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 routes at night, as things that work during the day don’t always work at night.  In addition, the state parks service closes a lot of roads that go through the national parks.

On the day of the drive, we had quite a good turn out, even with a few people having to pull out.   I find it odd that the club would schedule an executive meeting over the top of a registered club event, as we lost a few people to that.

As well as many of our usual suspects, we also had a new member in a very nice CL500, plus our normal W124 crew in a couple of 300Es and a 300TE, a 380SEC and another modern Benz.  I took my 450SE.    To everyone’s great interest we also had a C4 Corvette on the drive.  Its a 1986 model with a 5.7 SBC.  Its great when members bring non Mercedes cars to these drives as it adds variety.   The C4 had been imported to Australia in 2011, but stored until earlier this year.  The owner has dealt with a few fuel delivery related issues, changed the tyres and so on.   This is its first major drive.

We met up at Camden McDonalds, which was closed even at this early hour.   More and more of this McDonalds advertise opening hours based on the drive through, but close the actual restaurant.  Since I’m not a savage and don’t eat in my car, this is particularly useless.

After everyone admired the Corvette, we set off.   We started down the old Hume highway.   The roads were quite good and had fairly limited traffic.   After having to slow down for a truck and a roundabout, I noticed the Corvette have to abruptly pull over.  Its lucky I was able to see.  Normally I can really only see what is happening with one or maybe two cars behind me at night.   But we were going down a hill and the corvette has very distinctive headlights.

The Corvette had conked out.   It was able to restart and idled well, but died with any revs.   After looking for a while, turns out the brand new mass airflow sensor had died.  Disconnecting it had the engine running well again.

We continued on our way and the drive was really good.   It was a nice fast route with little traffic and pretty good roads.   My 450SE did well on its first night drive, and so did the Corvette once the MAF was disconnected.     The only downside was a 15 minute roadwork delay.   The roadwork wasn’t there two weeks ago.

We finished our drive at Chubby Buns Hoxton Park.   The Campbelltown location is temporarily closed.   It was quite busy and had expanded since our list visit.

The post MBCNSW September 2025 Night Drive – Picton and Appin Roads appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

It had been very rainy earlier in the week, so I wasn’t sure what attendance would be like.   January night drives can be a bit unpredictable due to people being away, but as long as the weather is good, summer is a great time to drive at night.

Even though it was an official MBCNSW event, I decided to take my Jaguar E-Type.  It was the perfect evening to drive the car, and I didn’t get to drive it as much as I had hoped last year due to the weather.   In the Australian summer, it is best to drive convertibles at night.

We had seven cars start the drive, which I thought was pretty good.  There were a pair of 380SECs, a 450SL, a 300E, a 320CE Cab, a W203 and of course my Jaguar.

The route took us down the old Princes Highway to Picton Road, where we drove over to Menangle road and then up to Chubby Buns Campbelltown.   These roads are great at night, for most of the route, traffic is minimal and they are great rods to cruise along.  This drive was a variation of one we did back in 2023.  That drive was on a cold evening in the middle of winter, so it only had a few attendees.  Based on that, it seemed to make sense to do the route again.

About half way along the drive, I noticed I could only see two sets of headlights behind me, so I stopped to regroup.   It seemed like we lost half the group along the old Princes highway somewhere.  We send out the google maps directions to avoid these things, but that night it didn’t work out so well.   After waiting a while, it wasn’t clear that the others were going to be able to catch up.   We decided to continue to our destination.

When we got to Chubby Buns burgers, it was just the Jaguar, the 450SL and the W203.   About half an hour later the 320CE Cab rolled in.  We later heard from the others that unfortunately they got lost and headed home in the end.

Despite losing almost half the group, it was a good drive.   I enjoyed getting the Jaguar out for the first time of the year, and I think a few of the others felt the same way about their cars.  I enjoy Picton road and Chubby Buns is always a good finishing point.

The post MBCNSW January 2025 night drive – Heathcote to Campbelltown via Picton Road appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

After a cold winter, the day of the drive was unseasonably warm for August.    On the day of the drive, I collected my Jaguar E-Type after having a leak from the brakes repaired.    Even though it was a Mercedes-Benz Club drive, it seemed too good an opportunity not to take the Jaguar.

The drive started in Camden, which is about as far as you can drive from where I live and still remain in Sydney.   You really experience the size of the urban sprawl when you’re still in the same city after 1:40.    On arrival, I had a message from one of our members that he has suffered a breakdown and would no longer be able to make it.

I later found out he had suffered a breakdown in his W108 on the approach to the M5 tunnel.   The issue was a dead alternator.   While he was towed to a safer place after 90 minutes, it would take 5 hours to get a tow him to the mechanics shop.

As well as the stricken W108, a few people had to pull out, so we started out with six cars.   My Jaguar E-Type, an A124 E320 Cabriolet, a 300E and three W126s – a 380SEC, 380SEL and a 300SEL.   The route started out well, and we enjoyed good roads, great weather and no traffic.   I was the 3rd car in the convoy, and after a while we noticed the others were not with us.   We stopped to let them catch up, but they didn’t.   We assumed they had taken a wrong turn, and continued on the route.

When we got to the final destination, we found out the 380SEL had to pull out with fuel delivery issues.   It would run for a while then cut out.   The car had apparently had a new fuel pump and the petrol tank cleaned.   Since it had less than 1/4 of a tank, I suspect the strainer or the small hole at the bottom of the swirl pot was clogged.

With broken Mercedes littering southwest Sydney, only four of us made it to the end to the Chubby Buns burger joint.    The Jaguar made it there without incident.    We rarely have car issues on these drives, so to have two on one night is unheard of.

The post MBCNSW August 2024 night drive – Multiple breakdowns appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

Last year we had a drive that started from Krispy Kreme Penrith.  It was quite popular, as a few people bought a box of doughnuts to take home for the family.    This seemed like a good place to start this drive, as it was on the Mulgoa road exit of the M4.    Our destination was the ever popular Chubby Buns burger truck in Campbelltown.    Given we were starting at a doughnut shop and finishing at a burger truck, it seemed obvious to dub this run the Heart Attack Run.

The weather in Sydney on the day was an absolute stinker.   38C and almost 100% humidity.    It had been hot and humid all week, in keeping with a pretty unpleasant summer here in Sydney.    Probably based on the weather, we had five people come on the run.   As with most of these drives, the W124 was the most popular option, with three cars.   A 1986 230E, 1990 300TE and 1991 300E.   In contrast, we had a brand new demonstrator Mercedes EQE Electric SUV.   One of our club members is an automotive journalist and had this car on test.

I took my 1977 450SLC.   At first, the heat was so bad, that the air conditioning struggled to keep the cabin cool, but as the night progressed it worked better and better.

We met up at Krispy Kreme, but this time nobody was particularly interested in doughnuts.  I guess nobody wanted a heart attack after all.  After after a short drive through some heavy traffic areas in Penrith, we entered the back roads in the area.  While they are a bit bumpy in places, it was a nice relaxing drive with very little traffic.     Most of the drive was quite good, although the approach to chubby buns was a bit convoluted.   We had the odd drop of rain due to the humidity, and some quiet entertaining lightening in the distance, but no actual bad weather.

While nobody was all that interested in doughnuts, the Chubby Buns burger truck was a big hit with everyone.    It was great to get out of the house and do this drive after sweltering in my home office all day.

The post MBCNSW February 2024 Night Drive – Heart Attack Run appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

The genesis for this route came from a motorcycle app designed to find good roads in an area.   One of our regulars on the drives suggested it.   With a few minor tweaks to the route (mostly to set a good start and ending spot) we gave it a try.  It came up with a southwest loop – some good roads around the semi-rural areas southwest of Sydney.   

The route was on the longer side of what we normally do, but it was really good.    We’ll probably schedule the southwest loop again, where better weather will result in a good turnout.

I took my 450SLC after installing the new flasher unit.    Even with the rain, it was a good choice for the route.    It was a night of classic Mercedes coupes, as the other two cars on the drive were a 1978 280CE and a 1983 380SEC.    These cars were all veterans of the big Adelaide trip last year.

The Chubby buns burger truck is always a good place to end one of these drives.   There are very few places in Sydney that open late and have good parking, other than McDonalds.    It turned out to be quite a late night, but a good one.   Next month’s drive is to Bilpin for apple pie.

The post MBCNSW October 2023 Night Drive – Southwest loop appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

This drive was a bit of a combination of new and old.   We’ve done similar drives before, but in the other direction.  Last year we did a Camden to Engadine drive via Picton Road for example.   However, in that case the only real overlap with this drive was the Picton Road section.    We also included the section down the Princes Highway in our Appin Road drive a few months back.    However, the section between getting off Picton Road until we started to get close to our destination – Chubby Buns in Campbelltown, was new.

Finishing up at Chubby buns was also an advantage, the burgers are much better than at McDonalds.   As is normal in the middle of winter, we had a smaller group this time.   I had my 450SLC, there was a C123 280CE, a 380SEC and a very nice W124.    Somewhere on the drive, I reached the milestone of putting 50,000km on my 450SLC over a 20 year period.

The small group made it easier to stop when one of our group made a wrong turn, and the turn off lane to Sublime point lookout became a good impromptu stopping point.   The roads were really good and practically deserted.

Our four cars meandered our way towards Campbelltown and the Chubby buns burger truck.   Once we had done Appin Road, we took a combination of some tight twisty roads and more option sections as we worked out way north for the final destination.   The actual drive was just over 100km, but I put almost 250km on the car as I don’t live very close to either the start or the end.

It was great to get out for another night drive.  Especially after skipping the June drive and being away for work for a few weeks.    I think this drive worked better going west than east.

The post MBCNSW July 2023 Night Drive – Picton Road appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

We met in Windsor near the Harry’s Cafe de Wheels.   Despite its reputation for being a late night eatery, it was closed.   The competition was open though.   We managed to fill up this fast food parking lot with classic Mercedes.  We even attracted a fair number of onlookers.   At least at the starting point, we had:

• W111 – My 250SE Cabriolet
• W108 – 280SE & 3 x 280SE 3.5
• W116 – 450SE
• W126 – 380SEL limo and 380SEC
• W124 – 300E x 2, 300E 2.6 & 230E
• Modern – A35 AMG

It was quiet an impressive line up.  We’ve never had so many of the old cars before.  At the assembly point somebody could smell fuel from the W108 280SE.    When you have a group of car enthusiast and a bonnet is open, it it like bees to a pot of honey.    So it was when the 280SE bonnet was open to check for a fuel leak.

Once it was time to go, a couple of the cars (A 280SE 3.5 and the 280SE W108) peeled off and the rest of the group started the drive.   Our ultimate destination was the Chubby Buns Burger truck in Campbelltown.    From Windsor, we started down the Northern Road, went through Penrith and then took the back roads through Mulgoa road, Silverdale road, then into Campbelltown via Cobbitty.

The first 20 minutes of the drive was a bit nothing, so I next time I would find a starting point close to the M4 where Mulgoa road branches off.   From there the drive was a lot of fun – hardly any traffic and good roads.   A bit bumpy like a lot of semi-rural Sydney roads.

For this drive, I was near the back, and I was able to witness the amazing sight of a full size limo keep up with a pretty decent pace on windy back roads.  It would have been hilarious to see how any passengers got on in the back – especially if they had to ensure they didn’t spill the Champagne.

I took my 250SE, and while it was great to get it out, some of the issues where it will hesitate and stutter like its not getting enough fuel then be fine again have come back.   My mechanic thinks we may have to send the fuel injection pump off to be refurbished.   Last time I took it on a long drive it was a lot better, but it appears that was an isolated incident.

When we got to Chubby Buns we pretty much filled up the entire adjacent (closed) service station with classics.    Due to the limo, the lady working there asked us if we had come from a wedding!

Overall it was a really enjoyable drive, and a good send off too.

The post MBCNSW May 2023 Night Drive – Mulgoa Road appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

The route worked very well, and I would certainly do it again.   As well as the actual drive last night, I did a trial run two weeks ago.  Enjoyed the drive both times.   At night, there are almost no cars at all on these roads, and there is a nice mix of twisty corners at the start as well as longer cruising sections – especially along Appin road.

The Chubby buns burger truck is also a nice alternative to McDonalds.   They taste like real hamburgers like you used to get at a milkbar, not so processed.   It was quite crowded last night, presumably due to Ramadan.

While earlier in the week it had been quite wet and rainy, but the day of the drive, the weather was good.    We had a pretty decent turn out.   At the start there were three W126s (a 380SEC, 300SEL and my 560SEL), a W116 (450SE), two W124s (230E and 300E) and a R107 SLK.   At the end were were also joined by another W126, this time a 300SE and a C215 CL500.    Around 9 cars is a good number for this sort of drive as it allows us to keep the group together at night.

At chubby buns,  we did a bit of light maintenance, as the owner of the 300SE asked me to check if his electric fans were working.   There is a very simple test you can run to jump the terminals on the temperature sensor.   If everything is working, the fans should roar into life.   They didn’t, so he’s going to have to troubleshoot if its the fan, resistor, wiring, relays or something else.

I also picked up a C107 boot lid that a friend had picked up for me.   I had been on the hunt for one for a while.  When my 450SLC was painted, the shop suggested I get a new boot lid.  The structure has some quite bad rust traps and there was only so much he could do with mine without spending lots of money.  Its not a very good design, and one reason why 107s rust.  The replacement is not perfect, but it looks half decent.

The drive was a lot of fun, and I think most enjoyed it.  It was somewhat soured by the speeding ticket I incurred on the way home.  Of course it was in the 60 section between a 70 and a 90 where the cop was waiting.   Not another car on the road.   Meanwhile, five kilometers back, some guys in hot hatches were street racing on a public road.   But this is the state of traffic enforcement in NSW.  Rake in the dollars with speed traps that catch people going only slightly over an artificially low limit, while ignoring other dangerous activity.

The post MBCNSW March 2023 Night drive – Appin Road appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

The history of how this area of South Western Sydney came to be known as The Cowpastures is rather interesting.    When the first fleet arrived in 1788, they brought a small herd of cows and a couple of bulls.    The cattle escaped five months later and would not be seen until 1795 when they were discovered on the fertile Nepean floodplain, having taken over pastures previously used by the Dharawal people.   The area would thereafter be known as the Cowpastures.

It had been a lovely day in Sydney for a change, so we had nine cars at our start point at McDonalds M4 West.   Two 450SLCs and an R107 500SL, a C123 280CE, two C126 SECs (my 560SEC and a 380SEC), a 300E and a modern SLK32 and SL350.

We tried a different approach this time with a designated car at the rear that knew the route well.     That seemed to work well at the end when traffic lights close to the destination meant the last three cars got separated the chase car (me) was able to go ahead of them and lead the way.     We also lost one car to a wrong turn which was remedied by waiting for 10 mins or so on a wide shoulder on Mulgoa road.

The final destination was the Chubby buns burger truck at Hoxton park.   For a city of over five million people, there is very little open after about 11pm that is not a bar or a club, or so inner city there is no parking for 10 elderly German cars.   The Chubby Buns burger trucks are open very late making it an ideal ending point for the drive.    The Hoxton park location (there are a few) is on the site of a carwash by day.    That provides plenty of parking at night.   There are apparently a few car club groups that use the venue.

The food from the Chubby Buns burger truck is quite good.   The serves are ample.   The prices are not cheap, but they are decent value for money for what you’re getting.    This is now my third time at the venue, as we had a couple of drives prior to fine tune the route.

These semi-rural routes seem to work the best for the night drives.  Much easier to keep the group together and enjoy a relaxing drive.

I took my 560SEC on this drive.  It was the first long drive since I had the uprated A/C condenser fitted, the steering box resealed and the Becker 1402 installation finalized.   The car performed really well and I am very happy with the Becker upgrade to the car.  The A/C is also very cold.   I’m waiting for a 35+ day to really test it properly.   On the open road its also noticeable how much more power this car has than an Australian 560SEC.   Especially above 3500RPM.

Next month is back to Bilpin.

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