Full house at veteran car show

A rare sunny day brought owners of veteran, vintage and classic cars out in their droves on Sunday.

By the time the gates of Hooe recreation ground opened to the public at 11am not only were the spaces allotted to the various show-car classes packed to capacity but owners and spectators alike were being diverted to an overflow car park.

For many owners, opportunities to show their vehicle under ideal conditions have been al too few this summer.

Out came the picnic hampers, the deck chairs and, seeing that this is concours d'elegance territory, out came the table cloths, the wine glasses, the silver cutlery and the napkins.

The 38th annual show was as stylish and as friendly as ever.

Yet only days before Hooe recreation ground had been too boggy to mow.

Chairman Ron Wanmer regretted having to turn away so many late entrants but was delighted with the turn-out.

He told the Observer: "We are overwhelmed, absolutely overwhelmed...

"I have just given orders to stop all further late entrants coming in because we just cannot take any more.

"We had 242 pre-booked. There has certainly been at least another 50 in this morning."

For judges Mike Kellaway and Chris Booth, the record entry posed a major headache in viewing in the time available and reaching decisions.

For lovers of old cars, commercials and motorcycles, Hooe 2007 was a field-day.

Fred Newman, of Tenterden, has had his 1952 Triumph Mayflower for eight years.

"They call it the 'Forgotten Triumph,'" he said. "Everyone talks of the TRs and the others but not the Mayflower."

With its razor-edge styling and imposing bonnet, the Mayflower looks like a miniature Rolls Royce. Under the bonnet is an asthmatic 1247cc side-valve engine which was its weakness.

But with the kind of loving care Fred has bestowed, including re-chromed bumpers, the Mayflower is still a smart if idiosyncratic car.

The "other" star of the film Ice Cold In Alex was an Austin K2 ambulance. Military vehicle collector John Guppy, of Hastings, owns a 1943 model.

While it hasn't got him across the desert to Alexandria, it has recently got him to Buckingham Palace.

"I went four weeks ago for the 100th anniversary of the FANYs, the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry. The Queen drove one of these as a young woman. There were about 50 old military vehicles there. Mine was the middle of three ambulances.

"The Queen came over to look at it."

Fourteen years of painstaking restoration have turned a "basket-case" into one of the show-pieces of this year's well-supported motorcycle class.

Steve Marks' 1920 Model K Henderson was built in the USA and sports a 1,300cc straight-four side-valve engine.

The proud boast on Steve's detailed description of his restoration ended in a heart-felt postscript: "Start-up date, June 22nd 2007....."

He said: "It goes well. It's very heavy and therefore difficult to park. But once it gets going it is very stable because of its low centre of gravity."

Oakwood Classic Car Services' 1937 Chrysler Plymouth Royal 6 sedan sported wedding ribbons. It featured in the Burt Reynolds film White Lightning.

Over the years, the Hooe show has earned an enviable reputation for friendliness, charitable fund-raising '“ Sunday included the customary cheque presentation to the Kidney Trust '“ and high-quality vehicles.

Engineering excellence in miniature was evidenced by Roy Marsh's collection of model engines. They included an 1880 example rescured from a Devon church where it had powered the organ bellows and an 1890 manufacturer's demonstration model of a ship's triple expansion engine.

The devotee on Sunday could browse and in the space of a few yards enjoyed such rarities as a 1023 Durant, a Hupmobile and a Humberette.

Given the pressure on space, there was almost as much of interest stuck out in the car park as there was on the show lines.