Today is a Bank Holiday in the UK so we have a long weekend and most of the time there is car show somewhere. Todays event was thirty minutes away from me, pre booked cars only at a cost of £10 per car, as this show was raising funds for a Cancer charity I didn’t mind paying it. The weather was predicted no rain for the day, apart from a little shower at silly time in the morning. I got ready for the show and inspected the sky was a little grey, but I could see blue bits in the distance. The roads had dry patches, but were mostly damp from those early morning sprinkles of rain. The main roads had dry lines which I kept to, but the roads were drying up pretty quickly.
I needed fuel on the way to the show stopped to fill up with Shell’s finest offering V-Power. The fill up was just shy of £80, more open wallet surgery performed without anaesthetic as our tyrant government continues to laugh at us motorists. I arrived at the venue at eight thirty and then I remembered just how bad the organisation is for this event. In order to get to the field where they parked us up, you had to travel across another field which was more like a WWI battle front complete with bomb craters and trenches. To keep the cars from backing up in the main road, some bright spark decided to put us into double rows from one side, and another coming in from the left, that’s three rows of cars nose to tail all trying to get into a single gate. I spotted my mate Steve in his silver ’67 Coupe (first pic below to the right) in front of me. As I got double stacked I drove right past him with a cheery little wave. I had some marshal trying to hurry me up and go faster. Sorry pal, I ain’t dragging my exhaust over your fields, would he pay for them if I ripped it off? Of course not, with that in mind; I will drive as slow as I want, I’m in a classic 60’s car and not a tractor!
Eventually we got into the field and parked up, Steve pulled up some five or so minutes later a few cars down from me.
I spotted a couple of my favourite people, looking at the cars. I like to think that they were admiring the cars and not taking notes on who to give a ticket to.
I eventually got out where Steve and I had a catch up and expressed our displeasure at the poor organisation to get in. Then it was time to clean the car from the water splashes and stuck on bits of grass from the field(s).
Cars were coming in thick and fast and the place was getting busy, I took over three hundred photos, but reduced it down to two hundred by removing the Tesco car park cars that were only a few years old and some of the cars I spotted from the Lavenham Car show yesterday. With the amount of photos I have taken in the past and posted, WordPress advised me to reduce the number of photos in one post, thus speeding up load times. Taking their advise I will split the event into two posts, this is obviously Part 1.
Bank holiday weekend here in the UK, I could have had a car show on Saturday, Sunday and the Monday a hat trick. I didn’t attend the show yesterday as the rain was forecast and sure enough it did, not a lot, but just enough to make me not get the car out. Considering we’ve had three ‘heat waves’ in the UK now, I wasn’t upset about missing one show to be fair. Todays show was at a beautiful village of Lavenham in the middle of Suffolk about half hour away from me. My alarm, woke me, the dogs and the wife. Before I got out from my pit, I checked the weather, rain was due at four this afternoon. OK, I decided to go and leave a bit early to miss the promised rain. I stumbling out of bed and seemed to stand on every dog toy between the bedroom and bathroom. I took a careful look at the sky and the roads, they were damp with the odd puddle.
I got in the car and set the destination in Google maps. My co-pilot was going to direct me down some back roads, that wasn’t going to happen as I know these roads. The route would have been quite wet as the roads aren’t used that much early on a Sunday morning. So on one of my (very) rare occasions, I overrode the map and turned onto the main roads instead. My route would be six minutes longer to get there, but these are main roads and would be used. That way the water would be removed much quicker by traffic and the sun trying to poke through the clouds, which means my car wouldn’t get as dirty on the way there. The show was due to start at eleven until four, with the event letting in cars at eight thirty. My timing saw me arrive at nine twenty and I was shown to the field for the marshal on the gate. The display field is arranged into a circles with outer ring for some club stands, and then inner circle(s) for the private entrants. I parked up next to a white Triumph and a couple of minutes later a white Morris Minor turned up. I was in a white car sarnie. I wasn’t best pleased about the ‘Moggy Minor’ as there is some history between me and their owners club! I have documented it here quite a bit in the past.
My car got a good wipe over, which surprising wasn’t that bad. You can see from the picture above, the field behind me was quite empty. By the time the car was cleaned some forty minutes later the field was getting busy. It was going to be a good show.
The marshals were great and kept everything moving and parked us up quickly, but not wedged us together, a refreshing experience it has to be said.
I could smell food, there was an army truck that pulled into the middle of the field which was serving hotdogs. I asked for one only to be told that everything he had was vegan, I put my money away and looked for other vendors. Now, I don’t know it was my imagination or not, but the vegan van had a few people queue up at one point, but the bacon stand which was only selling bacon rolls, had a constant queue of people waiting in a line. I didn’t fancy the bacon although it did smell amazing. There was nobody else selling hotdogs, so I had to settle for a burger. Not a cheap experience, but I was assured it was a proper burger. As it was nearly mid day I talked myself into it which took all of about two seconds. The burgers were cooked to order and I would have to wait for my order! The waiting time was mitigated by giving me a gadget with a number on it. When it bleeped and flashed I was to go and get my burger.
What a fantastic idea and it worked, I handed my gadget over, got my burger and promptly returned to my car and sat down to enjoy my lunch. They were right it was a pretty good burger, better than some restaurants I have been too.
While I was waiting I decided to wander around the cars and take some photos, so working counter clockwise here are the cars.
Last weekend was one of those rare weekends where I had a choice of car shows. I could have gone the Stonham Barns or Burwell. Stonham I tend to go there a few times a year, all be it with different parameters, all in classic cars, or Americana etc. So I though I would go somewhere different for a change, Burwell Village. I haven’t been there before so it was a punt on what it would be like. They had restricted the number of cars to attend and advised not to attend if you weren’t booked in. We had to be in place ready for the museum to open at 10am and then the public could come in and see the museum and the cars.
If you ever find yourself out by the Cambridgeshire fens on the Suffolk boarder, Burwell is one of those lovely villages that just feels completely tied to its landscape, especially with the old waterways or ‘lodes’ running right through it. Tucked away at its heart of the village is the Burwell Museum, which honestly feels less like a traditional museum and more like a miniature, open-air village frozen in time. You can wander past old-fashioned shops and a blacksmith’s forge which was being worked for the day, all lovingly maintained by locals. But you can’t miss the real centrepiece: Stevens’ Mill. It’s a gorgeous 19th-century tower windmill that looms over the site, and it complements the history of the museum, giving you a genuine feel for what rural farming life used to be like around the village.
I set of at quarter past eight with Google maps telling me it would be thirty five minutes later. The email that was sent to us described how to get there, as in the lane would be easy to miss so look out for it, they weren’t wrong. I got there a few minutes after the scheduled time and see a sign to pointing down the little lane, not to bad at this point.
Down the end of the lane was another little sign – turn right, so I did which wasn’t that easy with the turning circle of an aircraft carrier!
I thought somebody was taking the stuff that turns the snow yellow! It was a dirt track through an allotment. The ruts in the track were low and the centre mound high which scrapped on my low exhaust headers, I wasn’t best pleased. I ended up having to drive on the higher parts while trying to dodge the plastic vegetable tunnels, and s ticks with shiny stuff hanging of them. Thought ran through my mind; if I was going to be told to park on some cabbage patch the conversation wasn’t going to go well for the poor soul that would deliver me that news. After what seemed like two miles of hell (actually more like a couple of minutes), I pulled onto an opening of a ‘field’ area. I was greeted by a lovely guy who mentioned me by my name and said ‘you’re from one man and his mustang .com’, a really nice touch. The fact I turned up in a Mustang might have been a clue though.
Being a little on the early side I was guided to back up to a wooden fence that was more like a dumping area for the allotments. We were forced in tight next to each other. More cars followed me in about fifteen minutes or so later and they were told to park in front of me starting a new row. If I wanted to go early it wasn’t going to happen, I was boxed in.
I got out to clean my car from all the dust and debris from the path on the way in. I could smell food, and decided to go and get some breakfast once the car was clean again, the now obligatory sausage roll. The guys asked me if I wanted cheese and salad with it and of course I said yes, it was a good choice. The local butchers supplied the food and was it was top notch, delicious and filled a hungry hole.
By the time I had finished breakfast, the cars were all pretty much in place, with only about thirty cars there in total for the day, a few nice mixtures of cars.
I wandered around the cars and took some pictures of my little ‘field’ area.
There was an opening in the fence which takes you into the museum walkways itself and a few more cars were parked up there.
I thought that this 1953 Citroen was going to be my car of the show, but as I wandered around the museum, I found something much bigger and better. There wasn’t a lot to choose from to be fair for my pick of the day.
Through the path ways there was various little rooms and working exhibits. I will add each little room or display as it’s own gallery starting with some Roman pottery.
The lower right was a hand written transcript from the 15th Century, in a display case which was in incredible condition.
Between each little exhibition room were barns of stored agricultural stuff and equipment.
The forge was working and a blacksmith was making something, I couldn’t tell at the point I took the pictures as it was in the early stages. All the equipment was used as it was back in the day.
There was a large barn that was over two floors, the upstairs being fairly small in comparison. There were mock up from different era’s.
Upstairs you got a view of a victorian bedroom.
The rest of the upstairs featured medieval dig finds in display cases.
A view from the upper floor to the windmill.
There was some World War I & II exhibits, the baby gas mask was kinda freaky!:
This brought back some memories as my grandparents had one of these in their back garden, an Anderson shelter. Made of corrugated metal I’m not sure what they would have stopped during an air raid.
Then into the windmill itself. There were guided tours around the working mill at little extra cost. I thought about it, but the very narrow stairway would have been snug for my 6’4″ frame. The guide also told me that it gets progressively narrower as you go up to the third floor. I decided against it for fear of having to have the emergency services cut me out from the narrow stairwell!
I walked back to the car for a rest and some people watching. I spent a fair bit of time talking to the guys who parked up next to me which passed time away.
Mart’s Car Of The Show:
This Tucker-Terra Sno-Cat K23 was a beast, not a car but a vehicle so it counts as I make the rules up! This was a genuine British Antarctic Survey vehicle used on the ice cap. I spent a fair while talking to the lovely guy telling me all about the vehicle.
I doubt I will ever see one again, so therefore just by rarity alone, it had to be the star of the show. He even let me sit in it which was pretty awesome.
Did you know?
These vehicles run on ‘AVTUR’ or Aviation Turbine Fuel which is used to prevent the diesel waxing up in the cold. To get round that problem of lubricants missing within the Avtur that normal diesel have, they have to inject the additives back in the fuel to allow the engine to work properly.
An incredible bit of machinery and a privilege to see it and sit in it one.
Being wedged in, I had to wait for the cars in front to leave before I could. This started to happen around three in the afternoon, with a gap eventually opening up in thew rows, with a little manoeuvring I was able to get out. The trip back down the dirt track again was just as bad as I remembered it a few hours earlier. I got home after about 45 minutes as the roads were a little bit slower. Arriving home I got out and looked at the state of my car, there was no way I could put it away without another good clean.
Would I go again? Probably not; one, the path to get there wasn’t fun, two, there wasn’t much to do with a max of thirty cars to look at. On the plus side, I enjoyed the museum and had some amazing memories triggered of my grandparents. Nostalgia vs cars? On this occasion the nostalgia won and I treated the ‘car show’ as a Sunday drive out for me with a few other like minded guys. I certainly didn’t hate it, but a few more cars would have made it a much better day.
Part two of the Festival of Classic and Sports Cars at Helmingham Hall, takes us into the privateer field on the other side of the hall. After taking in some liquid refreshments and a few calories Craig and I set off to find some more nice cars. This was the view that greeted us as we emerged from the tea and cake. It was reported that there was 1,200 cars and 8,000
The cars that parked up on the Tollemache area are here, it was a relentless sea of people swarming around the cars.
There is a red Lamborghini Countach here which is in fact a replica or tribute car as they tend to be known as now days. It was interesting to hear the people saying that it’s a real one, a simple look under the mid engined hood would see a v8 and not the glorious V12. Don’t get me wrong it’s a beautiful looking car, but the real thing wasn’t allowed on the Tollemache, more on that a little later in this post.
As the privateer field was not a club stand field, it was divided up into into various decades. Sixties, seventies, eighties etc. Although looking at the mixture of cars, it looked to be good intentions for organisation, but it didn’t work flawlessly. The field was full, but as we got out around two thirty some of the cars were leaving early, so we missed a few of them, nothing spectacular was missed.
Each of these little galleries was supposed to be the decade, but I have just left them in the order of walking up and lines of cars which was a little chaotic at times it has to be said.
This poor chap was having issues with his car, but what was nice to see is a number of people that gathered around him to help out. It was refreshing to see regardless of the make of the vehicle, people were helping out. I did hear some dubious suggestions for the potential problem not used to old school carburettors, but also some very valid next steps for trouble shooting.
In the previous post I mentioned that there was an issue with the Tollemache entrants area. As we pulled into the event’s main gate there was a car in front of us who was clearly trying to blag his way into the Tollemache. It was quite obvious that he hadn’t booked so wasn’t allowed to park up which was a good thing, but that left a problem the marshals who couldn’t turn him back down the drive. They had to work out where to send him as he wasn’t on a club stand either. Due to this person’s attempts to get somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be, it caused a queue of traffic behind him, that’s me included and load of others who were getting a bit frustrated. This guy had clearly paid to get on the Tollemache and had his ticket in the windscreen, but wasn’t allowed to park at the Tollemache for what ever reason, these privileged tickets ain’t cheap and I hope he got his money back. This Lambo is the real deal.
With the field completed it was time to head back to the car, but via some of the gardens. The gardens were busy and we decided not to go all round them. Such a shame that the heat has ruined the lush greenery and vibrant colours of the flowers.
There was some stalls, but no autojumble which was a bit shocking to be honest, after all this is a car show. There was home made jewellery, cakes and some artworks you could buy should you need to. I had taken some cash with me as I wanted to buy some detailing products and a few microfibre cloths, but no I couldn’t which was typical. There was no car oil stalls, car parts for the rest of us petrol heads, such a prestigious event like this I was expecting more car related stalls. However there was one car stall, but it was the Hot Wheels type. Outside one stall there was this lovely ol’ thing, I have no idea what it is and would genuinely love for somebody to tell me what it is, apart from stating the obvious of being old.
Mart’s Car Of The Show.
This is an MG Y (I think) from 1952. I don’t know why this caught my eye, it was battered and well used which was the appeal to me, a 1250cc or 76.3ci for my friends on the other side of the pond. This was in the club stand field with the MGs. A great little car with plenty of character that I bet could tell a story or two.
We took a another well earned break and done some mandatory people watching. I had one guy stop by to say hello and I couldn’t place him. We got to talking and it turned out that he was a neighbour over the road from me who had seen my car way back when as a wreck being worked on up my drive before it was stored at Mustang Maniac where I could work on it properly. Matt and I reminisced for a while and caught up on what we had been doing since we had lost touch. I said that I would mention on my post that Matt has a really good app that I do use called ‘Shaboodle’ link here and this is not a sponsored plug by the way. It’s a great (secure) app for storing all sorts of information, car details, documents, itinerary etc. all in one place online or via the app. I like it so you may want to check it out.
I mentioned that Lee is a good friend of Craig’s and I have gotten to know him as too meeting up at the car shows. He, like Craig is a keen photographer with a good eye for a shot. As I pulled into the event making my way down the drive I slowed right down as Craig had spotted Lee who appeared right on cue to take an action shot of us coming up the drive. It was now my turn to hold the traffic up as you can see behind me! The difference was I only stopped for a few seconds. Lee sent me these cracking photo’s and I said I would also give him a shout out for his Instagram: s2kathome or the link here https://www.instagram.com/s2kathome/ again this is not a sponsored mention.
I especially love this shot.
Once I had parked up Lee had taken these as well.
Thanks for letting me use the photos Lee.
Although there was 1,200 or so cars there, I was a little selective and hope I captured the spirit of the show. So, that was Helmingham Hall all done for another year, a great show as ever, well organised and it was nice to have some company with me for a change at a car show, now I’m looking forward to next year.
The biggest car show I attend and my favourite took place last weekend at Helmingham Hall, or to give the show it’s full title ‘Festival of Classic and Sports Cars’. The show was booked up for 1,200 cars with the expected foot fall of 8,000 people. I think it was a little more than that as it was properly wedged with people all day. This show my mate Craig was coming with me and we made a time to leave my house at eight in the morning, an early start for Craig. We loaded the car up and set off bang on time and took a leisurely drive to the event. My ticket was Tollemache 110 which means we have nice parking spot in from of the hall and lunchtime tea and cake. We parked up and we got a waft of bacon. That prompted a mission to go find some breakfast, we didn’t have to travel far to find a hotdog stall, we got a couple which was £7 each or the best part of $10 dollars! That’s just a a rip off I’m afraid, but demand will command the price. I paid it so I can’t complain, but it was a good start to the day for sure. We booked our time for tea and cake and caught up with another friend Lee and his daughter who had an MX5 who was also on the Tollmache area and was going to do a run down the main driveway and back again for crowd entertainment which is always popular part of the day.
The event is split into two fields, to the left of the hall is the club stands, and to the right is the privateers on display. We decided to check out the club stands first. This was taken early before the public were allowed in and shows the hall and some of the cars for the Tollemache. The fields are brown and no green grass as half of the UK is now in ‘drought’ conditions with hosepipe bans everywhere. The dry fields is a nightmare for dust in the air but I somehow coped with the stress of the dust!
Due to number of cars I have taken pictures of many cars together to save umpteen scrawling pages, I decided to split the show into two parts with around one hundred and seventy photos on each post, just to make it easier on the eye. With the sun being so bright I tried to get the best pics I could without glare.
Of course there was a Mustang stand, but not a single old school classic Mustang on their stand sadly.
More American Muscle.
The first few pics here are of a genuine Lamborghini Countach, this is relevant for a couple of cars a little bit later on.
We finished the field as the announcements for the driveway run were announced. Lee was due to be up first but a unmarked police car went first, yes I did make a note of the number plate! Here we have Lee in his car being interviewed before he set off and made his return back up the drive.
I’m not quite sure what Lee has done to his car, but it sounds like a flat four boxer engine or even a V8. Regardless it sounded pretty good with a pop and bang overrun compared to most MX5s.
I only have a my Samsung phone so the zoom is a little pixelated on the way back up the drive (sorry Lee), but a few action shots of him anyway.
The start of the driveway run was perfect timing as we were now at the top of the drive and near my car. We watched the cars, me from the top and Craig wandered a bit further down to get some head on shots. After the runs, I needed to put more sun screen on as I was getting hot and get a cold drink was needed. Craig, Lee and his daughter wandered of to get some food which allowed this poor ol’ timer to sit his ass down and take that well earned drink and rest! Craig got back looking pleased with himself holding a nice pot of noodles. We ate our food while we people watched for half an hour or so before we went for our tea and cake in the courtyard.
The area for the refreshments is in a quiet little courtyard with a dozen or so table spaced out for little peace and quiet from the ‘car’nage (see what I did there) of people walking around. We found some shaded area and enjoyed our cakes, mine was a Cherry Madeira and Craig had a full on triple chocolate job. As I don’t drink tea or coffee, as I don’t like the taste of either, Craig had my tea as well.
Part two will be tomorrow at the same time where I name my car of the show, and have some great shots of my car. The second field walk around to look at the privateers.
The next town to my little village hosts an annual carnival with a classic car show as part of the day. I attended this event a few years back and I haven’t been since due to other better car shows or rain. The Stowmarket Carnival was scheduled on the 19th July, the weather was looking good and I didn’t have any other shows to go to. So I thought I would give it a go again as a day out. This isn’t a huge show so there was no need to get up early and avoid the queue to get in. The usual drinks and a snack were packed and I set of for the show and arrived at the field fifteen minutes later, all cars had to be in place before nine forty five ready for the public to arrive. I was directed straight in and that was pretty well organised to be fair. once inside I was directed to area ten by a marshal and was shown my position to park adjacent to a concreate footpath which ran across the middle of the field or recreation field, a nice location in fact. By the time I had gone over the dry and dusty field the car needed a wipe over. I wouldn’t do that until after the other cars had all been parked up as they too were putting up plumes of dust.
I was hungry and decided that the now becoming obligatory sausage in a roll was required, and very nice it was too.
The car was given a wipe over and walked around the cars, maybe a hundred or so for the day.
There was some nice American muscle there, although I was the only 60’s Mustang.
I was almost fooled by this Chesil Speedster that was a replica of the Porsche 356 Speedster. To find a real 356 is hard enough, let alone find one at a carnival considering their value is around £300k to £560k, some rare models can command up to £800k.
I had seen all the cars, in the last part of the field were some amazing motorbikes and trikes. I was talking to a couple of great guys and spent a little with them. Two or three wheels are not my ‘thing,’ but I can certainly appreciate the mechanical engineering on these bikes and how proud the owners are of their creations.
Mart’s Car Of The Show
I have some good memories driving one of these Land Rover Series 3 in their iconic green. I have never seen one get stuck anywhere, such an amazing go anywhere work horse vehicle. Not fast, not that comfortable, not that quiet, but it will pull a house over.
I made my way back to my car and sat in my chair for a bit of people watching. I started to notice the families were arriving en masse; no doubt the nice weather, the attraction of traditional fun fair rides calling to them. Around lunch time I could see that many kids were eating ice creams while wandering around looking at the cars. I could see the parents just letting them stroll up to the cars, lean on them while holding their ice creams and putting their dirty sticky fingers all over the car. It’s a real pet hate of mine, I decided that I wasn’t going to leave my car unattended for the remaining time I was a this event.
The problem with ‘family’ focussed events like this one, is that some parents simply don’t care about your property. Your pride and joy is there on display just for their beloved little brats to climb over and have a nice time. Harsh I hear you say, maybe. But, to us car owners, dropping a bit of ice cream, a greasy hamburger morsel on a fabric seat or onto the carpet can ruin it, especially if it’s all original. I was really nervous about pushchairs being dragged through small gaps between the cars. Young kids were riding scooters around on the uneven ground, it wouldn’t take much for one of them to hit a divot in the ground and send them flying into the side of a car. In that damaged car scenario, would the parents pay for the repair and a paint job, of course they won’t. I was not enjoying this show once the general public turned up. However I do like to see families have a great day out and enjoy the cars, but sadly it was the minority that day. I hardly spoke to anybody during the time I was there, not by my choice, but nobody came up to me which was unusual, not that I ever expect people to engage with me no matter what the show. The cars seemed to be just a side line for the fun fair rides, fast food, cake and sweet stalls. Some parents were great and lifted their young kids to see the cars, which was nice to see.
Petrol heads (gear heads for those on the other side of the pond) who attend ‘proper’ car shows for fellow enthusiasts respect the cars, they don’t touch them or eat and drink near them. At those shows I feel comfortable enough to wander around without worrying about my car being trashed by the time I get back to it. We owners even look out for each others cars.
After a few hours into the early afternoon I had enough of stressing myself out watching people, near my car. I was determined to make sure my car left the same way it arrived to the event. As for this show I won’t be going again, purely for the reason of some, (not all) uncaring families, the parents were leaning on the roof of cars looking inside them, there’s no need for it. A shame, but when young children are around it’s not always their fault as they don’t know any better. If they don’t know any better they should be guided by the parents or maybe not as the case may be. I was fortunate enough to get back to my car and keep an eye on it. I did see finger marks on cars and bits of food on the floor by the cars as I was looking at them too. In my eyes and from what they saw, my little rant is justified. My car did have finger marks on a the glass right where my Krooklok sticker is, somebody had obviously pointed to it. I checked the rest of the car thoroughly which it was OK, thankfully. I guess I have upset a few people and been a bit controversial with my closing words. Do you agree with me, or am I just being a grumpy old man? This post will prompt me to write a little another little piece on ‘Car Show Etiquette’ in the near future, would it be even worth my while?
Welcome back to second instalment of the huge Classic Car Show Culford School 2026. I finished yesterdays post with the glorious GMA T.50 an automotive work of art. But this show has so much more to offer and now it was time to work my way back up the other half of the field. Towards the end of the post I reveal one of my very earliest memories as a kid if not the first memory I have which was triggered by something on a table that I saw at this show.
Jones’ Van from the classic TV Comedy Show ‘Dad’s Army’ was there again. Some members of the museum that looks after the van were dressed up as the TV characters acting out a scene or two from the shows.
I was now at the super car stand with lots of relatively new and classic sports cars.
Some Americana works of art to enjoy. Some I have seen at shows before and always a pleasure to see.
Then it was back up and down the lines again to take more photos I actually took over four hundred on the day. Near to me was a burger van selling burgers, hot dogs and bacon rolls. I wasn’t hungry until I smelt the food, a proper hot dog with cheese and onions had my name all over it! The picture doesn’t show it was a foot long sub, I found a bit of shade and enjoyed my breakfast.
With a full stomach it was back to the cars.
A previous winner of my car of the show, this achingly beautiful Aston Martin
A car that love, but my 6’4″ frame prevents me from getting in it sadly.
The paint job on this 1930s Ford was amazing, again the photos don’t do it justice.
There was a couple of old school pedal cars on tables which were amazing and beautifully restored. Kids of today don’t know the pleasure of going as fast as you can in a pedal car. An Xbox game may look great, but it doesn’t give you sense of speed by dragging your back side a couple of inches of the ground. Brakes – oh yeah, you stopped peddling and jammed both feet hard to stop the peddles, get it right and you could skid the car into a corner like a racing God, sometimes!
I was lucky enough to have one as a kid, nothing branded or fancy like those ones above. Mine was just a generic box shape in dark green, a bit like this one, I was gutted when I couldn’t get in it anymore. I was so very young, but my earliest memory was driving that pedal car into a fence at the bottom of a little hill. It was bent up a bit after that, (so was I), but it still drove good! When my ol’ man used to wash his car, I was given a little bowl to wash mine as well. Cars must have been in my blood at such a young age, or the flies in my eyes when travelling at such great speeds, those were good times.
Things were getting busy and the stalls were doing well, especially the overpriced ice creams and the beer tent!
Shame this isn’t a real GT40, but it’s still a stunning car to look at.
Mart’s Car Of The Show:
This 1913 Rambler was stunning. The woodwork, the brass and the paint, such intricate little details.
I wandered back to my car at a very leisurely pace ready for a well deserved sit down and long cold drink, that 1ltr bottle of chilled water was downed in one.
A couple of months back I added a small addition to the rear window of my car. I wanted to something super subtle that didn’t ruin the look of the car. Before anybody says anything, the glass is actually green as my car was an original factory optioned Air Con car, but from a distance you don’t really notice the tinge of colour. After market or dealer fitted air con had clear glass, it’s a real quick way to tell if original or after market. The stencil was stuck inside the glass just above the rear parcel shelf. When you look at the back of the car you don’t really see it, look from a slight angle you can see the white lettering against the black. Best of all, when the sun comes out it throws a nice shadow. This turned out even better than I hoped it would. In my mind if it didn’t work I could soon remove it, for now it will stay as it took me quite a while align it up in the middle and get it straight.
A great show where I spoke to many people and had a chilled day in the lovely weather, I soaked up the sun and enjoyed a few hours of people watching from the comfort of my chair. I can neither confirm not deny that I may have sneaked in few minutes of shut eye behind the sunglasses, I don’t think anybody noticed. Either I did get a quick nap in, or my smart watch said that I was sitting very still!
The heatwave is still continuing here in the UK and we can’t cope. There are roads melting with long diversions to avoid the stick tarmac swamps, trains running at reduced speeds due to the track conditions, hose pipe bans, grass that is brown and a wife that is bending my ear as the flowers are struggling in the heat. The heat itself peaked at 37oC a couple of weeks ago, but recently it been early 30oC and UK moans about a bit of sun for a few weeks, but if it rains we moan, winter nights are long we moan, snow we moan. Britain is obsessed with the weather, I on the other hand like a bit of sun even though I start to melt and burn easily. The photo’s I took this year 12th July 2026 don’t look great due to the Culford School’s grounds brown grass and dustiness which is shame. This is probably the second biggest car show in region that I attend. The night before I packed a new bottle of SPF50 which was going to be needed for sure, plenty of drinks, chilled water and extra ice in the cool bag. I left earlier than usual to make sure I didn’t have to sit in traffic trying to get into the show.
I arrived at the venue with a queue at five hundred yards at eight in the morning, but at least it was moving all be it slowly. When in traffic I tend to sit back a fair way from the car in front so I don’t blow their hot exhaust gases onto my engine making the situation worse. This gap does tend to annoy a few people that I don’t move up the twenty foot or so, like it will get them there quicker. Sitting in your car waving your hands about doesn’t make me move. I’m waiting for somebody to actually say something to me at the car’s window and we will be having a short discussion about why they’re being a silly sausage! Inside the show grounds I then took advantage of the tree shade while waiting, to fair quite a few other did the same.
I took a lot of photos again this year as the place was packed, so I split this show over a couple of posts to make it easier to digest and save scrolling across lots of photos thinking when will it end! The grounds of the school are stunning normally, but a little sun parched this year.
I found the Bury Retro Car Club stand and parked up on the end.
I took a while to wipe the car over as it was dusty, had a drink and started to wander around before it got too busy to take photos. The first batch of photos are from the club itself.
I started to walk up and down in a sort of clockwise direction to work my way round the field.
At the end of this line there was two old cars, one of which was my car of the show, but I will post that in tomorrow’s post. Here is the other one, a 1906 Brasier with a 3054cc with a 15hp engine. I thought I had a mission to clean my car, but the brass on this car was beautifully polished, stunning.
The sun was getting hotter and and the public were starting to join the show.
A beautiful 60’s classic Jaguar E-Type, a super car of the times, with looks that still look as good now as they did then.
Then we have a short sixty years later and Mclaren is now firmly in that crowded super car league. Given the choice, I would still have the E-type!
Another car that caught my eye was this 1974 Alfa Romeo Montreal whic was a contender for the car of the show.
When you speak of hyper cars this must surely be there in the top five. The Gordon Murrey Automotive T.50 with a custom made 3.9 litre V12 engine revving to an ear splitting 12,100RPM in a car that weighs less than a tonne, that is Formula 1 territory – on the road! The cost? Just a mere £2,360,000. I doubt I will ever see another one so I stood there for a while just day dreaming. Not many cars would make me want to swap my Mustang out, but this I could be tempted, just a little bit tempted.
What a way to end a post. I heard many people saying that it was their favourite car of the show. The value and rarity of the car would make it an easy decision for my car of the show. But that’s not my overall criteria, there is no doubt that this is a hand built master piece of design and engineering and would destroy everything on display at this show. Did I want it, without a doubt.
I have decided to create a little section for photos that I think would make a great desktop backgrounds, or mobile phone backgrounds. Of course I’m biased towards my own car (at the moment), but I have created some wallpapers for other beautiful cars. The balance will even out as concentrate on getting a more varied selection of cars to turn into wallpapers. The images don’t look that impressive when tiled together in the montages, but when opened in full resolution they are so much better.
I have done a montage for each of the categories so you can see the various pictures so far, and not just of cars:
Alternatively just click on the Menu above ‘Screen Downloads’, for the pages and the download links. All these images are free to download and use.
I will get more photos and turn them into desktop and mobile wallpapers going forward. If there is a particular picture you have seen and would like the full sized image for download, let me know ands I will add it for you and anybody else who would like it.
At a recent car show I was asked about my air filter, more specifically how it looks clean and where did I get it from. Originally I had a single use white paper filters that were 1 1/2″ tall compared to the S&B (a K&N clone) which is 2 1/2″ tall which I now have. So I thought I would give a walkthrough step by step guide on how I clean and look after my air filter.
My old style disposable filter on the left (white) and my S&B on the right (red).
I purchased my S&B filter from Mustang Maniac here. The taller height allows a higher air flow for better performance and smoother engine response. Due to the unusual size not many manufacturers make them, secondly being a large size it can be expensive, depending on the make and of course the quality the filter.
Just a quick note about the engine’s air filter as it’s probably the most easily overlooked and simplest part of the car’s service, yet it’s a critical component for a number of reasons:
Prevents Engine Damage: The primary role is to trap dust, dirt, and other debris from the air before it enters the engine. Even small particles can cause significant wear and tear on engine components, potentially leading to costly repairs.
Enhances Fuel Efficiency: A clean air filter allows for optimal airflow to the engine, which is essential for efficient combustion. When the air filter is clogged, it restricts airflow, causing the engine to work harder and consume more fuel. Regular replacement can improve fuel efficiency by up to 10-14%. With modern engines the electronics can cope with rich mixtures better – to a point. Not such the case for a set fuel flow of a carburettor. The dirtier the filter the richer the mixtures becomes causing running issues.
Improves Engine Performance: A clean air filter contributes to better throttle response and overall engine performance. It ensures that the engine receives the right air-fuel mixture. more miles to the gallon of fuel.
Reduces Emissions: A properly functioning air filter helps maintain the correct air-fuel mixture, which is essential for the vehicle’s emission control systems. A clogged filter can lead to increased emissions and may trigger warning lights on the dashboard, not the case on our old classics. We just ‘feel’ the car and know it’s not right.
Cost-Effective Maintenance: Replacing an engine air filter is a relatively inexpensive maintenance task that can prevent more significant issues down the line.
Whichever style of air filter you use there are pros and cons for each type of filter:
Reusable Air Filters
Long‑term savings – You buy once and reuse for years, reducing replacement costs.
Lower waste output – Cleaning instead of discarding cuts down on landfill impact.
Regular maintenance required – Must be washed and dried properly to maintain airflow and performance.
Slightly lower filtration efficiency – Some reusable filters don’t trap ultra‑fine particles as effectively as paper options.
Paper (disposable or single use) Air Filters
High filtration efficiency – Excellent at capturing fine dust and debris straight out of the box.
Zero maintenance – Simply replace when dirty; no cleaning or drying needed.
Higher long‑term cost – Frequent replacements add up over months and years.
More waste generated – Single‑use design increases environmental footprint.
Then there is the look you want to go for (if you can see it), the crimson red or white or yellow. K&N have a good reputation and proven performance gains, even if it’s a slight horsepower gain. Some even use their K&N filters as bragging rights for their engines.
The original cost of my air filter was a little over £100 at the time. But, it has now gone up over the last few years due to the stupid costs of import charges and raw costs of materials. The equivalent replaceable filter which isn’t as tall in size as mine (2 1/4″ vs 1 3/4″) , is now £55. I would only need to replace the paper style a couple of times and it would be cheaper in the long run for the reusable style.
The downside to the reusable style is the regular cleaning yearly or 25,000 miles depending on climate (dusty) conditions and miles driven. To clean this style of filter there is a simple and easy to use kit which provides a cleaning solution and the replacement oil for the filter element pleats. The cost is a reasonable at around £15 for the aerosol kit.
This is what the kit looks like that i use. This is the Aerosol version instead of the squeeze oil version, which is slightly cheaper:
Inside is a instruction leaflet which can be downloaded here and two bottles, one an aerosol ‘Air Filter Oil’, the other a pump spray cleaner ‘Power Kleen’.
The principle is the same for what ever shape your air filter is, mine is oval and fairly long. Remove the air filter and tap out any loose debris from the elements, away from the engine.
Shake the cleaning bottle and pump the spray’s contents liberally onto the inner and outer elements of the filter to give it a good soak. I use a rubber (Wellington) boot storage tray which is perfect for the job. The tray has ridges that keeps the filter slightly raised.
The pump spray was good and directional, however the top of the screw cap leaked and ran down the bottle and over my hand. Not a huge amount, but annoying all the same. Perhaps I got unlucky with the bottle.
Leave the cleaner to work for ten minutes.
To remove all traces of the cleaner from the filter take the filter to low pressure water outlet and run the water both outside and inside to wash the debris out of the filter. I used a garden hose with a gentle directional jet by a drain.
The red oil was washed away pretty quickly, leaving the naked white cotton pleats underneath.
Flushing from the inside out was the majority of my cleaning which loosened the debris which can be seen running out from the pleats.
Keep running the water until all traces of the cleaner are gone. Below right you can see the cleaner being washed away to the side.
The filter is now clean and needs to be left to air dry naturally for an hour, or however long it takes to dry.
Once dry I was back to the tray to apply the aerosol oil to the pleats. Shake the spray can and apply the spray until an even coverage is achieved.
The fully sprayed filter should be left for at least twenty minutes where the oil will soak down the filter’s pleats and can be seen from the inside of the filter.
The aerosol was even and easy to apply, but a little messy on the nozzle.
Once the filter has been left to dry for twenty minutes and the oil has penetrated all the way down the pleated fabric it can be placed back in the car.
Optional: One final step before fitting that I tend to do is to spray a small amount of Gibbs Brand Lubricant onto a clean cloth to make it damp, then very lightly wipe the cloth onto the inside mesh of the filter to give it some extra protection. You don’t want anything else on the pleats other than the K&N oil. The wipe over was a seriously light brush to add a thin film and that’s all. You don’t need to do this step, but I like to do it.
Once refitted the filter looks really good and was left overnight. The next day the car fired up nicely and seemed to idle a little smoother, psychological improvement? No, it did run smoother and the process is well worth it.
How long, well not long but most of the process was waiting. The total minutes actually doing the cleaning was around thirty minutes. Total time for the whole procedure was about two and half hours including the waiting.
That’s it, a pretty simple process, but it does make a difference on these older mechanical engines which rely on a good balance of fuel and air. If your car starts to run a bit erratic, check the air filter for a quick fix.
