The goal of the event was to try and entice out some of the interesting older cars in the club that rarely come to events.   Last year seemed like a good start so we decided to run the event again this year.  I personally really like the Linwood house open days.  There are normally other really interesting cars, and its a very easy and relaxed day where you can come and go as you want.   I used to go as a spectator when the Rolls Royce club would display there.

This year there were excellent displays from the Rover club, the Holden FB-EK & FE-FC Holden Car Clubs, Wolseley Car Club, MG Restorers Car club and Ducati owners clubs.  The Ducati club and Rover club were having their concours event.   I’m a big fan of Rovers, in particular the P5 and P6 models.  It was nice to see their display.   I don’t really know much about motorcycles, but the Ducati display was large and impressive.

Coinciding with the event was the 60th anniversary of the introduction of the W108 and W109 models at the Frankfurt Auto show on the 16th of September 1965.   It was an opportunity to celebrate the W108 and W109, as well as the 250SE coupe and cabriolet models that made their debut at the same show.  In fitting with this, I took my 1965 250SE Cabriolet which was made in October 1965.

Our display was a bit up and down.  We had pretty good sign ups for the event but actual attendance was pretty limited.  That was a surprise given how nice a day it was.    On the positive side, there was a rare early 300GD which was a real time warp.   We also had a C114 280CE in amazing condition, plus an excellent original 220SE Coupe and 280SE 3.5 coupe.   In addition, a new member brought his W108 280S manual along.   The car has been in his family since new.  It was purchased new by his father in Singapore and then brought to Australia when the family moved here.  The car had been laid up for a couple of years and has recently been put back on the road.

Being a car sold new in Singapore it was a CKD car, probably made in Malaysia.   And of course given the Singaporean Heritage, it has an elaborate Nippondenso boot mounted air conditioning system installed.  It would have been far more powerful than the factor air, and even has a small refrigerator in the boot for drinks.  The system is not currently working, but can hopefully be repaired.

I think for next year if the club attends one of the Linnwood House open days, we should re-think the type of event.  There doesn’t seem like there is a lot of interest in its current form. It seems like it would be better to combine it with some other event to broaden appeal and also have others to help with promotion.

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The event was held at Linnwood House, a historic house not far from Parramatta.  Linnwood house has four days per year where their open days have cars on display.   I’ve attended a few times as a spectator, mostly for British car shows like Rover and Rolls Royce.

One of the nice things about Linnwood house is the lovely shady grounds around the historic house.   They are quite large and there is a lot of room for the cars to park.    I like the relaxed nature of the day, where people can come and go as they please.  No overzealous security or mashalls here.

You can do tours of the historic house, although I’ve seen it before so didn’t.

As a nice day out, the event was a success.   We had a reasonable turn out of Mercedes-Benz models, and there were a number of interesting cars from the smaller American marques.   However, in meeting the original goal, the event probably wasn’t all that successful.   There were only two Mercedes-Benzs that I wasn’t familiar with on the day.    The first was a lovely 220SE coupe in two tone, with a beautiful red leather interior, factory Behr air conditioner and Becker Grand Prix.    The other one was a 2001 CL67 Brabus.  While I’m not normally interested in modern cars, the modifications and engineering in this car was quite interesting.   At the heart is a 6.7 liter V12.

From the American marques, my favourites were the Cord, which is an amazing art deco design, and the pre-war Packards.   Packards are such elegant cars and quite rare in Australia.

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This year the main displays were from Rover, Wolseley, Austin and various classic American marques.  The car of the day for me was a lovely 1937 Packard Super 8. These cars are hugely impressive in the flesh – pictures never do them justice.   There were a few other very nice classic American cars like a Chrysler Windsor and a lovely 50’s Cadillac convertible.

I was also keen to see the Rover display as I am a fan of the P5 model in particular.   There was a good selection of earlier cars, P4s, P6s and even SD1s, but only two P5s on the day.  That was a shame as in prior years there have been a great variety of models to choose from.

I drove there in the DS.  I didn’t display the car as I was not a member of any of the clubs participating, but I don’t think that would have mattered.   I hope in future years even more car clubs attend the Linnwood house day.   There is loads of room and its a very nice car show.

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This year the numbers of Rolls Royces and Bentleys was down considerably.   From what I understand this wasn’t the actual concours day, and I’m not sure if this is a change from previous years.   The other marques somewhat made up for it, but I was curious as to why.   The day was still well worth attending and the cars that did attend were exemplary.   My pick of the day was the silver Bentley Continental.

This years event was the first showing of a Rover 3 litre coupe that has been under restoration for a year or so.   The car is a similar spec to the one I used to own, but much better in nearly every way.   The owner has chosen a classy two tone paint job that complements the blue leather interior.   It is a sort of blue/grey colour for the roof and it looks very good.    As can be seen in the pictures the car still needs quite a bit of re-assembly but the car illustrates what lovely cars these Rover P5s are when in nice condition.

There was also an interesting pair of Armstrong Sidseleys.   The two cars were very similar in colour, but one was a ute and one was a convertible.   They each had a different colour highlight line to provide a bit of contrast.

There were also a few random Mercedes-Benzes from spectators.   I saw a few people from the MBCNSW who were in attendance.   I dove there in my 450SLC, but parked outside.  Next year if I go, I will probably drive in and park with the other ring-ins!

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This is a nice event.  It is not well known by the general public and has a relaxed atmosphere.    As usual there was a nice selection of Rolls Royce and Bentley motor cars from the marques entire history.   As you would expect Silver Shadow and Silver Spirit models dominated.   There was a reasonable selection of 50s and 60s cars, and a few rather nice pre-war models as well.

This was the first car event my 9 month old daughter attended.    Not a bad one to start with some classy cars on display.   The cars only put her to sleep for some of the time!

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The show was worth the trip and despite early rain had a good showing of cars.   As well as RROC, the Rover Club and the Daimler club had displays on, and was able to learn a bit more about Rover P5s.   I’m told the Mk2 P5 Coupe is the one to have.

For the Rolls Royces, there was a nice selection of cars including a very impressive range of pre-war cars.  Far larger than any of the clubs I am a member of.   As you would expect the Silver Shadow and Silver Spirit were the most popular cars on display, but there was a good mixture of cars.   My two favorites were the early Bentley Corniche coupe and the Bentley S3 Flying Spur.   The 2015 Rolls Royce Owners Club Concours was worth a visit and I will go again if the times work.

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