Guest Post: SLK230 – Installing a Pippins wind deflector

Editors Note: This is part three in a series by Nick Gruzevskis about owning a Modern Mercedes convertible – in this case his R170 SLK230. The first part can be found here and the second part here.

There are times when you feel like you’re making progress on a classic car and other times it just feels like you’re procrastinating. As I have just completed an interior, I was feeling positive, so decided to strike while the iron was hot.

Since putting the interior back, I’d used the car on freeways several times and noticed the steering wheel shuttering […]

Guest Post: Owning an R170 SLK230

Editors Note: This is part two in a series by Nick Gruzevskis about owning a Modern Mercedes convertible – in this case his R170 SLK230. The first part can be found here.

Sometimes the journey on improving a classic car seems to be more fulfilling than using the car. I’ve now owned the Sally the SLK since July 2022. Every time I looked at the colour combination of silver and the two-tone interior (red/black) I thought wow what a great colour combination, but then when I got closer to the interior plastics, specifically the paint on the plastics she […]

Guest Post: Installing an aftermarket audio unit in a 2008 Ford Futura

Fitting aftermarket head units to most vehicles made from 2000 onwards can often be problematic due to manufacturers integrating audio and HVAC controls into the one assembly. Many of us choose the path of least resistance, with the primary means of connecting a smartphone is via Aux and a $15 FM transmitter purchased from K-Mart. I must admit the ICC unit (Ford speak for their Audio/HVAC unit) is excellent, simple and functional. We had been using the Aux port in the Futura, with $100 Bluetooth accessory to provide audio streaming and calls. The performance of calls was disappointing, so much […]

Guest Post: BF Futura Wagon – LPG Fuel economy update

Editors Note: This is part three in a series by Nick Gruzevskis about living with a Ford BF MK2 Falcon Futura Wagon. Part 1 introduces the car and part 2 is a six month update.

One of the things I’ve noticed about using an LPG equipped car as a daily driver, is how rare it is to see other LPG vehicles filling up at the bowser.

I’ve already written about our dedicated e-gas Futura wagon, but let’s just replay some of the key facts. Ford Australia replaced the petrol tank with a 116 litre LPG tank for the wagon. […]

Guest Post: Victorian German Auto Show 2023

The German Auto Show has grown into one of the larger Victorian car shows, showcasing the main German marques, but also some of the lesser-known brands that have ceased manufacturing, such as NSU and Borgward. The first show was held in 2016 at the Royal Institute for the Blind and continued at the same venue up to 2019. Initially the event was limited to pre 1990 vehicles, but this changed with a venue change in 2022 at Sandown Racecourse, where close to 500 vehicles attended and $10,500 was raised and donated to Beyond Blue.

Last weekend the 2023 event was […]

Guest Post: Maintenance jobs deferred – W116 steering alignment

Owning more than a few classic cars can often be problematic, as minor maintenance jobs are often deferred. My 450SE (Claudia) had been on top of the hoist for a few months without being driven. I think she was prompting me to use her as a thick layer of dust had formed. When getting her off the hoist, I noticed I fair bit of auto transmission fluid had leaked out, and when measuring on the dip stick, it was reading under the low mark. Greg at “Gullwing Motors” quickly diagnosed the gearshift seal and kick down solenoid seals had failed […]

Guest Article: Ford BF MK2 Futura Wagon – 6 Month Update

Note: This is part two in a series by Nick Gruzevskis about owning a Ford BF MK2 Falcon Futura Wagon. Part 1 is available here.

What could go wrong owning a 16-year-old Australian designed and manufactured vehicle? It’s now been close to six months since we picked up our 2007 Octane Metallic Ford BF MK2 Futura Wagon, affectionately known as ‘Lister of Smeg’, because it was too sensible for Naomi. Instead, she is thoroughly distracted dividing her time between her hoon and classic cars, leaving Lister to Jack and I.

Reviewing the odometer, we started out with 368,733 kilometres […]

Guest Article: What’s a Ford BF Falcon Futura MK2 like?

I’ve lost count of how many marques I’ve owned, but I’ve never owned a Ford. My father did though, and it was the proud replacement for his 14-year-old Volkswagen 1600 Notchback, a rare car now, but also assembled in Australia. In 1985 my father purchased a brand new XF Fairmont from Cam Dawson Ford in Geelong. He optioned power steering, air conditioning and alloy wheels. It wasn’t overall sophisticated with the old 4.1 inline six and 3-speed auto, but it got the job done and reliability wise, it never had a problem.

Apologies about quality of photo, it […]

Guest Article: My W116 Journey

It was back in April 2018 when I got a call from Greg at Gullwing Motors, telling me to come in as he had a car that I might be interested in. Oooh, this sounded exciting, what was it?! I couldn’t get up there fast enough to see the red W116 450SE which Greg had just towed out of a customer’s garage, together with a W123 300D, as part trade ins for a sale of a W211 E500. Growing up in the 70s, the W116 was the S-Class of my youth and in the 80s a friend’s father had a […]

Guest Article: In search of another Benz – Part 1

It’s only been a bit over a year since I sold Oskar, my 1988 300SE at the 2021 Shannons Autumn Auction. It was my father Oskar’s pride and joy, and I was keen to join the MBCV when I inherited the car in 2011. For many years I used the car as a daily driver, then later it was swapped to club plates, with the family enjoying many Club runs. Our kids now have grown up and although they appreciate the Mercedes marque, they’re less likely to participate in Club events, which led to the reluctant decision to part with […]