One event that we always look forward to is the NSRA Hot Rod Supernationals at Old Warden Park. Four days of laid back car show fun, catching up with friends and seeing the latest Hot Rods to hit the show scene.
This year, our Darren and his wife Jan, arrived at the event early to give the NSRA team a hand setting up. It was just typical of the great British weather, as after nearly two months of a heatwave, the rain made an appearance just as the gates were about to open midday Thursday. With the queue of eager participants snaked around the show field, despite the weather, spirits were certainly on top form. Glad we packed those rain coats though!
One of the star attractions of this year’s show was special American guest, Gene Winfield. As many of you will know, Gene Winfield is one of the most renowned custom car builders of all time. As well as creating some pretty cool cars of his own, he has also built sets and cars for movies including Star Trek, Blade Runner and Batman. Would you believe that after the Supernationals, Gene, 91, was flying out to Bonneville Speed Week, where he had intentions of setting a record!
Not only was Gene hanging out with participants, he was also chopping the roof on a 1935 Ford Coupe live at the show. It was fascinating to see the amount of work that goes into the fabrication and we can’t wait to see the finished car.
Saturday was the traditional NSRA cruise – it’s great watching all the cars parade out through the village cruising to their destination of Dunstable Downs. Whilst the cruise is out, this was our time to wander around the trade stands and catch up with some familiar faces.
Although participant numbers were up on previous years, the weather forecast for Sunday was looking pretty grim, so, many decided to pack up camp and head home Saturday evening. This did mean that Sunday’s show field looked a bit thin in patches, but, it actually turned out to be a great day.
As well as chatting about our NSRA Members Insurance Scheme, we also enjoyed having good look around the cars on the show field. Some of our favourites this year included the gorgeous pale grey 1947 Ford Super Deluxe owned by Mark Holmes, and, the latest creation from Andy Saunders Kustoms, the 1939 Peugeot 202 ‘Metropolis’ – as pictured below with our Lindsey! This car is currently being featured in a temporary exhibition at the Beaulieu Motor Museum – if you visit, make sure you check out the airbrush artwork on the pickup bed! One of our other favourites was the 1940 Chevy Pick Up owned by Garry Marshall and built by the team at Burnham Autos. Having only been completed 3 days prior to the show, it seems we weren’t the only ones wowed by this truck, as it was crowned winner of the Participants Choice Award.
This year we were delighted to be sponsoring the Pop Festival Award. It’s a tough job to pick just one out of so many great cars, but as soon as we saw the black 1957 Ford Pop of Alan and Susan Lowes, we knew this was the one. Keep an eye out on our news page for an upcoming feature on this car!
We would like to congratulate the NSRA team on another fantastic show and we look forward to the next event.
