Manky Monkey Motors

http://www.nsra.org.uk/newforum/showthread.php?58257-Chelsea-Cruise-70-s-Revival-on-slaught-Sat-27th-April-2013

I'll hopefully be there & so will Mr Kapri I believe.

I was there , nearly crashed the car , some idiot with a flash on his camera jumped in front of me ! ;)

 ;D And still couldn't get a decent piccie of you -my digital camera's useless for photographing moving vehicles at night. Had a great night out. First time I've been to the cruise since the 80s. My mate Bob, (who bought my trike from me), & I didn't get home till 1.0.clock this morning, & I'm off to MonkeyWorld in Dorset in a few minutes. So I'll post a few fuzzy photos later. Kev & Billy in the Plymouth Fury -looking good guys, though a bit blurry round the edges.

I think that's a great picture!

So do I! So much so it's now my desktop picture:)

Very cool Kev. Not bad for an old classic -& so's your car. Sounded awesome on open exhaust headers rumbling over Chelsea Bridge.   8)
I used to travel up to Chelsea every month for the cruise when I was still at school. I mentioned it to my Mum recently & she was horrified -she had no idea I was jumping on a train at 15 years old & wandering around the streets of London all on my own! The cruise was huge back then, with hundreds of cars parading around the circuit all night -over the Albert Bridge, past the Albert pub, around the back of Battersea Park, over the Chelsea Bridge, along the embankment, up & down the Kings Road. Automotive heaven for a young lad & sparked my passion for custom vehicles.
Over the years, things have died off, with some confrontations with the local Police leading to the cruisers being herded into Battersea Park, which killed the atmosphere completely -the whole point was to see hotrods, or Custom Cars as they were known then, in their natural environment, being driven. The rise of "hot hatches" & the boy racers that drove them in the 90s didn't help either.
The cruise has somehow managed to hang on though, with a few die hards turning out every month to relive the glory days, but it seems the internet age has come to our rescue. This modern era of instant mass communication means information & ideas can be passed around hundreds of like minded individuals within minutes. A few weeks ago, someone on another forum suggested launching a "70s Revival Onslaught" & soon online posters were everywhere. Cruisers that haven't visited Chelsea for decades were coming out of the woodwork, polishing up their cars & making plans for the cruise once more.
So my mate Bob, (Baychimp here on the forum), & I travelled up from Hampshire in my little Fiesta, stopping in at the Ace Cafe on the North Circular for a plate of Cheesy Chilli Chips, before heading for Chelsea & hiding it around the corner. I always thought the best way to see the cars was on foot anyway. Although Battersea Park was open earlier in the evening, the majority of the action was centred on Chelsea Bridge, with cars cruising back & forth all night. They were parking up along the bridge walkways too, which must've been a pain for the local traffic, but the Metroplitan Police seemed to keep a very low profile with only one patrol car as far as I could see, though I'm sure it would've been monitored on the bridge's CCTV cameras. Thankfully everyone behaved themselves with just a couple of mark 1 Escort drivers wheel spinning past the tea stall late in the evening.
A few teething problems with my own hotrod meant it didn't make it there this time, but I'll be back in the Summer.
All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable night, chatting to some familiar faces, watching the cars roll by & reliving some old memories.
My digital camera really struggles in low light conditions, especially when the subjects are moving, so here's my fuzzy snaps from the night.       

Heavy rain late in the afternoon, followed by sunshine meant the Ace Cafe was illuminated by a vivid rainbow -which I managed to completely miss photographing. We drove in to London through a torrential hailstorm, but thankfully by the time we arrived things had improved & the rest of the evening was chilly but dry.
A Vauxhall powered Mini.

The classic Capri owners club.

Or are they Konsul Classics I'm never sure.

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A 'earse.

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A Ford Pop, complete with period trafficators, (flip out indicator arms for the youngsters here), mounted near the top door hinges.

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The petrol station at the back of Battersea Park.
'68 Dodge Charger.

Ford Falcon Gasser, originally built by Miles of Jackhammer parts shop in Farnborough, where I buy a lot of my rod parts.

Another '68 Charger. This one belongs to Derek of the Mopar Muscle Association.

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This area, at the far side of Chelsea Bridge, was just waste ground at one time. Now filled with super expensive luxury apartments with views across the Thames -& 200 hotrodders every month.

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In Battersea Park, just before they closed the gates for the night.
The yellow "Old Iron" Fordson van was originally built by Kris of Pop Browns, more than 30 years ago & used to be red.

Parked next to it is "Street Odysey", a Ford Pop "survivor rod" from the 80s.

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Ford Granada Police car, (late 80s?).

Chelsea Bridge.
Mark 1 Ford Consul.
Black Ford Pop, complete with chromed Jag' IRS rear axle, illuminated by a red "cruising light" -very 70s!

My fuzzy pics can't capture the rumble of V8s or the party atmosphere, but hopfully they convey the constant stream of cars back & forth.

The Albert Bridge.

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Parked on double yellow lines in the heart of London & not a traffic warden in sight.

Derek's Charger passes Kapri & Billy in the Fury.
Kev's just naturally slightly out of focus.

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The photos got fuzzier as the night got darker.

Just watching the traffic.

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70s Rayleigh Chopper bicycles.

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Some really nice pics there Andy.

Some really fuzzy ones! Let's call them "atmospheric".  :P

Derek's Charger rumbles past again, followed by a horrendous snap of Kev's mate, Chris in his gorgeous Ford Victoria. Sorry mate, the only pic I got of it. Chris lives in Southampton & recently brought the Viccy up to Loony's workshop for a "shakedown run" after a rebuild lasting several years.

Some really fuzzy ones! Let's call them "atmospheric". 
Yes but that's what makes them good.

Then I'm a top photographer!

Variations on a theme.
3 snaps of Kev, (Kapri), & Billy in the Plymouth as they turned onto the bridge from the embankment.

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Love the Anglia. 8)

My Mum had one when they were new but it definitely didn't sound like that one!

Little Ford van had a full roll cage inside.

The meanest, most evil sounding '55 Chevy you ever saw. I'm told it's nearly 1,000bhp & "a bit of an animal".

Just watching the traffic. I love the fact you can get a deck chair out & sit in the middle of Chelsea Bridge in the heart of our capital city & nobody bats an eyelid!

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Fuzzy, fuzzy.

I once owned both saloon and van,
Van had fold down seats in the rear.

5 hundred weight Thames van? I'm a bit hazy on some of the retro Ford stuff.

Model A Ford from Farnham, Hampshire, belonging to one of the Surrey Street Rodders. Up for sale at the moment.

Little Renault had a 1300 motor & full race harnesses.

Tis an anglia. ;D

Told you.  :P

Them there cycle chappies.

Not the Renault.The Thames.

Nice Pickup.

 ;D

Ford Pops -at least I know what they are. Or maybe they're Anglias.

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You'll be going from posting pics to posting letters in a couple of hours.

Last couple, then I'm off to bed.

I seem to be having traction problems officer. For some reason my tyres keep spinning.

King of the burnouts. This guy was entertaining the queue at the tea wagon with multiple rolling burnouts back & forth across the bridge. At that point we decided to call it a night & head for home.
I hope to be back in the Summer though in my own rod. Kinda full circle as this is where my hotrod dreams first developed.

MORE than 30 years ago Andy! I bought my first Ford Consul Capri from Kris  the resulting payment was used to put the first tax on Old Iron . It was originally built with a Ford Escort 1100 and Tony Puttick ( Westbourne Fenderworks but prior to that Jagos and prior to that USG Vauxhall dealership where we worked together )  used to rib Kris that he was the only rodder who ever built a car that went SLOWER after the engine swap!

 ;D  A little birdie tells me Kris is thinking of retiring from the rod business soon. Can't blame him, but it'd be a huge loss to the scene. Very knowledgable, very helpful & a genuinely nice guy.
We may have started off over here apeing the Americans, trying to make our Capris & Zodiacs look like the machines we saw in the American mags, (when you could find them), but we've got a history of our own now & it's great to see how many cars, (& owners), have survived from the days of flared trousers & flared arches.
I can't wait for my first drive over Chelsea Bridge in my own hotrod.  8)

My dad had one in two-tone blue/grey that probably DID sound like that one!  When he started it up people used to look round to see where the sound was coming from - and look straight past the little Anglia cos it couldn't be that, could it?  It looked bog-standard from the outside but had uprated brakes and suspension and I think a lower ratio diff (may have got that wrong way round - more accelleration, less top speed?) and I have no idea what had been done to the engine but it was great roaring past everything on the road - and the looks on the faces of the other drivers!

Happy days!

See Andy! I told you that the fuzzy pictures would work. We fooled them all.

Evenin' Bob.  ;)

Looks like you had a good day at monkey world. I myself had a wonderful day! Laying the new concrete floor in the extension. Still a good night on Sat, to think that back in the 70's I would have been out to about 3am, must be getting old.

You an' me both mate. Treating myself to an earlyish night tonight to recover. I can't take the pace any more!

Enjoyed the pics Andy, you really captured the event. The bridge lights on the cars really added to the photos. Very atmospheric. Sounded like lots of fun too.

Some lovely motors. Like Wheels Day, it really makes you wonder where all these vehicles appear from.

Cheers, JJ  :)

Yeah, we often say that. There can be 2,000 hotrods at an event like Wheelsday, yet 2 miles from the exit gate, they've all disappeared. Where do they all go?

5 rods within 1/4 mile of me (plus at least another 3 Yanks ) , there's one rod within 60 yards but still very rarely see them out and about .I see more of the Daleks (which are also multiplying, up to 7 now ) but they're never on the road.

great pics there andy , some lovely lookin motors ;)

brilliant pics andy. thank you for taking the time to post them.

My pleasure.
Daleks Kev?!
Saw a Yam' Virago trike in the local petrol station this evening & there's been a silver/grey Mach 1 Mustang blatting round Basingstoke for the last week or so. There's a local car dealer who owns an all original red 1930s model A Ford & uses it as his daily driver too. Other than that though, it's all lowered VW Golfs & Polos around here, although there's several local car clubs. Once my Pop's running reasonably well, I intend to use it as much as possible.