This week my 560SEC was in having the front suspension rebuilt. I’ve been thinking about doing this for a while, and knew it was time during my last oil change when I saw the condition of the ball joints on the front suspension. I also had a vibration through the steering wheel when parking that I thought may have been related. Unlike when I...
My 450SE is still equipped with its original Becker Mexico Cassette 485. The Becker works beautify including the wunderbar. For Australian delivered cars, the Mexico Cassette 485 was only for 1978 model cars. The main visual difference between the 485 and the other pinstripe Beckers is the model script, which is all caps BECKER MEXICO. Naturally I wanted to keep the radio in the...
Today was the annual ACT German Car show. I try to head down to Canberra each year, as I always enjoy going. It is a show that punches above its weight, has a nice variety of cars and is usually very well organized. As with last year, I drove down on Saturday afternoon to attend the pre-concours dinner. It is a good way to...
Our September night dive route was a new one. None of the roads were new, but one of our regulars suggested it would make for a good drive to combine Picton and Appin roads into a single night drive. It sounded like a great idea, so I tested the route in my 450SLC a few weeks ago. I’ve found its important to test these...
Today was the annual British Car Show. This was the second year it was held at the new location at Hawkesbury Showground. I think the new location is great and the show was a big success. There is plenty of room for each of the clubs to have as many cars as they wish. There is plenty of room for vendors to come to...
After a year of miserable weather, today was one of the nicest days I can remember for a long time. While I hadn’t originally planned to head to St Ives, I was up early and the day was so nice, it would have been a crime not to. I took my 560SEC and headed over there. I think many people had the same idea...
The August 2025 Night drive was the 50th official MBCNSW Night drive since we started them back in 2020. The night drives originally came about during the COVID era, where there were restrictions on what was allowed. As the first lockdowns eased, the night drives were a good way of getting out and using our cars, while complying with the rules at the time....
On my 1981 240D I had a problem. The sheer accelerative power of the OM616 engine was causing the Mercedes star to lie flat against the bonnet at high speeds. It is rather embarrassing to be driving along the motorway with a limp Mercedes star. Todays job was to replace it. I had a couple of spares, as this part is shared with the...
Running a small fleet of older cars can always present challenges, as they’re not as simple as the older classics, and are somewhat computerised for their time. I first knew there was a problem when Naomi called me, communicating indicators on Jessica’s 2005 CLK320 weren’t working. We told her to drive home and upon arrival, I found the instrument cluster had totally failed, but...
The annual Eastern Creek car show is an event I always try to get to. At once point it was probably the largest car show each year in Sydney, although it has been scaled back in recent years. While that is a bit disappointing, it is a very family friendly event, that my kids always enjoy going to. We’ve had terrible weather the last...
Although SUVs are now ubiquitous on Australian roads, there was a time when the wagon was the first choice for Australian families. With the release of the XK Falcon in November 1960, Ford Australia introduced a wagon body style. The XK wagon was based on the American counterpart, but the Australian version featured a shorter rear body, to better suit Australian roads and conditions....
Our July 2025 night drive was a bit unusual. Instead of the suburban outskirts where we normally drive, this was an inner city route. I generally avoid inner city routes, as they are so hard to keep a group together at night. The advantage they have is they require less travel to get to and from the route from most participants. The Seven bridges...
It’s that time of year that we have our neighbourly Christmas in July dinner, at the Pig and Whistle Tavern in Olinda. One may think this is a perfect opportunity to provide a Mercedes fleet update. 1998 Mercedes E430 Elegance My latest acquisition, purchased in late July 2024. Used as my daily driver. Has been reliable, comfortable and that small block M113 4.3 V8...
The 420SEL was now at a point of diminishing returns. I had removed all the parts I particularly wanted, and the car was just taking up space. Body panels are bulky and I don’t’ really have room to store them. I didn’t buy the parts car to make money, I bought it to save some parts I wanted. The plan was to be able...
Our fourth annual road trip in classic cars was the most ambitious yet. There is nothing better than using these cars as they were designed, while seeing parts of Australia I would otherwise never otherwise venture to. All while in the company of a great bunch of guys. It is not the destination that is the point of these roadtrips. The formula for these...
One of the stops on our big road trip to Longreach was the National Transport Museum at Inverell. It was only a minor detour for our group to go and check it out. The museum is in a large shed outside the town. It is quite a big museum, and it is filled with memorabilia as well as the cars. They even had a...
Our almost 5,000km road trip to Longreach had seven cars participate. All seven completed the trip successfully. Of the four such road trips we’ve done, this one probably pushed the cars hardest. Yet we had the fewest mechanical issues. Most of the issues were comparatively minor. As well as the seven core participants, we also had an eighth car – a 1989 420SEL –...
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