Gallery: 9 American hotrods star at London Concours

The London Concours event held in the City of London every year is one of the highlights of the British motoring calendar.

And this open-air event is one of the first car shows to be held in nearly six months amidst the pandemic, but with social distancing measures in place. The event brought together some of the world’s most exotic cars, ranging from the very interesting to the fantastically valuable.

This year the organisers did something different, and invited some of the country’s finest American hotrods, all of which compete annually to race the fastest on the Pendine Sands in Wales. This is their story:

1927 Ford Model T Roadster

This Model T was imported into the UK from the US as a standard car in 2014, and then rebuilt by Stromberg Racing Division. Featuring vintage parts and a Ford Flathead V8 engine, it was ran to 101.24mph at the Pendine Sands Hot Rod Races in 2016.

1929 Ford Model A Roadster

Lil’ MissFire’s body and chassis show signs that it was hopped up many years ago, with a a classic late-1950s ‘high-school’ style:  fenderless and stripped down for speed, with a chopped and raked windscreen. Ford steel wheels with big ‘n’ little crossplies, buggy springs and a dropped ‘n’ drilled front axle give the right stance, while brakes are 1940s Lincoln hydraulic drums.

The car runs a choice of two different early Chevy V8s with various carb setups; a 1964 283 cu in smallblock, and a larger, mildly tuned 1960s 350 cu in. It entered the 100mph Club at 106.46mph, and can run the quarter mile in 14sec.

1930 Ford Model A Tudor Sedan

Originally rodded by Jay Gordon of Blackout Signs and Metalworks in Texas, its current owner imported it in 2017 and made several more changes including chopping four inches from the roof and adding a 1932 Coupe screen surround. The body sits on a 1932 chassis, with an upgraded 1960 Buick 6.6-litre nailhead V8. It entered the 100mph Club at the first attempt in 2018, and on the quarter mile it’s recorded a best elapsed time of 13.3sec.

1932 Ford V8 Five-Window Coupe

This 1932 car today boasts a 409 cu in Chevrolet W-series big-block V8, and fitted with a Z11 Super Stock cam it produces around 460bhp, teamed with a manual four-speed Muncie transmission and a Champ quick-change rear axle.

As with the other entrants in this class at the concours, the Ford is a member of the VHRA’s coveted 100mph Club, having gone through the traps at Pendine Sands at 107mph.

1932 Ford Model B Roadster

Now featuring a 324 cu in Flathead V8, it also has a Weiand supercharger with electronic fuel injection on a custom intake manifold, and will run on ethanol, methanol or petrol. In 2006 it did a 12.7sec quarter mile at 109.8mph – a world record for a street-driven Flathead.

The Ford has held or still holds many more titles, and was the quickest vintage engine at Pendine in 2016, 2017 and 2019. It’s held the class record since 2013, which now sits at 116.79mph.

1932 Ford Lakes Modified/Streamliner

The current owner built this car to evoke a 1940s California dry-lakes model, with influences from period Karl Orr and Phil Remington modifieds. It has a narrowed 1932 Ford V8 chassis, 1942 262 cu in Flathead V8, 1940 Ford transmission and Halibrand quick-change axle. The hand-built steel single-seater body has a streamlined tail and a canopy section from a wartime T-6 Texan aircraft, putting the car into the Streamliner class.

Its V8 can run on only half its cylinders. Running on all eight, its fastest speed so far in the Pendine Sands 100mph Club is 105.82mph.

1932 Ford Three-Window Coupe

This hot rod dates all the way back to the 1950s. The current owner imported it to the UK from California in 2008, with no engine or gearbox. He sourced all-original components for the body, such as the Edmunds and Jones ‘torpedo’ headlights. The engine is a 350 cu in small-block Chevrolet V8 with a racing cam, teamed with a TH350 three-speed auto ‘box. The Coupe achieved 109.6mph competing at the VHRA’s Pendine Sands Hot Rod Races in 2019.

1934 Ford Three-Window Coupe

This car was rebuilt into a Bonneville-style race car in 2008, and features a supercharged Flathead V8.  The Ford was used for several years before being entered into the very first Vintage Hot Rod Association Pendine Sands Hot Rod Races in 2013, where it won its class. At 111.86mph, it still holds the class record.

1947 Ford Deluxe Coupe

This coupe was restored to factory spec in 2002, incorporating a 2.6-litre Flathead V8 engine producing 78bhp, coupled to a three-speed manual ‘box. Two years of fettling saw the Flathead modified and blueprinted to incorporate fuel injection and a supercharger. This saw power boosted to 320bhp, and along with gearbox and axle upgrades the car was timed at 102.57mph, and currently holds its class record.