Cars and Coffee, Hot Rods and Kool Kustoms By Simon & Janet Wright.

Transcription

1 Cars and Coffee, Hot Rods and Kool Kustoms By Simon & Janet Wright. Ford Hotrod outside the museum April 2017 Page 9

2 The Heart of the former British motor industry was located in the centre of England in the City of Coventry. Famous for motor manufacturers like Jaguar, Daimler, Triumph, Rover, Hillman, Allard, Alvis, Sunbeam, Talbot and even French Peugeot have all been built in Coventry over the last century. In honour of this fantastic legacy, the city has for many years housed a fabulous Transport Museum in the city centre, with free admission at the time of publication. It has a fantastic permanent collection of motor vehicles on display, plus has the facilities and space to house special exhibitions during the year. The current display is Hot Rods & Kool Customs which runs from 28th January 2017 to 14th May 2017, featuring a display of cars from the American and British custom car and Hot rod scene. The oldest car in this display is a 1932 Ford Roadster and another popular model is the 1957 Ford Popular. With posters on the walls and even a jukebox playing out rock and roll, the exhibition really does capture the period. April 2017 Page 10

3 During the summer months, the museum also holds monthly Cars & Coffee mornings on a Saturday, in Millenium Place, a large public square outside the front of the museum. Classic car owners can pre-register their vehicles to display outside the front of the museum. The first of this years meetings was held on Saturday 11th March 2017 and was a special Hot Rods Cars & Coffee day in honour of the exhibition in the museum. It was probably one of the largest turn outs for these events, with over 70 cars and vans on display between 9:30am and 4pm. Many had travelled long distances to attend. The unusual vehicles attracted a large crowd of interested on-lookers and passing shoppers, as the museum is located right next to the city bus station. Wheeler Dealer TV presenter Mike Brewer, who is also president of the Coventry Transport Museum Patron scheme, arrived in a stylish blue Porsche 911. He drew a crowd of enthusiasts round him all morning, signing autographs and posing for selfies. There was an impressive range of cars on display outside. The oldest vehicle was a 1932 Ford Model B which originally was powered by a 3.3 litre four cylinder engine. but has now been fitted with a 5.7 litre Chevrolet Corvette V8 engine. It retains it s original English steel Tudor bodywork. The model was built between 1932 and 1934 as a 2 door roadster, coupe and sedan and the four door as a sedan. Ford Model B April 2017 Page 11

4 Possibly the loudest car to arrive was an American 1970 Mercury Cougar with its 5.4 litre V8 engine making a lovely growling sound as it drove in to Millennium Place. Mercury was part of the Ford empire and the original Cougar shared much of its running gear with the Ford Mustang, but as can be seen in the overhead view, it was a larger vehicle, slotting in between the Mustang and the Thunderbird. The first generation (67-70) was the only model with covered, hidden headlights when off. April 2017 Page 12

5 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Other modern American muscle cars included a convertible Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, several Ford Mustangs and a mammoth Ram SRT10 pickup truck, which must have been twice the size of the 1946 flat bed Ford pickup truck Rat Rod, with its open V8 engine. There were several sit up and beg style modified Ford Populars parked together. This British Ford model has always been popular with the British Hot Rod and Custom car crowd. A large area was used by a selection of American Camper vans, many with custom paint jobs. A Citroen camper van had scenes from the latest Star War movies painted on the sides and rear. There was even an original Volkswagen Camper van, which looked tiny Ford Popular Hot Rod April 2017 Page 13

6 next to the larger American vans. It was not just American cars on show. A lot of 1950s British saloons shared design features copied from the American cars of the time, but in a smaller package. An example was the 1955 Vauxhall Velox saloon at Coventry. Finished in black and red, it has been fitted with a Rover 3.5 litre V8 engine and white wall tyres, making it a smaller version of burbling V8 American custom car. Another unusual car was a 1990 Nissan Pao. This retro styled three door hatchback, powered by a 1 litre engine, was built solely for the Japanese market and marketed without Nissan branding. It was sold through the Nissan Vauxhall Velox Cherry Stores and the total production of 51,657 were all sold within three months. It had external door hinges, like the original Mini which was fashionable in Japan. The Flap up windows were similar to those on the Citroen 2CV, while the split rear tailgate Nissan Pao was copied from the Austin A40 Farina Countryman. For more information See Chevrolet Chevelle SS and Ford Mustang Nissan Pao April 2017 Page 14

7 Chevrolet Chevelle SS Ford Mustang April 2017 Page 15