Pics from Street Nationals

[Lucky]

Right, I got me some picktchers ere, hopefully some of them will be of interest. Sorry if they're duplicating what's gone before a bit, or if they're referring to people or cars when you've no idea who they are but I intend shamelessly cut'n'pasting them onto other forums. So there Also sorry if I missed your car, as usual I spent too much time talking (rubbish) and not enough time taking photos.

Right, starting with the FDUK/Exile stands, shall we? Thought it was a bit odd the way the Pod squeezed everything in for this one, especially seeing as half the hard standing was completely empty. Weird. Anyway, our stands were definitely the best of show as usual, made all the easier cos there were so many stands full of little shopping trolleys and front wheel drive nonsense covered in stickers. A bigger turnout than last year, but definitely nowhere near the quality of cars, sadly. It was abit like the ghost of the Fast Show or Modified Nationals or something

Anyway...

I'll try not to just fill this up with amateurish pics of FDs, so here are just a few lol. TTurbo's midnight purple one, shortly before the guys left to check up on how Raz and Kash were doing after their unexpected Armco interface on the M1


The Major's purple one. If the other one's midnight purple, I guess Toms must be like early evening purple. Or maybe sparrow's fart purple?


Phil-who-shall-be-called-Fil's car seems to have suffered an allergic reaction to something... its feet have got all bloated and swollen up


Pics of this have almost become passe now since the news of its new shoes broke on FDUK, but I have to admit at first sight it was ... like, OMG, duuuuude, that looks sick innit... and other internet crap jargon for "I say old chap, your jalopy looks rather tastefully modified today"


Quite an American look with the nude bum and phat wheels and subtle bumper. Does look totes amazeballs though, Phyllis


This one was about the point I got bored of editing through pics and started screwing around


The artist formerly known as Custard Doughnut Monster, now I believe in the hands of Mr Welsh Gaz.


RXRacer


MMmmmm, carbon


A little known fact about troupes of FDs (correct collective noun there. Or is it a whoop? No, that's gorillas isn't it? It's a flange of baboons) ...errr... is that they prefer parking back to back like this, partly so they can spot danger coming and partly so if they get an itchy bum their opposite number can discretely scratch it for them when no-one's looking. This is actually completely true


See? alert for danger at all times


Like I said, I never got a chance to get pics of a lot of other guys' cars because once it came clear the rain was staying, everyone pissed off. Got one of Keef scurrying away. Looking good from behind, as always !


Another one of the Major. All those hours of polishing well worthwhile, looks top!


This one's mine, and I thought cos it was a bit arty I might get away with sneaking a pic of my own car in without looking too much of a nob. It's art, I tell thee


So, next door to the FDUKers and almost as if it had been designed that way was the Exile Rotorsport stand. This was actually because it had been designed like this, lol.Sadly my own FB is still in bits so I had to muddy the waters by bringing my plastic car. But there were still plenty of truly righteous rides there...


Tim's utterly amazoid Series 1 left-hooker never fails to give me a bit of a crisis. For those who haven't met it before, this is the heart of a Turbo II in an SA first gen. Add monolithic old skool Jap wheel fitment, blister arches and marinade in cool for one excellent car




because Exile


Got stance?


I had to make up for not taking enough pics of it at the Gathering, so here, have another...


James was pressed into service as the Exile Support Vehicle for when Hayden's recently resurrected RX-3 broke down en route. The downside of this was that it didn't break down, so James had to spend the weekend at a drag strip (something he apparently doesn't like much), camping in the British weather (which let's face it, no-one likes much). The upside is that we got to meet his immaculate Red Arrow Series 3, a worthy successor to the sadly missed stolen Silver Arrow


Parked next to Adam's Series 2. Mullins brings da style Nice earmuffs, dude


Adam and his dad only finished rebuilding the bridgey lump for the Series 2 a week or so back, and this run down tot he Pod was pretty much it's shakedown. It looks and sounds fantastic, and running pretty close on double figure compression all round they've gotta be chuffed with that


The only problem with this car is it makes me wonder yet again if I'd be better off leaving out the spoiler on mine...


Here it is being menaced by Uncle Timmy's Purple Peril. Heavier by one fixed penalty notice on the way up for lighting up the wheels in front of a copper, but that doesn't slow the ol' geezer down any, lol


How cool is it to roll up having driven from darkest Devon, take out the passenger seat and all the carpets, drag some slicks out the boot and run a twelve stone cold after an hour in the queue?


There are a few "subtle" touches that make you think this isn't your average old Jap jalopy


Like the way the exhaust has pretty successfully melted the O/S rear light


One other car featured on the stand early doors, of course, and I alluded to it earlier. Can you tell what it is yet, lol?

[Lucky]

Oooh, yeah. The amazing dormant '3 lives once more. The last time I got any photos of this baby at the Pod was in 2009 so it's properly nice to see the old girl again


So much want for this car. Shame I'm about twenty eighth in line down the ranks of prospective next owners lol


Hope the drive home in the wet on Christ-knows-how-old semi slicks wasn't too alarming!


Mazda always did know how to play on a bit of heritage. Even before they really had much


Still got no idea what the story is regarding the missing gearknob but I bet Mullins was rocking some serious stigmata by the time he got back home, lol. Gaiter looks like something I last saw at the clap clinic, mind. Get it sorted, dude


Here's the man himself apparently being done over by Aaron. Always aim for the nuts, that's the idea


Kiwi Dave made it up later but I helplessly failed to get any pics of his TWR Series 3. Shame, cos it's ace. It was funny Andy Tapos asking if Dave was coming, having had quite an impression left from the last convoy last year when all the FDs were indulging in the usual lunacy on the way from Toddington but every time you looked in your mirror, there was Dave's li'l ol 12A, rev buzzer screaming, foot buried in the mat, planted firmly on our tail. Cool beans
Six series between but the bloodline can still be traced...


Right, that's pretty much it for the FDUK/Exile stands. As I said, I was slightly disappointed with the turnout this year, it was definitely a case of quantity over quality. However, there were some other cars about worthy of notice. Here are a few of my own choices. Argue about it if you like, lol
First up, as many of you know I've a long-standing problem with Bimmers but this one comes as close as any to being... OK. Especially next to a rather horrid example of the modern breed and how nasty, bloated and funny-shaped they've become


This R8 was over the way from us a bit. Looked excellent in this baby blue


"only" a V8 but it sounded most lairy on open pipes


and had some cool options ticked, like the carbon airdam intake cover doobries


I liked this little delSol (yes, even though it's a Hahhhndaa) because it looked great in chocolate-bar colour, and because you're never going to get bored of a roof that slides into the boot on hydraulic widgets


Like a big fat carbon intake snorky thing, too


Not sure whether this is class or ass, really. It certainly draws attention though, and it's funny watching people point and smile and then get all embarrassed in case someone laughs at them for liking something naff. I don't care, I've no taste to embarrass


...and it's got an alien emerging from the bonnet and I'm sorry that's just cool in anyone's language. Yes, it IS


I liked the wheels and they way this MX-5 sat, though I was on the verge of being upset by the naff circuit stickers until the owner got chatting. Apparently him and his mate are doing a tour of fifteen tracks in it to raise money for some RAF charity. So fair play.


Generally airbrushing is the wrong side of naff, but given the task in had, this is forgiveable, I guess. And rarely for vehicle murals, it's actually really pretty good artwork


There were a lot of Beetles about. That's not a bad thing, stop grumbling at the back there. Evidently the show incorporates a round of some weird Beetle drag series. And why not. My own personal favourite was the carbrio one. Which sitting dozing in the early sun in the queue suggested little of the sound and fury of which it was actually capable


Gotta love any car where the engine and ancilliaries no longer actually fit in the car


This one here was a work of art in every regard, from the excellent custom paint to the top-notch componentry and engineering on display


So clean you could eat your dinner off it. Or at least fry an egg, lol


Excellent old-skool vreeble paint effect stencilling thing going on. Sooooo shiny, too


Noice


Our old family transport Beetles never used to look like this, more's the pity


Adolph's smallest Panzers weren't the only old school things around. For afficianados of the Blue Oval, there was plenty to like. Like this Mexico. Now a ridiculously expensive and "collectible" car. Ahhh, if only we knew back then...


MkI Cortina looked just right with a bit of patina and wear


...though I'm not sure if the passenger is getting enough nutrition from their diet!


Looks like his missus needs a couple of dinners, too. Or maybe Cheryl Cole's just let herself go lately...


This one's a Consul. Totally not the same, y'see. Despite what it may look like. Tidy though, innit


Iconic pie plate light. Either that, or modelled on one of those crap aliens from War of the Worlds


Minilites and sidepipes. Proper. Sounds like an Irish finger-in-yer-ear pub band or something


This late Capri showed a lot of promise, if the tubbed girth of its rear end was any indication...


...and it was immaculately presented with lots of nice touches such as the carbon bumpers. Sadly, on the strip it didn't seem to fulfill its promise. Dunno whether the driver was taking it easy at first and never got a chance to give it Larry because of the weather. Does look nice though


MkI RS2000 looks fantastic from any angle;


...even in a shade normally reserved for ludicrous tanning victims


this black one was at the Classic Motor Show last year. I'm still wrestling with the airbrushing myself. It's such a well-restored car, and looks so fantastic it just doesn't need all that. But there you go, I've got an FD with fins, what do I know about style?

[Lucky]

Once we'd been up the queue for what seemed like an age waiting for the track to be re-opened, we decided it probably wouldn't for a while yet so mooched off to see what else was about. Found this little brown thing lurking round the back of the toilets


Basically Ford Germany's answer to the MkIII Cortina, in a beautiful shade of Seventies Bookie's Lung Brown Lovely


Always got time for a nice Cobra, especially when it's an absolutely gorgeous colour


I would have liked to get a pic of the whole thing but the owner was loading it onto his trailer and didn't seem keen on waiting while I faffed about, so you'll have to be content with bits. All the best interiors feature cream leather, I think you'll find


Those voluptuous curves in full. Well, as much as I could get in the frame, anyway


Chubby Escort is chubby


and on the topic of daft lardy Ford things, here's the nadir of the descent into bloated middle age of the eighties muscle car. Fox-body Mustang, loathe them or ignore them, you can't love them lol. Venetian blind light covers good for another three tenths on the strip. True. I actually like these despite myself, I think it's something to do with all those YouTube clips of them wheelying like mad things that does it


In fact, the pits were a veritable stable of Mustangs of varying youth, the members of the Outlaw Drag series I believe, which was the other series running in this combined show


I vacillate on these Mustang GTs. Sometimes they're cool, sometimes they're as tragic as Just For Men and listening to Bruce Springsteen whilst leaning on the doorcap to show off the packet of Marlboro in your T-shirt sleeve. And Clarkson likes them, so that's another reason not to. Errr, dunno


Nice touch here though


I couldn't get a pic of Pete's 'Vette very well in the pits, cos it was wedged in and I couldn't get a clear shot. Managed to get most of it in the reflection of this Holden Monaro badge though


Making the 'Stangs and 'Scorts look distinctly ordinary and tacky were a brace of two of the best from the Detroit Bow Tie stables


A pair of '68 Camaros. The blue one was beautifully finished, while retaining it's brutal presence...


...the black one was just brutal


There's enough rubber here to melt down and cast your own re-moulds


No blower, no turbo, all engine, sprinkling of nitrous. Barn door engineering rules


Up the far end, out in Hicksville we found a rotary work of art waiting for the opportunity to set new significant times


...along with one of it's primary culprits, who is also a rotary work of art. But in an altogether different sense...


Mmmmm, lovely. It's a strong look, but I think we'd better look back at this again before we leave...


A little further down was the Hayward pits with Liam's new car. There was no sign of Hayward himself though and the guys who were there seemed a bit stressed out so I didn't hang around and annoy them much.


I dunno if I understand the siting of either the turbo or the exhaust, but I'm sure there's good reasons for both. Or not. Maybe even as simple as getting attention, which is half the point of a demo car I suppose. It certainly draws the eye. Shame to hack up an R-magic bonnet though


Anyway, by now the track had finally re-opened after some dreadful old Datsun Skylard had soiled its gusset all over the place so it was time to see some action at last. After a few uninspiring RWYBers Rob stepped up for the first run of the day


For a horrible moment I thought that old Evo III or whatever it is was going to spoil the shots


...but I needn't have worried because before even the 60ft Rob had already pretty much just cleared off en route to his awesome 8.8 second run


Which was pretty much the high point of the day. Although this daft thing came close...


That's a 9.4 second run @ 158 mph, if you please. In an open top Beetle. Simply magnificent


This fella was quite entertaining for all the wrong reasons... rolled up to the start line, went for a wheelie, spazzed it up, dropped it onto the bumpstops, went back and tried again. At least he got it up this time, so to speak


Moar cool Beetle action... doriftuuu burnout, lol. Loving the metalflake light covers


This was definitely the prettiest of the Vdubs, if not the quickest, slightly surprisingly


although with that said, it does need the wheelie bars


Titanic MkI battle; Cortina vs Escort. Some kudos to play for there, then


Consul burn out. There may be a lot of burnout pics now, to be fair. Soz. But it does look cool


The other series at the show was the front wheel drive one, which I haven't really mentioned because drag Civics make the worst noise in human history and it upsets me just thinking about it. Fortunately, not everything in the series is a Civic, unlike the Jap Series used to be. This little grey Nova is quite a rare thing nowadays, who'd of thought that when M*x P*wer was at the height of its ....errr.... powers?


This is a Civic, of course, but I'm forgiving them on the grounds of their amusing airfilter strategy


Liam was doing his best to climb the steep learning curve, but it seems that problems with wheel alignment were holding him back. And clearly personal issues, too.


I like these rear lights best out of anything on this car, but it doesn't make me weird. No, it doesn't


Moar scrots. Baby blue one went alright. Shame about the fat bloke in the way. Actually, not sure he is fat, maybe he's just nursing a semi


This Caddy CTS made a great noise with fruity pipes, and it went at a pretty startling speed for something quite so ginormous


I did say I took a lot of burnout pics. Datsun proving they're not all fragile timebombs waiting to explode. Skyline reliability? Pah! And they laugh at rotaries....

[Lucky]

Moar scrots.


Still a bit ambivalent about the airbrushing on the black one. Damn, it goes well though!


RS2000 battle. Both lively enough. Live rear axles FTW, lol


Uncle Timmy had finally made it round after about two hours sat in the queue. Undeterred by cold tyres, engine and 'box he proceeded to spoil this Mustang's day by doing a low twelve as a warm up


The Purple People Eater in flight


This wee Anglia was a bit special, it sounded even angrier than Elvis' last turd, and that might have had something to do with the Cossie YB stuffed into it's otherwise largely empty insides


I know it looks preposterous, but I love the spirit of this snorkel-kitted Disco running the strip. Does an 18s run too, which isn't bad and goes to show aerodynamics might not be all they're cracked up to be, lol


Mark rolled up to try out his new rotary. I didn't get the times, dude, is it faster than the old FB?


Lookin' good, and thank God you put that horrible fat apalling BMW thing in it's place!


This bloke won my Burnout Of The Day award, sat there for about a minute essentially turning his tyres into tiny rubber marbles. Didn't seem to give him world beating speed up the strip, but hey, it's a good spectacle


Dark blue Capri still looks absolutely excellent but went in a very disappointing fashion. Which is to say.. slowly


Moar FWD draggers. Funny-looking things


Got bored again. It's the only way I could bring myself to post two Civics on one thread


Adie "doing a Michael Jackson". Although not in a perversions with chimps sort of sense.


I have a fair bit of love for this Caddy. And a considerable amount of hatred for all the dicks who keep getting in the way and screwing up my pics.


Holden Monaro* made a good noise, too

*It's a Vauxhall VXR in English


Camaro still gives me the raging horn


Corvette looked great out in the open, and would have even looked properly fast...


...if it hadn't had the misfortune to come up against this bonkers thing


Boom! Owned


Yeah. Got bored again


OK, I'll stop messing around now. Stock-wheeled Supra finds out what fast looks like


Just time for Uncle Timmy to come round for one more pass...


It was probably around this point that he really should have been thinking about taking the line lock off, because just think how much faster his 11.5 second run might have been if he had, and the front brakes hadn't still been on. Hero!


and that was about it. The rain came down just as I was finishing my rat-burger, and everyone cleared off sharpish. By the time we'd said our goodbyes the Pod was just about empty. Anyway, it was the right time to leave cos it basically rained all the way home on my tedious God-I'm-bored-of-the-three-hour-drive-each-way-to-the-Pod journey home. At least there's a the golden glow of a new Temple to the God of V-Power on the M25 so I now only have to fill up once on the round trip, instead of twice like I used to. Shame they're sellign V-Power at 149.9 per litre, a clear 10p more than my local Shell. By the time I got home you'd never have known I spent two days cleaning the car last week...


Poor ol' Ruby. Rode hard and put away wet, as cowboys would say*


That's it, I'm out. Thanks for putting up with me, and for reading this load of old toss.




* and porn stars

[Rexi84]

Always look forward to reading these show reports. Great pics and commentary yet again.

[spirit r]

Thank for enjoy myself!

[myatt1972]

Cheers, ace as always !

[codge]

Thanks from me Nik. It's a lot of work for you but fab pics as always.

[TOOL]

Colum needs to work on his look.

They all need to go lower too.............that is all.