This review of the National Hot Rod and Custom Show 2015 is from the perspective of American car enthusiasts and retro lifestyle fans. Freeway Legends boys, Jason and Jacob attended on Saturday afternoon to chat with owners and generally get a feel for what the show offers the American/retro scene.
We can’t comment fairly on the quality of the weekend as a whole having been there only Saturday, but the National Hot Rod and Custom show 2015 held at the Peterborough Arena and East of England Showground 2015 was definitely worth checking out for the day.
Many of the vehicles on show inside and out were pimped up boy racer machines and there was plenty of American stuff of interest too, some excellent live Rock ‘n’ Roll and the most top draw tattooists we’ve ever seen in one room!
We’ve organised the car pictures into customs and hot rods, classics vehicles and general snaps of the event. You can check out the galleries that interest you below.
For the retro crowd music from neo-rockabillies Restless supported by El-Camino the masked Rockers, Heroes Mod and Ska tribute and The Gilded Merkin Burlesque cabaret plus many more on the Rockahula stage.
Other attractions included a Wall of Death, Fun Fair, Monster Truck Crush, Rolling Road (for testing out your wheels!), Lawn Mower Racing and stages with live acts for both modern and retro tastes.
For the style conscious there were some really nice trade stands run by people that know what they are doing when it comes to retro gear. Standout traders were Hepkitten Retro, a fashion retail operation ran by the Seekings mafia (Neil and Kym, son Zac and his ‘lady friend’ Asher Cooper). They have an impressive stock of quality Ladies and Gents gear. I was tempted by the Lucky 13 jackets but ended up spending £13 on Suavecito hair pommade from Lipstick and Gearstick – as recommended by Neil Seekings for the perfect quiff!
To match the clothes a tattoo is often the preferred accessory and the ink and oil convention didn’t disappoint those looking to get drawn on with lots of talent on show. Just looking around Tony Evans of Opulent Ink, Wolverhampton and Donatas Lasys of Inked Moose in Bletchley appealed – but that’s a personal view and with so many excellent artists in one place choosing one would be a nightmare!
For traders and visitors alike it was definitely a success; Darren of Brentacre specialist insurance told me “This is the 3rd year we have attended the show, and this time we decided to trade in both halls as we cater for all forms of modified vehicles. This proved a tremendous success! We were extremely busy for the whole weekend, meeting lots of like-minded people with a view to saving them money and of course the added bonus of being around some fabulous vehicles! The show has improved year on year and was really well run and put together and we would recommend it to both traders and car enthusiasts alike. We are already looking forward and planning for next year!”
Here’s a few snaps we took of people and stuff whilst mooching around
The main ‘red carpet ‘ show hall served up some remarkable machines to delight over. The National Hot Rod Show Dodge Wayfarer, the 1957 Chevrolet Belair in blue and the 1959 Impala caught our eye as did the 1955 Ford Customline on show courtesy of the Charnwood Cruisers.
To be fair there was something for every taste from the eccentric to the understated and it was an excellent turnout of stunning cars.
In the main room the 65 Impala convertible by James of Penguin Speed Shop was stellar in a paint job that Danny ‘The Count’ Koker of Channel 4’s Counting Cars would have cried over – proving that you don’t need an American accent to heavily pimp out a sixties Chevy in pink flake.
Check out the Red Carpet Hot rod and Customs Photo Galleries below (apologies if your vehicle isn’t in but the gallery can’t take too many for techie reasons). If you want your car featuring on the site just get in touch.
Gallery 1, 1900-1949 Hot Rods and Customs
Gallery 2, Fifties Hot Rods and Customs
Gallery 3, Sixties and Beyond
In the show barn and just outside the barn area a decent size contingent of Yank beauties competed for attention. Examples included a sexy 1968 Dodge Coronet owned by Martin, his mate’s sharp looking 1966 Pontiac Grand Prix, dubbed the “white Cloud” and a really tidy 1968 Mercury Cougar in a lovely metallic turquoise. In addition, a smattering of rat rods and pickups completed a line up worth making the trip for.
Gallery 4, The Barn and Showfield (mixed decades)
All in all this was an enjoyable day out and good value for anyone but especially those with a broader interest in cars and petrol head culture.
See you next year!
IMPORTANT: if you are in any of these pictures and want them to be removed please get in touch and we will oblige.
Quick vote – What’s your taste, Hot Rods, Mild Customs or Classics?
