MBCNSW September 2022 Night Drive – Old Northern Road

Last night’s drive was a variation of one we did a few months ago. Originally it was to start from the eastern side of Galston Gorge, and then follow the previous route. That took us along Cattai ridge road, Halcrows road, Wisemans Ferry road and the Old Northern Road. I always enjoy this drive, as it’s a nice cruisy route and there are almost no cars on the road.

A few weeks ago, we were notified that Galston Gorge was closed for repairs. We moved the start point of the route to the western side of the gorge and changed […]

2022 ACT German car show

Yesterday was the 2022 ACT German car show. It was the first since 2019, with the 2020 and 2021 events unfortunately cancelled due to COVID. The ACT show always punches above its weight in that it attracts not only the large base of cars from the Canberra region, but normally has cars drive in from southern NSW, northern Victoria and often a few from Melbourne too.

As with the 2019 event, I chose to drive down on Saturday so I could show a car and attend the dinner. This year I chose to bring my 560SEL on the trip. The […]

Road trip to Canberra for the ACT German car show

This weekend I drove to Canberra to attend the ACT German car show. I will cover the show itself in a separate article. I chose to drive down Saturday afternoon to properly attend the show. Canberra is about 320km from where I live in Sydney, and about a 3:30 drive.

If I was just going to view the display, it would be possible to do the whole thing in a day trip. However, to display a car makes it a very long day and I would likely be very drowsy on the drive home.

When I last attended the show […]

W126 Becker Radio install – part 3

I am currently in the process of installing a period correct Becker Radio in my 560SEC. In part 2, I had the system up and running. The final task was to tidy up the installation and re-install all the trim.

The first step was to properly organize and tidy up the wiring. I wanted a neat install, and to hide all the wires out of the way. The Alpine amplifier I am using is small enough I could tuck it in with some other control modules in the passengers foot well.

I mounted the amp with the back face up […]

W126 Becker Radio install – part 2

In part 1 of this series, I had begun installing a Becker Mexico 1402 in my 560SEC. I had planned out my install and done the core wiring for the Becker itself. Today, my goal was to complete the wiring of the ancillary components and test the system.

I decided to use two X30 harneses for the install. I had four available plugs on the X30 power block, so it kept it neater if I used two. The main purpose of the first one was to connect my USB ports. I also used one of the ground wires for the […]

Machines & Macchiatos September 2022

Today I attended the September 2022 Machines and Macchiatos event. This is my second time to this event, I managed to attend the December 2021 event last year. Since my last time at the event, they have a new location at Northern Beaches Christian School in Terrey Hills. I was supposed to be at the All French Day today, but it was cancelled due to wet fields so went to Machines & Macchiatos instead.

The new location is great. There is plenty of room and all the cars park on tarmac. I took my 280SE and it was the only […]

W126 Becker Radio install – part 1

My 1987 UK Market 560SEC was originally sold with Becker Mexico Cassette player (option 251). I’ve been planning for a while to re-install a period Becker radio, with a few of my own upgrades.

My first task was to research the radios and purchase a suitable unit. I ended up purchasing two radios, Becker 1402 and Becker 1480. As the skills and parts to repair these radios are getting harder to find, I wanted a primary radio and a backup unit. I am installing the 1402 and will get the 1480 repaired and keep it as the backup. I have […]

Locating the W126 X30 power block on RHD cars

I’m currently planning to re-install the Becker Radio in my 1987 560SEC. At the same time I will be installing a small amplifier, a bluetooth FM Injector and a couple of unobtrusive USB charging ports.

The second generation W126 wiring harness provides a factory way of adding additional accessories. This is the X30 power block. Up to 8 accessories can be connected using factory plugs and their own wiring harnesses. The number already connected will depend on options installed on the car.

Other than the direct power for the amplifier, I plan on using the X30 power block for the […]

2022 JDCA Cars and Coffee

Today I was supposed to be attending the All British Day at the Kings School. Unfortunately the event was cancelled after the weeks of torrential rain here in Sydney. The grounds keepers judged that the fields would be too wet for the cars and spectators.

In lieu of this event, the JDCA organized a replacement event at short notice. The last All British Day was in 2019, so most club members were keen for an event. Instead of the full car show, a JDCA cars and coffee type event would replace it. I think this was a great idea.

To […]

Becker 374 Operation Instructions

The Becker 374 Mexico Cassette Vollstereo Reverse was the standard radio installed in the S-Class from 1979-1981 models in Australia. It was seen on the last of the W116s and I believe the early W126 too. This radio replaced the 485, the last of the pinstripe models in the W116s. It was the last of the older style radios with knobs to be found on the S-Class before the digital display radios were introduced.

The most significant difference between the Becker 374 and the similar looking Europa was the auto tune feature. This is commonly known as the ‘Wunderbar’. This […]