Fun Run Stays in the Sun

06/06/2007

They don't come much tougher than a 'blown' Willys

Every year, there is a flurry of activity in garages around the country as owners prepare their cars for the annual NSRA Billing Fun Run, which this year took place over the weekend of June 1-3. Disappointingly, the weather forecast suggested rain on Sunday afternoon, so armed with this information and having set aside a day to report on the show, the DRC Review editorial team opted to travel up to Northampton on Saturday.

On one hand, this proved to be a great idea, in that we could relax in the knowledge we wouldn’t have to battle with Sunday’s motorway traffic on the way home – we also managed to shoot the odd feature car – but on the other, we missed the larger turnout of cars on Sunday, and the prize-giving. As a result, we hope you’ll excuse our lack of photos in this report.

Every year, it seems the NSRA Fun Run is a major magnet for UK rodders to debut their new rides. In addition, the exceptional pound versus dollar exchange rate we are currently enjoying led to the inevitable question of how many new cars from the US would appear.

We’re not absolutely sure, but reckon the answer to that one was three. Dee Young’s fenderless, yellow Model A roadster pick-up (a former NSRA giveaway car) drove off with the Participants’ Choice Award. It’s beautifully put together and a perfect partner to husband Steve’s well-known, green Model A roadster.

Dee and Steve Young's Model A

Then there was the ’32 five-window coupe, belonging to long-time rodder Paul Hobby, which was displayed very much as a work-in-progress. The chassis looked complete, but the body (complete with bullet holes in the passenger door) and interior were decidedly raw, although you could see by the level of work that had already been completed that this is going to be a very nice car once finished. The third US import we’re aware of was the blue ’40 Ford pick-up of Pat Miles, which picked up a Top-10 award.

Paul Hobby owns this Coupe

Louis Turner’s fresh, fenderless, steel ’34 five-window coupe, which was driven all the way down from Halifax, was definitely eligible for a “Built in Britain” sticker, although the body had come from South Africa. It, too, was awarded Top-10 status. Dave Sturgess was another winner, with his stunning, gold, three-window coupe, as was Hans Peter Wurmli, with his unique ’32 Roadster, and eight more equally delighted individuals.

Louis Turner's just completed steel Coupe

After the show, the NSRA’s David Biggadyke said, “Someone up there must be watching over us. The rain stopped on Thursday, and didn’t come back until around 10 o’clock on Sunday evening, after most people had gone. It created a deluge on the show field, so we were very lucky.”

As for the Fun Run itself, he added, “It all went off very smoothly. We’ve been running this event for years now, and it holds no surprises for us.”

Roy Walker's '36 Ford - a class act!