I though the show was a pretty big improvement from last year.  The new imagery was a nice change, it was well advertised, no confusion this year about where to buy tickets, there were a lot more sponsors and the whole thing had an air of being well organized.

Probably the only thing that wasn’t as good, as last year the cars were arranged in groups, roughly in 50s through 70s, 80’s and 90s and moderns.  This year it was to a degree, but they were mostly in wherever they could fit.   I suspect that numbers were up this year, and Gough Whitlam park is very space constrained.

As usual, there was a good display of Mercedes-Benz.  I’m much more focused on the older cars, and was able to see a good range of them.  I especially liked a dark blue W108 with a red leather interior and a manual gearbox.  This is a very unusual combination here in Australia.  While in the USA, W108s with leather are seen a bit, they are very rare in Australia.

There was also a good showing of W123s with a manual 200 carby, a signal red 280TE from Victoria and quite a few other nice examples.  W116s were also well represented, with two 450SE’s, a 280SEL and a 280SE.

I didn’t have as much time to spend in the other marques sections, but the Audi one seemed quite small.  I liked seeing the BMW E28 M5, and there were some nice older Porsches.

Overall, I thought the event team did a nice job putting on this event and I’m glad I was able to make it, even without displaying a car.

The post 2026 German Auto show Sydney appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

Air Conditioning

My 450SE was still running the original Frigidaire A6 compressor.  It had a leak from the back.  The original Frigidaire went out of production in 2024, so simply buying a new one wasn’t an option.

A friend with a 1973 450SE in Melbourne was in the same boat, so we had been comparing notes.  Since some of these compressors apparently require some modification to fit on the car, we hoped to buy locally so we could test fit and make sure it would actually work on the W116.  He has a trade account with Cooldrive and a few others wholesalers, so at first tried to get a compressor from there.

After months of nothing turning up despite being told they were on the way, we decided we would just have to source something ourselves.   Based on some research, I came up with the following options:

1. Have the A6 rebuilt.  This is possible, but not something I wanted to do. I’ve never had good success with rebuilt AC compressors. There are people around who can still do it, as that compressor was widely used. However, given the cost of fitting, the need for a new drier, regas and so on, I think this is a false economy.
2. Buy a rebuilt four seasons A6.  These are the most commonly available compressor to buy. They are not new, but a rebuilt version by four seasons. They have a pretty terrible reputation. I would think that option 1 is better than this one. You’ll find this on all the sites like FCP Euro, pelican parts and so on.
3. Buy the AKS-DASIS compressor.  I don’t know much about this one. Its made in China and I really couldn’t find any information about people using it successfully. So I don’t know if its any good.
4. Buy a PRO6TEN.  I’ve seen quite a few good reviews of people using this one, and I seriously considered it. Those reviews were not on Mercedes-Benz and so I wasn’t 100% sure it would be a drop in replacement. Its a new modern compressor in an aluminum body and its more efficient and much lighter than the old A6.
5. Buy an S6 Compressor.  Similar concept the PRO6TEN, but a different supplier. I found less reviews on this, but the vendor specifically mentions it for the Mercedes W116 and I’ve bought from them before and know they stand behind their products.
6. Modify the AC hoses and get a custom bracket to fit a Sanden.   I didn’t really investigate this very much, but it is an option.

I went with option 5, and ordered the S6.  Postage wasn’t cheap, but it was still decently priced landed here in Australia.  On arrival, I was pretty impressed with how it looked.  It is made by Sunair in Malaysia, and the part number is CO-5004CA.   The construction of the housing and the packaging seemed high quality.  It was made earlier this year, so hadn’t been sitting on the shelf for years too.

Next I needed a new receiver drier and I found a proper one overseas and had it shipped. I also got a new pressure switch.  The previous owner reported the AC had been very cold about two years ago, I figured that was probably all I needed.

I had the compressor fitted locally, and the good news is that the S6 fitted well.  There were no modifications required.  The bad news is that on the 450 engine, there is this quite elaborate manifold that connects the AC hoses at the top of the engine down to the compressor at the bottom.  Mine had cracked and the system would not hold vacuum.  I called around, and MB Classic in Greenacre had a 450 engine just removed from a wreck.  I was able to buy a manifold.  With the days counting down, I drove over to get it right away.

With the new manifold fitted, I no longer had a big leak, but I had another problem.  The system would not circulate freon properly.  It looked like the expansion valve may be blocked.  To make sure I got another in time, I drove the old one over to Cooldrive in Alexandria, and we matched it with a generic one they had.  They had stock in Melbourne, but it would take two days to arrive.

The days were counting down, As I drove over to pick up the new expansion valve, it was now Thursday and I was to leave on Tuesday.  That gave two business days to get the system sorted out.  The new expansion valve was fitted friday, however, there was still a blockage in the system.  The Mechanic left some kind of cleaner in the system over the weekend, hoping that would sort out the issue.

Luckily, that seemed to work, and Monday morning, he was able to remove it, and the system circulated properly and didn’t have any leaks.  On further examination, we think the cause may have been the old receiver drier breaking down when it was used a couple of years ago.  There is a sort of filter on the inlet of the old A6, and it was full of black debris.  The port to the drier seemed to have this also.  I guess the cleaning solution got a lot of this out of the evaporator.   That should have been ok, but as the system was finally gassed up properly, the gas bottle ran out.  We only had about half a charge in the system.

I called around and managed to get a favour from another Mechanic to fit me in the first thing the next morning.  The system originally had 1kg of R12 when new.  The gas bottle ran out with 450g of R134A, so the cooling performance was pretty tepid.  With 900g, it was icy cold.  I finally had working AC on the morning I was to leave for the trip.  It had been an ordeal, but it was now working.

Ignition Switch

In the last few months, two times when I had tried to start the 450SE, the key did nothing at all.  Normally I would wait and do more troubleshooting, but since the instrument cluster had to come out of the car anyway, I got a new ignition switch as a precaution.  I figured it was the most likely cause.

Instrument Cluster Lighting

Another small last minute problem was the instrument cluster lighting.  This had stopped working.  While the cluster was out, I had the rheostat bypassed.  No time to get another and I only use it on full brightness.

Oil Change

The 450SE had about 4,000km since its last oil change.  I normally do mine at 5,000km or 2 years, whichever comes sooner.  Since the trip was another 4,200km, I did a quick oil change the night before, after picking up the car from the AC being repaired and before the final regas the next morning.

Speedometer Cable

The instrument cluster had to come out a few times with all the AC work.  One of those times, the cable must have been kinked.  Driving the car home after doing the oil change, it snapped.  There was no time for a repair, and I still wanted to take the 450SE.

I had Claude AI build me an app for my old iPhone to track the odometer and show a big speedometer correctly.  It worked quite well.  This allowed me to make sure I track the distance properly, and know my speed.  I put in a second mobile phone holder.  At some point in the future, I will have to advance the odometer to correct it.

Rally magnets and Spares

And of course, the final thing to do was put on the Rally magnets and pack the box of spares I had prepared.  I had:

• Full set of belts
• Voltage regulator
• Fuel pump
• Battery jump box
• Tyre pump
• Spare fuses, relays, wires, connectors
• SLS control rod
• Oil, coolant, transmission fluid, SLS fluid, glass cleaner, quick detailer, funnel
• Tools, first aid kit
• 6 x 500ml drinking water
• Cable ties, tape etc.
• Nitrite gloves
• Old towels and rags
• Head torch
• Power probe
• Spare fuel hose etc

The post Preparing my 450SE for the Bay to Birdwood trip appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

In 1969, the 420 based Sovereign was replaced by a new model based on the Jaguar XJ6, which had been introduced the year before.  The XJ6 was a ground-breaking car.  Its suspension and handling were still excellent even in the late 80s when it went out of production.   In 1968 it was world beating.   The XK engine, introduced in 1948 was still excellent and gave the car very good performance for its time.   The XK is all about torque and while the 133 KW is respectable, it is the 310NM of torque that makes these cars glide along effortlessly.

The Sovereign made a good car even better, the Daimler grille is much more attractive than the rather busy Series 1 XJ6 grille, and the small interior improvements are nice.  The lack of wood trim on the door is probably the only drawback.   The Daimler was also more exclusive.  While 59,077 XJ6 SWB were made, there were only 11,522 Sovereign SWB cars. At least in 1972, the Daimler was 3.85% more expensive than the Jaguar.

I drove this particular car because a friend was interesting in purchasing it and wanted another opinion.  It was made in 1970.   Being a 1970 car it had the black surrounds on the instrument cluster, but the earlier reversing lights and ventilation setup.   It also had the updated transmission.   It was finished in the very attractive colour combination of British Racing Green with cream leather seats.  Being originally a UK delivered car, it has a Webasto folding sunroof.   The car had amazing history and had been in long term ownership with significant work done on it.

Driving the car, it is easy to see why the XJ and Sovereign were such a revelation when new.  Even 50 years later, it is so far ahead of much else on the road.   The car was located on the central coast and we drove up there in his company car, a late model SUV.  The SUV felt every bump and undulation on the road, every expansion joint was fed back into the car.   It had a course, thashy engine and the interior was full of cheap plastics.

Contrast with the Sovereign.  The twin cam inline six cylinder engine is smooth and torquey.   While it is not fast by modern car standards, it has all the power you need.  On the motorway on the way back, there was Tesla attempting some kind of hypermiling up a hill at low speed.   The Daimler kicked down and passed it effortlessly.   The interior is a lovely place to be and it is quite comfortable.   But the suspension is probably the best part of it.  It is smooth and supple.   You really don’t feel any of the bumps on the road.   Yet and the same time it handles well.

Now there are of course some drawbacks.  Wind noise is much higher than on a modern car.   The sovereign is not fitted with air-conditioning and it was 30C outside.   The instruments are not especially accurate.   To me these are minor drawbacks and the car really is a delight.   I wasn’t in a position to buy another car, but had I been I would have been happy to buy it myself.

The comparison to my own Double-Six is interesting.   The cars are very similar.   The obvious difference is the engine and interior, but my car is based on the LWB car rather than the SWB in this case.   Obviously there is a fair performance difference.   But I didn’t find the Sovereign lacking.   It is more that the Double-Six is totally effortless, where as the six has to kick down at times.    The LWB platform gives a bit more space, but the proportions are better on the SWB cars.   The V12 also generates a lot more residual engine bay heat.   Being very tall, I found my own car a little more roomy, but i was able to get quite comfortable in the Sovereign.  There would certainly be room to own both cars.

This car was also an interesting comparison to the British Racing Green XJ12 I drove a few years ago.  The colour suits both cars.

The post Driving a Series 1 Daimler Sovereign (XJ) appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

The total distance for the trip was around 4,350km, taking the total distance for all five trips to 20,250km. As with last year, we had a few veterans of previous trips this year, plus a few new entrants.  Previously, all the cars on these trips had been Mercedes-Benz.  This year, we had another marque for the first time.  These trips were never intended to be exclusive to Mercedes-Benz, however since we all know each other through the Mercedes-Benz club it has worked out that way.

The cars are listed below in order of age:

1978 Mercedes 280CE 123 (#78)

A veteran of the Adelaide Rally, The Long Way Euround and Longreach, the white 280CE returned for its 4th trip, now holding the mileage record of 17,350km.   That number is nothing for this car, completing the trip with over 475,000km on the odometer.

Not only did the car have no mechanical issues to speak of, it also had better fuel economy than the other two M110 powered cars.  This car is a testament that a car that has been maintained and loved with high mileage is better than a random car without.  I look forward to the owner putting the 500,000km badge on the grille in a few years.

1978 Mercedes 450SE 116 (#450)

A first time entrant, my 450SE was delivered later in the year to the 280CE, making it the second oldest car on the trip.  Surprisingly, this was the first time a W116 had joined one of our trips.  The 450SE went splendidly, it was smooth, powerful and comfortable.  It was a little thirstier than the six cylinder cars, but I think the equivalent of another tank of fuel across the trip was worth it.

It was a bit touch and go getting the car on the trip, the AC only working the morning we left.  I had a few minor issues on the trip, such as the starter not engaging twice, but overall the car went very well. The speedo cable broke just before the trip, so I counted my mileage on an app, and ended the trip with 122,674km.  For the first time on one of these trips, I did not have top up the oil at all.

1982 Mercedes 500SL 107 (#500)

The 500SL was back for its second trip, after participating in The Long Way Euround.  Originally a Hong Kong Car, it is fitted with the two tone paint available on the 500SL and SLC at the time.

The 500 completed most of the trip with the top down and had no major mechanical issues. At one point the brakes overheated, but after cooling off, they gave no more issues. The 500SL and 450SE were the two contenders for thirstiest car on the trip.

1982 Mercedes 280SL 107 (#280)

Also a Hong Kong car, and originally the same colour as the 500SL, these two would have made quite a pair in Hong Kong in 1982.  The current owner purchased it from the original owner, and it has done less than 100,000km since new.  After some recommissioning, it is running well and completed the trip without any issues.

Unlike the 500SL, The 280 did the trip with the hard top on, to take advantage of the cold AC.  The 280SL was a new entrant this year.

1985 Mercedes 280CE 123 (#320)

The 280CE was back for its second trip, having completed Longreach last year.  As its number probably indicates, the 280CE was never supposed to be on this trip.  The owner had intended to bring his W124 E320.  However, a small coolant leak from the head gasket became coolant in the cylinders a week before we were supposed to leave.  The 280CE was rapidly pressed into service.

Without much time to prep, the 280CE had a few issues on the trip, mostly ignition related.  It would cut out and run roughly at times.  If I had to guess, I would suspect the ignition box may be the culprit.

1986 Chevrolet Corvette C4 (#350)

A new entrant, and the first non-Mercedes-benz on one of our trips.  Over the last year or so, the owner has woken up the Corvette after it sat in a shipping container for years.  The biggest job involved removing the transmission multiple times to fix leaks.  It was great to have something else on our trip, and while the Corvette completed the rally, there were a few mechanical issues.

The first was an electrical connector to the coil, followed by the starter motor loosening up.   The advantage of driving a GM product shone out, with a brand new starter available from Mildura Repco.  The AC packed in, which meant most of the trip was completed top down.

The Corvette, while having the largest engine at 5.7l, was one of the most economical cars on the run. The gearing is very tall and the 350 Chev produces a lot of torque down low.   A big engine that is hardly working can be pretty economical.

1988 Mercedes 300E 124 Bash Car (#124)

Another new entrant, the 300E was dragged out of a paddock a couple of years back and set up for the Flying Doctor charity bash run.  This included a roll cage, chunky tyres, bash plates, big mudflaps etc.  Probably the most useful modification was the strut tower strengthening, as it was clear the factory strut mounts had been pushed up towards the strengthening bar.  This is a known weak point in the 124, where a car running big aftermarket wheels can put a big dent in the bonnet when going over a pothole.

Despite being dragged out of a paddock, the 300E completed the run without much issue at all.  And being a bash car, the owner didn’t have to worry about the paint or cosmetics.

1994 Mercedes E280T 124 (#2800)

Another veteran of the Long Way Euround, the E280 Wagon was back.  As with last time, the E280 quietly got on with the job, never having any issues, getting good fuel economy and providing a comfortable ride for its driver.

The E280 was the newest car on our trip, but still qualified for the Bay to Birdwood, being over 30 years old.

Statistics over all five trips

1. 126 – Four Cars, 35,000km
2. 123 – Three Cars, 30,700km
3. 124 – Six Cars, 29,700km
4. 107 – Four Cars, 27,300km
5. 108 – Three Cars, 16,500km
6. 116 – One Car, 4,350km
7. Other – One Car, 4,250km

The post Bay to Birdwood – The Cars appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

The scenery was much greener than yesterday, with more farmland.   The road was also pretty good too, and it was great to cruise along.   Since the area was greener, there was a lot more wildlife and we had slow down for Kangaroos a few times early on in the drive.   More wildlife meant more roadkill, which meant more crows on the road.   Generally the crows are very good at getting out the way of cars.  I thought i had narrowly avoided one that flew across my path, but sadly when we arrived at Lake Cargelligo, there was a dead crow stuck in my front bumper.

Lake Cargelligo was quite nice and we took some photos at the boat ramp in town.   After that, we continued along Lachlan valley way to Condoblin for breakfast.   On our way into the town we had a look at Utes in the park, which is art based on old utes.  We were able to drive past them all in our cars to check them out, so we didn’t even need to stop.

After Condoblin we continued along Lachlan Valley way to our next stop of Forbes.   Forbes seemed to be quite a busy town although it was just a quick break.   We continued along the Lachlan Valley way until we reached our lunch stop at Canowindra.   Canowindra had some really nice old buildings in the town.   We refuelled there and had our meeting point at the Blue Jacket Hill lookout.  The lookout was well worth it, there were amazing views of the whole area.  

After lunch we continued to take back roads towards Sydney.  We didn’t go into any of the major towns.   The backroads were great, with lots of sweeping bends and hilly sections.   At Perthville we joined the same road that we took on the 2024 drive, and continued through the backroads towards our final destination at Lake Lyell.   Literally 10km from the end, we reached a section of road that was being totally re-graded requiring a 6km section of unsealed road bed and mud.   Normally these sections are fairly common, but we had managed to avoid them for this entire trip.

At Lake Lyell we said our goodbyes and then headed home our separate ways.  Since Victoria pass is closed, we all had to go through the town of Lithgow.  Some of us went over Darling Causeway and home via the great western highway.  I took Bells Line of road and the back roads through Galston gorge. I had a pretty cruisy trip home, but the owner of the white 280CE was nearly cleaned up by an inattentive SUV driver.   Welcome back to Sydney.

By the time I reached home, I had covered 4,358km for the trip and 692km for the day.   It had been a great trip, and the 450SE proved to be a great car to take on it.

The post Bay to Birdwood – Day 8 – Lachlan Valley Way appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

The first around 180km were along the Barrier Highway, a route shared with our 2022 trip.  The road out of Broken Hill was quite scenic and meandered through the foothills around the area.   Since there was some cloud cover, there wasn’t too much glare in our eyes heading east early in the morning.

We stopped a Netallie Rest area for our breakast.  I had purchased a bacon and egg role from a Broken Hill Service station.  Two hours later the roll was better than I expected, but no culinary delight. As we waited at the rest area, a huge oversized road train arrived with a massive piece of hydraulic equipment on the back.  The driver was checking the load was still secure, and it was a rather impressive piece of machinery.   We assumed it was mining related and it had multiple 50T load points on it.

After the rest area, we continued into Wilcannia to use the strange service station from our 2022 trip.  Since there is only one pump it took some time to fill 8 cars.   I continued my trend of getting around 14.5l/100km in the 450SE.   I had originally planned to have us refuel at Ivanhoe, but the petrol was 50c per liter dearer.

When the cars were refuelled, we crossed the bridge of the Darling river and exited town.   We had been following the Darling river most of yesterday from where it joins the Murray near Wentworth up through Pooncarie and Menindee.   It was just past here we diverted from the 2022 route, turning off onto the Cobb Highway.   In 2022, the Cobb highway still had major sections unsealed.  Now it is completely sealed from Wilcannia right through to Victoria.

The highway runs in a South South East direction and is relatively straight.   Since the section from Wilcannia to Ivanhoe was only sealed at the end of 2023, the surface is very good.   Traffic was extremely light, so it was very relaxing driving along the road in the 450SE.

The first section is low scrubland, similar to what is seen around Broken Hill and Wilcannia.  It looks like some of the area is used for low intensity cattle farming, with some sheep and goats.   There were a decent number of trees, but nothing too big.

Driving along here, I think this is probably the most remote section of road I have been on.   In the almost 400km we drove along it, there are only a few small settlements, Ivanhoe chief among them.   We drove on some pretty remote roads last year heading to Longreach, but I don’t think any of them had such sparse population or traffic.   Along the whole length of the road, we only had to overtake once, and there was probably only 10-15 vehicles going the other direction.  These were mostly Landcruiser’s.

We stopped for a short break in Ivanhoe to stretch our legs.  It was getting quite hot by now and there were flies everywhere.  I was lucky to be sitting pretty cool in the 450SE when we were under way.

After leaving Ivanhoe, we continued south.   There were almost no trees now, just low shrubs.   The sky was blue and full of fluffy clouds.  We had originally planned to stop at the pub in Booligal for Lunch.   Booligal has less than 100 people and the pub is the main attraction. We crossed over the Lachlan river and entered the town, but sadly the pub was closed, so we had to continue to Hay.  As we approached the Hay plain, the terrain became mostly low brown grassland with even more fluffy clouds.

We eventually got to hay after having covered almost 600km so far.   At Hay we ate at a Bakery, I had a pie and a vanilla slice.   We also stopped to take some photos at the historic railway station, which was our regroup point.   Hay is situated at the Murrumbidgee river, which we crossed at Balranald, earlier in our trip.

Our final destination was Hillston, back on the Lachlan river.   We drove there via Goolgowi, first on the mid Western Highway then the Kidman way.   At Hillston we refuelled again, before checking into our hotel.   We had covered 767km and 3666km since leaving Sydney.   All our cars were able to handle driving this sort of distance in the head with no problem.

As is our tradition, we walked into the town for a succulent Chinese meal for the final night of our road trip.   It had been a long but good day.

The post Bay to Birdwood – Day 7 – Cobb Highway appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

As usual we left Loxton early and headed to our first destination, Merbein. This was the only part of our drive where we overlap with the route we used to get to South Australia.  There is about a 50km stretch of the Stuart Highway that is the same, including driving underneath the big Dunlop Tyre.   That was fitting for me since my 450SE is shod with Dunlop tyres.

Merbein is the most northerly town in Victoria.  It was originally separate but now seems more of a satellite town of Mildura. we ate at a local bakery, which was fine, although the town seems to have fallen on hard times.   Quite a few shops were boarded up.

After Merbein, we crossed over the Murray again on a single lane bridge, before heading north through Wentworth and over to Pooncarie road.   Pooncarie road leads up to Menindee and was only sealed a few years ago.  Most of the heavy trucks seem to use the Silver City Highway so traffic was very light, just the odd caravan.   It is very remote through typical outback scrubland and cattle farms.   There is actually quite a lot to see, including herds of goats, Emus, Cows and one of our group even saw an Eagle.

I enjoyed the drive and we stopped at Pooncarie for fuel and lunch at the Pooncarie Pitstop.   I had a rather good hamburger.   After Pooncarie it was more of the same until we reached Menindee for another stop at the local supermarket.

At the supermarket the man running it told us about the car show the town runs bi-monthly.  He also told us about a local man who owns 20-30 cars and who is always happy to show them off.   Since the owner of the cars wasn’t answering his phone, he left a message and .gave us directions to his home.   Sure enough, after a donation to charity he was very happy to show us off a great collection of cars.  Many of them were fords with the 351 V8, but there were also a couple of Chrysler products and some more recent performance holdens.   It was a great impromptu tour, especially as we were ahead of time.

After Menindee, we headed in through Broken Hill and over to Mundi-Mundi lookout near Silverton.  The road from Menindee to Broken Hill was pretty good.  It started to wind through foothills and was quite enjoyable.   The road from Broken Hill to Silverton was not.  It is sealed, but it is full of dips and and it is not all that pleasant to drive on.  It was worth it though, as the view from the lookout was pretty good.   We were able to get some great photos of the cars there.

After the lookout, we headed to the infamous pub in Silverton for a beer.   It was quite a characterful pub and had a lot memorabilia from the Mad Max movie.   From there, we headed back to Broken Hill and our hotel.   We had covered 592km today and 2,898 since we left Sydney.

Since the hotel wasn’t really all that close to a place for dinner, we ordered Pizzas to the hotel.  We tried a few local places who were all closed on a Monday.   In the end we found one on uber eats.   It had been a good day.  The scenery driving through areas like this is like nothing else in the world.

I last visited Broken Hill back in 2022.  That was was on the very first one of these trips.  I was in my 1977 450SLC and we came in on the Barrier Highway from Adelaide and stopped for lunch on the way to White Cliffs.

The post Bay to Birdwood – Day 6 – Loxton to Broken Hill appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

As we went to leave, I had a small issue with my car.  As I went to start it, it didn’t catch first time and then all the electrics in the car were dead.   This had happened twice before our trip, and once the day before.  Before the trip, I had assumed it was probably the ignition switch and replaced it as a precaution.  Normally I would prefer to investigate issues further, but it seemed prudent to change it.

When this happens, the key does nothing and none of the warning lights in the dash come on.  Eventually If I leave the car alone for a few minutes, all is well.   Since its not the ignition switch, I suspect something to do with the starter solenoid.  I don’t have the wiring diagram with me, but I seem to recall the main positive feed on the cars from this era goes through the solenoid.  I will need to check this when I return.   In any case, the car fired right up after waiting and we were able to leave.

There were obviously a lot of classics driving around the area as we left, so we continued to spot interesting cars as we drove.  Our first waypoint was Murray Bridge.   The road that took us over the final part of the Adelaide Hills was really good.   After that we emerged through green farmlands before reaching the town of Murray Bridge.   We crossed the bridge and headed north.

Our next section skirted the south bank of the Murray River.   The scenery was really good and the road quite twisty.    We passed through Cowirra and Five Miles, before taking some photos at a boat ramp.   Eventually we reached the small town of Swan Reach for a quick break.

After swan reach, we drove up onto an elevated plateau with longer straighter roads that took us into Loxton.  Including the Bay to Birdwood, we had covered 336km and 2,306km since we left Sydney.

We refuelled the cars and checked into our hotel.  Check in took a while as a group of golfers were unhappy with the rate they got from the hotel.    Dinner was at the hotel and we all reflected on what a great day it had been attending the Bay to Birdwood and how we would all be very happy to attend again in a few years.

The post Bay to Birdwood – Day 5 – Birdwood to Loxton appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

Not all cars participating in the Bay to Birdwood participate, but most seem to.   it is also possible to buy separate tickets for this event.   As you finish the event, you are handed your grille badge and then those participating in the Finish Festival are sent over to the side to park.   We got into trouble moving off to the side to let our group assemble.

Ultimately we all got in and lined our cars up with everyone else in the general category.   Unlike most of these type of events, the food was actually pretty decent.   We had plenty of time to explore the finish festival, as well as the National Motoring Museum.

The festival includes awards not only for cars in to be judged, but fashion that best aligns with the car.   I saw some quite good entrants there.   Some of the pre-war cars in particular give great opportunity for period dress.

Just the finish festival alone would probably one of the best show and shine events I’ve been to.   So when you couple the whole Bay to Birdwood experience together, it really makes this event something special.

I especially liked looking at the huge variety of pre-war cars on display.   I sometimes wonder what will become of these cars in the future.  The average owner is quite elderly, they are maintenance intensive and require specialist skills.   However, I was pleasantly surprised to see quite a few younger people driving them.

As I walked past the huge variety of pre-war cars, it made me think that any one of these cars would steal the show at a regular cars and coffee, yet at his event there were so many you could spend hours looking at them.

Not all of them were perfect and I think that is great.  What is important is that they participated in the event.   There was even one that had a regular garden tap as its radiator mascot.

Seeing the rest of the cars was pretty good too.  There were three other W116’s that I noticed.   Two 280SEs and a 280SEL.  All of them were in pretty good shape.

As well as the huge variety of cars on display, there was also free access to the Museum. I will cover this separately.   Our group had originally planned to leave at 1430, but given we had seen everything, most of our group were keen to leave a bit early so we could get to Loxton a bit earlier, so we rolled out at about 1400.  It had been a great day.

The post Bay to Birdwood – Day 5 – Finish Festival appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

The event is in three main parts.  Firstly, all the cars assemble at Barratt reserve, West Beach.   The cars are lined up first by class, then the order in which they arrived.   With the cars assembled, then the actual drive happens, where 1500 cars drive in convoy around 65 kilometres from West Beach to Birdwood.

As the cars arrive in Birdwood, they can optionally take part in the finish festival.   This is an event that encompasses a huge show and shine, awards (both for cars and fashion of the drivers) and the National Motor Museum at Birdwood.

We left our hotel early, at 0630 to make sure we got to Barratt reserve early.  This meant we would have time to see many of the cars arrive, and also we would have plenty of time at the Finish Festival before we had to take off on our journey back to Sydney.

I’m really glad we did it.  There was a great atmosphere at the start point.  It was great to see some amazing cars roll in.  Not just expensive cars, but interesting cars that were clearly the pride and joy of the owner.   I would rather see a car that is actually used and driven than something over-restored.  An example was a 1920s Bugatti with a lot of Patina.    There was quite a jovial atmosphere at the start too.   Many people were dressed in clothes based on the era of their car.  While that isn’t something I’m interested in doing, it was great to see the effort people put in.   There were also funny things like the owner of a Ferrari 328 with a life size cardboard cut out of Tom Selleck.

The cars leave by class, so we were able to see the early classes drive out of the event.   First are the cars made before 1937.   It was quite a sight seeing them drive past us out onto the route.   There was a lot of variety there.  I don’t think I have seen so many cars of this age at a single event.   It was also great to see some younger people driving those cars.

Next there were the show class cars, then the motorbikes, commercial vehicles and the cars from 1937 to 1951.  Some of the commercial vehicles were quite impressive.

Then it was our turn.  Since we were early in the general class, we left after about 500 cars had departed.   The thing that surprised me was that the entire drive was one big party, and it seemed that everyone in Adelaide was invited.   All along the route, there were locals out to see the spectacle, waving as we went past.  It was a real festive atmosphere, whole groups of people with folding chairs, food and drinks, and ages from very young children to elderly people.

And it wasn’t just the people.  all along the route, pretty much everyone else in Adelaide who owned a classic car had it parked along the route on display.   In the built up areas, this meant cars on median strips, in the parking lots of closed businesses, tucked between trees.  It was such a spectacle.   Some of them were people who lived locally and some were clubs with whole displays.   As we left near the start, it was still early so the groups had cups of coffee and snacks, and by the time we got near the end there were groups with BBQs and a real party atmosphere.

The Bay to Birdwood drive contains 1500 cars and there must have been well more than 500 on display along the route.  The community atmosphere really makes this event special.   I think if something like this happened in Sydney the councils would try and give parking tickets to the cars and confiscate the BBQs.  This was another thing that really struck me about this event . There was no overzealous security, no silly barriers and no officials ruining it for everyone.  Being treated like adults meant that there were no issues as far as I could see.

Given the number of cars in the event, it took a fair while to drive the roughly 65 kilometres.   However since the roads were lined with onlookers and interesting cars, there was always something to see.   It would probably be just as much fun to be part of the spectator group than being part of the event itself.

At one point we found ourselves driving with a local W123 and a local W201 which was pretty good.   We also overheard plenty of comments about our Sydney-Birdwood magnets. I thought it was fitting that we passed 2,000km on this trip while driving the route.

I was also very impressed with how well signposted the route was.   At times due to traffic lights i found myself at the head of a line of cars, but I never felt like I didn’t know where to go.   Once we arrived at the National Motoring museum, we then became part of the finish festival, which will be covered separately.

I highly recommend that any Australian car enthusiast participate in the Bay to Birdwood at least once.

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