Manky Monkey Motors

I'm seriously thinking of doing this one.

if you need a passenger/fuel donater let me know sir  :-* :-*

Hoping Mr Loon will be co-piloting, but no reason why you can't come along for the ride mate, (a back up vehicle might be handy!). I've already booked a week off work for it, so I'm definitely going! Archie talked of taking a motorcycle over for the weekend -why not take BobCat & enter in the show?
Miles at Jackhammer speed shop in Farnborough is the English sponsor & the one who talked me into going. I need to talk to him about booking the Eurotunnel, accommodation, show entry etc, but he's on holiday till the 12th of August. I think there's a bit of a British contingent heading over there. Come & join us.

wonder if I can get the Pop finished by November??

'Course you can! That'd be cool. Talk to Miles when he gets back from his hols on the 12th. I know he was meeting some of the Dutch guys at the Hayride & was going to show them photos of mine to enter it.

if i go mate it will be just for the drive, no show entry for me...

Then come along Shaunus.
I got given a Euro instead of a 2 pound coin in my change somewhere today, so now I have to go, so I can spend it.

Just booked the ferry for this, so we're definitely, definitely going now!
12 of us, mainly hotrodders from the Norfolk area, none of which we've met before, including Loony & me in the Pop. A bunch of cars catching the 9am ferry from Harwich, near Ipswich over to Rotterdam, then 60 miles across Holland to the show. We're stopping off for a night in a hotel, then spending 3 nights in a bunkhouse on a campsite within walking distance of the show hall.
PantherShaun's among the group too.
Should be a bit of an adventure!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  GOD HELP HOLLAND !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  :D :D

 :) Longest bit for us will be the 2 1/2 - 3 hour drive up to Harwich to meet the rest of 'em at the ferry port. Hope the Pop makes it!

can't wait mate :)

Sounds great. Having worked over there many times, I have found the Dutch to be a friendly lot and most speak very good English. I have found they would rather speak English to us than us mangle their language but maybe that was just my attempts!  :o

As you said Andy, the Hayride is very popular with the Dutch and they take their hot rods very seriously. I am sure there will be some super vehicles at the show. You will have to make sure you all take loads of photos.

Have fun, JJ  :)

P.S. You are really going outside your comfort zone Andy, booked and everything.  I am impressed!  8)

Determined to get out & see a bit of the World Jay. It's only 60 miles the other side of the ferry. I did more than that in the Pop last night, visiting my brother.
I'll let you know how I get on with the hotel/campsite/bunkhouse thing!

You spent long enough building it - great that you're now enjoying it!

Must admit, I do enjoy driving it. It's tiring to drive long distances, but makes me smile. Feels strange getting back in my commuter car afterwards though!

You'll have a great time Autotron is a great place as is the camp site bunkhouse place round the corner been to both many times, there's a great Chinese Restaurant just down the road (next to the brothel) Have Fun ;-)

 ;D
All booked & paid for now. Loony & I are going in the Pop & meeting up with 3 other cars, 2 model A Fords & a '47 Ford -so it'll be an all Ford Brit contingent.
Catching the Harwich ferry, (near Ipswich), on the Thursday morning, driving into Holland & stopping overnight at a small hotel on the way, where the cars will be parked at the Flake Kings' clubhouse, (a well known & very cool car club). Then hopefully meeting up with some European hotrodders for the drive to the show hall on the Friday. We're staying in a bunkhouse within walking distance of the show for the weekend, going to the Saturday night show party, then catching the ferry home on the Monday.
Looking forward to our European adventure now.

Sounds brill!

Jealous!

 :o

Only a couple of days now till our road trip to Rosmalen in the Netherlands & we might even have glass in the windows by then, (had the door glass cut this morning & trial fitted it in the doors this evening).
Looks like we'll be driving the Pop up to Harwich overnight on Wednesday to catch the ferry on Thursday morning, (we've decided we'd rather allow twice as much time as we need for the journey, than arrive 5 minutes late, just in time to see the ferry sailing off into the distance). We can grab a couple of hours sleep on the crossing as it takes over 6 hours to get to Holland. The ferry ticket just says "Hook of Holland" -I'm not sure if that's Amsterdam or Rotterdam. They're just names on a map to me at the moment. Then it's something like 60 or 70 miles to Eindhoven, where we're staying in a hotel overnight & parking the cars in the Flake Kings' clubhouse. Then another 30 miles or so the next day to the Autotron show hall in Rosmalen. We're not officially booked into the show, but despite me asking everyone I can find, it seems the organisers are pretty laid back & very keen to have foreign vehicles on show, especially if they've been driven there. So hopefully we can enter on the day.
Here's a quick YouTube clip of the Flake Kings guys at the 2011 show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4smWkd43c10

one casualty already, adrian smiths (owner of http://www.bucklandautomotive.com/ ) rpu engine knocking north of london. he's lucky in having a f100 pick up as back up.

Me too. :'(
Had to go the wrong week.

Your Gona love It Have A Great Time  :)

Just packing a change of clothes & checking the route, (M3, M25, A12), then I'm all set. Only 150 miles to the ferry. Mr Loon & Archie did 100 in the Pop a couple of weeks ago on the Surrey Street Rodders' run, but if we don't make it there, it's game over for the weekend. So I've been checking everything over this afternoon. Hopefully we're all good.

All the best to you guy's,have a good un.

they made it onto the ferry.

pic taken by russell debarr.(owner of no 62)

(http://media502.dropshots.com/photos/1101204/20131114/041549.jpg)

...and we're back -or on our way back anyway.
Hello chaps. Sitting in the internet cafe onboard the ferry, on our way home from the Hook of Holland. The wi fi connection's really slow, but then I guess we are in the middle of the North Sea. Should dock in Harwich at 8pm tonight, then we've got a 3 hour drive back to Hampshire.
We've had a fabulous trip. Met some crackin' people, laughed a lot, ate well, checked out some great vehicles -just had a brilliant time. We'll definitely be going back next year.

Excellent!

that means we just have time to clear up ,, take the empty bottles and tins out an nip round with the hoover  :D :D

Well we didn't set fire to the site and no one sold it either. I tried to, but it didn't make the 99p minimum bid.

andy has been a show whore!!! pick up on display inside!!!!

nice one mate.

We may have been invited to display it, yes.  :)

International fame.......one step closer to taking over the world!, as Pinky said to The Brain!!!!

Nice. Well done Andy and Marcus. All that hard work really shows.

good job Andy ,looks good on show

all I can say is Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuk!!!!! what a cool time was had by all...

Sounds like ou enjoyed yourselves.Well done Andy.

I think the Brain said it to Pinky didn't he?

"You are from Eengland? Und you droves it heere? You guysh are crazshy".

Crazy?  Nonsense, it's a car isn't it?  That's what you do with cars, drive 'em!

Already planning on taking the Pop, the T bucket & a pick-up full of XS650s next year.

So. Where do we start?
I'd psyched myself up for the trip & was going, no matter what, but as we pulled out of the workshop yard in the Pop late on Wednesday night, Mr Loon wasn't feelin' it quite so much.
"You up for this? There's still time to turn back".
"Nope. Let's do this thing".

The trip could've ended before we even left Basingstoke. We stopped at the local all night petrol station to fill up & the automated pump wouldn't recognise my debit card & wouldn't let me have it back. A few minutes of mild panic ensued until I managed to wrestle it free & try again. Accepted. Phew.
Midnight. It's 150 miles to Harwich. We've got 2 full tanks of gas, half a pack of chewing gum, it's dark & we haven't got a SatNav. Or paint. Or opening windows. Or a heater.
Hit it!  8)

We didn't have to be at the ferry port till 8am for our crossing at 9, but we figured that once we were packed, gassed up & ready, we might as well get under way. After the hiccup at the filling station & a slow patch of roadworks on the M25, we rolled into Harwich terminal at about 3.30 in the morning. It was dark, cold & raining. Ahh well, better try & get some sleep for a couple of hours.
Although Loony had welded up the worst gaps in the roof the day before, there were still enough holes left for the rain to soon start dripping in on us as we huddled in the cold metal cab. Seems that while we're moving, the water's pushed away to the back of the roof, but when we're parked up it runs down towards the front -& drips through, onto the 2 muppets sat inside. After half an hour, we admitted defeat & drove across the terminal to a Morrisons petrol station. I parked up alongside one of the pumps under the canopy & we settled down for a long wait.
6am & we were woken from our fitful slumber by 2 women opening up the station. They were annoyingly chirpy, but then they hadn't spent the night in a motorised tin can. Suffering from a massive cramp in my leg from sleeping with my foot jammed under the brake pedal, I fell out of the cab & took the opportunity to refill the main tank.
We rumbled back to the carpark & an hour or so later PantherShaun arrived. He'd come up from Kent in his daily driver & was riding with Dale in his '47 Ford coupe when he showed up.
We adjourned to the departure waiting lounge -a soulless, empty building, but it was warm, dry & had a coffee machine & a loo. 8.0.clock came & went & there was no sign of the rest of our intrepid travellers. Other cars were arriving & boarding & the staff from the loading area told us the gates would be locked at 8.30. C'mon guys!
Eventually we heard a distant rumble & 3 motors pulled up outside. Dale in his newly acquired bright red '47 Ford, Beanie & Ian in a pale yellow F100 pick-up, (the shop truck for Beanie's business, Buckland Automotive -his model T roadster pick-up had broken down the night before), plus Russ & Tim in Russ's killer 450bhp green model A sedan. Intros made, we hustled round to the ferry & up the ramp.
This is it -we're on our way.

I'm gripped  :)

Sorry. Doing other stuff between posts. Settle down, dear reader, & I'll tell you more of our adventures in the land of clogs.

What do you do on a ferry for 6 hours? It was very comfortable, but there's only so many times you can wander around the traveller's lounge before it gets boring. We chatted, we had breakfast in the restaurant, we bought a drink at the bar, we leafed through the magazine selection, we stared out of the window. We fell asleep. Some of us snored.
Finally, we arrived at the Hook of Holland terminal. We headed down to the car deck & fired up our respective rods. Here we go then. First time driving on foreign soil.
With an hour's time difference, by the time we'd stopped at a petrol station & got underway, we hit Rotterdam's motorway system in the dark, in the rain, in the middle of the evening rush hour. It was all a bit ...intense. Peering through the Pop's chopped screen, I gripped the wheel & prayed we didn't lose sight of the guys in front. It wasn't till we were separated from them by half a dozen huge lorries that we realised we had no idea where we were going. We had no map, no SatNav & no phone signal. Ooh, bugger. The road opened up into 4 lanes, all going in different directions. Which way did they go? If we picked the wrong one we'd never find them again & would be adrift on our own in a country where we couldn't speak a word of the language. All we could do was keep going straight on. Bugger, bugger, bugger. No sign of our compadres. This is not good. We anxiously scanned the sea of tail lights ahead of us, all the while probably heading in completely the wrong direction ....Aha! Just as we were starting to panic, we spotted Beanie's yellow truck up ahead -follow that Ford!
A few miles further on, we re-grouped in a motorway filling station. 3 vehicles. Russ & Tim had been behind us but had disappeared in the traffic & rain spray, last seen heading for Belgium I think. We waited. Half an hour later we were still waiting. Beanie's phone rang. With commendable calm, they'd headed for a McDonalds, where they could use the free wi-fi to get their bearings on a Smart Phone. They'd meet us at Eindhoven. So, already one car down, we set off into the Dutch darkness once more.     

Watching with bated breath!

 ;D
So it was full steam ahead for Eindhoven. Dale had booked us a 12 person lodge for the weekend, but we couldn't have it till Friday. So the plan was to spend Thursday night at a small hotel, then travel on in the morning. The motorway drive had been pretty hectic, but it wasn't till we got off it & onto the A roads that I got my first real taste of driving on the "wrong" side of the road. With the recently fitted door glass not actually winding up & down, I couldn't adjust the mirrors while we were driving. The rear cab window's very scratched & cloudy, so trying to change lanes on a fast moving motorway became a matter of indicating, then waiting for Mr Loon to crane his head round, check the way was clear & shout Go! above the din of the V8. Dale's coupe didn't have mirrors or indicators, so as we followed him, he'd suddenly switch lanes without warning. Interesting.
Wrong side driving wasn't actually as bad as I'd feared, although I had no idea which side of the bollards I had to be at junctions. Fortunately I just had to blindly follow the car in front. Not sure how I'd fare if I was looking for road numbers at the same time though. Some of the guys had been to previous Jumpin' Jalopys shows & knew lots of the local hotrodders. Our hotel was right in the middle of town, so they'd arranged for us to park the cars overnight at the clubhouse of local crew, The Flake Kings. Their place was tucked away down a cobbled side street, behind an electric roller shutter door. Wow, what a workshop! These guys were organised. The 'shop was stuffed full of interesting motors & cool automobilia. They had a bar, sofas, washroom -I could move into this place. The Kings turned out to be the nicest bunch of chaps you could hope to meet. Like all Dutch, they spoke better English than we did & were so welcoming. Very cool. They really did treat us like Kings.
Our last travelling companion joined us while we were there. "Clumsy" Kate makes & sells hotrod clothing & jewellery & was trading at the show. She'd flown in from Britain. Lovely lady & great company. That made 9 of us. We had 3 more to go as Miles & Andy of Jackhammer hotrod shop in Farnborough & Simon, (Nefarious Pinstriping), were driving up through the Eurotunnel in a hire van & meeting us at the lodge.

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Russ & Ian finally arrived, safe n sound.

Beautiful XS650 Yam'.

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Kate, Russ, Dale & Ian.

Cool SR500 Yam' single.

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Ian, Tim & Loony.

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More, more, we want more, what a great club house and workshop :o :o :P

And a great bunch of gents too.
After much chatting & clinking of beer bottles, we grabbed enough gear from our luggage to see us through till the morning & headed for the hotel. It was a house in a side street behind a pub, with steep stairs joining lots of small 2 & 3 person rooms. Basic, but warm & clean & only 20 quid per person. Loony, PantherShaun & I bunked together in a room right at the top of the house. Tim managed to blag the only single room, but regretted the decision when the heating came on during the night & the radiator sprang a leak, soaking his luggage. Ha!
The Flake Kings appear to be part of the Trashers car club. Trashers member "Elvis" Erwin was assigned to find us somewhere to eat. A real larger than life character, he guided us through the busy streets, like some demented tour rep. Eindhoven used to be known as "Light city" because the Phillips bulb factory was a major employer there. Now they've gone, they celebrate that past with a week long light festival called "Glow". Churches, office blocks & other buildings are illuminated with 3 dimensional film & slide shows, often set to music. Curiously compelling to watch &, of course, completely un-photographable with my digital camera.

http://www.holland.com/us/tourism/article/glow-eindhoven-1.htm

Sorry, we're too late for the restaurants. It'll have to be the kebab house, Erwin said. No need to apologise -it turned out to be a great place. A sit down restaurant, like a Wimpy bar, but serving every variation of kebab meat imaginable. 6 Euros bought me a huge meal that I struggled to finish, with Erwin presiding over the proceedings, telling us tales of Dutch life. A good evening.
Thoroughly stuffed, we waddled back to our hotel & competed in the Who can snore loudest competition. I think I was in with a chance.

Which reminds me, I haven't eaten yet today. Come back after I go for a Chinese take away for the next chapter.

Hurry up then,this is great story so far!!

Second thoughts you keep typing and i'll drop you one off  ;D

Met Erwin before and have given him a hand with some paperwork , good guy :)

looks like an amazing time was had ,very envious

...I've eaten w-a-y too much.  :(

Erwin, from his Facebook profile.

Where were we?
Oh yeah. Eindhoven.
I think the snoring comp' was a tie between Shaun & me. We'd gone for the standard British snore with volume variations, while Loon had opted for the free style category, with a more subtle wheezing routine. Shaun was lying awake in the early hours when Mr L gave a particularly disturbing rattling gurgle, followed by complete silence. Several minutes passed with no sound at all, until Shaun actually had to get out of bed & cross the room to make sure he was still alive. Being violently woken to find Shaun performing emergency CPR on him probably would've given him a heart attack anyway. Somehow we all managed to survive the night.
Morning came to find our intrepid adventurers assembling in the café on the corner of the road. The hotel owners had several converted houses in the same street, so we handed our room keys in at their reception desk then ordered a hearty omelette & salad breakfast in the café. Suitably nourished, we had some time to kill before we were due to meet the Kings back at their clubhouse. So Loon, Beanie & I took a stroll around the city, stopping for a coffee in the main square. The stereotype of Dutch people all riding bicycles is true -they were absolutely everywhere -as I discovered when I was almost mown down after straying into a cycle lane on the pavement. A really interesting place though, full of very friendly, laid back people.
Meanwhile, the rest of the group were waiting outside the clubhouse. A neighbour wandered out of the gate next door, found half a dozen strangers stood about in the alleyway, & immediately invited them in for a drink. The owner was a biker with another super cool garage, full of automobilia I'm told.
By lunchtime the Flake Kings had arrived & soon we were assembling in the street outside for the 30 mile run into Rosmalen.
Sascha's white coupe had gearbox trouble so he left it at the workshop & took his jeep. 

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A couple of Russ's far more professional shots.

Ian, Tim & Loony.

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Sascha the Trasher.
Utterly bonkers but a very cool guy.

The Mankymobile.

The ....Beanie Bus?

Time for a quick photo opp' before we get going.

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Beanie & Tim.

Shaun, hitching a ride in a 2 litre Pinto powered model A roadster pick-up.

Studebaker.

Following Russ's model A out of town.

Giant bowling pins.
Nope, I don't know why either.

On the road to Rosmalen with the Trashers.

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And there we must leave it kids, until tomorrow, when I'll tell you what happened next when we reached the Autotron exhibition halls in Rosmalen.

Waiting in eager anticipation. for the next episode of. Monkeys and the Autotron  :)

great pics mate  ;D

WHAT....where's the next installment  ???

 ???  :(  :'(

is there no more ? :(

Sorry! A heavy day at work yesterday, delivering all the stuff you lot are buying online for Christmas. Got home at about 5pm & fell asleep!

So, a quick re-cap, (more for my benefit than yours -my memory really is bad these days).
My travelling companion, Mr Loon & I had driven up to Harwich on the East Coast in the early hours of Thursday morning & met up with our fellow tourers. Then we'd crossed the North Sea to the Hook of Holland, near Rotterdam. From there we drove to Eindhoven where we stayed overnight, leaving the cars at the Flake Kings' clubhouse. The next morning, Friday, found us in convoy with the Kings, heading for the Autotron show halls at Rosmalen.

Musical interlude -go get yourself an ice cream while I gather my fading memories.
"Ridin' with the King", (s).
Eric Clapton & BB King -seemed appropriate. I was singing it in my head all the way to the Autotron.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny9ONiKbM9s

We hadn't actually entered the show in advance, but were told the organisers were always keen to have foreign vehicles, especially if they'd been driven there. So we kept our fingers crossed that we wouldn't be turned away at the gate. We needn't have worried. I'd tried to contact Henry, the organiser, through Facebook with no success, but it turned out the Dutch guys are just very laid back -it was well organised, but very easy going. We simply joined a line of low ridin' Cadillacs & Chryslers & rolled right on into the show hall.

Where do you want us to park?
Where would you like to park?
Erm, over there?
Yeah, that's fine. 

So we arranged our cars in a circle around one of the pillars in the middle of the hall. Everyone was provided with an aluminium drip tray to lay under their engines & left to put on as much or as little of a display as they wanted. If this had been England, there'd have been people with clipboards & earpieces directing everything, forms to fill in, identity tags etc -I know which arrangement I prefer.
Miles, Andy & Simon were already there, setting up the Jackhammer & Nefarious Pinstriping stalls. Kate soon had her Clumsy Kate clothing stand set out too.
The Dutch are very big on car clubs. In front of us were the Scrapers & behind were the Wasters, as well as the Rumblers, the Polished Pistons & several others. There were entrants from England, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, France and Italy, as well as Holland of course.

Kate.

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I'd drowned the Pop in a protective coat of WD40 before leaving England. During the Summer it's dried to a nice sheen, but now the cooler weather's here, it'd left everything sticky. So we spent an hour or so wiping it down with paper towel. Didn't look too bad under the dim show hall lighting.

"Didn't look too bad" - it looks fantastic!   I wish you'd give in and just lacquer or clearcoat or whatever the term is - it's stands out a mile from all the rest!

 ;D Not so much giving in as being bullied into it Bobbi! Still needs a lot of bodywork to make it properly presentable.
I've toyed with the idea of leaving the outside bare metal & just painting the interior in pale green with black upholstery. I'd planned to powder coat the steering wheel gloss black, but everyone says it'd be a shame to hide the fact that it's metal. So maybe clear lacquer with a hint of green or green metalflake in it, just to give it a little colour. We'll see. I'd taken the precaution of spraying the wheel in clear lacquer before we left -Loony seems to have super acidic skin that rusts everything he touches.

Kate's stall.

Simon's stall, (Shaun, Andy & Simon).

We loaded our luggage into the Jackhammer hire van & by the time we'd sorted ourselves out & wandered out of the hall & down to our lodge, the guys had unloaded everything & got the heating on.
Dale had booked us a 12 person bunkhouse for the weekend at 96 quid per person for 3 days. The Autotron building's part of a complex of self catering lodges, a restaurant, pub, shop, petting zoo etc, all surrounded by lakes & woodland. Our home for the weekend had half a dozen bedrooms, 2 shower rooms, a large kitchen & comfy lounge & even a hot tub. Loony, Shaun & I shared a room again. Later we made our way down to the restaurant for a great meal with some of the Trashers guys & their ladies, before heading back to spend the rest of the evening chatting & listening to schmoozy late night Dutch radio in the lounge. Very mellow.

Whoa ! Just realised from those interior shots that I've been there before to a car show...WEIRD.

 My mates Model A was on display back in early 80's .Was put on by a guy called Roy Inca , HA member I think ?

Small World ain't it Kev!
I'll be down your way tomorrow tea time. Collecting some Ebay Pop wheels from Keith in Fairbourne Close, off Hartplain Avenue. Used to own a Jag engined Pop. Now has a Mustang.

Our lodge.

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Got to nip out to see Miles at Jackhammer, but I'll be back later to continue our travelogue.  ;)

About 1/2 mile away Andy, give me a ring to check I'm up and about and pop round if you want .

Will do.

Saturday morning dawned bright & fair -well, cold & misty actually, but we didn't mind. We were spending the day indoors at the show.
Shaun & I were both up early, so took a stroll down to the exhibition halls for a look around before the crowds came. I knew there was a second hall full of classic cars, but didn't realise how big it was, or that there was an autojumble as well. Outside was a small For Sale area too.
Bavaria's a brand of beer by the way -we hadn't strayed into Germany.

I quite fancied this Merc'.

Eventually the rest of our crew surfaced & we spent a busy day in the show halls -chatting, drinking beer, chatting, wandering around the show cars, chatting, buying stuff, drinking beer. Busy, busy.
The Dutch guys are incredibly friendly & all seem to be fluent in both languages. It's embarrassing when they start chatting away in Dutch & you have to shrug & say Sorry, British -& they immediately switch to perfect English. We couldn't speak one word of their language.
The custom side was quite dimly lit with black painted walls, (done since last year's show apparently), which made it a bugger for photography. The classic building was very bright & airy though & absolutely bursting with vehicles, some familiar, some I'd never heard of before. Some lovely machines on show on both sides.
A selection of shots from Russ, Shaun & me.

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The Brit contingent.

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The Scrapers car club always put on a good display.

Unfortunately their name lends itself very well to the annual game of seeing how many words you can make.

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Oh how we laughed. And they didn't.

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Moving on.

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Mercury "led sled" was stunning.

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Loved this.

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Liked the "Hahaha" engine casing.

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Lovely BMW lowrider, built by "Duckman" Van Der Kwaak, of the CAD drawing custom bike website.

http://www.dbbp.com/

Pink flamed Peugeot belongs to show organiser Henry Van Uden. He also had his green model A roadster pick-up on display.

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great pics there andy, sounds like you had a hell of a time.

Got a million photos, so I'll spread 'em out over the next few days!

No, not our Loony.

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Music was provided by "Twenty Sicks", (26). Mainly a rockabilly band, but also doing very credible covers of rock & indie numbers & even Vegas show tunes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3j_nhO_7us

Oil can guitar sounded amazing.

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Dale.

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Shaun & Ian.

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Gorgeous. Look at the AR51 on that.

...the car. THE CAR!!!

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Dale & Russ.

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Tin model cars, about 2 feet long.

O.K, I can see you're getting restless, so I'll leave it there & show you the classic hall tomorrow.

Have you been enticing young ladies into your vee-hicle again  :o
Nice pics Andy  :)

socks or not?  when wearing the clogs.

Hmm, it's a toughie, but I'm going with yes, socks.

Wanna see my hotrod darlin'. Works every time.

I gotta build me a hotrod then, cos if it can work for you...... ;D ;D ;D

Nicely written article Andy! Good photos as well.  ;)

Good to see the Mankymobile is doing what it's done, and to think, it was only a few months ago you were concerned about driving an auto..........  ::)

So if you're take your Excess next year as well, maybe it's time for a Hot Rod Hauler trailer!!

good pic's Andy, the girlie in the car was safe... you should see the size of her Dad  ;D

Sat next to her on the floor.

Another great meal with the Trashers at the restaurant, then it was party time. Every year the show organisers, Christa & Henry Van Uden, lay on a bit of a do at the onsite pub for all the show entrants. Free beer & food all night -well, it'd be rude not to go really wouldn't it.
The main pathway through the woods, from our lodge to the show halls, had 2 large metal gates along it's length, a few hundred yards apart. They were supposed to be left open for the weekend, but every time we went by, one or the other would be locked, leading to the rather undignified sight of a bunch of middle aged English guys trying to scale them. We're obviously not quite as agile as we thought we were, Mr Loon managing to rip a large hole in a brand new pair of jeans while trying to leap over the fence.
The Trashers had come across this problem before at previous shows & had come prepared. Back at their lodge they had enough tools to take the gates off their hinges. Great. Unfortunately, when we left their place, we went in the wrong direction -& spent the next 2 hours wandering forlornly around the park, trying to find the party. There may have been some drinking involved.
Eventually, having passed the same landmarks 2 or 3 times, we found our way back to the gates -they were unlocked.
By the time we got to the pub it was heaving with hotrodders. We walked in to find a solid wall of people, stood shoulder to shoulder in a haze of smoke, chattering in half a dozen languages. A couple of hundred squeezed into a tiny, hot & sweaty room. I never actually saw the bar all night. At the far end of the room, the band from the show hall, Twenty Sicks, were playing a blinding gig. AC/DC, Motorhead, Metallica -all played on guitar, drums & slap bass. Brilliant stuff. Drinks just seemed to magically appear. We'd put a half full glass down on the table & it'd be instantly whisked away & replaced with a fresh one. It's amazing how generous people are when the beer's free -"Let me get you a drink". "No, no, allow me". "No, I insist". "Let me get you both one". Ironically, although there was an endless supply of free beer & wine, my Diet Coke had to paid for. Sometimes I think I miss out on so much by being a non drinker.
The mosh pit at the front of the stage was in full swing -or pogo anyway, with bodies from all over Europe leaping about & bouncing off each other in a chaotic, surging, beer soaked melee of drunken, grinning faces. There was beer dripping off the ceiling. As the band launched into a searing rendition of Rage Against The Machine's Killing in the name -"I won't do what you tell me, I won't do what you tell me" -Dale appeared out of the mayhem. "Mind if I borrow your drink"? "Sure". He grabbed it & flung the contents over the moshers. A fresh glass immediately appeared.
In the middle of the mosh pit madness, a tiny oriental lady in pristine black & white waitress uniform threaded her way through the crowd carrying a tray of hot spicy meatballs with a garlic dip. As Loony put it
Raargh!! ...Ooh, meatballs. Thank you ...Raargh!!
A great, crazy night. The Dutch certainly know how to party.

Dale & Tim.

Half of Loony on the far left, beardy Shaun, Fuzzy Kate & me.

26.

top night was had eh  ;D Henry and Christa who organise the event make no money from it, all proceeds go to paying for the hall and free beer/wine for the Party... top folk..

They are indeed.
For the last 2 years, the Brits have kidnapped a goat from the petting zoo & let it loose in the Trashers' lodge. It was the same goat. Apparently it was completely unphased by it all & wandered around the lounge quite happily. Maybe it happens a lot. Probably the highlight of it's week. It gets to hang out with the guys, eat pizza, watch TV. Being an ardent animal lover, Shaun had decided if it happened again he'd take it to a place of safety, despite it being pointed out that locking yourself in your bedroom with a goat might possibly be mis-construed. Fortunately the zoo's inhabitants remained free this year & the goat guard wasn't required.

Erwin & ...friend.

Sunday.
Hot shower, full fried breakfast with the chaps, cooked by Beanie, who proved to be a maestro with the frying pan. I could get used to this.
Then back to the show halls for the day. More chatting, clinking of beer bottles, autojumble perusing -it's tough being a show queen.

The classic hall.

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The classic hall was much bigger & brighter than the custom one. A very diverse collection of machinery, with autojumble stalls between the exhibits. Interesting stuff.

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jeez.. they even let tramps into the hall!!! watch it mate he  is trying to nick the Anglia......

 ;D Dodgy lookin' beardy bloke.
Professor Lock. The Dutch are very big on moustaches.

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An entire stall of nothing but commemorative tea spoons. Odd.
Odder still was the number of people interested in it.

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Le Salle. I've only ever seen the grille shells before, (very sought after in the hotrod world). Lovely art deco classic.

Lots of clever features, like hydraulically cushioned bumpers.

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A roof chopped version of Dale's Ford. For sale for 40,000 Euros.

Cute little Daf.

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Ford Thunderbirds.

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A design classic?
1979 mark 1 Ford Fiesta in mint condition.

Loony had been disappointed that no-one was selling clogs. I found him a pair. 8 quid in the autojumble & they were his size too, (the colour's an advert for a brand of beer). He immediately took them to Simon of Nefarious Pinstriping, who striped them for him in the Dutch national colours.

Cool, yesch?

As the show drew to a close, it was time for everyone to pack up & head home. Miles, Simon & Andy were driving straight back through the Eurotunnel on Sunday night. They've done the show scene many times before & had their stalls dismantled & stowed in the hire van in a matter of minutes. Kate was getting a lift back to the airport on Monday morning. Show cars soon began firing up & rolling out of the hall into the darkness.
Time to shake hands & say goodbye to friends old & new. I didn't meet a single person in Holland that I didn't like. Such a welcoming & hospitable country.

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We didn't have to catch our ferry home until 2.30 on Monday afternoon, so we left our cars in the show hall overnight & headed to the restaurant for one last meal.
I really didn't want the weekend to end. We'd met some fantastic people & had an amazing time. The Pop had received endless attention from the show goers & been photographed a million times, as had all the other cars on the Brit stand. We'd flown the flag for Blighty & had a great time doing it. Can't wait to do it all again next year.

Monday morning.
The Brit contingent, leaving our lovely lodge.
Kate, Tim, Shaun, Ian, Beanie, Dale, me & Loony, (Russ taking the photo).

One last walk down the lane of many locked gates, wishing our luggage wasn't quite so heavy.

The show hall was almost empty, just us & another half a dozen cars left. The trade stalls were all gone, the lights & ropes & drip trays packed away. It was all over. I couldn't help feeling sad.
Christa made us coffee. Touchingly, she was wearing a MMMotors T shirt. I'd taken 6 with me. Christa asked for one, I gave Henry another, Russ had one, I swapped 2 with the Flake Kings for some of theirs & sold one to a show goer. I also took 50 stickers, all of which were given out to the public over the weekend, (kinda cool to know they're out there somewhere on the continent, even if they're adorning some kid's bedroom wall). It did amuse me that we couldn't buy a commemorative shirt at the show, but the organisers ended up wearing some of ours!

Christa.

The last supper, breakfast.

Beanie.

Kate was getting a lift to the airport later in the morning, so with a last peck on the cheek from Christa & hearty handshake from Henry, we were on our way home.
We'd done so much & met so many & had such a brilliant time, it was hard to believe we'd done it all in so few days. Holland had been a blast.
Loon took the wheel for the drive back to the Hook of Holland. The truck's been a bit of a joint project between us & we couldn't leave without him putting in some miles on foreign soil. We passed a traditional windmill, right at the side of the road. 4 hotrods in single file, driving by a windmill -not one of us got a photo of it. "Look", I shouted over the noise of the motor, "a windmill". "Jeez, you scared me. I thought there was a giraffe in the road or something". As we rounded the next bend, at the side of the road stood a wooden cut-out of a giraffe. The Dutch are strange. Very cool, but strange. We'll be remembering this trip with a grin for a long time to come.

Marcus at the wheel, duelling with the Dutch truckers.

Russ & Tim.

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Passport control at the ferry terminal. The guy in the booth had to lay his head on the counter to peer in the Pop's chopped window to check us against the photos. We'd arrived in plenty of time & had battered cod with whiskey mayonnaise for lunch at a fish shop on the dockside. Time to head home to reality.
As we rolled off the ferry, 6 hours later, it was dark & raining. Hello Britain. 
Shaun wandered off to find his car for the drive back to Kent. Russ, Tim & Dale left for Norfolk. Seeya guys. Beanie & Ian were going to Bedford, so we followed them back down the A12, peeling off at the M25 junction with one last wave. We were running on the smaller rear petrol tank. "Must be almost empty" Loony said. Immediately, the fuel pump began to clatter as it ran dry & I flicked over to the larger main tank for the cruise home around the M25 & along the M3.
We finally rolled back into Basingstoke at midnight, exactly 5 days & 500 miles since we'd left. Did we really do all that stuff? We gave the bonnet a thank you pat. The ol' girl hadn't missed a beat the whole journey. Not bad for a 60 year old car with a 30 year old engine, built in a shed.
It had indeed, been a most excellent adventure.  :)

Mister Manky & Mister Lunatic.

What a great adventure, always a little sad when they come to an end but they give you lots of good and fond memories  :(   :) :)

here's to the next one  ;D

And I didn't even mention Russ mistaking a cigarette filter for an ear plug & having to have it removed with tweezers. Or Shaun falling out of his bunkbed. Or me putting half a gallon of eco diesel in the Pop before Loony spotted my mistake -it ran fine, & possibly better. Lots of silly stuff.

Just heard from Henry- next year's show is on the 15th & 16th of November, 2014.

Thanks for a great read guys, its good to see you guys enjoying your selves after all the hard work you put in, clearly a Manky Monkey Success Story   8) 8)
 

Great pics and write up 8)

great news Andy.. must be room on the stand for a delivery trike I'm sure ;)

Not a single trike there -something that needs remedying surely.

be careful what you say sir... there are trikes and there are Manky style trikes...BIG difference... I have some very good mates who ride trikes local to me.. I would hate to be in a foreign show with those guy's.. sorry but bad taste is just plain bad taste... :P preparing to be hunted down and hung now  ::)

 ;D
I'm sure there's plenty who'd put my rusty ol' truck in the same category Shaun.
Just applied for time off from work for next year's show, (Shaun & I are both Posties. We have to apply for our holidays more than a year in advance).

Nooooo - one of the reasons your truck gets so much attention is BECAUSE of the way it looks!

Shaun is right, there are a lot of trikes which are total sh1te!  Not many people know that cos those opf us with cameras rarely take pics of them!  ... they are usually found on Ebay with ridiculous prices attached.

IF you are referring to mine, it's no show trike. It has to work. Supposed to be picking up a load of coal tomorrow  :D

no way mate, form and balance are the main stays of a good build.. yours has that in spades... the sad thing about the trike scene as far as I can tell is most builders seem to come from the opposite direction.. balance and form don't play a part.. hence very few really good trikes about. Glad to say the majority of the good stuff seems to come from here...

of course ON, few come much better in my eyes mate....

Never quite know if you are pulling my chain, but thank you kind sir!