This is one shot of my Old Cortina at Southport Beach, were we the Rainy City
Cruisers went one Sunday, the biro doodles are from when I was thinking of
making covers for the headlamps and removing the side indicators, the Hillman
Imp lights on the valance were my Cruising lights ;o) The photo is from
the 2nd Street Rod Nats, check out them 8 x 15’s ‘ ;o)

The diversity of Cars in the 70’s that attended the
Cruises can be seen here, with Ian Fury Kings old Beer Wagon C-Cab now
in the hands of its new owner Steve Cheatham, Man did we have some good
times, with Dexy and Steve Cheatham and all the Crew from Stockport for
that matter.

The little Honda Z was owned by Graham Kelsey and was
trick painted by Geoff Ridgeway, now how about that then, a FWD car and very much
a part of the cruising/hot rodding scene in the early days. Graham along with
Roger Attaway went on to organise the Big Belle Vue Custom Car Shows, of that era to.

Here is Graham on another run out we went on, see look, another new and modern
car, all tricked up and part of the Uk Cruising scene, when did it change? and
why? I suppose we all aspired to own Hot Rods then and now we can own them, so
we and the scene
have grown up. Nowadays young guys don’t aspire to own Rods and are quite happy with
their modern modified cars, so they don’t really share our Rodding interest??

I fell out with Rainy City Cruisers or the cruise I should say,
when I went down one night after a few months break and
counted 9 Mini’s there, and no rods. I thought then, this is not what I want to
be part of,  I never went back. I
just went to a few of the big Runs in what ever Yank I had at the time. There was a big gang of
us up here in Cumbria, who all had yanks and we had fun nearer home Mini free So
was born the South Lakes Rod and Street Club ;o)   

Andy’s Brizio’s C cab now doing
the Rod runs again, I saw this at Billing and was just in total awe of
it and the people with it. A vivid memory I have, is of some beautiful
big breasted women, who came with this and another Rod a T I think,
doing a tug of war ;o)

This
Black C cab I saw at a different run an earlier one I think and I am pretty sure
it was called The Paddy Wagon (as in jail) not as I first thought
Macarbe.

Ian Pillings stunning steel 32 5 Window. OOH boy did I have some wet dreams over this Rod, it was the ultimate Rod (in my opinion) in the 70’s/
80’s. It was the most complete car, perfect paint, interior, power plant, etc even
the Reg just made this car even more perfect. This all
Steel 32 is still on the scene but in Blue now owned by Keith Abrehart, though the Reg is still with Ian
Pilling I think. I can remember seeing this 32 in a few different guises over
the years, once blue, then Red and owned by a Swede. When it was Red it had no
hood and a Vette engine and for sale in CC for £800. Seeing that photo in Custom Car, was what made me really
want a proper Hot Rod.

Early 70’s Chelsea Cruise photos, I went to in my flamed Mk3 Cortina, here is Mike Kasons Kerbdozer.

And see look a Modern
Car again a new ish at the time Capri with Trick paint and wheels, called Pipe
Dream.

Real nice Volvo, with Thrush sidepipes, was sat in the Battersea Park before the
Cruise started on Chelsea Bridge.

Check out the fur interior
in this 50’s Olds brilliant ;>) and the side pipes, first photo is in
Battersea Park again and the other is on Chelsea bridge.

Victoria Park. in Leicester and the event was the 2nd Street Rod Nats in 1976, Mike keys Model B with three wipers.

And a Blown Hemi Powered T.

Trick painted C Cab

The outstanding Hot “n” Bothered this paint job.. well!  the
whole car really shook the Hot Rodding scene at the time and really started the
Show car wars :>)  This Fordson set the pace for some amazing
rods in the 70’s and 80’s.. it is still going strong now which is a proof of its
outstanding build quality, but is now Red, rumour has it, that it may get redone
in its original paint scheme, Man I really do hope so..

Simon Lanes Speed Freak with original Paint Job, later sprayed
blue, but this is how I remember it best and this is how I will always love it.
It had the most beautiful wheels I remember, while everyone else had Wolfrace slot
mags!

Mk1 Cortina which had a small
block Chevy shoehorned in, I think the owner was Paul Wailing? and the
car was called Fordrollette? All custom cars had names then. 

I remember one time, we went to the Pod, I was in my 1973 350 Camaro and I wasn’t
sure of the way .I asked this guy (Paul?) for directions he said follow me Ha bloody Ha!! He just floored it,
I had to
really give it some to stay with him. I was surprised how well it went round
corners, and convinced  it was going to fall over on the first bend.
Great Fun, I bet he had a laugh aswell, never saw him again, and the car was
eventually destroyed in a fire *shame*.

Pinball wizard very popular pop ;>) in its stripy phase, back out again now, in the Yellow and pinball cartoon guise.

More eccentric pop owned by John Emery at the time of
this photo.
The green and multi coloured Pop in the photo was at a rod run I was at.
I
saw it parked up, in the rear of a pub car park, we had cruised to. The
owner
was stood by it. We got talking like ya do, the guy wouldn’t
leave his Pop at all,  as he was frightened it may get damaged. When I
got to talk to him
more, he admitted was dieing for a pee but daren’t leave his car
;>).  He trusted me to look after his pride and joy, while he
took a leak, which chuffed me up at the time. We corresponded for quite a
while after that run, though as you
do, we lost contact…… I can remember his name was John Emery and he
lived
in Wisebech, he has since been in touch to let me know he is still
about. Update
I met John and had a good natter at Billing, John has a beautiful steel
34 that
John Golding built for him Cool eh.  The Pop was originally built by
Phil Chappell. 

Harry Dawson from Cumbria and a good mate of mine, did a rebuild of the famous Puddle Jumper
in the 80’s and put a V12 Jag in it…

 Harry sold it to a guy in Blackpool. The Guy
phoned Harry up at 3am one morning and said ” I just had to tell some
one, ” I have just done 140mph down Blackpool Prom in the Pop”
Crazeeee  It was also reputed to be able to lift the front wheels.

My Mate Ickle had a Beater before we even new what one was????

 Me and my Rod Substitute, I tried to sell this Mk3 Cortina to own a
Rod in the 70’s but no one was having any of it!! This photo was taken just as I
was about to start the Cruise at the 2nd Street Rod Nats, paint looks good don’t
it, the shiny studs down the sides are actually ones you used to put in leather
jackets and filled the old trim holes.

4 Pop photos taken at the same 2nd Street Rod Nats if I remember right.

This photo is of Geoff Ridgeway’s personal Van, we
were all amazed at the intricacy of the art work, but he would never
tell us how he achieved such detail. I remember going to see it work in
progress one night when I was in Stockport it was awesome…. Then I saw
it at a Rod run a few months later finished it was amazing.. then a bit
later I saw it again and it was slowly fading away????? When it all
came out how Geoff had achieved this stunning and awesome detail, err it
was no wonder it was fading….. in the sun….. er…. er…. it was
done with felt tip pens ;o)

 
Ian Etheridge had a paint shop in Stockport. Trick
Painter Geoff Ridgeway  worked here. Many a great Trick Paint job came out
of their workshops mine included. This believe it or not is a 1300cc escort Van
with a fibreglass Blower that looked very real and even the blower belt turned.
I used to go and spend many a hour watching Geoff create his masterpieces.

 
We all had some real
good times with Odgie, Smax, Nidge and all The Preston Crew here Smax loons
about on Southport beach with a young Odgie and Smax’s brother Nidge hanging on
the roof . The all  used to go to
the Rainy City Cruises and come and party up here at my house in Cumbria, wild
times!

 
Steve Cheatham’s beautiful Zephyr, in Yellow pearl over white applied by my good
mate Dexy at the first Rod Run
I organized at Bardsea Cumbria, with a few of the Manchester Rainy City Cruisers,
Second year the run attracted 300 cars in 1977  We actually had trafic
jams of Rods in the local town of Ulverston, some people even still talk of it,
it blew them away. It was stopped by a Local councillor who
lived in the village, he didn’t like the look of us, some had coloured hair and we
were young and enjoying ourselves Heaven forbid nothing changed there then ;.>)

Rob Whitwell’s Jago 32 from 1979 At Belle Vue I think?
I Remember it being the closest to the real thing, you could get
over here in the UK. It was quite exciting at the time I remember dreaming about
owning one like this, all my waking moments.  The only fault I had with it
was the screen looked a bit dodgy, though with work it was made acceptable by
Rob. It is still about and now silver and owned by a guy called Dez.

(update)
Rob has let me into some of the background of its build, he was only 19yrs
old when he built the coupe. He couldn’t afford a proper screen surround so made
a facsimile out of fablon. I am even more impressed now I know a bit more about
it. What an achievement this Rod was, at a time when most of us could only dream
about it, and to be constructed in the 70’s by a Teenager is just Amazing and a
true Milestone in Uk Rodding *respect*

John Spats Wilkies Y, a nice story that springs to
mind was I was filling up with fuel  on the way to a Rod run and in came
Johns mr’s in the Y loaded up with camping gear, I asked if she could
tell me the way to the Rod Run, as I was lost and she said follow us, so
I cruised the rest of the journey with my gob open following her in the
Y and Hubby in the 32 Sedan,  me in a Jacked Mk3 Cortina cool eh
;>)..

The Devil a 33 Plymouth 5
window Drag Car, this was my favourite drag car then, well apart from All’s
Gasser that is ;>).

Richard Waylings amazingly detailed Triumph Herald engine bay, I was amazed at the
work and detail, it was later made a tilt body, I could never understand why a
Herald ;o)

One
of my old mates Crazy Odge, this photo was sent in by Dave Pritchard. It shows
Odgies 302 powered Pop at the second Bardsea Rod Run. I knew it was a cool Rod
in those days now looking at a photo of it, I can see it was even better than I
remember, Jag ifs, no front fenders and std roof height all add to the proper
look Hey and this was the 70’s when everything was jacked up.  Such is the
taste and vision Odgie has, the whitewalls on chrome steels are just Wow don’t
ya think, now if you want inspiration for a new style Pop for the Millennium
what more do ya need, go do it! Is it still around in someone’s lock up?

I remember now why it had no front fenders, Odgie was sitting on
a wing revving the bollix of it while setting it up one day and it jumped out of
neutral, into1st, it then shot across his truck yard and smashed through a fence
and into a field, with Odgie still hanging on for grim death and trying to get
the strength to shut the throttle of as he hurtled into oblivion ;>)

Funny?  Hell yes, even at the time, but how different it would
of been if the field had been a brick wall or one of his wagons had been parked
in the way eh, it doesn’t bare thinking about!

 Odgie is a proper character and I feel
blessed to know him!

 
Rainy City Stand with Pete Gething’s C cab in the foreground, we were great mates
at one time, we even spent our Honey moon down at Stoke with him and his wife
Diane such was our friendship, we lost touch many moons ago, though we have
since been in contact.! This was a nicely made C cab named Temptation
that was once the Beer wagon seen in the earlier photos.  Hey happy days…. (photo courtesy of Dave Pritchard)
I have since been told Pete has bought the old C cab back after seeing it on
e-bay, but it is in a very sad state and he isn’t sure he has the enthusiasm to
redo it all over again. As a side note his sons are into the scene now, one
having a real cool flamed Pop, so ya never know they may rekindle his spirit.

I went into the custom bike scene for a
while and loved it, I think bikes and Rods are things that you have in your
blood. I needed to get  a chopper out of my system ;o) but I don’t think
you ever do fully they are in your soul for sure.

I had this Lowrider built for me by my Mate Crazy Odge
in 1984 a story on it’s own. It was featured in Backstreet Heroes & I won a few trophies at the Big Hells Angel
Kent shows
and Doncaster with it, it was great Fun. But all the time Rods where burning in
my soul.

This is my Old Pop in 1986? I bought as an abandoned
rebuild
for a grand, complete with fresh Rover V8 and 5 speed. After lowering it
6″at rear!! and rebuilding the rear axle, fitting new front suspension, +
Spax adjustable’s all round, new steering, rewire, interior, wiper,
re-boxing
some chassis, re welding some loos bits and sound deadening it ;>) It
was ready for some serious road use and
some serious road use it got. I did the Nats Bruntingthorpe in 86 but I
just didn’t feel part of the
scene for some reason so I sold it to a guy from Poole. It later
appeared in Custom Car redone as a Drag racing Machine called Pumping
Iron! I
have recently seen it painted black with a Big block in it at the Hot
Rod Drags
2003 for sale. I then had
a brief flirtation with a Vette then Microlights for a few years and loved them,
later Bangers and after some time in the wilderness, the
over whelming yearn to own a rod got to much and I could see life passing me by,
I am now back into the Rodding scene again. I made a definite effort this time to own a Rod. I saved and saved until I
eventually came back to the fold with a 34 sports Coupe, I found for sale in
Custom Car small ads, which I loved to bits but  I sold it to finance my
1955 F100 project, I am back and back to stay, hence this web site.

Here is my Truck finished in June 2007

Well there probably is more, but that is as much as I can
remember and all the photos I can find. I hope you enjoyed them, for more of the
UK Rodding History with hundreds of old photos check out the Old Photos section