Retro Show, Santa Pod

After getting up early on the Saturday morning and replacing the radiator and thermostat seal on my own retro machine since they failed the night before, I headed off for the 160 mile drive to join the rest of the Retrobeutes at the home of British drag racing Santa Pod for the Retro Show.

The format was the same as 2014, however unlike last year the weather on the Saturday was wet to say the least. This meant no Saturday track action in the “Run what you brung” and the whole place was a little quiet.

Jump forward to the Sunday after an overnight camp we woke to find the weather had cleared and by 8am cars started flooding into the show area. The one thing you can guarantee about this show is the variety of metal on show, from all styles of the retro community.

The clubs did themselves proud, I don’t think I’ve seen so many Renault 5 Turbos in one place!!!!

The stand I was on, the Retrobeutes, didn’t so bad either for metal.

 

   

 

Add into the mix cars that had come just to race, with some being straight out daily drivers to full on drag manchines there was also something to watch on the strip.

The hightlight though had to be this scooter, he did at least two committed runs to cheers from the crowd which perfectly sums up the atmosphere around the show.

 

As is the norm there was also the show and shine area which contained a vast mix of cars, from full on custom Moggy, to an impeccable BMW 6 Series to an MX5 based mini traveller and Subaru powered Mk2 Ford Escort.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One thing I do like about this show is the “Retro Parking” area where all you need to do is rock up in something retro on the day of the show. As you’d expect it’s a bit of a mix to say the least as you’ll see below. The Vauxhall Astra GTE was simply stunning.

 

With bands playing, autojumble, on site barbers, BMX displays and autotesting oh and the Firestorm 5 jet powered drag car doing a few turns, there was always something to see or hear.

However the highlight for me had to be the demonstrations throughout the day be the Historic F1 Stock Car Club, who race hugely modified 50’s American cars which are stripped bare for oval racing and have a V8 dropped in. You will instantly recognise them from the Audi “Beauty and the Beasts” advert for the R8 drop top a few years ago-

 

But seeing and hearing these “beasts” in the metal being thrashed around an oval was just fantastic. I love the huge amount of body roll and the fact they all wear their battle scars with pride.

 

  

I love this show and the only let down was the weather keeping people away, that’s not to distract from the awesome amount of cars that did attend. Thankfully though the sun did come out in the afternoon ensuring that all those attended went home with a “pod face” of sunburn, a perfect end to a great show.