Manky Monkey Motors

 What was your inspiration to get in to the rod and custom scene ?

Custom car magazine a black fordson van about 1971 or 2 at a guess. it had a 1600 crossflow in it it was the cover car, i bought that magazine. Never ever did acctualy get in to doing hot rods,dabbled in trials and low end motorsport instead.  but always admired them. Puting that to rights though now.  ;)

well i suppose its the fact that if i wanted something i had to build it myself out of what i could get/afford some that,ll meen i,v always been into customs  :P :P
as for hotrods i always used the biggest engine i could  :P

Like The North, had to be CC from the 70s.
Always been into the scene but never really a part of it, except for stuffing bigger engines where they had no right to be.   ;D

Read CC back in the 70's but it was Backstreet Heros and Iron Horse that really did it for me.

 

Started with American hotrod and chopper mags and models when I was about 8/9 years old I guess..then I discovered HotCar magazine ..a poor relation too hotrod magazine ..even then I knew what we in the UK were building was far behind the yanks,..but I knew that's what I wanted to do ?..so as a teenager,my mates were all into Anglias and escorts with big bubble arches..and I was into v8s and tube axles..they thought I was from a different planet ?

My father used to work in a local hospital working nights most of the time, (Mid 60s, early 70s) just outside the gates was a news agents who used to sell  American hot rod & chopper mags, he used to pass them onto me when he was finished with them. (Now and again drag racing ones as well)
You could buy metal flake in cans and I used to paint my push and motor bikes with them.
been interested ever since  ;D

Street machine... I'd still like a tubbed mk3 'tina with micky thompsons!! started reading it when i was about 10 or 11 but then got
a motorbike when i was 14 ,a gt50 and i never did get a hotrod...maybe some day

'Spose I was quite lucky. My first job after leaving school, my foreman was Gary Ellis with his, then, 1215 supercharged minor convertable. He then added a Essex V6 and laterly an american V8. I then got to know Mickey Bray, so I remember "Pinball Wizard" when it was an engine and a pair of magnesium five spokes on the garage floor and from him met Eddie Wimble, who I have now been good friends with for over 35 years. So with those icons as friends, something was bound to rub off.

as a kid I used to put together bikes out of bits an pieces to ride over the dumps, in beckton east London. Started doin` this at about the age of 9. After a while got fed up with just bolting things together so started putting bikes together with a bit more care over the looks. The first truly custom bike i put together was a Tiger 90, using a triumph hardtail frame, a BSA rigid petrol tank (lovely mustang look to them, still love them to this day), sprung hub rear wheel and an A7 front end, the seat was made out of an old bicycle saddle (old fashioned wide one) and the whole lot was painted with a fine brush in a lovely aubergine/red colour that I found in a friends dad`s garage, I was a sprightly 12 year old at the time. Over the years that followed I built bikes for others and with others. I`ve made my own seats, tanks, leccy boxes, oil tanks, the odd frame or three. Everything from Bay area lowriders to long swedish things. Nowadays I struggle to get the get up and go to change my own oil. ;D ;D ;D ;D

being financially ruined from birth, then a big off in 2009 being crippled and more financially ruined, its boiled down to if i cant build it i cant have it.    ;)

In the late 60's and early 70's used to sometimes buy the american “Hot Rod” magazine, UK's “Cars and Car Conversions”, and the UK's “Hot Car” with my pocket money.
“Hot Car” tended to have tuned cars, and occasionally a Custom Car, but well  before “Custom Car” was on the scene in March 1971.
Used to get the occasional copy of the american “Easy Rider” or UK's “Bike” magazines in early/mid 70's (both way before the first issue of “Superbike” in May 1977 or the first issue of “BSH” in Nov/Dec 1983 hit the shelves). “Bike” used to be really cool, basically all Brit iron and custom stuff.

Went to the Drags at Blackbushe in 1971 when I was pre-teen, and subscribed to “National Drag Racer” (who remembers that?). Went to loads more drag racing there during the 70's.

Had the first few years of “Custom Car”, first few years of “Street Machine”, the whole series of “Hot Rod & Custom UK” (fantastic mag showing real life builds), first few years of “BSH”, went to custom bike shows including Kent Custom in the early 80's, the first Custom Car show, first South West Custom and Classic show at Shepton Mallet, most of the Wheels Days when they were at Slyfield Green.

Got into motorcycle sprinting coming up to 20 years ago, did hillclimbs too.

Used to buy number one issues of mags when they came out – have a look at the link, they're all mine bar two. (how sad is that!! :o)
http://www.mankymonkeymotors.co.uk/Misc/firstissues/words.html

Never been the same since.............. where's me tablets??  :-\    ::)

My only claim to be part of the custom scene is having my GT550 converted to a trike - it happened through necessity when I bashed my leg and couldn't hold a bike up any longer - but it's been great!

And this site has opened my eyes to lots more possibilities - just need a few more pennies to get something with 4 wheels and a roof!

then it,ll be ,,,hotrod gran ,,, :D :D