Stonham Classic Car Show 2025

I finally have gotten round to writing up the car show I attended a couple of weeks ago. This is perhaps my most local of show venues but does host a variety of shows, not just car shows. The weather promised to be overcast but no rain. The car needed fuel so I would stop of at my local Shell petrol station for a fill up of V-Power. It’s an expensive premium mix compared to the other options, but my car likes it, any other fuel my car runs erratically and just doesn’t run well. I may do a post on different types of fuel mixtures if there is interest for a post, let me know if you think it would be worthwhile post. As I was filling up I had a guy comer up to me wanting to know about the car and I showed him around it. A nice chat and we were lucky as there wasn’t anybody else wanting to get a fill up.

About a mile outside the event I hit the traffic jam, it took me a total of thirty five minutes to get to the gate. The problem is that the there is a car boot sale every Sunday at the venue. The entrance directs the public who are only interested in the car boot sale and parking for that side of the field. The classic cars also have to use the same entrance, in reality for such duel events they should open another entrance to avoid the queues. Let’s face it, most of these old cars don’t like sitting in heavy traffic, mine included. Once I got into the event I was directed to the Bury Retro Car Club allocated spaces which was right in the corner of the field, the furthest point from anywhere.

Front view of a blue classic Ford Mustang parked among other vintage cars at a car show.

The club stand.

WE parked up and had a chat then decided that I should take a walk round the field in a clockwise direction which was becoming a very busy field that was pretty much near to capacity.

This car caught my eye and almost got ‘Mart’s Car of the show’, 1930 Nash Ambassador 8.

There was a trio singing various classic songs to a backing track which was quite nice.

There was some auto jumble for sale but nothing especially brilliant.

The group of other Mustangs at the show:

Mart’s Car Of The Show.

The classic 1974/76 Ford Torino, I was besotted with Starsky & Hutch as a kid and loved the car.

A vintage red and white car with a roof light parked on grass, surrounded by classic cars at a car show.

I found online from a few places a little history of the legendary car.

Starsky and Hutch, the fictional undercover cops portrayed in the 1970s TV series of the same name, catapulted the lead actors Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul into the limelight. But it was their on screen ride a bright red Ford Gran Torino with a distinctive white stripe that stole the show, the high-speed, tire-screeching car chases that punctuated every storyline made the car as famous as the show and the actors themselves. This eye-catching two-door hardtop, with its five-slot mags and pumped-up rear suspension, quickly became a pop culture icon, with vehicles from the show highly sought after today.

The success of the show, which ran for 93 episodes from 1975 to 1979, inspired a string of similarly themed buddy-cop TV shows. “ChiPs” motorcycle officers Baker and Ponch, and “Miami Vice” detectives Crockett and Tubbs, quickly followed in its tire tracks along. Perhaps the other car with such notoriety was with the those Duke boys Bo and Luke jumping, cop evading “The Dukes of Hazzard” in their iconic 1969 Dodge Challenger, the “General Lee”.

When the first series of “Starsky and Hutch” hit the airwaves on America’s ABC, the phone lines of Beverly Hills producers Spelling-Goldberg ran hot, with viewers eager to know where they could purchase such a car. Sensing an opportunity to make money, the clever marketing gurus at Ford rushed to release a limited edition run of just over 1300 lookalikes for the 1976 model year. The existence of these factory replicas along with a fleet of home-built tribute cars that makes it difficult to authenticate any Gran Torino purportedly used in the series.

A red ‘Starsky and Hutch’ style Ford Torino on display at a show.

Ford supplied half a dozen or so 1974-76 Torinos for the TV series, but only three are known to have survived. Stunt cars got V8s of either 400 or 460 ci, and for better acceleration in the signature chase scenes, a few of these were modified with lower ratio gears which had a “Do Not Exceed 50 mph” label on the dash to prevent extreme redline and damaging the engines..

During documentary in 2003 called: “Starsky and Hutch: Making Of Behind The Badge,” the TV series creator William Blinn revealed he originally envisioned the duo driving a green Chevy Camaro convertible, but the producers already had a deal with Ford to supply cars. “My heart broke,” Blinn recalls, “until the guy showed up in the red and white Torino.” The transportation crew had dressed it up like the hottest thing on wheels, he says, when it could hardly get up a steep hill. “Why that car became such a trademark for the show, I truly don’t know,” Blinn muses.

Paul Michael Glaser, who plays the brooding detective Starsky in the series, disliked the car on sight, disparagingly dubbing it “the Striped Tomato.” “I vowed to destroy that car,” Glaser said in the documentary. “Whenever there was an opportunity to hit something, I’d try to hit it.” Despite his heroic efforts to wreck the car, Glaser never managed to do so with the string of replacements ready. Paul continued his disdain for the ‘Striped Tomato’ which failed to diminish its enduring desirability, with one of the show’s on set Torinos fetching a respectable $40,000 at auction in 2014.

Known on the set as Torino #1 and Torino #2, the “Starsky and Hutch” daily drivers had 351 Windsor blocks and auto transmissions. Sadly the gorgeous sounds of the sporty engine and manual gear shifts were added into the show post production. The two cars are distinguishable by their front seats, with car #2 receiving the upgrade from bench to buckets. These “hero cars” were given a hard time during the extensive filming schedules by being jumped on, raced, driven hard, burning through endless amounts of tyres and Paul Glaser driving into trash cans and anything else he could find at the time of shooting. After filming had finished the show’s Torinos were auctioned off by Ford.

Those Torinos have passed through the hands of fans and collectors alike, with each eventually being lovingly restored to its prime-time condition. Some twenty-five years later, the continued success of the 70’s TV series inspired a big screen remake, with Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson in the lead roles Starsky and Hutch. At the British premiere, Torino #2 rolled out on the red carpet alongside original actors Paul Michael Glaser, David Soul, and Antonio Fargas — who played their streetwise confidante, Huggy Bear.

Actors David Soul (Hutch), Paul Michael Glaser (Starsky), and Antonio Fargas (Huggy Bear) from the TV series ‘Starsky & Hutch’ pose on the bonnet of a Ford Torino at the premiere of the 2004 movie remake.

Torino #1 was displayed at The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles as recently as 2023, with parts of the car autographed by stars and crew from the series. Another car from the 1970s TV series can be seen at The Auto Collections in Las Vegas. Not many cars have made me ‘star struck’, but this car did from the age of nine when I was allowed top stay up and watch the program it if I was good, which always worked. Even today this car still has a menacing road presence and still looks amazing.

The entrance to the show ground was now to be come the exit, with a single lane dirt track out. The car boot show had all but wrapped up so there wouldn’t be the delays getting out. With that all taken into consideration I still left an hour early to make sure I missed any leaving antics. The trip home was relaxed, but the clouds were starting to look very dark and grey, I needn’t have worried as it didn’t come to anything.

A good selection of cars again, but they really do need to sort out the entrance to these events.

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Culford Classic Car Show 2025 (part 2)

Continuing on from part one I was now standing by the performance car stands of Porsche and Ferrari. The stands are always popular with some old school examples along with some newer models. One Porsche in particular that caught my eye was the camping version on top of the car. Knowing the Porsche engineering it would be well made, but if I paid that amount of money for a car I don’t think would want to sleep on it.

A little bit further up the line was an individual entry, perhaps my favourite Porsche of all time, the beast which was the 911 Turbo, a stunning example in black which makes it even more menacing.

Some more of the Porsches from the private entries.

As much as I love a Ferrari, seeing nothing but red ones can make the area look a little samey. The 308 which got plenty of my attention was the best looking model there in my humble opinion. I may see an F40 in real life, then I might change my mind, maybe!

The longest vehicle (in total) was this big Chevy and a boat hanging off the back of it, well over forty feet long.

I’m not a huge BMW fan, but they made a couple of iconic cars, the M1 again, which I have never seen in real life and there is this legend, the original M3.

Moving past the club stands onto more individual cars.

Mart’s Car Of The Show:

My favourite of the show wasn’t in fact a car, it was a van and a very famous van as it was part of much loved and ever popular comedy series Dad’s Army. This is that original van from that show.

A vintage 1935 Ford BB van painted in blue and yellow with the name 'J. Jones Family Butcher' displayed on its side, parked on grass with a historic building in the background.

A little history borrowed from Wikipedia:

Dad’s Army is a British television sitcom about the United Kingdom’s Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and originally broadcast on BBC1 from 31 July 1968 to 13 November 1977. It ran for nine series and 80 episodes in total; a feature film released in 1971, a stage show and a radio version based on the television scripts were also produced. The series regularly gained audiences of 18 million viewers and is still shown internationally.

The Home Guard consisted of local volunteers otherwise ineligible for military service, either because of age (hence the title Dad’s Army), medical reasons, or by being in professions exempt from conscription. Most of the platoon members in Dad’s Army are over military age and the series stars several older British actors, including Arnold Ridley, John Laurie, Arthur Lowe and John Le Mesurier, many of whom had served in World War II in real life. Younger members of the cast included Ian Lavender, Clive Dunn (who, despite being one of the younger cast members, played the oldest guardsman, Lance Corporal Jones) and James Beck (who died suddenly during production of the sixth series in 1973). Other regular cast members included Frank Williams as the vicar, Edward Sinclair as the verger, and Bill Pertwee as the chief ARP warden. Following the death of Lavender in 2024, there are now no surviving principal cast members.

Corporal Jones driving the (his) van.

A Porsche and Ferrari display at a classic car show, showcasing both older models and newer versions, including a distinctive camping car on display.

The rest of the cast with the van:

The series has influenced British popular culture, with its catchphrases and characters being widely known. The Radio Times magazine listed Captain Mainwaring’s “You stupid boy!” among the 25 greatest put-downs on TV. A 2001 Channel 4 poll ranked Captain Mainwaring 21st on its list of the 100 Greatest TV Characters. In 2004, Dad’s Army came fourth in a BBC poll to find Britain’s Best Sitcom. It was placed 13th in a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes, drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, and voted for by industry professionals.

The series is set in the fictional seaside town of Walmington-on-Sea, located on the south coast of England, not far from Eastbourne. The exterior scenes were mostly filmed in and around the Stanford Training Area (STANTA), near Thetford, Norfolk. Walmington, and its Home Guard platoon, would be on the frontline in the event of a German invasion across the English Channel. The first series has a loose narrative thread, with Captain Mainwaring’s platoon being formed and equipped, initially with wooden guns and LDV armbands, later on with full army uniforms; the platoon is part of the Queen’s Own Royal West Kent Regiment.

The van is a 1935 two-ton Ford BB, one of the first commercial models produced at Ford’s Dagenham factory when it opened in 1931. It was discovered in a dilapidated condition in Streatham in London by Frank Holland, an assistant property master for the BBC. Such was its condition that the van was on the verge of being scrapped. Holland contacted Fred Wilmington, whose company supplied vehicles to the BBC; he purchased the van and restored it to full working order.

Later Paul Joel, a designer working on Dad’s Army, spotted the van among Wilmington’s stock of vehicles and obtained it for use in the series. The van was repainted and had “J. Jones Family Butcher” sign-painted on its side panels. The van still has its original engine from 1935.

I spent a fair while talking to the guys who look after the van at the Dad’s Army museum in Thetford. Ford took the van and handed it their apprentices to restore it, all for free! Hats off to Ford on that. As a kid I just loved this program, it was harmless and such a well written comedy.

I particularly remember the side of the van which had little port holes that swung open where the men could poke their rifles through. You can just about make out the swinging covers here just above the “Family Butchers” writing.

An image from the program where the port holes were used.

A variety of performance cars on display, including Porsche and Ferrari models, with attendees admiring the designs.

The van was used to carry all the items to the show so was pretty full up. You can see the port holes clearer on the right.

Interior of a vintage van filled with various items like wooden boards, bags, and tools, reflecting clutter and preparation.

Up front cab.

The fully rebuilt original engine:

An antique vehicle's engine is exposed with various mechanical components visible, set against a backdrop of a car show.

To round of the show I have saved a few Mustangs, although there wasn’t that many there.

Close-up of a blue 1966 Ford Mustang, showcasing the front grille and headlights, with a Michigan license plate.

It was a great show with lots of people there. The sky did cloud over a little early afternoon. I left about half an hour before the end of the show to miss the inevitable line of cars trying to getting out. Unfortunately quite a few had decided on the same idea, it took around fifteen minutes to get out of the grounds. The journey home was a pleasant cruise, although I sped up little due to a few spots of rain on the windscreen, I needn’t have worried as it came to nothing which made a nice change.

A well organised show with some great cars.

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Culford Classic Car Show 2025 (part 1)

One of the biggest car shows in the area is this one held in the private school grounds of Culford boarding school, to give it its full name Rotary Classic Car Show at Culford. It’s located only fifteen miles or so away from me. It’s a nice straight road for most of it with only a couple of miles of back roads. With that in mind, the past it has always been a bit of nightmare to get in with the queues so they have moved the entry times to a very early 6:30 to 8:45, after that you won’t be allowed into the exhibition field, but you will be directed to the public car park. The public were then allowed in from 10am onwards to 15:30 when the show closed. I must be mad, up at 6 on a Sunday morning? Due to the number of cars I have split the show report into two posts sharing just under the four hundred photos I took during the day.

Usually the night before I put on my Galaxy smart watch so I don’t forget it, as a novelty it records the sleep etc. I got into bed late Sunday morning and the dogs were restless with the heat and kept mooching around eventually settling. The alarm did wake me up into a dazed and confused state, I was tired. I got myself ready loaded the cool bag with some niceties for a chocolate rush once I got there. I wouldn’t check my watch for the sleep details until I had taken photos of most of the cars. Here is the picture of the amount of sleep I rustled up from the night before, just a little under three hours, of which two half were light sleep.

Close-up of a smartwatch displaying sleep tracking data, including hours of light and deep sleep, with a blue classic car in the background.

As I arrived at the venue I was asked where I was going to be parking I showed them booking form for the Bury Retro Car Club who had a reserved plot of field for us. The bloke didn’t have a clue and sent me on my way with, “go and see that bloke with the high vis down there”. I drove to him and asked for the car club, he responded with, ” he should know as he has the parking list mate”, promptly followed by “drive to that bloke with the high vis down there”. So I drive to the third bloke who says, “all the club stands are over there, I don’t know why they sent you to me”. Where was he pointing to? Right by the first bloke I spoke too. Now I had to drive back across the field looking like a complete ass to get roughly where I wanted to be. I found the stand and parked up with the rest of the guys already there, the time is now roughly 7:45 and it was warming up. I had a chat with the guys and gave my car a quick wipe over to get rid of the dust from the dry roads in the school grounds.

Front view of a blue 1966 Ford Mustang at a car show, showcasing its chrome grille and headlights.

The big advantage being in so early was that I could wander around to look at the cars without the distraction of the visiting public getting in the way. Having said that, I think many people had the same idea and it was still fairly busy for nine in the morning, especially near the coffee and burger stalls.

A view of the Rotary Classic Car Show at Culford, showcasing a lineup of classic cars parked on a grassy field, with trees and banners in the background under a clear blue sky.

I started by taking some pics of the club stand.

Then a nice gentle wander up and down the lines of cars working left to right across the field.

A view of the Rotary Classic Car Show at Culford, featuring a vibrant lineup of cars including a yellow and a green Abarth, with a historic building and people enjoying the event in the background.

I cam across this 1974 Ford Escort Mk 2 which had under side paint shown via a mirror just as good as the top. A trailer queen, but it didn’t get my vehicle of the show, I will reveal that in part two of this show.

The posh club stands Porsche and Ferrari were well stocked and I will start with those in part two. This was about half way round the field and i took a bit of a break under a line of trees. I did detect a waft and unmistakable smell of some special hand rolled cigarettes made for sharing which would come from Central Asian origin I dare say. I just hope they weren’t the ones driving home! It was hot but just starting to cloud over a bit which made it a bit more bearable wandering around.

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Buff The Ruff Car Show 2025

Last weekend is perhaps the closest show to my home that I attend. There is one in my little village but its not that great to be honest. The show was at Rougham Air Tower on the site of an old air base. Last time out at the show there was plenty of WW2 period costumes to be seen, unfortunately not this year. The car show was due to start at 10am within the tower’s fields. I had a rough night before and had little sleep and woke up an hour earlier than I needed to, so I decided to get there early and make use of the additional time in hand. Thinking that I would be the only one there I was surprised to see two other vehicles already parked up, I found a place that I liked the look of and parked up which would be seen down the side of the tower’s line of sight as you drive in to the event.

A classic blue Ford Mustang parked on grass with trees in the background.

There was no need to clean the car as I hadn’t travelled far enough and the car was just getting warmed up. We had a bit of a chat and I got my chair early and planted myself down to watch the world go by with a bottle of chilled water. The weather was predicted to be good all day with the outside chance of rain and maybe a thunderstorm in the evening. The field started to fill up a little before the official start. There was expected to be around hundred cars supporting the club Bury Retro Car Club which I’m a member of.

With most of the cars now parked up I had a wander round to take some pics. There timings for the day were relaxed so you could come and go as you pleased, that meant that there was a turn over of cars throughout the few hours of the show while we were there.

The control tower was open which I have already covered in full in a previous post for this event and a few new exhibits.

After climbing the tower I took an above view of the cars in my field, then I noticed that I was in a Ford Capri sandwich. Not only that, that there was a theme – the line of cars was were various shades of blue.

A lineup of classic cars in various shades of blue, including a silver vehicle, parked on grassy terrain with a green field in the background under a partly cloudy sky.

About half an hour before I left the show this monster Chevy Silverado rolled in and parked in the space next to me, it instantly became by car of the show which absolutely dwarfed everything in the field.

Although it wasn’t supposed to rain until later in the evening there was a light sprinkling for about ten minutes which stressed me some what, but the breeze soon dried off the car once the light shower stopped. The darker clouds were looking ominous and starting to close in with the air felling heavy with rain, so the decision was made to make the dash home. Within a few minutes I was home after covering the handful of miles. As is the norm, the car got a quick wipe over to remove the road dust and I put her away.

Close-up view of a blue car roof covered in raindrops, reflecting the cloudy sky.

About half an hour later there was more rain, but nothing to heavy, certainly not a thunderstorm. The decision to leave was a correct one and pleased to leave when I did. It was a shame there wasn’t many more cars throughout the day as had been reserved for the day.

A classic blue Ford Mustang parked among other vintage cars at a car show, with grassy fields in the background and a clear sky.

Not a bad day out and the best part, it was just a few minutes from home.

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Made It

Last Sunday was the second show I had booked up, but this was the first one where I made an appearance. I woke up to a glorious day and packed the factor fifty just in case or was that going to tempt fate and make it rain? I packed it anyway just in case.

I backed out the garage with the SatNav already telling me to go take some back roads. On this occasion these particular roads aren’t to bad and can allow a couple of cars to pass. The roads were clear and I was enjoying myself with window down, knowing that I had a full tank of gas tends to relax you for any journey. Before I knew it two cream coloured Reliant Scimitars pulled out of a side road and caught me up at a fast rate of knots. Not going to be intimidated and ruin my drive I just poodled along. A few miles later they were still behind me. I decided to slow down in order and let them pass and get on with where they were going, but no they also slowed. My logic was they were in no rush either. Some twenty minutes later we all arrived at the Kersey Mill Drive It Day. We pulled into the main entrance where I was greeted by a marshal who directed me to zone four.

This turned out to be a great spot by the stream, under some trees and near a wooden bridge that crossed a little stream into another show field.

I set up my show board as I retired my home made and slightly cumbersome home made wooden design. My knew one is an artists easel with adjustable legs and height adjustments. The cool bag was opened for a refreshing cool drink before I started the quick detailing to remove the road dust of my car. Before I had the chance to get my chair out I was asked to have a look under the hood. Never wasting an opportunity to lift the hood, I obliged.

After a lengthy chat about how to get the windscreen washers to work, it was time to have a wander round and look at the other cars. I walked towards the main field to take some photos where I heard a marshal on the radio saying there was seven hundred cars in attendance. I’m not convinced there was that many, but it was a very busy show however many cars were there.

In no particular order I just wandered around the field looking for some nice cars instead of some four or five year old Porsches , I wouldn’t be disappointed with the variety on show. I took over three hundred photos, but narrowed it down to just over a couple of hundred. The little area where I was parked had a mixture of cars as I wandered towards the tea hut and breakfast van that had a queue and smelled amazing.

Towards the front of the mill there was some of the older cars.

At the back of the mill the large field was also packed out which was also where the little bridge by my car made a short cut.

I came across the two Reliant Scimitars (above right) that followed me in. I walked up to the owners who were sitting in their chairs looking very chilled. I apologised for driving so slowly and explained that I wanted to let them past. They laughed and came with, “No worries, we recognised your car and decided to follow you as you know where you were going”. I had to laugh and confessed, “That’s quite ironic because without my SatNav co-pilot, we would have ended up at the other end of the country, I’m useless at directions”. That is a major understatement, I get lost everywhere, as per the previous week’s aborted episode.

Continuing round the field I bumped into more friends and had some catch up chats about up and coming shows.

The corvette club was out in force.

There was an group of Jaguars and even one made of porcelain.

Continuing around the fields in no particular order.

I came across my car of the show in the main area which was this ’57 Chevy Nomad. I couldn’t believe just how big this car was and I suspect it’s a real handful to hustle around our tiny streets in the UK.

There was a couple of trikes looking amazing and bigger than some of the cars on display.

There was a couple of Lambo Countachs, a proper one:

And this one missing four cylinders!

Over the stream to the next adjacent field.

There was some commercial vehicles which made the short trip from Ipswich Transport Museum with a mate of mine David driving the yellow Karier flat bed.

Just the last field to go.

Not forgetting the few Mustangs that were represented.

Then a short walk back over the main bridge to my parking spot where my deck chair beckoned with some lunch and another cool drink. I didn’t need the factor fifty after all as I was in the shade and spent a few hours in the afternoon talking to people and watching the world go by.

A few dogs were making the best of the stream in the hot weather and it did look quite refreshing for them.

Great views while taking a well earned rest!

After arriving back to my parking area there was a couple of Jeeps now parked up not far away from me. I think my fav photo of the day was taken not even getting out of my chair.

The drive home I took the main roads back as I was expecting the roads to be busier, it did add another 10 minutes to the journey, but it was still a beautiful day and I was enjoying my car again.

The show season has officially started and looking forward to the next ones, weather permitting of course.

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Stonham Barns Classic Car Show (Part 2)

The second half of the show had a general mixture of the almost new cars, that cost a lot when new, but not worth so much now as they common in any car park. However, there was some amazing looking cars there and I will start with a couple of my favourites again, the Audi Coupes, why o why did I sell mine?

The Morgan had a full on picnic setup going with a candelabra.

There was a club of ‘Fast Fords’ as they become known a decade or so later, in a circle display and few nearby. Among them was a couple of Mustangs in the middle, the blue scissor door Mustang has been around a few shows but is either a love it or hate it mod, it’s not for me to judge.

I enjoyed this camper van with the “Adventure before Dementia” slogan, love it.

This Renault ‘Williams’ is a bit of a rare find now days.

I was back to my car and the rest of the car club, the entertainment was going strong throughout the day, either these ladies singing to the backing tracks or a DJ playing some classic tunes from the 50’s and 60’s. There was many more car related stalls at this smaller show than the much bigger show such as Helmingham Hall, which is surprising. I spent a good while looking around the various automotive gems for sale, although I didn’t buy anything.

My car of the show was this huge Cadillac Eldorado, a monster of a land barge, beautifully turned out and I watched it drive in and it was whisper quiet even for the (i believe it to be an) 8.2ltr engine.

It was a good day, lovely weather and I spoke to a number of friends there too. A good show with lots of diverse cars to be seen. Busy day with lots of people all in good spirits, not the alcohol version.

I left about an hour before the end of the show. The drive home was serene and relaxing, if not a bit warm. I got home in good time and wiped the car over from the accumulated road and showground dust before I my my pride and joy under its soft cotton cover until the next show.

As I was editing these photos cropping out unwanted areas, I realised that I only took a few pictures of my car which was a little unlike me. The one above was early on before the car show got going.

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Stonham Barns Classic Car Show (Part 1)

A more general purpose classic car show was hosted at Stonham Barns on 18^th August 2024. I wasn’t going to be expecting to much from this show, but I was wrong. It turned out to be much better supported than i expected and took a little over three hundred photos. As with big events and lots of photos I have split it over two posts to save the repetitive strain injury from scrolling down the page.

The day’s forecast was going to be nice weather, so I packed the factor fifty and plenty of cold drinks in the cool bag. I needed fuel and stopped off Shell for a fill up of some V-Power. I wasn’t hungry until the smell of freshly baked food greeted me when I walked in to pay. My will power failed me as I asked for a nice warm sausage roll, my treat to me just because I got up early, that was my excuse. The walk back to the car by the pump was slow while I devoured breakfast, I made sure to not get any grease on my fingers by holding the roll in the bag and the serviette. There was only one other car filling up, so it wasn’t as though they were busy. I binned the rubbish, got in the car and buckled up for the journey.

The journey to the event was fine, but the usual wedge of a traffic jam to get in was a bit longer than normal. While sitting in the car burning the recently purchased fuel, I happened to look around and spotted a convex mirror on a telegraph pole. I could almost see my car in it. As the line moved forward I got the camera out and took a couple of pics for something different, I think they came out well. The cars in front moved more than I expected, but I stopped where i wanted anyway. The impatient Audi driver wasn’t impressed and was waving his hands as if to move me up the road, all for the sake of a couple of car lengths. Not only that, he sat right up filler cap going round the twisty roads. Bovered? Nope! I won’t let anybody ruin my Mustang car trips.

I eventually got to the event and asked where the Bury Retro Car Club was to be parked. I was told follow the road round and they will park you up. I followed the road round and the dude hadn’t got a clue. So I just pulled to the side of the main arena and said I will wait here out the way. I parked my car up and waited for him to return, which he didn’t. I rang the club organiser to ask where he was and said that he was also stuck in traffic. I told him where I was parked and to let me know where I should be parked.

I wandered over to the main entrance to watch the cars come in and look out for the rest of the club to arrive. They arrived some quarter of an hour later and were directed to the a dark corner of the field with only three spaces. The drove round to where I was so we made out own stand!

I started at the far end of the field and worked my way back to where I was parked.

Cars were still coming in after the ‘start’ time but they got to park at the field near the end of the entrance road.

While I was waiting at the main gate I spotted a car like mine drive in, I found it at the far end of the field. This car was almost the same colour but had the standard interior and the rear quarter trims. I waited around for a while as I wanted to have a chat with the owner.

Around the same area there was a few Mustangs so I grouped them together.

I’m not sure what is going on with this Citroen 2CV, is the bloke having a laugh or has he got issues?

I hope it was tongue in check as it looked like the badge was just slapped on! This car got my runner up car of the show, I’m not a fan of these cars at all, but it made me smile. Part two’s post will have the rest of the show and my actual favourite car of the day.

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Culford Car Show ’24 (part 2)

My wanderings around the show was about halfway round now. It was now around lunch time and the public was still coming into the show. I did spot that some of the cars arriving were also classics which were being parking up in the public areas, and getting their own attention amidst the see of Euro wind tunnel designed boxes. This car show is always fully booked and you need to get in early, or at least be a member of a car club.

My car of the show is this beautifully stored Willys Jeep, not for the paint job or rarity. The owners attention to detail was evident throughout. I wanted to drive it home and that is what matters to me for picking my car of the show.

The rest of the show needed to be explored, but first the collection of Mustangs:

There was a Lotus restorers there with some amazing cars.

I eventually got back to my car and the urge for food was greater than ever due to the many other food stalls now fired up. There was the more generic ‘craft’ style stalls there as well.

The show was due to finish at three thirty in the afternoon with show cars being allowed to move at three.

With my issue of having not a lot of fuel I was watching where the public were leaving, and where I could cut into the queue as near the exit as possible. Again this was round the back of the school on a single track so the wait was around ten minutes to get out. I made the point of leaving just after three in order to miss the traffic jam. Eventually I got to the roads and headed back home. I did arrive home with the fuel gauge showing empty. I suspect there was more in the tank, but you can’t be sure in these old cars. I didn’t want to be held up just in case. I do carry a spare fuel can in the trunk. However, it’s not full as the hot weather can make the fuel expand and the fuel has a shelf life anyway. I will need to get some fuel before the show, so that will be via a Jerry can, enough to get me to the petrol station and fill up properly.

The weather? It was mostly cloudy with the odd breakthrough of sun. Not enough for the factor fifty, but at least there was no rain.

A great show as always, well organised but they do need to sort out the entry and access delays.

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Culford Car Show ’24 (part 1)

This year the Rotary Classic Car Show at Culford was held on 14th July 2024 and is one of the biggest in the East Anglia area with over six hundred cars on show. I really enjoy this show and is always booked up well in advance for both entrants as well as stall holders. The setting is located in a private school grounds and only takes about thirty minutes for me to get there. In fact it took longer to drive down the access road than it did to arrive at the venue. There were delays getting to the display area as there a speed bumps and some low riders were having trouble getting over them. As I didn’t see many at the show for a few cars that had issues they could have driven over the grass at the sides of the path. In fact my car’s long headers do hang pretty low, so I too have to be careful and always take speed humps slowly. The ground was dry and wouldn’t have damaged the grounds. The drive to the main display field is always a pleasant experience.

Eventually I was pointed to the Bury Retro Car Club stand where I parked up and got out to chat to few friends who were there before me. After the exchange of banter I got back to the car to give it a little wipe over before I started my wanderings round the show.

First things first the car club was parked near some food stands and I thought I would treat myself to a nice sausage roll. That would have been fine if I had remembered to bring my wallet. This was a problem in itself as I also needed to get some fuel on the way home as the fuel gauge was now lower than it’s usually allowed to get. As there wasn’t going to be a fuel stop now the drive home was going to be a steady gentle drive home. The weather was promising to be dry all day although the cloud cover was coming over with patches of sun.

The plan was to start on one side and work across the field, I started with the club stand itself:

The only thing I will group in part 2 will be the Mustangs that were at the show. In order to save huge amounts of photos, I tried to take a more multi car shots without loosing the details of the cars.

At the end of the first row there was a Ferrari stand with some beautiful examples on show.

A modern an increasingly rare car that I still have a very, very big soft spot for them.

The public was getting very busy and I managed to grab these couple of shots before the general public came in as the event opened at ten o’clock.

There is much more to come from this show in part 2.

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Pakenham Power Day ’24

A few miles away from my village is small tourist attraction called Pakenham Water Mill which is the oldest surviving flour mill in Suffolk, where once there were many. The Pakenham watermill has been around for almost a thousand years, and for all that time millers on this site have been using the simple technology of water power to produce stone-ground wholemeal flour for local people. The mill is currently owned today by Historic Suffolk, a team of around fifty dedicated volunteers continues to look after the mill, machinery and grounds for this long tradition. There is a tea room and a little shop too.

The grounds on the day were populated with a tent full of home made cake stalls, a mini bar, and a BBQ area. I was hoping to by some local made bread from the mill, unfortunately they didn’t have any on the day.

The event was billed as starting at eleven, but I wasn’t sure if that was the public entry or arrival time for the cars. I took the time as being the public entry thus allowing us exhibitors to get ourselves organised. I woke up early before the alarm, the the dogs decided that sticking one of their little paws in my mouth would be a good way to let me know that they wanted to go out. I packed the cool bag for the day as well as the factor fifty as it was going to be a hot one with the sun being out for the whole day. I had a gentle cruise to the event just a mere twenty minutes away and pulled into the entrance. Nobody was about, but a minute or so later the rumble of my exhaust must have alerted a marshal to come over and he advised me that I was very early. The event was due to start at eleven, for both the public and the exhibitors. I was shown to a slightly elevated area for the show cars.

I was parked next to an MGB V8 which was owned by one of the volunteers. As he walked away I decided to move my car to another more scenic part of the field to take some pictures before the field got busy, which wouldn’t be for another half hour or so yet.

After my impromptu photo session i moved back to where I was initially told to park. The main hard standing parking area that I parked on last year was this time reserved for the pre war vehicles, the rest of the classic cars were going to be up where I was located. Many of the exhibitors like myself turned up around ten and were swiftly parked up in rows near to me. This is a small local show with only around fifty cars or so, more of a social meet of a local car owners.

The pre war section was well supported, more than I expected to be there.

Throughout the day there were exhibitors coming and going.

There was the steam model guys riding up and down, one of the engines had his lunch packed in the front boiler part, a few jacket potatoes filling the air with an amazing smell which made me hungry.

The sun was brutal, I had the factor fifty slapped on all over the place, but there was no shade. I wasn’t going to complain, far from it. I eventually sat down and had some lunch and a long cool drink watching the world walk buy.

I was greeted by a couple of friends I have known from the car shows in the past and a couple of members from the Bury Retro Car Club. I was taken back to a good few years to my first car show at the Birmingham NEC when I was on the Mustang Owners Club stand. A gentleman approached me and reminded me that he spoken to me way back then at that show. I even let his girlfriend sit in my car on the day he informed me, I had forgotten that little detail. The guy still follows my little ol’ blog and I was very humbled by the fact that he took time out to come and meet me again, we spoke for a little while and that conversation alone made my day. I’m terrible with names, I will admit it. I apologise to anybody in advance if I have forgotten your name when you come to speak to me, I put it down to my old age.

As I was editing (crop and resizing) this batch of photos, I decided to play around a little with the colours; the original, a straight forward black and white, sepia, and a hand tinted cream version. Let me know if these photos are improvement or not. I kinda like the bottom cream tinted one.

Another good day, even if I did unnecessarily sacrifice a Sunday lay in. A pretty well organised day and knowing that the £5 entrance fee has gone to the upkeep of the water mill and not in somebody’s greedy pocket.