Just a quick intro, I have been into US motors most of my life, bit of a biker too, I currently have a Lumina APV for family, 2 x CJ7 for fun, one running, one being fully restored, and I just bought a 1979 C10 LWB, 305 . Hence my ending up here, I live on the east coast of England (Norfolk)and I help mod a forum called Brit Chopper, which cover bikes, rods and pretty much anything mechanical, mostly shed built as opposed to hi buck builds, we also run a magazine alongside the forum which has just reached issue 10.... all done by amateurs.  

Hi Steve, welcome! Fire back a link and I'll check out your website. I guess if you are a regular reader of CCT you know that I have trucks and bikes. I also have a few old 60's custom cars. Born in California, all of this stuff is in my blood. It always amazes, and pleases me that custom culture is a world-wide thing, and not just something that a bunch of us crazies in California are doing.

Thanks,

John G.  

Hi John, the site is www.BritChopper.co.uk  

Hey Steve, I checked out your website, cool deal! It's a kick seeing American iron in the UK. Funny thing, through the years I've owned over 35 Mini-Cooper S's, a few Lotuses and a crapper full of Jensens, Jags and MGs. Bet you would have never in a million years guessed that one, huh?  

I guess it's the fact that they are unusual, as it is for the US stuff over here, I grew up around Rodders and love the sound of a V8, I used to get mags from the US from a newsagent shop and drool over them for hours as a teenager, I think that's why I still like the 70's stuff, we are lucky in that there is a US Air Force base pretty close, so we get the vehicles from there when they have finished with them, as the price of fuel over here is now £1.05 per LITRE ( bloody euro measures) ...pretty much $9 per gallon, then not so many people can afford to run the big stuff any more, so a lot is being converted to propane...which works out about half  

Steve,

I know what you mean about the sound, there's an addiction to hearing it. There's nothing wrong with Propane. I've seen an engine with 100,000 miles of running on Propane get torn-down and look like a brand-new engine inside. The stuff is way cleaner than gasoline (you guys still call it petrol?). One of the guys that I used to ride hogs with worked at a welding supply, and ran it in every 4-wheel vehicle he owned because could fill up at work.

Hey is your C-10 US government surplus from the AFB?  

Hey do you know of Kev Elliot, he's from the UK, he works on Rod & Custom here in our building? I forget the name of it, but he worked on a hot-rod magazine over there.  

No mine is a civvy one, they bring them over for free, then when they go back to the States they either don't take one or take a nice Jag, Saab or something like that. I haven't heard of Kev, but my recent exposure to the rod side has been limited...more into my bikes at the moment, and building a trike so I can take my disabled son to rallies. My best friend was a Rod Guru...Paul Gibbs of Wisbech Engineering, unfortunately he died last summer of cancer, a real loss, at 58 he was just getting into his stride, here are some pics of his last project, a road going race car built around a Bentley Turbo R engine, he built pretty much all of it including headers, rollbars, tanks etc











these last 2 were taken at his funeral, the guy who owns it has registered it with the Bentley Owners Club in Pauls name...Gibbs Bentley Special. I think you will agree he was a master of his art...I really miss him.


 

Steve,

Man that Bentley is something else! It's sad to hear about your friend, we've lost a few good guys here in our group recently, and its never easy. The Grand National Roadster Show is coming up next weekend in Pomona, and in the words of my late friend David Mann, we're gonna "rip and tear" in the names of the ones that didn't make it.

— John G.  

Amen to that John, I guess us guys are the same the world over....you either get it, or you don't, and if you do then there's a common thread that runs through us all