Unlike last year, there was a fairly decent size group from MBCNSW going down for the event.   They were driving down early this morning.   In the last couple of years I have been going, I prefer to drive down Saturday afternoon, attend the pre-show dinner and stay over in Canberra.    It makes for a far more relaxed weekend.    I stayed in the Ibis Budget hotel up the road from the event for only $90 per night.  I thought this was well worth it.    That meant I didn’t join the rest of the NSW group, who arrived later in the morning.

As well as attending the dinner, which I always enjoy, I was also able to take the car for a wash the evening before the show.    I entered my car in display only this year.   MBCACT has a great system where they have gold class, which is proper concours, silver class which is basically a road class for cars that are regularly used, and then display.   This is a system I wish we would adopt in NSW.    One of the things that works well about it, is that if you have won road class, you have to compete in gold class the next time.

Most of my cars are suitable for silver or road class. However, my 560SEC is more of a driver and fits better in display only.   I was parked next to a very nice 380SEC with only 104,000km which was naturally being judged.

As well as the system of judging, the other things I like about the ACT event is how they try to park the cars along with other similar models.   For example 123s and 114/115s together, 126s and 116s and so on.   I think this makes for a much better display.   The ACT club also normally do very well with older cars, like the 170D that was on display this year.   In other years they have had good displays of roundies, W110s, 114/115s etc.

This year the event was in a new location.   I understand the council in Queanbeyan no longer allow cars on Queanbeyan park, which is a shame as that was a superb location.   This event was held at the racecourse.  It wasn’t a bad location, but it was a bit cramped compared to the last few years.

As this was the 2024 ACT German car show, the other German car marques were on display.   The BMW and Porsche displays are far more focused on modern performance cars that don’t hold a great deal of interest for me.  However, the BMW display had a few really nice models on display such as a nice E24, nice survivor E3, and plenty of E30s.   Didn’t see to many E28s which is a model I like.    The VW display was tilted towards Beetles, Kombi Vans and Karmann Ghia’s, with some modern VWs for good measure.   The Audi display was quite small, and there was a Borgward and Trabant.

Overall the Mercedes-Benz display was a bit smaller than in other years.   Not sure if this was the location, or perhaps there were competing events in Canberra this year. In addition, it was such a shame to see the 170D have its guard bent by a W126 LWB that misjudged the turn.  The damage is eminently fixable, but that won’t make the owner feel any better.   Despite that, there were still some real highlights in terms of the cars on display.

The biggest one for me was the pristine 1981 300TD Wagon.    It really was immaculate.   It had a little over 200,000km on the clock, but it looked like it had less than half of that.   Most of these cars were used up as family cars, yet this one remained totally original, even down to the radio delete plate.   I would own it in a heartbeat.   There is a big W123 event planned for the Australia day long weekend in 2025, to celebrate 50 years of the W123.  I suspect this wagon is one of the best in the country and it will be interesting to see it against the other wagons at that event.   I’m already starting to get my 240D ready.

Next I really liked the Black 220SE Coupe.  I have a soft spot for the W111 coupe and cabriolet models, and this car was very nice.   Black with a red interior is also a colour combination that suits the model far better than the more ubiquitous white.   Given our climate, not many were delivered in that combo, and I am not sure if that car was originally sold in Australia or not.

I also liked a W115 240D.  I’m not sure of the name of the colour, but it was a sort of burnt orange.  It was a lovely original car from Wagga.   It also had all the things you would expect to see in a country delivered Australian W115, such as the stone guards, AWA speakers, towbar etc.

There was also a nice selection of cars from MBCNSW.   MBCNSW members did quite well with some of the awards on the day too.  My standout pick was the 1985 280SE in Manila Beige.  Like the 300TD wagon, it is a real time warp and such a lovely car to see.

I really enjoyed the day and was glad I made the trip down.

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The night before the ACT club normally organize a dinner.   This year was a fun informal event, where we all had to guess some rare Mercedes parts, including a C107 glove box torch, fuse pliers, a wooden tool for pre-war radiator caps and more.   The one we couldn’t work out was why some compact (W114/W115) lug wrenches have a tab that means you can’t use it on alloy wheels.     And the same part number as lug wrenches that don’t have that tab.

This year I took my 560SEC and entered it the ‘Silver’ road class.    I figure it would be a good trial run for the road trip to Melbourne I am planning for November, especially after the recent transmission rebuild.    The car went very well and I didn’t notice anything I wasn’t already aware of.    The wheel wobble that I already knew about was quite annoying though.    I didn’t win anything, but I didn’t expect to.  My SEC is very much a driver, and would be lucky to even win Silver class.   As I have covered before, I think the Silver class is great and I wish the NSW event would do something similar.

This year one of the judges had to pull out, so I was asked to help.   I’ve never judged before and it was a good experience to do it for the first time.  I learned quite a lot and it also helped me really look carefully at the Gold class cars I was judging.  My allocation was exterior judging.   I think there were about 15 cars to judge.

The thing that became apparent was the need to separate the cars to make sure the excellent cars are separated from the really nice ones and the really nice ones from the good ones.    It meant that cars that looked quite nice on the surface in a particular category might get a score of 5 or 6, because there were a few grades of nicer cars in that category.     If I ever do again, my experience this year will be very helpful to do it better.

Having been involved in the judging,   I was keen to see the results, and the overall winner and runner up were very well deserved.   The winner was a 250SE coupe in amazing condition, and the runner up a 420SEL.     While these two were the clear winners my personal favourite was a green 220Sb fintail.   The owner had driven it up from Melbourne and it had an interesting and colour combination of a green exterior with a red interior.   It worked really well.    The paint wasn’t perfect, but it had a great patina to it.

The ACT show is always so well organized.   The event team had pre-painted lines on the grass for where all the cars should park.    The gold class cars were arranged in a circle around a circular flower bed.   Different models were parked together with signs explaining some details about the cars.    There were less cars from NSW than normal, as MBCNSW had a different event today.

Being focused on the judging, I didn’t spend as much time looking at the other marques as I usually would.   The BMW and Porsche clubs are more modern focused, but the BMW display had some nice older models.   The VW display is also quite varied, with plenty of beetles, Kombis and also more modern cars.

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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 running issues on my 250SE are not quite fully sorted out for a long drive, and given the weather all year, I expected decent rain.   I also didn’t have undercover parking this year.

I entered my 560SEL in the silver division, which is basically for road going cars.   Its a great idea and one that I wish the club in NSW would adopt.   It really opens up the event for everyone vs people who have nut and bolt restorations or spend weeks with white gloves on finding that last spec of dust.

They have quite a good system where if you win silver class, you must compete in gold next time (full concours).  And if you win gold you must compete in champions class.   Next time I bring my 250SE, I’ll be in gold, as I won silver in 2019.   Assuming I don’t win in Gold that year I can compete in Silver the year after.    That promotion/relegation system means that everyone gets an opportunity.  Its a great system.     And a huge contrast with NSW that collapsed the categories putting it out of reach except for the super wealthy.

The highlight of the show was the 1938 230 Cabriolet B, owned by John and Sandra Green.    It’s an amazing restoration when you look at the before and after pictures.   pre-war Mercedes-Benz models are very rare in Australia and it was great to see one of this quality on display.

The ACT event always does well with the roundies too, there was a great display of them parked nearby the 230 Cabriolet.   I also noticed how many nice W114/115 saloons there were on display at the show.   That model seems far better represented in the ACT than in NSW.  I also admired a W109 six cylinder in very nice condition.  I love all the small luxury touches on the W109 you only spot if you look closely.     On the other side there are generally more SLs at the NSW event.  Maybe it’s the weather.

Overall there were about 80 Mercedes-Benz on display with a good selection of the various models.   Probably the only real exception were the ‘presidential’ class of cars such as the 300 Adenauer and the 600.   For various reasons, we only had about 4-5 cars on display from NSW this year.   In other years we have had up to 20, so hopefully next time we will be able to bring a big contingent.

The BMW display was very large this year.   You can see the different focuses of the clubs – the BMW club is far more focused on the new M models vs the classics that were in quite small numbers.   The same went for the Porsche and Audi displays.   The VW display on the other hand is a bit more diverse, with the Beetle and the Kombi favorites.

The 2022 ACT German car show was held at Queanbeyan park.   I thought it was a good location – better than the greyhound track used last year.   There was plenty of room for more cars if they choose this venue again next year.

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The star of the show without a doubt was the 1938 230 Cabriolet ‘A’.   Not only an incredibly rare car but an excellent restoration.   This car was the standout despite a Gullwing less than 10 meters away.

The other noticeable thing was the renaissance of the W116.   Previously hardly sighted at events apart from the 6.9, well maintained examples were particularly well represented, outnumbering most other models entered for judging.  Even more surprising was the dearth of W123’s – none entered for judging and only a couple at the event.  Considering globally the W123 has a lot of interest as a modern classic and the W116 is mostly overlooked, this was quite a surprise.

I entered my car for judging, not because I expect to win (I don’t), but mainly to park it with the really nice cars, and always with the possibility that the real show cars might not turn up on the day!  While my 250SE is in excellent condition, it is not a show car and I don’t have much interest in making it one.

The day started and ended with a fair amount of rain, which given the soft top was wet on arrival back at the warehouse, it gave me a good opportunity to shampoo it.   My neighbour was rather amused to see me hosing off the excess shampoo in the rain afterwards!

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Highlight of the show for me was the 1912 Benz (before Daimler and Benz merged).   The car had been painstakingly restored and was a credit to the owners. The Benz had an interesting dual ignition system with a set of plugs over the cylinders and a set over the valves.  You could run the car with one or both giving you some control over timing too.    There was also a nice selection of Microcars, the usual nice collection of Mercedes and a good showing of Porsches.   Unfortunately, not many BMWs showed up for some reasons.  There was a very impressive effort from one gentleman, who entered 11 cars in the show, ranging from a 1972 108 through to modern.

This year the show also included a ‘Guest Marque’ which was Rolls Royce,  a nice addition to the show.   The two highlights of the guest marque was the two Phatoms – a Phantom II and  a Phantom V.   The Phantom II was an incredible piece of machinery and the V was a former vice regal car and used for the tour of Queen Elizabeth II.   Given it was a vice regal car, It was probably the car that carried Sir William Kerr to dismiss Gough Whitlam, ironic given the event was held at Gough Whitlam Park.  I am told that Jaguar is the guest next year.

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A good example of the reason you would buy a well engineered car.   This was the BMW 523i I reviewed about 9 months ago, and it hit another car on the freeway yesterday.    It is obviously a write off.    This car belongs to my brother, he had nicknamed it Gary.

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The BMW E39 has now depreciated to the point where they are an entry level way of getting into  BMW ownership.  It gives you a bit more room than a 3 series, and a more capable car.  It also offers a better alternative to the W210 Mercedes E Class both in terms of looks, driving experience and quality.

The BMW E39 has crisp handling and steering and always feels poised when driving.    Despite the badge, the 523i is not actually a 2.3 liter car, it is a 2.5 liter in line 6.    The engine, being a BMW in line six is smooth and likes to rev, but is ultimately a little underpowered for the 5 series until you get to highway speed.   It also suffers from ‘lag’, presumably from the fly by wire system that exacerbates the lack of power.    The later 530i is apparently the better choice, although I have not driven one.

The interior is a little drab, but the seats are supportive and comfortable even on long distances.   Being a late 90’s car, it still has 90’s sound equipment like cassette players and CD-stackers.  These are integrated into the dashboard making replacement hard.    Also part of it’s 90s legacy is the aerodynamic body means it is hard to see the rear corners when reversing, and a reversing sensor was not standard equipment.

The particular car is owned by my brother and has driven has over 260,000 kms.  It still drives well and is quite economical to maintain, if taken to a good independent mechanic.   Some of the interior trim items are showing a bit of age, but overall it is still a good car for such a small amount of money, especially the 528i and 530i.

I would be happy to have a BMW E39 as a daily driver. I would choose one of the more powerful models instead of the 523i.

Update:  Sadly this car was later written off.   I eventually used the seat as my garage chair.  

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However, despite the weather there were a few highlights:

• The 280CE 5.0 ‘AMG’ – recently created by MB Spares to show what such a car could have been like if ordered in the 80s
• A few nice 50s models such as 170s, 220s and 300s.
• A couple of nice Pagoda and W111/W108 models.

Outside the Mercedes there were also BMW, Porsche, VW, Audi, NSU, Borgward and others on display.

It was a busy weekend in Canberra with Floriade and the Thai food festival all on.

I took the SLC down to Canberra this weekend, but didn’t display it.

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