We’ve had terrible weather the last couple of weeks here in Sydney.   Earlier in the week I expected the place to be a giant mud bowl, but surprisingly it cleared up and we had a lovely sunny winters day.  The sort that Sydney is normally renowned for, but we have missed out on this year.

That was a great opportunity to get out my 250SE Cabriolet for the show.   Due to the weather its been months since I last used it.  I had originally thought to take my Citroen DS this year, but the Citroen club sold out of tickets really quickly, and my car has a leak from one of the rear suspension boots.   Perhaps next year.   In any case the weather turned out so nicely, it was a good day to take out the 250SE.

The Mercedes-Benz club had quite a good display given the limited number of tickets available.   There was a good variety of vehicles and most of them participated the Parade lap around the track.   Doing the parade lap in a convertible makes it fun even at the quite slow speeds allowed.   My kids also enjoy the double decker bus ride around the track too, so we end up with two laps.

Given the event has the massive advantage of the race track and support from organizations like the Sydney Bus Museum, I’m still confused why it seems to have been scaled back since COVID.   The Mercedes-Benz club had 20 tickets available, and it sold out early. I’m sure they could have easily sold another five to ten.  The Citroen club had 15, and they all sold out weeks ago.   The Jaguar club had 25, which also looked to be sold out.   There is a whole section on the other side of the grandstand that is inexplicably no longer used.   In addition, the main parking areas could have easily accommodated more cars.  Section F was only about a third full.

Before COVID this event used to be buzzing and now it feels a little threadbare.  Instead of the niggardly allocation of tickets on offer, if each club received five or ten more, it would have made the event so much better.

Despite that, I still enjoy the event and of all the car shows I go it, its the one my kids enjoy.

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Displaying a car is worth it if you plan to go.   Entry is free for your passengers and you get to do a parade lap on the track.  In prior years this was a lot of fun, but last year the lap was so painfully slow that I probably could have pushed the car faster.   My kids were in the back and telling me we went faster in the traffic jam to get into the complex.   Not knowing if there would be a repeat of this, I took the most appropriate car for the day, my 1981 Mercedes 240D.  With 71hp, it was the only choice.

The 240D proved to be a good choice.  While speed wasn’t farcical like last time, it was still pretty slow.  On most of the track we could do about 60km/h and on the straight 80.   At least in the 240D, I was actually using the performance of the car and had my foot to the floor coming out of the corners.    So for the future, the best idea is to bring the slowest car you own.

I also took my kids along this year and they enjoyed it more.   Last year the traffic getting into the event was chaotic.   This time, it flowed much faster.   They still funned everyone into one entrance, but it moved a lot faster.   The also enjoyed the ride in the bus from the Sydney Bus Museum.

Like last year, the event was far smaller than in previous years.  I had hoped last year was an aberration, but it seems not.   The clubs have far fewer tickets than in prior years, and I know people who would have loved to come, but could not get them.  There are large areas that used to be used, that are totally closed off.  While this is still a good event, I feel the organizers are starting to strangle it.   The huge number of different cars were one of the principal things that made this event good.

Our club had a decent display given the lack of tickets.   There was a bit of confusion as to where we are actually supposed to park, but given the lower numbers, it didn’t matter all that much.   For once, W116’s actually outnumbered the W126.

It was a good day out in the 240D, although on the way home I had another issue with almost running out of fuel, when there was actually plenty in there.   My current theory is that either the strainer, or the little hole that lets fuel into the swirl pot from the rest of the tank is blocked.   I will have to remove the strainer and see.

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This year the show changed quite a lot after many years of using the same formula.   I don’t think these changes were for the better.   For some reason, they decided to discontinue using the display fields on the other side of the track.   It made the show feel smaller.   One of the main things that makes this show good is the size – so making it smaller doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.   I was surprised how few tickets the Mercedes-Benz club had this year.  I don’t know if that is because the show restricted tickets or the club didn’t request them, but such a large part of the display was closed, my assumption is that show restricted them.

Presumably because multiple display areas were now closed, all the clubs moved around for the first time in many years.   For the most part, the larger clubs have not moved out of their regular spots for years.    This year on the other hand they were all over the place.   I think its actually good to move the locations around a bit, to give all the clubs the opportunity to have a ‘good’ spot.    Having said that many of the club displays seemed quite small and underwhelming this year.

This year the also heavily policed the parade lap.   I can only assume this was a requirement from their insurance company.   For a lot of lap we were driving at about 30-40km per hour, and even on the mains straight max speed was 80km/h.   Even my children said we drove to the track faster than we drove around it.

It wasn’t all bad though.   This is still a very good even and well worth the time.   The double decker bus rides around the track are a lot of fun for the family, and there is still a huge selection of interesting cars on display.   Even better, you get to see them driving around the track, not just on display.

The Mercedes club display was off at the second pit area on the other side of the tunnel.    It was quite a good spot, although a bit out of the way.   There would have been room for more cars than the twenty tickets we had.   I was parked next to a very original W116 280SE.  It was an early car, complete with the thin door cards, no rear speakers and front antenna.   These early W116s are now very rare.

One of my favourite cars that I see year after year, the 1930 Cadillac V16 I saw is for sale.  I hope the new owner still brings the car to the show every year.   High end cars like this are not often seen at these big shows with a lot of the general public.     I’m still looking forward to going again next year.

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One of the advantages of entering a car is you get to take it on a parade lap around the race track.   Each club gets a specific slot to do a lap.  I went with the Mercedes-Benz club, but I may have been better to join the Citroen club as they were given two laps for some reason!   While the lap is at slow speed, it is well worth it to take your own car around the track in a parade of cars.     Possibly our club needs to run a course on track etiquette as there was quite a lot of very erratic driving for a slow speed lap.

Apparently there were supposed to be at least 1,900 cars on display.   Given how many sections there were at the show, this doesn’t seem unreasonable.   Having said that, some clubs did have empty areas.   This was probably due to the poor weather the day before and the threat of rain in the morning.   Nevertheless the weather held up even if it was a little windy.

I arrived early with my 250SE, primarily because I was originally to be parked on the pit lane as part of the 50 year anniversary of the club.   That didn’t end up happening as one of the tickets was lost.   Wasn’t a big deal though, I’m glad I took the car in the end as it was fun driving around the track with the top down.   I had previously planned to take my 560SEL.   Given the parade lap is at slow speed, the extra power wouldn’t have helped that much.  The open roof was probably better.

Even with the early start, and the parade lap, I don’t think I saw everything and I left at about 1:30PM.   By 1PM many cars are starting to leave, the core hours of the show seem to be about 9AM to 12PM.   One thing that really stood out since last time I was there was the emergence of the Volvo 2 series as a classic car.   There were a number of really nice examples on display.   I remember during my university years they were everywhere as cheap and safe university student transport.

Due to construction the event was quite spread out.   I almost missed a few sections and had to consult my map quite a bit.   If I hadn’t been specifically trying to find the Citroen display, I think I may have missed it.   A few more signs may have been useful.

The other thing that struck me was how much better the food was.   Last time I ate there, the food was pretty much inedible.   And expensive.   This time there were a few good food trucks with reasonable prices.   Makes a huge difference.    Even better the event still has a good relaxed atmosphere without overzealous marshals and security guards.   After a hiatus, the 2022 Shannons Eastern Creek Car Show was a great event.  I hope to keep attending in future years.

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It is also a family oriented event with double decker bus rides around the track, face painting, clowns etc.    Those who enter a car in the event get to do a parade lap around the track.  These events are also probably going to be increasingly important for politicians to see the extent of the old car hobby.   Certainly there has been pressure in Europe to do more to ‘ban’ older cars.   There will also be pressure once self-driving cars come about to restrict where humans can drive.

I went to this show in 2016, 2015 and 2013.    It is always a good event and hasn’t been ruined by the fun police like some events.   This year I was surprised to see quite a few triumph 2500 models in great condition.   Sadly this model is largely forgotten and is often seen in a rather dilapidated state.   I also saw a few nice Jaguar S-Type models.   This Jaguar is overshadowed by the MK2, mostly because of the MK2’s racing success.   Many prefer its styling too.   The S is the better car to cruise around in.

There was also a nice example of the original Saab Turbo.  I would regard this as a the pinnacle of the Saab company and it was good to see such a nice one.     It is also great to see the Micro car display!  The Goggomobil Dart is Australia’s own micro car and there were a couple of nice ones there.

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What was interesting to see was how popular the new classic rego scheme has been in NSW.   Previously the number of cars on classic rego was comparatively few, I would say that more than half of the cars are now on this system.    This is good as it will make it hard for the politicians to take it away again.

All three of the clubs that I am affiliated with (Citroen, Jaguar and Mercedes) had displays at the 2016 Shannons Eastern Creek event.   The advantage of displaying your car at the show is that you get to do a parade lap around the track.    One day I will do this when my kids are a bit older.

Please click on the links for photos from the 2015 and 2013 shows.

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The show is always a great way of seeing interesting cars that are rarely seen on the road.   It was a lovely sunny day in Sydney and so good numbers turned up.   I did not enter a car, but spent time looking at all the cars on display.   The show is organized by club, and includes the larger make based clubs (e.g. Jaguar) as well as the smaller regional clubs, motor sports clubs etc.     I was not able to attend last year, but did go in 2013.

Highlights for me this year included:

• Seeing a 1905 horseless carriage do a parade lap, including slowing to almost walking pace as it tried to climb the hills.   It is great to see a car like this still running and able to do a lap!
• In the Cadillac section, there was a V16, V12, and V8 from the same era which provided an interesting contrast.  The V16 was an amazing looking car and in pristine condition.

Unfortunately in NSW we do not get to see some of these cars on the road very much due to our highly restrictive registration for classics, so a day like this is a great way to see them.    It was highly amusing to hear some announcer say how great the scheme is in NSW and how we wouldn’t want to change it.   I suppose you can’t go anywhere without a bit of propaganda.

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I’ve never entered a car in the show, but would like to one year to do the parade lap.

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