NERVOUS SURGEONS

 

 

 

 

A Custom Car show wouldn't be complete without a Moggy in the 70's Pro Trac rubber & General Grabbers

 

 

 

 

Centre door T with unusual headlight treatment.

Not the clearest of images but an early Jago Pop chassis having a Jag IRS bolted to it.

 

Paul Haigh's Roadster, dated by the clothes and camera around the neck of male wearing a tie at a rod run.

 

No its not your eyes the image is slightly blurred, but that was one acid trip during the painting!

 

If anyone ever asks you what a 'Jack Up kit' was like direct towards this image.

 

Love the flares and the flames on this Plymouth 5 window

 

Dim lighting but there is no hiding this is a well executed 'T' Manchester 1977.

 

Knebworth during the late 70's, this rod is currently being rebuilt for the street.

 

Another Plymouth, this time the yellow variety, ifs was all the rage then.

 

Quality exudes from this 'T' but I wonder why the young lad looks so worried?

 

This image captures any town on cruise night in the 70's with the backbone of so many events being the Zephyr, Morry Minor and Ford Pop. How many of us cut our Rodding teeth on one of these?

 

2 images of one very unusual 'T' bucket, whatever happened to it?

 

A real Beatnik feel to this image, is that Devon still doing the rounds?

 

A Jago body and the unmistakable Graffitti style tribute I remember seeing this at the Chelsea Cruise! 

 

With Drag Racing and Street Rodding easily being the best of the automotive imports from American, it seems logical to pay homage to some of the early rod creations that were created in lock up garages across this green and pleasant land.

Events like the Dragfest of 1964 fired into life the imagination of so many young men, some went onto build and compete on the strip and some went onto dive head long into the Rod & Custom scene. The product of these furtive imaginations only began to be seen on mass, during the mid 70's and beyond. The base material was varied and at times wild, and as the cars became wilder so did the paint work applied. Murals were big as were the flares and hair styles of the day, which you may get a glimpse of in some of these shots.

I have struggled to identify accurately some of the images below but the majority are from 1974 onwards into the 80's, whatever else I hope you enjoy them, if you have any details you wish to share let me know via the email address. 

 

Jeff Becks "Super Prune" poor quality images but you cannot miss the Halibrand rims.

 

Well turned out T bucket can you spot what's wrong with the image?

Rubellion in one of it's earliest guises!

 

This is from 1976, just think the Sex Pistols were about to be released upon us, and the suicide front end on this Rod looks like a bit of anarchy to me. Side pipes and flames on the Anglia also help to date this picture.

 

C Cab and a flamed Morris Minor now that is something you no longer see everyday!

Another one of Jeff beck's cars, this time it's a steel 5 window featuring resto Rod touches.

Now we are really starting to get some quality. I have no idea who's car this was but I want it. Shame this shot is from the Manchester Show in 77. It looks liks the ROD 40I (Austin Dorset) is in the background.

The Whitwell Jago, this car really caused a stir went it came out, it was heavily featured in the motoring press and looked so much better when Rob made an additional surround for the windscreen, reducing the imapct that vast area of glass had on the viewer. This shot is clearly prior to that update.

Rob also used the car to advertise P38 filler, with an image of him applying the product to the 5 window's wing, something which in reality I am fairly certain it never required. I wonder where the car is now, perhaps he still has it , but you are more likely to see Rob cruising in his blown 40's Ford these days.

 

 

Another Jago bodided 5 window, this one clearly replacating the Milner coupe. Jago produced bodies which now may suffer from some ridicule and I have personal experience of window apertures all being different sizes to one and other, but noone else was supplying bodies at the time and without his involvement, many Rods would have never been built. This car again got itself featured in Custom Car and Street machine and you can see why, for its time it had the right stance and shrieked to the unsuspecting public, Hot Rod!

 

 

Moving on a little here, but 2 steel 5 windows, both following different themes, late 70's Custom Car treatment and mid 80 to late 80's high tech. You know what they say "you pays your money and makes your choice".

 

Resto Roadster from the early 80's, if my memory serves me well I beleive this either belonged to or had the involvement of Paul Haigh, it featured wire wheels step plates and that all important luggage rack on the boot.

 

 

 

 

Merv "Magoo" Barnetts 32 roadster, this car was originally black, pictured here in its second and possibly most remembered guise, the 32 was recently up for grabs and has made its way back to home ground, as its returned to the Bristol area, unfortunately its no longer wearing its period perfect tri carb setup.

 

 

 

Bruntingthorpe, ah remember the days, cold wet and slightly isolated, but with Model A sedan's and the like it soon brightened up, good promotional business tool or Hot Rod you decide.

It was well executed and appeared caught between resto rod and drag strip queen, perhaps it indulged in both?