"It's a drop tank from an RAF Tornado that I bought on eBay for £330. I stuck a Daimler 4.2 straight six in the back, steer it with the tiller from an Antonov cargo plane and here we are!" 'Here' is The Lundy Flyers Motor Club's annual beach race on Saunton Sands in Devon - a weekend in September of 1/8-mile sprints and 'slow and low' one-mile cruises for hot rods and motorcycles up to 1965 or at least in the same style. Hot rods and motorcycles but also belly-tank specials, such as Mark Elsigood's aforementioned Tornado-derived 'Rocket', inspired by the streamlined Bonneville Salt Flats racers of the 1930s, and cyclekarts.
Imagine the Goodwood Revival beside the sea and a few decades further back in time to the 1930s, to be precise. Stewards stride about in oily white overalls and bare feet (it's sandy, remember), while the start line is marked by two magnificent pylons fashioned from discarded roof timbers donated by event co-founder, local tattoo artist Mike Stocks.
On one side, closer to the shore, is an authentic-looking lifeguard observation tower built from the same off-cuts, and on the other what looks like an old Wild West jail that's home to Matt 'Smoke House' Brown, spinning 1930s classics.
Steve Newport-Hall is among the 40 or so entrants who have driven, but mostly trailered, their cars here. His is a 1932 Ford Model 18 flathead, once the model of choice for bootleggers running moonshine. To outrun the police, the 'leggers tuned and lowered popular family cars.
This story is from the October 12, 2022 edition of Autocar UK.
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This story is from the October 12, 2022 edition of Autocar UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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