Tail OF SUCCESS

MICHAEL MORRIS IS ON A MISSION TO MAKE CUSTOMS GREAT AGAIN

- GEOFF SEDDON

IT AIN'T easy being a traditional custom car builder in Australia. Beyond starting with a car that's at least 60 years old, there's a mountain of work in chopping roofs and reshaping panels on top of all the usual car-modding challenges. Build times are long, and the results are rarely the most comfortable or practical cars on the road. But they sure do look the part, especially when they're strutting their stuff in company around NSW's Central Coast for things like the Taildragger Kustom Invitational.

60 cars and 135 entrants descended on the Canton Beach Holiday Park for the inaugural event, organised by Michael Morris - the guy behind the popular Donut Derelicts park-up each month at Tuggerah. Impetus for the Invitational came after the demise of the Kustom Nationals at Phillip Island a few years ago; pickings have since been slim for custom car enthusiasts looking to share their love with others.

"I own hot rods as well, but I've always loved customs," Michael said. "I run a thing called The Test Run: an annual reliability run for period-correct, pre-'36 traditional hot rods. We decided a year ago to do a custom thing based on a similar format but not as big a cruise; The Test Run is 190km in one day. Customs are less comfortable, and they can be like ovens when it's hot." Michael and his band of merry helpers thus planned a shorter afternoon cruise, lasting just an hour and a half but taking in all the Central Coast has to offer, preceded by a private park-up on the Tuggerah Lake foreshore and followed by a more public display at Donut Derelicts the next morning.